Laurie, Lizzie and Liza
We started off the weekend by grilling our own Heartland Catfish: farm-raised in the Mississippi Delta! Farm-raised catfish is the freshest seafood you can get in the Hills of Mississppi. We also grilled asparagus and mushrooms purchased at the Farmers' Market in Oxford.
Our Grove tailgate consisted of bloody marys and mimosas, fried chicken with pickles from Lindsey's Chevron - featured in last month's Bon Appetit, veggies from the Farmers' Market with dips, homemade salsa with Santitas authentic Mexican style chips, homemade ham and cheese poppyseed biscuits and a dessert selection from my favorite bakery, Honey Bee Bakery!*Note - We did not have our own tent/table/chairs/cooler to set up our own tailgate in the Grove, so we payed a professional who was actually nice enough to let us rent his personal stuff. Most people who offer to set up your tent/table/chairs/cooler the night before, expect you to supply your own. If you are visiting Oxford, you will have to arrange to rent these items, which can get to be $$$. Call Brandon Mason to help set you up in the Grove - he's the best there is! 662.538.1211!
Amazing fried chicken strips from Lindsey's Chevron in Oxford. Order in advance for a game weekend, and be sure to pull back the tin foil covering the platter upon pickup! (The chicken will continue to cook under the tin foil - if you remove the foil, the chicken + pickles will stay crisp!!!)
Awesome dessert box from Honey Bee Bakery - we dropped it as we unloaded the car in a mass of Grove chaos and the chocolate cupcakes got smushed!
Dramatic sights from the Grove!
Our neighbor's tailgate spread...
blackened shrimp atop fried green tomato, with maque choux and remoulade
pear and gorgonzola tossed with spinach, pine nuts and roasted peppers with a side of fried potatos
beef tenderloin grillades, with peppers and onions, over white cheddar grits
Ravine owner may file suit against the state.
Joel Miller vows to keep fighting for wine sales
By Rick Hynum
The Oxford Enterprise Editor
Chef and proprietor Joel Miller said he will not give up fighting for the right to sell wine on Sundays at his upscale restaurant/bed-and-breakfast, Ravine, despite last week’s setback when the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors declined to back his efforts.
Miller said on Wednesday that he is mulling over his options and may file a lawsuit against the state.
Miller appeared before county supervisors on Monday and asked that they draft a letter to the State Tax Commission supporting his goal to offer wine on Ravine’s Sunday menu. However, District 2 Supervisor Johnny Morgan said the decision rests with the State Tax Commission, not the county, and advised Miller to “exhaust all options with the state.”
District 1 Supervisor Mike Pickens later moved to deny Miller’s request. The motion passed by a 4-1 vote, with only District 4 Supervisor and board president Lloyd Oliphant voting against it.
The State Tax Commission granted Ravine “resort status” but restricted it to the hours for legal alcohol sales in Oxford, even though the restaurant is located just beyond the city limits. According to Miller, the commission told him that if the county supervisors wrote a letter saying they had no objection to Sunday wine sales in Ravine, the restrictions could be changed.
“Supposedly, I still have a route to the State Tax Commission (and) can directly appeal to them,” Miller said Wednesday. “But they also told me that just because I have the right to appear before them, they don’t have to listen to me.”
Miller said a better approach may be to “lawyer up” and take his case to court. “I want to try to do this as diplomatically as possible” and follow the proper channels, he said. “But I have a feeling I’ll run into the same close-mindedness.”
He said he didn’t expect the supervisors to take his side in the first place. “There was no surprise, no disappointment,” he said.
Even so, he made his plea to the board on Monday, arguing that he ran a respectable business with a respectable clientele. “People come in there for a glass of wine with their meal. They don’t come in there to binge-drink.”
He pointed out that Castle Hill Resort (formerly the Colonel’s Quarters), also located outside of the city, is permitted to sell alcohol 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “I’m not asking for that,” he noted.
Oliphant seemed to agree with Miller, calling it “a fairness issue.” But Morgan said Miller’s problem lay with the State Tax Commission, not the board. “I personally feel that it is not in the best interests of this board to preempt the actions of a state agency and second-guess their decision,” he said. “They’ve got to have a reason. Of course, nobody’s given me that reason yet. I’d like to know more about their reasons” for requiring Ravine to adhere to Oxford’s alcohol sale hours.
