STARKVILLE, Miss. - A new restaurant opened on June 17th in Starkville that promises to deliver recognizable favorites with an elevated flair from locally sourced products, but that's
the long description. The short answer is, “It's just a restaurant,” according to Michael McIntosh, Director of Operations. “If we describe it as anything, it's a 'really good' restaurant.” The fact is that Taste doesn't want to come with any pretense.
“Fine dining is a tired word,” says Chef Jeff Thornberry. “And we definitely aren't trying to be fine dining. We want Taste to be a restaurant for all occasions. If you want to have a ribeye and an expensive bottle of wine for your birthday, you can do that. If you want to have a flatbread and a beer at the bar with friends, you can do that. The restaurant can be whatever you want it to be. We call it a place to celebrate life's victories.”
The approachability of the menu starts with the cornbread waffles served as an appetizer with black truffle butter ($7). These waffles are cooked to order and the blend of sweet and savory is a great balance. Other apps of note are the roasted duck dumplings ($14), glazed pork belly ($10) and the wagyu meatballs ($24). Taste boasts a French fry menu that allows you to top crispy shoestring fries with everything from crawfish to duck sausage gravy. For a main, the Cast Iron Redfish is popular ($23), and for dessert, warm chocolate chop cookies served with a glass of cold vanilla milk ($7).
And the food isn't everything that is elevated. Corey Jernigan is the Master Mixologist for Taste and his cocktail menu is nothing like most restaurants in the state have seen. One of his most popular concoctions is the Salt Air Margarita ($12) which is basically a margarita but instead of a heavily salted rim, the margarita is topped with a light, salty foam that gives the effervescence of the beach that sips easy and smooth. “This margarita might change your life,” says Jernigan.
Taste opened in the old Veranda space located at 208 Lincoln Green, Starkville, Miss., 39759. Construction began in the Spring and the restaurant was able to open before its Father's Day target.
Reservations recommended and can be booked on Open Table.