Southern Routes: Secret Recipes from the Best Down-Home Joints in the South

by Ben Vaughn, Simon Majumdar (Foreword)

In most of Ben’s experiences, the humble Southern chefs share their long protected family recipes but it’s not an adventure if everyone cooperates. Some of these institutions guard their recipes like members of the family.

To the untrained eater, the secret ingredients it takes to create such an iconic dish would remain a bewitching mystery without the original formula. However, Ben’s journey and mission is to deliver the most amazing 100 Southern recipes in Southern Routes.

With his charm and ability in the kitchen, award-winning chef, author, and Food Network host Ben Vaughn acquired each recipe–one way or another. If he was unable to get the recipe directly from the source, Ben replicated it himself, only having tasted the dish. After deciphering the exact mix of ingredients, his recipe was put to the test when the recipe gatekeeper gave him the thumbs up.

Southern Routes highlights iconic Southern kitchens all throughout the Delta such as…

Mat & Naddies and Carlos and Rocky’s in New Orleans;Our Way Café in Decatur, Georgia;McMel’s, City Café, Dipsy Doodle, and Wendell Smith’s Restaurant in Tennessee;and Martha’s Menu in MississippiThis book is more than a recipe book but instead a soulful, informative ride through the most delicious parts of America.  

Experience the real recipes, real people, and real stories as Ben journeys through the South exploring Southern Routes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Travel, Nonfiction, Food

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2015

Reviews

[Yaaresse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have known better. I did know better. I tried it anyway.

The FoodTV-ish smarmy attempt to fake a "all y'all" tone was bad enough, but the selection of recipes was mostly ridiculous. Cole slaw? Pancakes? Sweet tea, for god's sake? What, no recipe for toast or ice cubes?

I've worked in enough restaurants to know that very few of them are making cole slaw or pancakes from anything other than a food service box mix, and your average seven year old can read how to make sweet tea off the side of a Luzianne box. There is no "secret" to it. When I hit the cake recipe where the first ingredient was a box of yellow cake mix, I deleted it from my reader. This wasn't even a trip down memory lane; it was just insipid and slightly insulting.

I'm familiar with a couple of the places listed, and I'm pretty sure their weekly food service deliveries would argue against "secret family recipes." I'll give him the frog legs. Those are probably not Sysco products.

If you want some insight into "southern" food, you're far better off looking for cookbooks from the likes of Edna Lewis, Scott Peacock, Paul Prudhomme, Nathalie Dupree, James Villas...or just about any issue of Southern Living Annual Recipes ever published.

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Note: Usually I don't affix a star rating to books on my DNF/abandoned list. That said, I make exceptions if A) I've gotten more than 1/3 of the way through the book before giving up, and/or B) I thought the book especially inane, insufferable or just plain old awful.

[Jocelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author explored restaurants in 10 states in the south, Georgia was one of them. There were a few restaurants he mentioned and I've had the chance to eat at some of them. He made some good choices. Great cookbook!

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chef Vaughn goes to ten southern states and samples lots of food at local restaurants and “creates” 100 recipes for this cookbook. The recipes range from sweet tea (do ya need a recipe for this?) to hamburger steak to dressed up box cake. It made me want to try some of the restaurants but to honest, I’ll skip making the recipes that were provided.

[Dray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading. The well traveled author has descriptions of many eateries and recipes of some of their fare. Texas seems a stretch and the recipes are not secret. But..does give you a good sense of place and taste.

[Sabrina Parnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Southern secret recipes

Excellent read. I enjoyed all the stories and though all the recipes aren't the heavily guarded secret ones, they are quite delicious.