Mis sissippi’s B es t S t eak an d B u r g e r ARTICLE BY BRANDI PERRY, PHOTOS BY DORI LOWE
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he Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association (MCA) does an incredible job in our state not only working to increase profit opportunities for beef and cattle producers in the state but also by promoting the industry. Every fall, the MCA and the Mississippi Beef Council team up to find the best steak and hamburger in the state. The public nominates their favorites until they reach a top-five list in each category. Then, an anonymous panel will eat at each of the top five spots and then determine a winner in each category. The winner takes home far more than bragging rights for the year as both winners receive a $1,000 advertising package and is announced during the Dixie National Rodeo in February. Andy Berry, the Executive Vice President of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association and Executive for the Mississippi Beef Council, said the friendly competition is a great deal of fun for everyone involved. “There are so many times that people in our state don’t know what all we have to offer, and by awarding the best hamburger and steak in the state, it gives us a chance to help promote some of the best restaurants and beef in the south.” There is no doubt this annual event promotes culinary tourism for the Magnolia State and in turn drives more people to experience everything Mississippi has to offer. In the fall of 2021, the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association and Mississippi Beef Council started the voting process. In November, the top five in both the steak and hamburger categories were chosen. The top five restaurants in the best steak category were Cheryl’s Steakhouse (Ocean Springs), Como Steakhouse (Como), Delta Steakhouse (Senatobia), Huck’s
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Place (Columbus) and Marshall Steakhouse (Holly Springs). In the best hamburger category, three Marion County restaurants were listed in the top five, which were Debbie’s (Columbia), The Ville (Coffeeville), Zip’s Café (Magee), Reagan’s Corner (Kokomo), and R House (Columbia). After the anonymous panel of judges had a chance to try each burger and steak in each of the top five, the winners were chosen. Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs was awarded the Best Steak in Mississippi, while Zip’s Café took home the Best Hamburger in Mississippi award. As soon as the winners were announced at the Dixie National Rodeo, people from all over the southeast started flocking to both locations to see what all the fuss was about. It did not take them long to figure out why each of them were chosen as the best of the best. Opened in July 2017, Marshall Steakhouse in Holly Springs serves only prime steaks while welcoming in more than 2,000 customers a week. But imagine for a second: had owner Randall Swaney’s plans come to fruition, the steakhouse would have never been a reality. Originally from Memphis, Swaney was building a barn on his property in Holly Springs, but the continuous rain kept hindering the progress of the construction. So, he decided to buy a building instead of trying to build one. Initially, the idea was to build a sawmill, and then he thought a feed store might be a good idea. Finally, the thought of opening a firearms store came up, and Swaney said, “I just thought I might put a Weber grill in the back of the store and cook hamburgers for my customers and maybe steaks once a week.” That single thought inspired Swaney to start researching the steakhouses that were close by,
