Fun Finders Found Gulfport Dishes to Their Liking

The Fun Finders are leaving today.

Bonnie and Jim Parr, one of five teams searching the country for the best small towns in America, picked the perfect weekend to land in Gulfport.

Their search for fun proved fruitful.

The Parrs are part of BestoftheRoad.com, a project co-sponsored by USA Today and Rand McNally. For the Parrs, their nationwide search is single-minded: to find the best small town with the best food.

Reading between the lines from what Bonnie Parr had to say about Gulfport, it just may have an edge with three more towns left, and Parr had yet to sample today's weekly fresh market before the couple heads west to Lafeyette, La., and then on to California to test the final two towns' fares on their itinerary, Visalia and Costa Mesa.

"It depends on the town," Bonnie Parr explained in describing how she and her husband are fed when they arrive to each destination. "In West Virginia, it was a town of 800 and they didn't have that extensive of [offerings] to sample.

"In Burnsville, Minn., we went to 10 restaurants in a day and a half."

In Gulfport, the Parrs were treated like royalty. They were guests of a grand welcoming party at the Peninsula Inn Sunday where the Parrs were able to nibble on all sorts of goodies from all across the city at just one sitting. The same happened at O'Maddy's Monday but that didn't stop the Parrs from bounding from Gulfport eatery to Gulfport eatery later in the day.

Then, the two were VIPs for Gulfport's Fourth of July parade.

"We learned to sample," Bonnie Parr laughed. "Here, we were given samples to taste. In Minnesota, they would bring an entire meal, the entree, for us to eat. It's all about the presentation."

When asked if there was any local dish Parr especially liked, her face lit up and she raved about a special sandwich she was served Sunday devised by Smokin' J's. The sandwich was a combination of pulled pork, smoked sausage and brisket.

"That was really awesome," Parr said. "It was so different and unique."

Despite the couple being from St. Petersburg, Bonnie Parr was adamant Gulfport isn't going to receive preferential treatment.

"No, no!" Parr exclaimed. "For one thing, we weren't that familiar with Gulfport to begin with. Second, Rand McNally chose us to come here. And while we will have the major decision on which town wins, Rand McNally will have the final say."

And despite eating all sorts of food from all sorts of different places in the country, from West Virginia to Minnesota to Gulfport, with stops in Louisiana and a pair of towns in California yet to sample, Parr is happy about one thing: She's hasn't needed antacid.

"Not so far!"