Travel

New Digs in the Mississippi Delta

The brand-new Cotton House, Cleveland, Mississippi’s first boutique hotel, has all the charm and hospitality you’d expect in “the most Southern place on earth”

By Caroline Sanders Clements

August 19, 2019

Photo: Nick Tortajada

A guest room at the Cotton House.

It’s a universal irony: Sleepy little towns like Cleveland, Mississippi, boast very few places where visitors can actually sleep. Resolving that conundrum provided the impetus behind Cotton House, a five-story, ninety-five-room boutique hotel that opened at the end of July in downtown Cleveland. The decor is decidedly Delta: Artwork depicts the rich landscape and even richer personalities, the rooftop has the laid-back feel of a juke joint, and the lobby beckons with easy chairs.

Nick Tortajada

The real star, though, is the food overseen by James Beard Award semifinalist chef Cole Ellis. His darling Delta Meat Market, which revolutionized the Cleveland dining scene as well as the nightlife with its Friday happy hours, moved from its location across the street into the Cotton House’s lobby. “One thing folks made clear is that they want the new place to have the feel of the old Meat Market, and it does,” Ellis says. “Although for the first time, we are open for breakfast and dinner, too.” Bar Fontaine, the rooftop hangout, features homemade pastas and an expansive wine list. “But we rest our hats on a hell of a great bourbon bar,” Ellis says. If you aren’t feeling so sleepy after one nightcap, order another. In true Delta fashion, Ellis’s policy is, generally, “stay until we kick you out.” (Bonus: Get a cocktail recipe from Bar Fontaine below.)

Photo: Nick Tortajada

Lobby of the Cotton House.

Photo: Nick Tortajada

A guest suite.

A Different Kind of Catfish

This effervescent vodka, lemon, and basil cocktail comes straight out of the Mississippi Delta

Ingredients

Yield: 1 cocktail
The Catfish
- 2 oz. Cathead vodka
- 1 fresh basil leaf
- 2 dashes meyer lemon vinegar
- 6 oz. Basil Lemon Soda (see recipe below, or use a store-bought substitute such as San Pellegrino Lemon Soda)
- Sparkling wine
Basil Lemon Soda (Yield: about 4 cups)
- ¼ lb. fresh basil leaves
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 cups water
- Juice of 9 lemons with the zest
- Pinch of salt

Since the Cotton House opened in Cleveland, Mississippi, at the end of July, business has already been booming. That’s partly because, as Cleveland’s first and only boutique hotel, it provides a wealth of charm and Southern hospitality to the little Delta town. It’s also thanks to chef Cole Ellis, who helms both the Delta Meat Market downstairs—a refreshed, larger iteration of the original location across the street that garnered him a James Beard nod for Best Chefs in America in 2017—and the brand-new Bar Fontaine on the rooftop.

This rooftop perch’s food offerings—small plates such as rosemary focaccia with whipped ricotta and pasta dishes like fettucine tossed with brussels sprouts and peppers—have a southern European flare, but the drinks stay true to Mississippi. “The bar manager, Matthew McCain, and I started playing around with the idea of having our drinks menu incorporate Delta-style names and local ingredients,” Ellis says. He recommends the Rail Car—Four Roses bourbon, cane syrup, and pecan smoked lemon—or this lemon, basil, and vodka concoction made with Jackson, Mississippi’s Cathead vodka that’s refreshing enough to beat the end-of-summer heat even in the so-called most Southern place on earth.

Preparation

For the cocktail: In a shaker, mix vodka, a basil leaf, and vinegar, muddle together. Add soda, stir, and pour over ice in a 12-oz. collins glass. Top with sparkling wine.

For the Basil Lemon Soda: Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let steep for 10 minutes. Strain. Add cooled contents to soda canister and charge.

Recipe from chef Cole Ellis of Bar Fontaine.