Food On The Road - Tour Day 17 - Part 1 - Ocean Springs, MS - BBQ!

I don't entirely remember waking up this morning. I got hammerfied the night before out at the second bar we went to. To be honest, I have no idea where we even slept that night. But what I did remember from the night before was that we had asked one of our hosts at the club where we could get some amazing BBQ. She told us about a place called Pleasant's. It's a family run place, been around for a few decades, in a building along with an auto body shop on the other side, also owned and operated by the same family. We were told this was THE place to go in town, so our consensus was that we were stopping there on our way off to New Orleans.

Even though I had gotten wicked drunk the night before, I was surprisingly not hung over, thank goodness. So, food actually sounded like a great idea. We motivated before too long, but not in any real hurry, as we only had a short drive ahead of us that day. We pulled up the address of Pleasant's on the GPS and headed over, encountering an obstacle course of video game proportions in the last few blocks due to the road being in the process of being rebuilt. We had to do a crazy turnaround of the Jeep and trailer in a parking lot - there was some cussing, to be sure - and then we finally found adequate parking and piled out of the vehicle into the bright warm day. It was a smallish street with a canal running under part of it, mostly businesses like paint stores and auto body shops. We stood out a bit, what with our punk rock clothes and funny colored hair. We definitely got a few stares from the road crew, but it was mainly bewilderment instead of anything mean. Hell, we even got a couple of smiles and hellos.

We walked up on the restaurant, which was painted the happiest of yellows, and took shelter from the blazing sun under its porch awning while we finished up our smokes and allowed the bbq anticipation to grow. We could smell the hickory smoke which added a unique counterpoint to the sounds of small town industry coming from all around us. I could tell that this place must be a favorite for lunch with the neighborhood workers. As we approached the doorway we were met by a tallish man with bright eyes and skin the color of cappuccino with almost a burgundy tint. The only wrinkles I saw were smile lines. As he welcomed us into the restaurant and found seating, we found out that this was the aptly named Mr. Pleasant. His father had founded the restaurant in 1982 and then the restaurant was taken over by the current Mr. Pleasant when his father passed away, keeping the secret family recipe intact and the tradition very much alive. 

We got settled into our seats and the family matriarch came around to see what we wanted to drink (sweet iced tea was the obvious choice) and to take our orders. I knew exactly what I was there to have, so I ordered up a pile of ribs with collard greens and beans on the side, plus a nice thick Texas-sized piece of garlic toast. A couple of the others ordered the only other item on the menu that made me think twice before ordering the ribs - pull pork sandwiches. But I knew my priority and stuck by my guns. While we waited for our food to arrive, I plugged away at my tea - it was hot outside, and sweet iced tea is a uniquely southern thing for me, plus they had free refills - and took a look around the inside of the small restaurant. The walls were made of industrial cinder block but warmed by being painted a toned down version of the happy yellow color of the outside of the building. There was a large, flat-panel TV mounted on the wall, with Fox News or CNN on, with the volume thankfully turned almost all the way down, above a handmade wooden cabinet. I liked the curios on the cabinet top - a giant liquor jug with a flag, next to part of a meat grinder. Very apropos. 

Mama Pleasant came back to give us a new round of sweet tea, and then just a few moments later our food arrived. This plate of food was worth the entire trip! The ribs were so tender that a couple of them literally just fell apart when I picked up the bone. The taste was perfectly sweet southern bbq, with a hint of spiciness. The meat was just moist enough to have the flavor of the hickory and bbq sauce all the way through, not just bbq flavor on the outside where the sauce touched it. The secret here is twofold - the sauce and the cooking method. The method is slow smoking over hickory. As to the sauce, according to Pleasant's website: 

In 1984 Mrs. Pleasant developed a recipe for barbecue sauce with the intent to distinguish their business from any other. Customers were surveyed and with the strong positive feedback the family began using their own homemade sauce.

Let me tell you, she got it right!

The greens had their natural flavor augmented mostly with just pepper and a touch of lemon and butter, with a hint of sweetness, just enough to cut the bitter aftertaste that collard greens can get. The beans were soft with a rich sauce, not overpowering in taste, but just lightly spiced, plus I added a little hot sauce to them. I took my time with this meal, even though my first instinct was to just shove it all into my face as quickly as possible. But no! I wanted to revel in it, savor it, make it last as long as possible, so I slowed it down, chewed every bite many times, and it worked. I mean, look at this!

Once we did all finish, we had the chance to talk to Mr. Pleasant a little bit more about the restaurant and about what brought us there. He might have been more curious about us than we were about him! His easy smile made it easy to tell a couple of stories about the road, and about some of the other meals that we have had on this trip. If you are ever within a hundred miles of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, I highly recommend that you make the trek to Pleasant's BBQ. It's located at 1415 Government St, Ocean Springs, MS. Tell 'em Chestnut and MassBytes sent you! 

The other good news is that if Mississippi cannot be in your travel plans, you can still get a taste of what I'm talking about. I discovered in checking out their website that they do sell bottles of the sauce, and you can order it online. I know what I'll be getting shipped to me this week! Look 'em up at http://www.pleasantsbarbq.com/sauce.html.

***********

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Day 17 - New Orleans!

***********

Chestnut Growler plays drums for The Swaggerin' Growlers, a punk/folk band based in Boston, MA. He tours full time. This blog is about the food experienced on the road: the good, the bad, and homemade and the gas station sammiches. You can find the band here: www.theswaggeringrowlers.com/music

Food On The Road - Tour Day 16 - Tallahassee, FL to Ocean Springs, MS

I could have sworn I actually posted this entry on the same day that it happened, but I can't find it in the blog history, so he we go again!

