We consider strawberries to be darn near perfect, considering there are very few people in this world who don’t love a good, juicy red strawberry. When added to a dish, strawberries do nothing but enhance. We don’t care if you’re adding them to a salad, a piece of bread smeared with peanut butter, a dessert (either as a garnish or as a main ingredient), a beverage… When it comes down to it, strawberries are plain incredible. That’s just the way it is!

In recognition of National Strawberry Month, we put together a photo album featuring the strawberry and local strawberry dishes.

Nature's Candy...

Strawberry Pecan Salad with famous fried chicken from Julep Restaurant & Bar

A custom designed FroYo Pie from Sweet Tree Yogurt

Triple Berry Mint Sorbet from the Eat Jackson Kitchen

The Strawberry Jar Cake with Black Pepper Icing from Parlor Market

Buttermilk Pound Cake with Balsamic Macerated Berries and a Lemon Curd from BRAVO!

Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt with a strawberry topping from Millie D's Frozen Yogurt

The Strawberry Smoothie from Seattle Drip (made with lots of real strawberries!)

The Strawberry and Lemonade Cheesecake at Broad Street Baking Company

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake from Beagle Bagel Madison

And we saved the most exciting for last…

Grand Marier Macerated Fresh Strawberries, Ginger Crisps, Fresh Crème and Mint from Pan Asia

Pan Asia is celebrating National Strawberry Month with this special! This fantastic dish, which has fresh strawberries soaked in Grand Marier, house-made ginger crisps, and fresh creme and mint, will be available today through the end of the month only! Be sure to try this amazing dish while you can! And happy National Strawberry Month!

My friend Cody Lynn Woodward once said at a blues show, “This is a living piece of art, and we are part of it.”

That’s the thought that crosses my mind every night as I wait tables.  The band is playing anything from blues to bluegrass and everyone seems to be in their element. There’s the couple at table 11 that can’t seem to stop gazing into each other’s eyes.  It’s obvious that they couldn’t care less about the music playing and yet their feet tap under the table, upper bodies are swaying to the beat while they sip their fruity cocktails.

Art happens here

There are the four guys at table 32 that have been here since Happy Hour, and they’re still here despite the fact that Happy Hour ended hours ago. Their ties have long since been pulled loose around their necks, and their laughter has become increasingly loud over the past few vodka and tonics and bourbon on the rocks.

There are the two girls sitting at the end of two long tables pushed together (without consent from the servers) leaning in to talk to each other over their wine and the music about “how tacky that girl’s dress was last night,” thinking that no one can hear them.

And of course, there are the regulars taking up the end of the bar closest to where we, the servers, pick up the drinks that are to be delivered to our tables.  The regulars really do add a sense of comfort to the atmosphere, like the old dog laying on the floor by the fire on a cold winter’s night.  “The warm glow of contentment,” as Soggy Sweat would have put it, is upon the faces of everyone in the bar truly making it a live artistic scene.  People dance in their seats, they dance on “the dance floor,” they dance in the walkways between the tables making it quite difficult to deliver the drinks they have ordered. Either way, everyone seems happy.

On a regular basis, I get to meet and greet people from all walks of life that come together under this one roof all for the same purpose: to have a good time. Some people come in for the food, others for the music, and still others simply for the atmosphere.  There is one common thread between these different classes, races, ages, and socioeconomic statuses that binds these people together, and that’s this: “This is a living piece of art, and we are part of it.”

Viking Pizza Workshop COMING UP!

Be in the Know About Jackson Events

May is Spring Parties Month at Eat Jackson! Be sure to check out our stories on Kentucky Derby parties (and start planning ahead for next year) and Graduation parties of all kinds, and keep an eye out for an upcoming story on how to throw the perfect Backyard BBQ Cookout! Along those same lines, we’re right in the middle of National BBQ Month, so be sure to follow the Eat Jackson BBQ Trail that we’ve got going. This is something you’ll want to get in on!

There are tons of fun things to go eat/see/do in our culinary city every day of the week, so take a look at what’s going on around town this week!

Editor’s Note: Just in case it’s your first time here… Each week we post a list of all the Jackson events that we’re aware of – particularly food and restaurant events, so you can be in the know (and keep your friends in the know) on all the local Jackson event food fun!  Our local restaurants have great live entertainment, special meals, events, and much more. If you have an event you’d like to see listed on our Jackson Events calendar, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Here’s what’s going on around town in the next week… 

The Livingston Farmers Market cranks back up on Thursday 5/17!

