Bayou Teche Brewery Beer Dinner - Sal & Mookie's - Jackson

As readers may recall, last week was Mardi Gras and, despite nature’s best efforts to quite literally rain on the parades, the annual litany of beads, costumes, king cakes, and excess came and went. However, for those of us that were unable to attend the larger festivities, there was solace in a beer dinner. In celebration of Mardi Gras, Sal & Mookie’s partnered with the Knott brothers of Bayou Teche Brewery to bring Jackson a Lundi Gras party. Never one to intentionally miss a beer dinner, I joined the usual suspects, Sam & Stephen, for another celebration of fine food and brews.

In Louisiana tradition, this beer dinner featured a little lagniappe, beginning with a Grenade punch and fried boudin boulettes.

Heavily seasoned pork and rice, fried and served with mustard is a fine start to any meal.

Paired with the boudin balls was a hurricane style Grenade punch. Made with Bayou Teche’s passion fruit passionné beer, this hurricane may lack the alcohol punch of your usual hurricane but the bold fruit flavors more than make up for it.

Once everyone was seated, the second beer of the night, Bayou Teche's first seasonal beer, the courir de Mardi Gras, was brought to the table.

A French style biere de Mars, the courir de Mardi Gras is only available during the Mardi Gras season.

With promises of anise flavor, a plate of fettuccine with Tasso, mussels, red bell peppers, and fennel in a Pernod cream sauce accompanied the courir beer. Oddly enough, even with fennel and Pernod, there wasn’t much anise to this pasta.

Making a second appearance, the Grenade was the next Bayou Teche creation.

On its own, the passion fruit flavor of the Grenade is much more subtle than the hurricane.

Typically a high point of a Sal & Mookie’s beer dinner, this salad of baby spinach with grape tomatoes, dried apricots, roasted yellow bell peppers, toasted almonds and buffalo mozzarella in a passion fruit vinaigrette, while perfectly fine on its own, did not live up to the salad standards of previous beer dinners.

Touted as a beer for all things Cajun & Creole, the LA 31 Bière Pâle was the third beer of the night.

Belgian malts & American yeast and hops make for beer tailor made for south Louisiana.

A fine way to test that claim was a Louisiana crawfish étouffee with Ellis Stansel’s popcorn rice.

A little spicy on its own, the étouffee was an excellent match to the pale ale

Nearing the end, the Boucanée is homage to the cherry wood frequently used for smoking meats in south Louisiana.


On its own, the beer was a little odd. The smokiness seemed out of place.

But when combined with the cherry wood smoked Compart Family Duroc pork loin with white bean and tomato puree, the beer’s unique flavor shone brilliantly.

Sure, it’s a more refined version of pork and beans but for the smoked meat fans, it worked.

Somehow, the Knott brothers were able to craft a Belgian Dubel that was legal in Mississippi.

Called a Mellow Dubel, this beer’s flavor was true to its name.

Paired with a slice of Broad Street Bakery King Cake, it was a fitting end to the Lundi Gras dinner.

While the attendees of this dinner may have missed out on the parades of the city and the courirs of the country, Sal & Mookies and Bayou Teche still put on a crowd pleasing beer dinner. It may not have been Bourbon Street, but boudin balls, beads, and Louisiana beer were still a nice consolation.

Snackbar - Oxford

It was a few weeks before Christmas and I found myself barreling down I-55 on my way to Oxford. Although I was heading north under the guise of picking up a year’s supply of first editions from Square Books and looking into hand crafted wood works, the real reason for the trip was a pilgrimage to the third of John Currence’s Oxford Empire, Snackbar A year’s supply of positive press had left me dizzy with Snackbar’s potential, but with pleasant yet slightly underwhelming experiences at Big Bad Breakfast and City Grocery, I was curious to see if Snack Bar could live up to the food and travel press hype.

Unfortunately, Sam and I arrived in Oxford a little too early and ran out of things to do and extra money to spend. Instead of milling around the seasonally vacant square, we drove to North Lamar just in time for the oyster bar to open.

