Pimento Cheese...With Bacon


"The Nemo" at What's Cookin' in Greenwood.


The "Southern Burger" at Webster's Food & Drink, also in Greenwood.

Pimento cheese, a Southern favorite. Redneck or high-class, no Delta social occasion is complete without this concoction of grated cheeses mixed with mayonnaise, pepper and a sprinkling of Tobasco sauce or cayenne pepper.

I grew up not thinking of the pimento as an organic food item. I'm not sure what I thought they were. Or if they were singular or plural. They were just these chopped up red things that came as green olive inserts. The only other thing they were useful for was being mixed in the "pimento cheese" that my mother made occasionally, since she was the only member of our household who would touch it. After I moved backed to Mississippi and became a Delta resident, I realized there was no escaping little finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off containing the stuff. I started to eat it. Now when I see it on an hors d'oeuvres table, I attack it. I have since learned the pimento is a specific kind of pepper similar to the red bell pepper, but with a sweeter skin.

At least two Greenwood restaurants have found a way to take this old favorite and rachet it up a notch, making it even more heart-attack friendly. Have some pimento cheese with bacon -- you'll never go back.

1. "The Nemo" at What's Cookin', 123 Park Ave. Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Dine-in lunch or carry out.

Named after someone's dog, this jalapeno pimento cheese sandwich is grilled with bacon and complimented with a fresh slice of sweet Mississippi tomato. Need we say more?

2. The "Southern Burger" is available on any Monday night -- recently named Burger Night -- at Webster's Food & Drink, 216 W. Claiborne Ave. Kitchen Hours: 4 - 9 p.m.

A juicy Webster's burger with a half pound of lean ground beef well-done, but never over-done, with pimento cheese, bacon and your favorite trimmings. Mmm...

Comments

Keetha said…
In Charleston (South Carolina), Magnolia's serves a filet mignon topped with pimento cheese - it is outrageously good.
2:07 PM
Thomas Gregory said…
I was just in Charleston last week and if I heard about Magnolia once, I heard about it a thousand times. We had made plans to eat at this legendary restaurant, but upon reviewing the menu prices, we had to cancel our outing for a "less pricey" meal at Hank's Seafood Restaurant, a lovely spot in a preserved warehouse on Hayne St. If I ever make it back to Charleston and find myself dining on someone else's dime, I will be sure to insist on eating at Magnolias, where I will promptly order the filet mignon con pimento cheese!
1:45 PM
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