Restaurant Review: Leatha's Bar-B-Que Inn

Sometimes, I can't stand the sameness of this country. When you cruise down North Fairfield Road in Fairborn OH, Houston Road in Florence KY, Kingston Pike in Knoxville TN, or Hardy Street in Hattiesburg, MS you are guaranteed to see the exact same damn restaurants. Red Lobster. Applebees. Olive Garden. Outback. They'll all be there. So even though you have travelled hundred of miles you can still munch down the same damn meal you've been eating for the last 25 years.

Thankfully, if you look hard enough, you can find those hidden gems. Places that serve excellent food. Food that makes you start planning your next trip back after your first bite. And 9 times out of 10 the food is not only outstanding but also costs no more than your bland every city in America has one fare.

So when people visit me in Knoxville I feel I am obligated to share the great local places I've found. Come stay with me for a weekend and you will have some of the best barbecue you've ever tasted. On Sunday we'll go have brunch at the Sunspot and you'll be treated to some excellent nachos and a wide variety of innovative breakfast foods.

Recently, I had the pleasure of traveling to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I had previously only driven through Mississippi on my way to New Orleans and was less than impressed. And after flying into the smallest airport I've ever seen (one gate) and having the hotel's clerk tell me "Applebees" when I asked what were some good local restaurants I didn't see myself changing this view.

Rather than take the clerk's advice, I used my complimentary free Internet access to do a search on Hattiesburg's Restaurants. It was here I found Leatha's Bar-B-Que Inn. The description sounded like a dream, and the website made the restaurant sound perfect.

Finding the restaurant proved a more difficult challenge. It was hidden off of the main route behind a maze of trailers. As I pulled into the parking lot I knew I was in for a treat. The building may have looked a bit old but the smell coming from it was heavenly.

Inside, the restaurant was full of folks enjoying the BBQ and watching basketball on the TV. I ordered the half and half (choice of two meats...I got chicken and pork), the secret recipe slaw, and the baked beans. The slaw was some of the best I've ever had, and the pork slid right off the bones. The meal was absolutely outstanding, and was right up there with the Smokehouse for the Best BBQ I've ever had.

I'm just amazed that the hotel clerk had no idea this little gem was less than 3 miles from his hotel. Or maybe he thought an out-of-towner like myself wouldn't appreciate some excellent cooking. But people I beg you. I implore you. When you go on vacation or business trips, take the time to check out the local cuisine. Don't go to Applebees!

Other places I checked out in Hattiesburg:

Crescent City Grill : As you no doubt know by the name, this restaurant serves up New Orleans cuisine. The service was great and the jambalaya was tasty. If you can only stop at one place go to Leatha's, but if you need another place I recommend this one.

Stricks Original Bar-B-Q : I saw this place on the way back from a run on the gorgeous Longleaf Trace Trail. The sign outside advertised crawdads and I decided I had to give them a try. 5 lbs of crawdads and much sweat and tears later and I've decided that next time I'll order 1 lb and a pulled pork sammich. The crawdads were good, but took waaaay too much work. And I still need to learn how to suck the heads.

Walnut Square Pharmacy and Ice Cream Parlor: This place was located in historic downtown Hattiesburg. They had an old fashioned ice cream counter and I highly recommend the Praline-N-Cream.

Sunspot

I love food and I love America. However, in my travels across this country I am usually disappointed in the sameness of it all. Mall Road in Florence Kentucky has the same restaurants as North Fairfield Road in Dayton which has the same restaurants as Kingston Pike in Knoxville which… well you get the idea.

Of course, the problem is that I just don’t know where to look. Or I’m worried that if I choose one of the local places it will suck. One of the things you know about a place like Red Lobster or the Olive Garden is that even though it won’t be anything to write home about, it probably won’t suck. However, I’m a firm believer in the whole variety is the spice of life thing so whenever I’m staying out of town the first thing I do is hit up the concierge and ask them, “I might only be here once. Where should I go and have a great meal?”

Usually that works wonders. However, another method I’ve used to some degree of success is to pick up the local city paper (like Cincinnati’s CityBeat) and check out the ads. Recently my wife found an ad in Knoxville’s Metro Pulse for a restaurant called Sunspot. Every Sunday Sunspot has a different brunch menu and well with a menu that promised “Our famous poached eggs over prosciutto ham and sauteed onions atop a lightly toasted foccacia bun. Finished with cracked black pepper hollandaise and served with zesty potatoes and a fresh fruit garnish” we knew we had to give it a shot.

We arrived at Sunspot around 10:30AM and were pleasantly surprised that we were seated immediately as my experience with restaurants on Sunday mornings usually involves a 45 minute wait amongst a crowd of churchgoers. The first thing we noticed was how cool the décor was. Each table had a plexiglass covering under which were a variety of themes. Our table had pictures of what appeared to be a beard and moustache contest. The winner of the contest had carved his muttonchops into something vaguely resembling the naked lady mudflaps seen on 18 wheelers. Awesome.

The waiter quickly came over and brought us some nachos, which were fantastic. The nachos themselves were great (just the right amount of saltiness and crispiness) but the salsa was outstanding. It was a green tomatilla salsa that I had never tasted before, but it was perfect. We easily pounded the first batch of nachos and were on our way through a second when our meal arrived.

The Eggs Sunspot (the meal I described above) was excellent. Not only was the presentation exquisite for the prices we were paying but the food was truly outstanding. My wife’s Pint’s Pumpkin Pancakes (“Three fluffy, golden brown pumpkin pancakes filled with butterscotch chips and topped with cinnamon sugar”) were great as well. They almost tasted like candy.

So of course this Sunday morning we check out the old Metro Pulse to see what Sunspot has on the menu this time. “Texas toast stuffed with a fried egg and topped with sautéed tomatoes, onions, spinach and prosciutto. Garnished with a jalapeno hollandaise and served with zesty potatoes and a fruit salad.” And let me tell you something. This was just as delicious as it sounded. If you know me, you know that I scarf down my food very quickly. About my 5th or 6th bite in I stopped and paused because the bite I had just taken was absolutely perfect. All the flavors present on the dish had come together wonderfully. I finished the meal around noon this time and I felt full until early evening. The meal was everything you could want in a Sunday Brunch.

So if you’re ever in Knoxville, be sure to stop in at Sunspot at 1909 Cumberland Ave. There phone number is 865-637-GOOD, and I assure you they are not lying.