Of course, we did what comes naturally at an oyster bar. First was a taste of seasonal cider based libations.

Next was an order of the smallest & briniest Apalachicola oysters Snackbar had to offer.

and another order

and another.

Several cocktails and 30 something oysters later, the restaurant was finally open and we shuffled the ten feet from the bar to our booth. Once seated, it was time to explore the real Snackbar, starting with an order of boudin balls.

A duo of well-crafted pork and rice creations arrived in a pool of mustard with a side salad and a few cornichons.

Years of trips to Houston have given me plenty of opportunity to explore the various boudin ball shops along I-10 and these rank with the best that south Louisiana has to offer.

Beneath a divinely thick, crispy skin is an earthy filling of pork and rice. Spicy and meaty on its own, but better with the mustard, the only true complaint was the quantity. Why must there only be two of these deep-fried beauties to an order?

After hours of driving and waiting, one appetizer wouldn’t suffice. This meant an order of duck pate wasn’t far behind the boudin balls.

Besides an overflowing cup of pate, this plate came armed with grainy housemade mustard, caramelized onions, a side salad with tart vinaigrette, and a few more cornichons.

True to its name, this pate was smooth, meaty, and brimming with condensed duck flavor, but what was surprising was the bold flavor of thyme.

Despite how it sounds, the thyme didn’t overpower the duck; it was a pair of equally prominent flavors that was only ameliorated by a dose of caramelized onion and nasal clearing mustard.

Call it enjoying the menu to the fullest or call it being greedy, but I convinced Sam we had to try the burger. So, in addition to our entrees, one Snackbar burger made an appearance at our table.

Reminiscent of so many quality Atlanta burgers, this cheeseburger featured a foundation of White Oak Pastures beef with BBB bacon, house cheddar, onions, pickles, spicy yellow mustard, greens, and house ketchup all on a house brioche bun.

With a solid patty to bun ratio, this burger carried a relatively subtle beefiness that was accentuated by the spice of BBB bacon and the vinegary crunch of the pickles.

Cooked to a picture perfect medium rare, this patty had the BBB bacon built in. Hitting the high notes of well-rounded beef flavor and a spicy kick, the only thing that kept this burger from near perfection was a good sear. As much as I enjoyed this made from trimmings burger, I was missing the ethereal contrast of well-seared crust to medium rare interior. It’s a personal niggle but it was the only thing this otherwise superb burger was lacking.

Accompanying the burger were the relatively inconspicuous fries.

Not particularly crispy and paling in comparison to the burger, these fries were still a quality side. A healthy dusting of peppery, smoked paprika didn’t hurt either.

Setting the burger & fries to the side, the purportedly rarely offered grillades and grits played the role of my entrée.

To the untrained eye, that may look to be little more than chunky tomato sauce with a few green onions on top.

Underneath that mass was a pair of sizeable veal grillades, sublimely juicy and covered in hearty poblano tomato gravy.

This was Louisiana comfort food done expertly well. It was a stick to your ribs affair that left me savoring every bite of grits and veal with just the trail of spice on my lips to show for it.

More often than not, I arrive at a restaurant that has been showered with local, statewide, and national praise and leave feeling mildly if not completely disappointed. However, Currence and his masterpiece named Snackbar bucked that trend. Every drop of ink that’s been spilt to extol the virtue of Snackbar has been worthwhile. From the sublime Apalachicola oysters to the BBB bacon infused burger to the veal grillades, nearly every dish was worth the drive. Without succumbing to ridiculous gastronomic hyperbole, Oxford, Mississippi has a poorly hidden gem in Snackbar and John Currence. If you’re within driving distance of Oxford, drop what you’re doing and head to Snackbar; it’s worth it.

