A Day at South: A Philadelphia Institution

As I walked into the iconic restaurant South with the chef and mayor, I couldn't help but feel like I was stepping into a culinary institution. The chef, a master of his craft, greeted me warmly and began to explain the art of making their famous cornbread. "It's one of our signature items," he said with a smile, "and it's one of the things that people go crazy about." He revealed that the recipe was a closely guarded secret, but I managed to pick up on a few hints - the use of fine ground cornmeal and a generous amount of sugar were among them.

The chef continued to share his passion for cooking with me, explaining that he loved to experiment with new ingredients and techniques. "Cornbread i just bake it and i pretend i have guests and then i eat it and it's great," he joked, revealing a clever trick for ensuring the cornbread is always delicious. As we chatted, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful presentation of the dish - a perfectly golden-brown crust with a delicate dusting of sugar on top.

But what really sets South apart from other restaurants is its commitment to using only the freshest, highest-quality ingredients. The chef explained that he was particularly fond of Queen's White Corn, which added a unique texture and flavor to the cornbread. "It's not just about the food," he said, "it's about the whole total experience. It's nice when you go to a place and people recognize you and they know what you like." This sense of community is palpable at South, where the staff is warm and welcoming, and the atmosphere is always lively.

As we sat down to enjoy our meal, I couldn't help but ask about the chef's background. "You're the mayor," I said with a smile, trying to get his autograph for my friend who lives in New York City. He chuckled good-naturedly and revealed that he had indeed been a city official at one point, but had long since traded in his suit for a chef's coat. Instead of governing, he now ruled the kitchen at South, where he has been cooking up a storm for years.

The restaurant itself is a beloved institution in Philadelphia, with roots dating back to the 1950s. The mayor explained that his family had grown up eating at the restaurant, and that it was one of their favorite family traditions. "We've come into this family's restaurants for years," he said fondly of the chef, who was, in turn, a longtime friend of the mayor's.

As we finished our meal and prepared to leave, I asked about the city's food scene, which has been steadily gaining recognition in recent years. "I know New York gets all the attention," I said with a laugh, but the mayor was quick to disagree. "In terms of variety and traditional preparation," he argued, "Philadelphia is definitely on par with any other major city in the world. You can eat your way around the world in one night here - it's that diverse."

The final word of the meal came from the chef himself, as we finished up our buttered cornbread. "It's a piece of love," he said wistfully, holding up his plate for me to see. The image was instantly recognizable - a faded Polaroid taken when the restaurant was first renovated, capturing the essence of a bygone era.

