We All Scream For Ice Cream
Join us as we visit five local establishment serving frozen desserts, sampling homemade gelatos, sorbets and ice creams in gourmet flavors, as well as frozen yogurt, root beer floats Dipping Dots. But hurry, before it melts.
- story and photos by Lisa Monti, additional photos, Ellis Anderson
“I just use all natural ingredients, basically cream, sugar and fruit or cheese,” Moynan said, making something so delicious sound so simple.
No matter the temperature or season, customers happily end their meals with an ice cream or a sorbet for dessert. “Sometimes we’ll sell ice cream like crazy in the winter months. It doesn’t have to be a special time year. It’s just a special treat,” she said. At Sycamore House Restaurant (210 Main St.), the homemade ice cream is billed as fresh flavors of the moment and the offerings are generously varied: creole cream cheese, mint chocolate chip, coffee, blueberry, roasted marshmallow, peach buttermilk, salted caramel. One scoop or two? A taste test of all the flavors didn’t bring on brain freeze, but did set off an avalanche of adjectives. Tart buttermilk peach. Salty-sweet caramel. Richly satisfying cream cheese. Robust coffee. One taste and it becomes your favorite. Until the next taste. And the next. Pick any one of these treats and you can’t go wrong. Sycamore House customers too full after their meal are known to come back just for something sweet. Enjoy a bowl on the porch, in the dining room, or at the small bar if there’s room.
When a restaurant calls itself a creperie, you know it’s serious about dessert. And for a small place (25 seats), Cannella International Creperie & More (1113 U.S. 90) packs a lot into the menu, including four gelato and four sorbet flavors.
“The gelato and sorbet we make ourselves,” said Roberto Zito, who owns Cannella with wife Toni. You can order either with the made-fresh crepes or alongside the baked apple dessert, but Roberto said, “the gelato is so good, most people enjoy it by itself.” The current gelato menu lists espresso, pistachio honey ricotta (just-right richness and chunky), cioccolato, bourbon creme brûlée with the right amount of sweetness and espresso gelato. Sorbet flavors are blood orange ginger, a refreshingly tart limoncello, mango lime chile with a spicy kick and tasty red berry Prosecco. Order one, two and three scoops served in a cup or in a large waffle cone. The flavors change periodically because customers and the owners like the variety. “We eat it, too!” said Toni.
Cypress Cafe (300 South Second St.) is the place to get the futuristic Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream, those tiny spheres of ice cream that melt away to creamy goodness in your mouth. One popular flavor is Cookies ’n Cream studded with generous chunks of Oreos. The cafe also sells Chocolate, Rainbow, Strawberry and sometimes Mint Chocolate. The dots are scooped out of containers held in a special freezer and served by the cupful. Lots of cups.
Chef Sherry Prater says students from the nearby schools are huge fans of Dippin’ Dots and they come in regularly for their favorite flavors. “You don’t want to run out,” said the chef. “You should see those disappointed little faces.” Grownup ice cream fans lean more toward Cypress Cafe’s vanilla served atop a chocolate chip brownie, crowned with whipped cream, chocolate caramel and Prater’s praline-candied pecans.
Over at Purple Banana (300 South Second St.), cool treats come in eight flavors of frozen yogurt and more than 40 toppings. Do the math. Or rather, work your way through the standard selections of self-serve froyo - vanilla, strawberry, cheesecake, cake batter and triple chocolate - or go for the seasonal offerings of cappuccino, tangerine mango and butter pecan (if you’re remembering something you had that was minty, that probably was last holiday season).
Picking toppings can be a little challenging, just because there are so many delicious choices: coconut, pecans, chocolate chip, Oreos, Butter Fingers, and many more. Enjoy your frozen yogurt in cups or cones (waffle and small sugar cones). At the cash register, guess the weight of your serving and it's free if you're right!
LuLu’s on Main
126 Main St. (228) 463-1670 Sycamore House 210 Main St. (228) 469-0107 Cannella Creperie and More 1113 U.S. 90 (228) 467-4110 Cypress Cafe 300 South Second St. (228) 466-4877 Purple Banana 107 Court St. (228) 466-2978 Rum Kitchen
Chappy, whose original seafood restaurant opened in Long Beach in 1984, said that Hurricane Katrina “completely uprooted” his life and that he’s thrilled to finally be back home in Waveland. “I’m trying to get back to my life that I love so much,” he said. Not one to look back, Chappy said, “I’m trying to move ahead with new ideas, fresh ideas.”
The Caribbean flair is found throughout the dining area and even into the ladies’ room, where leftover wood takes an artistic turn. Chappy credits his wife Starr and his sister, New Orleans artist Connie Chapman, for pulling together all the pieces and parts to give the restaurant its tropical look. The taste, though, is what keeps customers coming back, like the starter choices to share with the table: avocado mango dip, seafood hushpuppies and Yea Mon Nachos (pulled pork, black beans, jalapeños, tomatoes, red onion, lime cream, cilantro, and tons of melted cheese).
