Waveland Alderman Jeremy Burke reports on the start of Waveland's new sidewalk project, the St. Clare Seafood Festival and the lighthouse ribbon-cutting ceremony.
​

​Waveland Avenue will remain open throughout the duration of the project, although intermittent lane closures may occur as needed to accommodate construction.  

The project is broken down into four sections in order to reduce the inconvenience to homeowners along Waveland Avenue.  The first section of construction will be from Highway 90 to Rue De Lasalle, second section is Rue De Lasalle to Herlihy, third section is Herlihy to Sycamore and final section is Sycamore to end of project.  All drainage will be complete, cut driveways repaired and sidewalks complete before the contractor can proceed to the next section of project. ​

This project has been in the works since 2015, and I’m excited to see we are finally heading down the home stretch. The project will make travel a lot easier and safer for pedestrians. It is anticipated that the project will be completed during the summer of 2020.
​

St. Clare Seafood Festival
The St. Clare Seafood Festival has grown into the marquee festival in Hancock County for the Memorial Day weekend. The festival runs Friday, May 24, 5–11 pm, Saturday, May 25, 11 am–11 pm, and Sunday, May 26, noon to 10 pm
The festival features food, carnival rides, craft vendors, and the best free Memorial Day weekend live entertainment anywhere on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
​
Please make plans to have a good time while supporting St. Clare this Memorial Day weekend.

Ribbon-Cutting for the Waveland Lighthouse

I'm extremely proud to offer this facility to the residents and visitors to Waveland.   The Waveland Lighthouse and Pavilion will be an anchor for the continue growth of Waveland.

An array of delicious items on their new Pub Menu adds a new facet of dining to this favorite Bay St. Louis café.

- story by Lisa Monti

​The Mockingburger is the perfectly named and simply dressed patty on a toasted bun spiked with jalapeño and cheddar and served with a pile of homemade chips. Who knows how many of those have capped off Second Saturday or after a day of shopping and showing off Old Town to visitors.
 
At $10, the meaty Mockingburger and its delicious counterpart, the Summer Garden Burger, are at the high-end of offerings on the Pub menu, which is available Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to closing and on Second Saturday from 2 p.m. to close.

​The new Charcuterie Board is $10 for a nice assortment of cheese, meat and fresh fruit that could easily be shared. Also new are the crunchy pork rinds and pretzel bites, both $5, and loaded fries that start a $7 and are elevated by $3 with the addition of pulled pork.

​I finally went for the tacos, prompted by an enthusiastic recommendation for their taste and thrifty price. You can have one taco for $3, $5 for two and 3 for just $7. Choose from pulled pork, grilled chicken and the Summer Garden or have one of each for a range of tastes.

The pulled pork is sauced with rich espresso BBQ. The chicken is dressed with pico, cheddar and a sour cream Sriracha mix. The Summer Garden taco is filled with the aforementioned patty made with chickpeas, black beans and fresh vegetables splashed with red pepper aioli.

​All the sauces are made in house, not a surprise to Mockingbird regulars who enjoy what the talented kitchen staff produces. Each of the three tacos was tasty in its own style, and the pulled pork was especially good thanks to the bold espresso sauce.
​

​And of course the Pub food menu is balanced with a menu of drinks, all $5, and some with bird-themed names like Bird Brew Martini (cold brewed coffee, vodka and vanilla) and the sublimely named and tasty Tequila Mockingbird, a refreshing blend of rosemary honey, blood orange juice and of course tequila.

There’s a lot of variety in the drink selections, from the secret recipe Mockingbird Sangria, the Lushy Lemonade with vodka, the made-for-summertime Lavender Gin and Soda, a rosé wine-based Froze and the classic Mimosa.

​Coffee lovers can sip a Bright Eyed Irish coffee or a Bird Brew Martini in keeping with the coffee theme. You can even match a trio of tacos with three beers that are paired for the pork, chicken and veggie versions. That’s just $12.
 
There’s also house wine and beer ($15 for a pitcher) available to cover all the bases for a visit to the Mockingbird.
​

Mockingbird Café
110 S. Second St.
Bay St. Louis
Telephone (228) 467-8383
Monday-Wednesday : 7am-5pm
Thursday-Saturday : 7am-9pm
Sunday : 7am-2pm

Janice Hall brings a wealth of wine knowledge and a taste of Sonoma to this cozy Central Avenue eatery.
- story by Lisa Monti

​ 
“I draw upon my experience as a Master Commander Emeritus with the International Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine for wine choices/selections,” Janice says.  KOV is the oldest wine society in the country and is an off-shoot of the over-300 year-old European wine society.
​  

​To make the most of all that good wine, Central Station Bistro also serves an outstanding selection of gourmet cheeses and charcuteries to round out a visit to the bistro, where every board is made fresh upon order.
 
Prepping the meats and cheeses  - all sliced to order - guarantees freshness and that naturally takes time. The result is “worth the wait,” Janice promises. And since Janice is a professional photographer, it’s no surprise that the Bistro’s boards make for gorgeous presentations. Combinations of cheeses with plump grapes, salty almonds, fresh berries, toast, baguette slices and swirls of prosciutto arrive ready for their closeup. “It’s all about the drama,” Janice says.

Janice works with a supplier who specializes in domestic and imported foods to make sure the meats, cheeses and pates are always “top of the line.” Customers know that their favorites will be available and prepared fresh every time.
 
The boards provide a variety of tastes and textures. The jams are from a North Georgia farm. The crisp baguettes are served hot out of the oven with rich Irish butter. The pickles, pickled asparagus and artichoke hearts add an element of tartness.
 
Janice’s interest in cooking and talent for entertaining guests eventually led to the Bistro. She and her husband Jim lived in California before moving here and when they found a spot for their new endeavor, Janice easily segued from seasoned hostess to the Bistro.
 
The boards come in a variety of elements, giving wine (and beer) drinkers a sampling or something more substantial.
​
The simple sampler comes with one meat, a cheese, dried fruit and nuts served with crackers. From there, the board offerings multiply.
 
The Fromage board has three artisan cheeses along with fresh fruit, preserves and baguette. The Charcuterie board has three meats served with cornichons, olives, stone ground mustard, dried fruit and baguette. The Fromage et Charcuterie combines the best of both. 
​

​With the three meat/three cheese board, Janice says, “I challenge anyone to leave hungry.”
 
The Sweet Board serves to satisfy cravings with truffles, biscotti and seasonal fruit, all drizzled with chocolate by Ghiradelli.
​
Janice notes, “The truffles are provided by the oldest chocolate maker in New England, specifically Rhode Island. Both the preserves and truffles are available to purchase under the Central Station Bistro name.”

​Fans of crostini will find two standards on the menu including the always popular Bruschetta (chopped tomato, garlic, Balsamic vinegar topped with Parmesan, parsley and mint) served with stuffed olives. The other is half a baguette stuffed with Brie and Proscuitto and baked. “It’s our version of melted cheese,” Janice says.
 
Regular customers at the Bistro know they can count on finding their favorite beverages and boards in a friendly atmosphere and they also enjoy the service provided by what Janice calls her “Dream Team.”
 
Jennifer Black joined the Bistro with ten years experience at The Sycamore House.

Pam Valentine, a native Mississippian with a natural talent for interacting with people, has a background in customer service.
 
Rebecca Jaquith Diaz is a caterer who previously owned a kitchen store in Old Town and is “an all around Bay St. Louis favorite,” Janice said.
 
Janice promises great ideas are in the works for the Bistro’s future.

Central Station Bistro
205 Central Ave.
Bay Saint Louis, MS 39520
(228) 342-5832
Open Thursday through Saturday 5-9 p.m.

A simple story about a food festival grows to epic proportions when it kicks off the search for some of the city's best fried chicken. 
- story by Ellis Anderson
​photos by Ellis Anderson unless otherwise attributed

So was born the idea of the grand New Orleans Fried Chicken Pilgrimage.  

We planned to use a short festival overview as a lead-in to a few classic restaurants that served fried chicken.  Since it’d be easy to go overboard in a city where fabulous eateries abound, we’d limit ourselves.  
 
