The Regional Fast Food Chain You Can't Find Outside Of Mississippi Serving Burgers Smothered In Chili

Some regional chains manage to garner a cult-like following, even among those who don't live anywhere nearby: In-N-Out Burger, anybody? Some are much less famous, and yet still worth your time if you find yourself in their catchment area. One such case is Mississippi burger chain Ward's. Founded in Hattiesburg by twin brothers Richard and Ed Ward, it's been in business since 1978. (The duo also ran another chain called Frostop before Wards, with some overlap in its menu items.) Ward's has expanded to 39 locations in the decades since, all within Mississippi — in fact, you'll only find them in about half the state, as the restaurants are mostly between the Gulf Coast and central Mississippi, no further north than Carthage (about halfway up the state).

If you're stopping by a Ward's location for the first time, go for one of their two best-known menu items, the Big One and the Lil' One. Both are basically chili burgers, featuring beef patties with pickles, onion, a tangy special sauce, and topped with a meaty chili and cheese. (The two burgers have the same ingredients; they're just two different sizes.) Another menu staple is the chili dog, a hot dog topped with that same chili. Beyond the saucy, chili-topped items are some fast food staples like regular burgers, chicken sandwiches and wraps, a few salads, and some nods to soulful Southern cuisine in the form of a fried catfish sandwich.

It's probably fair to say Ward's is not aspiring to serve "elevated" versions of fast food in the style of, say, Shake Shack, with its fine-dining origin story. It's a no-fuss, humble roadside chain dishing up meals in Styrofoam. And by various accounts, the chili burgers, while tasty, are certainly not even trying to be photogenic (to be fair, that's arguably a tall order for something as brown as a chili burger). The chain is so low-key that it barely even uses social media.

Despite the unassuming approach, it's not too hard to find locals who swear by Ward's, praising its greasy unglamorousness as part of the draw. Its old-school approach lends an air of nostalgia to the whole operation — Mississippi outsiders who have never heard of the chain are sometimes surprised to find locals enamored with it. Reviews tend to suggest that the food is good — reliable, classic, and tasty — rather than absolutely transcendent, yet that's also what the chain seems to be going for. (It definitely has detractors, though, and some locations are hardly swimming in rave reviews.)

One final tip that Ward's aficionados have is to pair that chili burger with a root beer float, ideally consumed on the premises so you get an ice-cold mug. The root beer is made in-house by each location — it's perhaps not as famous as the burgers, but that sweetness should cut the grease neatly.