Southern Living Gets it Wrong…Again
April 11, 2013
By Ron Aiken
April 10, 2013
On Tuesday, Southern Living magazine announced the winner of its The South’s Tastiest Towns contest for 2013, and the lucky locale was Durham, N.C.
It’s OK to vomit now.
Ten Southern culinary capitals were considered, and finishing behind Durham in the rankings were, in order of finish: Memphis, Asheville, Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Greenville, Louisville, Miami and New Orleans. That’s right, Charleston, the undisputed mecca of New South cuisine in the 21st Century, finished sixth, and Greenville (yes, OUR Greenville), finished ahead of New Orleans.
How could such a thing be? Because the magazine contest was decided by that time-tested, scientifically approved measure of accurately identifying something’s true quality: fan voting.
A disappointed Memphis, the foodies of which apparently orchestrated several high-profile get-out-the-vote campaigns, was understandably crestfallen Tuesday afternoon finishing second to a town best known for a minor league baseball team.
Writing in Hungry Memphis: A Very Tasteful Food Blog, Susan Ellis (who, it has to be noted, wrote that Greenville was located in South Caroline), opined that the vote was close, and proudly proclaimed the new energy of the Memphis scene.
The rankings will appear in the magazine’s May issue, which hits newstands April 19. You should be able to find one most anywhere in South Caroline.
In case you’re wondering, last year’s winner (in the contest’s inaugural year) was Lafayette, Louisiana.
It’s OK to vomit now.
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