Tamales and Doughnuts, Together At Last!

 Horn Lake, MS

Mr. Donut in Mississippi

New Donut Shop, New County

Today we took a short drive down to Mississippi.  Donna read about Delta Tamales in the Memphian and so we went.  They are closed on Mondays so we went on Sunday.  We had plenty of time because they say they are open from 5am to 12am.  We had a lazy morning and then headed down.  The drive took us south on new highways and into DeSoto County MS, a new county for us.  We ordered 6 tamales and 3 donuts and as we watched the lady pack the bag of donuts, we saw she was adding more than we ordered.  I pointed it out and she said, "we close in a few minutes so they either go to you or the racoons." We had arrived just before closing so apparently they close at 12pm and not 12am which makes more sense.  Turns out we got lucky to get there before they closed and really lucky to get 2 free donuts.  

When we got home we had the tamales.  I thought they were really good.  I didn't take great photos.

There's the sign!  Tamales!

The Tamales are pretty small but good.  They come soaked in a broth that is apparently HOT but we didn't find them hot.

That's it for today.  It was a very low key day.  If you missed my previous post you can find it here.  We had Hot Chicken, another regional treat.

Hot Chicken, New Breweries, and a Sold Out Movie Premier

 Memphis, TN

Me and a Memphis TN Brewery

HOT Chicken

Today we experienced Nashville Memphis Hot Chicken!  We went to the famous Hattie B's. It was really great but not something you should eat every day.  I got the Hot Wings and Donna got the Mild Quarter Dark.  The chicken was great and the sides were great.  All in all a great experience.

Hattie B's was about a mile walk from our Airbnb and most of the way to our next stop, Studio On The Square.  We were heading to the movie premier of Beatnik Manor.  We arrived at the theater just before it was set to start and found out it was nearly sold out.  We could either sit separately or in the front row so we chose option 3, bail and go to a brewery.

It was fine that we missed the movie.  It became a nice walk that started to tie the area together for us.  

New Tennessee Breweries!

We decided to stop by Made in Memphis brewery.  It was a giant warehouse space with solid beers.  We even got some Cajun seasoned popcorn for free.

Our last stop for the day was an incredible brewery.  Cooper House Project opened in December of last year and is just getting going but they had some amazing beers in styles that you don't find everywhere.  They have started their barrel aging program but they won't be ready for a while so we will have to be happy with enjoying what they have for now.

Taste the rainbow!

I'm standing in front of their Solara system.  They pour Pilsner in the top barrels and pull from the bottom barrels.  This ensures that there are at least trace amounts of beer from when you started the system.  This is used in wine ageing as well.

Here are a few more shots from our walks today.  Memphis is a pretty rad place so far.  We are looking forward to experiencing it all.

A foot pedal in the sidewalk in front of the Memphis Drum Shop

That's it for today.  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here. We had lent lunch in the basement of a church.

Exploring Memphis

 Memphis, TN

Waiting for Fish Pudding and Tomato Aspic.

The Daily Memphian Sent Us

Today we started our Memphis exploration at The Calvary Episcopal Church's Waffle Shop. Donna read about it in The Daily Memphian.  It is a luncheon served in the basement of the church W-F during Lent only.  They serve a number of old school dishes including Fish Pudding (not what you would picture if I said, "Fish Pudding"), Tomato Aspic, Shrimp Mousse as well as other dishes I will post about when we go next week.  Friday is Fish Pudding day.  We ordered a few plates and split them and then rolled out of the basement stuffed.  It was really fun and something we will do a few times while we are here because there are other plates we want to try.  Donna described the plates as, "all from the old school Joy of Cooking".

The Calvary Salad Plate includes, starting top left and working our way clockwise, Shrimp Mousse, Tomato Aspic, Pear Half with Cottage Cheese, and Chicken Salad in the center, all topped with House Made Mayonnaise.  

The Fish Pudding Plate includes Potatoes, Slaw, Corn Bread, and Fish Pudding (pretty much tuna casserole with bread instead of noodles and white fish instead of tuna).

We split the Chocolate Bourbon Cake.  It was really good.

The entrance or exit if you prefer

Bonus Beer Bar Content!

Yesterday we hit up the happing area of Cooper Young.  Cooper Young is the neighborhood we are in.  It is in the area where Cooper St. crosses Young St.  We visited a beer bar and sat outside in the sun.  It was like 71 degrees where today is 43 degrees.

Hammer and Ale serves up local beers

This is the local whiskey.  

This is what it looks like with a ball of ice that isn't very clear.

Jon and Johnny C hanging out

That's it for today (and yesterday).  If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here.  We are just getting started here in Memphis.  Tune in for more adventures!

Austin to Memphis

 Memphis, TN

The Arkansas Sign wasn't designed for selfies

New States and New Counties

We are in Memphis now (as of last night).  We did the drive over 3 days with 2 nights camping.  We camped in Texas and added Arkansas to our states we have camped in.  Arkansas and Tennessee are new states for us and we swung by Little Rock and checked out the capitol.  It wasn't the most impressive capitol but there was a very nice dome and all of the people there were very nice.  

Francis enjoying the Texas sun.  It was like 85 degrees

Donna enjoying the H.E.B. chips

Our stop in Arkansas was at DeGray Lake Resort State Park.  It was a huge lake with a golf course, a lodge, yurts, and many other amenities that probably pack people in during the summer.

Our spot was pretty private despite the fact that most of the trees were leafless.

The Arkansas capitol building is modeled off of our nation's capitol in D.C.

That dome I mentioned

I got to peek in even though they would be in session in a few hours

Showing Fox News in the lounge

Yo-yos in the capitol, who knew?

We walked over to see the statue and then realized it was a tribute to the confederate army.  Bleh!!!!!

I keep track of my beers and this was the first from Arkansas.  I only have North Dakota left now.

Here is our newest county map.  We now have 772 counties or 24.6%.

That's it for today.  We are getting settled and looking forward to exploring the region.  Donna has already read about Delta Tamales in the local newspaper and so will be trying them soon. If you missed the previous post you can find it here.