downtown

Dish Tease: Beatty Street Grocery

$5 Meal Deal

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Acutely recognizing my weariness from a tiresome week, one Friday my husband eagerly took it upon himself to take care of dinner. He was just looking for a reason to get to Beatty Street Grocery. I was all for it.

Unfamiliar with Beatty Street Grocery, I was surprised to learn of it’s history and tenure as a downtown Jackson establishment for 72 years. In addition to being a convenience store, they also serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We each got their version of a meal deal which is an eight ounce hamburger, french fries and a drink for $5. That’s crazy cheap.

Now, it might not be the best burger ever but it was filling, large and solid – so much so that I wonder how they can afford to have such low prices. The burger had all the tradition fillings of lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mustard. The french fries are the standard, previously frozen variety but I have a soft spot in my heart for crinkle cuts. They also offer a four ounce version of the burger, which I will be selecting next time. I couldn’t finish the eight ounce so my husband polished it off for me.

He brought home take-out but insists we return because visiting the physical location is part of the experience. Despite varied opinions on the internet, I will try it for myself and always am in favor of supporting local, long time restaurants. Lastly, leave your checks or plastic at home because they only accept cash.

Learn more about Beatty Street Grocery:

Beatty Street Grocery needs help staying financially afloat: WLBT

A Lunch Visit to Beatty Street Grocery: Eat Jackson

Beatty Street Grocery
101 Beatty Street
Jackson, MS 39201
Phone 601-355-0514

Big Appetite for Jackson

The Scene

Jackson has a large appetite just waiting to be satisfied.

This past weekend Appetite for Jackson was the buzz around town. It was a free event featuring $5 plates from local restaurants, craft beer and area bands – a trifecta of fun benefiting the Craig Noone scholarship. And Andrew Zimmern was going to be there. Needless to say, I was pumped!

A Travel Channel television host and food personality, Andrew Zimmern has made a name for himself eating the bizarre and unknown, among other ventures. He was in town filming for a future show (Appetite for Life – I believe), getting a full taste of the South. My closest brush with his celebrity was being able to take a photo and observe as he expertly worked the crowd.

Entering the beautiful Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art, the party was in full swing at four in the afternoon.

The event had drawn a remarkably large crowd on a somewhat blustery January day. There were extremely long lines (Disney World worthy) everywhere, for everything. I stood in three lines before giving up due to the wait and discovery they had run out of food. A long night laid ahead because after just over two hours vendors were running out of food left and right, they had at least four hours to go.

My husband wandered off in search of food and returned triumphantly holding two containers of sushi from the Wasabi Sushi and Bar booth. He rescued me from a minor hunger meltdown. I don’t know if it was the desperation or the eight hours since my last meal talking, but the sushi was wonderful.

Trying to hold out for the music but growing colder as the sun crept toward the horizon, we ended up walking to The Elite.

I love everything about this event and hope it returns next year with a vengeance, plus a few improvements. I’m no professional planner but a small flyer of the vendor booth layout, short line dividers, clearer details on the website and more food (and drink) would be extremely beneficial. Being the inaugural year, it has room to evolve. (I’d help!)

I’ve always been surprised at how few events are held downtown, despite the fact that Jackson is the biggest city in the state and the capital. Observing the high turn out and enthusiasm from this event alone, it’s clear the desire exists. Let’s hope Appetite for Jackson returns bigger and better next year, our stomachs are counting on it.

Appetite for Jackson
http://www.appetiteforjackson.com

Chez Fonfon

Paris or Birmingham?

Won over by the pretty parks, fancy burgers and neighborhood haunts, Birmingham has charmed it’s way into my heart.

To conclude our weekend trip (yes, back in November) my friend and I went out for one final meal, which started out innocently enough. Two hours later we settled on a restaurant.

We had befriended a local couple, and per their recommendation, went to explore the downtown Five Points area. Stepping out of the car we encountered a handful of homeless men, but no trace of the lively crowd we were expecting on a Saturday night. Peeking into Surin West, we passed because they allegedly specialize in Thai food and sushi (doubtful). Retracing our steps we spotted Highlands Bar and Grill but we were under dressed and it looked overly busy.

Hopping back into the car we drove to Bottega, but found out both the restaurant and cafe were closed for a private party. Back in the saddle, we headed to Giuseppe’s Cafe & Espresso Bar because they’re the best kept secret in town (according to their website). Sadly we went in, got a table, glanced at the menus, opted out and moved on.

From there we headed back to Five Points, destination Highland Grill, but were sidetracked when discovering Chez Fonfon next door. It might have been easier to drive to Paris.

Having never been to France, I can only imagine that Chez Fonfon emulates the same cozy, intimate feeling as a bistro underneath the Eiffel tower. The lights were dim, the quarters close and wine bottles lined a wall.

While musing over our options we torn into a basket of bread and soaked in the glow. To begin, my friend and I split the Little gem bib salad with apples, tomme and tarragon-cider vinaigrette. It was a simply dressed salad, tangy from the dressing and sweet from the fruit.

Craving a healthy reprieve and saving room for dessert, I chose the salmon with lentils du Puy and niçoise olive butter for my entree. The generous portion of fish and lentils were perfectly cooked and complimented by the salty sharpness of the olives. My friend equally enjoyed the Coq au Vin which was tender and moist.

Reluctant to select just one, I settled on the Pear Almond tart for dessert but almost ordered the Chocolate Pot de Creme my friend had. Luckily, she’s the sharing type and let me scoop up a spoonful of the silky smooth rich chocolate mousse. Charmed by the flaky, buttery tart, I savored my dessert with a cappuccino leaving no crumb behind.

