This year Visit Oxford has renewed the focus on locally grown produce and products. The food vendors who will be selling on the Square this weekend tells you all you need to know about where Oxford’s priorities lie. It’s all about family and hard work here. Local produce continues to be at the helm of the food vendors.
“Because we work with local farmers, we will have tacos with locally-provided brisket, which is my favorite,” Melody Sharp, owner of Living Foods Oxford, said. “Local sweet beans are on the menu too, as well as Sweet Magnolia Ice Cream with organic sugar cones. That ice cream comes straight from the Delta, which is one of the reasons we love it so much.”
Proud Larry’s is also excited to bring dishes straight out of Southern cookbooks, according to one of Proud Larry’s servers, Brandon Carter.
“We’ll have shrimp gumbo served over a bed of Louisiana rice, which is the favorite,” Carter said.
“There will also be jambalaya with sausage, shrimp, cream sauce and roast beef sandwiches marinated the whole day beforehand.”
In LB’s Meat Market, the emphasis is on business and hard work, Greg Jones, who works in sales at LB’s, said.
“We butcher in-house, with a local touch,” Jones said. “We’ll have smoked sausage dogs and Philly cheese steaks for lunch. It’s all about people from Oxford treating the people who come in, letting them know what Oxford is about.”
Honey Bee Bakery likes to add an artistic touch, co-owner, Shannon Adams, said.
“We have Double Decker Bus Ice Sugar Cookies, as big as your hand, that come on a stick,” Adams said. “When I started out in the art community, I was all about pottery, so now this gives me a chance to dip into my creative side while cooking. It’s our seventh year to have them and they are hand-made from scratch.”
For some businesses, multiple items sell well during Double Decker. For others, there’s a clear best seller.
“Eggrolls,” said Lisa Wu of Ming’s Kitchen. “We serve a lot of egg rolls, with fresh cabbage. They are a huge hit during Double Decker, especially.”
Funky’s and Old Venice Pizza Company are bringing their best this weekend as well.
“My favorites are the spicy crawfish pizza and the macaroni and cheese pizza,” Lee Harris, owner of Funky’s, said. “We’ll also serve the New York-style pizza and virgin daiquiris.”
Old Venice Pizza Company’s, in front of the Oxford-Lafayette Courthouse, will have three kinds of pizza and cotton candy, according to manager Natalia Burgon.
“We’ve been prepping a lot,” Burgon said. “I think my personal favorite of ours would be the Chicken Parmesan.”
The festival and food vendors open at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
