Ever eat a slugburger?

Yesterday was Capital Day in Jackson for the city of Corinth and the good people representing the city were serving up slugburgers, pencil thin tamales and cookies baked in the shape of Mississippi at the capital.

As popular as they are in Corinth, the slugburger is unknown to many Mississippians. When a veteran official was offered one, he reportedly asked, “What the hell is that?”

It’s a patty made from beef or pork with soybean or a similar extender mixed in. The faux burgers originally sold for 5 cents, when a nickel was called a slug.

The deep-fried burger is dressed with mustard, pickles and raw onions and served on a bun. There’s even a Slugburger Festival every summer in Corinth that features the World Slugburger Eating Championship. Seriously.

I grabbed a slugburger and a bag of chips and ate lunch outside the entrance to the Supreme Court room. (A side note: the room features a bust of Evelyn Gandy, the pioneering official I was lucky enough to interview several years ago.)

To be fair, the burger probably would have benefited from being served hot. But, as my lunch buddy Melissa said, at least now I can check slugburger off my bucket list.