I spent 2024 trying new and popular MS Coast restaurants. Here were my 5 favorites
I spent 2024 traveling across the Mississippi Coast doing what I do best: eating.
I would then do what I do at a marginally acceptable level: writing about eating. This allows me to enjoy the best food that culinary hotspot South Mississippi has to offer, and share with local foodies my experience.
The Coast is home to many popular longtime favorites and dozens of restaurants get thrown into the mix each year. It would be too difficult to choose my favorite restaurant of 2024, so I narrowed them down.
Here were my five favorite food reviews of the year.
Big Roosta’s BBQ and catering
I’ve visted dozens of restaurants for reviews since early 2023, but there is one that I can easily point to as my biggest revisit. My stops are so regular and consistent my order is typically put in before I reach the counter.
Big Roosta’s has far and away been my favorite barbecue restaurant on the Coast since it opened on Dedeaux Road in Gulfport back in January. It’s a small building with a loud personality and a kitchen that produces a six-count wings plate (naked, cajun country) every Friday around noon.
They’re also known for their smash burgers, grilled meats, sweets and wide array of fruit-infused lemonades. The experienced has only been heightened thanks to the opening of new daiquiri to-go shop Southern Daiquiri just down the road. A place I have never been to during work hours, of course.
Flatheads and Bottomfeeders
Woolmarket’s newest restaurant has been a hit since it opened in the summer. Flatheads and Bottomfeeders has been a consistent favorite from locals and has drawn strong reviews.
I get why. And no, it’s not just because of the 52 oz. fish bowl of Captain Morgan and vodka. Though that does help. But the food is genuinely good and the menu rangy enough for the whole family to enjoy with seafood, pasta and steak featured.
The venue is unique with a sit-down style restaurant on the front-end and a bar on the back, making it the perfect spot for any vibe.
Uncle Joe’s Pizza and Wings
There are very few things I love more than pizza and wings. When word on the Facebook streets reached me about the wings at longtime Coast favorite Uncle Joe’s, I had to make the trek to the OG joint in the Diamondhead area.
It did not disappoint. The most surprising thing, however, was how good the pizza was. The chicken parm tasted like an actual pasta and the breading on all of it was phenomenally flavorful. Uncle Joe’s earned a place in my top-two among Coast pizza joints this year.
Uncle Joe’s has an upscale-style location in the Depot District in Bay St. Louis and a newer spot in Pascagoula.
Fleur De Lis Bar and Grill
Pascagoula is a neat place because it seems there’s a hidden gem on every corner. Each time I visit there’s something new that only the real locals know about. And Fleur De Lis Bar and Grill is one of those places.
It doesn’t sit on the highway, doesn’t have a big marquee out front and there are no Instagram backdrops. But they do have a bushwhacker and a menu filled with game day favorites. It’s a New Orleans-themed bar and restaurant that specializes in unique cocktails and foods like po’boys, wings and sandwiches.
The joint has a near-perfect 4.7 stars through 161 Google reviews, making it one of the top-reviewed restaurants on the Coast.
El Taco Larry
I met my nemesis here. My greatest enemy. My biggest challenge. A foe I could only describe with adjectives not appropriate for print: one big freakin’ burrito.
But it was great. And so was my mango juice. So I went back. It’s now become a top Mexican spot for me thanks to a big menu and fancy dessert offerings.
There’s tacos, wings and tortas. There are smoothies, frappes and aguas frescas. Located on Pass Road in Gulfport, El Taco Larry does an excellent job offering variety and quality.
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