Tacos with fish and various fillings are on menus everywhere these days but at Rum Kitchen the Off the Grid tacos come in some unique iterations. Choose beef, seafood, lamb, chicken, duck, pork, and vegetarian, all served on 4-inch corn tortillas.
The brisket has big flavors accented by BBQ sauce, cilantro, and crunchy fried shallots. Flavorful Jerk Chicken is sweetened with mango salsa. The popular Miss Queen doubles down with pulled pork, jalapeño salsa, spicy and vinegary BBQ sauce and roasted corn relish. Tacos come in twos, threes and fours with one or two sides. Coconut mango rice is a pleasant sweet surprise, light and flavorful. The Callaloo-smothered greens got raves on two lunch outings. Also available are sweet potato fries, black beans with chorizo, grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes.
The sandwiches-and-burgers menu includes the standout ground chuck burger and the grilled mahi mahi with creole seasoning. Both drew raves recently from lunch customers.
The Me Hearty Plates offer even more innovative choices, like braised lamb in a tomato curry, grilled chicken with the restaurant’s signature sauce, red curry shrimp, ribs and a char gilled ribeye with garlic chutney. Mahi Mahi, jerk chicken and brisket are found into the salad selections, too. For dessert, dig into the Bahama Mama bread pudding, made fresh daily, or Key lime pie, among other decadent selections. Go ahead. Pretend you’re on vacation. Rum Kitchen is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving lunch and dinner. There is a full bar. Call 228-467-9099. The Sunrise Café
Kane opened the cafe in November 2013 after years of waiting tables and as a restaurant cook and manager. Getting off the ground was a sometimes a struggle but things started to settle down — and pick up — in the second year, she said. Now Sunrise Cafe has a loyal following.
“It’s pretty steady most days but Saturday is our busiest,” she said. “Most of our customers are local but we do have some who come from Waveland, Pass Christian and even Long Beach. And Hollywood Casino has a valet who always recommends us to guests.” Kane said she loves her cafe’s location and the town’s welcoming, small-town atmosphere. “I have great neighbors in this little business area. We have a dentist, an orthodontist, and the cellphone company. It’s a close-knit community. When customers come in, they know each other,” she said.
Regulars know what they like, too. The Western omelet, filled with ham, onions, bell peppers, tomato and cheddar, is a favorite. Philly cheese steak, another top-selling choice, appears in three different iterations: as a sandwich or an omelet or in the ultimate hash browns with grilled onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, Swiss cheese and eggs. Want those hash browns extra crispy? Just ask your server.
There are also breakfast standards like buttermilk pancakes and hard-to-come-by dishes like corned beef hash. The menu covers all the breakfast bases. Lunch items include tasty burgers, mixed green salads, sandwiches and melts plus made-from-scratch desserts. Homemade soup of the day is partnered with a small tossed salad or half a chicken salad croissant. Kane said the cafe’s menu is pretty well set, but don’t be surprised if you see more sandwiches and fewer plate lunches during the heat of the summer season. And of course you can satisfy your breakfast food cravings any time the cafe is open. Williams Pit Bar-B-Que
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Music was blaring one recent morning at Williams Pit BBQ, but Phil Williams was concentrating on the kitchen and lunch ingredients. The daily special was pork chops and he was overseeing the sides and whatever else needed tending before customers started showing up at his restaurant at 514 Old Spanish Trail between Sycamore and Washington Streets.
The kitchen is familiar territory for the 70-year-old Williams, who has been cooking and catering for years. He’s in the restaurant seven days a week “unless I have a major catering job or gig, then we have to close,” he said. “You know I’m a musician and I go out of state sometimes.” To read more about Phil, read ourGood Neighbor column, March 2013 |
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La Chula Mexican Restaurant
829 Hwy 90
Bay St. Louis
228.467.4426
- story and photos by Lisa Monti
The Bugs We Love to Eat
- by Lisa Monti
A Fascination With Food
In early January, resolute people join gyms and begin diets. The holidays were fun, but now it’s time to pay the piper for all that sugar and alcohol.
What an odd time to find myself drawn to cookbooks. I admit that I’m a big fan of the genre and have more cookbooks on my shelves than anyone who has tasted my cooking would imagine. I love the tempting pictures, but my greatest joy is reading the backstory of the recipes and why they are worth the time. All cookbooks are written with love and care, whether written by famous chefs or members of the Junior League, but all are not created equal. |
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One of my favorite books about cooking and eating is “The Art of Simple Food” by Alice Waters, a famous chef, organic food activist, and the author of numerous books. She owns Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, California famous for its organic, locally grown ingredients. Waters writes:
Good cooking is no mystery. You don’t need years of culinary training,
or rare and costly foodstuffs, or an encyclopedic knowledge of world cuisines.
You need only your own five senses. You need good ingredients, too, of course,
but in order to choose and prepare them, you need to experience them fully.
It’s the many dimensions of sensual experience that make cooking so
satisfying. You never stop learning.