Four, we swore. No more! 
 
But once word got around to friends, ideas for Can’t-Miss fried chicken experiences started arriving by text and Messenger. 
 
How could I possibly write a piece about fried chicken without including Chef Carl’s at the Roosevelt’s Fountain Lounge?  And what?  I had never heard about the secret Chicken Bon Femme at Tujague’s - not on the menu, but served to those in the know?  I wasn’t going to leave off Elizabeth’s in the Bywater, was I? What about the Original Fiorella’s in Gentilly? 

Mercy. 

And so, the project grew.  As did my waistline over the course of the intensive research.
 
What follows is a quick overview of the very excellent - and free - festival, along with our take on eight different restaurants who serve up superlative fried chicken.  

If you’re really ambitious, you can head into New Orleans, hit one restaurant for lunch and another for dinner.  Or, you may want to spread them out over the course of many months so your cardiologist doesn’t throw a hissy fit.  
 
Of course, many restaurants on the Mississippi coast serve amazing fried chicken.  But the pilgrimage gives readers another excuse to head into the city for a day trip, sample some cosmopolitan offerings along with the poultry, then drive home to the more peaceful coastal lifestyle.  You'll feel full and satisfied and maybe even a little bit smug at having the best of both worlds.  

​The one-day fried chicken festival was first cooked up two years ago, in the little fry pot of Lafayette Square Park.  When the boxed-in Central Business District space couldn’t contain all the people who came that first year, organizers moved the event to Waldenburg Park in 2017, extending it over both weekend days. 
 
Festival venues simply don’t get better than Waldenburg Park.  The Mississippi River runs along one side and the French Quarter on the other.  At the top end of the park is Canal Street, gateway to the entire Central Business District.  And it’s an easy stroll all the way down to the lower end of the park, where the French Market and Frenchman Street await.  

Since there’s no admission fee (although bags are checked at entry points), it’s easy to dip in and out of the festival.  Hot? Pop into a Decatur Street café for an A/C break.  Rain storm? Dozens of shops are steps away – you’ll have your choice between Saks and souvenirs.

​Need a little respite from the flurry of activity?  Stand by the river and watch the ship traffic for a bit. Or head up to the Westin Hotel lobby bar like we did and sip on a cocktail while enjoying a grand scale view of the river and the festival below.  

Even though two squalls blew through the Saturday afternoon we attended, the crowds were good natured, and undeterred.  Festival-goers seemed to be made up of mostly locals who live by the “wait five-minutes and the weather will change” rule of thumb.  As soon as the showers ended, the lines reformed to buy chicken from the thirty-five booths frying away in their portable kitchens. ​

Disclaimer:  Our methodology in picking our favorite festival chicken was seriously lacking in formal scientific standards - or any standards at all.  There were two of us and thirty-five of them.  

Looking at the participating restaurants, we crossed off those from out-of-town (not relevant to the story), those that we planned to review in-house (like the official two-year festival winner, the Original Fiorella’s - see below for our visit to that amazing restaurant).  We also skipped booths serving up jazzed-up versions of fried chicken (mango-curry-glazed sounded extremely interesting, but we wanted to compare classics).  

No wings. They’re a category unto themselves.

We ended up sampling plates from four different booths before we threw in our napkins, declaring ourselves too full to continue.  The stand-out favorite of the four?  The crusty, crackling, juice-spurting pieces from Willie’s Chicken Shack.  

I admit, I teased my friend Jeannette for choosing the Willie’s line at the festival.  Willie’s is a popular fast-food franchise in the French Quarter now, with seven locations within blocks of each other.  Their logo features a grinning (shouldn’t it be grimacing?) cartoon chicken wearing sunglasses.  Since the other main offerings at Willie’s are daquiris, the décor is Late-Disco, with lots of neon and fluorescent lighting.
 
But in the world of fried chicken, chic décor and ambiance place far behind spices and crust.  At the festival, my friend Jeannette had taken to looking at the plates people carried away after finishing their purchases, searching for chicken pieces exhibiting what she thought of as the ideal brownness. Perfection in appearance made her choose the line for Willie’s.

​In this case, looks weren’t deceiving. 
 
With Willie’s chicken, the crust offered exactly the right resistance as I bit down, giving way with a loud crunch to the tender meat below.  Jeannette and I rolled our eyes in delight as we ate, surrounded by dozens of other people in the festival dining tent, chewing and talking and eating with their hands.  We both declared Willie’s was the best of the four we’d tasted at the fest and the perfect way to end our day.   

​We’re betting most coast residents don’t know about the Original Fiorella’s, which used to be in located on Decatur Street in the French Quarter. The restaurant actually ran through the narrow block and opened up onto the French Market on the other side.  

In the 80s and 90s, Fiorella's was the go-to spot for locals and market vendors who wanted an honest working man’s breakfast and lunch.  Tourists who stumbled into the place got a delicious meal with down-home pricing and a heavy dose of authenticity.  Black and white photos of the owners’ family hung on the walls, capturing early 1900s life as fishermen and oystermen on the sparsely settled bayous surrounding New Orleans.  
 
The family eventually sold the French Market location in 1999, but reopened in Gentilly in 2016, bringing their photographs with them (note: the original location is now Fiorella’s Bistro and Wine Bar, and while it’s a perfectly nice restaurant, it’s not owned by the Fiorella family).  

The day my friend Arthur Severio and I went to lunch at the Original Fiorella’s, the counter was stacked with people waiting to order and the tables were full (but fortunately, the well-orchestrated staff kept things moving so swiftly, who minded?).  The move to Gentilly for Fiorella's has simply built a loyal new fan-base - probably because it's still completely family-owned and operated. By people who love feeding folks.  You can't fake that.  And if you eat there, trust me, you're going to see multiple Fiorellas.  
 
The fried chicken:  We were warned it’d take a bit longer, since it was cooked to order.  

Of course, it was worth the wait.  The fry is lightly seasoned, the batter crisp, but not too thick. The meat encased within is savory and moist.  It speaks to the primal carnivore within, who completely ignores the environmentally conscious part of you that longs to be vegan.  

Speaking of - veggies of the day vary with limas, greens, and cabbage in the mix.  The potato triad selections are all super:  fries (thin shoestrings, crispy), salad and mashed.  You'll have to come back to try them all.   And bring friends to help. 

New Orleans food writer, Tom Fitzmorris, calls Dooky Chase's "the Galatoire’s of the African American community."  Established in 1941, it's been the grand dame of the Tremé neighborhood for decades, with Dooky and Leah Chase - a chef who's authored three cookbooks - at the helm.  

When you walk into the small lobby, the first thing you'll spot is a photograph of Barrak Obama hugging Leah Chase. He looks very, very happy.  The future president dined in the restaurant when he was still a Senator.  But he must have found the food unforgettable.  Flying through New Orleans later on Air Force One, the president had a Dooky Chase meal delivered to the jet.  

President George Bush dined there as well, along with musicians, artists, writers and civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr.  The dining room, hung with pieces from the Chases' extensive art collection, exudes a sense of relaxed elegance.  You'll want to go dressed in fine casual or business attire here.  According to their website, "Leah Chase requests that all diners adhere to a dress code that promotes a family and professional atmosphere."  

While you can order off the menu, it's really, really, really hard to pass up the buffet.  The fried chicken tray alone seems to beckon you.  It's always steaming hot, just out of the fryer, because it disappears so fast.  With sides like red beans, greens, mac and cheese and green beans, why resist? 

While Elizabeth's in the Bywater neighborhood exudes the air of a generational restaurant, it opened just twenty years ago, in 1998. The motto, Real Food Done Real Good, has been embraced by the current owner as well, Chef Bryon Peck.  The quirky, sassy works of folk artist Dr. Bob (his studio is just a few blocks away and a waffle on the menu is named for him) cover the walls, so you won't lack for entertainment while you eat.  There's even great art in the restrooms.  

