The Mississippi Culinary Trail

Mississippi is considered a foodie’s paradise and we can tell you a million reasons why! The Mississippi Culinary Trail showcases the state’s true flavour. Each of the five regions has its own delicacies like hot tamales, slug burgers and comeback sauce. Whether you are a first-time visitor or a road trip junkie who has been through a million times – pull up a chair, put a napkin in your lap and get ready for an unrivalled eating experience.

The Culinary Trail itineraries, work their way around the state highlighting each region’s restaurants, cooks and food traditions that highlight Mississippi’s distinctive cuisine.

THE DELTA – Juke Joints, Hot Tamales & Mississippi Catfish

You don’t forget your first descent into the Delta. Whether you take the back roads from Hernando on Highway 304 or Highway 61 from Memphis: one minute your car winds through the tree-dotted landscapes of the hills and the next it levels out into flat farmland as far as the eye can see. As diverse as the crops that grow here and the music that made it famous, the Mississippi Delta is a melting pot of cultures – from African to Italian to Asian – the people here make this part of the state different from any other. And in no place is the Delta’s diversity more apparent than in its restaurants. Each dish is a prime example of how delicious histories fuse together for the ultimate culinary experience.

One such example is the hot tamale, called so because of its orangey-red colour and spicy taste. Its origins began around the turn of the 20th century when migrant Hispanic labourers worked in the cotton fields during autumn cotton picking season alongside African-American hired hands. A cornmeal mixture called "masa" encased the meat inside, keeping it insulated. This ensured a warm lunch for hungry workers at lunchtime. There is also a Tamale Trail through Mississippi, read more about it here.

THE CAPITAL-RIVER – Soul Food, Super burgers and Comeback Sauce

Mississippi’s Capital-River Region is a delicious blend of old and new.  From a mighty river and antebellum mansions to glittering downtowns with exciting nightlife, the restaurants here boast menus featuring soul food, authentic ethnic dishes and modern culinary delights.  Personalities like Cool Al and places called Fat Mama’s are why the eclectic heritage of Mississippi is one of its most celebrated treats. It’s the tastiest history lesson you’ve ever had.

THE PINES – Choctaws, Catfish Alley and Family Cafés

THE HILLS – Grills, Groceries & Drive-Ins

The characters in Southern fiction gather around tables laden with platters of their favourite dishes – platters of fried green tomatoes, pots of collard greens with a skillet of cornbread, slabs of barbecue pork ribs and slugburgers. Literary references are direct inspiration from the first-hand eating experience of lovingly crafted home-cooked meals. Even today, a meal in the Mississippi Hills doesn't just feed the body it ministers to your soul. 

THE COAST – Shrimp, Blowflies & Purple Parrots

Naturally, the Mississippi Gulf Coast has a different feel to it than the rest of the state, but it remains undeniably “Mississippi.”  The Coast offers the tourist a little of everything:  golf, gambling, art, architecture and, of course, great food. Years ago, immigrants from all over the world came to the region in search of employment in the seafood industry: Croatian, Vietnamese and French.  This delicious blend of cultures has seasoned the cuisine here with a flavour you won’t find anywhere else.

If you want fresh seafood, the Mississippi Gulf Coast has the menu to satisfy your craving.

Did you know Mississippi is home to:

The Mississippi Blues Trail

The Mississippi Blues Trail tells stories throughout the state using words and images of bluesmen and women, and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed – and continue to exist – influenced their music. The markers run from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. With so much to share and it's all just down the Mississippi Blues Trail.

To view a current list of all the markers and the region they are featured click here. You can also follow the Mississippi Blues Trail on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news.

Mississippi Country Music Trail

Country music is a direct descendent of the Blues – a music form that was born in Mississippi. To commemorate this important part of Mississippi's rich heritage, the Mississippi Country Music Trail was created.

