I introduce this post with a quintessential Northern greeting compared to the ‘hey y’all’ many soothers greet people by.
That is not the only difference I had to realize when moving down south.
Along with the language differences, I also noticed food and meal differences.
Up north near Philadelphia, which is where I’m from, you can’t go a few miles without finding a place that sells cheesesteaks. Down here not so much.
Eating at Pat’s or Geno’s and deciding which steak shop is the best is one of the top things to check off your Northerner bucket list.
I prefer Pat’s because it doesn’t use Cheese Wiz, but that’s just me.
Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia, Pa.
But what I do enjoy more than anything is the good ole southern home cooking. You can find it as much as finding a place that cooks cheesesteaks up north!
While on spring break, I went to a restaurant called Lamberts, which is a chain found across he country, but has the richest cooking there is.
Lambert’s in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Biscuits, fried okra, fried chicken and meatloaf. One of the best and worst meals I could ever eat.
But I enjoyed every bite.
Living in two completely different regions has opened me up to more than just different styles of cooking.
I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I enjoy and eating a good meal in the process is all I can ask for.
I chose this topic because I love to see how the food I love to eat is made. One of my favorite types of food is barbecue, so I figured the best video project would be to see how a local barbecue place makes their food.
I went to Price’s Barbecue House because they are famous for their breakfast, as well as their barbecue.
Some challenges I faced while shooting this footage was the timing of all the cooking. I couldn’t go during the day because it would have been inconvenient for the cooks to have a student filming what they’re doing. I would have gotten in their way too much, but that’s when all the barbecue is actually made.
I was able to get shots of them preparing the meat during breakfast time, so I can settle for that.
Some decisions I made while filming was to get more than one interview, so I could more easily portray how much people liked Price’s rather than just talking to the owner.
I was able to get lots of shots of bacon being made, as well as different types of egg dishes and grits.
If I were to do this project again, I would probably use a lav mic when interviewing people because the background noise got to be a bit much when I was editing the film.
Some similar videos pertaining to my topic can be found below:
1. La Vara Churros: The Standard Which to Measure Every Churro by Liza de Guia
Alabama is in the heart of the South. And the south means good southern cooking. With southern cooking in mind, every piece of cornbread reminds me of home, so I’m naturally drawn to eating at home-cooking style restaurants quite frequently.
I love love love this restaurant because of the variety of food they offer everyday. There are open during random hours during the week, but that is only because there is only one family that is running the entire restaurant. That is also another aspect I love about the restaurant. It makes me feel like home interacting with the friendly ladies behind the counter.
This restaurant is in Opelika, so out of the way of the normal hustle and bustle of Auburn. I like this restaurant for that fact specifically. Arriving at the restaurant within the tall trees, takes me to a place away from the chaos of my day. Perfect eating environment. Also all the silver is metal, acting like all the utensils came from the early 1800s.
My friend told me about Good ol’ Boys and I made sure to go here at least once a month since then. It’s most famous for it’s cheap, but oh so delicious steaks. Great for a first date because you eat well, but you’ll get out only spending $22 for a dinner for two. Located in a field on Sandhill road, this restaurant is also in the middle of nowhere. I trend I’m recognizing is one of my favorite attributes about a restaurant.
4. Whispering Oaks
Whispering Oaks is located in one of the only renovated plantation homes left in Opelika, Ala. The charm of just the house itself is enough to attract hundreds of people from Auburn and Opelika to enjoy its brunch on Sunday morning. The home cooking is to die for, especially the cornbread. I recommend this place to anyone who’s homesick and looking for a filling meal.
I love barbecue, so I had to make sure to add a barbecue restaurant on this list. Although there are many great barbecue places in Auburn and Opelika, Mike and Ed’s is the cheapest and most convenient. Spending a quick, $5 for a pulled pork sandwich and drink on an Auburn football game day is so nice! The sandwich fills me up for the day and satisfies my barbecue needs! I recommend this place to anyone looking for a decent pulled pork sandwich.
Here is a map of where all my top five restaurants are located:
Each point of the map tells why I reccomened each restaurant and an interesting fact about it! I have listed them from best to less great, but I recommend that you try all of them if you get the chance. I would eat at all of them everyday if I was able to!
Sade Daniels prepares a hot dog with ketchup and mustard for Chris Denson
Doritos, sauerkraut, ketchup, bacon, chili and pickles can all be found on one hot dog, if that is whatcha want.
Although the Whatchawant hot dog stand has only been on campus for approximately two weeks, Danny Daniels, founder of Whatchawant, has been creating connections with Auburn students since the 2013 football season.
“I really got my name out there with the students, and the students would ask me every night when I would be on campus,” Daniels said. “[The business grew because of] the love from my fans, and all the students have really supported me. I love the University, and I love the students.”
Daniels first got the idea of starting a hot dog cart when he visited New York City with his fiancé, Sade Daniels, co-owner of Whatchawant.
