I am not a foody by any stretch of the imagination. I can be content with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or an exotic — as my elementary boyfriend Peter Rogers called it — mayonnaise and banana sandwich.

Perhaps it’s because I grew up in a family of fussy eaters or that I wore braces for the better part of my teenage years. I mean savoring anything that stays trapped between your teeth is certainly not tasty.

And now that I have gotten older, my tummy only tolerates a limited number of options. And if you don’t believe me, just ask hubby. He finds it so annoying that I could eat the same thing at every meal and be completely satisfied.

Which brings me to my culinary experience I had this week.

The Inn at Cedar Grove — now owned by Kendra Reed and Harley Caldwell — has reestablished the restaurant that was once offered inside the bed and breakfast and I was tasked with reporting on their new endeavor — as if these two women don’t have enough to do!

I was excited to write a story about the restaurant. I mean, before hubby and I were married, I had my bridal luncheon in the garden room.

As part of my assignment, I also needed to snap a few photos of the chef doing his thing, and boy could he do it.

He was slicing and dicing and when he tossed everything into the skillet, my heart skipped a beat when I saw the flame rising from the stove. I was amazed at how it didn’t even faze him, especially while he was flipping and flopping all the veggies around in the pan.

At one point, I was thinking I may have to start cooking again until I remembered professionals make everything look easy.

Once he had finished cooking the succotash and had blackened the fish, he situated it all on a dish, then added a garnish for a beautiful presentation.

Chris, the chef, then took the dish out to the dining room where I began snapping pictures left and right.

After I was done, he said, “Would you like to taste test?”

At this point my heart skipped two beats.

Like I said, I am quite finicky, so the thought of eating something I may not like, and in front of the fellow that prepared it, gave me a bit of anxiety.

But how could I say no?

So, I didn’t and proceeded to sit down. I did, however, procrastinate just a bit, by slowly unwrapping my silverware from the napkin he had laid down beside the plate and then placing the napkin in my lap. I don’t know how anyone can eat without a napkin in their lap.

I then proceeded to cut a small portion of the fish, which I then slid on to my fork along with a bit of the succotash.

As I slowly opened my mouth and let the bite pass over my lips and land on my tongue, I chewed a couple of times and swallowed.

It was good. I mean really good. I mean it was delicious. So I proceeded to take another bite and then another and then more.

To be honest, I could have scarfed down the whole thing, but I decided to refrain and use a bit of self-control.

After thanking Chris for being so kind as to take the time to actually prepare the dish for the photos, I said my goodbyes and left. But I knew I would be back.

Vicksburg is teeming with a variety of restaurants and eateries — some new in town, just like The Inn at Cedar Grove — that satisfy a multitude of palates — even picky palates like mine.

Terri Cowart Frazier writes features for The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.