In 2018, I started a blog known as The Bone Bag. It was to be a celebration of three of my favorite things in life, Smokey Bar B Que, traveling the back roads of America, and listening to music of all types. I believed then and I believe today that if you carry a song in your heart and have food in your belly, you have it better than anyone else on earth. We were going strong, much to the dismay of my cardiologist, meeting new people, trying amazing foods and singing our hearts out, right up until the Pandemic that was Covid-19 brought everything to a halt.
Since then, I have had a lot of time to reflect on my past and made the decision that after spending 56 years of my life as a "Damn Yankee", it was time to admit what I had known in my heart all along, I was born and raised in the wrong part of the United States. The south was calling me and I decided it was time to answer the call.
In the summer of 2022, Julie and I packed our bags and left the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for our new home along the Gulf Coast in beautiful Biloxi, MS. In true Bone Bag fashion, there was no plane trip, we loaded the car cranked up the radio and hit the open road.
The further south we drove, the more prevalent the road signs for BBQ became, in fact, if you've ever made the trip from North to South the only sign you will see more than BBQ Joints is Waffle House. I took it as a sign that the highway itself was telling me to get back to what I loved. It is now the spring of 2023 and the Bone Bag is back, southern style!
For those of you who have followed my journey, I thank you and welcome you back. For my new readers, I welcome to the fold of the napkin where my goal is to take your minds off the day-to-day troubles and tribulations of life and using my words fill your ears with the sounds of music, your nose with the smells of wood smoke (and perfectly grilled meats) and your mind's eye with descriptions of the people and places that make America the greatest nation on the planet. Music, food, and friends is what the Bone Bag has always been about, and I hope that my travels make you want to pack up the car and hit the road as well.
Today I want to take you on a journey along the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway is a roughly 440-mile road that will take you from Natchez MS north to Nashville TN. The trace connects the Mississippi River with the Tennessee River and was created and used by native Americans. In the 18th and 19th century, the trace was dotted with Inns, or stands, set up to sell food and provide lodging to American and European traders, travelers, and immigrants. Prior to the Steamboat, this was a major trade route, Once river travel became the norm, many of these inns closed.
I fully expect that the Bone Bag will be returning to this stretch of roadway often, but for today I want to start at the start. Traveling northwest from Biloxi, with our sites and appetite's firmly set on the town of Natchez, MS we came across the town of Gillsburg MS and a 7 Ton Black Granite Monument built on the site of the 1977 plane crash that took the lives of Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band. (lynyrdskynyrdmonument.com) I was emotionally moved by the beautiful monument and the care that the folks at LSM have taken to preserve this piece of American Music History. Carved at the bottom of the left tablet is the opening lyrics to the song Free Bird, "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me" one of the three main tablets on the site. I stand here and reflect that it was just over a month ago that the last surviving member of the original band, Gary Rossington passed away. This edition is dedicated to the life and legacy of one of America's premier southern rock bands. Yes, you left us and no we have not and will not forget you.
Traversing the Natchez Trace Trail will take you a whole lot more than the "three steps" that Skynyrd sang about, and if you did leave here tomorrow, your walk would take you to the beautiful and historic town of Natchez, MS home to The Pig Out Inn. ( https://www.facebook.com/pigoutinnbbq/)
As soon as you walk in you will be greeted with a warm welcome and invited to grab a Neon Pink Menu and take a seat while you figure out what you intend to eat. The regulars pass right thru and place their orders and that is why us newbies are invited to sit and study first. This way we do not take up space in the lines until we know what we want to try. This is a busy place but there is absolutely no rush in this BBQ joint, you take your time, and the crew will be waiting when you are ready. This is Swine Dining at its finest (it even says so on the cups). Placing your order at the counter is an example of southern hospitality mixed with efficiency. As you dictate your order, your choices are being noted in sharpie on the side of your plate. Each compartment gets an abbreviation for the food that will soon be placed in each spot and the decorated plate slides down the line to the loading station where all that goodness you have been smelling since you walked up to the door, is now plated for you. Oh, and before you sit to wait, in true Skynyrd fashion the next question asked is "What's your name". As a "Simple Kinda Man" when they called my name out loud, I knew that something special was about to happen.
