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I've traveled through all of them, but have definitely spent the most time in Georgia and Louisianna. The cuisine was a lot of creole/cajun which I like but outside of maybe the Razoo's chain isn't really that plentiful to find around here, there was a lot more seafood than I'm used growing up in North Texas, barbecue which had too much pork and not enough beef and was quite different to what I grew up with, and then more soul/southern food which I only ever really ate growing when I visited relatives in east Texas.
That is where I was sorta going with that. What do you mean by "more Southern/soul" food? Now, I hasten to add I am not doubting your own experiences, but I do wish you would clarify a bit more as to specific items under the "heading"..?
Fried catfish, okra, sweet-tea, black-eyed peas, cornbread, chicken/country fried steak...and gravy made from the leavin's...fried ham...?
Now I WILL definitely say that -- in most of Texas -- beef is the preferred meat as per BBQ. BUT? The process itself is pure Southern in orgin. (personally, I prefer pork! LOL). But point is, that when Texans say let's go get some BBQ or invite friends over for a BBQ...it don't mean cooking hamburgers or hotdogs on the grill! LOL
Anyway, I thought this video was cute. And yeah, I can already see some transplants/scalawags scoffing at it...probably never realizing that these guys were hamming it up intentionally just do a little "Through the Looking Glass" type thing to poke fun back at the stuffed shirts who look down on Southerners, anyway.
But whatever...the video is cute and has some good content about BBQ! Enjoy!
P.S. To repeat something I said much earlier, I think the whole thing about whether one state is "more Southern" than another is a little ridiculous anyway, and if not intentionally intended to start a fight? Then it should become very quickly obvious it will...and nothing ever get settled at all.
And I know I was once and still am sometime the worst of all about diving into "fights" like this...and..
It can really be fun and informative to talk about...unfortunately it always seems to go into an opposite direction as into a "pi$$ing" contest...and worst of all are those who either talk/present either no facts at all to back up their case, or else who don't have a clue as to what they are even talking about...
All of the Old Confederate States are Southern in their own way...
That is where I was sorta going with that. What do you mean by "more Southern/soul" food? Now, I hasten to add I am not doubting your own experiences, but I do wish you would clarify a bit more as to specific items under the "heading"..?
Fried catfish, okra, sweet-tea, black-eyed peas, cornbread, chicken/country fried steak...and gravy made from the leavin's...fried ham...?
Now I WILL definitely say that -- in most of Texas -- beef is the preferred meat as per BBQ. BUT? The process itself is pure Southern in orgin. (personally, I prefer pork! LOL). But point is, that when Texans say let's go get some BBQ or invite friends over for a BBQ...it don't mean cooking hamburgers or hotdogs on the grill! LOL
Anyway, I thought this video was cute. And yeah, I can already see some transplants/scalawags scoffing at it...probably never realizing that these guys were hamming it up intentionally just do a little "Through the Looking Glass" type thing to poke fun back at the stuffed shirts who look down on Southerners, anyway.
But whatever...the video is cute and has some good content about BBQ! Enjoy!
P.S. To repeat something I said much earlier, I think the whole thing about whether one state is "more Southern" than another is a little ridiculous anyway, and if not intentionally intended to start a fight? Then it should become very quickly obvious it will...and nothing ever get settled at all.
And I know I was once and still am sometime the worst of all about diving into "fights" like this...and..
It can really be fun and informative to talk about...unfortunately it always seems to go into an opposite direction as into a "pi$$ing" contest...and worst of all are those who either talk/present either no facts at all to back up their case, or else who don't have a clue as to what they are even talking about...
All of the Old Confederate States are Southern in their own way...
Haha, I've seen this vid a couple of years ago. Funny how when they got to Florida, they questioned if Florida was even a Southern state. While I disagree with their questioning, I think that Florida REALLY might not have a specific state variation on BBQ like all the other Southern states they mentioned in the vid. There might not be a specific "Florida-style" BBQ. But Texas was mentioned with the quickness. Funny how outsiders perceive what they think of certain states. The men in this vid were from North Carolina, so they KNOW BBQ.
No, I meant when you said "Houston is the only one you can make a case for, but it's Texan 1st, and it's whatever next."
Ok, you were referring to Houston...
I dont know, maybe Im out of it, Ive never lived in Houston. However, Houston has a huge Mexican immigrant population (#3 in the US) who knows nothing of the south. Maybe thats just "johnny come lately" thought, but thats todays world. Not to mention all of the other immigrant groups. I do see some of the traits there, that I dont see in any other city in Texas, similar to mainly other southern gulf cities. Ive also never disagreed about East Texas, but I think theres a fairly abrupt line between there and Dallas.
Ive been in Texas 18 years, but did not grow up here.
I only asked because I think if you are from the eastern portion of Texas it will skew your view that way. Just as, if you are from Lubbock or El Paso, you may see things differently. Saying that, it makes a difference if its Dallas or Tyler or Texarkana...
Having just (gone) through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, I was looking up the demographics. There are very few Mexicans in those states.
