Edge, the article says, "is a man on a mission, a mission to preserve and celebrate two of America's greatest cultural gems: the food and the food lore of the South." He has been called "the Faulkner of Southern food" and nominated for four James Beard awards.

In the interview, Edge talks about what he calls "honest food," how the roots of Southern food have been lost in translation as corporations try to package it, Kool-Aid pickles, how he finds the places he puts in his book, and how integration ties up with food.

"Except for sex, eating is the most intimate activity we regularly engage in with others," Edge tells Salon's Adam Roberts. "The fight of the citizens of the South to exclude blacks from churches and schools -- well, the subtext of that was: "If we let you sit down next to us at the restaurant, the next thing we know you'll be diddling our wives."