Explore the high notes in the history of country music with the likes of Jimmie Rodgers (the "Father of Country Music" himself), Charley Pride, Conway Twitty, Jerry Clower, Faith Hill, Paul Overstreet and a great many others.

Click here for information on stops along the Mississippi Country Music Trail.

Here are our Top Ten Culinary Treats so you can eat your way around Mississippi

The Square – Oxford, Mississippi

Johnnie's Drive-In – Tupelo, Mississippi

Ground Zero Blues Club – Clarksdale, Mississippi

Does Eat Place – Greenville, Mississippi

You won't find any white tablecloths at Doe's Eat Place in Greenville – just the finest filet mignon, ribeye, T-bone and Porterhouse steaks anywhere in the South, not to mention homemade French fries and broiled shrimp swimming in garlic butter. And this James Beard Award-winning restaurant doesn't serve liquor, so feel free to bring your own wine or whiskey in a brown paper bag, just like the locals do!

Viking Cooking School – Greenwood, Mississippi

Mayflower Cafe – Jackson, Mississippi

Walnut Hills – Vicksburg, Mississippi

Mammy's Cupboard – Natchez, Mississippi

Mary Mahoney's – Biloxi, Mississippi

The Shed – Ocean Springs, Mississippi

Museums for Children in Mississippi

Every museum needs a tree house. The Lynn Meadows Discovery Centre in Gulfport, Mississippi, sports three, tucked in among the limbs of live oaks that shade an outside play are. Climb in ad the imagination takes flight.

The museum is designed to entertain and educate children ages 10 or younger. Inside, role-playing opportunities encourage youngsters to change hats for different activities. A kid-sized model shrimp boat calls for a captain’s hat, and teatime in a bed and breakfast setting definitely requires a fancy dress hat. Putting on sombreros, children board a make-believe plane to Mexico. In other areas, science takes over, as young hands turn a crank to create electricity or push a button to form a miniature tornado in a tube.

Most museums offer something that touches a child’s curiosity, inspires the imagination and turns learning into an adventure. In, Mississippi you don’t have to look far to find them.

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson has something for every member of the family. Who doesn’t get a kick out of watching a diver feed the fish in the aquarium or shiver at the sight of alligators in “The Swamp”?

The museum’s Discovery Room is designed especially for preschoolers, which activities that include story time and play with puppets. Outdoors, in a 300-acre natural area, more than two miles of walking trails lead past wetland ponds, wooded bluffs and native plantings. Each visit to the museum brings some new experience, especially when there’s a special exhibit. This summer it’s Megalodo: Largest Shark That Ever Lived.

Jackson offers other places that target specific interest. Budding astronomers or astronauts will love the sky shows at David Planetarium and the laser light concerts are simply amazing. Take your history buff to the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum / National Agricultural Aviation Museum to check out the farmstead, the sugarcane mill and the blacksmiths shop. Before leaving, sample the old-fashioned candy sticks and Moon Pies in the General Store.

Youngsters with their eye on a sports career will enjoy the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. In one area, you can be the broadcaster in the press box, calling the plays for a famous moment in Mississippi sports. Everyone, including adults, gravitates to The Participatory Room – with virtual technology, you can check out your pitching speed, tee up on a championship golf course or take a penalty kick in a soccer game.

Trains fascinate all ages. Museums dedicated to their history exhibit models, memorabilia and sometimes even an old locomotive or a red caboose. Some of Mississippi’s best are the Historic Train Depot and Museum in Canton, the Historic Corinth Depot and Crossroads Museum in Corinth and the McComb Railroad Museum in McComb.

The lure of the Mississippi River lures families to the Tunica RiverPark, which chronicles the river’s history and life along its banks. It has aquariums and walking trails through a 130-acre riverside forest. One of the highlights is getting out on the river itself aboard the Tunica Queen. And while the RiverPark Museum doesn’t have a treehouse, it does have an observation deck with a sweeping view of the Mississippi River.