Mama Hamil's - Madison

I rarely have any interest in buffets, particularly country buffets. I really don’t see the appeal. Unfortunately, Jackson is rife with them. While technically not in Jackson, one of the biggest names in the business is Mama Hamil’s in Madison. Once a small shack on Highway 51, Mama Hamil’s has grown to occupy a giant facility.

I’ve had Hamil’s on my to-visit list for some while, but I knew I needed someone in tow. I have no problem eating a solitary meal, but it seems a bit odd at a country style buffet. Luckily, Kate was interested in lunch and I conned her into going with me to Hamil’s.

It’s been nearly a decade since I paid a visit to Hamil’s. I don’t really remember anything about the food, but I enjoyed the charm of the rickety looking shack and the seemingly genuine kitchiness of the décor. Apparently I should have paid more attention to what was happening on 51. While the shack is still there, the operation at Hamil’s has moved farther away from the road to a giant facility that I suppose looks like a barn.

One thing I can say offhand about Hamil’s is that it is popular. Pulling into the parking lot, there were people overflowing from the lot and filling the adjacent field. Inside, the wait was short but there was a constant line to the buffet. An open rectangle of shimmering stainless steel, the buffet at Hamil’s held every southern/country favorite.

Faced with such a bounty of choices, I soon ended up with an overflowing plate. Thankfully, Kate had already scouted out a table, so it was a short walk with my loaded plate.

There’s more than meets the eye with this plate. Not only is there ribs, chicken & dumplings, fried chicken livers, corn, butter beans, black eyed peas, and cornbread on there, there’s also a spoonful of dressing.

First up for the sampling was the chicken and dumplings

While this was on the soupy side, it was a tasty start to the meal but only because the sum was more than its parts. The dumplings were a mixed bag, some pillowy soft, the others tasted like big chunks of uncooked dough. One thing that was consistent was the chicken. It was all stringy and overcooked.

How about creamed corn?

This was beginning of an annoying trend at Hamil’s, this corn was simply too sweet.

Did the butterbeans suffer the same fate?

Yes, they did. These were pretty decent butterbeans, but they had been doused in sugar, corn syrup, or something else too sweet for butterbeans.

Well, the trend took a hit with the black eyed peas.

Not at all sweet, these peas were simply terrible. I couldn’t tell if they were that chalky from being overcooked to death or not cooked at all.

The green beans were another exemption from the overbearing sweetness of Hamil’s.

While the beans were big and peppery and served with pork, albeit overcooked pork, they had the distinct tinny taste of canned beans.

Moving on to the dressing, the trend towards annoying sweetness resumed.

Unfortunately, this spoonful of dressing had been crushed by ribs. Nevertheless, the sweetness wasn’t overbearing here. There was actually a pleasant pepperiness to the dressing and plenty of big pieces of chicken meat to boot.

If one was to believe this amusing painting on the tractor out front,

One would think Hamil’s wants to be known for their pork. Surprisingly there wasn’t a lot of pork on the buffet, aside from the ribs.

Things were looking good from the start, there’s a definite Hickory smoke ring, and full evidence of a rub, although an overly sweet but nicely peppery one.

Being the southeast, you can’t have bbq without sauce, and Hamil’s had their own.

It’s your standard bbq combination, tomato, vinegar, pepper, but it actually works quite well with the ribs. Even though it’s a cheap shortcut to use caramel color and liquid smoke in your sauce, the Hamil’s bbq sauce works well with their style ribs.

What about those fried chicken livers?

Chalk these up as another death by steamer tray.

It doesn’t seem right to visit a southern/country style buffet and not try a piece of their fried chicken.

Greasy, but relatively moist inside, this chicken had a few virtues. The skin was peppery and well seasoned even with that Hamil’s heavy handedness when it comes to sweeteners. Regardless, it still doesn’t hold a candle to Mr. D’s chicken at the Lorman Country Store.

Just as fried chicken is an integral part of any buffet, cornbread plays just as vital a role.