Things are changing fast!
Statewide, only about 4% of Alabama's population is Hispanic.
But locally, my small city (Decatur) is almost 12%. Albertville is 24%, and Russellville is 26% - both MUCH larger than the black population.
I will agree the most are not Mexican. They tend to be from Guatemala and the Honduras.
Things are changing fast!
Statewide, only about 4% of Alabama's population is Hispanic.
But locally, my small city (Decatur) is almost 12%. Albertville is 24%, and Russellville is 26% - both MUCH larger than the black population.
I will agree the most are not Mexican. They tend to be from Guatemala and the Honduras.
An interesting fact about Houston and Dallas, that people conveniently overlook, is that their Hispanic populations used to much smaller than they currently are. In fact, it's only over the past few decades that the Hispanic population in these cities outnumbered the black population. Several people will blindly claim that the entirety of Texas has always been steeped in Mexican American influence, but, the fact of the matter is that African Americans have much deeper roots in the regions east of I-35, which is where more than half of the state's population lives anyway. Sure, Hispanic culture is very widespread and influential today, but people like to pretend that it has always been that way, and it simply isn't the case. Hell, there's a reason Tex-Mex in Houston, Dallas, and East Texas isn't even as good as what you'll get in San Antonio or South Texas.
Like I said before, it's not about the fact that Texas is a southern state, it's about some Texans not wanting to be considered a southern state, so they'll split any hairs they need to in order to "prove" it isn't. They think it's necessary to establish ourselves as a unique place. I'm wise enough to know that it isn't necessary.
Mexicans are not southern. Having just went through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, I was looking up the demographics. There are very few Mexicans in those states. Texas has had a long history with Mexico, just as NM, Arizona and California has being border states. Other southern states do no have that history. Texas really has its own history, loosely tied to the east and the west.
I think what this thread comes down to is that Florida is on the edge of the deep south, in fact its norther 1/3 is definitely southern. Texas has its east side skirt the deep south, but thats it. The northern portion including DFW identifies more with the plains/Oklahoma. Ft Worths motto is "Where the West Begins" and that is what its like driving east to west. Everything west of Ft Worth identifies as more southwest.
This isn't true at all from my experience. Like you, I'm foreign born and for where it matters started off foreign raised in a foreign country. Up till I graduated high school, was still foreign raised but with more standard American customs. English and Hindi were the second language, Hinglish and Singlish were the first. Majority of my childhood in the United States was spent shedding the foreign accents, for a standard English one (no regional affiliation, just flat out standard English) like most people around me who were from another country.
However I've seen people of all colors that live in Greater Houston, fully embrace the Texas culture, at times, en masse, Asians being zero exception. Although I never participated in it but I've seen it all the time. Go to an area like Katy, Texas and tell me you haven't ever seen Texan-Asians before. Yes, yes, the Cowboy boots and hats et all. Same thing with Latin Americans.
In fact it's a trend set by all powerful cities in each region. When immigrants move to Detroit, most wont ever become American (like myself) but some do adhere to Midwestern culture (and that becomes noticeable). Same can be said of Chicago and the traditional values and customs of Midwestern culture. Same can be said of the Bay Area of Greater Los Angeles in the West (except western culture), same can be said of immigrants into New York (except Northeastern culture). I'm starting to notice all great cities have at least 50% of their culture deeply engrained in their regional roots and the rest of the city might as well be a global (as well as national) migrant hub culturally.
In Washington DC, the problem is that it's not true Northeastern. We will never have the delicacy of the true Northeast when it comes to Kosher, Delis, Italian-American New York style pizza, Irish pub concept, so on. At the same time, the place isn't Southern either to where it could ever have Cajun, Soul, Creole style cooking either.
It's actually Miami that I'm more curious about. I've spent time there, a good straight month the second of the two times I've been. Quite love the place, although, I think it's the only place in the country where immigrants come but they don't add to the regional/local culture that exists. They transform the culture more like back home. I mean immigrants in every city will bring their culture but it seems like all of the ones in Miami are more concerned with how things are back home culturally than where they live in the present. I don't think Miami is a culturally Southern city honestly.
One more thing, Houston is the second largest, not third, second largest Mexican population in the country after Los Angeles.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 03-24-2014 at 12:12 PM..
But that's kind of the point, Texas at one point was very definitely a southern state, of course the state seceded, growing cotton was the source of income for the state, but over the years and decades things have changed, at one time Maryland was very definitely a southern state but very few people think of them that way now, it has changed over time. Texas has many influences from the south, many things that are now considered Texan have origins in the south, but many others from the great plains culture and the southwest, like all the distinct cultures around the country it is a hodgepodge of the cultures of the people who moved here, the cattle boom brought new influences, the oil boom brought new influences, the german settlements brought new influences, influences that other southern states never got in such numbers. Maybe the Mexican influence is more widespread now than it was in the past but that still counts, it doesn't matter what Texas was, the new influences, the new transplants count, they are forming our culture of today, so maybe we are losing are southern roots but we are gaining something too.
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Point.
