In a renovated 100-year-old cottage behind the Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs. Ms, a quaint new restaurant, The Traveler, stands ready for 4 hungry traveler friends who are visiting from Fairhope. The Traveler’s concept is inspired by Walter Anderson's adventurous spirit and his travels around the world. Almost everything at the restaurant, from furniture to native plantings to coffee cups, is artist-designed, curated, or made.

We are seated at a beautiful table with legs designed in the shape of blue jays, indicative of Anderson's bird paintings. We drink coffee from handmade mugs from the local Shearwater Pottery and breakfast of homemade biscuits created by the chef, Dannie Landry. I had one called ‘Marigold’, which was house-made pimento cheese and bacon jam. It had a very interesting savory, sweet profile and was delicious. Dannie explained to me that it was named so because marigold was one of Walter’s favorite colors.

I enjoyed looking at other works of art in the renovated house: a door painted by his daughter, Leif Anderson, and silk-screened curtains with more bird motifs. My friends enjoyed bacon and eggs on their biscuits, and all agreed that they were superior. Dannie, who is a colorful character as well, told us that he makes them from scratch using a decades-old Betty Crocker recipe. (All of our mothers had this cookbook with the red gingham cover!) 

Dannie was born in New Orleans but moved to Saint Martin, Mississippi, with his family when he was a boy. With an Italian mother and a Creole father, cooking and good food were a very important part of his young life. His first job in the service industry was at Wendy's, and he told me that founder Dave Thomas’s philosophy of only using fresh ingredients made a big impression on him. He worked his way up to management at some other fast food chains and experienced all positions in the establishments: bartending, prep work, grill tending, fry cook, and more.   

He then worked for GNC and learned about nutrition and supplements, further understanding the power of plant-based diets. With some other ups and downs of life, he came to a crossroads. His husband suggested that he go to a culinary program at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to further hone his skills. There, he made some contacts, and all of these previous paths led him to be hired by the museum as chef for The Traveler. 

“I had to audition,” he said, “and create a Father’s Day Brunch. I used wooden boards shaped like a painter’s palette as a charcuterie board. This was an homage to Walter Anderson.” It was a success, and he started work last July. “I revamped the entire menu, using locally sourced ingredients. My signature is homemade chow chow, ‘Delta Tang’, which is a secret ingredient in my sauces and dressings. In the spirit of Walter Anderson, I like to find use and meaning in things. Walter was resourceful and found beauty in ordinary things.”  The Bicycle Logs of Walter Anderson is a personal travel journal book that Dannie says is the main inspiration for his restaurant concept. There is a bicycle sculpture in the pollinator garden, and the bell on the counter is inspired by Walter’s bike bell.

In the 6 months since Dannie has been at the helm, The Travelers’ business has been growing. They feature live music on Friday nights, accompanied by a small pop-up market where local artists can showcase and sell their creations. Scheduled for January 23rd is a Sip and Paint event. A ticketed dinner event, Travels with Taste, on January 26th, will feature food stations with themes from Walter’s Travels: New Orleans, Tex-Mex, Costa Rica, Paris, and China. A catering menu is available, and the Traveler can be rented to serve as an event space for small gatherings.

Dannie says he has found the perfect place to be creative and intentional, focusing on art and beauty in his food and its surroundings. What a lucky man! And we were fortunate to have found this charming addition to Ocean Springs. Open Monday through Saturday, 8 am till 5 pm, and Friday, 8 am till 9 pm, it's the perfect complement to a visit to the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, but it also stands alone as a lovely culinary experience. In March, The Traveler will reopen on Sundays for brunch from 8 am to 2 pm.