I ate my way across the Mississippi Coast in 2019. Here are my 10 favorite restaurants.

Looking back over the most memorable culinary adventures of the year, as fond of a reminisce as it is, is in fact a daunting task.

Just for the Sun Herald, I visited fifty two restaurants, and to rank them, even just the top ten, is an arduous undertaking. Let there be no mistake, this is a subjective review, and is not a list of the best restaurants on the Coast, only my favorite experiences.

To be fair, restaurants should be compared by category, it isn’t fair to compare a taco place to a fine dining restaurant, but I am going to lump them all together, otherwise the list would be just too long.

This review is based on multiple visits, not just a one time fling, so I am pretty sure you will have the same kind of visit as I did. Although Vestige is my favorite restaurant in the South, the rest are not listed in any specific order.

Vestige in Ocean Springs

I think of Vestige, Ocean Springs, as one of the best restaurants in the South, not just on the Coast. Chef and owner Alex Perry was a recent James Beard nominee for Best Chef South, the first chef in Coastal Mississippi to be so honored, and if you visit this place, you will quickly understand why he was honored with the nomination.

Chef Alex’s menu changes daily, based on the availability of ingredients. Vestige is farm to table, buying as much locally as is possible, but always only buying the very best.

Chef Alex describes his restaurant as Modern American, but his success is based on amazing pairings, stunning platings, and attention to detail that is off the charts. Recently Vestige served Koji cured beef tongue, cooked in Red Bay butter, red cabbage braised in its own juice with hibiscus, but not all offerings are so esoteric.

My all time favorite, of which I have had several versions, is a simple grilled okra and tomato salad. It is so simple, but so good.

thirty-two at IP Casino

I visited thirty-two at IP Casino Resort several times this year, and Chef Matt Kallinikos always blows me away.

If you are a beef lover, his New York strip progression, featuring a certified Black Angus strip, USDA prime strip and a wagyu strip and Japanese A-5 strips stunning.

I am also very fond of the artisanal cheese platter with three or six of the best domestic and imported cheeses available.

And as is always the case with the very best chefs, it doesn’t always have to be fancy fare. Chef Matt’s chicken and dumplings will bring a tear to your eye, and his burger, made with brisket, short ribs and chuck, is amazing.

Thirty-two shares a trait with many of the very best restaurants, they make almost everything from scratch.

Chef Matt says, “If we need it, we make it,” and that includes all sauces, stocks, soups and charcuterie.

White Pillars farm-to-table restaurant in Biloxi

Chef Austin Sumrall is a friend, and one of the top chefs in the state. I absolutely love what he has done with White Pillars.

This beautifully appointed restaurant is also farm to table, and the menu, which is Coastal and Southern inspired, changes often.

Everything here is amazing, but what this master chef can do with oysters is beyond description. Try the French Hermit oyster platter and you’ll see what I mean. It includes oysters three ways, but one the three, the French Hermit oyster Rockefeller, with creamed collards and house made tasso, is simply one of the best oyster I have ever had, anywhere in the world.

You also might want to try the crab avocado toast, chicken and waffles, bone marrow and steak burger, and wood grilled shrimp, but, honestly, everything on this menu is delicious.

Stalla at Beau Rivage

I am also a big fan of the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino restaurants, with executive Chef Kristian Wade at the tiller, but Stalla holds a special place in my culinary heart.

Stalla’s appetizer list is nothing short of heaven on earth. I love the mussels in tomato broth, Sambuca, cherry tomatoes and grilled bread, and it is a feast unto itself. Pair it with a good dry Chablis and you are good to go.

The Tuscan shrimp and grits, and bruschetta, with fresh basil and Grana Padana cheese is heaven, and these are all just on the appetizer list. The rest of the menu is just as good.

Quave Brothers for po-boy

When I am just plain hungry and comfort food is on my mind, I head to Quave Brothers in D’Iberville and order a pot roast beef po-boy.

It is indescribably delicious, but also requires half a roll of paper towels to get through.

Everything is good here, but the pot roast beef is so delicious, so satisfying and so messy, I am powerless to resist it when the mood strikes.

Henry’s Cafe and Bakery for Vietnamese

We have a handful of Vietnamese places on the Coast, and they are all good, but when I crave pho, I head to Henry’s Cafe and Bakery in D’Iberville.

The chef there roasts beef bones (a French technique), and simmers them with aromatics for twelve hours. There are several varieties of pho to choose from, including a chicken pho that is great, but I like brisket and meatballs.

I tear fresh Thai basil leaves into mine, add jalapeno slices, a squeeze of lime, and a few bean sprouts. Chef Anthony Bourdain called pho, “a steaming bowl of goodness,” and I would have to agree. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, perhaps the best comfort food possible.

Fayard’s Deli in Ocean Springs

The Marathon Station on Washington Avenue in Ocean Springs has a deli, Fayard’s Deli to be exact, and here you are going to find some good eats.

But at the top of that list is a brisket po-boy that is nothing less than stunning.

The pit master is Brian Ducharme, of Smokehouse Bayou fame, and the sausage, wings and chicken he smokes is absolutely delicious, his brisket is beyond description. Combine that brisket in a po-boy format and you have something profoundly good.

CB’s Jamaican Grill

CB’s Jamaican Grill is just down the street from the Marathon Station, and far too few people have discovered this remarkable place.

The menu is small, just a scant handful of choices, but everything is delicious. I’d have to put CB’s jerk ribs at the top of the list, spicy, tender and delicious, some of the best ribs I have ever had in fact.

A close second is the ox tails he serves as a Tuesday special. If you are a jerk chicken fan, then CB is going to you you very happy indeed.

Fillin’ Station in downtown Biloxi

I just have to add the Fillin Station in Biloxi to this list. It’s a local hangout and a great place for a quick lunch, or late night out, but their Monday thru Friday $8.95 lunch specials are remarkable.

The Monday pork chop and the Wednesday hamburger steak rank high on my list of comfort foods. Its a lot of food, well prepared and just plan good. Nothing fancy here, but the basics are solid.

If you know me at all, you know I hang out at the Greenhouse on Porter in Ocean Springs. It’s a coffee shop where you are bound to meet interesting people, but their specialty is biscuits, but not those kinds of biscuits, these are specialty biscuits with a daily sweet and savory to choose from.

But when I am in the need for a biscuit fix, I go for the sweet potato biscuit with lox. It’s a take on the bagel classic, and I absolutely love it.

Desporte & Sons Seafood, a Coast classic

It would have been easy to make this list and include only po-boy places. There easily a dozen on the Coast that deserve mention, but for my favorite go-to po-boy, a dressed fried oyster po-boy, I head to Desporte’s in Biloxi.

Chef Tony knows I like my oysters fried for one minute flat, and not a second more. The bread comes from Le Bakery, and it is loaded with oysters, just the way I like it.

But wait! I haven’t told you about Nana J’s, or the Long Beach Market and Deli or La Nortena, but, there just isn’t room to include all the great restaurants that I have visited this year.

The Coast’s restaurant scene is vibrant, so get out there and explore!