The Hook Up, Biloxi, Miss.

When one thinks of great food on the Gulf Coast of America, they usually have one of two places in mind: Tampa and New Orleans. And why wouldn’t they? With the Spanish influences in Tampa and the French influences in New Orleans, plus both cities’ access to fresh seafood, the Cigar City and the Crescent City are as good as it gets for foodies.

But there’s more to the Gulf Coast than just the two major cities. Mobile, a major city in its own right in Alabama, features seafood the way it should be and some of the best oysters you can find anywhere. Then there’s Mississippi, which is sometimes forgotten among the four Gulf Coast states, despite its location on Interstate 10. The truth is, the cities of Gulfport and Biloxi are the second and fifth-largest cities in the Magnolia State, combining to form a metro area of between 250,000 and 350,000 residents, but the cities were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, resulting in a population decline over the past decade. Biloxi in particular was crushed by the storm, falling from Mississippi’s third-largest state to fifth since that disaster.

In recent years, Biloxi has positioned itself as a resort town, billing itself as “The Playground of the South”. Driving along Beach Boulevard, the main highway of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, drivers see plenty of souvenir stores, casinos and open shoreline. Of course, the shoreline isn’t exactly open, considering it’s $30 to rent a spot on the beach for the day and the Gulf is only about three to four feet deep on the Mississippi coastline, but it does at least look pretty from Beach Boulevard and provides a nice contrast with the glut of casinos that greet a driver upon entering Biloxi proper. But if you’re looking for a good place to dine in Biloxi, the shoreline isn’t the place to be. Actually, to find Biloxi’s specialties, you head into the city and head to a marina.

Yes, I’ve had some strange locations before in this journey, but I’ve never once had a marina before. But that’s exactly the setting at the Hook Up Restaurant and Bar, located next to the Biloxi Boardwalk Marina on the Back Bay of Biloxi. From the moment you walk in, it feels like the typical ocean clubhouse bar, complete with open windows blowing in the breeze and a gorgeous view of the water. With fish on the walls and the bars, plus a constant cool temperature whether you’re inside or out, the atmosphere is that of relaxing after a day on the boat, perfect for its location. Even the restaurant’s logo itself includes a marlin.

The atmosphere, however, is only the beginning. As you might expect from a marina restaurant, the Hook Up prides itself on its seafood, offering several ocean favorites such as shrimp, oysters and the catch of the day. As you also might expect from a place that is so close to New Orleans, some of the stuff that the Crescent City has made famous has also made its way east down Interstate 10 to Biloxi. Po boys, Gulf Coast seafood specialties and Cajun spices are common here, such as in the Zydeco Shrimp Pasta, which includes gulf shrimp, peppers and onions and a Cajun cream sauce with penne. The appetizers are especially inspired, including shrimp bread (French bread with shrimp, scallions and cheese baked into it), CF Fries (a southern version of poutine, including roast beef along with the gravy and cheese) and the Dillapeno Basket, a 50/50 of fried pickles and fried jalapenos.

But as good as that sounds, that’s the kind of stuff that you can easily get in New Orleans itself (outside of the appetizers), and that’s not what I do. Sometimes copycats are of very high quality (usually, they’re not), but it’s very rare for a copy to measure up to the original enough that it’s worthy of recognition. As I’ve been told before and agree with, when you’re on the road, you don’t want the same stuff that you can get elsewhere, you want something special.

Ironically enough, that ended up being a burger. Yes, a burger at a marina. Anticlimactic? Well, the Southern Miss Burger is no ordinary burger. Actually, it’s kind of the Magnolia State on a bun. The standard beef patty and cheddar cheese get crowned with some applewood-smoked bacon and two of the great treats of the Gulf Coast, fried shrimp and fried green tomatoes. I’m not sure specifically where fried green tomatoes originated, but they’re definitely a southern tradition, so much so that there’s a book and movie with that name (set in Alabama, not Mississippi) and there’s actually a restaurant in Biloxi named The Fried Green Tomato. (Seriously, there is.)

The description suggests Mississippi on a bun. The taste says heaven on a bun. This might seriously be one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life, and the beef is a large part of that. An important component of any meal is how well your ingredients work with each other, and the beef is simply perfect with the other ingredients on the Southern Miss. The burger has a great grill flavor and is juicy throughout, working beautifully with the bacon, cheese, unfried and ripened tomato, fried green tomato and shrimp. The shrimp gives a new meaning to surf and turf, as it’s not often that you get to combine those tastes for your entire meal. There isn’t anything about this burger that I would alter. With the perfectly battered shrimp and green tomato offering that extra something, this is about as close to burger perfection as you can get.

