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)

Locals will have a new option when it comes to welcoming in  2017 on New Year's Eve:  a grand gala at the  Bay St. Louis Community Hall.
- story by Lisa Monti

Patrons can choose from several food stations, including a sushi bar presented by Fatsumo’s in Pass Christian, a grits bar serving the Southern staple along with barbecued shrimp and grillades, and a slider bar with roast beef and barbecued pork among the tasty fillings. There will also be a fresh bar with veggies and fruits (chocolate is optional), and a dessert bar.

Organizers are working on other food stations, including one that involves a make-your-own waffle. ​

There will be a cash bar with a complimentary midnight toast and live music starting at 8 p.m., and a lighted starfish will be dropped by boom at the stroke of midnight.
 
“It will be an eclectic mix of food, subject to change,” said Fillhart of the ongoing preparations. But it will be fitting for a year-end celebration. “It’s the ‘end of year and my diet starts tomorrow’ kind of mix.”

About that auction. Fillhart said instead of the usual items to bid on, this one will offer all services, including lawn care, hair care, and the services of an architect, a beekeeper, and a fishing guide. Starfish Cafe is donating a five-course private party for 10 at the cafe.
 
“It’s a unique way to raise money and it connects the community,” she said. The winning bidders may become regular customers and make new friends they might not otherwise have met, she said.
 
The gala will be at the Bay St. Louis Community Center on Blaize Avenue. Tickets are $50 each and only 400 will be sold.
 
Everything will be eco-friendly right down to the compostable plates and glasses. Dress is “casual bling.”

Trapani's Eatery
116 North Beach Blvd.
Bay St. Louis, MS
228.467.8570
Now Open 7 Days a Week!

If it tastes like home cooking, maybe that's because it is - for some folks in Bay St. Louis anyway!
 - story by Lisa Monti, photographs by Ellis Anderson 

​The recipes were perfected over decades and everything she turned out, from a pot of file gumbo and platter of stuffed crabs to divinity fudge and tart lemon merengue pies, was comforting and delicious, even to a picky kid’s palate.
 
Luckily, Emma’s gift for cooking lives on, at least in some of us. ​

​So whenever I’m in the mood for some tried-and-true dishes, I make it over to Tony’s, as we relatives tend to call the restaurant.
 
Not surprising, with coastal decor and a bar named Blue Marlin, seafood plays a big role in Trapani’s kitchen. Starters include the popular crab cakes, rich gumbo and sesame ahi tuna. A longtime favorite is the fried green tomatoes topped with crabmeat and hollandaise.
 
Not to put too fine a point on the seafood connection here, but every Trapani’s entree salad comes with a seafood option, and the salad packed with crawfish will totally satisfy your craving for them.
 
Among the got-to-try entrees, Eggplant Delacroix is a stand out - eggplant slices breaded with Progresso crumbs, just like Emma used, and topped with sauteed Gulf shrimp, onions bell peppers and mushrooms then finished with hollandaise and parmesan. I know.
 
The kitchen also offers great steaks, fish, ample sandwiches and homemade desserts. If you try just one, get the divine Dinwiddie Delight. I believe it’s been on the menu since Day One, so if you’re a regular, its likely you’ve already gone over the calorie cliff already.

 Sometimes only hot wings will do, and the ones at Trapani’s are addictive. The wings are naked, not battered, fried to glorious crunchiness and coated with a spicy sauce. Wings (with plenty of napkins) and a glass of Chardonnay have become my Second Saturday tradition.

Sitting on the Blue Marlin balcony, overlooking the harbor, is a most pleasant way to cap off the monthly art walk. And when there’s live music on the balcony, well, a good thing gets even better.
 
Trapani’s restaurant and Blue Marlin bar are must-try destinations for Coast tourists, and for  locals, both upstairs and downstairs are great spots for socializing with friends, old and new.

If you live on the coast, not everybody at Trapani's will know your name, but chances are lots of folks will. 

The grocery store you'll want to go to when you're hungry:  chow down on a great selection of fresh deli menu items and then do your shopping!
- story by Lisa Monti, photos by Ellis Anderson 

“Breakfast is a huge part of our business in the deli,” said Elizabeth Acquistapace, who oversees the kitchen at the family-owned store. The Acquistapace family also has a supermarket in Picayune. All five of the Acquistapace siblings, including her husband, Ethan, are involved in the stores, from the building design to the day-to-day operation.