“I saw a couple of carts and thought it would be something cool I could bring to Auburn,” Danny said. “I’ve always been into food and wanted to started a couple of businesses when I graduated.”
Danny is only selling his 100 percent beef dogs on campus now.
“Getting back out downtown now depends on working with the city, but game days would really be the time to park it outside the bars,” Danny said.
Whatchawant gets new customers to their cart everyday.
(Photos by Sarah May / Assistant Photo Editor)
“This is my first time [eating the hot dogs], but after this first bite, I’m coming back for many more,” said Chris Denson, senior in business administration.
Danny said he recommends his Whatchawant hot dogs to the every day student and person on campus, including the Tiger Transit bus drivers.
“[The food] gets you away from the norm, on the way to class or a quick transit break,” Danny said. “I don’t like calling them hot dogs because they’re not normal hot dogs. I recommend it for faculty, staff, students and open to everyone.”
Danny said he does not compare his businesses to similar hot dog restaurants.
“[My business is] me providing an experience, and I’ll give you exactly what you want,” Danny said. “That’s why it’s called Whatchawant. I want you to be as creative as possible with the condiments on my cart. You come to buy an experience, not a place to buy a certain meal. Anything you’re mind comes up with I’ll make it for you.”
Sade said their most popular selling hot dog is a chili cheese hot dog.
“We have basically any topping you want,” Sade said. “It’s not a normal hot dog.”
Daniels said he takes pride in selling his 100 percent beef hot dogs.
“They’re something you can’t buy in the store,” Daniels said. “I want to sell high-quality dogs, and I make my chili fresh every morning.”
Denson said he is friends with the owners and recommends Whatchawant to everyone.
“I’m definitely going to spread the word for everyone to come here,” Denson said. “They’re great hot dogs.”
The hot dog stand may be one of many in the near future.
“We’re hoping to get another cart started on the other side of campus,” Sade said. “By the end of the summer, hopefully we’ll have one on the other side.”
Whatchawant hot dog cart is open Monday–Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. next to the Student Center by the Tiger Transit stop.
“I want to let all my fans know that I love them and thank you for all their support,” Daniels said. “Without the students, I wouldn’t be here.”
Superfoods are packed with vital vitamins and minerals and exceed the normal nutritional content.
Auburn students agree with adding foods to their diets that will benefit their health.
“I would be willing to try anything new that is healthy for you,” said Amber Steger, freshman in international business.
Along with antioxidants, these superfoods also contain compounds called phytonutrients, which can be found in many animal and plant products. Each of these phytonutrients plays a specific role in increasing a person’s health.
For example, carrots help with eyesight, and the phytonutrient in blueberries helps with reducing red coloring in your skin tone.
Some of the superfoods include broccoli, asparagus, green tea, tomatoes, Goji berries (which supposedly help in rapid weight loss), cacao, peanut butter and turkey.
“All these foods (and their close relatives) are foods that are nutrient-dense,” said Ann Johnson, graduate assistant in nutrition and food science. “They have a large amount of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals for few calories. I would recommend all of these to be included in a diet,” Johnson said.
Some students already incorporate healthy eating or drinking into their daily habits.
“I love the Naked drinks,” said Dagny Jewell, freshman in finance. “So I’d definitely be willing to put more superfoods in my diet.”
These foods are meant to improve many things throughout your body, including younger skin appearance, increased lifespan, protecting your heart and body from diseases, sleeping more restfully, losing weight more easily and gaining more energy.
Johnson said superfoods cannot fix everything wrong with a person’s health.
“The old adage, ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,’ is revelant here,” Johnson said.
Although some people may say that superfoods are not all that they are cracked up to be, many superfoods are deemed beneficial to the long-term health of an individual.
With more than 300 schools involved in Universities Fighting World Hunger, June Henton, dean of the College of Human Sciences, has created an initiative that influences more than just the Auburn community.
Henton was awarded at the White House for her part in starting the program. She has been a part of it since 2003, when a colleague asked her to look at a website a young professional was developing.
“Her idea was to develop a website that students would come to, to learn more about hunger,” Henton said. “Before I got out of the office someone asked if (Auburn University) would be interested in collaborating with them on this. We came back to campus and started learning more about the issue.”
Henton has had her fair share of causes come across her desk, but this particular one stood out to her because of the work she had been doing with the university task force on sustainability at the time.
Henton found an academic side of this initiative by talking with students about global and domestic hunger issues.
“When I sat and talked with students to see what it meant to them to contribute and pursue a sustainable world, I heard a lot of the environmental aspect, like climate change and global warming, and very little about the human side of hunger,” Henton said. “People need to take that side into consideration if they are going to try to stop hunger issues.”
Universities Fighting World Hunger has a two-part model to address the hunger issue, Henton said.
“We developed a model that had a short-term crisis intervention, which included the grassroots part, which the Committee of 19 currently runs,” Henton said.
The Committee of 19’s name comes from when the World Hunger Initiative first started and people only had to donate 19 cents to feed a child in a developing world, Henton said.
Another part of the model is the long-term approach.
