Road Trip Advice (Jackson, Tupelo, Vicksburg: how much, hotel, house)

[Drift Away]

I have a couple of friends who are taking the Trace from Nashville to Natchez next month. First time to Mississippi. She asked for some must see places, good restaurants, etc. Was going to suggest they stay at the Natchez Grand, but I don’t know much about Natchez. Good restaurants? They are also going to Vicksburg. Any suggestion other than the Park? Would anyone suggest them taking Hwy 61 up to Memphis and if so what all is there to see? Appreciate any help!

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Council House Cafe in French Camp is one you definitely should not miss. If you're there for lunch get the BLT. They also have some good steaks on Friday nights once a month. Also, research all the little stops all up and down the Trace, they are great, very historical. I'd stop at every one of them. Lots of great restaurants in Jackson too, just depends on what you want. Shapley's is pretty well known, but there are lots of great local places.

Kosciusko has a Native American museum not far off the Trace if you're into that type stuff.

Check out the state parks along the way too. Ruins of Windsor, etc. Natchez has a great downtown area. Eat down by the river.

[Dd714]

OK this is the 3rd time I am trying to post this! Darn city data!

On the way down from Nashville they should stop at Shiloh if they are into the civil war, even if they aren't it's a very peaceful place.
In Tupelo they have Elvis Birthplace.
In Vicksburg they have the casinos of course. "The Park" I assume you mean the civil war park which is impressive as you can still see the ground broken up from the cannon fire. In the north part of the park they have a huge well-preserved gun boat they dug out of the Mississippi mud some years back. North of Vicksburg, on the way to Memphis, is the blues trail. Very poor area. In Clarksdale they have some really nice Blues Museams and a few cool blues clubs including Morgan Freeman's club (Clarksdale is a poor dump otherwise). North of Clarksdale they have The Crossroads where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil - no not the fake CrossRoads in Clarksdale. It's unmarked. Have fun finding it, driving up and down these old cotton field paths.

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Drift Away

I have a couple of friends who are taking the Trace from Nashville to Natchez next month. First time to Mississippi. She asked for some must see places, good restaurants, etc. Was going to suggest they stay at the Natchez Grand, but I don’t know much about Natchez. Good restaurants? They are also going to Vicksburg. Any suggestion other than the Park? Would anyone suggest them taking Hwy 61 up to Memphis and if so what all is there to see? Appreciate any help!

For teh first 200 miles, you won't see anything but countryside from the Natchez Trace. There are no restaurants, no gas stations, not much traffic, usually.
But it is pretty. Use caution at night; the deer are all over the place. When driving at night I drive in the middle of the road so I can go either left or right at wildlife dictates. Speed limit is 50, but you can go 58. Bring a picnic lunch of some sort - that's what we do.

From Nashville, the first real town you come to is Tupelo - 210 miles. Plenty of places to stay, and I am sure the foodies will weigh in. To me, food is the just the stuff you must eat to stay alive. I find that "local cuisine/local flavor" is mostly a myth or a marketing strategy.
Chicken fingers and a Diet Coke works for me.

[Ginsaw]

First, in Nashville if interested in country music visit the Grand Ole Opry. And try this spot - http://www.lovelesscafe.com/. Then a couple side trips. Oxford MS is not far off your route. See Ole Miss, Faulkner's home and sample some good restaurants. And another side trip to the NASA space center in Huntsville, AL. Mainly just enjoy the country-side. As to Memphis, if you've never been there the downtown area, the Peabody Hotel and the river are somewhat interesting. I'd stop to eat on the way at the Blue & White on 61 in Tunica (onion rings don't get any better). There're also the casinos at Tunica. If you're interested in Shiloh and the Civil War history, try the bookstore and get a tour guide map. In the same area try a visit to Pickwick Lake and TVA hydro-electric dam. They have a nice catfish buffet at the Pickwick state park inn. And Corinth is kind of interesting as well. I used to live there and was rather fond of the place. But it all depends on how much time you have budgeted for this project..."done right" it'd take about four days. In fact if you really want an opinion of someone who's spent a lifetime here, I'd probably skip the trace and take a more direct and faster route and go straight for a tour of those other kinds of things...it depends a lot on if you prefer urban or rural sights. I hope that helps some.

