Pretty Southern

As a native North Carolinian, a love for barbecue runs in my blood. This weekend, I made a day trip down to North Carolina from Blacksburg to visit Elon University, where I will go for my master’s degree next fall, and to stop at one of my family’s favorite barbecue restaurants.

Prissy Polly’s Pig-Pickin’ Barbecue, founded in 1991 in Kernersville, N.C., ranks highly on my list of favorite BBQ stops. When we lived in Kernersville when I was young, eating at Prissy Polly’s was almost part of the weekly routine. It had been a decade, if not longer, since I’d last been, and I was quite happy making my return visit.

Prissy Polly’s offers both styles of Carolina barbecue: Eastern and Lexington. The menu offers a wide variety of entree plates, vegetables and desserts. I was quite happy with my half-pound BBQ tray with a side of mac & cheese and hushpuppies (right). Other menu items include fried chicken, pulled pork sandwiches and baby back ribs. Be sure to save some room for a dish of banana pudding, pecan pie or cobbler, too! The banana pudding is definitely not something you want to miss.

If you ever travel through the Greensboro or Winston-Salem area, or if you live in the area, I highly recommend a meal at Prissy Polly’s. It’s an easy stop off I-40, and well worth it!

Prissy Polly’s is located at 729 Hwy 66 S, Kernersville, NC, 27284. Visit their website for more information!

Kate Robertson is a features writer for Pretty Southern, and a senior at Virginia Tech, studying communication and English. Originally form Atlanta, Kate plans to graduate in 2014 to launch a professional career in writing and public relations. Follow her on Twitter @kate3robertson. Click here to read her column “Love VT”.

As the Braves prepare for opening day, Aaron Chewning is also stepping up to the plate. The mastermind behind the Braves “Baselines” a spoof of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” garnered more then 500,000 views on YouTube in 2013. Now to kick off the 2014 season, Aaron Chewning brings us his latest single “Chop Arm Strong”.

Cameos in this video include Jeff Foxworthy, Bert Weiss and Jeff Dauler from Q100, and even Governor Nathan Deal rocking his “A” cap. What do y’all think of this new single? #choparmstrong.

Just for giggles, here’s the marvelous Baselines video.

Imagine finding out you lost your job via the Internet. Classy, right? Well that’s just what happened to Arianne Fielder. Our favorite Pretty Southern bartender got online last night to learn from Eater Atlanta that she was out of a job at Parish. She was contracted to help the Inman Park restaurant revamp its cocktail menu, only to have her salary cut to $7 an hour (a pittance for anyone behind the bar who can’t work for tips). The restaurant is managed by the Concentrics restaurant group, and someone there had the audacity to let Eater know that Arianne was out before having the common decency to tell her first!

Here’s what we know from Arianne’s Facebook page:

“This post was put out by @concentrics to hurt me. And It did. I was so worried it would hurt my professional integrity and was so offended and blindsided that I wasn’t worthy of a face to face conversation by my own bosses who apparently were out to just humiliate me by the press. None the less @eateratlanta my job means nothing without my amazing staff who are undeservingly feeling this lash that this “firing post” put on me. I love my team that is there at parish, who has nothing to do with this foolishness. Please direct your (rightful) disgust to the people who hired and (internet fired?) me. I have grown to love that staff so much and as much as I appreciate the overwhelming support for the wrong done to me.”

Arianne is one of the best bartenders in the South. She’s paved the way for other girls to go kick ass behind the bar here in Atlanta. Her cocktails grace the menu of several leading establishments including Southern Art & Bourbon Bar, Seven Lamps, and Article 14. Her accolades include:

• Esquire Magazine and Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience Regional Winner, Atlanta 2014
• Food and Wine Cocktail Guide 2013, 100 Best New American Bar Programs, Seven Lamps
• Jezebel Magazine “Atlanta’s Best Bar Keep” 2013 Best Of issue
• Atlantan Magazine Restaurant Guide 2013 “#1 Coolest Mixologist”
• Berentzen national competition winner 2012
• Runner up to Taste of Atlanta Bar Craft competition 2011 (pictured above)

No employer should ever think it’s right to talk to the media about releasing their employees (or contractors). This is such bad form for Concentrics. This restaurant brand helped build the empire of Richard Blais and one would think their PR team would know better.

Arianne – you go girl. There’s better times, and cocktails, waiting for you!

Southern Belles
on Nowness.com

Pretty Southern was privileged to participate in “Southern Belles”. This mini-video documentary for Nowness.com – a lovely site that’s truly a “platform for high-end culture experiences online” – features yours truly and our contributing writer Katy Ruth Camp (pictured above with her pup Grady).

Katy Ruth Camp looking ever-so-chic with her pups!

We were thrilled when we heard about this project, documenting the modern, Southern Belle and if she still exists. A few of our sound bites include:

“People have such a strong reaction to Southern Belles because they think about Scarlett O’Hara and the antebellum days with hoop skirts perched n the big front porch of the plantation home.”

“Southern women are so pretty. Not just because they have good genes, but I think they have an inner beauty that shines from the inside out.”

This work will actually turn into a longer documentary later this year, and we’ll be sure to let y’all know when it’s live. In the meantime, be sure to check out the latest Sh%t Southern Women Say and follow Pretty Southern on Twitter for the latest news in the South.

Our take on Panko crusted baked shrimp with cilantro and lime.

In an effort to save money we’ve cut back on going out to eat, so I’ve started making more of the recipes I pin on Pinterest. After all, I somehow had to justify to my husband that I was in fact pinning with a purpose. Hubby really liked these Shrimp with Avocado, Mango, & Tomato Salsa, which was also a Pinterest find, so I decided to try out these Cilantro Lime Baked Shrimp from Gimme Some Oven. It was another perfect Pinterest supper!

Now we reduced our recipe to only 1 lb. of shrimp since we were serving two people, so for four people definitely spring for 2 lbs. of shrimp. Also, you’ll have to whip up a side dish — or perhaps serve these as tacos with Sriracha sauce — because these tasty morsels just aren’t quite enough to make a meal of their own. Regardless, these shrimp are tasty and definitely going into my recipe rotation. Here’s what y’all will need for Cilantro Lime Baked Shrimp with Panko:

Gimme Some Oven’s picture is a lot prettier!

1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, add shrimp, garlic, lime zest and juice, cumin, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer the mixture to a greased 11×7-inch or 9×13-inch baking dish.

In a separate bowl, stir together the melted butter, Panko, and fresh cilantro until combined. Sprinkle the Panko mixture evenly on top of the shrimp.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and no longer opaque. Remove and garnish with extra lime wedges or cilantro if desired.