Snackbar Address & Information

721 N Lamar Blvd, Oxford, MS 38655 // 662.236.6363 // Snackbar Website // Snackbar Menu

Walnut Hills - Vicksburg

A mainstay of small, southern restaurants, one could say that the roundtable is a great equalizer. With a lazy susan typically at the center of the table, people of all social statuses, colors, and creeds can rub elbows and enjoy a meal of fine southern cuisine. Well, I suppose that’s the idea behind the tradition. I’ve never been one to clamor for the opportunity to dine at a roundtable, but there aren’t too many options in the small town of Vicksburg. Fortunately, the Walnut Hills restaurant offers both the round table and the more traditional dining option. Eschewing the roundtable and taking a seat in the back near the bar, I was curious to see what sort of restaurant had garnered the titles of Best Fried Chicken (Delta Magazine), Best Home Cooking (The Vicksburg Post), and Best Country Food (WAPT)

Enticing as cayenne laced fried chicken may have been, it would have to wait until after a bowl of Walnut Hills’ award winning and authentic French waterfront seafood gumbo epinette.

There’s no mention of who bestowed this award upon the Walnut Hills restaurant, but whoever they were, they are sadly mistaken.

With no depth to the roux, this gumbo was left with large pieces of okra and a smattering of small shrimp and in the end was little more than a large cup of rice and insipid, oily flavors.

Doing my best to forget the gumbo, my plate of fried chicken wasn’t far behind.

Making sure to ask for dark meat, I was pleasantly surprised by the juiciness of the bird, but the actual taste left much to be desired.

True to its description, this fried chicken from Miss Herdcine Williams carried a tail of cayenne pepper, but the accompanying puddles of grease and one dimensional flavor quickly lost their novelty.

Of course, there was more to this plate than three pieces of chicken. A small bowl of purple hulled peas was the first side dish.

Happily, these peas avoided the all too common fate of chalky texture, but then again there’s not much else to say about these peas, a middle of the road side dish.

The second side came in the form of extra smooth and creamy mashed potatoes. Armed with a slight tanginess, these potatoes were let down by the listless gravy.

Less than buoyed by the “award winning” chicken and gumbo, I was hesitant to revisit the Walnut Hills restaurant but a few months later the opportunity presented itself. Once again shunning the roundtable, it was time to see if my first time had been a fluke.

Missed the first time around, the cornbread at Walnut Hills deserves a mention.

It may be on the smallish side but this cornbread skillfully treads the fine line between not too sweet and not too salty.

Sadly, the Vicksburg favorite, potato rounds, didn’t fare quite so well.

Like a half shod version of TGI Friday’s potato skins, these potato slices were salty, limp, and greasy.

There’s an option to add shrimp to these potato rounds. I’m not sure why you would want shrimp here, but it is an option.

Hoping to strike gold with the southern favorite of chicken and dumplings, I was surprised to find that my lunch plate was comprised of three small bowls.

An interesting idea but it did lead to a sizable amount of the chicken & dumplings spilling out of the small bowl.

As for the actual dish, it was a collection of large pieces of dry white meat, big doughy dumplings, and a thick broth with an oddly pronounced taste of celery.

If the star of the dish was a letdown, then the sides were a mixed bag.

Butter beans or lima beans, regardless of name, these beans had a light porky taste but a miserable overcooked texture.

On the other hand, it’s hard to speak ill of the niblet corn. Being small, sweet, and tender, it ticked all the right boxes.

Unfortunately, this scenario plays out far too often. I want to like The Walnut Hills Restaurant. Although I may not partake, the round table is a charming idea and a restaurant that serves fine southern cuisine from an antebellum mansion fits perfectly in historic Vicksburg. Sadly, the charm of the Walnut Hills restaurant cannot overcome what is mostly a selection of mediocre to poor dishes. I arrived at Walnut Hills looking for quality cuisine in old southern atmosphere and I left once again confused about how these places win awards. When it comes to dining in Vicksburg, I guess I’ll stick to hot tamales.

The Walnut Hills Restaurant Address & Information

1214 Adams St, Vicksburg, MS 39183 // 601.638.4910 // The Walnut Hills Restaurant Website // The Walnut Hills Restaurant Menu