Everything coming out of Elizabeth's kitchen is made from scratch, from the beer/BBQ oysters, to the praline bacon, to the hog jowl BLT.  They even grind their own hamburger meat.  The restaurant is best known as a breakfast/brunch/lunch spot, but if you want the fried chicken - and you do - it's only served at dinner (Tues. - Saturday, 5pm - 10pm).  $12 gets you a half order and two sides, while three dollars more gets you a full order. 

Elizabeth's version is much like the fried chicken my Appalachian grandmother made on her wood stove (after she beheaded the chicken herself).  The breading is more of a light shawl embracing the pieces as opposed to the traditional thick batter coat of the Deep South.  The dill pickle garnish tweaks your taste-buds while you're crunching.  Since each bite presents a different flavor though, it's hard to restrain yourself for reaching for just one more piece.  

Our rating? Real Good.  For Real. 

Li’l Dizzy’s has a super following among locals and tourists alike. It’s not unusual to see a tour bus unloading diners at the restaurant’s Esplanade entrance.  You might even spot a celebrity digging into the outrageous lunch buffet.  The day I was enjoying their fried chicken lunch, I sat at a table next to the door.  On her way out, an older woman wearing sweats, with her hair up in a scarf, stopped to give her regards to owner Wayne Baquet.  

He smiled and pointed to a photo in a frame over the door.  “That’s you," he said. “We hung your picture right there.” She looked a bit surprised and then beamed at him, saying she’ll be back soon.  Watching this exchange, I realized she was CCH Pounder, who plays Dr. Wade in NCIS:  New Orleans.

I did not partake of the extravagant soul food buffet and ordered the fried chicken plate off the menu.  It didn't take a forensic scientist to figure out why a television star is slipping in between shooting scenes.  The spice spoke to me, but subtly, and the blond-crust crunch provided the perfect contrast with the flavorful, tender meat beneath.  

Just go, y'all.  

​Often.  

I first went to the newly reopened Willie Mae's Scotch House a few years after Katrina had mauled the city.  The smells of my grandmother's kitchen wrapped around me like a soft shawl as soon as I entered.   Its dining room seemed an oasis of serenity after driving through miles of  debris piles and blue roof tarps and abandoned buildings.

I remember the servers ministered to us kindly, as if we were shell-shocked survivors (which we were) who'd come to this shrine looking for a little peace, in addition to a meal.  The divine fried chicken we ate that day filled our bellies and soothed our hearts, adding a new layer of meaning to the term "soul food."  

The James Beard Foundation named the restaurant as one of ten Deep South winners of their America's Classics Awards in 2005 - just before Katrina.  It took the restaurant two years to come back after the storm, but it was soon awarded more national kudos:  the Food Network and the Travel Channel both named Willie Mae's as the restaurant serving up "America's Best Fried Chicken."  

Owner Willie Mae Seaton started the restaurant in 1957 and her great-granddaughter is now heading up this family enterprise.  Its Tremé location hasn't changed, although there's now signage around the block reserving spaces for all the tour buses.  But don't let that keep you away.  We've had good luck going for lunch after the main crush. 

​The menu is simple - three chicken entrees, veal and fried fish - with sides like seasoned green beans covered with gravy (yes!), New Orleans style red and butter beans (but vegan!), sweet peas, candied yams, brussels sprouts and fried okra.  Leave your low-carb diet at the door and gorge on the cornbread muffins.  The fried chicken has a light crust that was the spiciest of any we tried - yet those who prefer mild flavors will get a very gentle introduction into Louisiana's peppery cuisine. 

The French Quarter used to be packed with places where you'd walk through the doors and back in time a century or so.  Gradually, many have been gutted by slick design teams from NYC who make the Vieux Carré interiors look like, well, slick interiors in NYC - all grey and granite and chrome. 

Thankfully for us all, some good-sense hold-outs still provide locals and tourists alike with atmosphere islands of bliss.  Tujague's, on the corner of Madison and Decatur street, is one of the best.  Founded in 1856, it's  officially the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans (in case you're wondering, Antoine's opened in 1840).  Standing at the antique bar, with one foot propped on the brass rail and the other on the tile floor, make a toast to timelessness with a big smile on your face.  ​

Several classic dishes on the Tujague's menu shouldn't be missed, but one that only savvy locals know about is Chicken Bon Femme.  It's simply not on the menu, but you can order a half or a whole chicken. This is more of a French fried chicken (no pun intended!) rather than a Southern fried chicken.  Before cooking, salt, pepper and granulated garlic are rubbed into the chicken - there's no breading at all.

The chicken is fried in a cast iron skillet with thinly sliced potatoes. Then the whole platter is smothered in a parsley-garlic topping called "Persillade."  The recipe for Persillade calls for three entire heads (not cloves!) of garlic.  So while you won't be kissing anyone for the remainder of the evening, the dish is so amazing, you won't care. 

Chow down on the Bon Femme with glasses of white wine or beer at the bar or one of the café tables.  The bartenders have a well-deserved reputation for being efficient and friendly - there's no snoot factor here.  If you arrive in the early evening, you'll be rubbing elbows with lots of neighborhood residents.  And say "hi" to our old friend, William - he'll be the one wearing a tam.  In fact, buy him a beer!

One wouldn't ordinarily associate the swank Roosevelt Hotel and finger-licking fried chicken.  Enter Chef Carl Cushenberry.  "Chef Carl" is a revered banquet chef at the hotel who has taken over the Fountain Lounge kitchen for a home-style feast every Monday night during the hotel's 125th birthday year (2018).   He's been perfecting the fried chicken recipe for decades and it shows.  Um, tastes.  

Family-style isn't just a convenient adjective in this case.  It means that baskets of chicken and honey-butter biscuits, bowls of slaw and red beans and rice are brought out to the table and folks fill their own plates.  And included in the $18.93 dinner price (the date the hotel was originally built) is a glass of beer - pick from four different Abita brews.  Dessert?  Eat another one of those honey biscuits.  If you can. 

The whole affair takes the New Orleans tradition of red beans and rice on Mondays to a new level.  For those who are tempted to skip this classic experience because they believe parking might be a hassle?  Fountain Lounge patrons get up to four hours free parking.   

We can only hope the hotel keeps offering Fried Chicken Nights through their 126th birthday year.

RAW Oyster Bar on the Bay beachfront is all about the freshest of seafood and sushi - plus weekend and seasonal specials. This new venue is perfect for a quick bite and drink or a satisfying feast. Did we say fresh? ​
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Lisa Monti and Ellis Anderson 

Just inside RAW’s door at the head of the long bar is a bed of ice where plump oysters on the half shell, cooked crab legs and lobster tails rest while an oyster shucker nearby pries open bivalves and a sushi chef creates specialties to order. Customers can sit at the bar or at high top tables along the opposite brick wall. There’s also a bit of patio seating, which is in high demand when weather cooperates.
 
The RAW menu - listed by columns of food and drinks - is packed with a generous selection of oysters, boiled and chilled seafood and abundant sushi. Check the chalkboard for specials like Maine lobsters available on weekends. 

General manager  Drew Tomaszewski says RAW set out to become the best sushi place on the coast, and the key to making that happen was finding and hiring the top sushi chefs.

RAW’s chefs work for hours ahead of opening each day, cooking rice and prepping the fresh components for selections such the Ring of Salmon with blue crab and snow crab wrapped in fresh salmon and the Jalapeno Poppin' Spicy Tuna signature Roll with tuna, cream cheese, fresh jalapeno lightly tempura fried and topped with sriracha, eel sauce and wasabi mayo.
 
Our party of three cut a swath across the menu to get a good sampling of the offerings. We started with a shared plate of smoked swordfish dip and another with BBQ shrimp in rich sauce made for dipping with the accompanying French bread.

The photogenic Tuna Poke with chunks of tuna and avocado heaped into a martini glass topped with seaweed salad tasted as good as it looked. The house sushi rolls with spicy salmon were another hit.

​We also went for the Beach Bum Roll, RAW’s most popular: the snow crab with “crunchies and cream cheese” topped with spicy mayo and eel sauce was a winner. Every dish we tried tasted fresh and was appealing to the eye, plus service was first rate.

