GREENWOOD MS

Cotton Row Club

Crystal Grill 1

Crystal Grill 2

Giardina's

Johnny Bell

Lusco's

Mabel Gelman

Mattie's

Pearl Johnson

Spooney's Bar-Be-Que

Interviews and photographs by Amy Evans.

This project funded in part by a grant from Viking Range Corporation.

Mississippi Delta Histories

The Mississippi Delta has inspired writers, artists, and musicians. And cooks. Don't forget the cooks. Spend time winding along the back roads and you'll uncover culinary jewels: roadside hot tamale stands, Greek-owned cafés that specialize in fried quail, barbecue joints that stake their reputation on ribs, and filling stations that sell slices of sweet potato pie baked by somebody's grandmother.

Over a plate of ribs and sauce, Delta folks will tell you stories. Stories about Highway 61, the Civil Rights Movement, King Cotton, writer Walker Percy or bluesman Robert Johnson. Stories that you would never have learned if you had not sat down to eat.

• Greenwood MS Oral Histories

photo: Reno's Cafe, Greenwood MS