Thursday 5/17 Events

9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Pizza Workshop. (See our story about this class– It was so much fun!) Sign up now!
4 p.m. – 8 p.m. The Livingston Farmers Market is back!
5 p.m. Networking in the Neighborhood at Parker House
6:30 p.m. Johnny Barranco at Olga’s Fine Dining. (live music)
6:30 p.m. Emma Wynters at the Parker House patio (live music)
8 p.m. – 11 p.m Andy Hardwick Trio at Underground 119 (live music)

Friday 5/18 Events

9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Fish Cookery 3. Sign up now!
6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Date Night: Dinner for Two. Sign up now!
6:30 p.m. Double Shotz at the Parker House patio (live music)
8 p.m. Dueling Pianos with Hunter Gibson and Ronnie McGee at Olga’s Fine Dining (live music)
9 p.m. – 1 a.m. Chris Gill and the Sole Shakers at Underground 119 (live music)
9:30 Furrows with Iron Feathers at Ole Tavern on George Street. (live music)
12 a.m. Bailey Brothers at F. Jones Corner (live music)

Fish Cookery class at Viking is 5/18

Saturday 5/19 Events

Saturday Brunch at Parlor Market.
9 a.m. Madison County Chamber of Commerce’s Dragon Boat Regatta at the Ross Barnette Reservoir
11 a.m. Story Time at Lemuria Books. This week’s book is “Revenge of the Dinotrux.”
4:30 p.m. Be Bold Beer Run with Lucky Town Brewing Company. Get the details!
8 p.m. The Sofa Kings featuring Jacie Barnes at Olga’s Fine Dining. (live music)
9 p.m. – 1 a.m. The Goatees at Underground 119 (live music)
12 a.m. Pat Brown and the Millineum Band at F. Jones Corner (live music)

Sunday 5/20 Events

15% off your ticket at Wasabi every Sunday until the end of June!
12 p.m. Dog Day Afternoons at the Art Garden
4 p.m. Wined and BLIND wine tasting at BRAVO! Italian Restaurant. Click here for details and reservation information!
5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Date Night: Special Occasion. Sign up now!

Monday 5/21 Events

6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Summer Cocktial Party. Sign up now!
7 p.m. Blues Monday at Hal and Mal’s (live music)

Viking Farm to Table Workshop is 5/23

Tuesday 5/22 Events

6 p.m. Jesse Robinson at Underground 119. (live music)
8 p.m. Pub Quiz at Hal and Mal’s

Wednesday 5/23 Events

9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s From Farm to Table Workshop. Sign up now!
6:30 p.m. Scott Albert Johnson on the Parker House patio. (live music)
8 p.m. – 11 p.m Bill and Temperance at Underground 119 (live music)
12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Live at Lunch in the Art Garden at the MS Museum of Art.

Thursday 5/24 Events

9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Macarons and Whoopie Pies. Sign up now!
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Food For Life Workshop. Sign up now!
7 p.m. Screen on the Green at The Art Garden, showing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Details here!
8 p.m. – 11 p.m. JV Jazz Lab at Underground 119. (live music)

Have you marked your calendar yet?!

Friday 5/25 Events

9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Girls’ Night Out: In Paris. Sign up now!
6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Fish and Shellfish: The Vital Choice. Sign up now!
8 p.m. One Night, Three Bands at CS’s! Overnight Lows (from Jackson), The Bills (from New Orleans) and the Turn It Offs (from Memphis) will all be performing!
9 p.m. – 1 a.m. Grady Champion at Underground 119 (live music)
12 a.m. Sherman Lee Dillon & The MS Sound at F. Jones Corner (live music)

Saturday 5/26 Events

Saturday Brunch at Parlor Market.
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Bakeshop Basics. Sign up now!
4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Viking Cooking School’s Date Night: Divine Dinner. Sign up now!
9 p.m. – 1 a.m. Grady Champion at Underground 119 (live music)
12 a.m. Sherman Lee Dillon & The MS Sound at F. Jones Corner. (live music)

Mark your calendars for these great Jackson events and special offers…

… 5/30 Live at Lunch at Mississippi Museum of Art, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
… 5/30 Jason Turner on the Parker House patio at 6 p.m. (live music)
… 5/31 Movies-N-Moonlight (featuring the new movie Dolphin Tale) at Winner’s Circle Park in Flowood. Gates open at 5 p.m.
… 6/5 The Mississippi Community Education Center’s 1st ever Cooking For Our Kids fundraiser for Madison and Rankin counties. 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Details here!
… 6/11 PM Burger 2: Revenge of the Monster Burgers. Get all the details at the event’s Facebook Page!
… 6/21 Screen on the Green at The Art Garden, showing 500 Days of Summer. Details here!