Tamar Adler learned well from Fisher about economy and ingenuity. She describes her weekly routine of visiting farmers’ markets to buy “the leafiest, stemmiest vegetables I can find. … I start cooking them as soon as possible after shopping, when the memory of the market’s sun and cheerful tents are still in mind.” Once prepared, the squashes, greens, and root vegetables form the basis of meals for a whole week.
She’s a big fan of using seasonal vegetables in salads, omelets, soups, or gratins. As their freshness wanes, she recommends making a curry. There are recipes in the book, but most of them simply say something like, “add 2 cups cooked vegetables.” Adler uses vinaigrette on salads, beans, and rice dishes. The recipe for basic vinaigrette is so simple that you will never buy bottled dressing again.
1 shallot, minced (if you have one but it’s fine without it)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, smashed (I use a garlic press.)
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
Mix all but the olive oil and let sit for a minute. Mix in the oil.
“An Everlasting Meal” is filled with poetry and literature. I feel that I’m not reading a cookbook, but a fabulous lifestyle idea. Readers are encouraged to think of food preparation and consumption as a celebration. Ms. Adler playfully urges us not to take cooking too seriously when she names chapters “How to Boil Water” or “How to Snatch Victory from the Jaws of Defeat.” Whenever I reread her book, I feel confident that I can cook more intuitively and successfully.
For the past 25-plus years, I have lived a primarily vegetarian life. Some meat and fish are allowed into our diets, but we prefer vegetables. My favorite cookbooks are vegetarian. My earliest attempts at cooking were aided by Mollie Katzen and her charmingly illustrated books, “The Enchanted Broccoli Forest” and “Moosewood Cookbook.”
These days I like to consult “The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook” by America’s Test Kitchen. This book is a treasure-trove of hints and techniques. Each recipe starts with “Why This Recipe Works,” which explains the result of extensive research in the test kitchen. It’s easier to be inventive when you understand the basics of preparation.
A small book titled “Mezze” is another favorite of mine. Mezze dishes originate in North Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Comparable to Spanish tapas or Italian antipasti, mezze are small dishes served as appetizers or grouped together to form a meal for sharing. The recipes for hummus and eggplant dip are easy and delicious. There’s a carrot salad that looks sweet, but is quite savory thanks to cumin and turmeric. I love the oven roasted chile shrimp with its spicy juices for sopping with bread.
Today food blogs are very popular and number in the thousands. It’s not easy to separate the best from the mediocre, but here are a few that I enjoy:
My Paris Kitchen (davidlebovitz.com)
Cookie + Kate (cookieandkate.com)
101 Cookbooks (101cookbooks.com)
Sprouted Kitchen (sproutedkitchen.com)
The First Mess (thefirstmess.com)
I believe that preparing and consuming good, fresh food enhances our lives. Meals shared with friends and family offer great satisfaction and pleasure. All of our senses are engaged and our overall well-being is improved. I read cookbooks to become a more confident cook, not one ruled by recipes. I want to enjoy the preparation and sharing of meals with the people I love.
Our two local bookstores, Pass Christian Books (sponsor of this column!) and Bay Books, have a good selection of cookbooks for consideration. The Bay St. Louis Library and other branches of the Hancock County Library System have shelves filled with books about food.
Get out the knives, and shake those pots and pans.
Serious Bread Making Serious Sandwiches
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Lisa Monti and Ellis Anderson
Serious Bread Bakery
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The sandwich was crisped in a panini press (using olive oil, not butter) and served with a pickle slice and a bag of Lay’s potato chips, a classic accompaniment. Depending on availability and your preferences, the sandwich ingredients vary, but you know the bread and everything in between will be good and tasty.
Turns out The Works is a runaway favorite with Old Town workers who order their panini to go.
Back to those carryout items. The deep green pesto is a swirl of fresh basil, walnuts, garlic, sea salt, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. The spicy hummus (garbanzo beans, extra-virgin olive oil, tahini, garlic, cumin, sea salt, fresh lemon juice and just a bit of red pepper flakes).
You’re probably familiar with Serious Bread’s chicken salad, made with freshly roasted chicken, apples, almonds and cranberries, but maybe not with tabouli, a Lebanese salad blending bulgur wheat, feta, tomatoes, black olives, green onions and cilantro.
The bars are made of dried fruits, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, oats, coconut, almonds, pecans, flax seed, sesame seed and honey. Like everything made at Serious Bread, they’re all natural.
It’s been a dozen or so years since the Jensens started making Serious Bread and selling it at farmer’s markets. Lucky for locals (and visitors), for the past two years, they have an Old Town home at 131 Main Street.
Al, a retired oceanographer long known as "The Breadman," was a lifelong fan of sourdough and after he started baking his own bread, he and Vivian traveled to bread classes all over the country.
Between operating the Old Town storefront and working various farmer's markets, the Jensens and their crew stay busy making and selling all those great artisan sourdough breads, double chocolate brownies, cinnamon rolls, scones, and a variety of muffins and cookies. Their famous flatbreads are available in their cafe on weekends and on farmer's market days.
Menge to Main: The New Old Cuevas Bistro
Hours: Lunch starts Jan. 4
11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday;
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday;
Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting Jan. 10.
