OT: Chesterfield's in Hattiesburg

[AnonymousUser]

Responding to OP,
Yes, Chesterfields is still good. Was there a couple of week’s ago for the first time for brunch and enjoyed it. Didn’t realize it had been around that long. Neat fact, thanks.

Go there and reminisce and enjoy a good meal.

I’ll add my two-cents on Hattiesburg food scene based on my recent experiences since everyone else is opining. Maybe some other traveling avid readers passing through the Hub city will find my experiences helpful.

Preface: I travel all over the Southeast for work and have recently spent a considerable amount of time in and out of Hattiesburg (~2018-now). I’ve eaten at just about every restaurant in Hattiesburg over the past year or two. I’m not claiming to be some kind of expert but hotels don’t have kitchens so I’m forced to eat out a lot.

Some restaurants around here I’ve been to multiple times (all the Robert St John restaurants like Crescent City and Purple Parrot, Cotton Blues, Brass Hat, Patio 44, Keg and Barrel, etc). Only one I haven’t made it to is Donanelle’s but I’ve heard good things.

Best all around restaurant is Sully’s and it’s not even close. Wish I would have found that place sooner. Great quality cuts of beef, and fish, good burgers, appetizers are great, drink list is good, and atmosphere is laid back with live music every night. Sit at the bar and watch a game or sit in the dining room with a date.

Good lunch spots are the Depot, Grateful Soul, Keg and Barrel.

Saturday Brunch at BluJazz Cafe is really good too. (They only do brunch on Saturday morning...egg and bacon sandwich / chicken and waffles are great) it’s in downtown Hattiesburg and has a cool atmosphere.

P.S. Jackson restaurant scene as a whole is most certainly on par with other cities in the south east, even NOLA. Gotta give Jackson props on that.

 

[Cooterpoot]

Jackson doesn’t remotely touch Nola. Sullys has a marginal quality steak. You can upgrade but it’s still not a thick steak. Their burgers are thin double patties. Give me Keg and Barrel burgers over those every day. But avoid the one out west. The original Sullys has a bit of a tonk scene but that’s it. It’s a good, not great place to eat. There really aren’t any great places to eat in Hattiesburg. Nothing that will just blow you away. Tons of good places.

 

[ronpolk]

Jackson doesn’t remotely touch Nola. Sullys has a marginal quality steak. You can upgrade but it’s still not a thick steak. Their burgers are thin double patties. Give me Keg and Barrel burgers over those every day. But avoid the one out west. The original Sullys has a bit of a tonk scene but that’s it. It’s a good, not great place to eat. There really aren’t any great places to eat in Hattiesburg. Nothing that will just blow you away. Tons of good places.

New Orleans is 2 or 3 times larger than Jackson. And Nola is a huge tourist destination in part because of its food. There may not be another city in the US with a better food scene than Nola.

 

[Cooterpoot]

New Orleans is 2 or 3 times larger than Jackson. And Nola is a huge tourist destination in part because of its food. There may not be another city in the US with a better food scene than Nola.

Exactly! These fools saying Jackson is as good as any southern city or it’s every hit as good as Nola are damn fools, not just plain fools.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I would add Barrelhouse, Gibbes Country Store, and Ty Bowls (in Clinton & associated with Mr. Chen's) to your list.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

The Conestoga was great. I remember that place. I'm going to have to try Sully's now.

 

[JungRebel]

Is the Front Porch still open? Not sure I would love it as much now, but when I was in high school a buffet with fried catfish, brisket, and ribs was the greatest thing I had ever seen.

 

[The Peeper]

"Decide how bad Jackson is"? If Jackson isn't "bad",.....