Hickory Pit

Hickory Pit has a reputation for good barbecue in Jackson. It’s well earned. Hickory Pit is located at 1491 Canton Mart Road, just west of the Parham Bridges Tennis Courts.  Hickory Pit also has a sister restaurant, Haute Pig, in Madison at the I-55 interchange. They share recipes and are very similar in taste.

Hickory Pit’s décor is quintessential BBQ. Old wood siding for walls, old Coca-Cola signage and other metal signs that you see Mike and Frank from American Pickers buying on History Channel. The Jackson location recently added a front covered dining area, in-effect expanding their dining room, and creating a neat atmosphere for dining al fresco.  At least as neat as you can get 25 feet from a very busy hub in Jackson. They also have a drive thru!

The greetings at Hickory Pit are warm and familiar. Proprietor Raul greets you when you come in and will likely be taking your order too. The menu is a solid page of meats, sides, sandwiches, salads and desserts. We already knew what we were getting before we looked at the menu; the Rib plate with the dry rub, beans and salad with Comeback, a Pulled Pork Plate with fries and beans, and a Smoked Turkey Sandwich with slaw and beans. Place your order, pay and fix your drink – which has great “Sonic ice,” by the way. Your meal will be delivered shortly. We dined outside.

Pulled Pork, club fries, the perfect beans, and Texas toast!

The Meats

The Pulled Pork Plate is the staple here.  The meat is almost of a shredded consistency.  It is smoky and seasoned well. It is great straight, on a sandwich, or with the variety of homemade sauces available.

The Sauces here are different.  Each sauce has unique qualities, making them stand out for their own reasons.  The Sweet Sauce is very thin, excellent on the meats and great to dip a fry in.  The mild sauce is vinegar-based with a regular consistency and tastes “old-fashioned.”  Try it and you will know what I mean. The Hot is hot, not too sweet, thicker than the others and a more traditional BBQ sauce. The sauces here give a great variety and mixing the sauces makes for a great custom sauce.

The Rib plate was good. These were St. Louis spare ribs, treated with a dry rub and smoked. The rub provided for a nice bark and bite. These were cooked well, tender, but not disintegrating. The ribs are also offered in a wet variety – we’ll try those next time.

The Smoked Turkey sandwich had us excited. I envisioned a whole smoked Turkey in the back, dark brown, with crispy skin and hand carved to form a spectacular sandwich. That’s not what we got. I guess I could have asked, but I didn’t. It was smoked deli meat. But it was good nonetheless.

The Turkey Sandwich

If you’re a non-barbecue lover and have read this far, thank you. We’ve got some recommendations for you too. Get a turkey sandwich or even a burger, which we have had in the past and are very good. It comes with lettuce and tomato and was served on a wheat bun.  That is healthy city where I come from!

The Sides

Eating at a BBQ joint requires that you get beans. The beans here are good. They have shreds of the pulled pork and bell pepper mixed in. Add a splash of your favorite sauce, or try a squirt of sweet and a touch of hot to get what I call “the perfect beans.” The fries, which I call “club fries,” are great. They fry up good and crispy and have a lot of surface area for crunch. I especially like the ones that are cooked a little longer than usual. I know these come out of bag, but they are still good enough to mention. The French bread prepared Texas toast style is also great. It’s perfect for making and open-faced masterpiece or for sopping up sauce and bean remnants, if you are into that sort of thing. I like the salads too. They are a mix of field greens and some diced tomato, but I really like the salads because of the Comeback. The Comeback dressing is worth a trip alone. It is right up there with other Comeback thoroughbreds in the metro area. (Perhaps we should have a Comeback throwdown?) It’s a little thinner than what you get at other places, but I highly recommend it.

The Ribs with dry rub... Right tasty!

We did not try the desserts on this visit. They have been reviewed and raved about by those who came before us. Perhaps I will plan ahead better and save room to try the Hershey Pie, which you have previously read about here, right?

