Natchez, MS - Biscuits and Blues



What was left after our first round of biscuits. 



Had the opportunity to visit Natchez, MS this weekend chaperoning the Ponchatoula High School Key Club at the Key Club District Convention and yes, we had to sample some of the great food of this historic city.  Our first stop was a restaurant called Biscuits and Blues.  You guessed it - they are known for their biscuits and live Blues music (at night).  We were there for lunch so we only got to sample the biscuits.  As you can see from the half eaten basket of biscuits - I could not wait to eat before I took the picture.  The biscuits are as good as they look, but what makes them extra special is the butter and orange marmalade spread they serve with - delicious.  The best part is they send them to your table free to start your meal.  I also ordered one of the lunch plate specials - fried catfish.  It came with three sides.  I chose baked beans, corn casserole, and macaroni and cheese.  The fish was good.  The baked beans were very good and the other two sides were just average.  My fellow Key Club advisor, Shane, ordered beignets covered in crawfish and mushroom sauce.  She had ordered it on a previous trip and was looking forward to having it again.  It looked delicious.  I think I will try it the next time - I hope there is a next time.  Those biscuits were too good.  



Beignet with crawfish and mushrooms



Tope La - Hammond

Tope La has been in Hammond for about 10 years and is one of the "nicer" restaurants in town. The food is generally very good. I have eaten their about 10 times for various occasions. This time a group of colleagues and I met for an early dinner after work. I ordered off of the special "rustic Italian" menu they were featuring. A generous friend in the group ordered a couple of appetizers to share. One was the fried olives. (This just lends credence to the idea that we fry anything in the south.) They were pretty good. Since they were green olives they had a strong olive flavor. I like olives so that was OK for me. The other appetizer was outstanding. It was fried eggplant topped with a lump crab meat sauce (picture on right). The crab meat was excellent and so was the sauce. For an entree, I ordered the chicken parmigiana (pictured at bottom). Not sure why, because I try to avoid pasta. It was just OK - nothing special. A couple in our group ordered the sugar cane salmon - it looked delicious.  I always want what other people ordered instead of what I order.  The service is always good as well - this time no different.  Looking for a special occasion in Hammond - try Tope La. 

Strawberry Festival Sunday

It was another wonderful Sunday of worship and food.  Those go together really well.  The Annual Strawberry Festival Breakfast at First Baptist was once again a huge success.  Each adult Sunday School class sets up a table.  In the first picture is the table that I thought looked the best.  It was from Robin Ward's class and decorated by Marie Sullivan.  The had a variety of fruit cut and ready to dip in a chocolate fountain.  The next picture is from one of the older ladies classes, Bonnie Whelan's class, and knew they could cook.  I was at the beginning of that line when they said "amen."  They had what they called a breakfast jambalaya.  It included all the parts of a breakfast meal:  potatoes, eggs, and sausage.  It had a great flavor and it was convenient to have all of those elements together.  They also had homemade biscuits - mmmm.  I had one of those with some homemade jelly.  They also had some delicious smoked ham.  It was a great start to the feast.  After completing that plate, I also enjoyed an asparagus, egg, ham, and cheese casserole.   Mrs. Amanda said that it was made by Charlotte Shaffer and it used fresh asparagus from their garden.  It was wonderful.  Things just seem to taste better when you know the vegetables are fresh.  My final stop was at my friend Annette's table.  Her class is the class that has adopted me.  As a youth Sunday School teacher, I don't have a class to attend.  I was getting full by this time but really enjoyed another breakfast casserole with lots of crisp bacon on top.  Not sure who made it but it was good.  Everything was great and the fellowship was even better.  I could not stay as long as I wanted, because our choir director was waiting on us to rehearse for the service.  Can't wait until next year.

Strawberry Festival

One of the biggest Foodie weekends of the year is this coming weekend, the Louisiana Strawberry Festival held in my hometown of Ponchatoula.    Here is link to the festival website for more information:  http://www.lastrawberryfestival.com/ 

Of course, the festival grounds have a wide variety of foods with all of the profits going to non-profit groups.   Just name some of the food that I have tried over the years, gumbo, bloomin' onion, fried shrimp poboy, steak sandwich, funnel cakes, strawberry shortcake, strawberry smoothie, chocolate dipped strawberries, Italian sausage sandwich, fried pickles, red beans and rice, smoked turkey leg, and that all I can name off the top of my head.  Feel free to post a comment and share your favorite Strawberry Fest food. 


Another event that weekend is the "famous" First Baptist Church of Ponchatoula's Strawberry Festival breakfast followed by a worship service.  At 9:00 in the churches activities building, each of the adult Sunday School classes set up a table of wonderful breakfast goodies - many with a strawberry theme.  Each class tried to outdo the other, which is a bonus for those of us enjoying the food.  Every breakfast item you possibly imagine is included.  This year I will try to take pictures and report on my favorites.  You are welcome to come enjoy and stay for our worship service at 10:00.  Everything is finished by 11:00 so that people can get safely home or go enjoy the rest of the day at the festival. 

Of course, while you are in town this weekend and the next few weekends don't forget to get some Louisiana Strawberries.  Local farmers will be set up at the festival so that you can purchase straight from them.  If you have a favorite way to eat strawberries, post in the comments for everyone to enjoy.  See at the festival.