anthony: some time ago something crawled, or slithered, or grew like a fungus. something that started small, got bigger, lurched like a swamp thing out of the mud and moist earth and humid nights of the delta. then, it took over the world. so next time some smart ass foreigner, horrified by our latest ham-fisted foreign policy blunder wonders out loud, what good is america? well, you can always pipe up that the blues, rock n roll, r&b, and soul all came out of this place one state mississippi. i took a walk through this beautiful world felt the cool rain on my shoulder found something good in this beautiful world i felt the rain getting colder sha la la la la sha la la la la la sha la la la la sha la la la la la la geno: right now we re in the middle of downtown jackson. farish street. anthony: it is a street with a lot of history. what did it used to be like back in the day? geno: the street was packed with folks. folks all over, they
that is just hard to beat. geno: isn t it good? anthony: mm-hmm. geno: it s a good sandwich. anthony: and, of course, some hot tamales. which, at this point in history, are about as mississippi as they are mexican. like the blues, they came out of mississippi in the early 20th century, as mexican migrant workers came in to replace african-americans who were headed to work in the great factories and stock yards of chicago and detroit. john t. edge: you know, sitting down here, um, eating tamales, we can sketch a history of mississippi. and that s kind of what i m most interested in doing. helping southerners understand that their foods are as african as they are western european. and anthony: if not more. john t. edge: and hopefully by way if not, oh, largely. you know music, and, you know, and all the other cultural expressions in the south. i think food is a sneaky way of getting at some of the serious stuff we ve been talking about. geno: as i told you before, i d
expressions in the south. i think food is a sneaky way of getting at some of the serious stuff we ve been talking about. geno: as i told you before, i didn t know what a cool job or what a cool restaurant i had until you showed it to me. i m just making a living. you know, just like a lot of folks around mississippi. we re not trying to make history, we re not trying to increase tourism, we re not all we re doing is doing what we do. anthony: there is a discomfort level about exploring southern foodways, or particularly mississippi foodways. when you re talking about high-end, traditional southern cooking, you re talking plantation, slavery cooking, cause that s where these recipes came from. so to revel in that you don t wanna tumble into nostalgia you the potential for awkwardness, uh, and offense, is enormous. john t. edge: right. i wanna be careful. i m not saying that s what i want the south to be. i m saying that s what people come to the south looking for. anthony
what a cool restaurant i had until you showed it to me. i m just making a living. you know, just like a lot of folks around mississippi. we re not trying to make history, we re not trying to increase tourism, we re not all we re doing is doing what we do. anthony: there is a discomfort level about exploring southern foodways, or particularly mississippi foodways. when you re talking about high-end, traditional southern cooking, you re talking plantation, slavery cooking, cause that s where these recipes came from. so to revel in that you don t wanna tumble into nostalgia you the potential for awkwardness, uh, and offense, is enormous. john t. edge: right. i wanna be careful. i m not saying that s what i want the south to be. i m saying that s what people come to the south looking for. anthony: right. john t. edge: they come to the south looking for the past preserved in amber. but the reality is something different. i don t wanna fix the past. i don t wanna fix it in 186
expressions in the south. i think food is a sneaky way of getting at some of the serious stuff we ve been talking about. geno: as i told you before, i didn t know what a cool job or what a cool restaurant i had until you showed it to me. i m just making a living. you know, just like a lot of folks around mississippi. we re not trying to make history, we re not trying to increase tourism, we re not all we re doing is doing what we do. anthony: there is a discomfort level about exploring southern foodways, or particularly mississippi foodways. when you re talking about high-end, traditional southern cooking, you re talking plantation, slavery cooking, cause that s where these recipes came from. so to revel in that you don t wanna tumble into nostalgia you the potential for awkwardness, uh, and offense, is enormous. john t. edge: right. i wanna be careful. i m not saying that s what i want the south to be. i m saying that s what people come to the south looking for. anthony