Page 47 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2018

DINING food for all
Deep South Culinary Adventures is, as the name suggests, a recounting of my food-related adventures over the past month. Being a food writer is a dream job to be sure, life revolves around restaurants, cooking, shopping for the best ingredients, and sharing it all with friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way and wouldn’t change a thing, but it’s the culinary diversity of the Gulf Coast that makes the adventure work.
Corks and Cleavers Italian Bistro
Bay St. Louis
White Pillars
Biloxi
Long Beach Market and Deli
Long Beach
Orchid Indian Cuisine
Gulfport
The Greenhouse on Porter
Ocean Springs
Cannella
Bay St. Louis
My business partner, Leslie
Fenton, and I recently sat down
with nationally acclaimed chef Kelly English and Room Chef Josh Mitchell at Kelly’s restaurant, The Magnolia House at Harrah’s. Magnolia House
is a coastal and Southern themed restaurant that will make you feel like you have just walked into an elegant Southern mansion, and the food is world class. Check out Chef Josh’s zhug chicken, fried green tomatoes, sautéed gulf snapper with sauce Ponchartrain, and lots more.
Thirty-Two, the fine dining restaurant at the IP Casino and Resort, has just come out with a new menu. This is hands down the most romantic restaurant on the Coast, and Chef Matthew Kallinikos is going to blow you away with his from scratch menu. His farm-to-table smoked foie
gras was over the top, as was the fresh goat cheese ravioli, but what stole the show was the New York strip progression — three grades of beef, ending with Japanese Wagyu.
If we are in the mood for Mexican, and I mean the real deal, not Tex-Mex, we head to La Nortena in Biloxi. It’s
a great little place, very casual and friendly. There is also a butcher shop where you can get some killer good chorizo sausage and house made chicharrones.
Just a quick word on shopping. Who has the best selection of olive oils? Believe it or not, Wal-Mart does. If you are looking to buy fresh local produce, and locally prepared goods, check out the Saturday morning markets in Ocean Springs and Long Beach, and the Wednesday morning market in Jones Park, Gulfport.
Julian Brunt interviewing Josh Mitchel, room chef, at Magnolia House
DEEP SOUTH CULINARY ADVENTURES
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
July 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 47
Praises
for the Coast's Dining Diversity
story and photos by Julian Brunt
Tacos from La Nortena Smoked foie gras from Thirty-Two Two curry dishes from Orchid
Hot Tips