I imagine that the croque monsieur and steak frites are delightful, and wish I had room to taste the cheese plate. Chez Fonfon is as enchanting as Birmingham and a fairly inexpensive way to experience the allure of Paris. Just try to avoid the two hour tour to get there.

Chez Fonfon
2007 Eleventh Avenue South
Birmingham, AL 35205
Phone 205-939-3221
http://www.fonfonbham.com

Succotash

Nom Nom Nom

The only thing unpalatable at Succotash is the art.

For Christmas we stayed in Mississippi, which means I went home to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. While in the Midwest, I had the rare luxury of spending one whole day with my little brother. We had a complete Joey and Janice-esque day of fun, except we actually like each other and neither of us have that annoying accent.

Having a shared passion for both eating and cooking, brunch was the natural choice to start the day. Moving beyond our usual First Watch family obsession, we decided to go somewhere new and ended up at Succotash.

Succotash is an eccentrically decorated diner, kitschy objects are strewn about and the chairs are painted a combination of Smurf and royal blue. You won’t be able to avoid an odd painting of a woman eating blood red soup dribbling from her mouth. The image is creepy, I was glad it was out of sight and hung upside down.

Now, this post might not be helpful because a over a month has passed. When reviewing their menu online, I noticed the dishes are different from what we ordered in the restaurant.

Succotash serves Cafe du Monde coffee but I chose to sip on a cappuccino while reading the three page menu.

I had a vegetarian version of the Kitchen Sink, but requested sausage gravy instead of mushroom gravy. My brother ordered a version of Eggs Benedict with crab meat; the only version online includes smoked salmon. To round out the meal we split a single blueberry pancake on the side.

Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and the pancake was bigger than our heads.

I was presented a platter of home fries layered with spinach, vegetables, eggs, cheese and smothered with gravy. All of those vegetables felt deceptively healthy despite the gravy blanket. The Eggs Benedict featured a rich Hollandaise sauce covering a fresh mound of crab meat. Surprisingly, the spinach was raw in both dishes, simply an interesting decision. The blueberry pancake almost exceeded the edges of the plate, was perfectly sweet and golden brown.

While stuffing ourselves we caught up on life, marriage, culinary aspirations and talked a lot about nothing. We ate leisurely and I don’t know what was more delightful, brunch or spending time with my brother. The painting is another story.

Succotash
2601 Holmes Street
Kansas City, MO 64108
Phone 816-421-2807
http://www.succotashkc.com

Ajax Diner

Chicken and Dumplings Plate

The food is finer than football in Oxford.

During the first year I moved down to the South, my husband and I traveled to Oxford once to compete in the Rebel Man sprint triathlon. We managed to cross the finish line and eat out at a couple places, but time was limited and our focus wasn’t on food.

Since then, the University of Mississippi mascot has changed from Colonel Reb to a black bear and the football program has grown rockier than Lindsay Lohan’s career.

We virtually have no reason to wander that direction, but I found myself back up there this past September for a mixed doubles state tennis tournament. Although my primary purpose was tennis, I managed to squeeze in a few good meals.

Between two days, I ate an undocumented but nice dinner at Boure and lunch at Ajax Diner twice. Sadly I missed the team brunch at Big Bad Breakfast and left before hitting City Grocery, Snackbar, Taylor Grocery or Ravine. Five reasons to go back.

For our initial team meal before the matches started, we met up at Ajax Diner on the square. Once you walk into Ajax, it’s every man for themselves because they have open seating. We scrambled to piece together tables for our party of thirteen in a jam packed dining room.

Ajax features salads, sandwiches and po’boys, but I’d say their main specialty is plate lunches. They feature soul food and Southern staples such as red beans and rice with andouille sausage, pot roast, fried catfish and meatloaf. And throughout these two years in the South I’ve never been tempted to order a vegetable plate, until I saw their menu. They have twenty items under the Veggie category, even if that does include cheese grits.

I decided on the Chicken and Dumplings plate lunch, selecting turnip greens and upgrading to macaroni and cheese for the two side items. I wished there were more discernible pieces of chicken, but like most versions the meat was integrated into the gravy. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and the greens had a smokey touch. The portions are generous and a large square of jalapeno cornbread came perched on the plate, well worth the $11.

On the second day, we played hard and finished our final matches at a strange time, leaving us hungry and tired mid-afternoon. I tried to go to City Grocery (closed, and too sweaty for the dining room) and Bottletree Bakery (rented out for a private party) but ran out of luck. Then I found myself back at Ajax.

They were still doing a brisk business at off hours which only speaks well of their food. Feeling dejected from our losses I went with the Chicken Fried Steak plate lunch, ultimate comfort food worth the extra calories.

Next to a large chicken fried steak I got mashed potatoes, cucumber and tomato salad, more turnip greens and a homemade lemonade. I was extra worn out but everything on the second go around tasted extra delicious. The tangy cucumber salad and fresh, sweet lemonade cut the richness of the brown gravy drowned potatoes and meat. In fact, I tried not to eat the entire piece but couldn’t stop myself from cleaning my plate. This meal almost made up for our disappointing loss on the tennis courts.

If comfort food isn’t your dish, then there are plenty of other options to choose from. I would really have loved to try the Hot Tamale Pie at dinner.

Oxford is a small college town home to Ole Miss football, William Faulkner and some great Southern eats.

Ajax Diner
118 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655
Phone 662-232-8880
http://ajaxdiner.net