Who watched Anthony Bourdain last night? (Jackson, Oxford: crime rates, gated, income)

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

Did anyone besides me watch Chef Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown" episode about Mississippi Sunday night on CNN? I thought it was pretty good.

Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Mississippi Delta - CNN.com

[Southern man]

I watched it. I was expecting him to go on and on about the fact that Mississippi once had slaves instead of just pointing out the good stuff that has occurred. He was about half way balanced Overall, I enjoyed it.

[Seadory]

Good show. Bourdain is as unbiased and open-minded as anyone can be.

[viverlibre]

I didn't watch it, but heard some people say much of it was devoted to Oxford and Jackson, neither of which are in the delta.

[qwertyasdf]

I'm in Texas and I watched it. I thought it was a pretty interesting program. Next time I'm in Mississippi, I want to go to the Big Apple Inn in Jackson. Those tamales looked delicious and I definitely want to try the pig ears sandwich.

[Robert_J]

Try them all. I've had tamales from 3 of the locations on the link below (Pasquale's, Doe's and Bourbon Mall) and all 3 were equally great but tasted different.

Hot Tamale Trail | Southern Foodways Alliance

If you missed it, it is replaying on Sunday I think. I just searched the guide on my DVR and found a replay.

[Dport7674]

I thought they might pile on, make it all about how MS. is backwards, poor, etc..I thought it was pretty fair. Actually it made MS. seem like a place to visit.

[T. Damon]

Made me want to visit. Oxford looks very cool and Mississippi looks beautiful. A couple of friends of mine who are quite urbane- gay couple- recently visited and absolutely raved about their visit. It is a place that I must admit for me is colored by a not altogether positive, yet still intriguing historic, geographic and welcoming reputation and to hear the glowing account from them has really piqued my interest in sometime checking it out for myself.

I haven't been to the south since I was a kid decades ago and while I have no immediate plans on visiting when you see a show like this or hear from your own friends describe a colorful and fun slice of an area that makes you want to broaden your own horizons a bit.

[brickpatio]

Mississippi is beginning to gain some coolness points it seems. There isn't another state with comparable demographics, not just percentages by race and ethnicity but the fact that people live side by side in large numbers throughout the entire state, and mostly happily, unlike much of the country where certain groups such as African-Americans are relegated largely to the inner cities. Not so in Mississippi where especially Caucasians and African-Americans live side by side, for all practical purposes. Even in this week's Senate election returns, you could sense the fascination of reporters as they described the unique and varied personas of the different counties, from the shipbuilding precincts on the coast to the eastern pine forests to the Delta and up to the Memphis exurbs.

Blessedly according to the U.S. Census supplemental income data, Mississippi's poverty rate is no worse than, and in fact identical to, the national average - and interestingly California scored by far the nation's highest poverty rate, exacerbated heavily by its sky-high cost of living. Mississippi also scores, depending on the rating, as the safest or second safest state in the U.S. for African-Americans, (excluding about 8 states whose numbers of African-Americans are so small as to make their statistics meaningless). Presumably Mississippi's ultra-low violent crime rates within the African-American community relative to other states are due to the large portion of people living in rural areas and also presumably high levels of church attendance and the impact on family and culture. Again, we are blessed.

All that said, it does seem like recently in the media that something is changing, and Mississippi's unique culture and pleasant lifestyle, made interesting by its plethora of writers, musicians and playwrights and its rich history, combined with uplifting economic news such as billion dollar investments by international companies like Toyota, Nissan, Rolls Royce, GE Aviation and others has piqued the interest of more people.

Speaking for myself, Anthony Bordain's show piqued my interest in the Delta, in particular the scene of them canoeing across the Mississippi river to that island on a brisk winter day. I've always found the Delta to be enchanting, without being able to put a finger on exactly why. And that's exactly what I was feeling watching that segment and envisioning all those beautiful rivers, canals, creeks and bayous, amid green fields and dark and lush bottomland hardwood forests...especially on a bright winter day next to a crackling fire.