FOOD – Pulled pork, beans, fries and/or salad with Comeback.  Don’t forget the toast and the “Sonic ice.”  This is perhaps the perfect barbecue meal.

SERVICE- Service is warm, friendly and quick.

ATMOSPHERE – This place is cozy and rustic.  It has familiar feel to it and smells of great smoky barbecue.  Your shirt kind of smells like it too after you leave, but not in a bad way where you get in trouble at work because you are smelling the place up.

Hickory Pit is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.  They are closed on Sunday.

Hickory Pit
1491 Canton Mart Rd
Jackson, MS 39211
(601) 956-7079
Price: $$

Editor’s Note: Guest writer Matthew Thompson leads us on the Eat Jackson BBQ Trail, a series exploring several local BBQ joints throughout the month of May, officially National BBQ Month! Keep your eyes open for several other BBQ related stories this month! Matthew Thompson is a Family Law Attorney who knows how to tie a bow tie and is an experienced eater and amateur chef of all types of cuisine.  He is excited to share his food experiences with you! (Follow him on Twitter @wmatthewt for Food and Law interests.)

Cerami's Italian Restaurant on Lakeland Drive in Brandon

Cerami’s Italian Restaurant in Flowood has a pretty interesting history. In a nutshell, the original Cerami’s Italian Restaurant was opened in Jackson in 1977 by Fred Cerami, the menu revolving around his Sicilian family’s recipes. Fred chose to close the restaurant in 1992 to pursue other ventures. Years later, in 2006, Cerami’s Italian Restaurant was re-opened in Brandon by Alissa Cerami, Fred’s daughter. The re-opened restaurant still features the same Sicilian-inspired fare and makes use of much of the original decoration of the old Cerami’s!

Chianti, anyone?

As you’ll learn by reading the cover of the Cerami’s menu, Fred’s natural passion for food fueled a business idea in college to sell hot dogs from a cart on the side of Hardy Street in Hattiesburg. Now, 40-something years later, that old hot dog cart serves as “The Salad Wagon” in the restaurant! More on that shortly…

Date Night

My husband and I showed up to Cerami’s Italian Restaurant around 8:00 p.m. last Friday night. We were seated shortly after our arrival at a table for two in one of the two main dining areas. The lighting was dim, and the place buzzed with excitement and incredible smells. There was younger couple on a date to our left, an older couple across from us, and a huge family at the long table in the center of the room.

Getting Started

Jesse, our incredible and attentive server, came over and talked us into ordering a bottle of Chianti (“The bottle is a keepsake!”) and some Mozzarella Sticks (“I’ve yet to find any better than ours.”) to get the night started right.

These Mozzarella Sticks were downright tasty...

As we sipped on the interesting red wine and nibbled on the gooey, stringy, made-only-more-perfect-by-the-house-made-marinara Mozzarella Sticks, we made the difficult decision for our next course. On multiple menu options, pasta served with the “chef’s own basil cream sauce” was mentioned. That seemed like a must-try Cerami’s original, so I made up my mind to get a dish that involved the aforementioned basil cream sauce. I ordered Tilapia Basil with a side of Angel Hair dressed in the basil cream sauce. My date went with the Baked Lasagna. (Lasagna is his litmus test when dining at Italian restaurants. “If they can’t get Lasagna right, then what can they get right?”) The starter bread is also part of his litmus test, and Cerami’s passed with flying colors.

The Salad Wagon

The Salad Wagon

Our entrees came with unlimited trips to “The Salad Wagon.” The small wagon doesn’t make room for a lot of salad fixings, but there was fresh Romaine lettuce, white cheese, croutons, marinated onions, and two types of dressing—a cream based and an oil based. I went heavy on the onions while the hubby went heavy on the cheese and croutons. We both enjoyed our simple salads while waiting on our entrees.

Speaking of Entrees…

The Tilapia Basil was blackened with seasoning and accompanied by the pasta with basil cream sauce. The Lasagna was covered in marinara sauce and topped with extra cheese and a miniature Italian flag. Both got points for presentation.

My first bite of the Tilapia was fantastic. The seasoning was heavy (hence the term “blackened”) yet not overwhelming, and the fish was flaky and fresh. To make a short story even shorter, let’s just say this fish didn’t last long. As for the basil cream sauce, I can see why they serve it with multiple dishes. It was creamy, buttery, and basil-y. They used just the right amount to coat the pasta without completely drowning it. They’ve certainly got something going with this signature sauce!

