It's 116 degrees today - why am I here?

Yesterday the heat index in Clarksdale was 116 degrees. 116! It was hard to move around and to be honest it was truly miserable. I began to think about what it was that keeps me coming here on my precious time off from work. I mean really, summertime back in Seattle is amazing this time of year. We enjoy being outside and not needing to change our clothes several times a day. I must say that as I reflected on some of the experiences of even the last few days (not to mention countless others from previous visits) it became clear why Clarksdale, MS is truly a home away from home for me.

My dear friends Stan and Dixie Street from the Hambone Gallery, finally persuaded me to leave my little urban camping hovel (aka - The Delta Dipsie Doodle Flophouse) and enjoy a glorious night of sleep, under divine air conditioning with no crickets joining me in bed and a shower with water temperature control. Sometimes it's the simple pleasures in life.

Hambone gallery feature's live music every Tuesday by local and traveling musicians. A great place to get a drink and relax with the new friends you'll surely meet, while enjoy art by Stan and other artists. It's people like Stan and Dixie that make this such a special place. It was just a couple weeks ago that, after jamming at the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Stan stopped by my house in Seattle and hung out for several days enjoying our temperate summer climate and throwing back some local seafood like mussels, Dungeness crab and Dukes clam chowder.

Yesterday I also had a chance to hang out with my good friend Randall from Rust restaurant here in Clarksdale. Had an amazing time hanging out with this accomplished chef and artist watching as he created amazing works of art from found objects that would otherwise be garbage. Check out Rust while your in town for some great food and

Today I got to spend some time with Joey Young from Lambfish Gallery in Clarksdale. Joey is an amazingly talented artist and hard working guy who is an art teacher at one of the local schools, and also moonlights at Madidi restaurant. If you look carefully you might see some of Joey's work around town discretely painted on the sides of buildings. The picture of the twister is Joey's work. Huge thanks to Joey for the signs he painted for me, now hanging in the New Roxy.

I met two more new artists in town late last night while they were busy getting a coat of paint on a new gallery space on Delta Ave. There was even a meeting for a new artists cooperative to form in town. Between the many musicians and artists calling Clarksdale home, the creative energy is always evident and inspiring and one of the many reasons that I brave the heat and mosquitoes. I hear it's supposed to be 120 degrees with the heat index tomorrow....

Mobile food carts, trendy on the west coast, tradition in the Delta

Being the 'foodie' that I am, I've blogged in the past about some of the wonderful cuisine that can be found here in Clarksdale including Madidi and Wangz and Thangz. Back on the West Coast mobile food vendors have become quite popular, a trend in Seattle that is a long standing tradition in the Delta. This past week I was pleased to see one of my favorite mobile food vendors, Hot T's Hot Tamales.

Hot's T's isn't new, in fact it's been around so long that it's now operated by the son of the original owner. Oscar Orsby passed the business along to his son Otis, who has taken over providing Tamales, sausages and pork steaks to hungry Clarksdale residents at reasonable prices. The truck pulls up only a few days a week and parks in the usual spot at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Yazoo, close to Messenger's pool hall. The mobile truck has been there so long they have their own meter and electrical outlet mounted on a telephone pole by the corner. I'm not sure what days he's there and there's no twitter updates to know when he will show up - just know that if your in town and see the tamale truck you should stop in and get some.
Tamales in the Delta have a long history and the best place to get more info is at tamaletrail.com.
A project of the Southern Foodways Alliance the sight provides history and locations of tamale purveyors across the south.

Earlier this week, I heard the unmistakable sounds of an ice cream truck. I looked out the window expectantly thinking I just might run out and grab a Popsicle in this record heat only to see a new brightly painted truck driving by advertising Big Momma's on the go. Big Momma's is a favorite take away joint tucked in a residential neighborhood off Anderson Street. Big Momma's is one of the only places open selling breakfast items on Sundays so it's a favorite of mine. I couldn't tell what the truck is for (selling food or making deliveries) but I'm on the lookout for it around town. In fact I think I'll head over and get some breakfast this morning and see what the story is.