Varmint and Mayhaw Man Gotta Eat

[Mayhaw Man]

OK. Here's the deal. We are driving from New Orleans to Oxford on Thursday. I can take any route that will work, but we've go to be there by 3:30 or so. We can cram in as much as possible, but we have to subtract 6 hours, more or less, for driving. So, that probably leaves us with lunch and a few well deserved snacks on the way. I am not giving a route (it could change if you come up with a reason to make a left or a right ), but it will probably generally involve I55. I am very familiar with this part of the world (hell, it's where I'm from) so what I am looking for is what would be the best thing to tempt my pal Dean with. Slugburgers? BBQ? The Whyte House? The Dinner Bell? Let's hear it. I need a morning snack around Hazlehurst, lunch north or south of Jackson, and a post lunch-pre Mitchell Whole Hog BBQ snack.

We've got the forum now. Let's see if it works. Help us out, if you're handy to a spot, come eat lunch with us. Just let us know what you think. We eat alot. Don't worry about that.

And while we're at it, not that I need any help with this, but breakfast in New Orleans, I would just take him to THe Bluebird, but that is not exactly New Orleans. Do we have to go to Cafe du Monde? Suggestions might be interesting.

This is a test of the SFA Network. Had this been a real emergency you would have been told where to tune in your area to get a decent meal.

[Dave the Cook]

I've only driven the I-55 route once, so I have no recommendations, excet the Chevron station just west of Jackson has excellent boiled peanuts, and is open 24 hours.

As for a real New Orleans breakfast, I'd suggest The Old Coffee Pot.

[lperry]

How about the Camellia Grill for the NO breakfast? Pecan waffles, omelettes, and atmosphere.

[Mayhaw Man]

At this rate we're gonna starve to death. Come on ya'll. Get with the suggestions!

And the Camellia Grill is a good suggestion. I never actually think about it for breakfast, as I only seem to end up there late at night.

[Varmint]

It appears that people know that I have enough fat reserves to last me a few months, so they're thinking I need to avoid a food-based road trip. So wrong, so very wrong!

Perhaps we'll just take our chances on the back roads and keep our fingers crossed, hoping for serendipity.

[Holly Moore]

Perhaps we'll just take our chances on the back roads and keep our fingers crossed, hoping for serendipity.

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Has always worked for me. And more fun. Rest assured, serendipity is just around the next bend in the road.

[edge]

On your way out of New Orleans, stop by Morining Call in Metairie for beignets. It's a couple blocks off the interstate and worth the detour. It was once a competitor of Cafe Du Monde in the Qtr.

Less than an hour out is Middendorf's, where they slioce the catfish thin as tater chips and fry it hard.

The Dinner Bell in McComb still serves revolving table style. I remember their fried eggplant as fine and crunchY and realtively greaseless. As you pass the exit for Crystal Sprinks, you can delight and astound your seatmate by telling them that this little burg was once a truck farming center and was known as the Tomatopois of the World.

In Jackson, there's a good bbq shack alongside a Chevron at the same exit as Lemuria Books (amazing bookstore too). That's just north of downtown.

There's also a great tavern bar in Jackson, Hal and Mal's. In an old railroad depot near the state capitol.

Also in and around Jackson, there's Jack's Tamales, across the river in Flowood.

North of Jackson in Bruce is Buck's One Stop, a little convenience store I wrote about a while back in the Oxford American. I have attached the text of that piece. (Try the fried pies and the caramel cake.)

Hope this helps. Show up hungry,

John T

Bucks_One_Stop_Postmodern_Southern_Cooking.doc

[Dave the Cook]

Damn. Fried pies and caramel cake. I am really beginning to regret missing this road trip.

(BTW, John, it's not that hard to astound Varmint.)

[FistFullaRoux]

Well, you can't travel the roads of Mississippi without indulging in the Waffle House. But that's me. I like a waffle bigger than my head.

If yer on I-55 and looking around Jackson for lunch, try one of the Penn's Fish Houses in Canton. He does a lot of catering, but if you want street fair food without the street fair, the chicken on a stick is outstanding. I've been fortunate to work near his setup at City Stages in Birmingham the last couple of years. Food is available (as far as I know) on a to-go basis only...

[Mayhaw Man]

Hal and Mal's is somewhere that I am pretty familiar with. I installed the brewery for Malcolm (one of the South's most gentlemanly gentlemen) and his brother Hal (a fine chef and a champion gumbo cooker).

Middendorf's is of course, a great selection. But I think we will be passing through lovely Manchac a bit early in the day for thin fry and stuffed crabs.