Tilapia Basil... So fine!

I was able to steal a few bites of Lasagna before that completely disappeared. The tomato sauce was a little bit sweet, which made this Lasagna stand out.

Wine to go?

As we wound down our meal we still had a half a bottle of wine left, so we asked Jesse if we could get the cork and take that with us. That didn’t happen.

The new JACKSON law that allows you to order a bottle of wine, re-cork and take home the balance does NOT apply in Flowood.

The Baked Lasagna, complete with Italian flag

FOOD: The food at Cerami’s was spectacular. Since we aren’t from Italy, we can’t say how authentic the food was, but we do know that it made our eatie taste buds extremely happy.

SERVICE: Jesse was awesome. He was knowledgeable about the menu and made very good recommendations. He got a good (and well-deserved) tip that night!

ATMOSPHERE: The atmosphere is different from what you’d expect based on the exterior of Cerami’s Italian Restaurant. It’s located in a strip of storefronts off of Lakeland Drive and, to be quite honest, is nothing special on the outside. But the smell that greets you when you walk in, combined with the decorations that look like they’ve been there for decades, create a warm and memorable experience.

Cerami’s Italian Restaurant
5417 Lakeland Drive, Suite I
Flowood, MS 39232
(601) 919-2829
www.ceramis.net
Price: $$$

There he is... William Barrett himself!

Mint the Restaurant in Ridgeland never seems to disappoint when it comes to lunch. Yep, I know we’ve been there before, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, and frankly a good idea again right now. However, this lunch was destined to be better than average since I was entertaining one of our sponsors and my friend, Bill Barrett. Lunch with an attorney… Yawn, right? Actually we had some very interesting things to talk about! Never a dull moment with Bill Barrett!

As we ordered the Duck Nachos for an appetizer, I found myself trying to fit Bill into the right “attorney category.” I know he doesn’t do family law. And he’s not exactly the billboard buying mass tort guy… (Both are fine, I’m just saying that he’s not those.) So what does he do? I had to ask, and as it turns out, he’s a problem solver with a criminal defense focus. He’s the kind of friend you want to have but hope you never need. The kind that knows his way around a federal courthouse doing real major defense work.

Nachos came and Bill was pretty impressed with the way they looked to start, but then the taste… What’s not to like about these things? It’s duck confit, gouda cheese, mint pico de gallo, pickled red onions, corn tortillas, blackberry syrup…

The Duck Nachos from Mint the Restaurant

Score! Another convert.

That blackberry sauce is deep red and could leave a stain, so get an extra napkin when you order these nachos. Also of note, when you order the Duck Nachos with someone who hasn’t had them before, don’t be shy. Grab a fork (so you look cultured) and use your hand to maneuver the chip. Use the fork to get a little pico, onion, duck and cheese on each bite. Don’t be shy with the fork, it’s really just a mini excavator shovel to get the right ratio of goodness onto each chip. When you do that the first time or two, your guests will get the hang of it and join in on the action.

An up close and awesome picture of the Duck Nachos

After a great meal and good discussion, Bill and I were tempted into finishing our lunch with one of the best looking (and tasting) desserts in town (in my opinion). Banana Pudding with Mini Funnel Cakes comes in a mason jar, and it tastes like your favorite aunt’s homemade banana pudding with a little kick from the funnel cakes. As he was devouring the dessert, Bill reminded me with a grin that you can’t get food like this in prison!

Food: Two years ago, I thought that duck was a tough, tasteless bird that should be in gumbo or stew. I know better now, and you should too. The confit process makes duck tender and full of flavor. Gouda cheese is currently my favorite cheese, and it’s quite possibly due to this dish. All the food today was excellent.

Mint the Restaurant's Banana Pudding... WOW

Atmosphere: Mint is the opposite of a dive in many, many ways… But in one of the most important ways, it’s the same. It’s comfortable. As Patrick Kelly said in our interview on EatJxn Radio, Mint was started to go with the phase of life he’s in… and being a 30-something just like Patrick that likes nice food and a classy, comfortable atmosphere, I commend Patrick for nailing his original goal on the atmosphere front.

Service: I’ll readily admit that some servers see me coming a mile away, and I may get better service sometimes than others do on average. But I’ve had consistently great service at Mint the Restaurant, always prompt enough to be in and out in a short hour-long lunch break – but paced so I could enjoy myself. Both refills and checks were brought quickly.

