Deep Fried Kudzu

Walnut Hills is a 'revolving table' restaurant, which means that you sit at a large table with 10 or 12 other people and food is put in front of you on a giant lazy susan that everybody spins to get the dish they like.





We talked mostly to two couples, one was local and they were super-nice. They were originally from the Delta, and so we got to talk about Cleveland and that area for a while. The other couple (also super-nice) was in Vicksburg because they were on their way back from visiting their condo in Biloxi to see what damage had occurred after Hurricane Katrina. As it turns out, their condo (ground level unit, across the beach...BTW, most houses along the MS coast are across the street from Beach Boulevard - Hwy 90 because in most communities the highway runs so close to the beach that there isn't room for any development at all on the sand. In Alabama and Florida, there's almost always room along the Gulf-side for development at least one house deep) was damaged very badly. And the couple - they were from Franklin, Tennessee - were in for a fight with their insurance company. They said they had asked their agent when the policy for the condo was written about tidal waves and such, and they were told that they couldn't get that type of policy written for that location. They will also have to fight (just like everybody else) because their condo is a huge, broken mess and if the damage is due to wind, then they have a certain amount of coverage. But if everything was okay until the storm surge, then it's classified as a flood and they're completely out of luck. It's just something you feel terribly about.

We did get to talk about nicer subjects than the hurricane, and really had a lovely lunch with some very nice people.

As far as what was served, there was coleslaw, fried chicken, greens, rice, macaroni and tomatoes, I can't even remember everything that they put out....Av especially likes their chicken. The only thing I wasn't crazy about, that I didn't remember from the last time we visited, was that they only served unsweet tea!
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In Vicksburg, Av and I also really like Solly's Hot Tamales (1921 Washington St).

My PawPaw used to tell about how when a truck carrying sugar cane would come down the street in Attalla, how he and the other kids would run after it, trying to get stalks down to chew on. He said it was just so delicious. What you do is cut off the outer layer, then sort-of just press the sugar in the inside out by biting down on it (then you spit out what's left).

Every Passover, Coke produces some bottles with its old recipe using pure sugar (they all have yellow caps), since we can't consume corn products (and Coke now uses corn syrup as a sweetener) during the holiday. The Dublin, Texas Dr. Pepper plant still uses sugar cane as sweetener in all its non-diet Dr. Pepper products every day, and they ship! Yay!


My favorite....cotton. This crop is almost ready for defoliating (when about 50 or 60% fo the bolls are open, the crop gets defoliate sprayed on it. The defoliate makes the leaves fall off, which makes picking the cotton much cleaner and allows the farmer to harvest the cotton quicker).


Swamp

Last week when we were in Lecompte, we stopped in at Lea's (pronounced "Lee's") Lunchroom, which has been in business since 1928, for a slice of pie. Lecompte is the pie capital of Louisiana - they have a pie festival now too - and Lea's is supposed to be *the* place.





Av ordered the chocolate pie and I tried the coconut pie. They were both good - the meringue was especially nice - but neither of them were really flavored enough...the chocolate wasn't chocolate-y enough, and the coconut wasn't coconut-y enough. Lots of other people sure do like it, though - maybe we should have gone with the pecan or a fruit pie.

We've been to the Natchez city cemetery several, several times - but I noticed when I went to their website that the site has a section for particularly interesting monuments. I couldn't right-off find the book that we'd bought earlier about the cemetery, but I made some quick notes about some of the monuments I wanted to take pics of. Here are just a few:


This monument above is for Louise. The Unfortunate.

How sad!
Apparently she came to Natchez to meet and marry her fiance. He either died or just didn't show up, and she didn't want to return home. She supposedly went from respectable career choices like seamstress and housekeeper to - over the years - careers that were, ahem, less respectable in society. There are three ideas as to how she came to be buried in this plot, with a headstone (even though no dates are on it), and this is from the cemetery's website:

...some say Louise became friends with a doctor who treated her during her hard life Under-the-Hill, and upon her death he paid for her funeral. Some say a wealthy plantation owner who frequented her room on lonely nights paid her funeral expenses. Others say a preacher paid for her funeral from his pauper funds, but she wasn’t buried in a pauper’s grave.

