Author Archives: Robert

I grew up, and still live, in a small town in South Mississippi. It’s a college town that has a surprisingly diverse population for a relatively small municipality in the Deep South. I often wonder how people who weren’t born here wound up here. Out of all of the towns from coast to coast, howContinue reading “Jutama’s”

Modern-day disasters are highly publicized these days. In an era of 24-hour news cycles and instant reporting via the Internet, we know way more than we even want to know about the destruction a natural disaster can bring to a town, city, or region. Strangely, there is a recent disaster that hasn’t received a lotContinue reading “The Big Freeze of 2011”

I moved into a new house a few months ago. It’s not actually a newly built house, just a new house as far as I am concerned. I lived at my previous address for 17 years, which is actually the longest stint I had lived anywhere. During the move, I learned that my wife couldContinue reading “Appliances”

In the iconic Beatles song, I Am the Walrus, John Lennon states, “I am the egg man.” Taking into consideration that the song was released in 1967, I beat Mr. Lennon by six years. In all actuality, I am the egg man. Though back then I was just the egg boy. My mother was aContinue reading “Bags, and Eggs, and Holes”

Last Sunday my son and daughter invited a group of their friends to spend the night. Our home was filled with the sounds of nine 13-year old girls and four nine-year old boys at play. My wife made potato soup and the kids had a blast. Early the next morning, I wrote a warmhearted columnContinue reading “Hooters”

This is the best time of year for comfort food. After all of the leaves have fallen there is a small window of opportunity where one can share a quiet, peaceful, and hearty one-pot meal beside a crackling fire. To me, all of the best comfort foods are wholesome one-pot meals. They don’t require tooContinue reading “Comfort Food and Beautiful Noise”

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I have always attached a certain reverence to the day’s first meal. I am not sure why, possibly it’s fond childhood memories, maybe it’s that I’ve become a morning person as I have grown longer in the tooth, more than likely it’s because breakfast food is good.Continue reading “Olive Oil”

I eat out all of the time. One would think that a person who eats for a living might become jaded after a while. Restaurants come and go, trends fade, palates change, but good food is good food and I love the restaurant business. I enjoy the business behind the business and I certainly loveContinue reading “Babalu”

Food has constantly evolved over the history of man, from barbecued mastodon over a roaring campfire to seared grouper cheeks with a pomegranate puree, crispy sweetbreads, and a beetroot foam. Food has always been sustenance, but it has also been used for other purposes. Through the ages food has been used as a gift, aContinue reading “The Potato Gun”