This Mississippi Restaurant Is Famous For A Dish You Probably Wouldn’t Expect To Find There
What do you picture when someone says Mississippi food? Fried chicken?
Catfish? Maybe a plate of something that comes with a side of gravy and zero regrets. Now, would you expect a pig ear sandwich to steal the spotlight?
Probably not. And yet, that’s exactly the kind of plot twist waiting for you at this place. The order sounds almost too strange to take seriously.
A soft bun, a braised pig ear, hot sauce, and whatever else makes the whole thing sing. Sounds weird?
Sure. But weird in the “why am I already thinking about my next one?” kind of way. This isn’t some carefully polished food trend that showed up last Tuesday. It’s the kind of old-school local food that has been doing its thing for decades while everyone else catches up.
And honestly? Mississippi may have been onto something the whole time.
The Pig Ear Sandwich That Started It All
Nobody walks into Big Apple Inn planning to order a pig ear sandwich and walk out a true believer, but that is exactly what keeps happening.
The pig ear sandwich is the undisputed star of this menu, a dish so unexpected it practically dares you to try it. Pressure-cooked until tender and silky, the pig ear is stacked into a soft slider bun alongside tangy coleslaw and a hit of hot sauce that wakes everything up.
The texture is unlike anything most people have encountered before. It is tender, slightly gelatinous, and rich in a way that is deeply satisfying once you commit to that first bite.
The garlic seasoning adds a savory depth that ties the whole thing together beautifully.
What makes this sandwich so iconic is the sheer boldness of its simplicity. There are no fancy toppings, no elaborate sauces, just honest ingredients prepared with decades of practiced skill.
Priced at just a couple of dollars, it is one of the most affordable culinary adventures you will ever take. Once you try it, you will completely understand why food writers, television personalities, and curious travelers keep making the pilgrimage to Farish Street just for this one unforgettable bite.
A Farish Street Legend With Deep Roots
Some restaurants are just places to eat, and then there are places like Big Apple Inn, where every wall has a story to tell.
Situated at 509 N Farish St, Jackson, MS 39202, this unassuming little sandwich shop has stood on historic Farish Street since 1952, anchoring a neighborhood that was once the beating heart of African-American business and culture in Mississippi.
Farish Street was a vibrant, bustling corridor filled with music, commerce, and community energy for decades.
Big Apple Inn became a cornerstone of that world, a place where neighbors gathered, conversations flowed, and incredibly affordable food kept everyone coming back. Even as the neighborhood changed around it, the restaurant held its ground with quiet, determined consistency.
Walking up to the exterior today still carries that unmistakable sense of stepping into a different era. The modest storefront does not shout for attention, but it radiates a kind of earned confidence that only comes from nearly a century of showing up and delivering.
There is something deeply grounding about a place that has weathered so much history and still opens its doors every week to feed the community it has always called home. Farish Street shaped Big Apple Inn, and Big Apple Inn shaped Farish Street right back.
The Origin Story That Reads Like A Movie Script
The origin of Big Apple Inn is the kind of story that screenwriters dream about. It all began with Juan “Big John” Mora, a Mexican immigrant who arrived in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1930s with a recipe, a dream, and an extraordinary amount of hustle.
He started out selling hand-rolled hot tamales from a street cart, a tradition rooted in his mother’s cooking, and the neighborhood fell in love immediately.
By 1939, Big John had saved enough to open his own storefront, which he named the Big Apple Inn. Here is where it gets delightfully unexpected: the name was not a nod to New York City at all.
Big John named it after his favorite swing dance, “The Big Apple,” which was wildly popular at the time and perfectly captured the lively, joyful spirit he wanted his restaurant to embody.
The pig ear sandwich came into the picture when a local butcher offered Big John ears that would otherwise go to waste.
Rather than passing, he saw an opportunity and figured out how to pressure cook them into something genuinely delicious.
That resourceful, creative instinct became the foundation of everything Big Apple Inn represents. It is a story about seeing possibility where others see nothing, and turning it into something that lasts for generations.
A Sausage Slider Unlike Any Other
If the pig ear sandwich is the headline act, the “smokes” are the supporting act that somehow steals the show every single time.
These smoked sausage sliders feature a uniquely prepared, distinctly red-hued sausage that gets re-ground after purchase to achieve a texture and flavor profile that is entirely its own. The result is something that sits closer to a spiced chorizo in personality than a standard sausage link.
Served on a soft slider bun with coleslaw and your choice of heat level, the smokes deliver a bold, satisfying punch that keeps people ordering round after round.
You can go mild if you want to ease in, or crank it up to spicy if you are feeling confident. Either way, the combination of that smoky, seasoned meat with the cool crunch of the slaw is genuinely addictive.