The Dinner Bell is a fine suggestion. That might be a winner. If we leave NO about 8:30 or so, that would put us there just as they load up the roundtables. I love roundtable restaurants. When I was growing up, driving from Monroe to Dauphin Island every summer, a stop in Mindenhall (now sadly closed) was a regular stop on that trip. THere are very few things more satisfying than eating while more food whizzes by of the lazy susan, reminding you of what you have missed and what you have to look forward to when you clear a little more room on your plate.

Looking forward to trying out those fried pies. I remember you writing about them (I think) in the gas station article in Oxford American (The fabulous, sometimes publishing, sometimes not, Magazine of the American South-Come on Marc-Let's get another one out!).

Looking forward to the trip and the conference (not to mention Ed Mitchell's whole hog, brisket braised in Coke, Fried Chicken Throwdown, and some supreme deviled eggs!)

I am sure that Dean will not expire from hunger or thirst.

[Varmint]

If we leave NO about 8:30 or so,

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Geesh, that gives us, what, 80 minutes of sleep?

Of course, I'm going to enjoy every stop we make. And there will be many. Thanks for these great suggestions.

[Holly Moore]

Geesh, that gives us, what, 80 minutes of sleep?

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More than I usually get in New Orleans That's where the chicory coffee and bengnets help

[Mayhaw Man]

In the words of my late friend LC-"Sleepings for babies."

[Varmint]

In the words of my late friend LC-"Sleepings for babies."

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And, of course, you'll be driving, so who cares.

I do plan on taking tons of photos throughout this trip. We'll have three segments: Mayhaw Man and Varmint's Excellent New Orleans Adventure, Mississippi Churning (a Road Trip story), and The SFA Took My Baby Away (a recount of the Symposium).

[jackal10]

wot, no return trip??

[Mayhaw Man]

Actually there is, but due to Dean's odd dedication to his family I will be making it by my lonesome. Here is the plan:

Drive down 61 and look at cotton (it's just into the early part of picking time on what has been generally a banner year) and eat Tamales. I also intend on taking a brief stop and buying a few valuable souvenirs across the street from Graceland (you cannot have too many pairs of Elvis nail clippers or too many EP shot glasses) and near there is Interstate BBQ, where I will buy a small slab of each (wet and dry) to bring back home to my lovely wife. I intend on making stops at Doe's and Abe's and buying Tamales for both immediate consumption and for take home purposes (they freeze great) and while I am at Doe's, I will likely be enjoying one of the finest steaks in North America. South of Vicksburg I will cut over to the Natchez Trace and enjoy a leisurely drive for a while (I love the Trace, but my kids and my wife have seen it enough and really hate driving 50 miles at 35mph).

That should pretty much kill my day on Sunday.

[fifi]

I was having the same problem with the timing for Middendorf's. One of the times I lived in Hammond, we would head down I-55 (or the old swamp road before I-55 was done) for I-10 to start a trip to Houston. We would time it to stop at Middendorf's for a big old box of thin fried catfish. That was the on-the-road snack. I don't remember when they started frying, though. I do remember my parents wanting us to be on the road early and we would find all kinds of reasons to drag our heels so that we could leave late enough to get that catfish.

Can't wait for the reports. I am so jealous!

[Varmint]

With trusty new USB cable in hand, I can now post some somewhat crude and unprocessed photos (I need my Photoshop!!!! -- it's on my home computer).

Brooks took me to Jacques-Imo's on Wednesday night, and I told him that I was ready to eat a house. If only I knew that I was about to eat something only slightly smaller. . . .

Corn bread at Jacques-Imo's

Duck gumbo

Chicken livers

Fried softshell crab on fried green tomatoes and crab

The pork chop from hell. This was double cut pork chop stuffed with ground beef, served with a heavy mushroom and shrimp gravy. The dish weighed 3 pounds. I couldn't finish it. I needed purging lessons, as I was uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. Worst of all, I couldn't eat dessert. It was a great meal, but a sad outcome.

Fortunately, after a good night's sleep in the French Quarter, we had a nice breakfast at the Bluebird Cafe followed by a trip to the pastry shop.

Yes, there was a nice selection of breads . . .

but I got a cherry pastry instead. Damn good pastry!

Back on the road to Mississippi, we had to stop for a catfish "snack" at the world-famous Middendorf's

First, some crabmeat gumbo.

Then a small plate of "thin-fried", also known as their thinly sliced filets of fried catfish. This was the best catfish I've ever eaten. Crunchy crust without a bit of grease. Superb dish.

