A Retreat

From the day-to-day

A Girlfriend’s Getaway in Corinth, Mississippi

Sometimes, you just need a little time away with your girlfriends to relax and refresh, and the trick to creating that perfect getaway comes down to one thing — location, location, location! We started on the hunt for a walkable town packed with culture, unique local shops, and food so good that we’d brag about it when we got home. We landed in Corinth, Miss., and let me tell you — it did not disappoint.

Erin Austen Abbott

Erin Austen Abbott is a freelance writer, photographer, and author whose work focuses mainly on food, lifestyle, family, and travel. She is based in Water Valley, Mississippi, where she is working on her third book.

@erinaustenabbott

erinaustenabbott.com

@erinaustenabbott

@erinaustena

A delicious beginning

The Carriage House was our Airbnb home away from home, and we felt an instant sense of calm from the moment we walked in. A gorgeous, carefully-restored vintage house, the owners thought of every amenity the modern traveler might need. The setup was large, airy, and comfortable, affording us the perfect space to spread out and unwind.

We freshened up and headed to a charcuterie class at the beautiful Southern Magnolia gift shop. Held on the second Thursday of each month, students can learn the decadent art of creating a stunning (and tasty!) charcuterie board, each session featuring a different “theme.” Our brunch theme had us carefully arranging donut holes, mini bagels with cream cheese, fruit, bourbon bacon, and more. The course also had a flight of delectable mimosas ranging from traditional orange juice to apple cider and pomegranate juice.

After class (despite all of our snacking), we were determined to start sampling Corinth’s famous food scene. We popped into Buck’s BBQ for a quick dinner down the street, where I opted for an American classic: the burger and fries. The cheese dripped from the edges of the hand-formed patty and onto the bun, waiting to soak it back up. To say that this meal was heaven to my tastebuds is an understatement! My friends had the BBQ — the pulled pork was moist, well-seasoned, and delicious.

Sights, snacks, and shops

The next morning, we headed downtown to do the 60 Sights in 60 Minutes walking tour through Corinth, ready to immerse ourselves in the town’s rich history and culture. Corinth’s stories range from the travesties of the Civil War to grand Southern architecture (the Verandah House has special events that are not to be missed) and the Coca-Cola Museum, which was part of the classic beverage’s bottling plant in Corinth for many years. The tour weaves you through downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, blending the beauty of the present with tales of the past.

We stopped for lunch and rest before doing some afternoon shopping in the SoCo District. There were so many excellent options, but we were craving Blazing Noodlez Thai food and gorged ourselves on Pad Thai, chicken satay, crab rangoon, and a delicious soup called Tom Yom Gung.

Walking Tour

With an important Civil War legacy, stunning historic homes, a vibrant downtown, and more, visitors can spend days exploring Corinth, Mississippi. Fortunately, you can enjoy it all during a quick visit as well. Whether you’re making the most of a short trip or simply want to get outside on a beautiful day, Visit Corinth suggests the 60 Sights in 60 Minutes historic tour. In just an hour, you’ll see many key sites in Corinth’s history, including numerous buildings constructed in the 1800s.

We set out to fully explore the area with full bellies and rested eyes. Starting at Shirley Dawg’s on Wick Street, we browsed two floors of trendy clothes that made it easy to see why it’s a mainstay of the shopping in Corinth. After browsing there, we headed to Love and A Dog, Anna & Anna Clothing, Lipchic Boutique, Hoochies Boutique, Cotton Seed Market, and Ginger’s. I left the Old Time Soda Shop laden with vintage-style sodas to take home to my family and some novelty candy for gifts.

While on the walking tour, we noticed an independent film, “Mysterious Circumstance,” playing at the Coliseum Theatre that evening, so we returned to the house to clean up and headed to a pre-movie dinner at Pizza Grocery. It was such a fun atmosphere, built in what was once an old grocery store warehouse and now houses a small-town pizza shop. The restaurant boasts much more than just pizza, with an extensive menu including sandwiches, calzones, and plenty of appetizers.

Live in the now, plan for the next

The phrase “next trip” has become a running joke amongst my friends, as I am always planning my next trip back to a spot I love before the vacation is even over. I started off our Saturday doing just that, torn between breakfast at Joe’s Diner or Abe’s, a local favorite that looks exactly like my kind of place. Joe’s Diner won out this time, and its popularity was evident — cars lined up to order, and people waited for a table in the small trailer-turned restaurant. They have prices you couldn’t beat if you tried; a sausage biscuit was only $1.50! I added hash browns and a sweet tea to drink and left with my stomach and wallet full and happy.

The Green Market is a monthly local and regional artists’ market where you can find sweets, soaps, pottery, woodworking, and more.

Rain canceled our morning plans, but as the saying goes, “next time I come back with my family,” I’m determined to visit the Green Market at The Corinth Depot. The Green Market is a monthly local and regional artists’ market where you can find sweets, soaps, pottery, woodworking, and more. We visited a few antique markets while the rain passed, then walked through the Corinth Contraband Camp, which I hadn’t heard of before. Only open for a year before relocating to Memphis, this enslavement refugee camp allowed about 6,000 people to begin their path to freedom.

Historically good fun

After the learning experience, we grabbed lunch at Borroum’s Drug Store (Mississippi’s oldest and still locally-owned.) We beat the midday crowd and settled in to try one of Corinth’s specialties, the original slug burger. This surprisingly tasty dish started as a Depression Era money-saver and is part meat and part soybeans, served with mustard, pickles, and onions. The burger even has an annual festival held in its honor for 35 years and counting.

Wanting to walk off our lunch, we revisited the shops from the day before and wandered into some new ones like Sanctuary. The owner has a keen eye for design, making the store a destination in and of itself. Once the shopping was complete, we got ready for snacks and rooftop drinks at Conservatory. The vibe felt very urban, with a view overlooking downtown and the trains running through it. After cocktails, some delicious crab dip, and tachos (tater tot nachos), we headed to Vicari, the big sister to Conservatory.

For a historic building, it doesn’t show its age — lingering classic charm gives way to a richly modern feel. We opted to sit upstairs by the bar in a private sofa area, secluded within the packed restaurant. We had tickets to the local performance at the Corinth Theatre Arts, so we decided to share appetizers for a quick bite. Their stuffed mushrooms were hands down the best I’ve ever had, and the piled-high serving of crab claws amounted to more than we could even finish. After Vicari, we headed to the theatre, impressed by its 55 years of consistent quality performances. We saw Life is a Cabaret, a collection of songs from past performances and a kick-off to their new season, echoing the dedication that the town so clearly has to the arts.

It was hard to leave the following day, feeling like we didn’t have time to pack everything Corinth has to offer into our already long weekend, but as they say… there’s always next time!

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