Blues & Barbecue (Greenville, Clarksdale, Cleveland: restaurant, food, getaway)

[prowler]

Just back from a wonderful week in Mississippi. We haven't had this much fun in a long time. Anyone looking for a chance to blow off steam and really find your base might consider spending some time down and around Route 61.

Our first pleasant stop was at the Blue & White Restaurant in Tunica. Outstanding food experience! We wish we could taste all their selections.

Our next stop was to book a couple of nights at the Shack Up Inn outside Clarksdale, a comfortable and friendly place we'll always remember with a grin. While there, we visited the museum, Abe's BBQ at the crossroads, helped close the Ground Zero juke joint one night, and met a ton of nice folks both from Mississippi and abroad. We shared good food and music with travelers from Japan, Australia, & Sweden. It seemed like EVERYBODY who comes to this region loves the blues!

Then we moved south a bit to Merigold where we spent (!!!!) dollars at McCarty's pottery ... and followed that by tasting McCarty's gourmet food at his nearby restaurant. That evening, we had the wildest time ever at Po' Monkey's juke joint and danced and laughed and even tasted a beer or two. Po' Monkey (Mr Seaberry) is a gentleman everybody should meet (IMO) who mixes fun and friendship in a most unique way. We will definitely revisit his lounge near Merigold and highly recommend you visit this place if you haven't already.

We checked out Rosedale, Cleveland, Greenville, Leland, etc. etc. Our final day was spent primarily in Indianola, touring the BB King Museum and just driving around the area where he grew up. It's going to be hard to top this getaway. Thanks to everybody on this forum who contributed to our travel planning during the prior weeks. We couldn't have done this without you.