Mint the Restaurant
The Renaissance at Colony Park
1000 Highland Colony Parkway, Suite 5002
Ridgeland, MS 39157
(601) 898-6468
minttherestaurant.com
Price: $$$

Photography courtesy of the lovely and talented Kate Thomas of Little Thing Studio. Follow Kate’s art projects at @ltskate on Twitter or visit her website. She’s amazing, and did a great job making sure we had pictures before it was all eaten.

Use our Eat Jackson Radio Player to listen to the mp3 of Eat Jackson Radio’s Chef Chat #2 with Alex Eaton.

Here’s the mp3 of Eat Jackson Chef Chat with Alex Eaton. Enjoy!

Did you miss the last episode of Eat Jackson Chef Chat featuring Patrick Kelly, owner of Julep Restaurant & Bar and Mint the Restaurant?

Listen here where he shares Why Not to Open a Restaurant.

The time to make reservations is now!

Coffee shops are filled with them. Apartment complexes will soon miss them. Many, many books will be bought/sold/traded because of them. Congratulations Class of 2012!

A couple of weeks ago, we shared a couple of our favorite graduation party ideas. Graduation wouldn’t be complete without a celebratory lunch or dinner out – or three. With family in town for the big day, you’ll also have to factor in the size of your party – perhaps larger than usual?

Eat Jackson called on Jackson restaurants, and we’ve compiled our list of available private rooms, reservation policies and other graduation meal recommendations to make your graduation celebration complete.

Amerigo Italian Restaurant

We don’t have a private room, but we can accommodate larger parties! Call ahead, and we’ll make it happen. There is no better way to celebrate graduation (and an amazing meal) than with a serving of the best Tiramisu to ever hit the scene! Call 601.977.0563 for reservations and more information.

BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar

BRAVO! does not accept reservations, but for graduation time, we work with families to ensure their needs are met.  BRAVO! is a celebratory place worthy of such an important day as a high school, college, med school or law school graduation!  Fresh fruit cocktails, champagne and our huge award winning wine list await the college or grad school graduate!  Celebrate in style… BRAVO! style!  And, of course, BRAVO! is open ALL day on Saturday and Sundays.. perfect for brunch!  BRAVO! is also available for private parties on Mondays when we are otherwise closed. Call 601.982.8111 for more information.

Ely’s Restaurant & Bar

We can accommodate parties up to 20, and we do have private rooms available. Call as soon as you can to reserve a private room (deposit required), or give a day or two’s notice if you want a larger party to be seated in the restaurant. We’ll make you comfortable and feed you well! Call 601.605.6359 for reservations and more information.

NICK’S! Restaurant
NICK’S! in Fondren is right in the middle of all the action! Come get your post-graduation meal, lunch or dinner, with us, and we’ll be sure to treat you right. We can handle large parties, and we also have a private dining room available. Call as soon as you can to reserve your space at NICK’S! Call 601.981.8017 for reservations and more information.

Pan Asia

Pan-Asia has a private room available for bookings that can hold up to 70 seated easily. We do not charge for this room if meals are ordered for the group. For use of the private room, we do require an advance reservation at least a few days ahead. If the party is larger than 6 or 8 people, we also recommend a reservation even if you are seating in our main dining room. We want to make sure we take great care of you and that we can easily seat you when you’d like! Call 601.956.2958 for reservations and more information.

This is what it can look like when you party with The Mermaid!

Parlor Market

We can accommodate a party of up to 14 in the restaurant, but we’d need a one-week notice. We also have a room for 70 people if your party is extra large. Call for availability and reservations on that room. Call 601.360.0090 for reservations and more information.

Sophia’s at Fairview Inn

We can definitely accommodate parties of 15-20! We have no charge for a private room for dinner (served Tuesday – Saturday.) However, a small room fee, depending on the room chosen, does apply at lunch (served Monday-Friday). For larger than average party sizes, at least 2-3 days in advance is appreciated as far as reservations. If you’re reserving a private room, a week or more prior might help to ensure receiving the private room of your choice. Call 601.948.3429 for reservations and more information.

