Food: An Elegant Sufficiency

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No regional American cuisine is so original or so richly varied as that of the South, and finally there is a single volume that explores all of its delectable diversity. Southern Food, by John Egerton (Knopf; 408 pages; $22.95), combines history and lore, recipes and personalities plus, as lagniappe for travelers, a selection of restaurants in the South recommended for firsthand sampling. Egerton, a Nashville-based writer with a lifelong passion for food, has included a bibliography of writings about Southern food and quotes on this colorful cuisine from a variety of authors and observers. In describing Southern manners, he recalls how a good Georgia girl was taught by her grandmother that when she wanted to be excused from the table, she should say, "I've had an elegant sufficiency." Exactly what Egerton provides so deliciously.