​RAW sells fresh local bivalves, of course, but also premium ones from such sources as Murder Point, Ala., to give diners a chance to try prized oysters from out-of-state waters.
 
The oysters at RAW are roasted (not charbroiled as is common). Drew says the roasting makes the oysters consistently good and the cooking time is quicker. Customers find that to their liking, he said.
 
The classically roasted oysters are prepared with roasted garlic and Parmesan butter, lemon and parsley. There’s also a spicy Diablo version, Southwestern Mexi-Cali oysters and Stella Bleu, again with roasted garlic and Parmesan butter plus bleu cheese and bacon.

​Drew says RAW’s food menu remains true to popular items but also offers seasonal items to keep the selections interesting and fresh. It’s a practice that keeps customers returning for the oysters and sushi and weekend specials. “We’re not afraid to change the menu when we get an opportunity to put new things on it,” he says.
 
RAW’s drink menu ranges from Champagne and sparkling wines to whites, roses and reds to sake, beer and some creative cocktails.
 
RAW is that rare place you can stop in for a quick bite or an extended grazing session on seafood fresh from the source and sushi freshly prepared. 

Writer and Shoofly Magazine editor Lisa Monti reminisces about her first oyster tasting, the beginning of a lifelong fandom for the delectable bi-valves. 
- story by Lisa Monti

Detractors have trouble with the texture of oysters, or the notion of eating something raw. That must be even more off-putting to landlocked visitors than staring down at a fried soft-shell crab, with its crunchy legs shooting out from both sides of po-boy.
 
Fans of the oyster have no such worries when it comes to plump ones eaten raw or prepared in a well-turned dish. Without getting too Forrest Gump-ish, the versatile oyster can be grilled, charbroiled, scalloped, wrapped in bacon, baked, smoked, stewed, roasted, steamed and cooked into a dressing.

​Oyster cravings get stirred up this time of year by cooler weather and memories of holiday feasts. A line formed in our kitchen when the Christmas oyster patties came out of the oven. Making them was a production, led by my grandmother, that involved a gallon of oysters and green onions run through a hand-cranked grinder intended for meat.

All the ingredients came together to bubble in a big Magnalite pot before being spooned into small flaky shells from the McKenzie’s Bakery on Chef Highway. A piece of art depicting an oyster patty hangs in my kitchen as a reminder of that holiday treat.
 
Of course oysters are available any time of year, and fortunately, you can find them on loads of local menus if not in your own kitchen. (Note to self: it’s frying time again.)
​
 A fried oyster po-boy is always a good option, although sometimes choosing between shrimp and oysters can make for some serious internal conflict. The humble, almost sweet, always reliable shrimp?  Or the oysters, delicate to the mouth, on the rich side (oysters Rockefeller, hello!) with a dash of extravagance. There’s a reason, don’t you suppose, that there are oyster bars and not shrimp or crab bars.

The last oysters that I ate were at C&C Farm to Fork restaurant on Main Street, listed on the menu simply as Gulf Fried Oysters, in a self-explanatory way. They were fried to a perfect crisp and served with delicious sauces, though the oysters were good enough to stand on their own.
 
There’s even a new festival celebrating the briny treats – the St. Clare’s Oyster Fest on October 13th (see details on our Upcoming Events page).  If it’s anything like the church’s annual Seafood Festival, it’s bound to grow into a local tradition. 
 
As a child on the beach trying my first raw oyster, maybe I didn’t appreciate how special that treat was at the time.  But I’m mightily grateful now for all of the fresh seafood in the Gulf. Catch it, cook it, order it and celebrate it. Aren’t we the lucky ones?
 
Below are a few of our Old Town restaurants known for their oysters.

200 North Beach
200 N Beach Blvd
Bay St Louis
(228) 467-9388
Open 7 Days
 
Trapani’s Eatery
116 N Beach Blvd
Bay St Louis
(228) 467-8570
 
C&C Farm to Fork
Creative and sustainable Southern cuisine 
111 Main Street
Bay St. Louis, MS
(228) 344-3295
 
Cuz’s Old Town Oyster Bar & Grill
108 S Beach Blvd
Bay St Louis
(228) 467- 3707
Open 7 Days

The RAW Bar
118 N. Beach Blvd.
Bay St. Louis
Closed Mon/Tues.
 
Silver Slipper Casino’s Oyster Bar
Fresh seafood appetizers and entrees
5000 S Beach Blvd 
Bay St. Louis , MS 39520 
(228) 469-2777 
Open 7 days

St. Clare Church Oyster Festival 
St. Clare Catholic Church 
236 S. Beach Blvd 
Waveland
10:00am to 10:00pm 
Free
Drawdown tickets are on sale now at the church—$50 per ticket. 

Seafood, bands, vendors, a $5,000 drawdown raffle, and more seafood! Welcome the Fall season with tasty oyster dishes and "sides" like gumbo, potato salad, fried shrimp plates and poboys, crab stuffed potatoes, cotton candy, and more! Live local entertainment including the David Mayley Band (1pm-3pm) and Monsters at Large with the Moran Brothers (6pm-9pm).  What a win/win--oysters and a drawdown!  ​

The sugary Southern tradition of baking artful - and delectable - cakes for special occasions is celebrated in this story looking back at some of the town's best bakers. 
- story by Denise Jacobs

• My mom loved Doberge cake, so when I found out I could get a Doberge cake without traveling to Gambino’s in Metairie—a cake that was just as good if not better—I would get one every year for my mom’s birthday. Many happy memories were made sitting around one of Ruth’s cakes! 
•  Ditto all that! 
• Especially the raspberry one. Always had that when out of town guests came in. 
• Yes! Love me Ruth’s baked goods! 
• Oh yes! I used to buy two or three cakes at a time at Ruth’s—Doberge! I’d have one cake to give away and one to take home. I miss those days!

Still, beloved as she was, Ruth Thompson, owner of Ruth’s Cakery in Bay St. Louis, was just one of several cherished cake makers in the Bay St. Louis/Waveland area. 
And there was Inez Blaize Favre (1900-1983). 

In the ‘60s, Inez and daughters Udell and Inez—or “Little Inez” as she was known—baked from their house on Felicity Street. Little Inez became Inez Favre Pope. She baked from her home on Highland Drive in her retirement from the late ‘80s until Katrina destroyed the house. 

Rachel Pope Cross, one of Mrs. Pope’s daughters, remembers her father building a special kitchen on the back of the house to have a proper home bakery. “A delicacy was always in the oven,” Mrs. Cross said, “and friends and neighbors popped in almost every day of the year to pick up their sweet treats.” 

Mrs. Cross remembers her mother baking over 500 petit fours for the opening of a Biloxi casino. “It fell to me to put dots on sugar cubes to resemble dice.”

Danita Scianna Luttrell, another of Inez Blaize Favre’s 40+ grandchildren, remembers her Aunt Udell as the master decorator. “Aunt Udell once baked a five-foot tall lighthouse for a Hancock Bank anniversary; I can still see it sitting in the lobby of Hancock Bank down on the beach.” 

Both Luttrell and Cross remember customers bringing party-themed napkins to Little Inez and Udell. Danita or Rachel would transfer the design onto the cake with a toothpick, and the bakers would fill it in with icing or hollowed-out sugar mold designs.  As the girls tell it, all the relatives got in on the act at one point or another by washing mounds of mixing bowls, delivering cakes, or answering the front door.  

Luttrell remembers her grandmother as an amazing cook and a woman who did everything to perfection. “She would spend more money making something perfect than she made selling it!” Luttrell attributes this to a convent-based education. “She just wanted everything to be beautiful, and she passed down all her talents, from cookery to crewel to cakery, to her children and grandchildren.” 

