biloxi, part I - the food

Here we come Biloxi!

Who goes to the beach, but doesn't really go to the beach? Apparently, we do. We headed out to explore different parts of the Biloxi, Mississippi area. Things outside of the beach and casino scene. Sorta. Biloxi is pretty much a straight two hour drive from our home base of Baton Rouge. It's an easy drive if you don't hit a couple of downpours that slow traffic to a virtual halt.

This will be the first of a two-part blog. We'll do things a bit different this time. We're covering the food stuff first with our adventure spots to follow. Let's dig in.

Two Pigs

Friday, day one in Biloxi, started with an early dinner not in Biloxi. We hit up The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint. It is located in nearby Ocean Springs, MS. It was featured on The Food Network and has a menu of award winning BBQ. The Shed is exactly how it sounds. It's informal, mostly covered outdoor eating (with giant fans to keep things comfortable). We placed our order at the counter and found a spot in the line of picnic tables, just close enough to one of the fans so our things wouldn't blow away, and I grabbed a variety of their available sauces.

Lot of available real estate on those plates.

We both went with the pulled pork. Eric's in sandwich form, mine straight pile o' meat. We also had the potato salad (good stuff), coleslaw (basic stuff) and baked beans (sweet but not savory stuff). So was the BBQ award winning? Meh. It was decent, but the portion sizes were disappointing. Comparing this with the BBQ that we can get in Baton Rouge, we were underwhelmed. We didn't grab a variety of things, so that was our mistake. We can't give a fully accurate review, but the portion size was our main complaint. Perhaps you will have (or had) better luck.

The not-so-secret recipe?

Late Saturday morning we once again found ourselves in Ocean Springs. Downtown Ocean Springs is a quaint spot lined with shops and restaurants. It was a nice discovery (that we'll revisit later) on our way to our true destination: The Tatonut Shop. I can already hear you, "What the heck is a tatonut?" We're talking donuts, but made with mashed potatoes. What? That's weird, right? Wrong. That's delicious! There's no arguing with the popularity of the place. The line was out the door. People leaving with dozens upon dozens of these things! 

You have to eat this to understand the glory.

We made it to the counter after about a twenty minute wait. We ordered a couple of plain and a couple of chocolate covered. First things first: No, it does not taste like potatoes. I'll argue that it is better. It is similar to a fried donut, but not weighed down by the oil. It's lighter, but still just the right about of density. The taste is slightly off from what we're used to. We studied them after every bight. First couple of bites: Something a little different here. Do I like it? A few bites later: These are pretty good. Different, but good. Last bites: These may be the best things I've ever eaten! Why are these not everywhere?! If you are ever in Biloxi then drive the ten minutes to Ocean Springs, wait in line, doubt what I'm telling you and then send me your thank you notes later. Don't limit yourself to a couple. Get a couple of dozen, so you don't regret that choice like we did. 

Entrance to Mary Mahoney's courtyard!

Late breakfast meant a late lunch at a place recommended by a friend, Mary Mahoney's. This is in Biloxi and is such a nice place. You enter through a beautiful courtyard that includes an oak tree that is over two thousand year old. It's a big tree. The restaurant is centered around one of America's oldest homes. This means that you aren't sitting in one giant dining room with everyone else. The are multiple rooms for dining, so it gives you a quieter intimate atmosphere. Pictures of presidents and celebrities hang all around. It's kinda fancy, but not overly so. 

The lunch menu is a steal for what you get. Quality stuff here gang. Eighteen dollars will get you a three course meal. Salad, entree with the vegetable of the day and dessert. You will not leave hungry. Eric went with a snapper stuffed with shrimp and crab sauce. I had shrimp stuffed with crabmeat dressing. We both had the bread pudding in rum sauce. Everything was good, but the highlight, as it should be, was the main course. Eric couldn't stop talking about how good his was. It was starting to get a little uncomfortable. We get, Eric. Stop moaning. 

Perfectly cooked stuffed snapper and crawfish etouffee.

After a fun-filled day on the water, you'll have to wait for part II of blog to read about that, we headed back to downtown Ocean Springs. On the way to tatornut town, it looked like such a charming spot that we had to go back. We walked along Government Street scouting the restaurants and checking their reviews on Yelp. All I knew is that I wanted shrimp and somewhere quiet. No live music beating my eardrums. Turns out that limited our choices a bit. 

We ultimately chose Mosaic Tapas Restaurant and Bar. There was a jazz band at one end of the large patio, so we sat inside. The food was a mixed bag. Eric enjoyed his giant bowl of chorizo and shrimp paella. He should not have eaten it all, but he did and he paid for it. I had the shrimp scampi. It was just meh. The service was also slow. Especially since we were practically the only people eating inside. There were more staff than inside diners. And the staff was more into their own conversations than anything else. Then there is the restaurant itself. It just looked like it didn't know what it was trying to be. There was a small disco ball on the ceiling that made it feel like we were dining on a dance floor. The six inch stage that was ten feet from us suggests that I'm not far off. If you look at the menu then you'll see what I mean. There is a little of everything on there. Bit of a warning sign if you ask me. We gave it a shot, so you don't have to.

Cool treats from the Pop Shot.

We hopped across the street for dessert from Pop Brothers. It's a small place with a giant chalk board menu. You step up, order at the window and enjoy your dessert while walking the downtown streets. They have everything from your standard popsicle flavors to your more exotic mashups. From fresh fruit strawberry to lavender milk and honey. My pineapple jalapeño pop helped pick me up from dinner disco.

Our final Biloxi spot was again not a Biloxi spot. It was, again, an Ocean Springs spot. A late start had us landing at Woody's Roadside. There is a location in Biloxi, but we decided on this one, since it seemed crowded every time we came and went from Biloxi and Ocean Springs. The Biloxi location appeared to be a bit of a tourist trap. It just had that look. This location was a bit low key, but still the same name. So we weren't really sure, but gave it a go. This ended up being a bit of a surprise. 

Fried green tomatoes straight out the fryer. Scorched taste buds alert!

We started with the fried green tomatoes. These were straight out the fryer. We all know the feeling. You take a bite of food only to be hit with the feeling that the food is cooking your mouth, breathing in and out, desperately trying to cool it. Wanting to spit it out so bad, but know table manners is all that separates us from the animals. Or something like that. Anyway, back to the (cooled off) tomatoes. Paired with a spicy remoulade sauce, this was pretty good. Eric had spicy sweet chili shrimp tacos. They were messy, but he really liked them. I went with a shrimp poboy. I could not get enough shrimp on this trip. Something about being on the coast and seeing shrimp boats, I suppose.

Our food choices were hit and miss. Tatonut heaven to dinner on the dance floor. I suppose we caught a little bit of everything. If you're in the area then definitely consider Mary Mahoney's for lunch. Dinner if you're fancy. Woody's isn't an expensive tourist trap. You'll find some nice seafood options. The Shed wasn't our bag, but maybe it was just not for us. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from going. You may like it. Just didn't quite hit the mark for us. If Mosaics has a 'Under New Management' sign when you visit then consider it. No sign, no go. There are plenty of options in downtown Ocean Springs. Pop Brothers is a nice grab and go dessert. And of course, The Tatonut Shop. Just go. This is not optional. If you go to Biloxi and don't drive over to Ocean Springs for tatonut then I'm not sure this blog is for you. We'll just have to agree to disagree on the level of how wrong you are. Tatonuts are life.

Blog Part II, Straight Ahead!