Skip to content

Robert St. John

Restaurateur, author, enthusiastic traveler, & world-class eater.

Featured Column

Birthplace

PETROGNANO, ITALY— It’s true that there’s no place like home, and I deeply and dearly love my hometown of Hattiesburg…

Read more

Loblolly Stories

Ten Things I’ve Learned Opening a Bakery

I am opening a bakery today. Opening any style of restaurant is one of the most stressful activities one will…

Read more

It’s A Tough Job but Somebody’s Got To Chew It

“No one trusts a skinny chef.” In my business— if you posess the body style I walk around with every…

Read more

Neck Deep In King Cake Development

It looks like 2023 will go down as the year of the king cake— at least in my book. I…

Read more

RSJ's New Orleans Favorites

RSJ’s New Orleans Restaurant Recommendations 2023

NEW ORLEANS— In a poll of national food critics I believe New Orleans would be listed among the top three…

Read more

RSJ’s Top 10 New Orleans Breakfasts

The following is the first in a summer-column series that will cover dining in New Orleans. Over the next four…

Read more

An Engagement to Remember

This past weekend was a memorable one for our family. Our 26-year old daughter got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.…

Read more

Recent Columns

Oh, Jesse Where Art Thou? — A True Tight Spot

VALENCIA, SPAIN— It was a tight spot. Not in the figurative sense in which one is faced with a challenging…

Read more

Spanish Breakdown

MADRID— The motto of the Boy Scouts of America is to be prepared. That’s all well and good, except I…

Read more

Burgers I Have Known

There are long stretches in my life when I dedicated all my culinary focus, research, development, and meals to fine…

Read more

The Best Job Ever

There are many emotions associated with parenthood. Joy and amusement come to mind immediately. The early responsibilities of parenting can…

Read more

Nobody’s Poet

In the late 1990s I was asked by my local newspaper to write a weekly food column. I politely declined…

Read more

Bad Food

It took me 60 years to start eating like an adult. I am 62 so I’ve only been eating responsibly…

Read more

Ed’s

Since 1999 I have written every week in this space, a thousand words a week, never missing a week. That’s…

Read more

I Love This Business

In the 1985 Ron Howard movie, “Cocoon,” a group of senior citizens from a retirement home break into an abandoned…

Read more

Fried Shrimp

The late great Ella Brennan, long-time matriarch of the New Orleans restaurant scene as head of the Brennan clan— and…

Read more

Cakes Fit For A King

It’s king cake season. Those four words don’t carry a lot of weight across 90% of this country. Though in…

Read more

Good Morning, Hattiesburg

A few weeks ago, an interviewer asked, “Give me a typical day in the life of Robert St. John.” I…

Read more

Next Up in New Orleans

I have often wondered what it must have been like to have attended the Beatles first live performance as a…

Read more

Robert’s Top 10 of 2023

For the 25 years I have written in this space I have always reserved the final column inches of the…

Read more

The Currency of Christmas

Everyone has a favorite holiday. Many of my friends are partial to Halloween. They have fond memories of trick-or-treating through…

Read more

Not Your Typical, Everyday, Run-Of-The-Mill Christmas Message

Let’s talk about failures. The holiday season may seem like a peculiar time to air personal disappointments but stick with…

Read more

Cousin Jim

They buried my cousin last week. He was sent to his reward with full military honors in one of the…

Read more

Mississippians Feeding Mississippians

It is said that Texans have an unparalleled pride for their state. My wife grew up there and my father-in-law…

Read more

It Takes a Village (or at least a dedicated team)

There are a lot of factors that go into the process of writing, testing, re-testing, editing, photographing, re-editing, styling, re-re-editing,…

Read more

All In the Family

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— It could be said— and probably has often been said— that I am a slow learner. It took…

Read more

From A Hot Dog Cart

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE— This week will mark the final week of my most recent work stint in Italy. I host tours in…

Read more

When In Rome (mostly)

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— One of the travel codes I abide by is the when-in-Rome-do-as-the-Romans-do dining philosophy. No matter where I am…

