They Do WHAT in Dallas, Texas?

Lisa Fain, author of the book and food blog, The Homesick Texan (shout out to my dear friend CAJ for bringing this to my attention) writes about a dish that is unique to Dallas: brisket tacos. I had never heard of it, much less tried it. Having lots of bbq brisket flowing through our soul food kitchen, I had to try it. Damn! I put it on the menu, at least for a limited time, to see how it flies in Tel Aviv.

This dish is a reminder to me of just how expansive and diverse the South is — geographically, sociologically, historically. The foods I grew up on in the Low Country (Atlantic coastline between, say Brunswick, Georgia and Charleston South Carolina, with the epicenter obviously being Savannah) were totally different from the ones my friend CAJ knows growing up in Gladewater, Texas or the ones in Tidewater Virginia or in the Gulf region of Biloxi, Mississippi. Each area its own distinct culinary ecosystem.

I grew up on shellfish (shrimp, crabs, oysters) and catfish and okra and fried chicken. So it was a revelation whenever I drove around different parts of the South: A road trip to New Orleans after college was mind-blowing: totally different cuisine. The same with the summer I spent working on a sweet potato farm in southwest Georgia. Or sampling the Cuban palate on trips to my friend Ben’s family home in Key West, Florida. Or remembering being flummoxed about how to eat the soft shell crabs of the Chesapeake Bay. I’d never seen that before.

One of the many delights of this soul food journey, especially during the travel limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is the opportunity to do all of this travelling and discovery right here in my kitchen. OK, it’s not the same as going on a true southern foodie road trip (way up there on my bucket list). But pretty damn good. And, as always, I’m damn curious to see how my local Tel Aviv guests take to these forays.