Why have many neighborhoods gone behind gates? Why did all those stores and restaurants leave County Line area and move 1 or 2 exits North? Why have countless other businesses left Jackson to move to Ridgeland, Clinton, Madison, Brandon? Why are the Jackson Public Schools such a failure? Why are people stealing JPD cars, 3 at last count? Why do judges continue to release violent criminals in Jackson courts? Why do school buses and cars fall into potholes and get stuck? Why are there water leaks with barrels around them all over town? Why are there thousands of city water bills unpaid and homes and businesses unmetered? Why does a city councilman tell constituents to throw rocks and bottles at police cars from other jurisdictions when pursuing criminals from their towns into Jackson? Do I need to continue?

 

[ronpolk]

"Decide how bad Jackson is"? If Jackson isn't "bad",.....

Why have many neighborhoods gone behind gates? Why did all those stores and restaurants leave County Line area and move 1 or 2 exits North? Why have countless other businesses left Jackson to move to Ridgeland, Clinton, Madison, Brandon? Why are the Jackson Public Schools such a failure? Why are people stealing JPD cars, 3 at last count? Why do judges continue to release violent criminals in Jackson courts? Why do school buses and cars fall into potholes and get stuck? Why are there water leaks with barrels around them all over town? Why are there thousands of city water bills unpaid and homes and businesses unmetered? Why does a city councilman tell constituents to throw rocks and bottles at police cars from other jurisdictions when pursuing criminals from their towns into Jackson? Do I need to continue?

Now compare all that to some city in Zambia, Afghanistan, Cambodia or Rwanda.

 

[johnson86-1]

Exactly! These fools saying Jackson is as good as any southern city or it’s every hit as good as Nola are damn fools, not just plain fools.

I don't think anybody claimed it could come close to competing with New Orleans, at least in this thread. The claim was it could compete with many southern cities, and the response about New Orleans was a straw man.

Now I'm not sure what southern cities Jackson could compete with. Somebody mentioned Montgomery, which sounds at least plausible although i've never spent any time there; they seem to be similar cities. I'm not particularly impressed with Birmingham's food scene, and certainly think for it's size it's not much better than Jackson's. Haven't spent enough time in either place to really say, but I would not be shocked if it's competitive with Mobile and Baton Rouge's food scene?

 

[johnson86-1]

New Orleans is 2 or 3 times larger than Jackson. And Nola is a huge tourist destination in part because of its food. There may not be another city in the US with a better food scene than Nola.

Chicago blows New Orleans away. New Orleans MSA is about twice the population of Jackson's, and then of course as you said has all the benefits of tourism, but it's still about 1/9th of Chicago's. I suspect New Orleans blows away any other MSA within shouting distance of say 2M people (which is ~twice NO's), but for the most part, I suspect any of the major cities will have a better food scene than New Orleans, just b/c larger cities allow for more specialization and experimentation, and usually have immigrant population to help aid in fusion type approaches.

 

[wpmusm]

Bear in mind, I’m more of a fan of comfort food but here’s a list of what I like and some places I want to try out.

There’s the Robert St. John Empire of restaurants. I still haven’t been to his Midtowner.
Leatha’s is good barbecue— though I think it was better when it was in Marion County.
Murky Waters is another barbecue place that’s liked by friends in the Hub City.
Blu Jazz and The Porter are both promising— only been to both places once.
Jutama’s is good Thai food
Keg and Barrel & Keg and Barrel West— very good comfort food and great beer selection.
T-Bone’s Records makes good sandwiches.
Chesterfield’s is - as I mentioned - good.
I like Mack’s West for fish and seafood— I used to go to the old Mack’s Fish Camp off of 49 when I was a child.
Gold Post is a good sandwich place that I’ve not been to in quite a while.
Cotton Blues is good as is Half Shell Oyster House.
I want to try out Fika— it’s a new Swedish place.

Glad to see GoldPost getting some love. With PoBoy Express on 4th Street now closed (the one in OG is still open), it's my go-to for po-boys here.

Add Grateful Soul and Lake Serene. Both have great lunch plates. And add Strick's for BBQ. It's better than Leatha's, IMO.