April 2021 Issue

Dogs Riding in Cars

I suspect it may be the reason most dogs keep us around. We can drive cars … and trucks and motorhomes and motorcycles. And, as a result, we can seemingly create the very wind itself. To the senses of dogs riding in cars, I suspect it seems we can also somehow make all the best smells float on the air at once, with a cacophony of new and familiar sounds intertwined and changing every few seconds. We magically bring farms with fields of horses into view before they dash past us with glorious speed. We find new people to watch walking and riding bikes, and other dogs to call out

Why I Love Daffodils

There is something magical about daffodils. The mere shape of the flower seems to trumpet the arrival of spring, announcing something new and exciting. Imagine March in the Lowcountry with a sea of yellow daffodils covering a yard that stretches all the way down to the banks of Abbapoola Creek. My grandmother Lou would sit on the green porch swing and watch her grandchildren de-daffodil her yard. I can still hear the rhythmic creaking of the chains from the old swing — it almost sounded like a familiar song. She loved watching us pick every flower but there was always another prized daffodil hidden in her yard. The goal was

Red Snapper | Lux Libations

My dad, born and raised in Pennsylvania, attended Mercer in Macon and graduated with a degree in education and a love for southern food, especially fried chicken — I’ve never seen someone get so excited over a Bojangles. My first experience with true southern cuisine happened on a road trip with him — we were following my sister’s softball team all over Georgia. I was 15. Okra, collard greens, and real BBQ were all foreign to me. I think I had seen My Cousin Vinny by that time, so I may have known about grits but had never tried them. I tried all the foods my father enjoyed, but the

Pimento Cheese | From the Kitchen of… Fuse Aiken

Interview with Corie Allison, Sous-Chef at Fuse Corie, what is your background? I’ve worked management in many different corporate restaurants and pretty much hated every second of it. I dreaded going to work every day, but it gave me some good experience. I was looking to leave the restaurant business for good until the day I caught wind of a new place opening in downtown Augusta that was offering something very different. I went in, had an impromptu interview with the chef when construction was nearing the end, and fell in love. Since then, Fuse has been my home, my family, and my source of inspiration to be better every

Beer, Bella: The Beer Making Process

It is spring. The weather is getting warmer and people are spending more time outdoors. What might you find in someone’s hand on the golf course, tailgating at a sporting event, or standing by the grill cooking up dinner? A cold glass or can of beer. Ever wonder how this liquid gold came to be resting in your glass with bubbles of perfection rising to the surface and just the right amount of head retention? Me neither. Quite frankly, I took it for granted until I embarked on my beer journey. Believe it or not, the beer goes from grain to glass in six simple steps; malting, mashing, fermentation, filtration,

Letter From The Editor | These Boots Are Made For Walkin’

“These boots are made for walkin’” Lee Hazlewood, as recorded by Nancy Sinatra I try not to offend anyone. Doesn’t make me feel good, and I’m certain it doesn’t make the other person feel good, so I see no value in it. But Ladonna is, for some reason, offended by my little black boots. The feeling is not mutual — they have never offered any opinion of Ladonna whatsoever. But she has had it in for my boots for well over a year. Ladonna: You need some new boots. me: Why? These are fine. Ladonna: Because you should have several pairs of nice boots. me: I only have one pair

Be Conscientious

“Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen … yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.” ~ Bradley Whitford April is the “Action” Issue. It is a little bittersweet for many, as we normally celebrate sports and sporting events in the spring. The weather is warmer, the flowers are in bloom — beauty is unfolding itself everywhere we turn. The outdoors beckons