But Miller said he has never been able to get a clear answer from the commission.
On Wednesday Miller said he is still working on his game plan, but added, “We are going to pursue it. No question. A lot of people were hoping I’d give up and go away. That’s not going to happen.”
Amazing fried chicken strips from Lindsey's Chevron in Oxford. Order in advance for a game weekend, and be sure to pull back the tin foil covering the platter upon pickup! (The chicken will continue to cook under the tin foil - if you remove the foil, the chicken + pickles will stay crisp!!!)
Awesome dessert box from Honey Bee Bakery - we dropped it as we unloaded the car in a mass of Grove chaos and the chocolate cupcakes got smushed! 
Dramatic sights from the Grove!
Our neighbor's tailgate spread...It's impossible to get a dinner reservation on a game weekend without calling at the very least a month in advance. That's the true reason why we cooked at home on Friday night. It's also hard to find a lunch spot on Saturday - and forget about it on Sunday! All most all of the restaurants in Oxford are closed on Sundays, and they also cannot serve alcohol (city of Oxford law.) However, Ravine was open for brunch and we were lucky enough to get a seat there on Sunday!
blackened shrimp atop fried green tomato, with maque choux and remoulade
pear and gorgonzola tossed with spinach, pine nuts and roasted peppers with a side of fried potatos
beef tenderloin grillades, with peppers and onions, over white cheddar gritsYou may have read in the Oxford news that Ravine is fighting to be able to serve alcohol on Sundays since they are physically located outside of the city limits of Oxford. You can read more about their recent battle on theoxfordenterprise.com:
Ravine owner may file suit against the state.
Joel Miller vows to keep fighting for wine sales
By Rick Hynum
The Oxford Enterprise Editor
Chef and proprietor Joel Miller said he will not give up fighting for the right to sell wine on Sundays at his upscale restaurant/bed-and-breakfast, Ravine, despite last week’s setback when the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors declined to back his efforts.
Miller said on Wednesday that he is mulling over his options and may file a lawsuit against the state.
Miller appeared before county supervisors on Monday and asked that they draft a letter to the State Tax Commission supporting his goal to offer wine on Ravine’s Sunday menu. However, District 2 Supervisor Johnny Morgan said the decision rests with the State Tax Commission, not the county, and advised Miller to “exhaust all options with the state.”
District 1 Supervisor Mike Pickens later moved to deny Miller’s request. The motion passed by a 4-1 vote, with only District 4 Supervisor and board president Lloyd Oliphant voting against it.
The State Tax Commission granted Ravine “resort status” but restricted it to the hours for legal alcohol sales in Oxford, even though the restaurant is located just beyond the city limits. According to Miller, the commission told him that if the county supervisors wrote a letter saying they had no objection to Sunday wine sales in Ravine, the restrictions could be changed.
“Supposedly, I still have a route to the State Tax Commission (and) can directly appeal to them,” Miller said Wednesday. “But they also told me that just because I have the right to appear before them, they don’t have to listen to me.”
Miller said a better approach may be to “lawyer up” and take his case to court. “I want to try to do this as diplomatically as possible” and follow the proper channels, he said. “But I have a feeling I’ll run into the same close-mindedness.”
He said he didn’t expect the supervisors to take his side in the first place. “There was no surprise, no disappointment,” he said.
Even so, he made his plea to the board on Monday, arguing that he ran a respectable business with a respectable clientele. “People come in there for a glass of wine with their meal. They don’t come in there to binge-drink.”
He pointed out that Castle Hill Resort (formerly the Colonel’s Quarters), also located outside of the city, is permitted to sell alcohol 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “I’m not asking for that,” he noted.
Oliphant seemed to agree with Miller, calling it “a fairness issue.” But Morgan said Miller’s problem lay with the State Tax Commission, not the board. “I personally feel that it is not in the best interests of this board to preempt the actions of a state agency and second-guess their decision,” he said. “They’ve got to have a reason. Of course, nobody’s given me that reason yet. I’d like to know more about their reasons” for requiring Ravine to adhere to Oxford’s alcohol sale hours.
But Miller said he has never been able to get a clear answer from the commission.
On Wednesday Miller said he is still working on his game plan, but added, “We are going to pursue it. No question. A lot of people were hoping I’d give up and go away. That’s not going to happen.”
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