Live at the Grocery, Ocean Springs, MS

New shows nightly.

by Jason Stuart | July 15, 2010

It's another Saturday night and I'm back at the Grocery in O.S. I'm rolling hard with my best friend and attorney as we stumble into these lesser known guitar heroes. Rooster Blues, they call themselves and I know I've heard the name.

They're an awesome little two-piece act—one on the sticks and one the strings—and they make it work for them in spades. Ten seconds in the door and I'm already …

Budget Travel, Ocean Springs, MS

Travel on the cheap here in Ocean Springs.

by Jason Stuart | July 15, 2010

Ocean Springs, MS, is the perfect, compact little beach town. It's the ideal spot for the road-worn traveler who is tight for cash. The whole downtown is perfectly walkable and the outer areas are easily bicyclable. Any bikepackers would find this a real oasis. Walk down Front Beach for gorgeous vistas and clean, sandy beaches. Make use of the city's wisely installed fire pits for your bonfire or barbecue on the beach. Take a …

Mikey’s on the Bayou, Ocean Springs, MS

Beer, Boats & Bait on the Bayou

by Jason Stuart | June 30, 2010

It's a lazy Wednesday (or a Monday or a Thursday; I lose track) and we find ourselves crawling out of the searing heat rolling off the bay and into a stilted-up little bayou bar called Mikey's, a longtime favorite for Ocean Springs.

Sitting right on top of the water, this seafood shanty is the perfect spot to cool down in their much-appreciated AC and watch the boats come and go on their daily business. …

Bay St. Louis 4th of July Crab Festival, Bay St. Louis, MS

Three days of 4th of July fun.

by Jason Stuart | June 24, 2010

Every 4^th of July Weekend, Our Lady of the Gulf holds the Bay St. Louis Crab Festival. It's a three day all's welcome 4^th of July blowout celebrating everything we love about the Gulf Coast. To get there, head south on Beach Blvd. in Bay St. Louis from Highway 90. Then, look for Our Lady Cathedral on your right (the beach will be on your left).

The 3 day event features tons of …

Black Creek Kayaking, Wiggins, MS

Have it your way on the creek.

by Jason Stuart | June 21, 2010

I was born on the banks of Black Creek, in a little hole in the ground called Coffee Holler. Rare was the day in the blistering heat of my childhood summers I didn't wind up at that very creek with my father and brothers, usually a cold watermelon along for the ride. It was a community thing. The local “swimming hole” we call them in the South. The …

Ocean Springs Kayak Festival, Ocean Springs, MS

Yak out on the water for free.

by Jason Stuart | June 18, 2010

Saturday, June 26, the City of Ocean Springs, along with the South Coast Paddling Company, is hosting a day-long event themed around kayaking the Gulf Coast. The baseof operations will be at Fort Maurepas Park on Front Beach starting at nne o'clock and lasting until around five that afternoon.

This event will offer free kayak rides from 9-10am and kayaking lessons (for you first-timers out there) starting around 10am. There will also be …

Gator’s on the Bogue Chitto Creek, McComb, MS

Float on down the river to a Cajun hideway.

by Jason Stuart | June 17, 2010

I'll always fondly recall how my family would pack up in our dinky little Datsun (anyone else remember those?), and we would head west for our yearly family vacation. One hour west, to be precise (though, as a small child, that hour sandwiched between two offensive linemen brothers in the back of a Datsun was a kind of torturous eternity).

McComb, MS, where the Bogue Chitto Creek …

Bay Grocery, Moss Point, MS

Get your gear here.

by Jason Stuart | June 13, 2010

Out in Moss Point, just up from Lake Catch Em All on the bayou, is a little bait and quick stop called Bay Grocery. Right on the corner of Griffin Street and Belleview Avenue, this perfectly situated little joint has everything you might possibly need at the last minute or spur of the moment for your next fishing trip, be it big or small.

Locally owned and …

The Salty Dawg Saloon, Gulfport, MS

It's happy hour again at the Dog.

by Jason Stuart | June 11, 2010

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I was driving around Gulfport recently for work. Got a little turned around. That was when I saw it: The Salty Dawg Saloon.

Just up Broad Avenue from the beach, this perfectly placed little joint stands out like the perfect place to walk in for a happy hour cocktail while you wind down from the day.

Bay Bike Trail, Biloxi-Ocean Springs, MS

Cycle high over the bay for the best view on the coast.

by Jason Stuart | June 03, 2010

True to my word, I find no better spot to spend my Memorial Day than on Front Beach in Ocean Springs. Due to the early rain, folks are slow to arrive on the scene, but I, dauntless, (and invigorated) ride out on two wheels (though, not in my usual manner) from a new friend's place right on the beachfront (how amazing is that?) and take to the trail.

