\u201cUncle Jamie! You\u2019re back!\u201d He yells as the truck revs its motor and speeds off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jamie Bullard<\/strong>, an Oxford <\/strong>native, looks up to nod then continues setting up his hotdog cart in front of the Anchorage Building<\/strong> off The Square<\/strong>. Bullard is affectionately known as \u201cUncle Jamie\u201d by his customers. It\u2019s his first weekend back\u2014Bullard typically sets up every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during the fall and spring semesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An elderly man pulls up in his puttering Ford, leans over and yells out the passenger window, \u201cCan I get two? Chili and cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure thing,\u201d Bullard says. He has a country folk style: reserved but genuine. \u201cTake care,\u201d he says as he lays the two hotdogs on the bench seat of the farm truck and gathers bills handed his direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Call it local charm or southern hospitality, but the fondness the students have for Bullard is obvious. \u201cWe missed you!\u201d screech sorority girls as they buy hot dogs and take multiple selfies, each girl with hotdog in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere have you been?! I have come here every year since my freshman year!\u201d says another man, then introduces his Chicago<\/strong>-native girlfriend to Bullard: \u201cThis is Uncle Jamie\u2014best hotdogs ever!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bullard prides himself in being the best low-cost eats on The Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI grew up here,\u201d Bullard says, \u201cI\u2019m like eighth or ninth generation Oxford, I don\u2019t know. But my grandaddies and their daddies helped to build Oxford. I love this town. I make food that the college kids can afford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bullard is a classically trained chef. His experience has led him to be the head chef at several restaurants in Oxford and out of state. Bullard\u2019s day job is the prep cook for a high school friend, Paul Tatum<\/strong>, at the high-end local eatery, McEwen\u2019s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly his clientele isn\u2019t looking for McEwen\u2019s-type eats, but the street fare is anything but basic. Bullard cooks the hotdogs in a mixture of seasonings and liquids that his patrons can\u2019t get enough of. Bullard sources local ingredients, from his chicken hotdogs to the brats to the buns and condiments that round out the meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh my goodness! This is the best hotdog I\u2019ve ever eaten!\u201d says a young woman wearing a white dress and cowboy boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this time the crowds are letting out of the bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHere they come,\u201d Bullard says as he finishes chopping an onion. A hoard of young people is herded down the sidewalk by two horseback police officers. As they slowly pass by, many stop at the hot dog stand and chat with each other, waiting for brats and chili cheese dogs to fill their bellies before finishing their walk home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A disheveled looking man comes up to the stand after most of the group has chattered down the sidewalk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey man! Can I take out your trash for a dog?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI got ya,\u201d Bullard says as he pulls out a bun and lays a hot dog on top. \u201cjust get me back next time,\u201d he finishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man walks off and Bullard wipes down the condiment table, covered with bits of relishes and onions. Bullard has been in the same location on South Lamar since 2014 and plans to continue for many more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncle Jamie\u2019s Hot Dog Cart<\/strong> is woven into the fabric of Ole Miss and the Oxford Square, much like Bullard himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n by Katie Viazcan It\u2019s game day. Rebel fans stroll down the sidewalk towards Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. A large truck<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":122949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[190],"tags":[22614,22611,22612,22613,22616,5,7067,4,22615,4742,2407,22609,22610,655,4033],"class_list":["post-122931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-business","tag-anchorage-building","tag-hot-dog","tag-hot-dog-cart","tag-jamie-bullard","tag-mcewens-3","tag-mississippi","tag-ole-miss","tag-oxford","tag-paul-tatum","tag-south-lamar","tag-the-square","tag-uncle-jamie","tag-uncle-jamies-hot-dog-cart","tag-university-of-mississippi","tag-vaught-hemingway-stadium"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image_6483441-1-RGB-flip.jpg?fit=1728%2C2304&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
One young man cries, \u201cI have gotten a Snap of this empty parking lot every day since school started asking \u2018Where\u2019s Uncle Jamie?\u2019\u201d as he buys a chili dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhew! What a night!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"