We believe food is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. We also believe the American South, especially Mississippi, is home to some of the greatest food on planet earth. We believe good restaurants must serve up expressions of their chosen cuisine that are respectful of tradition, but contemptuous of it when innovation demands; that dining out is an experience with rules and expectations; that restaurants should seek to elevate food to something far greater than mere sustenance. We believe that dining out constitutes a contract between restaurant and customer, and that most restaurants, no matter where they are but certainly in this state, fail to live up to the commitments of that contract, and routinely miss many opportunities to set customers off on the kinds of journeys of discovery and appreciation that are possible when great ingredients, expert preparation, top-notch service, and the art of atmosphere come together in just the right ways.

Mississippi’s culinary history is as rich as any place in North America. Only the old-world traditions of France, Italy, Spain, Greece, and the ancient ones of China and Southeast Asia can top it. In addition to being the heir of white European traditions (Irish, Scottish, English, German), the state is home to vibrant communities of Chinese (the Delta), Vietnamese (the coast), Greeks (Jackson), Lebanese (Meridian), and others (like the Germans of Gluckstadt and the Italians in the Delta) who have made crucial and lasting contributions to the culinary traditions of this state.

And of course, Mississippi wouldn’t be the legendary, living, dynamic culinary temple it is without the contributions of Africans over the last four centuries, from the days of slavery in the 17th to mid-19th centuries, and the post-emancipation period of the past 150-plus years. Historian Eugene Genovese wrote in Roll, Jordan, Roll of “the world the slaves made,” and one of the most beautiful and important parts of that world is its food. Mississippi, the south, America, and the world owes them a debt of gratitude for what they brought, what they insisted upon, and what they continue to keep alive.

This site is about taking unsentimental looks at a very sentimental subject — food — and the ways it’s offered to people who work hard for the money to pay for it at restaurants. We continually remind ourselves that we can, day in and day out, take food home from the grocery store for about 1/4th the cost of what most restaurants charge for it, and that any business that’s going to charge us four times what the grocery store does had better elevate that food — by preparing in ways we’ve never thought of, by preparing it in familiar ways better than we can ourselves, by wrapping it in ambience and service, something.

We reward value, authenticity, quality, enthusiasm, and care. We call out laziness, sloppiness, greed, and apathy. We do not accept advertising, complimentary meals, credit, or any other compensation from the restaurants we review.

Want to contact us? Drop us a line at [email protected].