DISHING IT OUT

Kermit’s Outlaw Kitchen 

124 W Main St., Tupelo, Miss., 38804, 662-620-6622

Mac and Chelsea

So Chelsea, Mac and I just took a trip to Belmont, Miss., for the wedding of my lovely niece, Lauren Pacetti, and her now-husband Matthew Hester. Now, I am going to be honest and tell you I was not expecting to make a new food discovery during my visit. But I had not been to Mississippi in over 20 years, so clearly some things had changed.

My younger brother Vinnie’s girlfriend, Candice, recommended that we try a place in Tupelo, Miss., right around the corner from the birthplace of Elvis Presley. It’s called Kermit’s Outlaw Kitchen.

From the outside, it just looks like a small cafe situated in what appears to be an original building from Tupelo’s downtown area. It has planters outside full of fresh herbs that the cooks use daily in the kitchen.

When you go inside, you’re amazed at how large the place is. When you first walk in, the first thing you see is a very open kitchen, with amazing-smelling food being made. At first glance, there only seems to be limited seating, with more space being dedicated to the kitchen. I was ordering our food, and Chelsea was trying to find us a spot outside to sit, but there were no seats. As I was ordering, I noticed some stairs at the rear of the restaurant, and lo and behold, there was an entire top floor, with abundant seating.

I ordered the special for the day, which was pork belly tacos with a vinegar based slaw on top, with a special house sauce. First, let me say that the pork was so tender it melted in your mouth. The slaw brought the flavors together in a way that had you smiling while you were eating.

The other thing I got was their brisket burger. Everything on the burger was locally raised, and all the meats are prepared by them.

The burger was made from ground brisket, and it had hickory bacon that they butchered and smoked in-house. The burger was topped with American cheese, St. Bethany fresh tomatoes and house-made pickles on a sourdough bun. We also got a side of their fresh-cut parmesan fries.

The burger was perfect; everything on it worked well together, and I ordered it just like they make it, with no subs. And I couldn’t have been any happier with my experience. I still think my garlic fries and my parmesan sweet potato fries are the best I’ve ever had, but these were sitting right up there with them.

This place is all about supporting local farmers and ranchers, and Kermit’s only uses products they are familiar with, or that have been grown locally.

This is a direct quote off their menu:

“Every week, we break down local cows, pigs and chickens. These cows make our steaks, burgers, etc. Those pigs make our pork chops, sausage, bacon, etc. We buy local vegetables; we use local butter, honey, jellies, jams, grits, flour, rice, and so on, and so on. Why do we do this? Because it is a way of life for us. It’s our craft, our dream. We are the only restaurant in Mississippi that breaks down local cows and sources them into the restaurants. We are very proud of this. This is not just another trend to us. This isn’t some fake Keith Urban kind of country joint. This is real country. This is real local. This is real south. Support Local farms. Support Good Food. Support Creativity.”

This is what supporting local businesses is about. We’ve all the same resources they do. We need to get more of our local places on board with keeping our local economy here. When we buy goods from these large food companies or the huge out-of-state ranchers, we are sending our money out of our state, and that hurts us as a whole.

On a personal note, I wanted to tell Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Hester that it was an absolute pleasure getting to participate in their beautiful wedding ceremony, and I wish them both all the happiness they deserve. You could really feel all the love from all of their friends and family, and it was touching for me for Mac to meet the only Pacetti cousin that he or Lauren has. #familyfirst #pacetti4life.