The attention to detail in something as seemingly simple as a sausage slider is what separates Big Apple Inn from everywhere else.
Re-grinding the sausage is an extra step that most places would skip, but that choice creates a completely different eating experience.
The smokes have earned their own devoted following, with regulars who will tell you, completely seriously, that no sausage sandwich anywhere else comes close to touching what Big Apple Inn puts together on that flat grill.
The Dish That Started The Whole Journey
Before the pig ears, before the smokes, before any of the sandwiches that made Big Apple Inn famous, there were tamales.
Juan “Big John” Mora built his entire culinary reputation on hand-rolled hot tamales inspired by his mother’s traditional Mexican recipe, and they remain on the menu to this day as a direct link to the restaurant’s very first chapter.
Mississippi hot tamales are actually a fascinating regional tradition that stretches back well over a century, shaped by the cultural mixing of Mexican, African-American, and Southern influences along the Mississippi Delta.
Big Apple Inn sits right at the intersection of all those traditions, making its tamales feel like a genuine artifact of culinary history rather than just a menu item.
Wrapped and steamed to tender perfection, these tamales carry a warmth and depth of flavor that feels like a hug from a different era.
They are not the flashiest thing on the menu, and they do not need to be. The tamales speak for themselves through their honest, well-practiced preparation and the generations of tradition packed into every single one.
Ordering them alongside a pig ear slider gives you the full Big Apple Inn experience, past and present on the same tray, which is a pretty remarkable thing to be able to say about any meal.
A Civil Rights History That Runs Deeper Than Most Know
Food and history have always been intertwined at Big Apple Inn in a way that goes far beyond nostalgia. During the Civil Rights movement, this humble Farish Street eatery became a significant gathering place for activists, organizers, and Freedom Riders who needed a safe space to meet, plan, and connect.
The restaurant provided exactly that, a welcoming, community-rooted environment where important conversations could happen over a meal.
The connection to that era runs remarkably deep.
The legendary NAACP Mississippi field secretary Medgar Evers had an office situated directly above the restaurant, and he frequently came downstairs for meals.
That proximity meant Big Apple Inn was not just adjacent to history, it was woven into the fabric of the movement itself, a quiet but essential part of what made the community resilient during an extraordinarily challenging time.
Knowing that history while sitting inside Big Apple Inn changes the experience completely. The modest interior, the simple menu, the affordable prices, all of it takes on a different weight when you understand what this place has witnessed and supported over the decades.
Eating here becomes an act of connection to something much larger than lunch. Big Apple Inn carries those stories with dignity, and that makes every visit feel like more than just a meal, it feels like a genuine encounter with living history.
Four Generations Of Family Keeping The Flame Alive
There is something genuinely rare about a restaurant that has stayed in the same family for four generations, and Big Apple Inn is one of those increasingly uncommon places.
The current steward of this legacy continues the tradition started by Juan “Big John” Mora back in 1939, carrying the restaurant forward with the same commitment to community, affordability, and authentic flavor that defined it from the very beginning.
Generational ownership does something to a restaurant that no amount of rebranding or renovation can replicate.
The recipes stay true. The spirit stays intact.
The connection to the neighborhood remains genuine rather than manufactured.
At Big Apple Inn, that continuity is palpable the moment you step inside, from the no-frills setup to the muscle-memory efficiency of the kitchen that comes from decades of doing the same thing exceptionally well.
There is a quiet pride in what this family has preserved through the years. Economic shifts, neighborhood changes, and the relentless churn of the restaurant industry have not managed to dislodge Big Apple Inn from its place on Farish Street.
That kind of staying power is earned, not given. The four-generation story is ultimately about more than food, it is about identity, resilience, and the decision to keep showing up for a community that has always shown up right back.
Why Big Apple Inn Belongs On Every Mississippi Food List
Some restaurants earn their reputation through hype, and others earn it through decades of consistently showing up and delivering something real.
Big Apple Inn falls firmly into the second category. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 AM to 8 PM, it operates on its own schedule and its own terms, and food lovers who make the trip to 509 N Farish St consistently walk away with stories worth telling for years.
The prices are almost shockingly low by any modern standard, with sliders running just a couple of dollars each.
That accessibility has always been part of the Big Apple Inn philosophy, great food should not be a luxury reserved for people with deep pockets.
This place has been feeding its community affordably for nearly a century, and that commitment has never wavered regardless of what the rest of the culinary world has been doing.
Food Network features, television appearances, and word-of-mouth from travelers passing through Jackson have all contributed to a growing national awareness of what Big Apple Inn represents.
But the restaurant has never needed outside validation to know its own worth. The pig ears, the smokes, the tamales, and the history all speak loudly on their own.