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Mini-biscuits lead to big title for Natchez
Published Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The famous biscuits at The Carriage House are special, mainly because of their size.
They aren’t your grandmother’s hefty, flaky, chunks of warm goodness.
They are petite little things intended only to deceive.
Something so small can’t be bad for you, your stomach tells your brain. It’s little. Have another.
And another.
Three mini-biscuits can’t possibly equate to even one of the normal-sized ones.
Have another.
And before you know it you are eating them by the handful.
Mini biscuits don’t come with miniature-sized “Nutrition Facts” charts, so I don’t know exactly how bad for you a buttery Carriage House biscuit is.
I can only imagine.
But this little biscuit serves a purpose greater than inflating the stomachs of Natchez residents and tourists alike.
They’ve helped — at least in part — to earn us a title.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brace yourselves, prepare your stomachs and step right up to the BISCUIT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
That’s right, you heard it. Natchez has a title.
We now sit proudly alongside the likes of Kennett Square, Pa., the Mushroom Capital of the World; Sheboygan, Wis., the Bratwurst Capital of the World; and Naples, N.Y., the Grape Pie Capital of the World.
Haul in the flour, pour in some milk and get ready to start munching.
But what do we get from our newfound biscuit domination?
Well, that’s hard to say exactly, but the folks who worked three years to bring the title home had a few ideas in their heads along the way. Their most important thought, though, was marketing.
In this day and age, you have to know your niche. Just take a look at the magazine racks in the bookstores. Publishers don’t just make sports magazines. They make tennis magazines, golf magazines, racing magazines, curling magazines and more.
In the world of marketing you have to key in on something specific or you’ll be left to sit on the newsstand alone.
For Natchez, we know we have good food. It’s the South, that’s a given. But, what food do we do best?
Obviously there wasn’t a scientific poll that declared biscuits our best, but just roll with it a bit.
The Carriage House biscuits are unlike others I’ve had. We have a restaurant named Biscuits and Blues. We host the annual Martha White biscuit cook-off.
Biscuits seem like a good choice.
The brains behind the biscuit title also had to consider whether or not someone else was already claiming to be the Biscuit Capital of the World. As we’ve learned from Kennett Square and Naples, pretty much everything is already taken.
The end result? Biscuits are our newfound niche.
Now, we can claim the title online, on advertisements, in press releases, on banners and more. We can invite the Travel Channel or the Food Network to visit the Biscuit Capital of the World, do a feature story and in turn, drive other traffic to see the rest of our fine attractions.
Who knows, maybe there is even a “Biscuit lovers club of America” that can host their annual convention here.
We all know we aren’t going to stop shoving the bundles of the Carriage House biscuits into our mouths, so we might as well reap the benefits.
Worse titles exist.
Try a visit to Beaver, Okla. — The Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World.
Julie Finley is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.finley@nathezdemocrat.com.
Comments
Posted by TheSarge (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 12:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope food network and Alton Brown comes back. I missed him last time and want his autograph SO bad!
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 12:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I suppose we could also be advertised as the city that never sleeps, but it seems that some would prefer for that to change. Perhaps the bars could just stop serving alcohol at 2 am, and still stay open all night, but only serve biscuits and tea after 2.
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now the Carriage House has the biscuits!....not biscuits and blues or Regina.
Posted by SayItRight (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mmmmmm. Those little biscuits and chicken salad from the Carriage House are to die for.
Posted by happybunny (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 8:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Peace007...get a life.
Someone should invite Bobby Flay for a biscuit throwdown!
Posted by VillageIdiot (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Does anyone know who claims the Marketing Gimmick "Capital of the World" title?
Posted by meluvcookies (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
happybunny, I was thinking the same thing!
Posted by fuzzmonkey (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's great title I suppose; the biscuits in Natchez are very good but we may have come away with something a little more exciting had we put more of a local spin on our food fest this past weekend.
Posted by happybunny (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, that was really odd, there were only a few local restaraunts there on Friday. You would think that we would have Natchez restaraunts participating, I was disappointed.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is a better title than "Natchez, A Certified Retirement Community"
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
unhappyrabbit they probably heard that you were gonna be there, lol. That's why I didn't go.
