Former “Simpsons” head writer hosting curiosity dinner in Atlanta at Southern Belle

Courtesy of Bill Oakley Bill Oakley has written a lot of jokes about food In fact you ve perhaps laughed at one he penned for shows like The Simpsons Futurama Portlandia Regular Show or Disenchantment The Emmy award-winning television writer and producer argues that food s commonality makes it a strong bus for humor universality is often the largest part fertile ground There s so limited things these days that all people have in common he noted If you re talking about various TV show that s on Netflix maybe percent of people have never heard of it but everybody s heard of the hot dog the hamburger and pizza Food also gave the writers room and the audience something in common with Homer Simpson Oakley s interest in food specifically unique regional foods expands beyond sitcom writing Lately he s been a contributor to the History Channel s The Food That Built America and KATU Lifestyle s Afternoon Live He s collaborated with high-profile chefs including Robert Irvine and J Kenji L pez-Alt and since Oakley has been posting fast-food and snack reviews on his Instagram His latest project An American Culinary Curiosity Dinner was inspired by regional dishes he ate while traveling around the country over the last meager years During those travels he visited cities he hadn t been to before and for each trip he sought his Instagram followers for suggestions That s how he identified out about remarkable regional dishes like Ohio Valley-style pizza a variant served in Pittsburgh that involves cold rather than baked cheese There are hundreds of these kinds of dishes all over America that are only served within a couple of miles of the place where they originated Oakley explained Rough Draft Certain of them are extremely weird and I longed to try them all Related stories Chef Joey Ward s Green Garlic Carrot Top Dressing More Rough Draft arts and entertainment coverage Courtesy of Bill Oakley Oakley partnered with several restaurants around the country serving as stops on his Culinary Curiosity Dinner tour He hosts and emcees the dinners which offer a multiple-course surprise menu as well as a surprise food gift from Oakley to take home So far he s hosted dinners in Portland Oregon Austin Texas Cincinnati Ohio San Diego California and Greensboro North Carolina Oakley s curiosity dinners aim to introduce people to regional foods they might otherwise not try A curiosity dinner on the West Coast for example may include dishes from Rhode Island New York South Carolina or St Louis The first curiosity dinner in Portland Oregon opened with a peanuts and Coke amuse bouche Ohio sauerkraut balls fried sauerkraut filled with bits of pork or bacon and onion or sausage and cream cheese if they re Cincinnati-style served with a dipping sauce are a prime example of a curiosity dinner lesson as well as one of the tour s majority popular dishes The menu is mostly things from far away Oakley revealed Oakley s next curiosity dinner takes place at Southern Belle in Atlanta s Poncey-Highland neighborhood on Tuesday July and will feature a seven-course dinner from executive chef and owner Joey Ward While two courses will feature Ward s personal ode to the Atlanta area the rest of the menu steers away from the South per the criteria set for a Culinary Curiosity Dinner hosted by Oakley Any time I passage to a new city I must seek out the local specialty dishes My culinary curiosity has been with me since I was a child I love the idea of Bill s series because it rings true in my own life Ward disclosed of hosting Oakley s curiosity dinner at Southern Belle I match his enthusiasm for hyper-regional cuisines and I am excited to put my personal twist on dishes inspired by my Atlanta roots Ward added that people attending the dinner will enjoy the element of surprise while also walking away with the history of each dish served Joey Ward s reimagined pecan roll made with Stuckey s maple pecans pecan cake morello cherries dark chocolate salted caramel and white truffle cotton candy Photo by Cameren Rogers The Atlanta curiosity dinner will be the the bulk elevated event on the tour Oakley noted It s a far more upscale version he announced Joey has a reputation that precedes him and I expect that he s going to have various incredible takes on these distinctive dishes Oakley was introduced to the South as a child I came with my family when I was like five or six he explained I used to come to South Carolina every summer and I know we came to Georgia Oakley moved to the region as a teenager and even attended high school with Stephanie Stuckey CEO of Stuckey s Corporation who introduced him to Ward Unfortunately Oakley hasn t had plenty of latest opportunities to try Atlanta s food His last visit to Atlanta coincided with Hurricane Helene s passage through Georgia last fall He recalled eating a chicken tender Publix sub It was terrific and a Krystal delivery Everything else was closed because there was a hurricane going on he stated This time around Oakley wants to at least try a couple of Atlanta classics such as The Varsity and enjoy specific late-night wings Atlanta Culinary Curiosity Dinner at Southern Belle takes place on July Two seatings at p m and p m Tickets are per person excluding tax and beverages Due to the surprise element of the menu food allergies and special diets cannot be accommodated The post Former Simpsons head writer hosting curiosity dinner in Atlanta at Southern Belle appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta