Lee Brothers’ TV show celebrates Atlanta food scene
TV PREVIEW
“Southern Uncovered With the Lee Bros.,” 8 p.m. Sundays, Ovation
“Many people associate this city with peaches and airport hell. We know the city to be vibrantly diverse and full of surprises.”
That’s how the Lee Brothers open the latest episode of their new Ovation travelogue show, “Southern Uncovered With the Lee Bros.,” airing at 8 p.m. Sunday featuring Atlanta.
Each episode focuses on a different Southern city’s food scene. As Charleston, S.C., natives, Matt and Ted Lee visit Atlanta several times a year, and they wanted to show the depth of the city’s culinary delights.
“It’s one of the cities we love and advocate for,” said Matt, who is the brother sans glasses. “We’ve been pitching Travel and Leisure magazine a piece about Atlanta for a decade without success. This was our opportunity to celebrate the riches of the city.”
Over the course of 30 minutes, the brothers cover a lot of ground. They shop at Buford Highway Farmers Market with Heirloom Market BBQ's Cody Taylor and Jiyeon Lee for ingredients to their signature Korean spicy pulled pork barbecue sandwich. They help create the sandwich at the humble restaurant off I-75 and I-285 not far from Cumberland Mall.
“Those two guys are compelling,” Matt said. “They have an outpost in Charleston, so we were well aware of them. They have this scrappy entrepreneurial energy that we relate to.”
“Ovation is an arts channel, not just a food channel,” Ted said. “We can cover design. We can cover dance like we did in Charleston.”
Before they leave town, they go to Concourse E at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to eat at the fine dining establishment One Flew South with chef Duane Nutter and mixologist Tiffanie Barriere.
One of the challenges of being behind security, they learn: Knives all have to be chained down and inspected daily.
If the show lasts several seasons, the brothers hope to return to Atlanta to seek more cool places to highlight for a national audience.
“People bring so many different preconceived notions of what the South is, that it’s a homogeneous ‘Duck Dynasty’ land or we’re all swamp creatures,” Matt said. “We want to bust through to show what the South really is: a cosmopolitan and internationally connected place. What’s not to love?”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
