“I am sixty-one years old, and I made my first tamales at age 16,” Eugene Hicks said a few years back when we asked him why the ones he makes are so especially good. Rich and with a hard kick of pepper spices, they are available by threes, sixes, or twelves. A plate of three is served with chili and cheese and baked beans and Italian-seasoned cole slaw.
Also, the day we stopped by, the dining room was closed. Hicks is actually a huge place, including a banquet/reception hall, but Mr. Hicks told us that two people had called in sick so he had closed the restaurant and was serving food only through the drive-up window. As it turns out, the dining room is closed most days when there is not a function taking place.
192 MILES
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3 hr 49 min
The magic of Highway 61 from Graceland down deep into the Mississippi Delta, through cotton fields and past speck-on-the-map small towns, is all about the blues. You might be singing them if you walk away from the casinos of Tunica with empty pockets, and you can hear them sung by the masters in juke joints…
179 MILES
|
3 hr 45 min
From the street corners of Memphis through the Mississippi Delta, tamales are sold in eateries of every kind. There is no clear explanation for the ubiquity of a Mexican dish in the deep Southeast other than the surmise that workers from Mexico who came to pick cotton inspired African-Americans to give the pork and corn…
Other Nearby Restaurants
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White Front Café
Rosedale, MississippiTamales are at their best at the White Front Cafe, a Mississippi Delta destination where they’re the only thing on the menu.
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Abe’s
Clarksdale, MississippiAt the famous Clarksdale crossroads of Highways 61 & 49 in Mississippi blues country, Abe’s serves thin-sliced, crisp-edged barbecued pork and hot tamales.
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Ramon’s
Clarksdale, MississippiFar off the beaten path in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Ramon’s is a colorful restaurant serving fine fried shrimp and sensationally luxurious chicken livers.
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Crystal Grill
Greenwood, MississippiCream pies are some of Mississippi’s best at the Crystal Grill, where pre-pie lunch includes classic Dixie vegetables and hot tamales.
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Bendi’s Diner
Clarendon, ArkansasGood small town dining! Bendi’s serves a fine pork barbecue sandwich with optional slaw. Also on the menu is the unusual buffalo fish ribs.
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Jones Bar-B-Q Diner
Marianna, ArkansasJones has a sign in the parking lot that says open since 1964, but owner James Jones told us goes back 150 years. Superb Arkansas BBQ!