Jackson Free Press

Pop Culture Pops owners Craig and Lori Kinsley have been selling their artisanal ice pops, which are a play on a Latin American frozen treat made with fresh fruits and vegetables called "paleta," in Jackson since March 12 of this year. Pop Culture's artisanal ice pops are organic when possible and made daily from locally harvested ingredients.

On most days, the couple sells their wares from a mobile cart in front of the Pix-Capri Theatre (3023 N. State St.) in Fondren. Soon, they plan on opening a permanent storefront for Pop Culture inside the theater itself.

The indoor location for Pop Culture is situated in the lobby and left side of the theater and is expected to open by the end of September. The Kinsleys plan to host a special event in November, which will feature a lip-syncing contest, to celebrate their new store. Customers will be able to sign up to sing specific songs at the Pop Culture cart outside the theater, and participants will have the chance to win prizes from local businesses.

The Kinsleys plan to commemorate the opening of their new location by introducing new fall flavors to their menu, including pumpkin spice, eggnog and chocolate peppermint. They also plan to start hosting regular nighttime events at their new storefront such as trivia and board-game nights.

Pop Culture is currently open from noon to 6 p.m. The storefront hours will be noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 9 p.m. on weekends. For more information, call 601-946-1543 or follow Pop Culture Pops on Facebook and Instagram.

Jesse Houston Invites His Mentors to Jackson

Jesse Houston, executive chef of Saltine Oyster Bar (622 Duling Ave., Suite 201), has recently been hosting a guest-chef series in which he has worked with other chefs to create collaborative menus. For those events, Houston invited chef Renee Erickson, owner of The Walrus and the Carpenter in Seattle, and chef Jason McLeod of Ironside Fish & Oyster in San Diego.

Now, Houston is starting what he is calling the "Mentor Series," in which he invites chefs that he worked under while learning the cooking trade to come and prepare their own menus for Saltine. The first guest chef in the new series is Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chef award winner and 2014 James Beard Award semifinalist Matt McCallister of FT33 in Dallas.

McCallister started mentoring Houston in 2008 at Stephan Pyles Restaurant in Dallas, where McCallister was head chef at the time. Houston met the late Craig Noone, who later opened Parlor Market (115 W. Capitol St.), at Stephan Pyles while he was learning from McCallister there, as well. Houston said that the bond he formed with Noone while learning under McCallister was part of the reason he ultimately chose to move to Jackson.

"Matt is incredibly creative, detail-oriented and an intense person to work with," Houston said. "He will light a fire underneath you to motivate you. He is a close friend and one the hottest chefs in the country, and I'm greatly looking forward to having him here in Jackson. I want Jackson to know how fortunate we are to have him and his amazing work come here. His restaurant in Dallas is booked up every night."

The special dinner will be a four-course seafood feast with an oyster reception. The first course will be octopus and oyster "frito misto" with Greek salad. The second course will be crispy zucchini with herbs and blossom raita and anchovy yogurt. The third course will be wood-roasted sunburst trout with Carolina Gold rice and smoked giblet gravy. The final course will be slow-roasted pork loin served family-style with a bowl of chicharrones with FT33 hot sauce, grits with cultured butter and farmers' market succotash.

"I'll be providing local ingredients for Matt to work with for his dishes, but unlike the collaborative events I've been doing so far, the menus for the mentor series will be entirely (their) work," Houston said. "This dinner is going to be all Matt and his food, to highlight the great work he's been doing."

The dinner takes place Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 6:30 p.m., at Saltine Oyster Bar. The cost is $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity, with optional beer and wine pairings available for an additional fee. For more information or to make reservations, call 601-982-2899.

Jackson Technology Symposium

The City of Jackson is inviting members of the public and local vendors to attend a technology symposium it will host on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Jackson Police Training Academy (3000 St. Charles St.).

The session will provide vendors with information to help them better prepare for contract work with the city. Members of the public can learn about various city alert programs such as Notify Me, Code Red and Tip 411.

Four divisions comprise the city's information technology department: information systems, telecommunications, records management and publications. The city will provide vendors with details about upcoming professional services and purchasing opportunities.

The remainder of the event will focus on sharing information with various departments within the city to maximize the technological tools already in use.

For more information, contact Fredrick Wilson, deputy director of technology at 601-960-1395.