New South MS restaurant and meat market scores an almost perfect food review. Here’s why
A new restaurant and market has opened in the cozy suites along Thorn Avenue in Ocean Springs.
Michael Paoletti and his wife Stephanie are bringing new tastes and community hotspots with their growing collection of restaurants. Stephanie owns the nearby Sweet Enchantments bakery and Michael the Butcher Baker.
The pair has another two restaurants planned to open this year.
The center of the quartet is the freshly opened meat market and bar, though, offering menus that rotate throughout the day and seasonally that blend both local and exotic ingredients.
The market sells meat and cheeses from local farms in Mississippi and Tennessee, while the bar features Mississippi bourbons.
Cinnamon rolls, scones, coffee cake and plenty more are supplied directly from Sweet Enchantments, as well.
The Butcher Baker has drawn high praise from the community in its opening days, so we popped in for a taste test.
Vibe — 5 out of 5
The shotgun-style suite is half-meat deli on one side and bar on the other.
Down the middle snakes a wooden table, lazily lit by the string lights that stretch across the ceiling.
Blue walls are accented by lime curtains and colorful art. A large mirror, backlit in blue, runs behind the bar with a flat-screen TV set in the middle.
A quiet corner of chairs affords a cove of peace and in the opposite corner is the open kitchen.
Music and warm service welcome you in attentively.
The vibe is friendly, open and conversational. The restaurant does a fantastic job blending its two sides aesthetically and uniquely.
Food — 5 out of 5
There are different menus here, starting with breakfast. Stuck between that and dinner is Happy Hour, which is the three-hour stretch from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. that won my presence.
The afternoon menu features primarily light bites like deviled eggs with chili crunch, pickled Gulf shrimp and hot honey and beer battered Wagyu corndogs with pickled jalapenos.
For this trip, we ordered a pick-three off the charcuterie menu and the Gulf white pizza.
The charcuterie board was dressed with pickled onion and Champagne pickled strawberries. Coppa, or thin sliced pork shoulder was one meat. Lomo, a dry-cured pork loin serving, was the other. The trio was completed with shakerag bleu cheese and served with gherkins, olive oil crackers and jezebel sauce, the latter made with apple and pineapple preserves.
It was incredible. I am no charcuterie expert. I mostly just like saying the word “charcuterie.” But it is going to be hard to beat the spread here.
Then there was the pizza. It’s made with Eagle Point oysters and bacon lardons in a garlic cream sauce.
You will not find this on the menu at Pizza Hut. It’s a must-try specialty for any local pizza-lover and a surprisingly delightful combination of savory flavors.
We would not escape without being talked into the Ultimate Candy Bar. To be honest, it was not very difficult to talk us into something called the Ultimate Candy Bar. Here’s why: Chocolate crisp base, chocolate mousse, caramel filling, nougat and chocolate ganache topping.
Yeah.
It’s a combination of cookie, pudding and a Twix bar. It’s smooth, it’s crunchy, it’s sweet, it’s heavenly.
If the Happy Hour menu earned a perfect grade, I can only imagine what the dinner menu brings.
Value — 4 out of 5
Butcher Baker brings fine cuisine into a diner and deli setting and tosses in high-quality prep and service.
Even so, there’s worse-for-your-wallet places out there. Specialty cocktails are $14 and Happy Hour cocktails are just $6.
You’re not being blatantly gouged by the menu, especially during Happy Hour. Plus, in the Happy Hour window, a bottle of wine gets you half off a classic pizza.
The chefs and bartenders were generous about samples, allowing us to try bourbon-soaked cherries and Spanish ham.
The Butcher Baker excels in what it sets out to do, creating a friendly environment while offering a wide range of delights from the bar to the kitchen and to the bakery.
Address: 1062 Thorn Ave., Ocean Springs
Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday - Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday 10 a.m to 2 p.m. (Brunch only)
Breakfast: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Happy Hour: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Dinner: 6 p.m. to close
