THE SHACK-UP INN

Your second stay in the Delta should be at the Shack-Up Inn in Clarksdale, MS.  It's an entire compound of row houses (I think made to look like the real thing, unlike Tallahatchie Flats, which are the real thing) plus a cotton gin with rooms in it.  We opted for the cotton gin.

Nice modern rooms, with your own porch and rocker.   This is a neat place.  They'll give you a guitar for your stay if you want one.  They often have "harmonica schools" and live music going on.

There's so much old tin and rusty implements around there that they don't allow children!   How awesome is that?

You don't even need to leave to eat.   They have their own restaurant there, fittingly called "Rust", that serves great "Mississippi food with a twist".   We went for the shrimp grits and blackened Mississippi catfish tacos.   Great.

OVERNIGHT IN THE TALLAHATCHIE FLATS

If you're going to the Delta, you've got two mandatory places you've got to stay.  The first...


Just north of Greenwood is Tallahatchie Flats.   It's up the Money Road heading north out of Greenwood.  Travel about 6 miles outside of town and you're in some of the most awesome cotton/soybean country you'll ever see.  

About a mile or so prior to Tallahatchie Flats, is a little church on your left.  Supposedly...it's the place (one of about 3) that Robert Johnson is buried.  (This is the Delta blues trip.)   Robert Johnson, of course, sold his soul to the devil so that he could play the blues.   

More on Robert later.

If you see the radio station you're almost home...

(Additionally, tune in to AM 960 for some Delta blues.   Our Tallahatchie Flat row house had an old radio and we tuned in some late night blues and it was truly awesome.   You can stream if off the web if you need some right now.)

Tallahatchie Flats consists of little plantation row houses brought in (from plantations!) to serve as a sort of Delta farm bed and breakfast.   Crops out the front door across the road and the Tallahatchie River (of Bobby Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe" fame) is right out your back door.  

You've got water, bathroom, and A/C, so don't sweat it too much.  Your alarm clock is a crop duster.   Get up early, sit in your porch swing and witness this...

Don't miss the Tallahatchie Flats!

DOE'S EAT PLACE

Let's get back to food.   This place is in every Southern Living, Garden & Gun, and every food show on the Food Network.  

It began in 1941 and has been going strong ever since.   It's in the heart of the historical blues section of Greenville, MS.

That's right, this is the place.   EVERYBODY knows it.  You walk in through the back door into the kitchen.   It smells like your aunt's kitchen out in the country back in the day with meat and gas flames going.   It is awesome.   Hand cut fries frying up in iron skillets on the stove.

There's some antique Viking (also headquartered in Greenville) stove grilling those 3 pound porterhouses perfectly.  

Go in, and sit down and a little 'ol lady will come take your order. There's no menu, there's no prices, so you better study up.   Like I said, a 3 pound porterhouse is the one that put them on the map.   Perfectly seared in that Viking stove, then the drippings are drizzled back on the top.  Simple salad soaking in some kind of vinegar/oil dressing.  Who cares, it's all AWESOME.   

They're also famous for their tamales.   The guys at the next table had a few extras so they tossed them my way.   A nice spicy tamale and I believe they utilize the steak drippings in their making.

   

You gotta go here (but bring some $$).  It is incredible.

RUINS OF WINDSOR

Yet another road in the boonies of Mississippi, but worth the trip.   Shoot out of Port Gibson somewhere, this one's fairly easy to find.   Once you hear the banjos, drive another 15 minutes.

It was built in 1861 and must have been pretty sweet at the time.   It survived the Civil War, BUT...some smoker threw down his Marlboro and "swoosh", the whole thing went up in flames.

LESSON:  Smokers are addicted and will burn your bad-to-the-bone house down.

23 columns remain.  Go see it.

RODNEY, MISSISSIPPI

This is OUT THERE!   My Dad had painted the Rodney Presbyterian Church way back in the day, so I felt a need to go photograph it.   Rodney was almost the capital of the Mississippi Territory, so it had a lot going for it...until...the Mississippi River changed course and the whole city dried up, essentially turning into a Ghost Town.

You gotta drive and drive until your satellite GPS and your cell phone both say "We have no clue where you are".  Then you're close to getting there.

Rodney Presbyterian's (dedicated in 1832) claim to fame was from 1863 when the the Yankees on the USS Rattler fired a cannonball into it and it stuck above the middle upper window.  Thus, the pilgrimage.

About the only other attraction in Rodney is the Baptist Church, which was built in 1850, I believe.   The flood of 2011 damaged it, so it may be soon lost to time.  Nonetheless, a great opportunity for the camera.

LET'S ROADTRIP!

