Corinth, MS - Slugburgers

After our trip to Brices Cross Roads, it’s dark and time for dinner.

Ever had a slugburger? Nope, I’m not talking about those slimy critters that ooze along the trail when we’re hiking. I’m talking about a hamburger ground up with soy meal and some other common kitchen ingredients and then deep fried and put on a bun. And. you think that sounds just as good as one of those slugs that slimes along the trails? I’ve read that it is a ‘Southern delicacy’ but it is only sold in the Corinth area of NE Mississippi. Oh, there are other places that sell it but it originated here and, to the locals, this is the only place to get a real slugburger. And, we just knew that we had to partake of this local delicacy to be able to say we had been in Corinth, MS.

We did some research online and by asking the volunteer in the Interpretive Center to find out where the best was served. White Trolley was the answer and, since it was the family that owned the White Trolley who invented this delicacy, we keyed it into our GPS and there we were. Who in the world would photograph themselves like that?

It’s actually a white restaurant with a long counter lined with condiments. And, also lined with these treats. Boxes and boxes of them.

In fact this location sells more of the Pecan (pronounced pee can’) pies from this company than any other place. This is truly a great example of what the Food Network means when they speak about a Diner, Drive-In or Dive. In fact, when the Food Network wanted to find the best hamburger in each state in the US, the White Trolley was the Mississippi place mentioned. Here’s their map. (I was happy to see Hickory House in Ames, IA as the Iowa ‘best’ and In-N-Out as the California ‘best’.)

During the Depression years, diner cooks sought to stretch ground beef to get more burgers per pound. Originally these hamburgers were made using potato flour as an extender. It all started back in 1917 when John Weeks started selling hamburgers from a wagon (6’ x 12’) on two bicycle wheels. He could barely turn around in it, surrounded by his oil burner, a shelf with buns, meat and hog lard for cooking. He sold these hamburgers for 5 cents each (a slug, right?)

At one time all 5 Weeks boys were selling hamburgers. One brother actually bought an old trolley and converted it into a hamburger diner and then converted 4 more. Note that they are selling hamburgers called - ‘Weeksburgers’. Slugburgers come along later - during the depression. By the way, if slugburgers make you queasy, you can still order a regular hamburger - just order a ‘beef-burger’ from the menu.

We sat at the counter and the waitress explained it all to us. Luckily I had down my research and knew what I was ordering. And, remember, we eat soy-burgers all the time. The slugburger is made into small patties, which are fried in canola oil. You can order the slugburgers with the ‘norm’ which is pickles, onions and mustard. Or, you can make up what you want: I chose pickles, lettuce and tomato.

Were they good? Ah, the mustard and pickle tasted great. Would I order them again? Ah, probably not. But then, I’ll probably never be in Corinth again. There is a festival every year for the Slugburger. Here’s their 2012 logo - the 25th anniversary.

When we got back to the campground in the dark and rain we saw that we had a new neighbor coming in. And, they were still coming in. To get into a site in this campground you must turn really wide to the left and then turn sharply to the right to make the angle for the site. Then you need to gun it uphill since the site is on a rise. And, tonight it is rainy and dark. These people had not turned left enough nor right enough nor had they gunned it enough to get up the rise. They were stuck in the mud on that slight rise. Not only that but they had left the lights on in their towed all day and the battery was dead. In the dark, in the rain, in the mud, on a hill, at an angle they were trying to unhitch that dead Jeep. Because they were at an angle, the hitch was too tight to un-do it. So, he was inside trying to move the RV ever so slightly to get the right angle while she was outside trying to jiggle it loose.

And, then we drove up. Our first thought was to shine our car lights on the hitch so they could see what they were doing. Boy were they excited to see us. They got the Jeep unhitched, Gary pushed it while the guy steer it out of the way, he backed up to get a better angle on the rise but then got stuck in the mud and was spinning his tires. Did you ever think you could spin the tires on an RV? We suggested that he try another spot that wasn’t on such a rise and he backed up and drove into that spot. I parked our Jeep next to theirs so we could use our cables to jump start their Jeep.

Meanwhile the campground owner had brought in his front end loaded - he must have through they were really stuck. In the end, they got into a site, got their electricity hooked up, got their Jeep charged and they were ready for the night. But, here’s the beginning of their day. They had gotten stuck on Interstate 40 through Memphis in a 3 hour traffic jam behind an accident on the freeway. Then, in the dark they had missed the turnoff for the campground and had to drive on and find a place to turn around down the county road. Needless to say, they had a long day.

Prior to this when they had stopped someplace, something had happened to their hitch and when the guy looked in his rear view mirror had noticed that the Jeep was swaying back and forth in back of them. Sure, enough, when he pulled over, he saw that both tow bars had come loose and the car was being towed only by the safety chains. Since it had been Halloween, he thinks that someone had pulled the pins on his hitch. He could have lost his Jeep.

Here is the rut his RV left in the Mississippi dirt and mud after one day of rain.