Katherine Polcari

4 days ago | southernliving.com | Katherine Polcari

Just down the street from our house, maybe a three-minute drive at most, sits a nearly 50-year-old Birmingham institution, Mr. P's Butcher Shop & Deli. When we first moved in, this really tickled me and my husband, Cameron. We've both been vegetarians for over a decade, and it felt like a waste for us to be taking the house from someone who'd kill to be that close to a good butcher.

1 week ago | southernliving.com | Katherine Polcari

One of the sounds most synonymous with the South is the twang of a banjo-barely edged out by the thrum of cicadas or the honeyed cadence of the Southern drawl itself. But this distinctive instrument has a complex history that not enough people are familiar with-and it's one worth knowing. African Roots While lutes and stringed instruments have been staples in cultures from around the world for thousands of years, the origins of the banjo can most directly be traced back to West Africa.

3 weeks ago | southernliving.com | Katherine Polcari

Any Southern native, or transplant for that matter, has a general idea of what a fiddle is. You've no doubt heard your mama or your neighbor remark that they're feeling "fit as a fiddle."  Zenas Alexander, a violinist who studied Music Education at Tennessee Tech University and serves as orchestra director at West Creek High School and conductor for the Clarksville Youth Orchestra, says that Southerners' ears are in tune with the fiddle, whether they realize it or not.

1 month ago | southernliving.com | Katherine Polcari

Tennessee is a hotspot of Southern food, whether you’re looking for Memphis barbecue or Nashville hot chicken. As the birthplace of MoonPies, my hometown, Chattanooga, is no exception. The culinary scene there has continued to grow since I moved to Alabama over a decade ago, but there's one spot that hasn't changed a bit—and it's become a mainstay in my family.

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Katherine Polcari

Tennessee is a hotspot of Southern food, whether you’re looking for Memphis barbecue or Nashville hot chicken. As the birthplace of MoonPies, my hometown, Chattanooga, is no exception. The culinary scene there has continued to grow since I moved to Alabama over a decade ago, but there's one spot that hasn't changed a bit—and it's become a mainstay in my family.