Some of the best brisket on the Coast is at a gas station in Ocean Springs

Finding good food in a gas station is almost a tradition in the Deep South.

The Coast has its share of good ones, but Fayard’s Café is exceptionally good. There is certainly nothing fancy about it — it is a gas station, remember. But you will find a menu loaded with po-boys, a good gumbo and a few platters, and a hot counter loaded with delicious things that are ready to box and go.

You won’t be surprised when I tell you that the roast beef po-boy is the bestseller, but there are 15 others to choose from. You will find all the standards, like softshell crab, shrimp and oyster, but there a bevy of others that you do not often encounter.

I like the idea of a fried pork chop po-boy and the triple meat (roast beef, ham and turkey) sounds like a good choice, as does the Philly cheesesteak po-boy and, for something a bit simpler, a smoked ham or turkey po-boy just might hit the spot.

I am a huge fan of po-boys and eat them way too often, at least that is what my doc tells me, but the goodness found in the hot counter I mentioned before will thrill your tastebuds like few other gas stations have. They have good fried chicken, that’s not so unusual, but there are also egg rolls, biscuits, fried wings and a few other classics. But look closer. Is that a smoked brisket? Oh, my! Now you are really talking about something I dearly love.

It just so happens that pitmaster Brian Ducharme, of Smokehouse Bayou fame, has his smoker in the same building as Fayard’s Café. That means that just a few paces away, just out of the smoker, can be found stunningly good brisket, smoked chicken and sausage.

All are very good, but, man oh man, that brisket is amazing. It is so tender it will fall apart if you pick it up by one end, juicy and delicious and I am just not certain I have ever had better, anywhere in the South. Buy a pound and take it home, but I bet you anything you want to wager that you won’t get home without taking a bite or two.

The smell is tantalizing. Make a brisket sandwich, toss with noodles as I did with some of mine, or just get a fork and dig in. This stuff is simply irresistible.

The half-chicken I bought turned into a wonderful smoked chicken salad, the sausage is going to be Monday’s red beans and rice, but the brisket? I have to admit, it did not survive the evening I got it home.

Fayard’s Café is a great place to stop for po-boys or something off the smoker but remember that it takes a long time to get that brisket right, so quantities are limited.

If you are on a diet, you are going to have to look the other way when you pass this place. It is irresistible and I am heading back for more just as soon as I can.

Fayard’s Cafe

Where: 6905 Washington Ave., Ocean Springs

Hours: 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday

Phone: 228-875-1020

This story was originally published November 15, 2019 at 12:00 AM.