The Dixie Cafe, Reconstructed
As I mentioned in a comment on Kevin’s blog, I recently made a long road trip of almost 1,200 miles across Texas and back, mostly through rural counties and small towns, and saw only a handful of Confederate flags — literally, few enough to count on both hands. That’s a little surprising, given the assurances being made in some quarters about a widespread, popular, groundswell of support for the Confederate flag. Maybe it’s happening in other places, but not so much in Texas.
One place I expected to see a Confederate flag, but didn’t, came early in the trip, at Johnny Reb’s Dixie Cafe in Hearne. Sure enough, they changed their signage last month (above), dropping both the flag and the Johnny Reb reference in favor of a more generic Lone Star.
One of the restaurant’s partners, Sharon Zeig, said the change was simply a business decision that had “nothing to do” with the most recent controversy over the symbol, and had been planned for months. That’s undoubtedly true, but it’s also true that Confederate iconography doesn’t square anymore with promoting one’s business to the widest possible range of potential customers. You can ask Lloyd Bessinger about that. Now Dixie can focus on what they seem to do extremely well — namely, chicken fried steak and sweet tea.
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Image via KAGSTV.com
Dead Confederates, A Civil War Era Blog 
I think the recent expansion of sweet tea availability is part of a vast Confederate conspiracy to make Yankees die early deaths from heart attacks due to obesity. Recently I’ve seen it available in Arbys and even McDonalds. Drinking that noxious brew is like downing undiluted high-fructose corn syrup with added sugar. Fortunately, all the my northern friends can’t stand the stuff. 😉
Try mixing it equal parts with lemonade, which I understand is called an “Arnold Palmer,” after that old guy pitching anti-clotting drugs on the teevee machine.
Having lived in Virginia now for almost 30 years I am in the habit of asking for “UNsweet iced tea” because so many restaurants serve both down here. When I go back up north sometimes I get funny looks and have been asked “oh, are you from the south.” “No, I’m from Ohio, but I live in Virginia.” It seems to be the default at McD’s here. Ask for “iced tea” and they automatically give you a cup of sugar with some tea poured in.
Chicken-fried is a perfect way to ruin a good steak. I had a colleague from Europe here to do some research this July and we ate out together quite a bit. He ordered a chicken-friend steak and I didn’t think to warn him. He was very surprised when he got it. Imagine a German turning it over on his plate with his fork and asking “vhat did zay do to it?????” He ate it and thought it was OK. I told him it was a southern US thing…
Chicken-fried is a perfect way to ruin a good steak. I had a colleague from Europe here to do some research this July and we ate out together quite a bit. He ordered a chicken-friend steak and I didn’t think to warn him. He was very surprised when he got it. Imagine a German turning it over on his plate with his fork and asking “vhat did zay do to it?????” He ate it and thought it was OK. I told him it was a southern US thing…
Chicken-fried steak isn’t generally made with good cuts to begin with — that’s why it’s pounded with a bottle to begin with, to make it to make it edible.
“… Jon Maynard, president and CEO of the Oxford and Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce, told city leaders that the Confederate flag is the “neck tattoo” of Mississippi, The Oxford Eagle reported.
#”Everyone sees it,” Maynard said. “Economic developers statewide are having a very, very difficult time of selling Mississippi due to stereotypes out there. There’s a perception that’s difficult to overcome. Will taking it down create a flood of new jobs and industry? No, but it will help.”
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2015/aug/19/oxford-and-greenwood-bring-down-mississippi-state-/
With all due respect to Mr. Maynard, an educated workforce, quality schools, and, probably most importantly, state and local economic incentives carry far more weight than whether the Mississippi state flag has the Confederate battle flag in its makeup. Businesses go where they can get the best deal. If all things were equal, which they rarely are given the large number of variables at play when it comes to economic development, whether or not a state, county or city was flying the Confederate flag could play a role in a company’s decision to invest in a new operation or expand an existing one. Otherwise, nearly all companies are going to go with what makes the most sense for their bottom line.
Cotton, With all due respect, he’s not saying the Confederate flag is preventing business from moving to the state, but that having it only projects a negative image that could be a factor. That is why he used the neck tattoo analogy. Since Mr. Maynard is in the economic development business, I will defer to his experience.
Glad to see you back.