Have you been to the handsome new Old Cuevas Bistro yet? It’s only been open a few weeks but some diners on a recent Tuesday night were back for their second and third visits.
And the crowd filling the bar stools looked so comfortably settled in, you could assume they were already regulars. Or it could be they had to wait for a table. The place was full. Long story short: The original Old Cuevas Bistro on Menge Avenue owned by Cassandra Timmons burned down in July 2014. The reopening/move to 111 Main Street by Timmons and Toni Strickland got rolling earlier this year, and after a long slog, the doors finally opened December 15. |
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But the kitchen already is humming along in high gear, turning out shareable appetizers and generous entrees, plus a string of sides. Specials change daily, starting with red beans and rice on Mondays.
The Oysters St. Louis heads the list of appetizers, and rightfully so. The local oysters are wrapped in smoky bacon, skewered, fried to a crispy state and sauced with citrus beurre blanc.
Fried oysters. Bacon. Buttery sauce. Yes, please. Easily could pass as an entree.
The house-made pork and veggie spring rolls were crunchy and delicious on their own with the Thai chili sauce and came with Asian slaw that was a surprise standout, rich with soy sauce.
The appetizer list includes familiar favorites — crab cakes, fried green tomatoes — plus some unique ones like duck quesadillas and baked cheese gratin.
Each of the three chicken entree dishes sounded better than the next: Montrachet, Milanese, and Blue Corn. The Montrachet chicken breast was pan fried to perfection, stuffed with spinach and various cheeses and topped with pesto cream sauce alongside angel hair pasta. And the leftovers held up well - until lunch the next day.
Bottom line: The long-awaited Old Cuevas Bistro is worth the wait and a welcome addition to Old Town.
Louie & the Redhead Lady in the Bay
136 Blaize Avenue
228-344-3338
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson
On opening day at Louie & the Redhead Lady last Wednesday (Nov. 25), they were serving up equal amounts of warm hospitality and traditional New Orleans dishes with just-right spice.
From our vantage point, it was clear that this wasn’t the first opening for owners Chef Louie and Ginger Finnan. The Finnans' restaurant of the same name in Mandeville, La., had a loyal following, and when the sign went up on Blaize Avenue that Louie & the Redhead Lady was opening in the Depot District, word spread around town and beyond. |
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Louie’s roots are in the French Quarter; Ginger’s are in the Irish Channel. She works the front of the house, and he’s in the kitchen. The chef, a former electrician, learned to cook from his grandmother and has cooked for 40 or so years to raves.
When he was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2011, host Guy Fieri called Louie’s grits & grillades “a breakfast that eats like dinner.” [Watch the Food Network video about the Mandeville location at the end of this story!]
As Ginger said: “Food makes a chef. God makes a cook.”
Our opening day lunch was a good introduction to the long menu: rich, dark chicken and Andouille gumbo, loads of fried fish with sweet potato fries, and two hefty crab cakes coated in crunchy bread crumbs drizzled with a rich remoulade.
The generous fried green tomatoes were topped with poached eggs and the crispy Leidenheimer bread couldn’t contain all the fried shrimp that came in the po’boy.
Lunchtime offerings (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) include the storied Eggplant Algiers appetizer: a hearty stack of fried eggplant medallions layered with boiled shrimp, crab meat and crab cake, topped with a light cream sherry sauce, and otherwise known as Louie’s “Stairway to Heaven.” Here, also, are gumbo, salads, pasta, steaks, classic fried seafood, po’boys, and the list goes on.
The chef’s special holiday menu will run through New Year’s.
Watch for the rollout of daily lunch specials for $8 (red beans, baked chicken, spaghetti & meatballs, liver & onions and fried fish), Saturday brunch and extended hours in the near future.
Louie & the Redhead Lady is open Monday through Saturday. For now, bring your own wine.
The Starfish Café
- story and photos by Lisa Monti
“Wellness for a lifetime” isn’t just the tagline for Starfish Cafe; it’s a kind of “mother sauce” for the flavorful meals prepared in the kitchen by executive chef Zac Fillhart and his apprentices.
Using garden-fresh herbs, vegetables and edible flowers along with locally grown and purchased ingredients, the Starfish Cafe has crafted an eclectic menu that goes beyond good, and straight to good-for-you. “We shop every day,” said Di Fillhart, executive director of PNEUMA Winds of Hope, the nonprofit that oversees the cafe. There isn’t even a walk-in on the premises, so you know it’s all fresh. Each dish — from starters and soups to sandwiches and specials — is created and prepared with a focus on great taste and good health. That’s the commitment Fillhart made when she opened Starfish in 2013 as the centerpiece for a culinary learning program. |
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A recent lunch for our trio started with greeting friends we spotted at just about every table in the small dining room. It’s that kind of place: familiar, friendly, and comfortable.
Our timing was off because of a very long freight train so the must-have spring rolls were already gone. Get there early to enjoy the spring mix with tomato, carrot, mango, cukes, mint and sesame ginger dressing inside a tapioca rice wrapper. The accompanying peanut sauce is homemade, as you would expect.