L:  wedding cake by Inez Favre Pope for daughter Rachel Cross.  Top R:  wedding cake for Inez Favre Pope made by Inez Favre.  Lower R:  cake by Inez Favre Pope for Rachel Cross's daughter.  Photos courtesy Rachel Cross

Other cake bakers in the Inez line include Laurin LaFontaine, daughter of one of Inez Blaize Favre’s sons. LaFontaine baked from the mid-1970s through the late ‘90s. Also, Mary Ann Benvenutti, another grandchild, began baking out of her home in the late 1980s. Benvenutti no longer bakes except for special family events. At Christmas, her red velvet cake graces the family dinner table.  

• That red velvet cake has a permanent place in my heart. Many fond memories and never able to replicate it
• The best red velvet cake! 
• My wedding cake won state contest. It had beautiful white doves on top.

Luttrell said that all the women have Inez Blaize Favre’s cake recipes but are sworn to secrecy. “The red velvet cake frosting was not the typical cream cheese type,” she says.  “It was almost like a whipped cream, but it’s not whipped cream.”

More cakes by Inez Farve's descendants:  Top left - Moana cake by Paul Scianna, top right, graduation cake by Mary Ann Scianna Benvenutti, Car birthday cake (center) by Mary Ann Scianna Benvenutti, lower left - chocolate cake by Laurie Benvenutti, lower right - Berry Chantilly cake by Laurie Benvenutti. Photos courtesy Danita Scianna Luttrell 

Women were not the only ones working the cake angle. Other FB commenters mentioned Gregory Morreale, who is said to have made birthday, holiday, and christening cakes that were works of art.

• I remember going to the Morreale house with my mother and sitting under the kitchen table eating petit fours. 
• I remember Gregg and his partner making my wedding cake. It was wonderful! They even put silver pulls in it for me. 
• Scott and Greg used to make my kids’ birthday cakes. I’d just hand them my Hallmark invitation, and they’d work something up to go with the theme. They always made me a big cake for the guests and a little cake for the birthday boy or girl. 
• Gregg and Scott did awesome work. Their cakes were the best tasting and most beautiful cakes around—the best hands down.  

While it is likely that Katrina washed away many photographs of cake-worthy occasions—and there were many—our fondest memories are intact, right down to the aroma of delicate vanilla and warm butter baking, a cake’s soft velvety texture, and the distinctive and delicious taste of childhood—an essence we have never quite been able to replicate. 


Special thanks to "You Know You're From the Bay" Facebook page and contributors.

Chef Rickey Peters settles into his new Court Street kitchen in Bodega's, taking bar food to new heights with delectable sandwiches, tapas, and of course, his signature gumbo. 
- story by Lisa Monti

Then, Rickey and Kevin Jordan teamed up at Rickey’s Off the Tracks in the Bay’s Depot District. That place was a smaller venue but it quickly became a popular spot. 

These days, Rickey is running the kitchen inside Bodega’s on Court Street, another Kevin Jordan production, where the Parrot Head Bar has tacked on “Grill” to its name. Doors opened March 15 and fans, along with visitors, quickly found their way to the tropical themed Bodega venture that includes a liquor store, yoga studio loft and bike, golf cart and water sports rentals.

The menu is abbreviated compared to the Waveland and Zuppardo kitchens where Chef Rickey presided.  It has just three categories: the Krewe of Sandwiches, Hola Tapas and A Bite of Cultcha. 

Clearly, the New Orleans/Cajun cultural imprint is strong; Rickey got started cooking with renowned chef Paul Prudhomme, so the New Orleans/Cajun cultural imprint is strong. 

Witness the rich Gumbo Ya-Ya, Cochon deLait and Chicken and Boudin sandwiches and the Banana Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce, along with the Shrimp Remoulade Salad with Cajun Remy Sauce, Rickey’s Potato Salad and Mardi Gras Slaw. 

The Cubano - roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese and honey mustard - is a swirl of salty/sweet goodness. And there’s a reason the homemade dressed meatloaf sandwich tops the list of signature sandwiches. Fans say it’s the best they have tasted. Sandwiches come with the classic casual sides: chips and a pickle spear, dressed with lettuce, tomato and mayo.

Rickey has added some new menu items in the Bodega location.  Tapas fans are enjoying the flavors of the Dollar Taco, the 3-to-an- order Cheese Burger Sliders and the Shrimp Salad Rolls (boiled shrimp mixed with Cajun dressing), also three to an order. French Pizza Bread, Wings of Fire and Chili Cheese Nachos round out the bites.

Not surprisingly, the restaurant’s atmosphere is super casual and the wait staff is helpful and friendly. Prices are on the hospitable side too. The most expensive items on the small menu are $9.95 (the Porky Pig, Chicken Club and Ferdi sandwiches and the signature Shrimp Remoulade).  The Dollar Taco is at the lowest end of the pricing. 

Soon, the outdoor eating space will be expanded.  The addition of a large balcony in the rear of the building will cover the bricked courtyard.  Look for Rickey to be happily minding the new brick oven and grill there that will be expanding his kitchen – and the delicious possibilities.   


Parrot Head Bar and Grill
Bodega
111 Court Street
228-363-1290
Bar & Grill hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11 a.m. to closing
Closed Monday-Tuesday

Award-winning author Rheta Grimsley Johnson checks out a new and unusual cookbook for Southern swamp to table meals. 
- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson

Anne, with bearing as regal as you’d expect the doyenne of a family plantation to exhibit, has written books on travel, crime, the misadventures of running a bed and breakfast and, most memorably, her own story – being shot and left to bleed out by an estranged husband, the former warden of Angola. She’s penned a couple of children’s books as well.

Recently her home was the setting for a Hallmark Channel movie, one of those romance stories that has scenery so beautiful you don’t mind the show is missing good acting and a plot.

This time out my author friend is wearing her good citizen hat, helping to tackle what’s become a real problem in the woods of Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana and, yes, her own lush but manicured backyard.
​
The Big Badass Boar Cookbook, co-authored by Amanda McKinney, reports that wild pigs are more destructive than nutria and may be “the most prolific large mammal on the face of the earth.” Feral hogs average six piglets per litter and can have several litters per year.

 Turns out, however, there may be a way to control the population and help end the $1.5 billion national cost of wild pig damage to agriculture and the environment. Eat them. The book says wild pigs are good to eat.

“When prepared properly so that high temperatures destroy any internal bacteria, they are safe, tasty and cheap.”

Being a responsible sort, Anne includes in her book a list of diseases that humans and hunting dogs can get while cleaning, butchering, handling or eating wild pigs. It sounds a little like the inevitable side effects list whispered quickly at the end of television ads for pharmaceuticals.

Swine brucellosis, leptospirosis, trichinosis, toxoplasmosis tularemia and swine influenza are reasons, for instance, that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries no longer provides any recipes for cooking your wild boar kill.

This cookbook, however, gets past the warnings about safe butchery and cooking to share both high- and low-church recipes. Famous Chef John Folse is included. So is John “JD” Desselle with his “Wild Hog Street Tacos” and Kerry Bordelon with “Real Hog Headcheese.”

I haven’t been offered any of the 180,000 pigs killed in Louisiana per year, or from anywhere else, so I probably won’t be using the recipes, though I love game and love to eat and try to keep an open mind when it comes to food. I’d sure try a hog if I knew the source – and the cook. The taco especially sounded good.

The cookbook mentions nutria and how Louisiana chefs also concocted recipes for those rats. It took pseudo-sophisticated New Yorkers to belly up, however, and then only after menu writers got creative and used the French for nutria -- ragondin -- and made the rat sound better than it tasted.

I never tried it; I owe nutria nothing.

Once, in Leland, Miss., city hall tried to solve a beaver problem in the town’s picturesque Deer Creek by introducing alligators. You can guess how that story ended.
I call it The Kudzu Syndrome. The story often ends badly when something is plopped into an environment not its own. Anne’s book says Spanish explorers brought us the wild boars. My alma mater Auburn, or at least its extension service, gets the blame for kudzu. Louisiana fur farmers for nutria.

The moral of this story? Look before you leap. Cook before you eat. One man’s beast is another man’s pate. A wild boar in the pot is worth two in the bush.
​
Stop me before I hurt myself.
 
