Hopeful 2011 SEC PNM from "The North"

[Low C Sharp]

The Mason-Dixon line becomes very arbitrary and people's personal interpretations are what matters.

I think the Grits Line is more informative nowadays. If grits are offered as a matter of course when you order eggs at the local diner (not a shabby-chic gourmet diner, like the ones that serve grits in San Francisco), you're in the South. If they don't serve grits, or if they have them but you have to ask to substitute them for hash browns, you're not in the South. By this definition, Kentucky is clearly in the South, and parts of southern Illinois and Missouri are, too.

It's impossible to imagine an authentic diner in New Jersey where grits come with everything. That's true even in Cape May, which is geographically south of the Mason-Dixon.
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[barbino]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

I think the Grits Line is more informative nowadays. If grits are offered as a matter of course when you order eggs at the local diner (not a shabby-chic gourmet diner, like the ones that serve grits in San Francisco), you're in the South. If they don't serve grits, or if they have them but you have to ask to substitute them for hash browns, you're not in the South. By this definition, Kentucky is clearly in the South, and parts of southern Illinois and Missouri are, too.

It's impossible to imagine an authentic diner in New Jersey where grits come with everything. That's true even in Cape May, which is geographically south of the Mason-Dixon.

I like this definition - grits are not usually served in Chicago, but I have had them in Springfield (IL). Indiana is another state which can be either Northern or Southern. Purdue is definitely Northern, but Jeffersonville and Evansville are almost part of Louisville, which for me is the start of the South. But most "Southerners" would never even consider any part of Kentucky to be the South. So is the real definition based on geography, culture, or grits?