Whataburger - #9 breakfast combo - Taquito w/bacon, side of hash browned potatoes, side of biscuit and gravy, coffee.

On the morning of day 16, I had been drunk the night before, but of course, I woke up dead early, way before anyone else. I could tell through the vertical blinds that it was a nice bright day outside. It was very tempting, especially when contrasted with staying in a mostly dark room listening to the snores of my bandmates. I flipped open my laptop and couldn't get a signal, then decided to pop out into the sunshine for a smoke. When I got outside the door, I was greeted not only by our bright star overhead, but also by air that was pleasantly room temperature - just how I love it. Before I even lit the butt, I realized that I wanted to go off on my own for breakfast. I jumped back inside the house long enough to grab my wallet then headed over to the little convenience store a block over that I'd been hitting for the couple of days we'd been in town to see if I could get a good recommendation. 

The clerks at this particular store were just the sweetest ladies ever. Every time I went in for a pack of smokes or some lemonade I ended up with a conversation for free. This morning was no exception. I picked out a chocolate milk and went up to the counter. We exchanged pleasantries and transacted our business, then I asked about breakfast places. I was initially thinking maybe I could get pointed towards a little diner or something, but the very first thing to come out of her mouth was Whataburger, which was just a couple blocks away. I remembered walking past it the night before and noting its location. I figured: what the hell?

I haven't been to a Whataburger in years. I used to spend a lot of time at the one in - where was it, North Richland Hills, TX? - as young punks because it was open 24/7 and way cheaper than IHOP or Denny's. I remember being hot and cold on their burgers - they were ok. The distinctive part was that they had mustard instead of ketchup on them.

But I don't believe I had ever had their breakfast food. My breakfast this morning was on the good side of average. I don't really look for spectacular in fast food, so I was satisfied with the quality of the food. But my breakfast was turned into something special by the atmosphere. This particular Whataburger is one of the old ones, an A-frame building with carparks all around it, and it's run old style as well. They have drive up service outside, as well as booths on the inside. It felt like taking a step back to a kinder and gentler than it really was version of the 1950s.

First off, southern accents and food just go hand in hand to me. When I got to the register, I ordered and the "thank you, ma'am" just flew out of my mouth. The reciprocal smile felt genuine and spread to my face as well as I accepted my coffee cup and the little "table tent" with my order number on it. Whataburger uses little folded pieces of plastic for customers to put on their table so that the servers know which order goes to which table. Yes, they bring your food out. My server also had what almost looked like an old cigarette girl tray laden with ketchup, syrup and other condiments as well as napkins, plasticware and coffee fixings, and took her friendly time making sure that I had everything I needed at my table to enjoy my meal. Let me tell you, I did.

Sometimes it's all about the food but other times it's about the social aspect of eating. That's exactly how it was this morning and I'm grateful for such a good start to the day.

After my return from breakfast, all smiles, I met back up with the rest of the band, we got our shit together and headed out of town on the way to our next show in Ocean Springs, MS. We weren't entirely sure what to expect from the gig. I have been through Mississippi a few times before and what I felt the most was fear. 

On my first visit to Mississippi, I was 16 or 17 years old - mohawked, decked out in leather jacket with huge anti-nazi symbols, bondage belt and Doc Martens. My road dog Jason and I broke down in Biloxi, MS on our way from New Orleans to Florida. We had blown a hole in our radiator and had to pull over at a gas station to try to figure out a plan of action. Within minutes a state trooper pulled in and ran our IDs for suspicion of being punk in public. Once he realized we weren't wanted criminals or runaways, and that our car actually belonged to us, he warned us that we should do our best to get gone before the locals took too much notice of us. Yes, let's take a second to think about that - the statie was warning us that the rednecks would attack us if they saw our funny-haired anti-racist selves. We got a replacement radiator and got gone quick!

I had also heard stories from a lot of my hitchhiking friends who had told about hitching through and getting arrested for vagrancy (having less than $30 cash on them was the definition at the time, I think) or for hitchhiking itself, doing a week in jail, then getting released and having no choice but to go back out to the highway and try again to get the hell out of town before getting picked up again. Walking was not allowed on the highway, but the highway was the only way to get out of the area. I had one buddy who said he had ended up being arrested three times in a row, just trying to get the hell out of town. 

On the other hand, we had heard some good stories about the venue that we were booked to play that night. The place is called the Squeaky Lizard, and it is referred to as the CBGBs of the South. We aimed to find out what was really up in this day and age.

On the way there, we made one stop for gas and food, and I had my second and final meal of the day - Popeye's Famous Fried Chicken. Can't help it, I love Popeye's. I lived off of it when I was homeless in New Orleans as a teenager. I got a three piece meal with mashed potatoes. The spiciness of the potatoes is what really sucks me in. Also, hell yeah, biscuits.

Well, we finally arrived at the Squeaky Lizard, and it was a cool place! It was in a storefront, pretty unassuming from the outside. On the inside there were flyers all over the walls, plenty of bands I know or have heard of that had coming through, plus I found out they sold the big mouth hand grenades of Mickey's! 

Mickey's is pretty much my favorite malt liquor. Enough that I have the famous hornet from the cap tattooed on myself. 

I have to say, Ocean Springs, MS, acquitted itself quite well. We played a fun show to a wicked punk rock bar. I got high for free, got drunk on Mickey's, whiskey, and who knows what else, and then we got to go to another show after ours and had a hell of a time! Now we're looking forward to our next visit there. Also, the next day, we had some AMAZING food, but that's for the next post!

****************

Chestnut Growler plays drums for The Swaggerin' Growlers, a punk/folk band based in Boston, MA. He tours full time. This blog is about the food experienced on the road: the good, the bad, and homemade and the gas station sammiches. You can find the band here: The Swaggerin' Growlers