Author Archives: paul

CHICAGO—Most people know they need to try other restaurants when they’re in a great food city. So do I. And yet every time the tortilla soup arrives at Frontera Grill, that plan is out the window. Chicago has been part of my life once a year since the late 1980s as I am typically hereContinue reading “Depth”

I had breakfast in bed this morning. I’m 64 years old and I’m not sure that’s ever happened. Maybe once, back in elementary school, if I was home sick and my mother brought some Campbell’s chicken noodle soup to me on a tray. But I don’t remember it clearly enough to count it. So, let’sContinue reading “Breakfast in Bed”

There are many intelligent ways to sell king cakes. Standing on a frozen sidewalk in Gulfport while the wind removes your will to live is not one of them. And yet. Twenty-eight degrees. Wind like a razor. A line of 125 people who didn’t care. Neither did I. Our first attempt the week before wasContinue reading “28 Degrees and Warm All Day”

Marco had never seen a pine plantation. He and our friend, and co travel host, Marina were visiting from Tuscany—her fourth trip to Mississippi, his first. We were driving west on Highway 98, my wife riding shotgun, rows of planted pines blurring past like fence posts. Marco asked how old the trees were. Eight years,Continue reading “Taproots”

There was a kid from my hometown who had it all figured out at twenty-one. Charm, dreams, a family who loved him. He was also speeding down 4th Street at 90 miles per hour with his headlights off and three police cars in pursuit. That was May 25, 1983. I know this kid well. KnewContinue reading “The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”

Iced tea has been called the house wine of the South. Rick Bragg once wrote that a glass of iced tea can tell you just about everything you need to know about where you are and who you’re with, and he wasn’t wrong. Around here, iced tea is just part of how things are done.Continue reading “Tea, Over Time”

Most people who aren’t from around here don’t realize how much Mardi Gras matters in my hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It surprises them. They think of New Orleans first—and they should. They think of Mobile, which makes a strong and rightful claim as the birthplace of Mardi Gras in America. They think of the MississippiContinue reading “Mardi Gras in the Hub City”

At the end of every year for the past 25+ years, I have listed my top ten dining experiences from the year that just wrapped. This year was a bit of an outlier, as you’ll see when you get to number one. These days I spend about four months a year overseas working with myContinue reading “RSJ’s Top 10 Meals of 2025”

For over three decades, Christmas never really meant a day off. That lesson came early. I was sixteen years old in 1977 when I landed my first tax-paying job at a local radio station. Sunday afternoons were spent sitting in a small booth while the New Orleans Saints played. When the broadcast cut to localContinue reading “Showing Up for Christmas”