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Billy Fokakis hasn’t missed a day of work in 31 years. How many people do you know who can make that statement? The answer for me is one: Billy Fokakis. Five days a week, 52 weeks every year, for 31 years, Fokakis has opened and closed the doors to his business. It’s not some cushyContinue reading “A Gold Star For Perfect Attendance”

In 1982 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I had recently flunked out of college and had yet to fall in love with the restaurant business. I was living in a sketchy apartment complex behind a fraternity house at Millsaps College in Jackson. It was 12 yearsContinue reading “Boarding House Food”

“You eat with your eyes.” That’s what I was told by one of the chefs who first trained me. I worked under that supposition for several years. It wasn’t until I began learning about heirloom tomatoes in the early 1990s that I began to worry less about how something looks and more about how somethingContinue reading “Ugly Food”

February in South Mississippi is a strange beast. It’s 30 degrees and overcast as I type though in a few days it might be 72 and sunny. Such is life on the edge of Zone 8. Geographical location affects almost every aspect of our lives. In the northeast people are going to spend a significantContinue reading “Dispatches From Zone 8”

“He’s currently in a lemonade phase,” my wife said. She was halfway across the room talking to someone at a Mardi Gras party. I didn’t know who it was that she was talking to but I knew who she was talking about— me. I am a “phase” guy. I go on music binges where IContinue reading “When Life Gives You Lemonade”

There are several different games I play with family and friends. Most of them have to do with music or food. “Name the top three most important Beatles albums in order.” “Who is the ‘best’ American rock-and-roll band of all-time?” “Name your top three restaurant meals.” The queries are endless. Everyone has an opinion aboutContinue reading “Look Who’s Coming To Dinner”

Got Ketchup? My son and I were having lunch the other day and he asked me, “Dad, how long has ketchup been around?” I didn’t know the answer. It’s not even something that I had thought of before. So I did what any well-meaning father would do when he wants to impart wisdom into hisContinue reading “Got Ketchup?”

Croats, Oysters, and Giving  Several years ago I was talking to a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi about travel. I was beginning to prepare for an extended trip overseas and was trying to gather all of the information I could about various countries I might want to visit. “Where is the most uniqueContinue reading “Croats, Oysters, and Giving”

“One thing I like about Argentina, they only cook with salt; that’s it.” –Robert Duvall A frequent question I receive when an interview begins to wind down is, “What is your favorite spice or seasoning?” Occasionally the question is modified by asking, “If you could only live with one spice or seasoning, what would thatContinue reading “Salt”