This photo and story by Jacqueline Savoy Photography (as seen in: Faces of Tupelo).

Jeff Jones says you will drive by a restaurant a hundred times and you know its there but you don’t know what its like. That is why he started his page Eating Out with Jeff Jones. He loves to eat and loves to talk about eating so why not share that with people. In 2015 he started the Facebook page and Blog Eating Out with Jeff Jones. He knew it was catching on when a lady stopped him in Kroger and said she loved his reviews.

Jeff likes to say he is a Food Blogger/Restaurant promoter. He believes that if you don’t tell people about your favorite restaurant than you can lose it. He likes to help support local restaurants and show people why they should visit them. He tries to focus on the Tupelo area but has driven a few hours to check out a restaurant. He will get recommendations from people on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Or sometimes a new restaurant will reach out and ask him to come try it out. He has a lot of people now that tell him they visit his page to see where they will eat for the night.

Jeff likes to start his restaurant tours by taking pictures of the interior. This will set the mood for the restaurant. Then he photographs the menu. When choosing the menu item he likes to pick what he thinks is the most exciting thing on the menu. Or maybe what they are known for making. He then photographs the food, which is all done on his phone. (He has over 30,000 pictures on his phone and the majority is food.) He then tries to include plenty of descriptions and photos when posting. He knows that not all people are going to like the same menu items but that doesn’t mean that something is bad.

Jeff knows that if you are doing something you enjoy then it will show. If you get excited about what you do then others get excited too. There are so many topics to blog about but Jeff chose food because its the whole package. The restaurant owners create their own little worlds and its like taking a mini vacation. This is how Jeff’s signature look started. He wears a Hawaiian style shirt and summer hat to all reviews like he is on vacation.

Jeff says that food is like music and there is enough variety for everyone to enjoy. Everyone likes to connect over food and who doesn’t want to find the next great restaurant. He says there are tons of really fun and neat things to do in your own back yard if you know where to look. That is Jeff’s objective is to show people all the cool places to eat.

Jeff has tried almost everything. He was surprised to find that he likes soft shell crab. (And you can find that here at Blue Canoe.) And not surprised that he didn’t like beef tongue. But he has tried it once. As his blog has grown more popular he has gotten asked to judge at events such as the Burger Fest and the Chili Cookoff. He has been invited to be a guest at Tupelo Con and been interviewed by the Itawamba Times and Invitation Magazine. He has had a two page spread in Eat, Drink, Mississippi Magazine and has even been on a couple of local tv specials.

Jeff loves Tupelo for their food (of course) and for their festivals. He loves how well the Main Street Association has brought in festivals and concerts of all kinds. He has grown up, a local, in Itawamba County but sometimes he likes to act like a tourist. He has taken a day to tour the birthplace and eat at Johnnies Drive Inn and just enjoy the All American City.

The Eating Out with Jeff Jones blog is not a job but a passion. It has been his creative outlet of sorts. Not only does he feel like he has grown over the years but he has helped others find joy with food. His blog has just recently topped over 26,000 people and he currently writes about local restaurants in the Itawamba County Times. I had to ask his favorite food and while he wouldn’t specify a type he did say his favorite fair food is anything deep fried.