This pic above is of a monument that was erected by the owner of the Natchez Drug Company. There was an explosion at the building that leveled the five-story structure and among others killed five of his employees, the youngest being twelve years old.

The monument reads:

Erected by the Natchez Drug Company to the memory of the unfortunate employees who lost their lives in the great disaster that destroyed its building on March 14, 1908.

Carrie O. Murray
Inez Netterville
Luella D. Booth
Mary E. Worthy
Ada White

In front of this angel monument are headstones for each of the employees. The angel on the monument is referred to as the 'turning angel' because it appears to turn at night as cars' headlights shine on it from the main road.


Water Urn


Schwartz monument - Christian Schwartz had 'White House', the home now known as 'Glen Auburn' built.

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....so we left the cemetery and went to some little just-for-tourists shop right downtown to ask them if they knew where we could find Miss Sophronia that day. Miss Sophronia sells pralines outside Rosalie and also where the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen steamboats dock, some other places too. When we walked in to this little touristy shop (which I could not believe we were going to, but okay, we wanted to find her), we were asked by this man who didn't sound at all like he was from anywhere south of Pittsburgh if we wanted to try *their* PRAY-LEENS. Ack! I think my ears started bleeding!

((As y'all know, the proper pronounciation for pralines is "praw-leens", or "prah-leens", depending on where you are in the South. There are some people in Georgia who (I don't know why but they just do) call pralines "pray-leens", but I don't even know what to say about that. In any case, you will never be seen as an outsider if you will just pronounce pralines the way they are meant to be said....long and slow....prawwww-leeeeeeens. That's right, sugah.))

Oh! And he didn't even know who Miss Sophronia was! Huh!

Anyway, we couldn't find her that day. You can read more about her here (where the official Natchez tourism site calls her an 'icon'), and this website has what they say is *her* recipe! Maybe I'll try it. I notice she only uses white sugar whereas I use a mixture of white and brown. Hmmm.... Av's always ready to eat some pralines......

The first time I'd ever seen mounds like these was earlier this summer when Av and I visited Moundville (that visit here). Since we were going through Natchez on our way to Baton Rouge, we stopped at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians park for just a few minutes.

One website I found said that although people have been in Mississippi for 12,000 years, mounds have only been developed since about 2100 years ago, and their construction continued until about 300 years ago. The mounds here in Natchez aren't built as high as the ones in Moundville. The ones in Natchez are about 8' high.





This sign says:

Reconstructed Natchez House and Granary
The Natchez Indians lived in permanent houses of mud and pole construction with thatched grass roofs. The granary held surplus corn. The structure to the left of the granary provided shade and served as a drying platform.

This pic above is one I took of the inside of the house.

There are many other American Indian mounds in Mississippi - several in the Delta, some around Tupelo, and others close to Jackson. I'd love to see all of them! Some of them are flat on top, some of them are domed, and some of them have a pyramid shape. The Emerald mound, which we haven't visited yet, is the second-largest mound in the US - it's eight acres, and on top of it are two other mounds!

This is a really good site about the mounds.

Even though it was Sunday, we had to stop by Mammy's Cupboard (Natchez, Mississippi) to see if it was by any chance open (they're closed Sundays). It was closed, but I took these pics.

Mammy's Cupboard (601.445.8957) is a lovely little restaurant at 555 Hwy 61N open Tues-Sat from 11am-2pm. It serves mostly tearoom-type food (blueberry lemonade is nice), which we really enjoyed the last time we were there. What is absolutely outstanding is their dessert table. From hummingbird cake to red velvet to chocolate pie - yum! If for nothing else, stop at Mammy's for the dessert.


Here are a couple of different views of the building. Inside the skirt is the cash register and where they sell jellies and preserves. There's a small building behind the skirt where the dining area is.





I think - but I'm not sure - that they sell a cookbook. I just did a search for recipes from Mammy's, and I found half-way down this page at the Ya-Ya messageboard a recipe for their pimento cheese.

Legend has it that Grant said Port Gibson was "too beautiful to burn" - so Port Gibson has this saying on signs around town and in their literature.

I think the most striking thing about Port Gibson (it happens to be the 3rd-oldest incorporated town in the US) is the First Presbyterian Church there (see two pics below).



