Vegetarianism in the South

Well, suffice it to say that Daryl is in heaven. There are BBQ joints on every corner. You can get BBQ ribs, pork, Sausage; and Fried everything. By everything, I mean everything. If you can eat it, it can be fried! They have Fried Pickles out here! By the way, Yum! :)

As a vegetarian my diet is leaning way to heavily on the fried foods; French fries, Chips, Green Beans, Onion Rings; Quesadilla,  Occasionally Potato salad, and once even Broccoli soup! My stomach has been mildly on and off strike since about Texas. Alka-seltzer, and sometimes Pepto Bismal is helping. Sometimes it's a bit more painful than that when my gall bladder can't keep up.

Daryl and I have decided that we just won't be eating together out here. When there is awesome BBQ to eat, there isn't much in the way for me. I don't like coleslaw, Okra, or Baked beans, the potato salad is usually just ok, and every time I have seen green beans, they have either been fried, as in batter fried, or they have been cooked within an inch of their life so that they still sort of resemble green beans but they in no way taste like them.

When there is decent Vegetarian food, Daryl of course can eat something, but why when there are so many really really good meat dishes out here.

We were just in Memphis Tennessee and on our first attempt at this eating in separate places we stopped at a place called De ja Vu, for me. Turns out it is a renowned restaurant  know for it's good southern soul and vegetarian cooking. Go figure. I had the best Quesadilla there. Spinach and mushroom. Where neither the mushrooms or the spinach was overcooked.

In a written interview with the owner and chef he says his least favorite herb to cook with is dried Oregano because it's too bitter. So I asked him about that, letting him know I feel the same way, Oregano is too bitter. But he said, only the dried Oregano. He uses leaf oregano or fresh oregano you don't get the bitter taste. I'm going to have to try that at home now.