Sal and Mookie’s New York Pizza and Ice Cream Joint

Sal & Mookie’s is perfectly configured to handle a large post-graduation celebration, lunch or dinner.  Whether 15-20 or 40-60, we have the space! Moreso, we have distinct areas of the restaurant where your party can be held… outside on the huge deck, in the intimate side room, or, for the college grads, how about a private event in the PiE Lounge? Great buffet options abound for fast, convenient high quality/high value experiences. Or parties can order from the menu. And of course, no party would be complete without a trip to the scoop shop for an ice cream confection! Call 601.368.1919 for reservations and more information.

The Mermaid Cafe

For something a little more off the beaten path, join us at The Mermaid Cafe at Lake Caroline for a beautiful, casual evening overlooking the water. Large parties are not a problem. We can even acommodate extra large parties if we have enough notice. Give us a call and get an exciting and celebratory evening planned for your graduate today! Call 601.605.8764 for reservations and more information.

Two Sisters Kitchen

All of our dining rooms seat a large number of people. Bring your family (especially those from out of town) to try the best Fried Chicken and Bread Pudding in the state! Call 601.353.1180 for more information.

Congratulations to all you new graduates! Now, go get ‘em!

Flowood restaurant Table 100 hosted national television film crews this past Saturday.

Today in America with Terry Bradshaw film crews came through town on May 12, 2012 gathering footage for the five-minute segment about the City of Flowood. Since local restaurants are so much a part of the makeup of any regional area, we can’t say we were surprised when Table 100 was chosen as the restaurant to nationally represent Flowood!

Film crews were in town covering the announcement last month that named Flowood, Mississippi as one of the “Hidden Gems to Live, Work and Play” by Today in America with Terry Bradshaw. To give you a better idea of what that means, Flowood has been nationally recognized as one of the best places in the country to live as far a quality of life. The big-town amenities and small-town feel of Flowood combined with its business and family-friendly atmosphere are a few of the reasons they received this honor.

While in Flowood, the film crew shot footage from the Flowood Family Festival as well as interviews with Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves, City of Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoads, and several other noteworthy Flowood residents.

Find out more about Today in America with Terry Bradshaw at www.todayinamericatv.com.

If there’s one thing most mothers do a lot of during their lifetimes, it’s cook for their families! Back when running a bustling commercial kitchen was still a glimmer in a little chef’s eye, his or her mother was more than likely the one who had the biggest hand in feeding that passion for great food!

In honor of many mothers who gave Jackson our culinary lifestyle that we enjoy today, we asked some local chefs to pay homage and share the influence of their mothers’ cooking.

Chef Matthew's birthday cake of choice, as served by his mother!

Chef Jesse Houston, Parlor Market

Jesse Houston said, “One of my favorite dishes my mom used to make me, we called Sausage Supper. It was basically a one-pot dish with sausage, potatoes, cabbage, onion, and all kinds of goodness simmered for hours until everything was tender. We would always fight for the sausage at the bottom of the pot!”

Chef Christopher Freeman, Pan-Asia 

Christopher Freeman said, “Our family recipe, which of course makes me think about my mom, is Seafood Gumbo. I’m from the bayou on the gulf coast, so we love good seafood. The whole family contributed to the gumbo, which made it extra special. We’d catch the crabs and shrimp ourselves, and we grew the okra and other vegetables in our family garden. When it all came together, it was always so good.”

Chef Dave Crews, Six Shooter Land & Timber and Culinary Instructor at Mississippi Delta Community College

Dave Crews said, ”When I think about my mom’s cooking, one thing comes to mind…. Too much food! I can remember growing up and spending weekends at my mom’s house and having pot roast, meatloaf and ham and there would only be three of us and that would be just one meal! Mom always said we were going to eat like kings even if we lived like paupers! That is a lot of where my love of cooking comes from!”

Chef Matthew Kajdan, Broad Street Baking Company

Matthew Kajdan said, “As I was growing up, I hated cakes with icing (and still do actually.) My mom would always make me a coffee cake or monkey bread for my birthday. I always looked forward to my birthday for that alone! She also made pound cakes for me all the time and now my mother in law has caught on, and she makes me pound cakes too! So I guess I should say that Ive been spoiled for a long time!”

Calling all mamas out there: See what kind of impact feeding your child well can have? You could end up with a chef on your hands and spend retirement in delicious bliss – and not even have to do the dishes!

The Eat Jackson team would like to thank all of our mothers for cultivating in us a love for food. Eating well is proven daily around here to be one of the most wonderful joys in life! Happy Mother’s Day!