Luke Duncan

Big week in O-town. The infamous Taylor Duncan was here, and he brought his new pooch Vader.

(Click on any of these pics for more details.)

Thanks to a generous vacation donation from mom and dad, we ate all over town. My first time at Redneck Burritos:

T-dunc had the chimichanga, which he reports is very nice. I had the BBQ Nachos:

I went in with a pretty bad attitude. I thought there’s no way I could like it as much as Moe’s, which was in the same building. I think I even said to my dining companions as I held the door open for them: “Oh, this is going to be awful.”

But you know what? I really dug the place. It’s so completely over the top and the food was tasty in the way that only a thick layer of melted cheese can make a dish. If we didn’t draw so much attention from the moment we walked in, I would’ve snapped some pics of the interior. I may do so next time we go.

Thursday morning we did breakfast at The Beacon, a place I hadn’t been in at least 3 years. It’s probably best not to eat there too often anyway. Here’s what T-dunc had:

We hit up Mundo Latino for lunch tacos.

We also hit a few buckets at the driving range:

On Wednesday, we got up early and hung around the Square, getting man-on-the-street interviews with people for our forthcoming muscadine documentary. Will keep you posted about our progress on that.

For lunch Wednesday we did Ajax, one of my all-time favorites:

It was too dark inside to shoot the food, but The Big Easy was a thing of beauty.

Earlier in the week we did Two Stick…

For some sushi:

On Friday, Taylor left for home and I got back to work. I spoke with Amy Evans, keeper of the Tamale Trail, about tamale places Sarah and I should visit today. I’m writing a Delta Tamale article for Y’all Magazine and wanted to have some first-hand experience. I also wanted to continue to hone my food photography skills. I think I’m getting better.

Last night we kicked it off with some Doe’s in Oxford:

Owner Charles Signa gave us a tour of the kitchen (including the tamale machine) and then told us his story and the story of Doe’s. We are definitely going back for a fat steak on my birthday. (Side note: I saw tonight on the Food Network where Bon Appétit Magazine just rated Doe’s one of the three best steak houses in America. How about that?)

Today we were all over the Mississippi delta. My favorite was Hicks’ of Clarksdale:

Eugene Hicks himself came out and talked with us for a good long time, then gave us a tour of the back of the house. Great guy. I’ll be back for the BBQ (and more tamales) when I’ve got stomach space to spare.

I may be able to post up a copy of the article when it’s done. We’ll see. When did I become such a food dork?

One last pic from the Oxford square, just because I like it:

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Remember earlier when I was confused about tipping? Liz Pulliam Weston says 20% is the new 15%.