SOUTHEAST | MISSISSIPPI
MAKE A TRIP OF IT City Grocery 152 Courthouse Square; 662232-8080; citygroceryonline. com/city-grocery
For the ultimate in convenience, stay at The Inn at Ole Miss, located on the University of Mississippi campus with suites overlooking the football stadium and tailgating area. 120 Alumni Dr.; 662-234-2331; theinnatolemiss.com
At Rowan Oak, see the home where William Faulkner lived and wrote for more than 40 years; on the walls of his study, read the outline he scribbled for his Pulitzer Prize–winning novel A Fable. 916 Old Taylor Rd.; 662-2343284; rowanoak.com
THE NEW CLASS
84 GO ESCAPE | WINTER 2018
Following in Currence’s footsteps, an emerging generation of restaurateurs is expanding Oxford’s food scene — and earning national acclaim. At Saint Leo, owner Emily Blount developed the restaurant’s menu with James Beard–nominated chef Dan Latham, a well-known Oxford restaurateur. Together, they devised dishes that incorporate regionally sourced ingredients, such as pizza bianca baked with brie from Sweetgrass Dairy in Thomasville, Ga. Drawing inspiration from Blount’s New York background (she was an offBroadway actress), the restaurant has a lively, big-city feel. The hottest seats in the house are the ones at the bar, >
The granddaddy of Oxford’s independent bookstores, Square Books opened on the square in 1979 and houses a large collection of titles about the American South. Don’t miss its sister stores, Off Square Books and Square Books Jr., also on the square. 160 Courthouse Square; 662236-2262; squarebooks.com
Thursdays at 6 p.m., stop by Off Square Books for a recording of The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, a live radio show with musical performances and author readings. 129 Courthouse Square; thackermountain.com
You don’t have to have kids to appreciate Avent Park, with a playground modeled after Oxford’s Courthouse Square. 104 Park Dr.; visitoxfordms.com
CITY GROCERY
culinary tricks; instead, he set out to make locally inspired food that tasted exceptionally good. His plan worked. The shrimp-and-grits entrée he featured on the menu in 1992 is still one of his most popular dishes, prepared with coarsely ground Original Grit Girl cheese grits and Gulf shrimp. Mississippian Morgan Freeman is a regular at the white-tablecloth restaurant, as well as its upstairs lounge, Grocery Bar. Capitalizing on City Grocery’s success, Currence opened three other Oxford restaurants: Bouré, Big Bad Breakfast and Snackbar. Bouré serves casual Creole cuisine in the bones of an old drugstore, while Big Bad Breakfast not only offers a large menu of day-starters but a killer lunch selection as well. (Edge recommends the Coca-Cola–brined fried chicken.) Next door to Big Bad Breakfast, Snackbar is a cozy French brasserie known for its Alabama-plucked Murder Point oysters and top-shelf whiskeys. Snackbar chef and James Beard nominee Vishwesh Bhatt showcases his Indian heritage in fusion dishes like okra chaat, made with fried okra and chaat masala. Currence says he’s not only proud of his own restaurants’ success; he’s thrilled with the state of Oxford’s dining scene. “I have prayed every day for the last 25 years for cool places with engaged and ambitious owners to open here,” Currence says. “And we’re seeing that.”