Rebounding from the spring roll miss, we ordered the roasted asparagus “fries,” deliciously crunchy with a parmesan coating, and a delicious, addictive starter.
One of the daily specials made its way to our table: the blackened Mississippi catfish tacos with mango mint coleslaw were served with organic chips and homemade pico.
“We’re so small that we can customize a lot of orders according to taste and dietary needs,” Di said. “If you have dietary restrictions, this is the place for people who find it difficult in other restaurants.”
If you’re the kind of diner who likes to go by the numbers, the cafe’s menu has an Under 500 section just for you. I’m not that kind of person but the Thai steak salad caught my attention. The marinated strips of filet topped a large portion of romaine, garden fresh basil, mint and cilantro and all of it was flavored with a citrusy Thai lime dressing. All that goodness and just 160 calories. I know.
There are a couple of other ingredients the folks at Starfish Cafe like to use in generous amounts. “We put a heavy portion of love and happiness in every dish,” said Di. “Our regulars tell us they can taste it.”
West End Returns!
Waveland's go-to place for seafood opens with everyone's favorite's still on the menu – and a few new tasty delights, including a raw bar!
- story by Lisa Monti, photos Ellis Anderson |
West End Restaurant
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Fans returning to Waveland’s West End Restaurant, which was closed for a short hiatus, are finding some changes to the dining room and the menu. The raw bar, featuring a small pirogue, is where diners can choose from raw oysters, ceviche, marinated crab claws and shrimp cocktail. Owners Kelyn and Mark Breland plan to add a variety of oysters from Alabama and other states soon. They’re also planning to offer an early-bird special soon.
On a recent Tuesday, diners on lunch break filled tables in the front dining room, a gathering of friends met on the sunny side courtyard and a hard working group from the Cleaver met for our casual monthly lunch in the middle dining room. Its chalkboard walls are decorated with quotes by foodies and about eating. It fits right in with the Brelands’ motto for West End: Small-town ease, Big Easy Flavor. |
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Meals at West End start with a small loaf of French bread delivered to the table in a paper bag. It's a nice way to get a meal under way and the bread at West End is warm, light and crispy.
I didn’t do the math but our table seemed split between the menu classics and the daily specials. I had a cup of rich gumbo loaded with seafood along with half a fried shrimp poboy on Leidenheimer bread. Pardon the crumbs. Enough said.
Up and down the table, all the choices appeared appetizing, from the generous and juicy West End burger covered with melted Swiss to the show-stopping avocado crab salad and the fried green tomato poboy. An appetizer of fried green tomatoes topped with crabmeat and accompanied by a small serving of a special sauce stood up well to the full-sized entrees.
West End is partial to seafood but if you lean more toward pasta, steaks, and veal dishes you can find those, too.
West End, located at 635 U.S. Route 90, is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Sycamore House Sushi Night
- story and photographs by Ellis Anderson
For a classic fine dining restaurant, Sycamore House has always walked a little on the wild side. For instance, although meals are served on china plates, every dish on the table will be from a different vintage pattern. White tablecloths and chandeliers give the dining rooms a sense of old world formality, but resort wear is the most common attire for diners. "Come casual, we'll supply the elegance" is even painted on the sign outside.
But even many regular customers aren't aware of the menu that comes out only on Wednesday nights, the one that offers over a dozen varieties of sushi. And of course, this sushi is very different than you find at most Japanese restaurants. Like everything else on the menu, it has the distinctive Sycamore House spin. |
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While die-hard sushi aficionados may go for the nigiri, it's probably a safe bet that most Sycamore House guests on Wednesday night are there for the maki rolls. Even the lowly California roll takes on a new glamour. While it's the norm at most restaurants to use the imitation crab meat in rolls, the ones at Sycamore House are made with the real McCoy, wrapped up with avocado, radish and cucumber.
The crawfish roll pairs the cajun delight with asparagus, cucumber and a surprising chipotle boursin sauce. Salmon pairs up with caperberry aioli, and the shrimp get a kick from a spicy mayo. There's even a BBQ shrimp roll. Really. Made with the restaurant's signature recipe at the heart. And they're generously portioned as well.
The SycHouse roll leaves nothing to the imagination: everything you can think of (fresh crabmeat, crawfish, yellowfin tuna and asparagus) is stuffed inside and then tempura battered and fried. The queen of rolls though has got to be the Surf n Turf: shrimp and veggies on the inside, buttery tender steak on the out.
The sushi is Stella's baby, although it was one of the food specialties both studied while training at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Several years ago, the couple were casting about for something to jazz up mid-week in the restaurant. The sushi idea came up since at the time there were few ethnic food offerings in the area. Now there's a loyal following of fans that return each Wednesday.
Reservations aren't necessary, but it's always best to make one: call (228) 469 - 0107.
The Cypress Cafe - New Owners, Same Menu of Faves
-by Ana Balka
The Cypress Cafe, an Old Town favorite, is under new ownership. But diehard fans can rest easy, says new owner Sue Forstall, who bought the cafe with her husband Steve in early June: these new owners love the restaurant and its menu just the way it is.