Prior to your name being called, take a seat at one of the brightly colored tables that have been made using painted raised panel door slabs, covered with glass tops. A cool look and a great use of products that would most likely have hit the landfill. The owners if the Pig Out Inn have instead reclaimed these doors and converted them into a solid place to get your feed bag on! A quick glance around the room proved to me that I had come to the right place, the walls are covered with photos of Blues musicians, various pigs and a 20 foot long ,(at least), hand panted mural of "why we love the south". The mural mentions everything from Music to Collards, Archie and the Saints to Magnolias and Cajun to Creole. It is truly a work of art, much like their food, one to be savored and enjoyed.
When my name was called out, I retrieved my 3-meat platter which consisted of ribs, chopped brisket and smoke turkey. Served along with the meat was smoked baked beans and corn on the cobb. The Pig Out Inn does everything right. In a world where many restaurants try to serve at least 3 people off the same ear of corn, here you get the whole one on your plate. Oh, and did I mention that this entire platter of food was under $20. Winning!
If you are a follower of the Bone Bag, you no doubt have heard me ramble on and on about the need (or lack thereof) for BBQ sauce. My opinion has always been that properly seasoned and smoked meat should never, ever, be smothered in BBQ Sauce, of any kind. That being said, there are times when a little sauce can be used to kick things up a bit and at the Pig Out Inn, they understand just that. When your platter arrives, on it is a full squeeze bottle of warm sauce that was the perfect addition to the chopped brisket. Yes, I said warm (who wants to pour cold sauce on warm meat) and yes, they give you the full bottle, not just a Dixie cup, so if you are a lover of sauce, have at it and if you're like me, a little dab ill do ya. I strongly recommend you try it.
For years I have ordered turkey and use it as my test of a true pit masters talents. Smoked too long, the bird will be dry and crumbly, smoked at the Pig Out Inn, the bird was moist and amazing. I try the turkey almost everywhere I go and this one was truly a work of art. A beautiful pink smoke ring surrounded the tender juicy meat that was bursting with flavor.
The rub on the ribs exploded with tangy heat and the sweet meat fell effortlessly off the bones. The slow smoked brisket was served sliced or chopped (my choice) and had the perfect mix of meat and fat to make it tender and succulent. Adding a little of the warm sauce took this already exceptional dish to an even higher place.
As we sat at our door turned table our ears were filled with music being played over the sound system. I looked at my wife Julie and said, "can it get any better than this?" "Here we are, seated high above the banks of the Mississippi River, eating some of the tastiest BBQ we have ever had and listing to Little Feet singing Dixie Chicken." My god it's good to be in my new home, thank you Mississippi for welcoming this lost soul into your fold.
When you go to the Pig Out Inn and I know you will, you need to check out all the amazing choices on the Neon Pink Menu. When making my first trip anywhere I am drawn to the combo platters, mostly because I am a glutton, but also because I want to share as much information about as many choices as I can with you and because I truly am a glutton, there I said it twice. Hey, never take restaurant advice from a skinny guy.
One item on the menu at The Pig Out Inn is the BUBBADELIC (maybe my new favorite word pronounced Bubba-Del-Ic), Pulled Pork Grilled Mac n Cheese. Oh, did I mention this is a sandwich? They take sourdough bread and cover it with Pulled Pork, Bacon (just got to have bacon), and Gouda Smoked Mac N Cheese, with a touch of sauce and garlic aioli. This is not a sandwich you want to eat while driving your Jeep up the Trace Parkway.
Our stop at the Pig Out Inn was truly a "Saturday Night Special" and we were served a meal that would make old "Curtis Lowe" want to tune up his old dobro and plays us all a song. Thank you to the staff and the pit master at the Pig Out Inn and the group of folks at the LSM for making the return of the Bone Bag a day to remember.