Read more

Tuscan Son

BARBERINO-TAVERNELLE, TUSCANY— I first came to this part of the world in 2011 on a three-week stopover with my wife…

Read more

It’s All Lessons All the Time

It’s funny how at different ages I have assumed I had life completely figured out. When I was 19 no…

Read more

Breakfasts Abroad

PALAERMO, SICILY— Ten weeks out of each year I work over here leading tours of Americans through European countries. It’s…

Read more

It’s Good Work If You Can Get It

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth…

Read more

An Engagement to Remember

This past weekend was a memorable one for our family. Our 26-year old daughter got engaged to her longtime boyfriend.…

Read more

Wonderland

Everyone has a personal wonderland. When my brother visits a hardware store, a garden center, or a tackle shop he…

Read more

The Blue Crab Invasion of 2023

Featured image:  "Crabs" by Wyatt Waters, from our book A Southern Palate One of the most frequent questions I am…

Read more

RSJ’s New Orleans Restaurant Recommendations 2023

NEW ORLEANS— In a poll of national food critics I believe New Orleans would be listed among the top three…

Read more

My Latest Addiction

Let's talk about addiction. I know what you’re thinking. Ol’ St. John is about to ramp up all that recovery…

Read more

If These Walls Could Speak

“If these old walls could speak Of things that they remember well, Stories and faces dearly held” – Jimmy Webb…

Read more

How Tuna Came to the Panhandle

WATERCOLOR, FLORIDA— Once a year I bring my wife, our kids, and their friends to the Panhandle of Florida to…

Read more

Potatoes, Peas, Popcorn, and Pancakes (but not all at once)

A few weeks ago, I wrote that 2023 will go down as the summer of watermelon. I mentioned how I…

Read more

Ten Things I’ve Learned Opening a Bakery

I am opening a bakery today. Opening any style of restaurant is one of the most stressful activities one will…

Read more

A Good Foot Forward

Last week I read an online article about feet. I can’t remember where I read it, or from which website…

Read more

Watermelon 2023

Cartoon by Marshall Ramsey If I were to make a list of my favorite fruits, it would be extensive. Peaches…

Read more

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

“The best things in life come from patience.” – Author Unknown As a kid I grew up across the street…

Read more

Happy Birthday, America

If I were asked to rank the holidays my family and I celebrate, Christmas would go down as an easy…

Read more

Mississippi

Texans are often recognized for the pride that they have in their home state. I get that. Not because I…

Read more

A Former Fruit Cart at A Century

Some people judge towns by their population. Others judge them by amenities such as parks and playgrounds. Many consider school…

Read more

It’s A Tough Job but Somebody’s Got To Chew It

“No one trusts a skinny chef.” In my business— if you posess the body style I walk around with every…

Read more

Friends On the Level and Restaurants Off the Track

Everyone has “that” friend. He or she is the friend that doesn't sugarcoat his or her comments. It's a straight-talking…

Read more

Small Town Guy

“I cannot forget from where it is that I come from Cannot forget the people who love me Well, I…

Read more

Windy City Rendezvous

CHICAGO— I have been coming to this city almost every May for the past 35 years. This time of year…

Read more

TO THE MISSISSIPPI GRADUATES OF 2023

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” —Mary Oliver It’s graduation…

Read more

A Bridge Not Too Far At All

YPRES, BELGIUM— Friendships in the 21st Century carry a different dynamic. A constant connection throughout the World Wide Web has…

Read more

The Curious Case of a Sliding Door Monopoly Game

AMSTERDAM— A sliding door moment is a seemingly inconsequential action that alters the trajectory of future events. I am sitting…

Read more

Pondering Chips

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Things are different over here. It’s not just the language. Spaces are smaller. Roads are tighter. Bathrooms are…

Read more

An Easter to Remember

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— Most of my early childhood memories come from Christmas and Easter. If I let my memory go back…

Read more

Perfect Simplicity

Sometimes the simplest things give me the most satisfaction. That probably seems like an obvious statement to most. I have…

Read more

A Lifetime Love Affair

TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— My love of bakeries goes back as far as my episodic memory will allow. The earliest bakery recollection…