Mississippi Delta here we come!   Let's do some eatin' and some Delta blues!   1st stop is Natchez.

We were rolling into town at the last minute and was on the verge of staying in the highway Days Inn (and not one of the better ones).  We spied a sign for the Natchez Grand Hotel, called 'em up and wow.   Great rooms overlooking the Mississippi River, and you're right in the heart of all of it.  Walk outside and you're on the bluff watching the Mighty Mississippi.  Totally unexpected and I would go back in a heartbeat.

Walk downhill to Natchez Under the Hill and grab a meal at The Camp. You can sit outside and you're literally watching the sun set over the MS River bridge drinking an icy cold Lazy Magnolia brewed in Mississippi.  Another totally unexpected awesome find.

Oh yeah, it's like an entire jar of fried dill pickles (with jalapeños) from The Camp.  It doesn't get much better!

I Love Hole-in-the-Walls

You gotta search for this one.    It's off Highway 49 by about a mile in Wiggins, Mississippi.   It's worth a stop.  

The Frosty Mug.   I pulled in on a Sunday afternoon and ordered up the "Lot-o-Burger".   No disappointments.  

A nice little burger and fries.  It's all outdoor dining.  Ask for a bottle of ketchup.  It was a lot-o-burger!

And then as I finished up my burger, I spied the real attraction.   But alas, the Lot-o-Burger had me feeling full, and I couldn't partake.  They had fried bologna sandwiches for $1.   ONE DOLLAR!  I'll stop for a $1 bologna sandwich any day.   

Another Great Alabama Chili-Cheese

Let's face it, this blog has a penchant for chili-cheese burgers.   And rightly so, since they can be difficult to find as one travels the world.  But, if you're traveling through Citronelle, Alabama, you're in luck.   Pop into Bertile's on the main drag and they've got a chili-cheese waiting on you.

It's a simple concept, but many can't pull it off.  Bertile's has it down.  

(And BONUS, if you're rolling through Citronelle at breakfast, they have a "White Gravy Plate" and a "Tomato Gravy Plate".  I don't even know what it is, but who cares, right?   It's got GRAVY!)

Down Home Mississippi Shopping

Question:  Where do you go when you need one stop shopping for bacon, cheese, ammo, blue jeans, horse tack, and boiled peanuts?

Answer:  Williams Brothers Store in Philadelphia, Mississippi

Turns out, this is Eli and Payton Manning's grandaddy's store.   There's some memoribilia up on the walls, but mostly it's just a good old country store.   Horse tack in the back.   Blue jeans and cowboy boots to the left.  Out front is boiled peanuts.   But everybody goes for the bacon and cheese.

Right as you walk in the door, in the middle of the floor, they're cutting bacon and bologna and red rind cheese.  You tell the man how much bacon you want and how thick a cut, and he'll scratch the info on a paper bag (because there's normally a line) and in a bit you've got your bacon/bologna/cheese.

And just look at how beautiful this next photo is.   A big 'ol hunk of red rind cheese on the block getting cut....right beside the ammo.

God Bless America!

Tally-HO!

I seem to be in a fast food rut here with the blogs.   Another old school place in Panama City, FL is the Tally-Ho on the corner of 15th and Harrison.  It's been there a LONG time.   It's an eat outside or in your car place.   Beautiful little fresh hand pressed hamburgers (always with perfect little buns) and the onion rings are pretty fine as well.    They'll hook you up with a bottle of ketchup and everything so you won't run out.   Gotta have a good weather day or else eat in your car.   Take your Zocor before you go.

Fish Tacos!

Finns Island Style Grub located in St. Andrews, FL has a mean little fish taco.   I never was a fish taco man, but a bud turned me onto them and they are tasty.  Finns is mostly an outdoor eatery under the live oaks on the bayou.   It's kind of a hippy, trendy, artsy place (thus I probably shouldn't be there).   Nonetheless, a great little fish taco (2 for $6 or so).  Pick a warm day and enjoy Florida.

More Chili-Cheese Please!

Let's be frank.   It's difficult to find good chili-cheese burgers.   But…Ward's found in the greater metropolitian south Mississippi has a pretty good one.  And bonus…root beer in a frosty cold mug.  See if Applebee's will hook you up with one of those.  I doubt it.

 

Good 'Ol Drive-In

How 'bout some good 'ol diner food?  Try Mac's Drive-in in Clemson, SC.  Small place, probably 15 seats at the counter, but as cozy a little place inside as you can imagine.   Years of Clemson sports players' photos are autographed and hanging on the wall.

Food is burgers, fries, etc.   It's one of those places that just makes you happy.

That's some beautiful sweet tea.  Enjoy.