Weekender Favorites: A Kicked-Up Classic in Mississippi
In Cleveland, Mississippi, Delta Meat Market serves an unconventional wedge salad. Plus, some fun vacation reads and one of our favorite tavern-style pizzas.
CLEVELAND, MS — On a visit to the Mississippi Delta, we booked a night at Cotton House in Cleveland, Mississippi, which was a very nice hotel with — most importantly — a terrific restaurant. At Delta Meat Market, chef Cole Ellis (a semifinalist for the James Beard Best Chef South award in 2017) serves steaks and pork chops for dinner from the onsite butcher shop and great sandwiches for lunch, all using local ingredients and recipes that reflect the Delta. Everything was delicious, but the absolute standout was the DMM Wedge.
I will nearly always order a wedge salad if it’s on offer — so by this point I have had a lot — but none have come close to Ellis’ version. He includes the classic iceberg lettuce and tomatoes, then adds green onions, Maytag blue cheese, housemade bacon, and housemade ranch dressing. That’s all great, but the out-of-the-box ingredient that takes it over the top is sweet chili sauce. It lends a little heat and sweetness to a salad that’s already got smoky, tangy, and crunchy things going on. It’s so good that we now keep a bottle of sweet chili sauce in the refrigerator in case a wedge salad mood strikes. While we don’t have access to Ellis’ bacon or ranch, each time we make it, it’s a reminder of this Delta gem.
If you’re heading to Delta Meat Market, stay at Cotton House, which also offers Bar Fontaine, a rooftop bar and restaurant helmed by Ellis. On our visit, the star of the menu was an old fashioned stirred with a little nutty Hoodoo Chicory Liqueur, which is made by Cathead Distillery in Jackson, Mississippi. We made sure to snag a bottle so we can make those at home, too.
Our own Amy Cavanaugh recently wrote a love letter to the American hot dog stand for Condé Nast Traveler. “Hot dog stands don’t merely offer a tasty lunch,” she wrote, “they are an enduring American tradition that can tell you something about a place and its history, and the people who live there today.” Fun fact: One of Amy’s first jobs was serving up steamed dogs at the century-old Nick’s Nest in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Breakfast is ready: In his newsletter, The Mix, Robert Simonson explores Long Island Beach, New Jersey, and stops in at White’s Market. The small grocery store has been selling its famous breakfast sausage since 1954.
Take a hike: Author Syren Nagakyrie offers a trail guide for disabled hikers in The New York Times. It highlights paths, overlooks, and other sites in U.S. parks that are ideal for outdoor enthusiasts with disabilities.
That Gulf Coast breeze: In Garden & Gun, writer Sallie Lewis recalls the saltwater summers of her childhood spent along the Texas Gulf Coast, a favorite destination for sportfishing fanatics, birders, and wildlife photographers.
Ride the rails: Also in Garden & Gun, novelist Maurice Carlos Ruffin recalls the joy of the New Orleans streetcar and the shaded splendor of the St. Charles line.
Let’s get nuts: Amy Louise Bailey heads to The Hamptons for Condé Nast Traveler, where she reports back on everything new this season including a revamped restaurant scene.