 

Fresh ingredients, a creative menu, upbeat hometown atmosphere and a sunny attitude keep customers coming back again and again to Lulu's on Main. 
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson 

The setting at 126 Main Street just off Beach Boulevard is inviting, dynamic and appealing to shoppers who enjoy making their way through the historic building checking out the ever changing creations and merchandise.
​

​Diners can choose to sit in the dining room, also art filled, or opt for a table on the adjacent screened porch, cooled by breezes off the water.
 
Nancy, whose resume includes cooking in the kitchen of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, prepares traditional Southern food as well as Continental cuisine, all bundled up into a casual coastal dining experience. Nancy also learned cooking from her mother and grandmother, so that adds an extra dimension to LuLu’s dishes.
 
Consider Lulu’s Jazz Brunch menu available on Sundays. Redfish Florentine pairs pan fried Gulf fish and creamy Spinach Madeleine. Cheese grits are topped with tender grillades or large BBQ shrimp. Pain Perdu comes in a silky version or Nancy’s own twist, served with golden fried chicken tenders. There’s more tradition found in the desserts: Betty’s Bread Pudding and Bananas Foster to name just two choices.

​Breakfast and lunch offerings are all prepared to order.
 
“I have a fixed menu - all the hot, delicious sellers like pear pecan salad, and specials every week -  whatever’s fresh, whatever I feel like. Or I might do a different take on a popular special,” she said. On a recent week the special was Oysters Rockefeller Quesadillas.
 
Nancy’s corn and crab bisque and portobello mushroom with baby spinach soup are  always popular items, as is her “debris” stuffed roast beef poboys,  and chicken salad. Those items never change. “You can come in 10 years from now and taste the same flavors,” she said.
 
Also among the favorites is Nancy’s homemade, all natural ingredient ice cream, made in small batches every day, and not just in summertime.
 
Nancy maintains her passion for cooking, preparing all meals to order and with attention to ingredients and tradition. “If it smells like my mom’s and grandma’s food, it’s gotta be good,” she says, promising diners will leave Lulu’s having tasted the flavors of the Bay and her native New Orleans.
 

 Nancy’s creativity doesn’t stop in the kitchen. After Hurricane Katrina, she turned muddy streets into a delicious event: the SOUPer Mudfest on the Second Saturday Artwalk in March. This will be the ninth edition of the fest, and about 1,000 people are expected to join the festivities.

​For $20, participants can buy a soup bowl crafted by local potters and enjoy a succession of soup servings throughout Old Town at dozens of businesses. Past favorites have been tomato basil and corn and crab bisque among other tasty soups. Lines always form at the tent on Main at Second Street where hundreds of bowls will be sold.
 
All money collected from the sale of the bowls goes to the potters, Old Town Merchants’ Association, the Hancock County Food Pantry and Hancock County’s tourism board.
 
On LuLu’s Facebook page, there are photos of Nancy at the stove, clearly enjoying the cooking. “I love it,” she said. “What makes it enjoyable to me is having people come back and relive memories that they had of eating my food.”

An award-winning chef brings Italian food - not anything at all like your mama's - to Old Town Bay St. Louis and wins over diners from across the coast. 
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson 

​It was a lucky coincidence to have lunch with friends at C&C Italian Bistro on Friday and then go for the much anticipated steak dinner with family on Monday. 

They were two entirely different meals, both plentiful and delicious, showing C&C’s versatility.

Chef David Dickensauge’s arrival on Main Street last year caused a stir with news of his plans to offer artisan pizza, pasta made in house and rustic Italian small plates. Dickensauge interned in Chicago Italian restaurant kitchens and wanted to bring those out of the ordinary dishes to the Bay. 

​A key player in the renovated space is a special gas-fired brick oven, which produces not only exceptional pizzas but menu treats such as charred oysters on the half shell.

Pizzas come with such glamorous themes as Rockefeller (oysters, creamed spinach, bacon and bechamel), Scottish smoked salmon and Steak Gruyere (grilled filet mignon, Gruyere, horseradish cream, truffle oil and micro arugula).

Besides the brick oven offerings, C&C’s menu is broken down into appetizers, fish and meat, the housemade pastas, sandwiches and salads alongside daily specials.

Our lunch gathering tried a little of everything. The pizza option was Primavera, with olives, feta, marjoram, onion and marinara. 

For seafood, it was shrimp atop soft polenta that was topped with a poached egg and crispy proscuitto. The Toscano sandwich was stuffed with roasted hampshire pork, arugula, cracklings and salsa verdi on rustic bread.

​Two brick oven-roasted Hampshire pork chops made an impressive and generous large plate with extras to take home and enjoy later. My choice of pasta was the Tagliatelle with rich bolognese ragu and parmigiana, rich tasting and warming on a dreary day. 

Everyone agreed that our Italian dishes, all different, were tasty, generous and nicely presented. And it didn’t hurt that Frank Sinatra was serenading us from Pandora.

Dickensauge has crafted weekly specials that might make you want to double down for lunch and then back for dinner in quick succession.

Monday is steak night with the $20 18-ounce ribeye or 8-ounce filet and $10 pasta dishes. 
Tuesday is live music with various dinner specials, Wednesday is wine specials and those brick oven charred oysters and Thursday is a four-course set dinner and wine pairing. Happy hour is celebrated Monday through Saturday. 

C&C Italian Bistro is open for lunch Monday-Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner Monday-Friday starting at 5 p.m. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Sushi, sashimi, rolls, hibachi and bento boxes:  You'll find it all at Yamotos. And steaks.  And seafood platters.  You don't have to be craving Asian to visit and leave happy.  
- by Lisa Monti, photos Lisa Monti and Ellis Anderson 

Interest in the Yamato Steak House of Japan’s newest location (including the original in  Hattiesburg and others in Mississippi and Louisiana) seems to be holding steady here. At a weekday lunch, the place was busy and the servers moved quickly to take orders and fill glasses.

​Yamato’s has an ample menu - starting with appetizers and ending with desserts - covering all the bases in between. There are sushi rolls, hibachi lunch specials, dinners and combos, bento box specials all day, soba and steaks as promised in the name.

For a closer to home taste, there are even three Louisiana seafood platters with salad, fries and an egg roll as sides. We’re told that local diners tend to favor hibachi over the raw dishes but interest in sushi and sashimi is picking up thanks in part to some innovative specials.
 
At the heart of the menu are 23 special rolls with names like Shaggy Dog (shrimp tempura with spicy crab, shrimp and eel sauce) and the Fire on the Bayou (spicy scallop and crabmeat with tempura flakes, seared yellowtail, jalapeño and ponzu sauce on top).

​The rolls range from $9.95 to $14.95 for the Alexander Roll (lobster, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, snow crab and special sauce). Most fall in the middle price range. You can also get any three of the 24 lunch sushi rolls for $10.99. Appetizers and soups start at around $1.75

Our table of four covered a sushi special, hibachi shrimp and chicken, a sushi appetizer and Yum Yum salad (raw fish, avocado in a crunchy sauce.) The special was Ahi tuna wrapped in seaweed, tempura battered and lightly fried. That one was the winner for best plating but all our choices were well prepared, plentiful, tasty and nicely presented by our server Brandon.

The tempura ice cream dessert, split three ways, was generous enough for four and it disappeared quicker than the house-made ice cream could melt among the whipped cream dollops in the corners and the chocolate sauce.
 
Customers who have been bringing in their own wine should know that Yamato’s is expected to have its liquor license soon, manager Ivy Wu tells us. Check first before you go.

Coast Cuisine - Oct/Nov 2017

One of Bay St. Louis's most popular restaurants has changed hands, and while the menu and décor have been subtly updated, the goal of pleasing people has not.  
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson 

Not much has changed under the new ownership and that’s just fine with the regular customers who remain loyal to their favorites at 200 North Beach, including Miss Ann’s homemade pecan pie and the always in- demand Angus ground chuck Bay Burger served on a brioche bun.
 
The look of the menu, however, has been refreshed, according to acting GM Vicky Bailey, and some new items have been added, including the deliciously rich-sounding double-cut New Zealand lamb chops ($29), which is something you don’t see often on local menus.

