The eternal comfort of down-home cooking, whether called Southern or soul food, is not new. Just look at Beach Road Chicken Dinner in Jacksonville, selling boxes of fried chicken, biscuits and cream peas on Atlantic Boulevard since 1948. It's also been a staple of small-town family restaurants and chains from Cracker Barrel to Florida's Lee Roy Selmon's.
What's new is that Southern dishes get new respect from chefs — and new prices. Chefs in Florida and around the South who emphasized local cooking, slow food and back-to-the-farm values had to admit that the oldest flavors and traditions didn't all come from California and sushi bars.
Besides, chefs and the public have a new love affair with pork, and everyone loves hush puppies and biscuits. They get a bang out of smoking, pickling, baking and making preserves. Restaurants now slow-roast as easily as stir-fry and have lost their fear of deep-fat frying. The South also has buttermilk, watermelon, peaches, pecans, hot peppers, bushels of healthful greens, peas and beans — plus bourbon.