TrueSouth episode 10 review: Brownsville, Tennessee
John T. Edge moves us through the South, this time to western Tennessee.
By: Bossman Slim
It’s Monday, which means it’s time for another TrueSouth review. We’re working backward in our reviews, impatiently awaiting the next new episode of one of the best shows on television. Originally airing on December 10, 2020, Southern culinary shaman John T. Edge takes us to Brownsville, Tennessee. I watched it with a nip of bourbon...it’s hard not to enjoy some firewater while watching TrueSouth. It just adds that little extra southern flavor to the episode you're watching. It gives you some buy-in…like you’re sitting in Mr. Edge’s living room listening to him tell you about the places and people of our beloved Bible Belt. And the bite on this one...well, it’s just right.
Brownsville is a place that most would consider nowhere. But it’s somewhere alright. Just take a peek at a hunk of Mr. Larry Davis’ freshly fried catfish, a bite of Mrs. Helen Turner’s smoked bologna sandwich, or turn your gaze upward at the Taj Mahal of junk, The Mindfield. The people have made it somewhere, and as Edge says, given the town life.
The first stop is City Fish Market, owned by Larry Davis (not David, as I almost spelled it. It would make one hell of a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode if Larry David owned a Fish Market in Brownsville). When you look it up on Google Maps, it’s exactly what I would expect: a simple brick building that sits right before a railroad crossing, you wouldn’t know about it unless you were a local and in the know. But here, you’ll find fresh fish - caught just yesterday, never farm-raised - at low prices. Larry is there to serve the locals, better known as his friends, and keep the community well-fed. When you make your trip down there...don’t forget to stop by Tripp Country Hams. It wasn’t in the episode but looking it up on Google, that sure looks like a place to stop too.
Next up, Edge shows us around The Mindfield, a collection of used metal junk that artist Billy Tripp has turned into a piece of art and roadside tourist attraction. It's really a bunch of twisted metal that's beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and which reveals itself as different things to different people. I love these eclectic pieces of Americana. These are the types of things that make nowhere, somewhere. Would most American’s visit Pigeon Forge, TN if it weren’t for Dollywood? Or what about Tiger, Georgia, where recent 5-star QB UGA commit Gunner Stockton is from? That’s where the famous “Goats on the Roof” tourist attraction is. And while Stockton makes Tiger somewhere...Goats on the Roof really put it on the map. Or how about the graffitied Cadillacs at the Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, TX, or Wall Drug in Wall, SD? Where those pieces of Americana stand, nowhere becomes somewhere.
After The Mindfield, it was time to visit a Brownsville staple, the Queen of Tennessee Smoke, Helen Turner. She minds the pits in the back of her place, the now-famous Helen’s Bar BQ. Now that’s a tough woman, and damn does that smoked bologna and smoked chopped pork sandwich look like they are to die for. You can almost smell the visuals the TrueSouth crew brings you. There was one part of the episode where they show Helen’s restaurant in the evening and just let you hear those cicadas sing while Edge’s southern drawl gives the voiceover. Everyone from the South has lived that scene. It’s warm and the cicadas are out. You’re on the porch listening to your grandfather tell stories. That’s what makes these episodes so special - you feel some of these scenes in your soul, awakening long-dormant memories.
The Queen of Tennessee Smoke.
While watching Helen work her magic and playfully jab her customers, I couldn’t help but think we need to have a cookoff between Helen Turner and Tootsie Tomanetz. If you don’t know about Tootsie, she’s the 80-something-year-old, tough as nails Texan who is the pitmaster for Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, Texas. Tootsie was featured on the Netflix series “Chef’s Table.” Both Helen and Tootsie don’t use traditional temperature tools or methods, they each use their touch, routine, and their senses to smoke the perfect slap of meat. I’ll tell you what, I’d eat my heart out, and pay a hefty sum to do so to enjoy all that great barbeque. We wouldn’t even need to declare a winner - we’d all be winners.
Brownsville is a down-home southern town, a working town - idyllic Americana, easily forgotten by the outside but put on the map by its food, people, and culture. That, and a tall tower of twisted metal art.
You can watch the episode on ESPN+ or set your DVR to record it on its next rerun on SEC Network. Visit John T. Edge’s website here, and buy a TrueSouth hat while you’re there.
We’ll see you next Monday when we head to Edge’s hometown of Oxford, Mississippi.