[NY Annie]

For anyone who has ever been to Atlantic City (or some who think Vegas is great), Tunica is a huge disappointment as far as casinos go. We've tried for 5 years to connect our trips to the casinos to a riverboat ride - closed every single time. Another reason why we haven't been to Tunica in over a year. The casinos are mostly dreary places, out of date, and I have not once heard the sounds of a winner. Not once. The buffet food is severely lacking in flavor - and choices.


As for Pickwick Lake, we've been there twice - meh. Corinth is a quaint city - just outside the city is the Shiloh museum but it won't take long to go through it all.


IF your friends want to experience REAL pizza, the only place we've found anywhere in TN or MS is located in Corinth - it's called Pizza Grocery. The pizza is NYC style, thin crust (not crunchy) and loaded with real NYC cheese - it's shipped from Manhattan! (I have no financial interest in the place, met the owners by being a good customer, and hailing from the NYC metro area, living in NYC for the last 20 years before moving to the south, land of no-flavor food and horrid "pizza".)

[GrandviewGloria]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

IF your friends want to experience REAL pizza, the only place we've found anywhere in TN or MS is located in Corinth - it's called Pizza Grocery. The pizza is NYC style, thin crust (not crunchy) and loaded with real NYC cheese - it's shipped from Manhattan! (I have no financial interest in the place, met the owners by being a good customer, and hailing from the NYC metro area, living in NYC for the last 20 years before moving to the south, land of no-flavor food and horrid "pizza".)

Out of curiosity, I googled the place, and DAAAAAAAAM! You're right! From the pictures, it looks REALLY good. They even have Poutine!!! https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en...AfcQoioIsgEwCg

I could just dive into that white sauce pizza. The 'Zomato' looks like an intriguing little nosh, too.

And you're so right about the 'no-flavor food' elsewhere. Painting with a broad brush, New York and Montreal have the best food.

[Southern man]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

hailing from the NYC metro area, living in NYC for the last 20 years before moving to the south, land of no-flavor food and horrid "pizza".)

I40
I81
I78
I95
Bingo.

[NY Annie]

Originally Posted by Southern man

I40
I81
I78
I95
Bingo.

ICK to the I-95. I take I-78 to the tunnel into Manhattan. But I'm more likely to take the Bayonne Bridge over to Staten Island; unless I want to head further on up to Rhode Island to my friend's husband's family's restaurant in Cranston. YUMMO! or the best donuts on the planet at Allie's on route 2.

[jhadorn]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

For anyone who has ever been to Atlantic City (or some who think Vegas is great), Tunica is a huge disappointment as far as casinos go. We've tried for 5 years to connect our trips to the casinos to a riverboat ride - closed every single time. Another reason why we haven't been to Tunica in over a year. The casinos are mostly dreary places, out of date, and I have not once heard the sounds of a winner. Not once. The buffet food is severely lacking in flavor - and choices.


As for Pickwick Lake, we've been there twice - meh. Corinth is a quaint city - just outside the city is the Shiloh museum but it won't take long to go through it all.


IF your friends want to experience REAL pizza, the only place we've found anywhere in TN or MS is located in Corinth - it's called Pizza Grocery. The pizza is NYC style, thin crust (not crunchy) and loaded with real NYC cheese - it's shipped from Manhattan! (I have no financial interest in the place, met the owners by being a good customer, and hailing from the NYC metro area, living in NYC for the last 20 years before moving to the south, land of no-flavor food and horrid "pizza".)

I don't think Tunica is meant to "compete" with Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Tunica was once, and maybe still is, one of the poorest places in the country. I think it was meant to cash in on the public's desire for gambling outside of the established gambling places. The buffet's there are OK, nothing special. I strongly disagree with the south being the land of "no flavor". Where you been eating?

As for NYC pizza, I agree with you. One of my favorite NYC pizza places is Rose's in Penn Station. The other is Pomodoro. There is good pizza to be found in Mississippi though. Try Tribecca Allie's in Sardis for one.