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 moreLoblolly 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 moreIt’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 moreNeck 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 moreRSJ'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 moreRSJ’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 moreAn 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 moreRecent 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 moreSpanish Breakdown
MADRID— The motto of the Boy Scouts of America is to be prepared. That’s all well and good, except I…
Read moreBurgers I Have Known
There are long stretches in my life when I dedicated all my culinary focus, research, development, and meals to fine…
Read moreThe Best Job Ever
There are many emotions associated with parenthood. Joy and amusement come to mind immediately. The early responsibilities of parenting can…
Read moreNobody’s Poet
In the late 1990s I was asked by my local newspaper to write a weekly food column. I politely declined…
Read moreI Love This Business
In the 1985 Ron Howard movie, “Cocoon,” a group of senior citizens from a retirement home break into an abandoned…
Read moreFried Shrimp
The late great Ella Brennan, long-time matriarch of the New Orleans restaurant scene as head of the Brennan clan— and…
Read moreCakes 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 moreGood Morning, Hattiesburg
A few weeks ago, an interviewer asked, “Give me a typical day in the life of Robert St. John.” I…
Read moreNext 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 moreRobert’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 moreThe 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 moreNot 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 moreCousin Jim
They buried my cousin last week. He was sent to his reward with full military honors in one of the…
Read moreMississippians 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 moreIt 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 moreAll 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 moreFrom 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 moreWhen 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 moreTuscan Son
BARBERINO-TAVERNELLE, TUSCANY— I first came to this part of the world in 2011 on a three-week stopover with my wife…
Read moreIt’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 moreBreakfasts Abroad
PALAERMO, SICILY— Ten weeks out of each year I work over here leading tours of Americans through European countries. It’s…
Read moreIt’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 moreAn 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 moreWonderland
Everyone has a personal wonderland. When my brother visits a hardware store, a garden center, or a tackle shop he…
Read moreThe 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 moreRSJ’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 moreMy 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 moreIf These Walls Could Speak
“If these old walls could speak Of things that they remember well, Stories and faces dearly held” – Jimmy Webb…
Read moreHow 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 morePotatoes, 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 moreTen 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 moreA 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 moreWatermelon 2023
Cartoon by Marshall Ramsey If I were to make a list of my favorite fruits, it would be extensive. Peaches…
Read moreGood 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 moreHappy Birthday, America
If I were asked to rank the holidays my family and I celebrate, Christmas would go down as an easy…
Read moreMississippi
Texans are often recognized for the pride that they have in their home state. I get that. Not because I…
Read moreA 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 moreIt’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 moreFriends 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 moreSmall Town Guy
“I cannot forget from where it is that I come from Cannot forget the people who love me Well, I…
Read moreWindy City Rendezvous
CHICAGO— I have been coming to this city almost every May for the past 35 years. This time of year…
Read moreTO 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 moreA 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 moreThe 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 morePondering Chips
BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Things are different over here. It’s not just the language. Spaces are smaller. Roads are tighter. Bathrooms are…
Read moreAn Easter to Remember
PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— Most of my early childhood memories come from Christmas and Easter. If I let my memory go back…
Read morePerfect Simplicity
Sometimes the simplest things give me the most satisfaction. That probably seems like an obvious statement to most. I have…
Read moreA Lifetime Love Affair
TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— My love of bakeries goes back as far as my episodic memory will allow. The earliest bakery recollection…
Read morePorcine Paradise
SEVILLE— Travel is situational. I could almost end this column with that first sentence. That sums up everything I am…
Read moreWhen 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 moreSeasons in Mississippi
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to…
Read moreEasy Bake Memories
The year was 1968. It was my 7th Christmas. Also, the first Christmas after my father died. The only thing…
Read moreNeck 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 moreAn 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 moreA Golden Opportunity
To be successful in the restaurant business it takes total commitment and sacrifice. It's a brutal way to earn a…
Read moreIt’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 moreBreakfast, Routines, and Bacon
Many of the business books I am familiar with go into great detail about how successful people commit to a…
Read moreRestaurant People
It is my belief that some people are born with their life’s mission already implanted deep in their DNA. Just…
Read moreLocal Hopes
NEW ORLEANS— The practice of making New Year’s resolutions is something that has never interested me. I guess I have…
Read moreRSJ 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 moreRSJ’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 moreMy 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 morePass 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 moreMy Favorite Season
It has been said that the four seasons in Mississippi are— almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas. I have…
Read moreHome 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 moreRestaurantsick
BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Yesterday I was having a conversation with one of my travel guests who was talking about being homesick…
Read moreRSJ’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 moreHome 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 moreSometimes 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 moreIt 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 moreAll 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 moreThe 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 moreAnother Blessing
This morning I read a Business News Daily article that listed the most stressful jobs in America. Enlisted military personnel…
Read moreA 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 moreIn Search of Voice
For the majority of the 23 years, I have written this weekly column, the primary focus has been on food…
Read moreRandom 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 moreIn Honor of Mississippians
“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” – William Faulkner “Work hard and be kind…
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