Southern Breeze Magazine - The Good Life on the Gulf Coast

we’ve taken all the best of the gulf coast and cut it down to eight things for the
second annual southern breeze hot list!

3 - The Spice of Life

Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning

Tony Chachere's I have to admit that I haven’t been this obsessed with a seasoning since I was turned on to Dale’s Steak Sauce in my college days in Tuscaloosa (I even tried it in macaroni & cheese . . . not a good combo), but I can’t get enough of Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. I first discovered it at the Southern Breeze offices where it sat in a kitchen cabinet but once I tried it on a hard-boiled egg, it hasn’t stayed in the cabinet much.

The brainchild of the eponymous namesake, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning was originally a recipe in the company’s popular Cajun Country Cookbook. But after fans clamored for the man to make it himself, it soon found its way to grocery shelves. Since then, the Opelousas, Louisiana-based company has expanded into other products including dinner mixes, marinades, batter mixes, pralines, and more to become your one-stop shop for Creole cooking.

The ingredients are simple: salt, red pepper, garlic, and “other spices,” but the result is extraordinary. With an equal salty and spicy kick, this delectable seasoning adds much-needed spice to a variety of foods that would otherwise be rendered mundane . . . regardless of how good they are for you (I’m looking your way, Lean Cuisine!). And for the weight conscious among us, there are no calories or MSG and just one sprinkling transforms even the dullest celery stick into a healthy craving.—Mark A. Newman
Image courtesy of Tony Chachere's Creole Foods, Inc.

4 - Belle of the Big Apple

Belle in the Big Apple She may be a New York City hot shot, but her Gulf Coast roots make Brooke Parkhurst even hotter! It was along the Southern shores that this Gulf Coast native began developing her skills of writing alongside her grandfather and cooking with her mother. It didn’t take Brooke long to realize her love for writing, cooking, and writing about cooking, so when the time came to pursue a career, the decision was simple.

Brooke bid adieu to the Coast and headed for Davidson College where she would further develop her skills. While attending school, she spent her weekdays as an intern at a Charlotte, North Carolina news station and her weekends creating pastries in the kitchen of Dean & DeLuca. During a weekend trip to New York City, Brooke placed second in NBC’s Aspiring Young Journalists competition and it didn’t take her long to decide her next move. The Big Apple was calling this Southern Belle!

During an intense stint in the bustling world of New York City television news, Brooke realized she felt more at home in the kitchen than the newsroom, so she quit her job as a birthday present to herself. And that decision turned out to be a great present indeed—it was during this time that Brooke wrote her debut novel, Belle in the Big Apple, the story of a Gulf Coast native and her adventures in New York City. But the book comes with an added bonus —delectable recipes any Southerner is guaranteed to swoon over. In addition to her book release in 2008, Brooke also debuted her “Belle in the Big Apple Food and Wine” column right here on the Gulf Coast in the Pensacola News Journal.

As if her career weren’t enough to keep this Southern girl turned New Yorker busy, Brooke’s personal life is keeping her on her toes as well. In 2008, Brooke wed the love of her life. And the couple recently received the news that they will be expecting a daughter later this year. Amid the book signings, planning for her first child, and the numerous other projects this Gulf Coast hottie has going on, she still makes time to return to her home on the Gulf Coast whenever possible to “enjoy the easy life” as she calls it.—Courtney Austin

Image courtesy ofSimon & Schuster

5 - Favorite Hangout

Shady’s Global Grille & Oyster Bar, Biloxi

Shady's I’ll admit it: I have favorites. You can’t help it when you travel our beautiful Gulf Coast so much. Part of the fun is seeking out new places to stay, eat, drink, party, and so forth. Then again, there’s something to be said for familiarity.

Like the comfort of a favorite chair or the sound of a favorite song, everyone should have at least one favorite restaurant or bar that they come back to time and time again. For me, when I’m visiting or just passing through coastal Mississippi, I seldom miss the chance to pay a visit to Shady’s Global Grille & Oyster Bar on Pass Road in Biloxi. With an eclectic menu featuring everything from Creole to sizzling steaks and spicy Thai dishes, if you can’t find something you like at Shady’s, you’re just not very hungry.

In an unassuming building a few blocks away from Keesler Air Force Base, Shady’s clientele is just as eclectic as its menu. From beach bums in flip-flops to professionals in suits and ties to tables full of soldiers who just finished their shifts, these diners and drinkers are a true microcosm of what makes the Gulf Coast so unique.

Typically I belly up to the 20-ft.-long bar in the main dining room and settle in with a cup of Shady’s multi-award-winning gumbo and one of their lip-smacking specialty cocktails. My favorite is the SoCo Sling; with both bourbon and Southern Comfort, how can you go wrong? Depending on the length of my stay, I strike up a conversation with a bartender or a fellow patron.

Shady’s is not necessarily the spot where everybody knows my name, but with a combination of great food, tasty drinks, and a familial atmosphere, for me it’s as good as it gets.—Mark A. Newman

Image by Charles Punzo

See more of the 2009 Hot List!

Published in the Spring 2009 issue

hoobastank

Picked by Mark A. Newman

I think one of the things I like most about life along the Gulf Coast is it’s always full of surprises. You never know who you’ll run into, what you’ll get to taste, where you’ll go that will be your new favorite restaurant, bar, hotel, B&B, store, or even city or town!

I discovered a new favorite place to see live music this year at the Soul Kitchen in downtown Mobile, Alabama. Created out of the remnants of a long-closed Woolworth’s department store, this is the premier spot to see live bands. What drew me to the Soul Kitchen recently was an appearance by my favorite band, the Grammy-nominated group Hoobastank, who was out promoting its latest CD, “For(n)ever.”

When you go to Soul Kitchen, you better be sure you’re dressed for comfort because you won’t be sitting down. To maximize audience participation, the venue has a “general admission” policy with a stage at one end of the former dime store with plenty of room for almost 1,000 fans to rock out to their collective hearts’ content!

Local Mobile rockers, Top of the Orange, opened for Hoobastank and they were fantastic in their own right. Yet another surprise. Who could’ve imagined such a talented group right here in your own backyard? As good as the opening act was, it’s hard to compare to the headliner because when Hoobastank took the stage the hundreds of fans in the house went nuts.

And nobody was more surprised than me that I was among those going as nuts as anyone. Also I am glad to report that Hoobastank puts on an amazing live show. They played a mix of songs from their biggest hits (the 2004 Grammy-nominated single The Reason, Crawling in the Dark, Same Direction), songs from the new CD “For(n)ever” (My Turn, So Close, So Far, I Don’t Think I Love You), as well as lesser known—but still awesome—tunes (Out of Control and First of Me, which also happens to be my ring tone…I’m not kidding when I say I’m a huge fan!).

A few short month later, after Soul Kitchen and Hoobastank were featured in our Spring 2009 Hot List issue, I saw the band again when they performed at the Bottling Company in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. After the show, I presented them with a few issues featuring their Soul Kitchen performance and the guys were truly stoked (I think I was more stoked to meet them, but hey). And that’s when the above photo was taken with Hoobastank’s lead singer Doug Robb holding a Southern Breeze.

It just goes to show you that you never know who you’ll run into as you travel up and down the glorious Gulf Coast!