If you're from the Big Easy or can get there next month, be sure to check out the grand opening of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.
The SoFAB was founded in 2004 as a non-profit tribute to the food and drinks of the South. They host a number of interesting collections including restaurant menus from across the Southern states. Some of those are pretty interesting as any Southerner knows. The menus also are made available for researchers through the University of New Orleans as noted on the SoFAB web page:
"We constantly search for menus from restaurants of the American South. From diners all the way up to the saintly temples of culinaria. Diners, honky-tonks, barbeque joints, cafeterias, fine food establishments. New and old. Currently operating or long closed. We want them. Menus are catalogued and archived at the University of New Orleans and are made available to researchers and historians."
The museum is now moving to the heart of New Orleans, so it will be more convenient for locals and tourists to drop in and learn about Southern eats. Everyone is busy now getting things moved over and setting up special displays for the grand opening on June 7, 2008.
SoFAB has also kicked off a new wiki and hopes to share more great information about Southern food culture.
If you can't make the grand opening of the southern food museum, plan to visit when you get to the area. Also, think about adding information at the wiki or donating items to the wonderful museum collection. Food lore is such an important part of the South, and it's great that someone is taking the time to gather and organize these flavors of the South.
