So, I was back again to Jackson, Mississippi, at the end of the summer. Downtown Jackson, with wonderful fifties shopfronts, is still generally a crumbling mess and (from what the locals said) not overly safe.
The hotel was fabulous and beautiful, but observe the downtown outside of my hotel window. All of those shops are closed, and the second building from the left, the entire roof has collapsed.
My assistant Phyllis from the Huntsville, Alabama, trip was able to come with me to Jackson as well, which was fantastic. Not only calm and level-headed, she was also ready to do some Mississippi food-exploring!
First stop: the Mayflower Cafe. Used as a location for some scene in "The Help" but also Jackson's longest running diner. We got huge plates full of red snapper, recommended as the best local speciality by the waitress, which was fab. Brockway folks - it reminded me so much of JJs, back in the day when everyone in town would go for the Friday fish specials.
Beat down after the first day, we ended up having dinner in the hotel restaurant with one of my coworkers who was in town. (We actually shouldn't have been there at the same time, but our client's mistake resulted in our schedules improperly overlapping.)
Final dinner out: Phyllis and I drove out of the downtown to the busier (and less crumbly) northeast section of Jackson, to a new joint called Julip. You guys: if you're ever in Jackson, get yourself to Julip.
Phyllis' choice: fried chicken on waffles.
Shrimp and Grits. No kidding, this may have been the best thing I've ever eaten.
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