That gold hand pointing up is made of metal - it was originally carved from wood. It's exactly what it's supposed to be - pointing toward heaven. If you have a super-zoom camera lens, you can see that there are little prickly things all over the top of the hand which keep birds from landing on it.

This is from the church's website:

By 1859, the congregation numbered 160, and they decided to tear down their old sanctuary and build anew. But because of threats of war, the northern contractor only completed the walls up to the parapet. Elder H.N. Spencer took over the project, and lent the congregation $8,000 to complete it, a debt which he forgave in his will. He is also said to have given $500 in silver coins to be cast into the bell in the steeple, weighing 2,032 pounds. It was first rung on October 10, 1860. Mr. Spencer completed the building in December of 1860, the same month in which Dr. Butler died. His funeral is said to have been the first service held in the new sanctuary.

The Hand pointing to Heaven” is the unique feature of this Romanesque Revival style edifice. The first hand was carved from wood by Daniel Foley, a young local craftsman. The ravages of time, however, destroyed it; and around 1901, the present hand was commissioned and installed. It was taken down in 1989 to be repaired and replated. It was raised again in 1990 and placed atop a newly re-enforced steeple.

Oh! One more thing. Inside the church are chandeliers from the steamboat the Robert E. Lee. I would loooove to see those.


This is a pic of Gemilluth Chessed. It's the oldest synagogue building in Mississippi, and is so pretty. I went inside a few years ago - it really is lovely. It's owned by an older lady that owns Oak Square, a B&B in town, and her son I think started inviting a Christian (messianic) congregation to have services in it a couple of years ago. It hasn't been a Jewish synagogue in years and years.

Av and I have stayed at the Bernheimer House B&B in Port Gibson - Loren and Nancy there are super-nice.


Old Trace Theater


This building is the Mississippi Crossroads - inside is a shop selling quilts made by local women.

Av and I have been to Grand Gulf, MS (Google Maps doesn't recognize Grand Gulf. Grand Gulf is between Vicksburg and Port Gibson - there is a sign on the highway that will show you where to turn.) before, and decided to visit again last week since we were going close to it, from Vicksburg to Baton Rouge. I really wanted to see if the osage orange trees were okay, since the hurricane had brought down so many trees.


Isn't this abandoned church so pretty?


Here's one of the osage oranges. Some people call them hedgeapples, and others call them 'brain fruit' because of their texture (closer shot below):


...and they're such an odd color! Up until earlier this year, when we first visited Grand Gulf, I had never seen one! I only figured out what they were called when I did a Google search.


This is one of the trees, and it is quite damaged. One of the other osage orange trees looks to be okay, though.

When we pulled up to where the trees were, there were two other people out walking around - they were checking to make sure the trees were okay too! They were bringing a couple of osage oranges home with them, and Av and I picked up a couple for me to try to propagate. They're supposed to be pretty easy to do.

Osage orange trees were used by American Indians to make hunting bows with (and people still use the wood for that). The wood is also supposed to be really good for making fences, and some people make 'bones' (musical percussion instrument) with it. If you cut osage oranges in half, they're supposed to be very good for repelling insects.


I wonder if the pic above is evidence of some squirrels having lunch. BTW, the fruits are supposed to be poisonous to humans.


These are some signs around the trees







History of Grand Gulf. This is what it says:

The town of Grand Gulf began in the 18th century as a small British settlement. By 1828 it had grown to a village of three stores, one tavern, and several houses. There was a stage line to Port Gibson and steamboats stopped at its wharves. Incorporated in 1833, Grand Gulf received its name from a large whirlpool formed as the Mississippi River struck a great rock formation. By the late 1830s Grand Gulf had become an important port and trading center with seventy-six city blocks and about 1000 people. Grand Gulf's decline began in 1843 with a yellow fever epidemic. In 1853 a tornado devastated a large portion of the town. Yellow fever and cholera epidemics resulted in further population losses. To make matters worse, the Mississippi River changed its course and began eating into the land on which the town was built. Between 1855 and 1860, fifty-five city blocks were destroyed by the river. By 1860 only one hundred fifty-eight lived there. During the Civil War, Federal troops and gunboats destroyed the remainder of the town. The town was never rebuilt after the war and today even the river has deserted what was once a bustling river port. All that remains are a few antebellum buildings scattered along what was once the outskirts of the town.