Forstall and former cafe owner and founder Holly Lemoine-Raymond have been friends for over 20 years, and Forstall says that taking over the cafe feels like she and Steve “adopted Holly’s second child.” “Holly and I were both hostesses at a casino when we met years ago. We’ve stayed best friends and have seen each other through so many of life’s phases. It’s great to keep the business she started going for all the fans of the restaurant.” |
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110 South Second Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520 228.467.8383 www.mockingbirdcafe.com The Mockingbird Café
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story and photos by Ellis Anderson (unless otherwise attributed)
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The first time they meet the owner of the Mockingbird Café, most people hear her name as “Alison.” She makes it simple for them.
“It’s Alicein. Like Alice In Wonderland,” she says, smiling. And her smile is so open and engaging, one almost expects the Mad Hatter to round the corner at any moment. However, the effervescent personality and the fairy tale name belong to an extremely savvy businesswoman. Alicein Schwabacher oversees the Mockingbird Cafe with a holistic approach – one that makes her a pioneer in the state of Mississippi. She and her team believe that a business can be profitable and influence the overall quality of life in a community at the same time. |
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“We try to promote wellness on all fronts,” she says. “That includes serving fresh foods, hosting revolving art shows, providing a home for Tree House Yoga Studio, and staging live family-friendly music events. We have a free lending library and we’re home base for a weekly Fun Run. It’s all about interacting with your community on a lot of different levels.”
The Mockingbird first opened in 2006, when Bay St. Louis was still digging out from the debris fields left by Hurricane Katrina. To outsiders, it seemed an odd time to open a coffeehouse, but according to Alicein, "we saw a need for a communal gathering place that would offer love, hope, and a place for healing to begin." The historic building quickly became known as the town’s “living room,” where volunteers and survivors shared stories, laughter and tears.
Over the past nine years, the Mockingbird has been featured in national magazines like Southern Living (repeatedly), Coastal Living and Cottage Living magazines and on NPR's Weekend Edition. They’re known throughout the state in artistic and musical circles. Their food is of special note too. Recently, their burgers were named among the top ten in Mississippi. So if visitors to Bay St. Louis were given a “Must Do” list, “hangin’” at the Mockingbird would be near the top.
Visitors can always find interesting locals willing to converse in the lively café. On any given day, you’re likely to find college students who have stumbled on the Bay during their travels, scientists who work at Stennis Space Center, day-trippers from New Orleans and beyond, kids from the nearby schools and lots of artists and writers. The mix of people is as irresistible as the food and beverages served up by welcoming baristas.
About a year ago, the Mockingbird began offering breakfast on a daily basis (7am – 11am M – Sat., 8am – 1pm on Sunday) to resounding community applause. Their made-from-scratch biscuits have been called the best on the coast by more than one Southern food lover (this writer among them). Divine jams made in-house can be slathered on for the full flavor bomb effect (just DO IT!).
Other favorites include frittatas, apple-smoked bacon, and the ever-popular José Loves Me omelet (with black beans, cheddar, avocado and made-in-house pico de gallo). Fresh fruits, robust full-grain grits (not the anemic instant kind) and curry-seasoned home-fries round out a menu that will delight adventurous diners as well as traditional egg-and-bacon folks.
Smith & Lens Gallery, located right next door, schedules their monthly art opening during the same time frame, so that night, Second Street takes on a festival atmosphere. The Night Market concerts are similar to the other evening performances held throughout the month. Adults take chairs and listen or chat with friends, while dozens of children are hula hooping and scooting and dancing their way through the crowd. That’s exactly the energy the Mockingbird crew has been cultivating.
“When you have children, you don’t stop wanting to go have a burger and a beer and watch a band,” Alicein says. “We wanted to provide a place where that could happen. All our events are children-friendly. We have blocks and markers and hula-hoops and black boards to help keep kids entertained while the parents are enjoying conversation and music.”
“Besides, you want outings like that to be a family experience and to cultivate a love of art and music in your children. Then they’re going to grow up and want more of the same.”
“We’re all pieces of the big puzzle, working to make our town loved and successful,” says Alicein. “Our philosophy at the Mockingbird is that kindness is the most important thing.”
- story by Lisa Monti/photos by Ellis Anderson
Shrimply Delightful!
We seafood lovers consider ourselves very lucky to have plenty of fresh Gulf fish, oysters, crabs and shrimp available year round. Summertime especially seems to be prime time for fans of seafood, especially shrimp, which is the most popular seafood in the U.S.
Wild Gulf shrimp come in three varieties: brown, white and pink or spotted, according to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources’ Mississippi Gulf Seafood marketing program. The shrimp have their own look and taste, according to the DMR. Brown shrimp have a distinct salty flavor and are characterized by grooves on the back of their shells. Found in shallow waters, they bury themselves in the sand during the day to hide from predators. |
Coast Cuisine
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Mississippi Gulf Pink Shrimp are perfect for boiling because they’re easy to peel and its firm, tender meat is mild and sweet. It’s the largest of the Mississippi Gulf shrimp, reaching up to 11 inches.
