Bradenton, Florida’s Motorworks Brewing was already a dog-friendly place, hosting a monthly “Yappy Hour” for patrons and their pups. But the brewery came up with another way to pair cold beer and cute canines. Visitors to the January 19 Yappy Hour found four-packs of cans sporting a photo and information on a local dog up for adoption at the Manatee County animal shelter. Motorworks sold more than 150 of the dog-packs, with all proceeds benefiting the shelter’s efforts to build a new facility, and two of the four featured dogs have already been adopted. The remaining packs are still available at the brewery, and Barry Elwonger, its director of sales and marketing, says they’re now discussing another run of cans featuring more pups in need of homes. “The response from this project has been overwhelming,” Elwonger told the Bradenton Herald. “We have had countless calls and messages about the program, and we are elated to have raised so much awareness and money for the shelter already.”

Since opening Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen in Memphis in 2008, chefs and childhood friends Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman have become an integral part of the city’s food scene, launching four other restaurants around town and garnering five James Beard nominations. Recently, their sights have been set on their latest venture, Bishop, a French bistro in the new Central Station Hotel, located in a revamped train depot on South Main. Earlier this month, though, the pair suffered a major blow: Their second and perhaps most famous restaurant, Hog & Hominy, sustained serious damage in a fire, forcing it to shutter. Now, as the team works to get Hog & Hominy back up and running (with a tentative reopening in the fall), Bishop has quietly opened its doors. “We really had to push ourselves not to lose momentum at the new restaurant after the fire,” Ticer says. “We were lucky that no one was hurt, and we were able to shift everyone [on the team], some of whom went to Bishop.” The new spot has been serving the likes of beef tartare and coq au vin for dinner and will begin brunch and lunch service this week, with an official grand opening party set for February 22. 

I’m often asked about what powers Garden & Gun. Well, when it comes to coffee, that would be Red Truck Bakery’s Bulldog Edition. Created by bakery founder Brian Noyes, a former art director, in honor of Ben Bradlee, his former editor at the Washington Post, the coffee is rich, chocolaty, and just the thing for meeting deadlines.

Speaking of deadlines, I could avoid them for hours by staring at the many layers in Eldridge Hardie’s paintings. The artist has hit the water and woods across the globe for the past sixty years, and his paintings, now collected in a new book, bring those places to life along with those moments outdoorsmen treasure, whether it’s mallards filtering through the timber or a bonefish sizzling across a cerulean flat toward an endless horizon. 

We recently asked, “Which Southern city is the ideal host for the Super Bowl, and why?”  

New Orleans received the most votes, by far:

Where else can you get the same combination of climate, incredible food, charm, and soul? —Sue A.

Hands down, New Orleans. Good food, good music, and a good time, all within walking distance of the Superdome. —Kathy D.

Nashville. I think after the 2019 NFL Draft was held there, the NFL was duly impressed. Rightfully so. —Miles J.

Memphis. Graceland, Sun Records, an Egyptian-themed zoo, BBQ, Stax Museum, and Beale Street. It’s the perfect weather, food, and music for the Super Bowl. —Rhett B.

Knoxville. Lots to do and a mighty fine place to play the game. —Marc P.

1. Atlanta. 2. Dallas-Fort Worth. 3. New Orleans. —Mike P.

Jacksonville is the answer because I-95 crosses I-10, and I-75 is sixty miles west of here. Our stadium is on the St. Johns River and is ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Come by air, land, or sea, and the weather is great this time of year. —Tom S.

We have a town in Alabama fondly called “Title Town.” What better place than that? Tuscaloosa! —Jeanne M.

Tickets are now available for Bourbon & Bounty, an intimate, sporting-inspired dinner at the Garden & Gun office in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 5. Join us for a memorable supper prepared by renowned Southern chefs Isaac Toups, Whitney Otawka, and Craig Deihl, along with bourbon cocktails from Blade and Bow. 

Now in its 124th year, the legendary Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo offers a passel of competitions, livestock and horse shows, exhibits, music, and more—and a million dollars in prize money. 

Taste a variety of takes on a classic Bayou dish in Crowley, Louisiana, the seat of Acadia Parish, during its annual Gumbo Cook-Off.

The Super Bowl teams aren’t Southern, but the locale is. If you’re heading to the big game, check our guide to Miami hot spots.

Will it be six more weeks of winter? All eyes will be on Sir Walter Wally, the resident groundhog and weather expert at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, which hosts Groundhog Day festivities starting at noon.