Besides the military park, all that's left around here is some hunting lodges and an Entergy nuclear plant. Pics from our last visit can be found here.

Although we didn't like this hotel much, we were so grateful just to find a room this close to Baton Rouge (I think it was something like 2-1/2 hours of driving time for us to get to BR from here).



Room: We've stayed at this Vicksburg Hampton Inn a few before, but it's been a while. This is an older hotel, with the doors facing outside (not all-interior like other Hamptons). The desk had a regular dining room-style chair, not an office chair like other Hamptons. There was a sofa inside the room, and the room did seem maybe a little larger than the average Hampton room.
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The first day, we were only left two towels by the maid service. The second day, we were left only three towels.

Food: We didn't try the breakfast, which was included in the cost of the room.

Extra: If you come to Vicksburg to see the National Cemetery, it's pretty much across the street. A new Hampton Inn & Suites is being built very close to this hotel, and the existing hotel is slated to be a Comfort Inn or something like that. I think that the owners of this hotel quit putting money into this particular property a *long* time ago. It's not very nice, but then again we only spent sleeping hours here anyway.

Our experience is this: Well, the new Hampton Inn & Suites is opening in Spring of 2006. The problem with hotels in Vicksburg is that there aren't many options above the economy level. There is a fabulous-looking B&B called Cedar Grove Inn that I would have really liked to have stayed at this time, but since we were going to be getting back in so late at night, we didn't want to have to worry about disturbing anyone. Their rooms and restaurant both look really nice.


Our room's bathroom

Av and I went to Stamps Superburgers in Jackson for supper. It was our first time, but I had heard about it before. It's won 'Best of Jackson' hamburgers a couple or more years, and it's also listed on Dixie Dining (with a mention that Bobby Rush is a fan).




These are Stamps' french fries that Av and I shared. These aren't out of the Sysco bag. They take a potato and cut it into round slivers and fry them, then you get to choose if you want them to be seasoned with salt & pepper or lemon pepper. Oh. Yum.


This is the *regular*/smaller hamburger. It was huge - I had to throw part of it away because there was just no way I could finish it, and Av could just barely finish his. The hamburgers at Stamps are like the hamburgers you would make at home...ground beef, formed into a patty, put on the grill. Same way at Stamps. I think the regular hamburgers are like 7.5oz and the large are more like a pound. Delish.

There is a bit of a wait after you place your order, that's because they don't cook until they get your order - so it may take ten, fifteen minutes, more - depending on what's ahead of you in line. Not fast food, but great food. We ate these on the way to Vicksburg (next post).

Last week, Av worked in Jackson for a while, and we got to have lunch at Primo's Cafe in Flowood. We've been here several times - and they're always great. They have free wi-fi access now, too.





We weren't super-hungry, so we just snacked on dessert rather than ordering a sandwich or anything. I had the Italian Wedding Cake. It was really, really nice.


Av had the caramel cake, which he really liked too. I do have to say, though, that nobody makes better caramel icing than Caramel Factory in Boyle, Mississippi (they ship).

What I really wanted to get Av was one of their tshirts - one of them says something like "biscuits are like bagels, except they're soft and they taste better". hehehehe!!

Av and I just love to go to Ezell's Fish Camp in Lavaca (AL). It is a *real* fish camp - right on the water - and the fields around it are growing cotton.....


Ezell's


There are a bunch of deer mounted in the entranceway, and inside the dining room are these three wild boar.


This is the swamp monkey above the cash register. Rahr!


This is the world-record blue catfish. The mounting was done by Archie Phillips, who is the taxidermist whose sign "Get the US out of the UN" (there's a new one up now, but I don't remember what it is) can be seen from I-20/59 in Birmingham.


First they bring out Lance Captain's Wafers (the best), a lemon, cocktail and tartar sauce, and their coleslaw - which is so delicious!


Av loves their fried pickles, even though we can't even eat half of what they bring out. They are so yummy though!


Here's my dinner - catfish fillets. Yummy!

Ezell's is open seven days a week, and it's so much fun just to go and sit by the water. One time after a storm, there was a lot of tree branches in the water, and we got to watch what I think was an egret just floating all the way down the river on one of the logs. Nice!