Ask anyone, not from the Mobile Alabama area, and I bet they have no idea what West Indies Salad is. I have asked Chefs here in Atlanta on more then one occasion and not one knew about it -and I am OK with that. This is about the best thing I can tell a person about my hometown, it was invented here. Not many folks know about it.

It is one of the best things you will ever put in you mouth. It is also one of the simplest dishes to prepare. And the fellow who invented it, his name was Bailey, was way ahead of the current thought of chefs, which is fresh and simple.

I am not gonna say a lot about this salad, you just need to make it yourself and enjoy, what else need be said. It just don’t get much better then this. You can thank me later, with a bowl full please.

This is all it takes: 1 lb white lump crabmeat
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 o.z. wesson oil
4 o.z ice water
3 o.z. cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Layer onion and crab in dish with cover; add salt and pepper to taste. Evenly distribute oil, then vinegar, and finally ice water over layered mixture. Cover tightly and marinate at least six hours, preferably overnight. Toss before serving in individual bowls on a leaf of lettuce.
4 Servings

So, we recently attended an event hosted by Heritage Foods USA called THE NEW QUE. It was held at the Studioplex on Auburn Av in Atlanta. The event matched some of the best local Chefs with some of the best local Pig Farmers. This was a chance for the chefs to get their face and restaurant out in front of a large, hungry crowd. But more importantly, it was a chance for BBQ lovers to learn about where their pork comes from and who is raising it. Like everything in the food world, PORK has gone gourmet. Restaurants are promoting fresh and local and everyone wants to know where and how it was raised. Nowdays, Farmers are raising pedigree pigs and raising them with lots of TLC. Special diets, large roaming and grazing space and more humane ways of production, make for better tasting pork. It was evident at THE NEW QUE. When you hook up Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene with Charlotte and Wes Swancy of Riverview Farms or Joe Truex of Repast with Big Sandy and his Tamworth hogs - it’s pure HOG HEAVEN. It was not just straight ahead BBQ. You could have BBQ pork tacos, BBQ pork belly over local hominy, mini sausage dogs, pulled pork sandwichs, BBQ Brunswick Stew, just to name a few. Wynn Pennington of Motovino was pouring his wines. His spanish white wine goes great with any of the BBQ. Sweetwater provided beers. The Hummer Brew was a good match with the QUE, but so were all their beers. It was a really good turn out, with a hungry crowd. Lots of the regular foodies and hopefully some new recruits.

SO…
I like hamburgers.
Two fisted, juicy hamburgers with lots of stuff piled on. There’s just something about having to hold a sandwich with both hands as the juices drip down your chin - MAN.

I was not disappointed with either of my visits to Ms. Annes’ Snack Shop.

Sitting at the counter watching her form two meat patties the size of her fists, then slice some onion and throw it all on the grill. As those start to cook, she peels of a couple of slices of bacon, which she then deep fries. A little mayo and ketchup are spread on the bun. The onion and bacon are put on one of the meat patties, chili is spooned on, then it’s topped off with the other meat patty. The Ghetto Burger is a sight to behold. TRUELY.
A two fisted work of art of the grill.

Ms. Annes does have a few rules. Know what you want, no leaning on the counter and no cursing, among others. But that should not (and doesn’t) stop folks from coming in for a Ghetto Burger. It’s a one woman show, from a single wide trailor, with limited seating. Rules help keep order to all the burgers coming off the grill.

The second visit was a SEINFELD episode, as well as being delicious. I took a co-worker who had no idea where we were going. He just knew he had to have a burger, after hearing me talk about it.

As we drove the 15 minutes to Memorial Drive, I explained the “rules”. When she asks what you want, just tell her you’ll have a Ghetto Burger with fries. It’s easy.

The counter to order is just inside the front door. As we entered, my friend walked up to the counter, but as luck would have it, two stools became available. Ms. Anne turned from the grill, nodded to the empty stools and said “Have a seat”. Ben (my friend) looked at Ms. Anne and said “I’ll have a Ghetto Burger and fries”. She glances back over her shoulder and repeats “Have a seat”. I gently push him towards the empty stools.

Once we are seated, Ms. Anne walks to our end of the of the counter and looks at me. The conversation goes something like this…
“Ready to order ?” she asks in a stern grandmotherly way.
“I’ll have a Ghetto Burger and fries, please”.
“You sure you can eat all that ?”
“Yes ma’am”

Ben is getting pale. Ms. Anne goes to prep a burger on the grill.
A couple with child have come in and are waiting at the counter. The little boy was bout six or seven and not tall enough to see over the counter. He starts jumping up and down trying to peak over. Ms. Anne never turns around from the grill, but say’s loudly “Take that noise outside.” The woman looks at her husband, grabs her son and goes outside. Leaving her husband to place their order.

Ben quickly turns to me and says ” You order for me.”

Ms. Anne appears in front of Ben. I say “He’ll have a Ghetto Burger and fries.”
She looks at the two of us, then returns to the grill.

Our burgers are ready and placed in front of us. I pick up my burger with two hands and take a bite. Ben does the same. We both smile.

Ms. Anne turns and asks “How is it ?” “Delicious” we both say.
Now we are all smiling.

Go soon, I hear Ms. Anne is going to be closing soon. It would be a shame to miss out !