After the breakfast rush, the staff starts preparing the daily hot lunch specials, which also bring in a hungry crowd. On a recent Saturday, the choices were barbecue ribs, pork sausage, brisket and red beans along with sides including fried okra, smothered cabbage and sweet potato casserole with praline topping. The red beans, made from the Acquistapace family recipe, are flavored with store-smoked sausage, bacon, and ham hocks. 

Sandwiches (including muffulettas) are popular. Construction workers favor the hamburger combo with cheese and a side of fries.

If you want a generously stuffed poboy—served hot or cold—you can choose from oysters, shrimp, catfish or roast beef. Elizabeth said the roast beef with rich gravy has a big following. “It’s a whole fresh eye of round roast that simmers for hours. It’s truly a homemade roast beef,” she said.

The French bread for the poboys is baked in the store but here’s a tip: if you’re a fan of crispy Leidenheimer bread, just ask for it. 

A variety of pasta dishes provide an alternative to fried foods. “We’re making our own fresh pasta with free range eggs and fresh semolina,” Elizabeth said. The family patriarch bought the three pasta machines in Italy. The pasta is served with sautéed zucchini, Italian sausage and homemade pesto.

Everything sold is made in the store, and there’s enough variety that the menu stays basically the same, though sometimes you’ll find meatloaf or chicken and dumplings. The variety gets smaller in the evening but you can still get a satisfying supper up until 8 p.m. or so.

A recent summertime lunch treat tells a lot about the deli’s use of seasonal fare. “We had a short Creole tomato season but we had some pretty hot house tomatoes,” said Elizabeth. “So who can pass up a tomato sandwich on white bread with mayo, salt and pepper?”

Even though the price of ingredients fluctuates, one thing is steady at the deli: the prices. The 6-inch roast beef poboy is $5.99. A breakfast plate is $2.49. The lunch plates start at $5.99. “We try to keep it as reasonable as we can to give our customers good value,” she said.

There are healthy options too, with a full salad bar in the back of the store (by the seafood counter).  For $4.99 a pound you can make a meal-sized salad with fresh fixings - including chicken and on occasion, boiled shrimp.  
​
Breakfast and lunch is prepared seven days a week. You can call ahead (228-466-2610) to see what’s cooking and enjoy your meal at the counter in the front of the store where there’s complimentary Community Coffee. And check out the freezer section next to the deli for chicken and Andouille gumbo, bisques, soups, and casseroles. 
​

​The menu covers all the bases, and as its waterfront location suggests, seafood prevails in salads, pasta, sandwiches, appetizers and the namesake categories on the menu: By Sea and Steamed Goods.
 
By Sea (as opposed to the pork and beef that star in the By Land entrees) showcases whole flounder, Asian ahi tuna, trout almondine and stuffed crab, along with the always-popular shrimp and oyster platters.
 
Steamed Goods include some over-the-top offerings for a crowd. The Admiral’s Steamer generously serves at least 10 diners with five pounds of steamed Alaskan King crab, Royal Red shrimp, snow crab and Dungeness crab with charbroiled oysters along with drawn butter, though it doesn’t say how much butter it takes to go with all that seafood. The price is an eye-popping $499.95 and yes, a couple have been ordered, Marotta said. Couples, rather than crowds, go for the signature steamed seafood.
 
“We have sold quite of bit of steamers for two ($110),” he said. “It’s a good deal. You get a lot of seafood.”
 
Portions are generous across the board at Harbor House. Fourteen large gulf shrimp, lightly dusted and fried, practically filled the large lunch plate that was rounded out by the side of fresh broccoli and carrot.

 “Anything fried is hand breaded, even the kids’ chicken tenders,” he said. For that reason, the restaurant sells loads of seafood poboys and platters.
 
The number one best seller, though, is the Scarlet Red Snapper, deliciously pan fried and topped with sweet crabmeat and hollandaise sauce. It was the “I’m getting that next time” item at our table.
 
Besides lunch and dinner service, Harbor House hosts lots of parties in the open area downstairs that can accommodate up to 300 guests like one party last month. “We get a lot of people celebrating here,” Marotta said.
 
 
Harbor House seats about 185 in the dining room, deck, and bar. They’re warming up the big screen TVs for fans of college and pro football to come enjoy the game with food and drinks. And the restaurant just kicked off a Thursday night special: kids eat free with the purchase of a dinner entree.
 
Whether you come by boat or by car, whatever you do, come with an appetite.

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
 

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.