A Long Lunch at Weidmann’s Southern in Meridian

Before the rolls, before the gumbo, before a plate of shrimp and grits reaches the table, there is a crock of peanut butter and a stack of crackers. At Weidmann’s Southern in Meridian, that slightly odd, deeply charming opening move is a house tradition, and a fine excuse to slow down long enough to look around.

The restaurant occupies a historic Meridian building, with old photographs and other pieces of local history displayed through its different rooms. It is a dining room with enough to inspect between courses: booths, bar areas, period-minded surroundings and the sense that this has long been one of the city’s places for sitting down properly.

The cooking follows a broad Southern path, though Gulf Coast and Creole notes show up all over the menu. Seafood, sausage, crawfish, redfish, catfish and gumbo all have a place here, which gives a table of diners plenty to discuss before anyone starts negotiating bites.

The peanut butter and crackers are more than a complimentary nibble set down to occupy hungry people. The tradition is associated with changes the restaurant made during the Depression, and it remains a memorable little ritual—one that can catch a first-time visitor pleasantly off guard.

It also establishes the meal’s easygoing tone. A crock of peanut butter is not fussy, but it has personality, and it gives the table something to pass around while menus are opened and specials are considered.

Warm rolls with butter may follow, creating a very generous opening act before the main course has even been chosen. This is not a place where a diner is likely to leave wondering if the kitchen believes in feeding people.

Shrimp and grits is among the dishes most closely associated with a visit here. The plate brings together shrimp, sausage and grits in the substantial, savory manner many diners hope for when they order the Southern classic.

Seafood appears in other directions, too. Redfish preparations have included Cajun redfish, 1870 redfish and redfish finished with shrimp and a spicy sauce. Catfish, crab cakes and gumbo with chicken, sausage and seafood widen the options beyond one signature plate.

For a more elaborate entrée, Chicken St. Francis combines chicken breast, Pepper Jack cheese, Andouille, crawfish, mushrooms and onions in a cream sauce. It is the sort of dish that does not mind being matched with Hoppin’ John on the side.

A ribeye topped with crawfish étouffée and onion crispies takes the menu into celebratory territory, while Nashville hot chicken offers another familiar Southern lane. The kitchen’s range is useful when one person wants seafood and another has their eye on a steak or chicken dish.

Fried green tomatoes can begin the meal or appear alongside it. They have been served with sauce and, in one variation, a shrimp-based topping—a nice indication that this staple is treated as more than a decorative Southern reference.

The shrimp remoulade salad offers a lighter route without leaving the restaurant’s regional personality behind. A muffaletta goes in the opposite direction, layered with thick-cut ham and corned beef and served with fresh seasoned chips or fries.

Sides merit some attention here. Creole cabbage, chipotle sweet potatoes, regular sweet potatoes and Hoppin’ John each give the plate a different supporting character. Ordering a couple for the table is an easy way to sample more of the kitchen’s Creole-tinged side.

Weidmann’s can suit a quick Meridian lunch stop, but the building rewards a little time. Historical photographs and objects give the rooms an informal museum quality without turning dinner into a history lesson. You can keep finding another item worth a closer look.

The indoor spaces include booths and bar seating, with upstairs and downstairs bar areas adding variety to the layout. An outdoor patio or terrace offers another setting when that is the preferred place to sit.

Service is polished but not stiff: guests are welcomed promptly, seated comfortably, and guided through menu items and specials by staff who know the offerings. The dining rooms are also comfortable for conversation, an underrated virtue when a meal stretches from appetizer through dessert.

Meridian often serves as a road-trip stop between larger destinations, and this restaurant can accommodate that rhythm. Lunch, dinner and brunch all fit naturally here; some meals move briskly, while others are better given over to cocktails, several courses and a long chat.

Peanut butter makes its second appearance in the peanut butter pie, a particularly strong finish after the opening cracker ritual. It is a playful bit of continuity, though nobody needs to make it a theme of the entire meal.

Black bottom pie and banana foster provide other dessert routes. For a meal that has traveled through fried tomatoes, seafood, cream sauce and Creole sides, a proper dessert is not an afterthought.

A cocktail can extend the evening without much ceremony. An Old Fashioned suits the historic surroundings, while a coffee drink with praline liqueur, whipped cream and chocolate shavings lands somewhere between an after-dinner drink and dessert.