For more than 100 years the South has held onto a major secret: It’s actually home to the tastiest grape soda on earth. And it goes by the name of Grapico. Grapico is a hidden gem you’ll likely only find in the South. First sold in New Orleans, it can now be found across Louisiana and Alabama. Though the recipe and company were sold to Buffalo Rock, an independent Pepsi bottler, it still maintains the same flavor as it did way back then....
Texas Roadhouse has been around for decades, serving up steaks, ribs, potato skins, and plenty more Lone Star-inspired fare. However, the chain has recently been thrust into national intrigue for a more unassuming menu item: the complimentary bread and butter that comes to each table. As one could guess, it’s not your ordinary basket of carbs. Texas Roadhouse’s long-standing tradition of free bread and butter for each table is nothing new, but people took to social media to rave about the “rediscovered” amenity, stating that it’s the reason that many have begun returning in droves to the old-school chain....
Dolly Parton is teaming up with NBC for another holiday special! The network announced today that the country music legend will star in Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas, described as a “modern-day movie musical about the making of a network TV special.” The production’s official description promises a heartwarming and unique tale about discovering the magic of Christmas. “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas is the frenetic backstage story and delightful on-camera results of Dolly’s desire to uplift an exhausted world’s spirits by sharing the unique ‘mountain magic’ she has always found in and around Dollywood at Christmas,” the description reads....
I’m going to tell you something now that most of you already know. A lot of the gardening information you get off the internet and social media is pure manure. Case in point. A few days ago, I was scrolling down a gardening website when I encountered an article titled something like, “Keep Bugs at Bay with Carnivorous Plants.” The title alone told me that the author had never grown them....
For years, pharmacist Dr. Alisha Reed inspired women to live their best lives through her blog, Nola Bougie. “Women are often told that once you’re married or have kids, your life is no longer for you; your life is over,” says Reed. “I didn’t believe that…I wanted to encourage other women to not buy into it either.” She shared everything with her followers, from hotel stays to wellness tips. When her husband unexpectedly died of a heart attack in December 2019, she opened up about her experiences as a mourning widow too....
For many Southerners, summer means days spent at the beach with toes in the sand or at the lake on a boat. To be fair, the South is blessed with some of the most beautiful beaches and lakes in the country, and families often make an annual pilgrimage to one or the other with plenty of snacks in tow. Skip the classic charcuterie board this year in exchange for a more portable alternative that pays tribute to the season and locales at hand....
When it comes to backyard cookouts, most of us give a great deal of thought to picking out the best grill and grilling recipes, but we often take the charcoal for granted. This is a mistake. According to James Peisker, co-founder of Porter Road, a farm-raised meat company based in Nashville, all charcoal isn’t created equal. In fact, he says, “good ingredients make for good meals, and that includes your charcoal....
“Soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines share their great American war stories. Walk in my Combat Boots is a powerful collection of never-before-told war stories crafted from hundreds of original interviews by James Patterson, America’s most trusted storyteller, and First Sergeant US Army (Ret.) Matt Eversmann, part of the Ranger unit involved in the infamous Battle of Mogadishu portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down,” as the book’s press release states. “These are the brutally honest stories usually only shared amongst comrades in arms....
Fantasy football leagues. It’s the stuff dreams and heartbreaks alike are made of. Well, even though a fantasy football victory was crushed for one Georgia man, Michael Carsley, he wound up making the day for Mosammat Shumi, a long-time Waffle House server in the Atlanta area. As CNN originally reported, the tale began when Carsley came in last place in his fantasy football league which adheres to quite the bizarre rule: The last place contestant has to spend 24 hours at Waffle House....
Once upon a time, a stroll down the air freshener aisle at my local grocery store felt like a trip to the candy shop. Hundreds of scents filled the shelves—tropical ocean breeze, lavender and peach blossom, and Southern Living fried chicken (okay, that one was just wishful thinking on my part). no matter what fragrance I selected, my home ended up smelling like a cloud of overly perfumed musk, resulting in headaches and frustration....
