Knowlton estimated that chicken - of the fried, baked and barbecue varieties - outsells other meat entrées 10 to one.Īt Ramey’s, in addition to the unique biscuits, which Sells described as so good “it’ll make you slap your momma,” the counter offers fried corn on the cob. “I was completely clueless about it until I ate my way through the South while researching my book."Ĭhicken is the star of the plate lunch, a stalwart on menus of rotating specials. “The grocery store plate lunch is a uniquely Southern thing,” Miller said. “We get a lot of happy customers, some twice a day,” Berry said, noting that she is excited for the branch’s move to a new store with an expanded deli area this summer.Īdrian Miller received the 2014 James Beard Foundation Book Award for his book “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine.” Sells and Berry add “a little bit of spices and a whole lot of love” to their sides, the most popular of which are the baked potato casserole, turnip greens and black-eyed peas. Ramey's contracts with regional chain Krispy Krunchy Chicken to sell spicy chicken and signature honey butter biscuits. RELATED: Road to hot tamale heaven weaves from Coast to MS DeltaĪt Ramey’s in Brandon, deli manager Lorraine Berry and assistant Lesleigh Sells are ready for the lunch crowd, which Sells said will typically cause the deli to sell out, often by 12:30 p.m. “Breakfast is important at all of the (grocery chains) because you can get a full meal of meat, grits, eggs and a biscuit for less than $3." “Thursday is the day for smoked turkey and dressing at Food Depot,” she said. Jackson resident Stephanie Ceaser takes her time on a plate of pork chops, green beans, cornbread and rice because there is nothing like being able to casually sit and eat a quality meal at an affordable price.Ĭeasar, who lives near Northside Drive, will bounce between lunch counters at Kroger, McDade’s and Food Depot, depending on their daily specials. The country’s first grocery store chain, Piggy Wiggly, offers the cheapest deal of the bunch, with a standard plate lunch selling for $4.99 before tax. Local chains McDade’s and Ramey’s regularly have lines stretching 10 and 20 people deep around lunchtime. Knowlton said that Kroger stores outside of the South do the same type of business at lunch, but it’s with grab-and-go pre-made or made-to-order sandwiches. The plate lunch phenomenon here is unlike anything else I’ve seen.” “You can go up (to Memphis) and there will be three people for the whole lunch crowd, but we’ll have them on Sunday down to the salad bar. “Even if you go up to Memphis, we’re doing a thousand times what they’re doing (at the deli counter),” Knowlton said. Knowlton estimates that he’s been to between 50 and 75 Kroger stores between Jackson and Arkansas. RELATED: Comeback sauce is Mississippi's house dressingĪt the Kroger on the I-55 Frontage Road in Jackson, where civil rights legend James Meredith can been seen most mornings, assistant manager John Knowlton takes pride in the store’s deli counter. While the plate lunch is quintessentially a Southern tradition, the popularity and quality of the grocery store variety is unique to central Mississippi. The deli counters at Jackson metro area Kroger, Ramey’s, McDade’s, Piggly Wiggly and Food Depot stores provide a slow-cooked meal with meat, two sides, bread and a drink for less than a fast food combo meal. I can speak from the experience of growing up in Los Angeles, where the grocery store deli counter was often home to potato logs, cardboard mashed potatoes and two-day-old fried chicken under a heat lamp.īrennan’s joke, a few seconds out of his terrific hour-long “3 Mics” special, is one that many Mississippians, particularly those in Jackson, would meet with confusion - because grocery store deli counters are home to some of the best meals outside of your grandmother’s kitchen. On his latest Netflix comedy special, "Chappelle's Show" co-creator Neal Brennan delivers the one-liner, “One hundred percent of the people that eat in the dining section of the grocery store are murderers.”įor those outside the South, it’s a sentiment in which it’s possible to find some humor.
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