It seems like yesterday that I was on the phone talking about the big opening party for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Miss. – back in August of 2005. Would I like to attend? Probably not, but still – the news was big. The resort, the first newbie on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in a great while, was going to bring a different kind of experience to an already very vibrant gaming market.
Of course, Katrina put a stop to the whole affair, forcing Hard Rock to raindate the opening. (There was that pesky business of rebuilding the property. And also the town it was located in.)
This weekend, the party’s on again, even if downtown Biloxi, just across the street, isn’t quite itself just yet. Of course, there are all sorts of talking points passed along to me by the hotel – a top-floor Rande Gerber nightclub with Gulf views (not shabby), uniforms designed by a Black Eyed Pea, an opening concert by Kid Rock. Discuss! Or not.
The Hard Rock joins a market much-improved since 2005. The storm gave everyone the chance to upgrade (out of necessity, mostly) and in some cases, revamp (the better-than-ever, already spectacular Beau Rivage) or hire Emeril to do your gourmet room (he’s now open at the Island View in Gulfport).
But, more importantly, what of the actual Gulf Coast itself – the part without Big Gaming to lean on for a new golf course in the backyard? Perhaps more than New Orleans, you can count on the region improving day to day, even if there’s still masses of devastation on display.
Go on and visit, though — Mississippi is a must, best paired up with some time in New Orleans or in one of the New Urbanist communities on Florida’s Panhandle. Just make sure that you don’t pass through here without getting fed at The Shed in Ocean Springs, which I’ve mentioned once before, but y’all can handle it.
This legendary BBQ joint on the edge of the trailer camp where Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie set up shop at one point during the terrible reign of The Simple Life. The Shed is quintessential Mississippi Gulf – fall-off-the-bone ribs drenched in oregano-spiked sauce and Jimmy Buffett’s “Fruitcakes” blaring from the PA.
Hungry or not, the Tato-Nut donut shop (as in, ‘dere be ‘tato in dat ‘nut!’) on Government Street in the heart of an always appealing town is an essential post-Shed stop. Guaranteed to make anyone who ever thought they loved Krispy Kreme have their head examined.