(April 30, 2010) I have long been enamored of the inestimable kitchen skills of Chef Hoover Alexander. He knows his way around a southern menu better than any one in Austin. He is the king of soul food and his Hoover's Cooking on Manor is the perfect starting place for our upcoming month on KVUE-TV featuring ethnic cuisine.

For breakfast, Hoover Alexander knows how to light up a plate with old South style and flair. One of the most amazing things I've tasted on the breakfast menu is his Hoe Cakes. This takes its name from field hands literally cooking a mixture of corn meal, flour, salt and water on the back of a hoe or shovel. The taste and texture are amazing and the Sweet Potato Cakes, said to be adored by women of the south, are pretty well liked by this man of the south as well.

The essential nature of modern soul food can best be characterized by some of the dishes that roll out of Hoover's kitchen for lunch and dinner. Take the Smothered Pork Chops, for example. This dish borrows from the Cajun and Creole cultures as well but Hoover authors a wonderfully rich and fairly caloric sauce that just nails the pork chops. Add some Mustard Greens (sweetened with a bit of sugar) and Okra (both which had their origins in Africa) and you have a quintessential American southern meal. Or take the Fried Catfish. Early southerners would have never considered grilling catfish and while Hoover offers that option, I like the fried version. The batter yields a comforting taste to the ½ pound of farm raised filets. Order it with Mardi Gras slaw and perhaps some of Hoover's classic and award winning Mac and Cheese. And where would we be in soul food heaven without a serious helping of Chicken Fried Steak. This dish reaches back to the days when meat was scarce in Texas and one had to what one could. So this piece of tenderized cube steak is coated with Hoover's special flour and pan fried. It has similarities to the Austrian schnitzel style of cooking but at Hoover's, especially when that white gravy hits the meat, it is all Southern.

No dinner at Hoover's Cooking would be complete without a visit to the Smokehouse. I've tried the Half Rack of Pork Ribs and the authentic Elgin sausage, made at the Southside Market since 1882. These are as tender and tasty as any BBQ you'll encounter and again, these dishes cry out for pickles and onions and some of Hoover's Austintatious sauce.

And did I mention the sandwiches at Hoover's Cooking? Drawing on his New Orleans experience (remember Tolouse on 6th St.), Hoover makes a Muffuletta that will rock your world. Salami, ham, olives, Swiss and beautiful spices on a Sour Dough bun.

Last but not least, Hoover occasionally whips up a batch of bone-in Southern Fried Chicken. This is soul baby, the soul of the American south. And it's all here, at Hoover's Cooking.

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