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Southern restaurants you'll love

Southern

Top Southern restaurants

When describing Southern food in the US, the words deep-fried and down-home come to mind the most. Some would say Southern food is also more down-to-earth than other American regional cuisines and features a wider variety of flavors, spices, and preparations unique to our culture.

Generally, Southern food is served family-style with large bowls full of mashed potatoes, brown gravy, buttered cornbread, fried catfish, pork chops, and chicken fried steak, to name a few of the more popular items. But don't forget to add a sweet peach tea or a cold beer to round out the meal.

The cultural and culinary influences in this cooking style go back to the founding of the US itself when immigrants found ingenious ways to use the ingredients they had available. That's why frying in peanut oil features so prominently in Southern food in the deep south, and it's also why mashed potatoes are standard fare. Both were readily available to the farmers and ranchers who first settled those particular US states. No matter what, the idea behind Southern dishes has always been – and always will be – to feed family and friends with modest yet flavorful ingredients and enjoy a large meal together.