by Beth McKibben
After only its second year, the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival is already becoming a must-attend event, not only in Atlanta, but in the South. The excitement filled every nook and cranny of the May air in Midtown this past weekend. Everyone from chef to sommelier to festival goer walked around with a smile on their face, giddy with Southern pride.

News of a “True Blood” cookbook had Trubies salivating when it was announced in March. San Francisco’s Chronicle Books has teamed up with HBO for the project, set to release August 29, but details are as slim as one of Bon Temps’ blood-craving vampires.

Southern food is fast becoming the nation’s new “it” cuisine. New York restaurants are all trying their hand at fried chicken, and eateries with a Southern theme are popping up in each of the city’s boroughs. Based in the Big Apple, Bon Appetit Magazine called the South “America’s New Food Capital” in its February issue.

Southerners have long known we have a special cuisine and some downright good food down here, but Southern food used to be limited to home kitchens, with mothers and grandmothers serving as the keepers of family recipes. Now that the rest of America is discovering the cuisine, chefs are stepping up to the plate to show that Southern food can be modern and healthy.

Each spring, as the camellias start to bloom and the days get a little bit longer, Girl Scouts begin setting up tables in front of local businesses. If you have a Scout for a neighbor, you might get a knock on the door, but otherwise you’ll need to drive around town to get your annual cookie fix.

Introduced in honor of the Girl Scouts 100th anniversary this year, Savannah Smiles are bite-sized, lemon-flavored and dusted in powdered sugar.

New Year’s Day in the South means two things: food and football. But it’s the former that takes center stage on this day. The South has a rich history filled with food and, to many, it’s the tradition behind why we eat certain dishes on New Year’s that keeps us eating them year after year.