Most wanted: Fins & Feathers & Mawmaw’s

After many years of seeing signs and putting off checking it out, I was finally talked into attending the Most Wanted Auctions at 6245 County Road 532 in Jackson. And boy oh boy, I did not realize what I had been missing!

I’ve never been to an auction. I was always intimidated by the sheer number of vehicles lining the sides of country roads as people flocked to bid on the items of someone who was probably deceased or maybe just moving. It looked too chaotic, and I would have absolutely no idea what I was doing, so I never tried. But Most Wanted Auctions takes all of the pressure off of me. Lots of parking, lots of things to peruse, lots of fun to be found on the first Saturday of every month. The auction building was large, clean and well organized. I didn’t get to stay long to see the action because of a family obligation, but I sure wanted to. I’m putting it on my to-do list.

At each auction night, a food truck shows up outside, and this time it was Fins & Feathers. Don’t worry, it will be there again in September, so you’ll be able to find it easily. Fins and Feathers serves chicken and fish, along with some pork, and I can vouch for the fact that neither fins or feathers are actual ingredients in the dishes.

We stood in the scorching hot late afternoon sun while we waited a not-unreasonable amount of time for my chicken sandwich and his fish plate, and drank our ice cold waters. Hot, we wandered inside to look at the items up for auction. I saw something I wouldn’t have minded bidding on and sighed, wishing life was a little less busy, but thankful that I was surrounded by people who loved me and I loved in turn. Next time there would be something equally cool, so it would be okay.

Inside, Mawmaw’s Sweet Shoppe was serving up a ton of baked goods. Mawmaw is there almost every month, and her offerings were too good to resist. I grabbed a slice of cherry pie, and he grabbed a brownie-topped pudding bowl. I was tempted to eat dessert first but resisted and headed back outside to pick up the freshly cooked food.

I knew something was different about my chicken sandwich when Seth handed me a white styrofoam container with a, “ I think this is yours. I think it’s just a little lighter.” Well heck, he had gotten a whole plate with sides and I had just ordered a sandwich. The weight difference should be noticeable. When I opened it up, I saw why my innocently named chicken sandwich was so heavy. This monstrosity was made of a large bun, and sandwiched between it were four huge chicken strips. When I say sandwiched, I’m being overly generous, because there was no way all of those strips were fitting on that bun. There was so much chicken. I grabbed a strip and took a bite without the bun, just to get a good taste of the chicken alone. All white meat, juicy, and if KFC has 11 herbs and spices, this chicken’s breading was surely closer to 20. There was so much flavor packed onto the outside of these strips, it was hard to believe. And delicious. The “sandwich” was topped with tomato, onion (which I opted out of), lettuce and pickles, and I do believe that tomato was a home-grown deep red beauty. This was so much food for the price. Wonderful.

I didn’t try the fish this time, but I did nibble on a hushpuppy. I consider myself somewhat of a hushpuppy connoisseur, since I spent my high school years at a family fish restaurant, complete with homemade hushpuppies. Fins & Feathers makes excellent hushpuppies, little fried nuggets of corn meal, whole corn kernels, shredded onions, and an excellent array of spices. The one thing that wasn’t lacking in any of the items I tried was seasoning. Tasty stuff.

Packing the leftovers away for lunch the next day, I turned to the cherry pie from Mawmaw’s, which was excellent, but Seth’s pudding bowl was cool and refreshing on this hot day. He picked better than me this time.

I loved watching the people milling about, checking out the auction items. I will love watching the auction itself next time. Please check this unique country night of entertainment the next chance you get.

Rebecca LaClair travels to a new place every week to try food from a trendy restaurant or one she hasn’t been to yet.