When B. B. King’s hearse drove down Mississippi’s legendary Blues Highway to his final resting place in Indianola, it stopped at Tunica’s Blue and White Restaurant. “His family and entourage all came in for a meal,” says Joe Weiss, a former owner. During the blues icon’s lifetime, the café was his favorite stop along U.S. Highway 61, and he wasn’t alone. The former Pure Oil gas station café, which marks its centennial this year, has attracted generations of diners. Weiss is working with the current owners to keep the tradition alive, bringing in retired and former cooks to coach new employees on the café’s recipes, which rely on fresh vegetables and nostalgic flavors, from hand-trimmed turnip greens to coconut cream pie. The Blue and White draws crowds for its Fry-Friday buffet with chicken, catfish, and salmon patties. Tunica farmer and hunting guide David Melton can’t remember a time when he didn’t eat there. “I probably sat in a damn high chair throwing water and ice around,” he says. And he’s glad to see it thriving. “It’s like walking into Sunday dinner at your grandmother’s house. I can’t say I grew up there, but I did, I guess.”
Southern Agenda