We’ve been talking about another trip to the Delta soon, especially to make certain we get to experience Lusco’s again before they close, and that’s got me thinking of hotels and what we might want to do — especially around Greenwood.
Our fave place to stay there is The Alluvian Hotel. We’ve likely stayed there at least a half-dozen times since it opened, and though it’s time for a refresh of the rooms in terms of furnishings/textiles, for the most part, it’s still very, very nice. The common areas have a clean look, and it’s by far the nicest hotel in the area. Here are pics from our last visit a couple of years ago:
That’s Bill Dunlap’s ‘Delta Dog Trot’ above — really good article at Hotty Toddy from several years ago about Bill, his wife Linda Burgess, and their daughter, Maggie Dunlap.
“Talk is cheap in the art world and there’s way too much of it as there is,” Dunlap said. “As far as advice is concerned, the best and most profound I ever received was from a high school football coach, Jack Taylor, who often implored me to, “keep your head down and your feet moving.” He certainly had one thing in mind and I another. Maggie knows intuitively that connections, good fortune, family name, degrees and talent are worth very little if one does not do the work. That’s why we discus Caravaggio, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Rubens, Mr. Faulkner and Miss Welty today; they did the work.”
William Dunlap has pieces currently at Art Cellar Gallery in Banner Elk NC and Spillman | Blackwell in New Orleans on Camp Street. Actually, he and Linda Burgess have their work at Southside Gallery in Oxford and it always gives me pause what other great art they have there on the Square: Maude Schuyler Clay, Coulter Fussell, Glennray Tutor…
Most of the Alluvian’s issues were just standard upkeep (wall scrapes, dirty/dislodged shutters, even – whoops – mislabeled art). We’ll probably stay again in the next few months, but I’m also going to give a look to Tallahatchie Flats which is a different kind of experience. I think that place along with, say, the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale is about the accommodations but even moreso the communal outside time with the people also staying there. That’s not so common, and just the kind of thing we like.
Now, the perfect time to go to the Delta is when the cotton is harvested and the sides of the road are littered with what looks like the fluffiest tiny clouds ever. That’s generally late September and October.
We’re trying to get to Greenwood before beloved Lusco’s closes. It’s supposed to be later this year, but I don’t know that they’ve announced a date.
I mean…you go there for the pompano and the onion rings and the crabmeat dishes but I just like the environment better than anything. Pull the curtain to close off the table and it feels a little magic. And the buzzer is there on the wall — need something? Push that very mechanical-looking button.
I’ve never taken a good picture of anything we’ve eaten here — there’s an odd green cast from the walls, and it’s dark — I mean the place is an old store.
Besides Lusco’s, we love Crystal Grill for the pies especially, and we really like Giardina’s which also has the little closed-off rooms for guests (supposedly a throw-back to Prohibition days) and really terrific food:
and yes, a button on the wall for service
Giardina’s pompano
We especially like shopping at Kornfeld’s (jeans) and Goldberg’s (shoes)
Books at Turnrow — a really terrific place
Tonnnns of places to take pics of in & around town
Haven’t done yet but plan to: cooking school at Viking // Museum of the Mississippi Delta