The Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat in the South Before You Die (and the Recipes That Made Them Famous

Disclosure: As a food blogger, I was given an advanced copy of this book to review. My opinions are my very own, and was not a condition for my advanced copy.

I'm a California girl, and am not an expert about Southern Cooking. That hasn't stopped me from dabbling with learning how to make Southern Food. This cookbook isn't just a cookbook. This cookbook can double as a travel guide for restaurants in the south. It's a journal of various restaurants in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North & South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Each restaurant review gives an overview of their cuisine, atmosphere, specialties and insider tips. One of their recipes (sometimes two) is included.

I'm a visual person, so one of my foremost criterias for cookbooks is that I want photographs. The photographs in this book don't disappoint. They are full-color, beautifully food-styled and helps me to visualize what the finished recipe should look like. Mildly disappointing is that there isn't a photograph for every recipe.

Many of the recipes wouldn't pass for low-cal, but I guess that's the general reputation for Southern Cooking. Still, I bookmarked a few recipes that I would like to make.