In the 6 years I lived in Oxford, I visited Ajax more times than I can remember…and I can not remember ever getting a bad dish. Everything I have tried there is great.

The food is southern and the prices are very reasonable. I highly recommend this place to anyone.

The atmosphere is definitely relaxed: black & white checkerboard table cloths, a variety of Mississippi Delta Folk Art adorns the walls, metal roofing on one side and mirrored windows on the other set the ambiance. Who could forget the thousands of toothpicks patrons have flung into the ceiling tiles at a variety of angles? There must be a story hiding somewhere. For now, the reason remains unknown.

My husband and I stopped in for lunch today. We have only recently moved to the area and had heard a lot of rave reviews about the food. Even better, we thought, would be the affordability. Great food is only better when it’s also light on the pocketbook (at least for those of us who remain conscious of the budgets we must keep). I was hoping to pay about $6-$7 per plate, rather than the nearly $10 price. However, if I wanted to stay in my planned budget, I could have had a veggie plate instead.

So, what about the food, you ask?

I had the meatloaf with a side of cornbread dressing, cucumbers & onions, and jalapeno cornbread. Word of advice: don’t get cornbread dressing and expect to eat the piece of jalapeno cornbread too. That’s just too much cornbread by any standard (which lead me to wish I’d had the option of ordering a biscuit instead). The piece of cornbread seemed a bit dry to me and crumbled easily. I couldn’t even pick it up – had to use a fork. The cucumbers & onions were not quite what I had expected. The cucumbers were on the soft side and the purple from the onions had stained everything pink. Although the flavor and bite to the onions were spectacular, I was surprised by the intensity of the tang in the vinegar. The meatloaf wasn’t bad. Truthfully it was fairly good, but just a bit too herb-y for my palate (lots of thyme and sage in the mix). Not to mention that the chunk of cheese could have been mixed in a bit better. Like the cornbread, the meatloaf fell a part.

Don’t get me wrong. The food isn’t bad. It’s just not “the best soul food in Mississippi” as indicated by Mississippi magazine a few years back.

Highend southern cookin’. The fried catfish, chicken fried steak, sweet potato casserole, and pie was freakin’ awesome. The southern hospitality was terrific. Luv’d it!