Banana Pudding appears as a signature dish in 3 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Banana pudding · Birmingham
Banana pudding is layered Nilla wafers, sliced bananas and vanilla custard, topped with meringue or whipped cream, the canonical Birmingham barbecue dessert.
Banana pudding became the canonical Southern barbecue dessert through the 20th century, with Nilla wafers (Nabisco, since 1898) and the post-war condensed-milk shortcut recipe popularized through the 1950s and 1960s. Saw's BBQ runs the canonical Birmingham version with crushed Nilla wafers on top; Niki's West runs the steam-table cafeteria version with custard and whipped cream. Eagle's Restaurant in Smithfield runs a soul-food version with meringue.
Where to eat in Birmingham:
- Saw's BBQ
- Saw's Soul Kitchen
- Niki's West
Banana pudding · Charlotte
Banana pudding is the layered Southern dessert of vanilla custard, sliced bananas and Nilla wafers, often topped with whipped cream or meringue and served.
Banana pudding emerged in the late 19th century when bananas became affordable through the Southern port trade with United Fruit Company shipments from Central America. Nabisco's 1903 introduction of Nilla wafers cemented the canonical layered presentation, and the dish remains the standing Carolina dessert at BBQ counters and church suppers. Charlotte's Mert's Heart and Soul and Lupie's Cafe run the canonical Charlotte versions.
Where to eat in Charlotte:
- Sweet Lew's BBQ
- Mert's Heart and Soul
Banana pudding · Nashville
Layered dessert of vanilla wafers, banana slices and from-scratch vanilla custard, topped with meringue or whipped cream. Cold service.
Banana pudding migrated South from Northern dessert columns in the late 1800s. The Nashville version that Arnold's, Loveless and most meat-and-three counters serve uses Nabisco Nilla wafers (Northern brand, fully assimilated), home-cooked vanilla custard and ripe bananas. It is the standard dessert closer at a meat-and-three. Hattie B's sells it by the cup as the heat-killer chaser to hot chicken.
Where to eat in Nashville:
- Arnold's Country Kitchen
- Hattie B's Hot Chicken
- Loveless Cafe