Going Back to My Roots

The iconic Frostop restaurant is one of Huntington, W.Va.'s best known and best loved little dives. I was in pure heaven stopping in for a frosty mug of root beer last weekend while visiting family.Frostop has a long history, but this little chain of drive-ins was at its hey day in the 1950s. The menu is simple and relatively inexpensive. You can choose from hot dogs (with or without slaw), BBQ sandwiches, cheeseburgers, onion rings, fries, ice cream and much more.
In a city that loves frankfurters, from Stewart's to Hillbilly Hotdogs, Frostop is the best in my book. Maybe it's the nostalgia more than anything ... there aren't too many places left out there where you can see car hops in action.

Before Blackberries Had Batteries

With the arrival of summer, I often think longingly back on the days when I was growing up and the excitement of being out of school for a few months. Living out in the country, there were always plenty of things to do and places to explore. One of the things I remember most about childhood summers, though, is blackberries.

Behind our house was a pasture, and on the fence separating the pasture from the back yard, blackberry vines grew thick and thorny. From the time the first tiny white flowers appeared, I watched the fruit turn from tiny green nodules to red, and finally to deep, blue-black clusters the size of cherry tomatoes.

When the berries were ripe, my grandmother would hand me a plastic bowl and together we would gently fill it with the sun-warmed fruit. She would make sure I watched out for thorns, black snakes and chiggers—three of the hazards of picking blackberries. Our blackberry “orchard” wasn’t a large one, and it would take several afternoons of harvesting before she would declare we had enough for her to make a few pints of blackberry juice.

While a lot of grandmothers might have made blackberry cobblers or blackberry jelly (and mine did many times through the years), my grandmother’s first priority was to preserve a few jars of blackberry juice. She always prescribed it whenever my mother, father or I had a stomachache. And drinking a small amount of it always made us feel better, if for no other reason than the sweet taste of summer and sunshine it provided all year long.

Assembling a Gift Basket of Southern Food

Have you ever wanted to send a gift basket of Southern delicacies to someone in a foreign country (like Wisconsin or Massachusetts) but weren't sure what to include? No? That's just me? That's OK. I'll share these details with you anyway because I know you'll want to do this. I'm thinking that maybe after reading this post you, too, will become inspired to share your culture via U.S. Postal Service.

Anyway ...

I recently took this task upon myself so that I could surprise a friend up North (who hopefully isn't reading this). First, I searched for pre-assembled gift baskets ... because I'm lazy. I knew that North Carolina magazine, Our State, sells gift baskets of N.C. food. And while their BBQ Battle Box does appeal to me, I wanted a greater diversity of food types ... because I'm picky. I also didn't want to pay a lot ... because I'm cheap.

So, as I continued to look around, it became obvious that I wasn't going to find exactly what I was looking for and should just make my own gift basket.

I decided from the get-go not to select anything immediately perishable. As much as I'd like to ship pulled pork or livermush, I decided against getting dry ice involved. I also didn't want the products to all come from my home state (N.C.) or all come from the grocery store (although some came from each/both). So, here's what I came up with:

• Duke's Mayonnaise 
• Cheerwine
• Mrs. Campbell's Chow-Chow
• Smokehouse Barbecue Sauce (can't be purchased retail; can only be bought at Lexington Barbecue)
• Charleston Market Benne Wafers
• Guilford Mills Hushpuppy Mix
• Anson Mills Yellow Grits
• Salem Bakery Moravian Cookies
• Salem Bakery Pimento Cheese Straws

So ... a mix of condiments, snacks, cooking products and beverage. Am I missing anything crucial? Y'all have a couple of days to let me know if there's something else I should add to this package of yum. Send me a note or comment to let me know. I look forward to your suggestions ... really.

Win Lunch with Richard Childress, and a Day at His Winery and Museum

If you're a wine enthusiast, a NASCAR fan or something in between, you'll probably love this VIP contest offered by Childress Vineyards. The Grand Prize winner will get to have lunch with Richard, a tour of his winery (which includes a wine tasting), a chauffeured ride to the Richard Childress Racing museum and two tickets to a Winston-Salem Dash baseball game. Sweet! Sounds like an excellent day. There are more details at his website. You must enter before July 7.

My Achilles ... Tooth?

My sweet tooth is my Achilles heel. If it’s a sweet confection that’s glazed, cream-filled, sprinkled with sugar, dusted with cocoa or covered in frosting, I am powerless to resist it.

Of all the glorious things that can be done to desserts, the application of frosting is by far my favorite. I remember the brownies my grandmother used to make: dark, dense, rich and topped with a layer of chocolate frosting. For years, I didn’t know brownies could come any other way.

And then there are doughnut holes. Doughnut holes are good, right? Bite-sized and glazed, they’re a perfect little snack. But imagine them injected with just a dollop of frosting. That, as far as I’m concerned, renders them practically irresistible. And where can you get such a delectable thing? The Fancy Pastry Shop in Lexington, N.C., of course.

From the time I was a little tow-headed tyke, I remember going with my mother to Fancy Pastry. Inside were glass cases filled with cookies, pies, tarts, turnovers, Danishes, doughnuts, cakes—every sweet imaginable. And bread, rolls and biscuits too.

It’s their cakes, though, that I find most enthralling, because Fancy Pastry’s frosting is the best frosting ever. Light, fluffy, sweet, creamy … it’s sheer perfection. Period.

My mother always insists that her birthday cake come from Fancy Pastry. And, because we share the same sweet tooth gene, she always insists that the top of the cake not have the standard “Happy Birthday” script and a few meager flowers. Rather, it has to be covered entirely in flowers and decoration, resulting in a layer cake with frosting nearly 2 inches thick on top.

What could make a birthday—or any day, for that matter—happier?