The cornbread at Hamil’s has a nice texture, but it is just too sweet, even for Northern style cornbread.

So what can I say about Hamil’s? As I said in the beginning, I really don’t see the appeal. Nearly everything was too sweet, the meats were subpar and what they had going for them had been left in the water of the steamer tray, and the charm of the original has been lost. I arrived at Hamil’s wondering why it had been so long between visits. When I left, I had a pretty clear idea why. I suppose it’s up to time to see if it takes me another 10 years to visit again.

Lazy Magnolia Beer Dinner - Sal & Mookie's - Jackson

Earlier this month and for the second time this summer, Jeff Good sent out an email announcing a Sal & Mookie’s Beer Dinner. Having been a patron of the Sam Adams & Atlanta Brewing Company Beer Dinners, I was excited to read this dinner would feature Mississippi’s own Lazy Magnolia Brewery. As if a Lazy Magnolia dinner wasn’t interesting enough, there would also be a special firkin of Reb Ale.

Arriving early to claim a good seat, I was greeted with a pint of Reb Ale.

It’s a shame that all dinners don’t start this way.

Once we were all seated, there were the usual welcome speeches and words from the brewery, but this time there was a very informative video from Lazy Magnolia.

While that was being shown, the waiters and waitresses were passing out sauces to each table.

First was a bowl of Yum Tang Gwa or Thai Cucumber salad

Next was a chili garlic dipping sauce.

I didn’t get a chance to take a picture, but there was the usual excitement of tapping the firkin. Apparently it takes a fair amount of force to get the valve into that cask.

Here’s what the firkin contained, the star of the show, a special batch of Reb Ale brewed with pureed mango, roasted habaneros, and key lime zest.

To go with that special ale was the first course, a Thai fish ball.

Made from shrimp and drum, this was a tasty beginning to the meal. I was disappointed the sauce wasn’t at all spicy, but the cucumber salad had a nice jalapeno kick.

The second course started with a fresh beer, a glass of Indian Summer.

Indian Summer, it’s a quality beer and it never disappoints.

Like most multicourse meals, this one featured a salad, specifically a Curried Cashew, Pear and Grape Salad with an Orange Vinaigrette.

While it doesn’t hold a candle to that amazing apple and spinach salad from the Sam Adams dinner, this was still an excellent salad and a very nice pairing.

Our third course started with a glass of Southern Gold.

Lazy Magnolia’s honey ale, Southern Gold, was described as a good introduction to “real beer”.

That is a small mountain of Fudge Farms Roasted Pork Loin with Lavender and Honey over roasted Fingerling Potatoes. It had a very nice crust, but like most cuts without any marbling, this loin was overcooked and dry, but the fingerlings were worth fighting over.

The fourth course brought out the pitchers of Lazy Magnolia’s Southern Pecan.

This is the Lazy Magnolia that I see everywhere in the southeast, but I didn’t know the back story behind it. Apparently it took the brew master 30 tries before she was happy with the results.

With the glass of Southern Pecan, the fourth course featured a Maple-Cured Duck Breast smoked over Pecan Wood over Soft Polenta.

Apparently Dan Blumenthal smoked this at home on his big green egg, and I’m afraid he got a little carried away. I love the flavor of smoky duck, but this was all smoke and no duck. It’s a shame to see this happen to Jewish bacon.

Fifth and finally was dessert,

Sweet Potato, Date & Pecan Bread Pudding with Whiskey-Caramel Sauce

Served with a glass of Lazy Magnolia’s Jefferson Stout. On their own the dessert and stout were great, but they just didn’t mesh very well.

Five courses, three hours, and some glasses of beer later, I would have to say that the Lazy Magnolia Beer Dinner was another enjoyable beer dinner from Sal & Mookie’s. It was a pleasure to see all the products of Mississippi’s home brewery, especially another special firkin. While one or two of the dishes and/or combinations left me wanting, Jeff Good and Dan Blumenthal did another fine job. I suppose it’s just back to waiting to see when Jeff Good will send out another email.

