On the menu you’ll find sweet chicken and lima beans, sausage gumbo, shrimp and grits, meatloaf and pecan fried chicken and catfish. Dana Berlin, owner of Jestine’s Kitchen, is the Ellison’s granddaughter and the restaurant is her way of sharing the home cooking and warm atmosphere Jestine provided for generations of friends and family. Jestine went to work for the Ellison family in Charlotte and became a life-long friend of the family. Her mother was a Native American and her father was the son of a freed slave. Jestine’s is named for Jestine Matthews who was born in the low country in 1885. You’ll know it by the line of hungry locals and tourists waiting outside for a table. But if you’re looking for good basic southern fare, look no further than Jestine’s in downtown Charleston on Meeting Street. If you’ve ever been to Charleston, South Carolina, you know that it is a foodie’s dream. It’s simple, delicious food just like your mama would make-if your mama was from the South that is.

Pick up your tray just like when you were in elementary school, choose your meat from the daily offerings (things like country ham, fried whiting, meatloaf, beef tips and rice and fried chicken) noted on the chalk board above the line and pick your three vegetables. Opened since 1991, Dandgure’s doesn’t look like anything special with a smattering of tables with mismatched chairs and a cafeteria line. Add to that some cornbread and sweet tea, and you have yourself an abundance of good “vittles” to get you through the day. A meat and three is exactly what it sounds like: choose a meat and three sides and they’ll slap it on the tray for you. “Meat and three” restaurants are a time-honored tradition in Nashville, Tennessee, and one of the best in the city is Dandgure’s Cafeteria. Come hungry-you definitely won’t leave that way. Located on a shady lot in downtown Chapel Hill just blocks from the University of North Carolina, Mama Dip’s is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And when it was time for dessert, of course they had to sample the pecan pie and banana pudding. Things like fried okra, squash casserole, lima beans, pulled pork barbecue, fried chicken and fried catfish. So it was up to me to explain what they needed to try. I visited with a group of writers from around the country-none of them southern. Mama Dip (Mildred) is still working there alongside her children and grandchildren. It worked out just fine and now over 40 years later, Mama Dip’s is one of the most beloved restaurants in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Mildred Cotton Council opened Mama Dip’s on a Sunday in November 1976 with just $40 for purchasing food and $24 to make change. And whatever you do, don’t leave without trying the biscuit donut-trust me on this one. If you’d prefer a breakfast sandwich, give the biscuit, country ham and fried green tomato sandwich a try. Choose from three of these incredible options: pork espresso red eye gravy, fried chicken gravy, pork sausage gravy, house-made veggie “chorizo” gravy, sweet potato coconut gravy and mushroom medley gravy.

Indulge in the big flaky biscuits by ordering a gravy flight. The menu has all kinds of delicious choices. Biscuit Head was born as a way for them to share their love of southern cooking. They also work as much as possible with local providers and participate in community projects to help feed the hungry. Aiming to leave as small a carbon footprint on the planet as possible, everything used in their restaurants is either compostable or recyclable. Husband and wife team, Jason and Carolyn are good people. Biscuit Head in Asheville, North Carolina kicks that tradition up a notch. Starting your day with biscuits and gravy is a long time tradition in the South. Yum! Here are some of my favorite spots for indulging across the South. I grew up on this cuisine and always look forward to my visits back home to indulge in biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, fried chicken and all that goes with it-things like fried green tomatoes and greens. And, like many places, a big part of that culture centers on food. There’s no denying that the American South has a culture all its own.

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