“This calls for the university to be involved through its teaching, research and outreach,” Henton said.
Henton said there are many ways around campus to get involved and fight hunger, including participating in the Beat Bama Food Drive and joining a subcommittee of the Committee of 19.
“The subcommittees can develop a way they want to approach the issue, such as raising awareness, fundraising, collecting food for the East Alabama Food Bank, advocating for world hunger and learning how to contact the congressional delegates or members of the legislature here in Montgomery,” Henton said.
Henton said the ultimate goal is to end world hunger altogether, but many programs are being started in the meantime.
“Not only are we helping to feed hungry people in Montgomery and East Alabama, we are raising awareness and getting other universities on board to do the same thing in their respective locations,” Henton said.
Another goal of the program is to make more students aware about what the key issues are today and what they will be in the future, she said.
“One of the main reasons we’re involved in this is to build the next generation of global leaders,” Henton said. “Not only are we feeding millions of people collectively, we are also building the next generation of global leaders.”
This blog video is the process of making enchiladas, which were very tasty by the way (and you’ll see that at the end). It was a lot of fun making this video because I got to see how Megan Barkdull makes her famous enchiladas that her family has been making for generations!
I also picked up a few tricks from her and made some of my own for the second batch! Hopefully everyone will think they are delicious!
Any problems that I had while filming this piece was just to get the right angles while still portraying what was going on in the process. If I expanded each segment and had a variety of shots and interviews, I could easily turn this into a package for a news station.
While reading Mark Brigg’s book, Journalism Next, it helped to go over the section on taking better photos (pg 147) and reference back to it when I was shooting. I tried to focus on on filling the frame and shooting action shots. Although these all referred to taking better still shots, it still helped to refer back to these when shooting this five-shot sequence because they are shorter takes.
Also while reading Poynter’s article by Casey Frechette called How Journalists can improve video stories with shot sequences, it said to take time to observe your setting before shooting. THAT WAS SO HELPFUL.
Making sure the washer and drawer was off because of the distracting background noise was super helpful. If I didn’t notice that before I started shooting, the video would have been awful.
Without all of these helpful tips my video would have been lacking.
Since everyone likes some good home cooking here’s the ingredients to make these enchiladas.
1. Cream Cheese
2. Small tortillas
3. Taco seasoning
4. Chicken cutlets
5. Enchilada sauce (can be found in any grocery store)
With summer just around the corner, that means people are going to start thinking about what to pack for a long road trip. Whether you’re going to the beach, the mountains or just someone’s house, it’s always a good idea to overpack (if you have the room.)
We packed everything from Ritz crackers to salsa to bananas. We were prepared to say the least.
During my spring break road trip to Orange Beach, Ala., I thankfully learned the benefits of overpacking food. As you can see from the above image, my two friends and I basically only packed food, instead of clothes for our three hour road trip.
Although this may seem like overkill, we ended up not having to grocery shop for more than milk, eggs and bread while at the beach.
That saved us approximately $100!
If someone tells me how to save money, in any aspect of life, as a college student, I’m all ears!
It’s important to overpack not only to save money, but also to combat those unexpected hunger feelings by hour two of the road trip. By the time we got to Florida, I had already wolfed down three Ritz cracker snack packs and more tortilla chips than I’d like to admit.
But without all that food, I would’ve been hangry, a combination of hungry and angry, and no one wants that.
Overall, the importance of planning or overpacking in the food department for road trips that last three hours or more is crucial.
Food insecurity does not only affect poor families, but it also affects students within the Auburn community. Read my story about The Campus Food Pantry and its efforts to give the best opportunities as possible.
Alabama is the second hungriest state in the nation with more than 25 percent of its residents suffering from lack of food security, but a new campus food pantry aims to change this.
“Food insecurity is on the rise and impacts all ages,” said Katherine Hettinger, coordinator of student advocacy and case management. “Alabama is the sixth poorest state with 19 percent of its residents living below the poverty line.”
Hettinger defines food insecurity as a person who does not know from where their next meal will come.
The Campus Food Pantry will provide students with non-perishable food items.
“The Campus Food Pantry will be a confidential environment for students in need to receive assistance,” Hettinger said.
The Campus Food Pantry is an initiative run by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs that started in April.
The goal of The Campus Food Pantry is to take care of the Auburn family.
“The Food Bank of East Alabama reports that 15,220 people in Lee County, about 10 percent of the population, are defined as food insecure,” Hettinger said. “We know that Auburn University students are accessing the Food Bank of East Alabama and other food pantries in the area. We believe it is important that the Auburn Family take care of its family members, and that is why we wanted to establish a food pantry on campus.”
The Campus Food Pantry hopes to help the surprising number of students struggling to get food, said King.
“Our goal is to help every student who walks through the Campus Food Pantry door,” King said.
King said the new food pantry can’t succeed without student contributions as well.
“The Campus Food Pantry combines student advocacy with community service by allowing Auburn students to assist one another,” King said.
Appetites in Auburn 