I recently had an unexpected Eat Jackson lunch adventure while out on assignment… Read on to learn how I discovered and fell in love with Heart and Soul Diner in Brandon, MS.
It started like this: I drove to the Brandon/Pearl area to grab lunch at C’Paw’s, since it’s been on my “hit list” for a while now, and since I found online that they serve lunch in addition to dinner. My GPS took me somewhere where C’Paw’s was not, so I called the place. The friendly man I spoke to told me that they are no longer open for lunch and apologized for any inconvenience. No problem, I thought. I’ll just come back for dinner sometime when they’re open (which is now only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights).
Heart and Soul Diner in Brandon
Now Where Do I Eat?
As I pondered, a thought popped into my head. What about Heart and Soul Diner that I’ve seen folks talking about on Twitter and Facebook? I’m pretty sure that’s in this area! So I called it up on my GPS and started driving toward my change-of-plans-lunch-spot.
When I pulled into the parking lot of Heart and Soul Diner (which is located on West Government Street in Brandon), I found something very unexpected: gas pumps.
Is this restaurant in a gas station?
It’s not every day that you hear about a restaurant in a gas station being all that exciting… But I was willing to give it a shot!
I walked in and was quickly greeted and seated by Shelly, who was also my server. She handed me a menu and cheerfully brought me some water as she introduced herself. The interior was simple and quaint. And, for the record, it is NOT actually IN the gas station – it is simply adjacent to one.
The menu is huge! The Heart & Soul Diner has salads, po-boys, seafood, burgers, breakfast food, and some delightful sounding desserts… I ended up trying a more foodie-esque choice: Caribbean Grouper with Creamy Grits. This was a grilled grouper filet served over creamy cheese grits with a Jamaican jerk sauce.
After a short wait, I learned two things: 1) Apparently you can order breakfast all day long at Heart and Soul Diner. The table next to me had omelets and French toast. 2) Their portion sizes are large. When my Grouper and Grits hit the table, I was overwhelmed with how big it was! The plate was covered with cheesy, steamy grits, and in the middle was a generous filet of fish. The Jamaican jerk sauce on the fish was the first thing I tried. It was almost more like relish, and it was not as “tingly” as I expected. Nonetheless, it was absolutely amazing.
The Jamaican Grouper and Cheesy Grits!
My next bite was a combo of grits, fish, and sauce. This was a goooooood bite… When they say “creamy grits,” they mean it! These were cheesy, creamy, and almost fluffy. Flavor wise, the fish was right on. Moreso, the relish/sauce, made this dish, giving the fish filet the personality it needed.
In order to save room for dessert, I boxed up the half of the Grouper and Grits that I couldn’t eat. As I was boxing, I watched Shelly set a po-boy on the table next to me. Not that I didn’t enjoy my entree, but that po-boy made me wish I’d ordered one myself. Heck, the breakfast food on the other table made me wish I’d ordered breakfast food! It just ALL looked so YUMMY…
Bottom line—Heart and Soul Diner has many, many desirable options!
Speaking of options, Shelly helped me narrow down the desserts to the Pecan Cobbler and the Caramel Banana Cheesecake. I was sold on the Cheesecake after reading the details. “Pastry stuffed with Cheesecake, topped with bananas, powdered sugar, and caramel…”
That dessert will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.
Shelly asked if I wanted it boxed, so I could take the remainder of it home since it is also a rather large portion (which didn’t surprise me after how big my entrée was.)
Sure! Great idea!
Stuffed Cheesecake... Slap ya mama!
The boxed dessert was delivered to me by the chef himself, who was just as friendly as Shelly was. I gotta say, their service is the warmest and nicest I believe I’ve ever encountered. I felt right at home, and very well attended!
Now back to the dessert… I opened up the top to find a gorgeous roll of cheesecake-stuffed-pastry with fresh whipped cream, bananas, pecans, and some caramel drizzle. The pastry part had some cinnamon and sugar on the outside, making each bite totally come alive in my mouth. This version of Cheesecake was absolutely outstanding. I loved every bite. Yes, every bite… There was no reason for me to have gotten that dessert in a take-out box… I sat there and ate the whoooole thing… And yes, I’m sitting here shaking my head as I admit that…
The Overall Experience
I really enjoyed my trip to Heart and Soul Diner. The casual, comfortable atmosphere, the friendly service, and the food (particularly the dessert!) left me a happy, happy person. And as I learned from Shelly, Heart and Soul is only about three months old, so show them some love by giving them a try next time you’re out in that area. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Heart and Soul Diner
1291 W. Government Street
Brandon, MS 39042
(601) 825-9922
Price: $ (although it might need to be $$)
Yaaaaaaay for options out here in Brandon! Think I’ll take John Davis for breakfast tomorrow. Next time you’re out this way, you should check out the sushi at Fuji. I think it’s the best in the tri-county area!
Robin Jayne,
How was breakfast?!
Make sure you go back and eat at C’Paw’s for dinner! Their steaks are amazing and make sure you get the bread pudding! Also the ribs are the best around their homemade BBQ sauce is delicious. You can even get a jar to go.
Thanks for review on Heart and Soul Diner- was wondering how it was.
Kathy,
Thanks for the recommendations! Hopefully we’ll be able to pay them a visit next month since it didn’t work out this time. I hope you enjoy Heart and Soul!
C-Paws is good, Heart and Soul Diner is great (love the Seafood Benedict), but Fuji is hands down the best this area has to offer. Gotta try the Brandon Roll, It’s Awesome!
Kevin, you’re not the first person to mention Fuji! It’s on our “hit list” so we’ll try and get by there sooner rather than later! Thanks for the recommendation!
A co worker and I had lunch today at Heart and Soul. Promising place; however, the service is extremely inadequate. We got there early, and we still had to wait almost 35 minutes for our food to be served. We ordered dessert toward end of our meal, and after waiting almost 20 minutes, had to cancel the order so we could get back to work. I had the fried sortshell crab BLT. Was okay, but the bacon was not fully cooked, and the crab was a bit greasy. The brisket ordered by my friend rated much higher. Will visit again when kinks in service have been addressed.