You hit the nail on the haed with that comment.
The south has some beautiful areas no doubt about that, but when I was there, I observed more overweight,obese people due to thier eating habits. I am sure grits, gravey and biscuits are good eating but I think we have finally realized that fried greasy foods can cause a host of medical problems for folks..
The best nearest chicken fried steak with "country gravy" to NYC is on the Maryland border -- but I'm not saying where.
Americana food is basically a farm diet intended for folks who did hardcore physical labor that burned off a ton of calories.