I added some baked macaroni and cheese as my side, and although I enjoyed it very much, as the cheese worked perfectly with the penne pasta, this is actually not an item I recommend here. That’s because at the time of our visit in late May 2014, the Hook Up has a massive flaw with its menu. If you remember, one of the great things about Willie Mae’s is that it doesn’t charge extra for side dishes, no matter what the price of the side is. The Hook Up goes the opposite direction in that it does charge extra for certain sides. The problem is that the restaurant does nothing to tell you this on its menu, leaving you with a nasty surprise on your check if you’ve ordered one of the sides with an upcharge. What’s worse is that the staff members actually know about this flaw, but as of this writing, to my knowledge, the restaurant has yet to either stop charging extra for sides or note which ones cost extra. The baked mac and cheese adds $2 to the price of your meal, which would be fine if that was made clear on the menu, although I wouldn’t pay an extra two bucks to order it. To their credit, the staff members will reverse the upcharge if you say something about it, but you really shouldn’t even have to ask. It’s a bad policy and a black mark that doesn’t need to exist, especially not at a place like this.

Amy, a noted beef hater, was totally in her element in a place that caters to the ocean. With that in mind, she opted for the fish tacos, which come with citrus slaw, chipotle aioli and avocado. The fish can be either fried or grilled, and Amy opted for fried, which proved a great decision. These tacos are excellent, with a good amount of heat from the chipotle aioli. If you’re not much for spicy stuff, two of these might be a little much, but if you can handle some heat, these are perfect. In Amy’s words, these might be the best fish tacos she’s ever had, and considering that she’s actually from the Gulf Coast in Tampa (and we’ve hit some pretty good taco places), that’s pretty high praise. She added fries as her side, which are high quality and do not carry an upcharge.

But we’re not done yet, because as good as the Hook Up’s main fare is, dessert is pretty much a requirement here. You’ve got two main options to choose from, with the first one actually winning Food Network’s honor as the top ice cream treat in Mississippi: the RC Cola Moon Pie Sandwich. It’s basically a couple Moon Pies with cola-flavored ice cream sandwiched between them, with the whole thing dipped in a chocolate ganache and topped with whipped cream. However, unlike Mississippi Foodie Shawn Rossi, who has enjoyed this treat, I can’t speak to how good it is, because unfortunately, on our visit, they happened to be out of Moon Pies.

But that’s okay, because in the Magnolia State, the dessert of choice is the one with the state’s name in it: Mississippi Mud Pie. The name comes from the dark brown look of the banks of the Mississippi River, and it always involves lots of chocolate. Here, the chocolate comes in the form of a dense and delicious brownie, covered with pecans, an Oreo topping and whipped cream. Trust me, you want to save room for this one. The warm brownie and cold cookies and cream topping are perfect together, and the chocolate sauce and whipped cream are amazing. This is so good that it almost made me wish we each had our own so we didn’t have to share it.

Mississippi might not be anywhere near the top of the list for most foodies, but sometimes, even the most unlikely places can get quality eating establishments, and the Hook Up definitely qualifies. There’s no excuse for the issue with the pricing of the sides, but otherwise, this is as good as it gets no matter what your taste is. Once they’ve got that issue fixed, this will definitely be a place Biloxi can be proud to call its own.

Recap

Time to go: Lunch or dinner. If there’s an event at the marina, it might be wise to schedule around it, as this is the only restaurant by the marina.

Wait during my visit: None. There were plenty of places available.

Location: The Hook Up is located at 200 Eighth Street in Biloxi, Miss., near the ocean but not on it.

Cost: Most items run $10 to $15 here, so it isn’t too terribly priced, as long as you don’t hit the hidden charge with the side dishes. The desserts are a bit pricy at $5 to 7 each, but they’re worth it.

Parking: Plenty. This is one of the good things about being at a marina. One thing to note, though, some parking is reserved for marina members only.

Seating arrangement: Tables and chairs, both inside and outside.

Website: The Hook Up

Specialty Items: Southern Miss Burger, seafood, Mississippi Mud Pie, RC Cola Moon Pie Sandwich