Ole Miss coach Chris Beard turns March Madness talk to hot dogs and salads

ATL,ANTA (AP) — Chris Beard has shifted his culinary focus from salads to hot dogs.

The Mississippi coach had recently commented on the abundance and quality of the food served during the NCAA Tournament, saying it reminded him of the salad bars at Brazilian steakhouses.

Speaking Thursday on the eve of the Rebels making only their second appearance in the Sweet 16, Beard was asked about the salad at his latest team meal. But he quickly pivoted to the franks served at a famous Atlanta fast-food joint, the Varsity, which has been around since 1928.

“I think the Varsity hot dog is arguably the best, in my opinion,” said Beard, who grew up in suburban Marietta. “It’s Coney Island, it’s the Varsity, and then it’s the old baseball game hot dog. Different than football, different than basketball, different than a concert.”

Beard was just getting warmed up.

“If you go to a baseball game at any level, high school, summer ball, all the way to the major leagues, if the hot dog is served in tin foil, that’s the key,” he said. “Not a big fan of the hot dog where they pull it with the tongues right off the deal, drop it in water. That’s not my deal. If I’m at a baseball game and I see that there’s tin foil involved in a hot dog, that’s where we roll.”

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Quite a review, but let’s get back to the salad.

Beard, whose team meets Michigan State on Friday night in the South Region semifinals, noted that the Rebels held a team dinner at Morton’s, a high-end steakhouse in downtown Atlanta.

“Morton’s had the Caesar salad,” the coach said, “but the food was so amazing after the salad, that myself included, not a lot of us went with the salad. They got the shrimp cocktails on the table and the crab cake -- I guess you call them balls — with a little stick in it.

“It’s hard to get fired up about the salad knowing what’s coming down the line.”

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