China Belle - Jackson

I generally try to avoid buffets, Chinese buffets in particular. Why such animosity towards the rows of Sweet and Sour Pork? I have nothing against Americanized Chinese food; how could I? It’s become a part of the American landscape. Even though I love trying to find and make more authentic Chinese food, it’s a guilty pleasure to dive into a to-go box of cheap fried rice that’s overrun with frozen peas and carrots or General Tso’s chicken covered in that sugary sauce and glowing like a Chernobyl special

Of course, like all foods, Chinese food suffers when it’s spooned into a steamer tray. Left to languish under a sneeze guard, I don’t see the appeal. Yes, it’s cheap and quick, but it’s also bland and dried out.

So with all those downsides, why would I subject myself to lunch at China Belle? There’s a simple reason. In the back of the restaurant, there’s a giant, circular griddle. On it, a cook will create what’s known as Mongolian BBQ. Basically a type of stir-fry, it’s up to the diner to pick the ingredients and the sauces.

Here’s a look at what sort of selections you can make for your plate of Mongolian BBQ.

Annoyingly, China Belle only offers steak, chicken, and imitation crab as far as meat choices. You can see they also offer a choice of noodles.

Moving to the left, there’s also a tray of gyoza, something I’ve never really seen at other Mongolian BBQs. The main choice in green vegetables is between green beans and snow peas. Hard to see at the top of the picture is a tray of bamboo shoots with green onions and shredded cabbage underneath.

Again working to the left, there’s shredded carrots, what I think was sliced zucchini, sliced button mushrooms. Back on top, there’s sliced celery, cubed onions, and cubed green bell peppers.

The last of the vegetable selections was baby corn, a container of waterlogged bean sprouts, and broccoli.

I decided to go with beef for my first plate.

Rice noodles, a couple of gyoza, snow peas, beef, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and a not pictured egg seemed to make a pretty decent plate.

After you hand the cook your plate, he slaps it onto the cooking surface and gets to work.

Contrary to this picture, there is a fair amount of stirring to this stir-fry.

While you’re waiting on that to cook, it’s time to make your choice of sauces and condiments.

Working from left to right this time, you can choose from Chinese BBQ sauce,minced garlic

Chili and garlic sauce, oyster sauce, sesame sauce,

and finally, garlic sauce or teriyaki sauce. Of course you can make any combination of these you’d like, but I don’t think mixing them all together would be a prudent decision.

Near the end of cooking, you’ll be asked for which sauces you like.

When you’ve voiced your preference, there are the last seconds of furious stir-frying before everything is moved to a clean plate.

Back at the table, and looking quite appetizing. With this plate, I went with a combination of garlic, chili & garlic sauce, and sesame sauce.

The flavors aren’t too bad, the spiciness and sesame are really upfront. My only real complaints are that the snow peas were not trimmed, and the beef was overcooked. Even the oddly placed gyoza was a pretty tasty addition to the plate.

With the second plate, I thought it only fitting to try out the second meat choice. I know there’s surimi on the buffet of choices, but I just don’t really care for fish paste.

On this plate, there are a few differences. Egg noodles instead of rice noodles, chicken instead of beef, and the addition of green beans.

Dressed with garlic sauce and chili & garlic sauce, this was another tasty combination. It’s not highbrow cuisine, but it’s very satisfying. Again the meat was overcooked and the snow peas untrimmed

I can make a long list of China Belle’s Mongolian BBQ shortcoming, (e.g. there’s not enough choice in proteins, the vegetables aren’t trimmed, there’s not enough choice for sauces), but the bottom line is that China Bella has, for years, been trying to do something different. Even if it is 1/3 the size of your average Mongolian BBQ, it separates China Belle from the sea of slop bucket buffets that litter the Jackson landscape. So, take some time, walk past the buffet, choose your ingredients, carefully choose your sauces, and enjoy something a little different but very tasty.