A close-up thin-fry.

[Gifted Gourmet]

The pictures and text are delicious! Are you guys still hungry or is this going to hold you for a little while?

Thanks for the travel-eatalogue!

Dying to try that duck gumbo!

[fifi]

A close-up thin-fry.

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Oh please, Sissy! Ah need mah smellin' salts! Ah'm havin' one of mah spells!

[Gifted Gourmet]

The vapors gettin' to ya, Miss Fifi? Those "pore shots" of the catfish put me into a virtual swoon of delight as well!

[Rachel Perlow]

I wanna go back!

[ronnie_suburban]

Looking at those pictures made me feel all funny inside

=R=

[Gifted Gourmet]

Looking at those pictures made me feel all funny inside

=R=

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Funny? In what way? Like hungry? Empty? Nostalgic? Please fill us in on your innermost longings, even for duck gumbo ...

[Mayhaw Man]

I was fast asleep this morning when Dean posted all of those photos.

First of all, let me say what a boon companion Dean is. Easy to travel with, as long as his caloric intake is not threatened. I have done my best to keep him well fed, but it's a big job. Next year, there may need to be more than one person involved in this effort. It is fairly exhausting.

Dinner at Jaquesimo's was, well, dinner at Jaquesimo's. I did not vary from my usual app., as I love those sauteed chicken livers and some things are just too good to skip. I was the guy eating the softshell. It was great. Perfectly fried and laid on top of bed of crabmeat stuffing that was on top of a thick slice of fried green tomato. The thing about crabmeat stuffing in South Louisiana is this-sometimes it has more crabmeat than bread, sometimes not. The stuff here is fairly swimming in crabmeat with the bread being a binder, sort of like a well ground crabcake. It's really spicy and extra delicious.

Dean ordered the double cut porkchop stuffed with, well, more meat. Pig meets cow with sauce! What a concept. Dean had been warning me for weeks that he could eat-really eat-but he couldn't work his way through that thing. I beleive that he was somewhat shocked that he had to send it back (although 2 or 3 beers at the Maple Leaf Bar next door probably added to the problem. The Maple Leaf is sort of like the waiting room for J's and the hostess will sweep through every once in a while calling out names, so it's a great place to wait and generally not nearly as crowded as the bar in Jacquimo's during the dinner hour-and as an added bonus, if you are having a very early dinner and have to wait, you can go next door and watch Jeopardy with some of the more entertaining people you will ever meet as they scream out the answers (in the form of questions only, mind you-no cheating tolerated and no quarter given). It can be a nice predinner diversion and a great way to watch true New Orleans characters in action.)

We woke up at the Apt on Royal St and I walked with Dean down to CC's Coffee and got a couple of much needed cups. After an all too brief stroll around the Quarter and a few steps over the levee to see the river, we loaded up the car in a light rain (first one in weeks-much needed) and started on our way out of town. We drove through uptown and I gave a running monologue on history, politics, architecure, music, cops, food, and whatever else came blasting out of my non stop mouth. I get that way with first time visitors and I am sure that some of them hit the airport reeling from the blasts and quite pleased that they are finally going to get some peace and quiet. We stopped at Boulangerie (on the river side of Magazine St between Napoleon and Valmont) and we were off. An hour later, starving, I suprised Dean by saying that here, in the middle of this swamp, right off the side of the bridge and hard on the side of the Illinois Central RR track, was a monument to Catfish like no other that I know about. I pulled off into Manchac (which consists-entirely-of Middendorf's Rest, a Sheriff's Dept. Substation in a small trailer, and some hunting and fishing camps. We ordered a "snack" which you see above. I think Dean was pretty blown away. That catfish is amazing. Totally greaseless. You can lay it on a napkin and it will be dry when you take it away. Crispy, thin and golden. Perfect. It comes with some really good UNSWEET hushpuppies that are garlicky and have lots of green onions in the batter. A sweet little cup of oniony coleslaw with a very thin vinegar type dressing. We also got a bowl of their excellent crab and shrimp gumbo. It is VERY dark and redolent of onions, bell peppers, and celery with lots of meat and a hunk (1/4) of a crab thrown in to top it off.

After that, we thought we were running very late and bombed it up I 55 to Oxford, only to find out that we were early and could have made many more stops-well, there's always next time. And there will be one. This is one of the best operations of this kind that I have ever attended. We will post much, much more on the SFA COnference thread and hpefully many other attendees will, as well. They promised. I have their email addresses. I will harrass them.

Gotta go eat lunch. More later.

Brooks