You can buy shrimp off the boat, out of the back of a van, from the seafood market, the grocery store or you can catch them yourself.
Diners at our local restaurants don’t have to wade too far into a menu to find shrimp appetizers, entrees, poboys, pasta and salads.
Rickey Peters of Rickey’s Off the Tracks said he chooses shrimp by size, not by species. The current customer favorite is shrimp remoulade with his special Creole mayo sauce.
Tony Trapani of Trapani’s Eatery declared that domestic shrimp are the best and that size or species doesn’t matter. Customers are ordering plenty of fried shrimp as well as the blackened and grilled versions.
Lulu's on Main
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It’s a Lulu’s thing: people drive from Mobile for one of the “debris” roast beef po-boys. They invite their friends for dinner on the delightful screened porch that catches the gulf breezes. During Sunday brunch, families gather to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries - and just the fact that it’s Sunday again in the Bay. During the week, shopping BBFs give their feet a break while enjoying a refreshingly fresh homemade lunch.
Welcome to the new Lulu’s on Main. The things that made this lunchtime restaurant a coast favorite for eight years remain unchanged - which will be a big comfort to die-hard fans. There’s just more of everything now: more space, more art, extended hours and new creative dishes. |
Coast Cuisine
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Even the kitchen has grown, from a cramped room to a spacious state-of-the-art chef’s dream.
In fact, this all is a dream, one that owner/chef Nancy Moynan has been nurturing for decades.
“It’s been my dream and my passion and finally I’m living it,” she says. “All I’ve ever wanted is a place where the food, the service and the ambiance combine to give diners an outstanding experience.”
Moynan brings a lot of outstanding experience of her own to the table. She grew up learning the nuances of flavor by watching her grandmother and mom. She cooked for three years in the legendary Commander’s Palace restaurant in New Orleans. She also worked for five years as private chef for a Lebanese family, adding expertise in Mediterranean cooking to her Creole and Italian mix.
The Sunday Brunch menu tempts diners with traditional favorites and scrumptious flights of fancy. Authentic Grillades and Grits (a dish very difficult to find on menus now - even in New Orleans eateries), Crabby Lulu (a scrumptious crab cake and egg creation) and a Sausage soufflé.
There’s also the tantalizing Redfish Florentine. It features fresh gulf redfish, seared and served with a creamy spinach Madeleine, sautéed mushrooms and artichoke hearts and two poached eggs. The whole seductive dish is covered in a homemade hollandaise sauce. Bringing friends who will share tastes of their own plates is highly recommended.
Desserts served at all meals include homemade ice creams and sorbets, Lulu’s Chocolate Mud, and Betty’s Bread Pudding, named after the chef’s mom.
Even little things like the saltine crackers that come with the chicken salad showcase Nancy’s distinctive flair. What magic does she work to make them so savory, and downright addictive? She holds her cards close to her vest, but encourages diners to experiment in their own kitchens at home.
“That’s the best compliment someone can pay,” Moynan says. “ I want them to leave looking forward to their next meal here.”
Landing For Lunch
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson
The Cafe at Stennis International Airport
Jet-A-Way-Café operated by Million Air 7250 Stennis Airport Rd, Kiln, MS 39556 (228) 463-2389
If your idea of dinner and a show means going out to a restaurant and a movie, you may want to switch things up and take a lunch date out to the Stennis Airport, where you’ll have a bird's eye view of the comings and goings of all sorts of aircraft while you eat.
Stennis airport is located right off of Highway 603, as you’re heading north from the coast. While it carries the same name as the enormous government and corporate “city” that thrives on the western edge of Hancock County, it’s located much closer to Bay-Waveland - just off interstate 10, north of MS exit 13. |
Coast Cuisine
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But, yes, you are still in Kiln, Mississippi. And the name Stennis International Airport is not a delusion of grandeur. Although there’s no commercial international flights traveling to and fro – yet – corporate, cargo, and military aircraft from all over the world frequent the airport. Built to handle emergency landings for the Space Shuttle, airport director Bill Cotter says that the runway is one of the longest in the Southeast, stretching for over a mile and a half. And it’s strong enough to handle super-sized aircraft like the Antonov, the largest cargo plane in the world.
Downstairs in the new air terminal, there are two chic lounges, a large corporate meeting room, a small, but posh, theatre and even small private rooms where travelers can nap in overstuffed recliners.
Upstairs the entire side of the building facing the runway is glass. In fact, it’s designed with the glass projecting outward at an angle, so observers watching the runway can lean forward in their excitement and not a nose will be broken.
While more offices and meeting spaces flank the central open staircase, the lively part of the building is the corner café.
