Pigs, Goats, Cow Heads

This Saturday, October 23, Chef Drew Robinson of Jim N Nick's Bar-B-Q will participate in the Southern Foodways Alliance's Taco Truck Degustation. The Jim N Nick's smoker wheels its way across the deep South to Oxford, MS where Drew, along with Chef Dan Lathem and Nick Pihakis will serve whole hog barbecue tacos and for some extra tasty fun, are cooking a goat and some White Oak Pastures grass-fed beef tongue as well. The Southern Foodways Alliance (www.southernfoodways.com) hosts its annual symposium this weekend and programming this year celebrates "the Global South"--in other words, the influences of the rest of the world on Southern cuisine. The SFA points out, "for much of our region's history, we've understood the South to be a land of Native American, West African, and Western European peoples. This weekend, Cuban, Vietnamese, and and Latin American influences will also be highlighted."
On Saturday night, Chef Robinson is delighted to prepare his tacos along side Chef Kelly English from Restaurant Iris and Chef Jonathan Magallanes of Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana both from Memphis, TN, who will cook traditional Barbacoa de Cabeza (bbq cow heads).

Stars Falling on Alabama

Lots of stars are aligning on Sunday, October 3 to benefit the Alabama fishing communities affected by the Gulf Coast oil disaster. Sponsored by the great folks at the gorgeous publication, Garden & Gun Magazine, (www.gardenandgun.com), the Harvest Feast will feature food prepared by some of Alabama's greatest cooks and chefs including Jim 'N Nick's BBQ's own Drew Robinson(photo here). Chris and Idie Hastings (pictured together here)of the Hot and Hot Fish Club (www.hotandhotfishclub.com) lead the charge and there are guest stars falling too! Natalie Chanin, the brilliant, celebrated fashion designer (and biscuit maker--pictured here) behind Alabama Chanin (www.alabamachanin.com) will be there and Ashley Hall (pictured here in blue)who, in concert with the Southern Foodways Alliance (www.southernfoodways.com) has done a series of oral histories and documentation of Alabama's Gulf Shore, post-oil spill. There will also be a viewing of Joe York's short film on Bayou La Batre, AL and the struggles facing the fishing community there since the oil disaster in the gulf.
Spirits will be high however, and the food will be served on a table over which solutions and benevolence may be discussed and a toast will be raised to the great fisherpeople and fishing traditions of Alabama's Gulf Coast.
The event is sold out (hooray!) but you can visit (www.gardenandgun.com)to find out more about this event and how to make a contribution.