December 30, 2010
The Best of the South (According to Southern Living's Travel Awards)
Robert Doyle READ TIME: 2 MIN.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - New hotels, new eateries and even a new shopping district made Southern Living magazine's "Best of the South" travel awards in its January issue.
Among the categories for best new hotels, Hotel Havana in San Antonio, Texas, won for best new boutique hotel; the newly renovated Jefferson in Washington, D.C., won for best hotel for a city stay; the Seagate Hotel in Delray Beach, Fla., won for best new beach hotel and the Postcard Inn on the Beach in St. Pete Beach, Fla., won for best value.
Best new restaurant awards went to Miller Union in Atlanta, Gigi in Miami, Husk in Charleston, S.C., Haven in Houston, and A Mano in New Orleans, while another category captured the best in eating on the go - the South's best food trucks. They include Big Truck Tacos, Oklahoma City, Okla.; El Ultimo Tacos, Houston; Gastropod Mobile Gourmet, Miami; Harvest Moon Grille, Charleston, N.C.; King of Pops, Atlanta; Los Dos Hermanos, Birmingham, Ala.; Mas Tacos Por Favor, Nashville; MmmPanadas, Austin, Texas; Only Burger, Durham, N.C., and Pi on the Spot, St. Louis, Mo.
Best new museum as named by the magazine is the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Miss. Best new arts venue is the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in Dallas at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
Chattanooga's Warehouse Row got the honor for best new shopping street, described by Southern Living as "an industrial-chic cluster of boutiques" after the area's previous incarnations as an outlet mall, textile warehouse district, and back in the 19th century, as a Civil War fort. Stores on Warehouse Row mentioned by the magazine include Amanda Pinson Jewelry, Revival Uncommon Goods (antiques and luxury gifts), Embellish (shoes) and Drew Lewis (menswear).
Best Southern adventures listed by the Birmingham-based magazine include spring hiking on Roan Mountain on the North Carolina-Tennessee border, which has reopened to day hikers following trail restoration; summer "cascading" (which combines hiking and waterfall swims) in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia with Shenandoah Mountain Guides; ziplining the New River Gorge in West Virginia in the fall; and cross-country skiing in Canaan Valley in West Virginia in the winter.
Long-term New Yorkers, Mark and Robert have also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center, Mark is a PhD in American history and literature, as well as the author of the novels Wolfchild and My Hawaiian Penthouse. Robert is the producer of the documentary We Are All Children of God. Their work has appeared in numerous publications, as well as at : www.mrny.com.