Roller Derby Action, Gulfport, MS

Watch for incoming cannonballs.

by Jason Stuart | May 29, 2010

Saturday June 12, come out to the Harrison County Skate Park on Debuys road and check out some hardcore roller derby action. The Gulf Coast's own Mississippi Roller Girls will be squaring off against the also currently undefeated, and my personal favorite, Southern Misfits (named for and colored after our own Southern Miss Golden Eagles).

This is certainly no everyday stroll in the park. These ladies come to play, and they …

Petit Bois Cafe, Downtown Pascagoula, MS

Order up.

by Jason Stuart | May 24, 2010

As the sun boils the last of the water off the sidewalks, the waves of heat baking up into your nostrils, you look fervently for a place to walk into and cool off for a while. Take five. Drink a tall glass of iced tea, with all the refills you can stand.

And, while you're at it, maybe a sloppy shrimp po-boy with all the right fixins.

Leo’s on the Patio, Ocean Springs, MS

You can smell the ocean while you sip your cocktail.

by Jason Stuart | May 20, 2010

It's summer on the Gulf and we're back in full form, my attorney and I. Vodka. Tonic. Lime. Crawfish on a pizza (because why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you?). Board shorts. Flapping shirts. Crockett's theme playing somewhere in the back of your head.

We're on the patio at Leo's, one of the newest spots in downtown Ocean Springs, just across the bay from the big boys …

Memorial Day at Front Beach, Ocean Springs, MS

Pack up the mini grill and head for the water

by Jason Stuart | May 19, 2010

This serene little spot on Front Beach Road (aptly named) in Ocean Springs, MS, will be hopping with locals and out-of-towners alike this coming Memorial Day.

In my opinion, the best beachfront in the area (Biloxi Beach being a close second and visible just across the bay), it's also just down from the Ocean Springs Yacht Club, where drinks may be ordered at the inside bar.

Likewise, what I love about Front Beach …

Kayaking the Pascagoula River, Moss Point, MS

Time to rig up and ship out.

by Jason Stuart | May 12, 2010

Floating along the muddy marsh, chasing the sun west into the horizon, you stare down into the salty water beneath you, off into its endless expanse. You've sipped on your half frozen cold drinks brought along for the trip (maybe you seasoned them, and maybe you didn't) and now your brain is easing down into the river along with the heat. If you're smart you brought along a rod and minnow or two, …

Lovelace Drugs, Ocean Springs, MS

Old Americana lives in downtown Ocean Springs.

by Jason Stuart | May 11, 2010

You really don't see this kind of thing very often any more. Lovelace Drugs in the center of downtown Ocean Springs gleams at you from any angle like a window into some distant American past. Seeming right out of some Norman Rockwell painting with a bit of Gulf Coast seasoning, Lovelace Drugs is every bit the real deal.

Truly locally owned and operated for years, the …

Crawfish Season, Taranto’s Boiler, Ocean Springs, MS

Peel tail and suck heads wherever, however you can get them.

by Jason Stuart | April 25, 2010

Well, my favorite time of year is here again: Crawfish season is in full swing. If you're from way out of town or just plain new to the planet, crawfish (commonly misspelled in other places as “crayfish” by the kinds of people who don't eat them, and, thus, may be disregarded) can best be described as the best food ever created to bring great happiness and joy to all peoples …

The Office Bar and Lounge, Ocean Springs, MS

Loosen your tie over one on the rocks.

by Jason Stuart | April 15, 2010

I know I tend to keep coming back to Ocean Springs, but it's really getting to where it's the place to be outside of the casinos on the Coast. One of its newest additions, located unmissably on the corner of Government Street and Washington Avenue—across from Lovelace Drugs, another old-time favorite—is a swank little pub underneath the fully operational Back-to-the-Future-esque clock tower (until some freak electrical storm/science experiment …

Building the Beach, Pascagoula Beach, MS

Watching the machines throwing sand in the water.

by Jason Stuart | March 30, 2010

Always interested in new things and how things work, I recently heard they were constructing a beach down in Pascagoula. I took a ride down to Beach Boulevard, from Market Street to Martin to give that a look, and it's a fascinating process. The project is being run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will be remodeling a 1.5-mile segment of the beach along the Mississippi Sound in Pascagoula, a …

De Soto National Forest, South Mississippi

Hike the old trails through some old pines.

by Jason Stuart | March 22, 2010

If you head out of Biloxi going due north on I-110 and hang a right onto Hwy 15 north, you'll soon find yourself smack dab in the middle of DeSoto National Forest, a great place to get lost in.

