American Palate

A fascinating history of Virginia wines, documenting the wine industry's very foundation in this state.

Go beyond the bottle and step inside the minds, and vines, of Virginia's burgeoning wine industry in this groundbreaking volume. Join grape grower and industry insider Walker Elliott Rowe as he guides you through some of the top vineyards and wineries in the Old Dominion. Rowe explores the minds of pioneering winemakers and vineyard owners, stitches together an account of the wine industry's foundation in Virginia, from Jamestown to Jefferson to Barboursville, and uncovers the fascinating missing chapter in Virginia wine history. As the Philip Carter Winery motto explains, ""Before there was Jefferson, there was Carter. "" Rowe goes behind the scenes to interview migrant workers who toil daily in the vineyards, makes the rounds in Richmond with an industry lobbyist and talks shop with winemakers on the science and techniques that have helped put the Virginia wine industry on the map. Also included are twenty-four stunning color photographs from professional photographer Jonathan Timmes and a foreword by noted wine journalist Richard Leahy.

Join author Dorothy K. Fletcher as she recalls the history of the city's lost restaurants and reflects on a more gracious time in Jacksonville living.

The city of Jacksonville has long enjoyed a wondrous array of restaurants with fine cuisine and unique atmospheres. Some of the greatest of those now exist only in memory. Le Chateau, with its elegant patio and seascapes, was a beacon of fine dining. The Rainbow Room at the George Washington Hotel offered a crowded dance floor with its dinner experience. The Green Derby was the hub of passion for fans of Florida and Georgia during one of the fiercest rivalries in college football.

The hunt for red crawfish is the thing, the raison d'etre, of Acadian spring. Introduced to Louisiana by the swamp dwellers of the Atchafalaya Basin, the crawfish is a regional favorite that has spurred a $210 million industry. Whole families work at the same fisheries, and annual crawfish festivals dominate the social calendar. More importantly, no matter the occasion, folks take their boils seriously: they'll endure line cutters, heat and humidity, mosquitoes and high gas prices to procure crawfish for their families' annual backyard boils or their corporate picnics. Join author Sam Irwin as he tells the story--complete with recipes and tall tales--of Louisiana's favorite crustacean: the crawfish.

It's no secret that Louisville is one of America's bourbon capitals, but the Derby City once thrived as a brewing mecca as well, rivaling even St. Louis and Milwaukee with its crisp lagers and Kentucky Common Ale. German settlers arrived with centuries-old brewing traditions and beer gardens, cementing beer and barrooms in Louisville's culture. Following Prohibition, the "big three"--Falls City, Fehr's and Oertel's--kept traditions alive while ingraining iconic brands into the city's fabric and heritage. More recently, craft brewers like BBC, Apocalypse Brew Works and New Albanian Brewing Company have drawn on this rich history. Kick back with Louisville food and beverage journalist Kevin Gibson as he traces Louisville's beer history with stories from the past, interviews and plenty of photos that bring this intoxicating story to life.

Eating is a pleasure in the South Carolina capital these days, thanks to chefs, farmers and artisanal purveyors who feed an insatiable hunger for anything fresh, local and delicious. Columbia offers a bounty for enthusiasts--places like the urban farm City Roots, the all-local farmers' market Soda City and the array of community supported agriculture options. For exquisite dining, the city's options are as variable as its influences. The locally focused menu at Terra, the intense and alluring ambiance at Rosso, the vegetarian-inspired fare at Rosewood's Market Deli and the flair of self-taught chef Ricky Mollohan give the city a unique palate. Grab a reservation with author Laura Aboyan as she details the delectable history of Columbia cuisine.

If life is a highway, food is the fuel. The restaurant cuisine of Arkansas was crafted by transportation--and by family heritage.

From century-old soda fountains to heritage candy makers, Arkansas wine country and the birthplace of fried pickles, discover the delicious nooks of the Ozarks and scrumptious crannies of the Arkansas River Valley through this tasty travelogue. Learn how fried chicken came to a tiny burg called Tontitown. Discover a restaurant atop a gristmill with a history predating the Civil War. Dine where Bill Clinton, Sam Walton and Elvis Presley caught a bite to eat. Join author Kat Robinson and photographer Grav Weldon on this exploration of over one hundred of the state's classic and iconic restaurants.

The Arkansas Delta is fertile ground for delicious food and iconic restaurants. It's a thickly layered culinary landscape built on generations of immigrants, farmers and cooks. Savor Delta tamales at Pasquale's Tamales, Rhoda's Famous Hot Tamales and Smokehouse BBQ. Meet the masters of barbecue like Harold Jones at the James Beard American classic Jones Barbecue Diner in Marianna. Dine where Elvis Presley ate, travel to Bill Clinton's favorite burger joint and cross the roads where Johnny Cash grew up. From legendary catfish havens such as Murry's Restaurant in Hazen to divine drive-ins like the Polar Freeze in Walnut Ridge, author Kat Robinson and photographer Grav Weldon explore more than one hundred classic joints, superb steakhouses, pie places and decadent doughnut palaces in this tasty travelogue.

New Orleans is a city where making sure you have a good meal in your belly and a strong drink in your hand is of the utmost importance. Recently, one drink has been getting more and more attention in New Orleans: beer. The craft brewing revolution of the last 30 or so years has caught hold here, creating what is only the latest chapter in New Orleans's illustrious love affair with boozy concoctions. From old-school breweries like Jax, Regal and Dixie to craft brewers like Abita, NOLA and Bayou Teche, join authors Jeremy Labadie and Argyle Wolf-Knapp to enjoy the first comprehensive history of brewing in New Orleans--a history 287 years long and as wide as the Mississippi.

Nashville's main industry is music. But where good tunes go, good booze follows, so it's no surprise that the city enjoys a lively local beer scene, as well. The city's brewing history dates back to the 1800s, when German immigrants first settled in the area. The rise and fall of Gerst Brewing Company, one of the first established Nashville breweries, left people thirsting for local beer after the company closed its doors in 1954. In the last decade of the century, a boom of brewpubs brought the drinking class some newer, more exotic styles of beer, and the people of Nashville have been under the influence" of creative brewing ever since. Food, beverage and travel writer Chris Chamberlain tells the story of beer from the Music City and introduces us to the breweries and beer lovers that make up a local scene well worth raising a glass to."

Originally published in 1985, More Mountain Spirits" is a companion volume to Joseph Dabney's American classic "Mountain Spirits." More mountain moonshine stories and characters on both sides of the law come to life alongside intoxicating recipes for brandy, wine and beer made from every fruit and vegetable grown in the hills. And of course, there's corn whiskey and real apple cider, too, as well as a step-by-step illustrated guide to building a copper pot still."