If you’ve ever been to a restaurant that serves sushi, you’ve probably noticed sashimi on the menu and wondered, “Is sashimi a type of sushi?” While both are Japanese in origin, they’re not the same dish. Here’s the difference between sushi and sashimi (and nigiri, too). What is sushi? If there’s no rice, it’s not sushi. Vinegar-soaked rice is the ingredient that makes sushi, well, sushi. The name itself means “sour tasting” due to the flavor from the vinegar, as well as the raw fish that’s often included....
Green beans are the unfailing friend of any Southern occasion, from weeknight suppers to holiday feasts. We like to cook them country-style, low and slow, with just a few simple ingredients; and we like to throw them in a creamy casserole, covered and smothered, with a crunchy topping. We aren’t even opposed to a fresh, balsamic-glazed sauté every once in a while when we’re feeling sophisticated. Green beans are the blank canvas any Southern cook worth her salt can turn into a masterpiece with some butter or a few slices of extra crispy bacon....
Eyeshadow isn’t just a part of everyday makeup to me. It’s a passion, a form of self-expression, an art form. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But eyeshadow is my favorite step in any makeup look. That’s why I don’t recommend just any product when it comes to the eyes—and when I find something that works, I stick to it. I grew up playing with makeup, as I’m sure many of us did, and was introduced to the Mac Cosmetics Pro Longwear Paint Pot by my mother, who used it for years before me....
A good cleaning tool has the power to drastically alter how much you dread a particular chore. Case in point: If you have an outdated vacuum that makes cleaning carpets and hard floors a pain, a newer model can make it much less of a headache. And a robot vacuum will actually do the work for you. The sleek, cordless vacuum works on both hard floors and carpeted surfaces. It features Eufy’s strongest suction power—2,000 Pascals (a measurement of pressure)—yet it remains no louder than a microwave, according to the brand....
The U.S. Post Office delivers an astonishing numberof letters and packages daily, and most of them end up in the right place. Occasionally, though, they make mistakes, and someone else’s mail ends up in your mailbox. It could be that the addressed correspondence is to a former resident, the thank you note slipped into the mailbox of apartment 2C instead of 2E, or perhaps the mail carrier delivered a letter intended for 360 Main Street to 360 Main Avenue....
Though summer is the most popular season for leisurely beach-goers looking to enjoy the waves and soak in the sun, autumn is when the beach-combers come out. On casual expeditions or in planned group adventures, shellers mosey along the coastline, stopping to reach down in the sand when something catches their eye. Vicky Wall has traversed North Carolina’s beaches with the North Carolina Shell Club since 1984. A committed, year-round sheller whose pursuits have taken her from the South, to the Carribean’s beaches, and beyond, Wall props the fall as her favorite time of year to comb the tidelines....
Fifty years after she published Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume has agreed to sell the film rights to her iconic novel, Deadline reports. The rights were acquired by James L. Brooks and Kelly Fremon Craig, who collaborated on 2016’s coming-of-age film The Edge of Seventeen. Lionsgate has committed to a green light on a film with a budget in the $30 million range. Fremon Craig is set to direct her scripted adaptation with Brooks producing....
When good friends and good food come together, chances are there will be a big bowl of potato salad in the middle of the table. As much a picnic menu staple as fried chicken, barbecued ribs or grilled hamburgers, everyone has a favorite potato salad recipe, and everyone believes theirs is the best. And they would be right. Because once you master the art of choosing the right potato and properly boiling it (nothing ruins a potato salad like mushy or mealy cooked potatoes), the best way to make a potato salad is the way your Mama made it when you were growing up....
Mardi Gras is a Southern institution. After the last Krewe marches on home, the last set of Mardi Gras beads is flung into the air at the final parade, and one last bite of King Cake is eaten, the solemnity of Ash Wednesday takes over. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, the sobering (in every sense of the word) 40-day period that leads up to the celebration of Easter. The days of Lent are filled with reflection, repentance, and restraint as religious-minded folks frequently give up something like alcohol or meat or some other habit or activity as a means of expressing their faith and penance....
New kitchen gadgets are the best way to make you actually excited to cook, and you don’t have to spend a fortune on them. (Plus, you’ll save money by cooking rather than eating out all the time, which is a win-win). If you suffer from alcohol-induced headaches (like me), you definitely need to try this handy wine filter that’s 17 percent off. You’ll also find basically every cooking tool you could need....