Another is beef Wellington ($27), marinated boneless short rib wrapped in delicate pastry, found on a list of local favorites that includes Ahi tuna, meatballs and spaghetti to fresh grilled catch of the idea. 

The building itself dates back to 1903, making it one of the oldest on Hancock County’s waterfront. Over the years, the structure has gone through many iterations and owners. Most recently New Orleans developers Jim and Catherine MacPhaille and Chef Becton took over from Miss Ann Tidwell, well known for her gracious hospitality and for bringing the building back in 2011 after Katrina’s destruction. 

For our recent lunch, a cup of hearty seafood gumbo led things off, followed by a satisfying slice of quiche speckled with salmon. There’s a Monday-through-Friday all-day local special and on this particular day, a Friday, it was blackened tilapia with seasonal vegetables ($12), all tasty and well seasoned. 

​The Catch of the Day (grilled triple tail topped with ginger glaze over a bed of rice for $21) is another reason to come back for lunch.
 
200 North Beach has built a reputation as a go-to spot for locals and a destination for visitors to enjoy a casual lunch, an end-of-the-day cocktail or a special dinner. There’s also an upstairs dining room and balcony for private parties.
 
Special events at 200 North Beach include Happy Hour from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday featuring specially priced oysters and house cocktails.

True to its roots while open to the interesting and new, Dempsey’s lures diners from near and far home to the Kiln.
– Story and photos by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson

The multiple choices listed under appetizers, seafood, steaks, and chicken present a happy dilemma for diners, especially on a first visit. But for Dempsey’s regular customers — and there are many of them — it’s easy to fall back on their favorites: the abundant platter for two (gumbo, stuffed crab, shrimp, oysters, redfish, catfish and crawfish pies), the charbroiled oysters (Dempsey’s specialty), the famous shrimp and grits, or fresh grilled fish.
 
“It’s the same menu, but it’s grown at each place,” she said. “We even added Sunday brunch.”

​Diane was following in her restaurateur father Andrew Marino’s footsteps in 2003 when she opened Dempsey’s on Coleman Avenue in Waveland “two years and two weeks before the storm hit.”
 
His restaurant, Jack Dempsey’s, operated on Poland Avenue in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans for 36 years.
 
After Katrina, Hennessy operated her restaurant for four years on Lower Bay Road in Lakeshore, and six years ago Dempsey’s moved to its current location on Kiln-Delisle Road.
 
Wherever the location, customers have followed. There are locals, out-of-towners, and out-of-state travelers who fill the dining room for lunch and pack the place for dinner.
 
“It’s very busy, especially on weekends,” Hennessy said. To keep things rolling along, Dempsey’s has an efficient, friendly staff of about 40. During a recent busy lunch service, several waitstaff joined around a table to sing “Happy Birthday” to a regular customer. At a nearby table, another server artfully handled a table of seven who wanted separate checks.

​But back to the food. It’s New Orleans style — stuffed artichokes, frog legs, seafood platters — and plentiful and handsomely presented on each plate.
 
For our lunch, the seafood gumbo was rich, the fried shrimp poboy on chewy Leidenheimer French bread was wonderful, the tasty eggplant fries were crunchy and somehow oil-free, and the two large grilled redfish fillets were seasoned perfectly. The shrimp and grits topped with creamy Swamp sauce was something to behold and savor.
 
“It’s how my dad always did it,” Hennessy said. “He always said people eat with their eyes. I’m following in his footsteps.”
 
Hennessy’s kitchen prepares everything in house, including the rich seafood Swamp Sauce that tops the fried grit cake on the top-selling shrimp and grits entree.
 
“Nothing goes out of the kitchen that’s store bought. I take pride in the food and want it to taste delicious,” Hennessy said.

And while the menu is biased toward seafood, the Angus steaks don’t take a back seat at Dempsey’s. In fact, Hennessy said, the restaurant earned second place among Mississippi steakhouses in a magazine poll.
 
If the menu wasn’t packed enough, a chalkboard in the center of the dining room announces some delicious new treats: steamed seafood including Royal Reds, Dungeness and snow crabs, and — a rarity in Hancock County — escargot, a favorite of Diane’s. “I like to cook things you can’t get anywhere else,” she said.
 
Dempsey’s has 120 seats in the large dining room and bar area, but the place usually fills up with families and groups so reservations are a good way to get around wait time, which can stretch out to an hour at night.
 
And if the food weren’t enough to attract people to the Kiln, Dempsey’s hosts an annual Cruisin’ the Coast party. This year it’s on September 30 and will feature popular New Orleans performer Harvey Jesus. 

Three generations of a coast family check out the new location of a popular restaurant that's a three-generation operation.  The result?  An exceptionally satisfying meal.
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Lisa Monti and Ellis Anderson

Cuz’s is open daily at 108 South Beach Boulevard.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday–Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
(228) 467-3707

A bit before the lunch time crush, we settled into a booth overlooking the courtyard seating, which was filling up as quickly as the dining room on this warm weekday with regulars, workers on lunch break, and visitors with shopping bags. 

Cuz’s opened last year with a new name to reflect its new beach location – Cuz’s Old Town Oyster Bar & Grill – and polished up the popular seafood-packed menu with some new items like smoked redfish and tuna appetizers, chargrilled oysters, and pastas. The new grilled items are winning raves from customers while the old favorites, like fresh seafood served boiled or fried, are as popular as ever. The seafood is local and it’s cooked fresh.
 
We three generations – my niece Becky Monti Necaise, her daughter Emily, and me – bounced around the menu before settling on our favorites from the poboy section, where there’s no way you can go wrong. One half oyster poboy, one half shrimp and one half roast beef, with shared onion rings and fried sweet potatoes on the side.

We waited for our orders while visiting with other customers going in out of the dining room and talked briefly with Christy as she worked her way around the tables, checking to make sure things were flowing smoothly.

Cuz’s, she said, is a real family operation with the Barnes daughters and grandchildren playing a part in the day-to-day operation. “So it is definitely a family affair,” Christy said.
 
What’s better at the height of hunger than a properly made poboy on chewy french bread, fried seafood spilling out and dressed modestly with shredded lettuce, tomato slices and crispy pickles? Not much. The shrimp were fresh and tasty, seasoned and fried just right, as were the oysters.

The onion rings, something of a rare treat for me, were the crispiest I can remember ever having, and those sweet potato fries were as delicious as any side you could order. The roast beef, Emily reported, was juicy, full of flavor and piled high.

The new location in the French Settlement building also gave the owners some room to add offerings for their customers. Frozen daiquiris have been a big hit, and so have the gourmet popsicles handcrafted in small batches by Gulfport-based Pop Brothers. Don’t be surprised if the Cuz’s crew keeps coming up with new things to keep the restaurant fresh for its new and regular customers.

Lisa Monti takes on a tour of some of the most popular breakfast spots in Bay St. Louis.  Visiting any one of them is a surefire way to start your day off with a smile - and a satisfied appetite.  

Mockingbird Cafe
110 South Second Street
Bay St. Louis
(228) 467-8383

Mockingbird Cafe, a local favorite since 2006, has outdoor seating and breakfast is served Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Take your pick of eggs your way, omelettes, frittatas, waffles, yogurt, fresh fruit and various sides. Not surprising for a place that started out as a coffee shop, the coffee here is fresh and served all day. Pick from espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, iced and specials along with hot and iced tea.
​

Buttercup Cafe
112 North Second Street
Bay St. Louis
(228) 466-4930

The tables on the tiny front porch and in the shady front yard of Buttercup Cafe on Second are favorite spots for breakfast and people watching. Eating at one of the tables inside the cafe also is comfortable and casual for lunch and breakfast. And the fact that breakfast is served all day is another endearing thing that keeps attracting locals and visitors to the bright yellow building just off Main Street. Some favorites are the omelettes, pancakes and the roasted potatoes on the side.  
​
Buttercup Cafe is open daily, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
​

Lulu's on Main
126 Main Street
Bay St. Louis
(228) 463-1670

The breakfast menu at LuLu’s on Main is plentiful, playful, and reliably delicious, from the kitchen of chef Nancy Moynan. The Breakthrough Breakfast Sandwich (cheese, fried egg and ham, bacon or sausage on a toast English muffin) is getting rave reviews. There’s Lu’s Bagel, the top of the line “everything” open-faced bagel with smoked salmon, crème fraiche, red onion, capers and sliced hard-boiled egg. For balance, there’s low-fat yogurt & fruit parfait topped with granola. And for something that combines the best of breakfast and lunch, the fried chicken beignets sprinkled with powered sugar seem totally well worth the calories.