Posted by happybunny (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow...such hostilaty from the good christian.
Posted by missmuzeum (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 1:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I can't make a decent biscuit if my life depended on it, so I don't get them often. Any tips on biscuit making? (besides going to the Carriage House to let someone else do it for me)
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
unhappyrabbit, thank you for the compliment of calling me a good christian.
I have no idea who you are so there is no way I would have known that you would be there...I was only joking with you because you told me to get a life. If I were truly showing "hostility", they would have had to delete my comment...as they often do yours, lol...
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 2:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
miss, my biscuits could be used as weapons, so I usually get mine at McDonalds with egg and sausage. Or, I go to my mom's, as she makes the best biscuits that I've ever eaten. Also, WalMart's Great Value brand has some frozen biscuits that are pretty good that come in a resealable bag. I buy those when I want some to bake at home, because I can just bake 1 or 2 at the time instead of having a bunch left over.
Posted by RobinBrownHayes (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 2:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Aside from the biscuits at the Carriage House, which are the best. I have found that you can buy a bag of the "Mary B's" frozen biscuits, throw away the bag and no one will be the wiser that they weren't home-made. They really are good.
I'm so proud that I can say I come from the Biscuit Capital of the World and presently live in the Jambalaya Capital of the World. LOL
Posted by straightshooter1 (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 9:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
my biscuits have gotten too large from eating too many biscuits
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 10:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I make a mean biscuit, my wife and kids love them...I even make cinnamon and blueberry biscuits. I do not write down recipes though, it starts with 4 cups of self-rising flour, 6 tablespoons of butter flavored crisco, and just enough buttermilk to make the dough workable. Then you hand-knead them and roll out balls the size of baseballs and press them down in a pan. It makes about 9 biscuits and cook them on 400 degrees for 18 minutes.
Posted by happybunny (anonymous) on August 6, 2008 at 10:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
straightshooter...LOL Mine should be in a circus :)
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 1:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
RobinBrownHayes those are the kind I use also...aren't they great!? I bake mine almost an hour and lower than the package says and when they come out of the oven I pour hot melted butter on them....they gooood.
Posted by dixiecrat (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How are we the "Biscuit Capital of the World?" We have 2 restaurants that serve biscuits (not counting McDonalds and Shoneys -- and they're the only places you can get the classic Southern staple of "biscuits 'n' gravy"). I'd wager more biscuits are consumed at the Brookhaven Cracker Barrel in a month than in Natchez all year! Who makes up this stuff? It's like when you go to restaurants in other places (Disney, Opryland, etc) and they serve "Natchez meat pies" -- obviously, Natchitoches was too hard to spell/say -- but the only place you can actually buy them here is at the gas station!
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is just another attempt to make Natchez seem better to the outside than what the reality is....
Posted by Desiderata (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Such negativity towards the city of Natchez is very sad. I have lived here all my life and found Natchez to be one of the most beautiful cities around, biscuits and all....
Posted by Fenwick (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We have us a Popeye's too and they make real good bicuits. I'll bet folks come from all over to get some. Redusman, it doesn't sound like you like Natchez verymuch. I think its a real nice place to visit.
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
True dat but I love also Dairy Queens biscuits and gravy in the mornings but those are soooo good they should be illegal.
Posted by leona (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
y'all are making me hungry and i just had lunch! i am so excited for the carriage house. i think a book could be written of all of the different varieties of biscuits. my mom makes a drop kind of biscuit that you don't knead in a lot of flour and they are so moist...then add butter. they are fine! we do have a lot of good biscuits here. speaking of popeyes, does anyone find that their biscuits sometimes taste like soap?
Posted by RobinBrownHayes (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dixiecrat, They may be talking about Natchez LA which is fairly close to Natchitoches. And I assure you, if you've never had the biscuits at the Carriage House then you are missing a treat. Once you try them you'll understand the title.
Posted by missmuzeum (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 4:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Red-I'll give the biscuit recipe and try, but I'm not holding my breath! Baseball-sized?
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on August 7, 2008 at 5:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe just a little bit smaller...but roll the dough up with you hands...and mash the balls down to make them about 1 inch thick in the pan...then place them in the oven.
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