The café is open from 8am to 3. The breakfast menu is served to 10:30am. The lunch menu kicks in from 10:30am - 3pm. It’s a limited menu (you can download it at the end of this article), but the food is so good, pilots with assignments allowing them to pick their destination are flying into the Stennis Airport at lunch time. They’re enjoying the fried or grilled shrimp (in a plate or as a po-boy), catfish, salads and gumbo. Yep. Authentic, made from scratch gumbo. There’s also homemade mac and cheese and crispy sweet potato fries as side options to regular fries.
But don’t expect to be looking at your food very much while you’re eating. The astonishing variety of jets and planes zipping in and out before you is guaranteed to arrest your attention, making the lunch hour fly in more ways than one.
Download the Jet Away Cafe menu!
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- this month - Hancock Medical's cafeteria puts hospital food in a whole new light.
“People come from miles around for our catfish and gumbo,” said Jimmy Lamy, HMC’s food service director. “Some people call it the best kept secret in Hancock County.”
On a recent Friday, the fresh catfish was well seasoned and crispy as promised, and served with crunchy hush puppies, a fresh baked sweet potato and other sides. My bowl of gumbo was chock-full of shrimp and served with my choice of brown rice for a flavorful and filling lunch. OK, not so filling as to keep me from trying the rich bread pudding.
Cafeteria fans also line up for fresh turnip greens on Monday and Friday, and for the award-winning red beans and rice on Monday. “The best anywhere,” is how a fan described the Monday special.
Lamy said he and his crew of nine “hard-working, dedicated employees” pride themselves on the food, the portions and the price. “We pretty much prepare everything we can from scratch,” he said.
The cafeteria serves breakfast from 7-9 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. seven days a week.
Every day, there’s a “Lighter Side” choice for those watching calories and salt intake. There’s also a grill for hamburgers and chicken, a build-your- own salad bar plus fresh sandwiches and wraps.
In the morning, there’s a full breakfast line and daily specials. Fresh donuts from Grammy’s are available for sale three days a week.
Lamy said the cafeteria doesn’t try to compete with local restaurants, and in fact, the hospital invites local chefs to come in and prepare their specialties so the hospital staff and others can get a taste of their restaurant menus.
“We just want people to come eat with us,” Lamy said.
- This month - If you feel the need to pretend that eating seafood on Fridays during Lent is a hardship, please do. Otherwise, let’s just be grateful for an abundance of fish and other local seafood to keep us faithful and fed.
On opening Friday, St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church volunteers worked in a well organized pattern of taking lunch orders, frying fish, filling styrofoam plates and matching customers with their meals.
There was a tiny wait when friends and I placed our orders but it was well worth it when we got our piping hot catfish, sides and dessert. The four pieces of catfish were crunchy and so well seasoned I skipped the ketchup and dipped into the tarter sauce only lightly. The potato salad was creamy and the green beans were tasty, too. (The cake came home with me for a mid-afternoon snack.) All that, including a canned drink or bottled water, for an $8 donation.
The St. Rose fish fry is held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Holy Spirit Center at 301 South Necaise Ave. Delivery is available with 10 or more orders. Call 228-467-9700.
At Our Lady of the Gulf, intrepid cookers sit outside in the cold frying up batches of catfish and hushpuppies. Frank Ladner and a large crew of volunteers are frying and baking and serving catfish, green beans, hushpuppies, cabbage slaw, a beverage and cake to raise funds in support of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
The OLG conference of St. Vincent de Paul is composed of three parishes: Our Lady of the Gulf, St. Clare and St. Rose de Lima. The Society helps residents of Hancock County who are in need, so fundraisers like the fish fry at Our Lady of the Gulf are an appropriate activity for the Lent.
Enjoy yours from 4:30 - 7:30pm for $10!
Lenten fish fry dinners at St. Ann Catholic Church, situated on Lower Bay Road in Clermont Harbor, began just about six months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed Parish buildings, along with most church member’s homes. The first year, dinners were fixed outside on propane grills and cookers, but then that’s the way most people fixed meals in those days. Today dinner is prepared in a modern kitchen and is for dine in or take out from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday. Plate dinners cost $8, with desserts and drinks available at an additional cost. Proceeds from this event go of offset Parish insurance costs, something we all wish we could for our own homes!
Diane Staszak coordinates this this event and dispenses desserts. Dinner always includes fried fish, coleslaw, hush puppies and bread, with homemade potato salad or mac and cheese while it lasts. Fries are available when those are gone. Dessert selection depends on the specialties of the many folks who bring these items. Depending on the weather, somewhere around 70 to 120 meals are dispensed each Friday evening. Many parishioners help with dinner, with the men taking over the kitchen while the several ladies greet friends and sell tickets at the door. On the night of my visit, these women of the church represented a combined 24 years of experience at this task.
St. Clare is on a Lenten journey as a parish group moving together the next 40 days toward Easter. And each Friday the whole parish works together to host a Lenten Fish Fry at the church from 5 to 7. Fried fish and Shrimp plates, $10, Oysters and combo, $12. Includes two sides, beverages and desserts available.
The church did these fish fry events annually before Hurricane Katrina but have just now resumed them in the past four years since they have been in their new building. The funds raised from the dinners goes into a general fund to support St. Clare and its activities.
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