This and That Cooking and Catering on Hwy25 Iuka

There are many paths to success in the restaurant business. Fancy entrees served on bone china in an elegant setting may do well in a big city, while a meat-and-three roadside diner may be a hit in a smaller town. But regardless of the setting, many restaurants have found success in today’s market with menus that feature either (1) fusion cuisine or (2) a signature dish. This and That Cooking and Catering in Iuka, Mississippi, offers both.

Aaron Southward and his wife own and operate This and That Cooking and Catering, a food truck based in Iuka, Mississippi. Aaron, a home-town guy, is African-American, and his wife Adriana, hails from Mexico. Both love to cook, and both bring their food heritage to the business. “We do all types of barbecue, and we also offer authentic Mexican food,” Aaron said in a recent interview. “We try to mix them together. We serve a blend of African-American and Mexican-American.” So This and That has the “fusion” part covered. But how about the signature dish? They’ve got that covered too.

“We’ve got some dishes that my wife made up,” Aaron told us, “and they are our ‘Pregnant Lady’ dishes.” One specialty is the “Pregnant Lady Nacho,” and there is also a “Pregnant Lady Taco.” Aaron explained how these offerings came to be. “We got that name when Adriana was working in here and was pregnant with twins. She got hungry and started out with just a Mexican street corn called Elote. And she said, ‘I’m going to put some meat in here, and I’m going to put some vegetables in it.’ So she mixed in some cilantro and onion and tomato. She also used meats like Al Pastore (meats marinated in Mexican sauces) as well as steak strips. Sometimes she puts in some barbecue or some brisket.” So Adriana came up with the “Pregnant Lady”, and it’s the very definition of a signature dish. “We are the home of the Pregnant Lady Nacho,” Aaron says, “and nowhere else in the world will you find it. We don’t have some corporate menus; we make up our own cuisine.”

Aaron has always loved to cook, but he has not always been a restauranteur. “I started doing this six years ago,” he said. “I was working at a job in a managerial position, and it was very stressful. I wanted to be able to spend more time with my wife, and since we both love to cook, we batted around the idea of opening a restaurant, or maybe catering. We sort of prayed about it, and the idea of running a food truck took hold. It was a way for us to work together.”

Aaron and Adriana set up the truck in Iuka Thursdays and in the Town of Tishomingo on Fridays. They will set up at other locations as opportunities arise, and regular customers know to check out their Facebook page to see if they may be nearby. In addition to the Pregnant Lady dishes, they serve a world-class pulled pork sandwich and a killer brisket. And they use local sources whenever possible. “We get most of our food from the Sunflower in Tishomingo,” Aaron said, “but we also get fresh produce, especially tomatoes, from the farmers’ market. I’ll get a lot of tomatoes from Don Thompson (a local farmer). We go to the small Mexican grocery stores here in Tishomingo County. I grow my own jalapenos. I haven’t found a local source for my meats, but I’d be open to using one.”

The Southwards are also caterers, and were recently named Best Caterer 2023 by Tishomingo County Tourism and the Tishomingo Arts Council. “We believe in supporting local food producers and patronizing local restaurants,” Aaron said, ”and we work hard to see that our customers receive the quality they expect. We just took a leap of faith and did it. Didn’t know how to do anything but cook, so we followed the dream and it worked out.”

This and That Cooking and Catering sets up shop in Iuka (Highway 25) on Thursdays and in the Town of Tishomingo on Fridays. Check their Facebook page for locations on other days.