LuLu’s breakfast is available Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunrise Cafe
315 Reese Street
Bay St. Louis
(228) 216-9777

Sunrise Cafe is a cozy spot at the corner of U.S. 90 and Dunbar Avenue that’s often packed with locals, so table sharing isn’t unusual. Customers come in for the cooked-to-order breakfast (and lunch) dishes and other favorites including hearty omelettes, breakfast sandwiches and buttermilk pancakes. There are specials, too. It’s open Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon. 
​

Ana's Cafe
2400 McLaurin Street
Waveland
(228) 344-3223

Grammy's Donuts and More 
308 Hwy 90
Bay St. Louis
(228) 466-5037

More donuts can be found at Grammy’s Donuts & More, where you might find yourself in a long line at the drive through to get your order. It’s that popular.  The donuts made here bear no real relation to the manufactured variety except for the shape.  The texture, glaze and flavor will have you understanding you've never enjoyed a real donut before.  It's hard to believe that such a divine dining experience. 

The "More" part of the name means daily specials (a recent weekday featured shrimp & grits, and a pork chop breakfast), full traditional breakfasts, omelets, and breakfast sandwiches on fresh croissants made in-house ($2.99).  Try a breakfast and then a donut for dessert.  You can skip lunch and not miss it.  
​

Ana’s Cafe offers the best in tasty baked goods and diner staples in Waveland.  And don't forget the donuts!
- story and photos by Lisa Monti

The sweet fried dough practically melted in one bite, a decadent reminder of how deliciously addictive a superior donut can be. And yes, the second donut hole was just as airy and fabulous, the perfect mix of sweet, salty and fat.

​​When our breakfast orders arrived, both were tasty and plentiful, just what the first meal of the day should be. Ana’s Special holds top billing on the menu with classic fare: 2 eggs any style, grits or hash browns, toast or biscuit. Add bacon, sausage or ham or pancakes if you need more fuel. The daily special was a hearty omelet built around spinach and mushrooms, with hash browns and a large biscuit for good measure.
 
If you prefer a sweet start to the day rather than a savory breakfast, relax and enjoy. The display case in Ana’s Cafe is filled with enormous cinnamon rolls, flaky Danishes, crispy shoe soles, rich chocolate croissants, strudels, turnovers, apple fritters and muffins. And beignets. Yes, beignets. As the sign says, “Beignets Always Hot!”
 
Lunch at Ana’s is standard hearty fare, too. The menu includes roast beef, burgers, hamburger steak, pork chops, salads, chicken tenders and wings and shrimp grilled or fried. 
There’s also a daily lunch special Monday through Friday.

 But back to those amazing glazed donuts that lucky customers have been sampling. They haven’t been on the menu, but they’re coming back. Ana’s will begin serving donuts on April 28 but only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You can call in your orders.
 
Ana’s Cafe is open daily from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday.

The Farmers Market on Longfellow Road has made a comeback in Hancock County and it's blossoming with more new vendors - and customers - every week. 
- story and photos by Lisa Monti

​The Hancock County Board of Supervisors gave their approval to use the site on the county’s property on Longfellow and, thanks to the county, there is no fee for vendors sell their goods at the market.

Since opening day on Dec. 3, the new Hancock County Farmers Market has attracted a growing list of vendors. Shoppers can buy local honey, fresh goat cheese, a large selection of locally grown produce, homemade Italian dishes and sweets, jellies and jams, locally brewed coffee, hydroponically grown lettuce and herbs, locally made hot tamales, Mississippi peanuts and a variety of homemade products such as cleaners, soaps and candles. Handmade jewelry, wooden signs, lamps and other items are on sale as well under the covered pavilions. 
 
The response has been highly favorable. One shopper wrote on the Farmers Market Facebook page: “Oh my goodness what a wonderful market. We had the best time visiting with all the vendors this morning. Fresh lettuce, basil, pepper lettuce, bay leaves, lasagna, stuffed bell peppers, Olive salad mix, eggplant caponata, The little Italian man was absolutely awesome. Essential oils and soaps by a wonderful couple who were very knowledgeable. We just had an absolute blast cannot wait … to get here to see what the farmers market vendors will bring then.”
 
As springtime nears, the expectations are high that more vendors and more items will be available every Saturday.

The market is open from 8 a.m. to noon or when vendors sell out.
 
Follow the Hancock County Farmers Market on Facebook at @HancockCoFarmersMarket for updates on vendors and other information.

Sleek modern building and stellar old-fashioned home cooking: this buffet-style restaurant is gaining a reputation for some of the best soul food on the Mississippi coast. 
- by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson 

At lunch recently, the fried chicken and smothered pork chops were front and center on the buffet line and both were first rate.

The chicken, billed as Dunk's Famous Fried Chicken, was crispy, well seasoned and moist, the pork chops were fork-tender in a dark gravy and the mac and cheese was hearty. A fellow diner raved about the sweet potato casserole topped with tiny marshmallows.
 
Dunklin, who cooks all the food at Dunk’s, said the fried chicken is by far the most popular dish, followed by her red beans. “The fried chicken is our no. 1 seller,” she said. Her secret: the mix of seasonings. Like a lot of good cooks, she wouldn’t reveal much else about the process or ingredients.

​Dunklin said that the Sunday buffett has developed a following. Little wonder. Consider a recent “Super Sunday Menu”: marinated BBQ’d baby back ribs, Italian marinated baked chicken, Southern-style seasoned greens, chicken and seafood gumbo (that gets shout outs on the website) and lima beans with smoked neck bone. Plus that famous fried chicken and homemade sweet cornbread.
 
And, yes, there are assorted cakes, pies and cobblers for dessert for those who pace themselves.
 
Prices for the buffet are $10.69 Monday through Thursday and $12.69 Friday through Sunday for adults. Children can eat for $6.99 weekdays and $7.99 on weekends. Carry out boxes start at $8.99.

A local chef who studied in the world capital of chocolate confections offers up divine treats in time for Valentine's Day.
 - story by Lisa Monti, photography by Julie Ragusa 

Ragusa took advantage of being in the middle of that chocolate-rich culture as part of her professional development. “I learned everything I could about chocolate,” she said, including making a vegan, organic version. She formed her own small chocolate company and hosted parties, pairing chocolates with wine and champagne, and taught classes on chocolate-making with dairy alternatives.
 
Now, she’s about to branch out into truffle-making as a side enterprise. The truffles come in two rich parts: a chocolate ganache center and a coating of high quality chocolate that gives it a crunchy shell. Then the truffle is topped with nuts, coconut or sea salt, taking it to another eye-rolling level.

​“I’m so excited about working with chocolate,” she said. “I love coming up with new flavors.”
 
For Valentine’s Day, the Mockingbird will have red velvet cake, heart-shaped King cakes and a double chocolate cake topped with chocolate truffles. Chef Ragusa personally will be making and selling handmade chocolate truffles in an assortment of flavors for purchase through her Facebook page or via Mockingbird Cafe. Look for prices and varieties to be posted soon.

Julie's truffles are available in packages of 8 (2 of each flavor below) for $15 (plus tax).  Order one day in advance (before Feb. 12 for Valentine's Day pick-up) on Chef Julie Ragusa's Facebook page or at the Mockingbird Café, 110 S. Second Street.  Orders can be picked up at the Mockingbird Café.  

Buttermilk Ganache (semi- sweet)
Cafe Olé (milk chocolate)
Darkest Hour (60% dark)
Black and White (white chocolate ganache with 60% dark shell)