Southern Food Festiva
By Kathleen Walls Guest Editor www.AmericanRoads.net
Slugburger Festival Corinth, Mississippi
begun with Nolan Jacobs back in 1950. Jared Zeringue, a local whose family was longtime fans of the smokehouse, bought it about four years ago. Jared has had his own restaurants and so he added some of his “River Road” style dishes to the original smokehouse ones. The smokehouse makes its products the old fashioned way. They chop fresh meat for sausage. The smokehouses out back have been doing their job for many years. The wood comes from his dad’s farm.
Ocala Culinary Festival Ocala, Florida
It’s held each year on the second weekend in July in downtown Corinth. A slugburger is a similar to a hamburger but some breading or soybean mixture is added to extend the meat. It is always deep fried not grilled. Usually it is seved with pickles, onions and mustard. The reason it is called a “slugburger” is not for the little garden pest but because during the depression when it was created, it sold for a nickel which was then called a slug. I tried one at Barrome’s Drugstore when I was in Corinth and it was tasty. Borroum’s opened in 1865 when Dr. Barrome came to Corinth and decided to open a pharmacy there. He had served as a assistant surgeon for the Confederacy. It’s the oldest drugstore in Mississippi.
Andouille Festival Laplace, Louisiana
The Andouille Festival is held at the St. John Civic Center in Laplace annually in mid-October. Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse is a regular entry in the food category. I sampled their Boudin Balls, Andoulle Chips and Tasso so I’m betting on their taking first place. If you go to the festival, take time out to visit Wayne Jacobs Smokehouse. It has a long history -12- | WEEKENDEREXTENDED.COM ~ JUNE, 2019
This is a relatively new festival; 2019 was only its third year. It’s held the first week in April. It is a bit different as events are at various locations throughout Marion County. Each event requires a separate ticket. It culminates with the Grand Tasting held at Downtown Ocala’s Citizens’ Circle where attendees spend the afternoon enjoying open-air festivities with like-minded foodies, chefs, winemakers, mixologists and culinary vendors with live music in the background. Because wine, beer and spirits are served, no one under 21 is allowed. All proceeds go to Ocala Culinary Festival Charities, a nonprofit for culinary education and fighting hunger in Marion County. I hope to see Eaton’s Beach take part next year. They serve a trademarked Florisiana Cuisine. My favorites are the Shrimp Creole and, for an appetizer, the Fried Green Tomatoes.