A plate of fried everything at Cock of the Walk.
Laura Hutson: Finally, after years of shouting the restaurant's name whenever I drove by, I had the opportunity to dine at Cock of the Walk, the weirdest basic-South restaurant I've eaten at in years. And I loved it! The waiting room is spacious and filled with wooden rocking chairs and headshots of country singers, they give you a bucket of cole slaw as you sit down, the drinks are served in tin mugs, the servers wear brimmed hats with feathers in them, and the food is great, as long as you like fried stuff. This is the place you should be taking out-of-towners looking for a real Southern experience — it's like if Shoney's met Cracker Barrel and they had a baby.
Dana Kopp Franklin: For the first time in ages, I ate breakfast at the hot bar at Whole Foods in Green Hills. I noticed they now have a whole section devoted to Paleo-diet-friendly foods. That's NOT what I had. I enjoyed scrambled eggs, grits and shockingly good French toast — very rich and custardy. I'm plotting reasons to go back.
Stephen Trageser: One of my favorite traditions is making Chex Party Mix for my Christmas get-together. My family says I'm a genius at it, but it's only because my mom told me to double the spices (and butter) in the recipe on the box and throw in a dash of red pepper (thanks, Mom!). I follow the quantities to the letter for the chocolate-and-peanut-butter version (do you call it Puppy Chow? Muddy Buddies?), but I like to throw some nutmeg in with the powdered sugar for a little extra zing. Rocket science it's not, but it disappears pretty quick.
A giant pile of blue cheese chips from Felix's Fish Camp.
Amanda Haggard: You might notice a trend here, but I baked more sweet things this weekend. I had an abundance of lemons and some overripe bananas — and I'm going out of town soon — so I concocted a few goodies. I made lemon cake truffles covered in milk chocolate, lemon pound cake with cream cheese frosting and bourbon-banana bread with dark chocolate chips. And in case you're wondering: Yes, I do eat foods that aren't sugar-covered carbs.
Megan Seling: While visiting family in Alabama, we had a late, leisurely lunch at the very goofy but endearing Felix's Fish Camp on Mobile Bay. The view is perfect — we watched several pelicans hunt for fish in the bay. I'm a vegetarian, so food options are limited for me, but I loved the blue cheese waffle-cut potato chips appetizer. It was rich and crunchy — perfect and indulgent junk food for a slow weekend of catching up and chilling out. (They also have a fried cheesecake burrito — FRIED CHEESECAKE BURRITO — but we were too chicken to try it.)