Not that you have to get lost by any means. Stay on 15 and you'll run right into Wiggins and can trade back up for good old Highway 49.

But, take a …

Chill Lounge at the IP, Biloxi, MS

Chilling out at the Chill.

by Jason Stuart | March 16, 2010

We're rolling the dice again at the IP. I sit down for a little blackjack and suck down some go-juice. I'm down I'm not sure how much. My attorney advises me to take a break. Relax. Chill.

Chill Lounge at the IP. It's Monday night and the Froglegs are picking out acoustic favorites. Requests all night long. Every Monday.

I sit back and drink in the sounds along with …

Porter Avenue Bistro, Ocean Springs, MS

Comfort Fusion

by Jason Stuart | March 14, 2010

Another gem hidden around the corner in downtown Ocean springs is the Porter Avenue Bistro on, as you may well guess, Porter Avenue.

Coining the term “Fusion Comfort Food,” Owner/Chef Kay Schaeffer mixes a little of the Lagniappe New Orleans style cuisine with some plain old-fashioned southern staples. It's all the best things you love to make you fat and happy to do it. Try the southern-fried chicken breast, you guessed it, …

The Old Place, Gautier, MS

The spot for weddings and special events on the coast

by Jason Stuart | March 05, 2010

The warmer spring winds are starting blow off the gulf, and I like to sit and feel it wrap around me, making me promises of even warmer weather to come, jackets off, riding into the hot air of the deep south.

I think of the Old Place, a little leftover from French colonial days past. La Maison Gautier, it's also called. An extraordinary old French house right on the banks of the …

Carnaval de Brasil, Biloxi, MS

Hungry at the IP Casino? Try the red meat.

by Jason Stuart | February 28, 2010

Dollar for dollar, Pound for pound, hands down, the best meal on the coast is at the Carnaval de Brasil at the IP Casino.

Always a fan of the Brazilian-style steakhouse, I cruise up to the entrance and I can already smell the deliciousness that awaits. A near endless supply of roasting meats on spits taunts me from the windows looking in.

Order the feast, a $40 no-limits parade …

Saltwater Fishing, Biloxi, MS

Fresh seafood right out of the gulf is the way to go.

by Jason Stuart | February 24, 2010

The best thing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, bar none, is the seafood—especially when catching it yourself.

A lot of people might argue the gambling is a bigger lure (yeah, I went there), but enough of the old-time Biloxi beach culture still remains. We still climb aboard any decent day of the year, coolers loaded, bait at the ready, and rods raring to go.

I load up on my buddy's 20 foot scout …

Travel Guide to Biloxi

Why you should visit the Mississippi Gulf Coast

by Jason Stuart | February 15, 2010

The Mississippi Gulf Coast. Hurricane Central, as I call it. Camille. Betsy. Katrina. Ground Zero for all. We don't mind a little weather. We can take it.

I sit down here on the bank of the bayou, sipping tonics while my buddy Tommy picks out some salty blues on his guitar. We see the sun dip down beyond us, across the bridge. The Singing River begins its low moan. Legend has it that the Pascagoula tribe, …

Hard Rock Casino and Hotel, Biloxi, MS

Rolling the dice at the Hard Rock.

by Jason Stuart | February 14, 2010

It's the Hard Rock Casino and the name almost says it all. Biloxi, MS. Hurricane central, and I'm outside at the deck bar, sipping the Bloody Mary trying put back the pieces of the night before. The week before. Am I up …

Government Street Grocery, Ocean Springs, MS

Watching a little football at the pub; even when you lose, you win.

by Jason Stuart | February 05, 2010

It's Saturday, fairly early, I'm sitting at The Grocery with my feet propped up on the back of the chair in front of me, scribbling some notes on a pad (as I do). It's late fall; the windows are open and I can smell the salt on the breeze and almost hear the water licking at the beach some few blocks down.

This is Ocean Springs, MS, the perfect sleepy Mississippi …

Friendship Oak, Long Beach, MS

Gulf Park College's famous Friendship Oak stretches out its arms in welcome.

by Jason Stuart | January 22, 2010

Just a few minutes down Highway 90 from Gulfport, you'll drive into the quiet town of Long Beach (made even quieter by that storm a few years back). You'll notice miles of empty beach and a few missing old houses (and thankfully some that stayed). But, if you've got a minute to stop, pull into the University of Southern Miss's Gulf Park Campus and take your photo standing up in the massive outstretched branches of the …