Read more

Porcine Paradise

SEVILLE— Travel is situational. I could almost end this column with that first sentence. That sums up everything I am…

Read more

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling in Spain

MADRID—Irish pubs have always intrigued me. The attraction doesn’t come from the typical things one expects from a pub. I’m…

Read more

Seasons in Mississippi

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to…

Read more

Endure

Cartoon credit: Marshall Ramsey   It’s February in the Pine Belt of South Mississippi. It’s 82 degrees outside, the azaleas…

Read more

Easy Bake Memories

The year was 1968. It was my 7th Christmas. Also, the first Christmas after my father died. The only thing…

Read more

Neck Deep In King Cake Development

It looks like 2023 will go down as the year of the king cake— at least in my book. I…

Read more

An Unbalanced Force in the Foothills

BLACKBERRY FARM— A portion of Newton’s Law of Motion states, “An object in motion remains in motion at a constant…

Read more

A Golden Opportunity

To be successful in the restaurant business it takes total commitment and sacrifice. It's a brutal way to earn a…

Read more

It’s A Tough Job but Somebody’s Got to Chew It

“A party without cake is just a meeting” –Julia Child It started as a whim. It ended as a quest.…

Read more

Breakfast, Routines, and Bacon

Many of the business books I am familiar with go into great detail about how successful people commit to a…

Read more

Restaurant People

It is my belief that some people are born with their life’s mission already implanted deep in their DNA. Just…

Read more

Local Hopes

NEW ORLEANS— The practice of making New Year’s resolutions is something that has never interested me. I guess I have…

Read more

RSJ Top 10 Meals 2022

For the 22 years I have written in this space, I have always reserved the final column inches of the…

Read more

RSJ’s Top 10 Christmas Movies

Nothing quite matches the energy and excitement one experiences as a kid during the Christmas Eves of his or her…

Read more

My Top 20 Christmas Songs

Music has always been a huge part of my life. It surprises me that— in the 23 years I have…

Read more

Pass the Crackers (and the butter, and the slaw, and the comeback), Please

Appetizers are often the most interesting part of a restaurant menu. I could live in the appetizer section, alone, and…

Read more

My Favorite Season

It has been said that the four seasons in Mississippi are— almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas. I have…

Read more

Home Is Where the Realized Nouns Are

L. Frank Baum nailed it when he penned the line, “There’s no place like home,” in his novel about the…

Read more

Restaurantsick

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Yesterday I was having a conversation with one of my travel guests who was talking about being homesick…

Read more

RSJ’s Tuscan Top Ten

Barberino-Tavarnelle, Tuscany— For the past 11 years I have spent considerable time in this region. Specifically in the two towns…

Read more

Home Away From Home

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, ITALY— Is it possible that one can fall in love with a town? I love my hometown of Hattiesburg,…

Read more

Sometimes I Feel Like a Magpie

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— A few months after my wife and I started dating, she wanted me to meet her grandmother. We…

Read more

It Takes A Village (or at least a couple of Dutch People and several Italians)

BARBERINO-TAVERNELLE, TUSCANY— There’s a big difference between a tour host and a tour guide. A tour guide goes through rigorous…

Read more

All Roads Lead to Rome, They Really Do

ROME— If 2022 had a personal theme created specifically for me, it would be decorated in the green, white, and…

Read more

The 32nd Anniversary of My 29th Birthday

Yesterday I entered my 62nd year on the planet. The thing about turning 61 years old is that I thought…

Read more

Another Blessing

This morning I read a Business News Daily article that listed the most stressful jobs in America. Enlisted military personnel…

Read more

A Different Kind of Welcome

NEW YORK— I first came to the city sometime in the mid-1960s. My grandparents lived here. My father had recently…

Read more

In Search of Voice

For the majority of the 23 years, I have written this weekly column, the primary focus has been on food…

Read more

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday Morning

For the past 23 years, I have written a 1,000-word column every Monday morning. Always early in the morning. I…

Read more

In Honor of Mississippians

“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” – William Faulkner “Work hard and be kind…

Read more