The Southern Culture of Chapel Hill and its Effects on Food

“Good ol’ southern food” and “Best Bar-B-Que around” are some of the common phrases I heard when asking about southern food around UNC. Chapel Hill is a very culturally diverse area filled with restaurants from numerous places around the world. One thing Chapel Hill is especially famous for is its expression of the Southern culture. When people think of the South, one theme that is commonly brought up is the food. There are many famous restaurants whose portrayal of the South varies based on the atmosphere, the food, and the layout of that particular place. I have visited three different places in Chapel Hill observing the way each expresses Southern culture: Mama Dip’s, Allen and Sons Bar-B-Que, and A Southern Season. When walking up to Mama Dip’s restaurant I was overcome by the delicious smell of my grandma’s cooking. The aroma brought back memories of going out to my grandma’s house and eating a big meal with my entire family so right away I felt at home. The outwards appearance of the restaurant was aesthetically calming and really gave off a homey feeling. The large, wooden porch wrapped around the entire front of the restaurant making the restaurant look similar to an old-timey southern home. There were several white rocking chairs and a table to play checkers placed on the porch along with flowers and plants welcoming guests to come up, relax, and enjoy the comfort and friendly conversation the restaurant has to offer. My initial feeling of the restaurant sparked memories of my own from the South and made me feel calm and relaxed as I entered the restaurant and I’m sure that every customer, whether they have experienced southern culture or not, would have some vibe of the South by the time they left. When I entered into the restaurant, several southern-like antiques and décor were all along the walls and in cabinets. Under the cashier’s counter, many old pots and other types of pottery owned by Mama Dip are on display. Several special items made by Mama Dip like special cornbread mix and poppy seed dressing are along the walls for customers to purchase. “Mama Dip’s Family Cookbook” is also on display for people to buy which has become famous all over North Carolina for its southern recipes. These items give the customer a feel of the “Old South” when they enter. This feeling of the “Old South” is the way Mama Dip has chosen to resemble southern culture in her restaurant. After interviewing Mama Dip about the restaurant and how she came about as a famous cook, I quickly understood her portrayal of the South. She was born and raised on a farm and, being the only girl in the family, had to learn to cook and take care of her other brothers at an early age in life. This type of upbringing allowed her to “get to know the food” and is what enabled her to be so successful once she arrived in Chapel Hill. The success of her restaurant grew as she continued to cook the same recipes she had always made growing up and turned Mama Dip’s into a thriving family-ran business on Rosemary Street. She has four children, two grandchildren, and a nephew all currently working in the restaurant. This background of Mama Dip’s life shows in her business because once I was inside, it was like becoming part of the family and she was just taking care of her “family” like she had been her whole life. The layout inside Mama Dip’s is unique with one area for small groups of people, four or less, that are placed relatively close to one another and often resort in conversations between tables. There is another area for larger groups of people with long tables and several chairs all around to accompany any size “family” that may enter. There is also a display area at the front of the restaurant where there are several pies, special cakes, and wines for anyone to buy. These different sections or rooms makes the restaurant seem more like a house where the customers, Mama Dip, and the workers alike are all a part of the same family. The next two places I visited were A Southern Season and the Weathervane. I could tell an immediate difference as I walked up to the doors. I saw people walking out of the restaurant with very nice clothing and just from looking at the outside architecture of the building I could tell this place would be a bit more upscale than Mama Dip’s. There was quaint outside seating in metal chairs, instead of the wooden rocking chairs at Mama Dip’s, that surrounded a large water fountain and lovely garden scenery. As I entered through the Weathervane, I felt very under dressed for the restaurant because most of the customers were wearing button downs or collared shirts while the waiters and waitresses wore clothing that resembled a tuxedo. The tables were draped with nice white table cloths and there was a fancy bar area which further portrayed the restaurant’s upscale vibe. Unlike Mama Dip’s, I did not receive the same warm, southern feel upon entering and would not have even known it was a southern restaurant if I had not already been told so. The Weathervane seemed to portray the South in a “newer” and more upscale light. There were no southern like pottery or decorations throughout the restaurant, but instead fancy paintings and other eloquent items that could be found in any other nice place. There was an upstairs area called The Mezzanine which allowed customers to overlook the patio fountain and garden area which would give the diner’s experience a more romantic feel. However, both the Weathervane and A Southern Season seem to base its culture link on the respect and hospitality of the South. After asking a worker in A Southern Season what exactly is “southern” about the place, his response was, “The quality of our goods and our good ol’ southern hospitality.” A Southern Season prides itself on its variety and quality of all of its products and every worker seemed cheerful, polite, and helpful as I made my way through the store. Of course, with top quality often comes with expensive prices as nothing in the store was all that cheap. They had a wide variety of all of their products such as several types of coffee beans, cheeses, wines, sauces, dressings, pastas, and more. From this variety, some of the items were locally grown or made from southern farmers around Chapel Hill and North Carolina. However, the central area for southern culture in A Southern Season resides in its “The Best of North Carolina” section. Here, there are many products made specifically in North Carolina such as nuts, handmade crafts, and sugary sweets that are made by the South for the South. From the moment I walked up the gravel driveway and saw the sign out front with its paint chipping so that the words were hardly still visible, I knew this was exactly how I would imagine a barbeque joint to look like. The last place I visited was Allen and Son Bar-B-Que. This place could be similarly linked to the same vibe portrayed at Mama Dip’s; however, it still had its own uniqueness all the same. The restaurant gave off this country boy kind of vibe and as I entered my feelings were confirmed as I noticed there were several animal trophies from previous hunts hung up all along the walls. There were also paintings on the walls of southern scenes of nature and hunting. Unlike The Weathervane, I saw men in overalls, people in plain casual wear, and even one man still dressed in camouflage as if he had just finished hunting. The back of the restaurant is where they cook the barbeque and occasionally you could catch a whiff of the smoky aromas as the cooks walked through. The workers there seemed like genuine country boys who pride themselves on their famous barbeque. Allen and Son seemed to portray the South from a manlier southern viewpoint than Mama Dip’s focusing on the “good ol’ country boy” in all of us. Rather than flowers and pottery and cute southern like decorations in Mama Dip’s, Allen and Son had stuffed deer, wild cats, and fish hung up along with pictures of the great outdoors. The tables were set up similar to Mama Dip’s, yet had the checkered style table cloth that are typically seen in other southern style restaurants like Bill’s or Parker’s (Two restaurants found in Wilson, my hometown) or even on a picnic. Each table had a small vase of flowers on it as well which to me portrays the restaurant’s southern hospitality and respect to its customers. The chairs were similar to something a family may have at home which makes an attempt to let the customer feel more like they are in their own home when eating here rather than in a restaurant. In all the places I visited, I was able to distinguish what made these places famous and how they each differently portrayed southern culture. Mama Dip’s seemed to show the South as the “Old South” relating to the southern values of family, farming, and friends. The Weathervane and A Southern Season expressed southern culture as more of a newer, modern, and gourmet South with high quality and fanciness along with genuine southern hospitality. Finally, Allen and Son Bar-B-Que showed the South as the “Old South” similar to Mama Dip’s, yet with a more masculine feel to it. Overall, I was able to learn more about the southern culture within Chapel Hill and how it is expressed throughout famous southern restaurants.