As I left South that evening, I felt grateful for the experience and already knew that I would be returning soon. This was more than just a meal - it was a taste of Philadelphia itself, with all its warmth, hospitality, and culinary delights on full display.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: eni love this layering of ingredients you know i watch your show and there's always some ingredient that someone refuses to say what it is unfortunately i have one of those also and it's a particular type of flour that i use already mixed with a cornbread to be very special you're not going to tell me what it can i cannot tell what this is can i guess you can you're not going to tell me are you i'm not going to tell you but it makes all the difference in the world it's not chickpea flour it's not is it rice flour okay good salt i'm alex fornicelli and i love a great food story so i'm hitting the road to meet the people behind some of philly's most beloved restaurants this is fix me a plate philadelphia it's my honor to be here at south with you chef what are we making today we're going to make our humble cornbread it's one of our signature items it's one of the things that people go crazy about i noticed yellow cornmeal yes your fave mm-hmm fine ground ooh very fine so that bakes up nicely oh lots of sugar like i said oh my god that's a lot there's a lot of sugar that is more baking powder than any home cook is that's what i use in a year at home no it's not yeah you're right really no salt no salt you know we chefs we're always cooking for other people cornbread i just bake it and i pretend i have guests and then i eat it and it's great the next morning also yeah if it makes it if it hangs around the ranch that long right i like it the next day toasted yeah are you ready for butter i am ready for butter sweet it's almost like pancake batter when you want a couple lumps just because you don't want to over beat it you mean like what your secret ingredient might be pancake batter it's not that that'd be good now is there corn in it oh horn queen white corn pulled queen white corn i love that one more that looks about right we do a nice dusting of sugar on top of that so when it cooks up we don't get a nice crush the cap on top and i think that's one of the things that makes the porn very really beautiful the way it cracks cornbread cap the sugar texture before it just looks so good it's so golden brown it must be those secret ingredients you didn't tell us about i just wanted to i'd like that you have your secrets i'm with it it's a philadelphia thing it is you know it's an underdog city so you hide a little something so you always over deliver we don't cheat but we like to come out on top that's right so we're here eating this amazing food at south one of your concepts and i understand you're a regular customer yeah i come in here as well does they just refurbish the med up the street which is fortunate for these two restaurants the type of traffic they get now what's your job i'm the mayor you're the mayor of last time i checked still on the job they've come into this family's restaurants for years i don't know if the mayor of my city is a loyal customer who follows chefs to various concepts food is is authentic and um the people here are authentic and just an enjoyable place to be so you both grew up here yeah i grew up i grew up here as well his dad's famous too from he's a montford point marine right he's a he is a month for appointment what's that he's one of the first african-american marines he's responsible for for what we do today my brother myself started up in the tavern business and then later on in nightclubs and eventually into music venues or um supper clubs each of our venues sort of is the marriage of food and music so we do music at all of our locations whether it be r b whether it's jazz uh whether it's blues so there's always something that's a little cerebral to go along with the food that's going to fill the belly south is sort of homage to the southern food we like it to be an establishment that is very warm and welcoming full of southern hospitality and makes you feel good and it's comforting i know it sounds cliche that philadelphia is a melting pot but i mean it really is so many unique people the food always takes the highlight but i think it's it's not just about the food it's about the whole total experience it's nice when you go to a place and people recognize you and they know what you like i'll tell you i like this generations stay here because there's a love for the city you've got really top of the line uh restaurants here and i think a lot of extremely talented chefs i had no idea philadelphia was this food mecca i know new york gets all the attention but i would think that in terms of what we have to offer just in terms of the variety and the traditional sense in terms of authentic preparations and things like that you could go out and eat in philadelphia different place every night and not repeat it so diverse you you can eat your way around the world in one night it's a great place to be it's affordable to live here too it really is i mean you guys are a commercial for me to leave new york this is a piece of love park that it was taken when it was redone i love this so i'm going to bring a little chunk of philly home with me what does it say back here i know a bunch of realtors please stay thank you so much for the speciali love this layering of ingredients you know i watch your show and there's always some ingredient that someone refuses to say what it is unfortunately i have one of those also and it's a particular type of flour that i use already mixed with a cornbread to be very special you're not going to tell me what it can i cannot tell what this is can i guess you can you're not going to tell me are you i'm not going to tell you but it makes all the difference in the world it's not chickpea flour it's not is it rice flour okay good salt i'm alex fornicelli and i love a great food story so i'm hitting the road to meet the people behind some of philly's most beloved restaurants this is fix me a plate philadelphia it's my honor to be here at south with you chef what are we making today we're going to make our humble cornbread it's one of our signature items it's one of the things that people go crazy about i noticed yellow cornmeal yes your fave mm-hmm fine ground ooh very fine so that bakes up nicely oh lots of sugar like i said oh my god that's a lot there's a lot of sugar that is more baking powder than any home cook is that's what i use in a year at home no it's not yeah you're right really no salt no salt you know we chefs we're always cooking for other people cornbread i just bake it and i pretend i have guests and then i eat it and it's great the next morning also yeah if it makes it if it hangs around the ranch that long right i like it the next day toasted yeah are you ready for butter i am ready for butter sweet it's almost like pancake batter when you want a couple lumps just because you don't want to over beat it you mean like what your secret ingredient might be pancake batter it's not that that'd be good now is there corn in it oh horn queen white corn pulled queen white corn i love that one more that looks about right we do a nice dusting of sugar on top of that so when it cooks up we don't get a nice crush the cap on top and i think that's one of the things that makes the porn very really beautiful the way it cracks cornbread cap the sugar texture before it just looks so good it's so golden brown it must be those secret ingredients you didn't tell us about i just wanted to i'd like that you have your secrets i'm with it it's a philadelphia thing it is you know it's an underdog city so you hide a little something so you always over deliver we don't cheat but we like to come out on top that's right so we're here eating this amazing food at south one of your concepts and i understand you're a regular customer yeah i come in here as well does they just refurbish the med up the street which is fortunate for these two restaurants the type of traffic they get now what's your job i'm the mayor you're the mayor of last time i checked still on the job they've come into this family's restaurants for years i don't know if the mayor of my city is a loyal customer who follows chefs to various concepts food is is authentic and um the people here are authentic and just an enjoyable place to be so you both grew up here yeah i grew up i grew up here as well his dad's famous too from he's a montford point marine right he's a he is a month for appointment what's that he's one of the first african-american marines he's responsible for for what we do today my brother myself started up in the tavern business and then later on in nightclubs and eventually into music venues or um supper clubs each of our venues sort of is the marriage of food and music so we do music at all of our locations whether it be r b whether it's jazz uh whether it's blues so there's always something that's a little cerebral to go along with the food that's going to fill the belly south is sort of homage to the southern food we like it to be an establishment that is very warm and welcoming full of southern hospitality and makes you feel good and it's comforting i know it sounds cliche that philadelphia is a melting pot but i mean it really is so many unique people the food always takes the highlight but i think it's it's not just about the food it's about the whole total experience it's nice when you go to a place and people recognize you and they know what you like i'll tell you i like this generations stay here because there's a love for the city you've got really top of the line uh restaurants here and i think a lot of extremely talented chefs i had no idea philadelphia was this food mecca i know new york gets all the attention but i would think that in terms of what we have to offer just in terms of the variety and the traditional sense in terms of authentic preparations and things like that you could go out and eat in philadelphia different place every night and not repeat it so diverse you you can eat your way around the world in one night it's a great place to be it's affordable to live here too it really is i mean you guys are a commercial for me to leave new york this is a piece of love park that it was taken when it was redone i love this so i'm going to bring a little chunk of philly home with me what does it say back here i know a bunch of realtors please stay thank you so much for the special\n"