Jackson Free Press

When I was a child, I would wait with maddening anticipation for Friday night. That's when my dad would pick me up for the night shift at Doubles Pizza, the restaurant he owned.

I would dutifully put on a tiny red apron, grab a stepladder and sprinkle fresh ingredients on soft, white pizza dough. Though I never got paid (and I'm sure it raised concerned customers' eyebrows about child labor laws), this was the best job I ever had.

Watching a piece of dough roll through the oven and transform into a golden, cheesy pizza was the coolest thing I can remember seeing with my 5-year-old eyes. But what I loved most about Doubles Pizza was the impact it had on our small Florida beach town.

You didn't need to make plans with friends to go out to eat. Even though this was before cell phones, you just knew you would see everyone you cared about if you just went to Doubles.

In elementary school, my class would take an annual field trip to Doubles, and we would get to make our own pizzas (I was kind of a pizza-making pro at that point but I can assure you, I was humble about my skills). One Valentine's Day, my dad really got in the spirit and delivered heart-shaped pizzas to all our family and friends.

Eventually, Dad's entrepreneurial fever hit, and he started other ventures such as a 1950s-style diner and a steak delivery restaurant, but nothing ever topped Doubles Pizza as far as I'm concerned.

Now, more than 20 years later, when I visit Dad in Destin, Fla., he takes out his old pizza screens, fresh basil, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and peppers, and recreates those memories for me. I still stand in awe as I watch him toss the dough in the air like a Frisbee and catch it with the other hand.

Recently, I got my first bread machine and spent an entire Saturday night in good company learning how to make dough and transforming it into beautiful pizzas. For me, making pizza is tied to wonderful memories and tradition--a tradition I will pass on to my own family someday.

Last night, I attended PM Burger--an event that will likely go down in Jackson culinary history--and memories of my dad's old pizza store came flooding back. When I heard that Parlor Market was transforming itself into a burger joint for one night only, I felt like doing cartwheels. Most everyone (minus vegetarians) can agree: Burgers are awesome. And a Parlor Market burger? Very awesome.

But as I dug into my pimento burger (a classic burger topped with spicy bacon and chipotle pimento cheese) and Irish Car Bomb Shake (Guiness ice cream, shot of Jameson, and Bailey's whipped cream), it wasn't so much about the food. It was about the novelty and memories I will always associate with that night.

My favorite people in Jackson came together in one place to eat, drink and celebrate Jackson's revitalization. To be exact, more than 600 of my favorite people came downtown on a Monday night in a city that fearmongers declare is crime-ridden, to eat burgers. Even if just briefly, we were all united by two things: our love of burgers and Jackson. If you need a reason to be excited about the city, I can't think of a better example.

While I feel a twinge of regret for not ordering the Funbarrel Fork and Knife Footlong, I will look fondly at the PM Burger menu I took home (now hanging on my office wall) and think, "Jackson, you are awesome."

Pop-up restaurants aside, I feel like I have witnessed a local-food revolution in Jackson over the past two years with the emergence of new community gardens and farmers markets. This month, the midtown community and south Jackson hosted their first-ever farmers markets. Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr.'s community garden initiative is in full swing, and young people are getting the chance to grow their own food and eat healthy.

Several areas in Jackson are food deserts, where not everyone has access to a grocery story, much less local, fresh produce within walking distance (or even reasonable driving distance) from their home. But we are making progress, and I'm encouraged by organizations such as Mississippi Roadmap to Health Equity and The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, organizations that are getting out into communities and fostering a grass-roots approach to healthy eating.

On a trip to Lafayette, La., this spring, I stayed with a couple who vowed to only eat food grown within a 100-mile radius of their home for a year. This idea isn't new, but the effort they had to make to find things like honey and flour was amazing. (It's a lot like trying to locate items on the black market: You have to know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy.)

The couple said that what they had taken away from the experience was how well they got to know the people they bought food from. They began to learn about how to eat in season, and they shared many stories about the food they bought from local farmers.

I'm contemplating doing a similar experiment in Jackson. I would really like to make it a challenge more people will consider, and maybe we can take part in it together. It is no secret to Mississippians that something as simple as food can bring us together. We love our potlucks and Sunday dinners and time spent with family and friends.

I often end these editor's notes with a call to action, and this one seems by far the easiest and most fun: Support our local food economy, our farmers and businesses, and watch our city prosper.

Previous Comments

ID

163775

Comment

I've tried to start a garden, but the best place for one on my property is close to the road and is fogged by the county (Rankin) on a regular basis - and they so far have refused to stop. :(

Author

BobbyKearan

Date

2011-06-08T10:58:07-06:00

ID

163782

Comment

Check out the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver for a look at how a family ate only locally produced food for 1 year, growing much of it themselves...... a pretty fascinating and well written account.

Author

Psyclist

Date

2011-06-08T14:33:54-06:00