This popular Coast brewery now serves ‘one of the best pizzas ever’
Lazy Magnolia Brewery has been around for years, since 2003 in fact, and has built a reputation as one of Mississippi’s best craft breweries.
It sells beer in 17 states, some as far away as New York, and there are dozens of styles to choose from. The tap room, aptly named The Porch, has been open for a few years now and serves 18 beers on tap.
Pretty cool, right?
Well, my friend, the story now gets even better! The Porch recently added a gas-fired brick pizza oven and if you can think of a better combination than a really good, cold beer and a hot just-out-of-the-oven, made-from-scratch pizza, I’d sure like to hear about it.
Really, you might ask? There are tons of pizza places on the Coast, and some of them are pretty good. But this is a different beast altogether.
You can use the finest ingredients you can find, but if you don’t have a good dough recipe, it’s all a waste of time. You can use the best imported cheeses, make a killer good red sauce from scratch, and even use fresh-picked herbs, but if the crust tastes like cardboard, it just doesn’t work.
Lazy Magnolia took the time to get the dough right, it’s chewy and crispy, and complements the toppings, just the way a good crust should.
I am not supposed to tell you this, but one of the secrets is rainwater. No kidding. They collect rainwater at the brewery, filter it and use it in making the dough. The rainwater has been such a hit, it’s now bottled and sold as Richards Sparkling Rainwater (make sure to check it out).
The pizza menu is limited, but each pie was carefully selected. Check out the Beast (meatballs and bacon), the Captain (creamy sauce, gator sausage and bacon) and the Devil (creamy sauce, pulled chicken and Buffalo sauce), all best-selling pies. There are a few other things on the menu, such as garlic knots, meatballs, and Brussels sprouts with bacon and parm, that should not be ignored.
While I was in the kitchen, taking a few photos, I noticed a big bowl of mushrooms. I asked about them and was told they were from Shroomdome, a local mushroom farm. I love all the mushrooms Shroomdom grows and forages, and knew the pizza I was about to order had to include them.
These mushrooms are so good, they don’t need any competition from other strong flavors, so I asked if Chef Summer Cochran would mind adding them to a classic Margarita pizza. She was happy to oblige and that, my friends, was one of the best pizzas ever. Don’t get me wrong, all of the housemade pizzas are good, really good, I just have a weakness for Shroomdom mushrooms.
Now, to make things even better, pair your pizza with one of the craft beers Lazy Magnolia makes. Perhaps you know, Southern Pecan was one of the beers that launched Lazy Magnolia to prominence, but when I saw they now serve Southern Gentleman, Southern Pecan aged in bourbon barrels, I was all in. What an amazing combination. I’ll be dreaming about that pizza and a glass of Southern Gentleman for a long time.
Yes, yes, I know, Lazy Magnolia is not exactly located downtown, is it? But I assure you it is worth the drive. Take exit 13 off of I-10 and you are just 2.7 miles away. Look for daily specials, and some pretty cool events (especially First Friday, that includes live music and quite a crowd. See you there.
The Porch, Lazy Magnolia Brewery
Where: 7030 Roscoe-Turner Road, Kiln
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Phone: 228-467-2727
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 5:00 AM.