April 2012
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04/30/12Beer Cocktails with Little Mikey at Jack Magoo'sIn a spontaneous move to get out and do something on Saturday night, Tony and I opted for a first time visit to Jack Magoo’s Sports Bar & Grill on Broad Avenue. It was a fine decision. We met Mike Turner, aka Little Mikey, who most of our pals know from Neal’s before the Midtown bar burned down last year. Turner’s now managing Magoo’s and mixing up some lovely beer cocktails. Admittedly, I was a little hesitant to jump into that game. First, I’m not crazy about beer, and second, I am very particular about my cocktails. But Mikey is a persuasive sort, especially when he says Wheach Peach Wheat beer is the perfect brew for summer. Wheach is from O'Fallon Brewery near St. Louis and has an adorable logo that makes you want to play Pac-Man.... |
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04/27/12Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale at Tonight's South Main Trolley TourBuy a cupcake, save an animal. Does it get any better than that? Certainly not for the bakers and buyers in the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale, who will contribute all proceeds from tonight's event to the Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County. The bake sale, coordinated in Memphis by Food Awareness, will be staged in front of Grawemeyer's during the South Main Trolley Tour. Grawemeyer's is the new downtown eatery located on the first floor of the old Pullman Hotel at 520 S. Main Street. Vegan Crunk blogger Bianca Phillips, who is also the associate editor at the Memphis Flyer, is spearheading the sale as part of a worldwide effort to promote animal-free diets and philanthropy. During the past three years, bake sales held during the last two... |
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04/25/12Buttermilk Drops At Gibson's Donuts: A New Orleans TraditionDuring my last visit to Gibson’s Donuts in East Memphis, I overheard a young man with a distinct Louisiana accent say to his friend, “I sure hope they have some buttermilk drops left.” They did, and he bought all four. If you are from New Orleans, you probably understand the city’s love affair with buttermilk drops, a signature donut from a bakery called McKenzie’s, which I'm told never reopened after Hurricane Katrina. The donuts are unique because they have indentations like a peach instead of holes in the center. When the buttermilk drops hit hot oil, they puff up into moist pound cake-type donuts with crunchy exteriors. A light glaze icing is their crowing glory. General manager Britton Deweese grew up eating... Posted at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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04/23/12Restaurant Iris: On the Prowl for the Best Iris PhotoI know most of you have got the heat on tonight even if you don't fess up. Still, it's spring, and time to celebrate the iris, the state flower of Tennessee. As most Memphis foodies know, Kelly English's restaurant in Midtown is named Restaurant Iris, and so English has a photo contest every April. Amateur photographers submit photos, and viewers vote for their favorite. I just clicked through the lovely portfolio of bearded Irises and natives, and so should you. The photographer with the most votes wins a dinner for two at Restaurant Iris. How cool is that? To submit a photo, post it on the restaurant's Facebook page. To vote, click here. |
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04/20/12Wanted: Restaurant Recommendations in Cordova, Collierville and BartlettOver the past few months, I’ve been diligently working away on an upcoming book titled Food Lovers’ Guide to Memphis. The book’s publisher, Globe Pequot Press, is hoping for a year-end release. Of course, I have to finish writing the book first, and that’s where you can help. The book is a travel guide of sorts to restaurants, specialty markets, and artisan purveyors. It has a nice local spin (no franchises!) and is organized in chapters by location. I’m working now on the chapters for Cordova, Collierville, and Bartlett. Since I don’t live or work in these neighborhoods, I’m worried about missing restaurants or markets people like. For instance, I’ve read about a gourmet store in Cordova specializing in spices, but I can’t... Posted at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments: 6 |
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04/18/12Yippie Hippie Granola: My New Favorite BreakfastTruth be told, I’m a yippie hippie granola type from my days at Syracuse University when I braided and baked loaves of whole-wheat bread in my dorm room. That's my justification for spending $7 for a package for Yippie Hippie Granola at the downtown Memphis Farmers Market. So what’s my explanation for spending that much money again for a 12-ounce bag of cereal? I have never had a better power-up for my day. Made in small batches with rolled oats, nuts, and seeds, Yippie Hippie Granola is mixed with a blend of hemp, rice bran, and walnut oil and sweetened with agave nectar, raw honey, and maple syrup. There’s even a little cinnamon, lemon juice, and Amaretto liqueur in the recipe. What those last three ingredients do for me is turn... Posted at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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04/16/12Here's One to Try: Jennifer Chandler's Mustard Barbecue ChickenHallelujah. My husband barbecued drumsticks last night with a unique and delicious taste, thanks to a recipe in Jennifer Chandler’s new book, Simply Grilling. Don’t misunderstand. Tony is an expert grill guy, but his barbecue sauce tends toward traditional tomato, vinegar, and spices. Chandler’s recipe called “Chicken Drumsticks with Mustard BBQ Sauce” combines prepared yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, dry mustard, and cayenne. I loved the mustard-centric flavor and how the sauce complements the meat, instead of overpowering it. My sorry photo doesn't do much to capture how great this meal tasted. So you'll have to try making it yourself. Tony also followed Chandler’s recipe for shucked corn... |
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04/11/12Los Comales: The Real Deal On Summer AvenueYes, I'm late to the game on Los Comales, an authentic Mexican restaurant on Summer Avenue. But I finally had a late dinner there last weekend and left impressed. In Mexico, los comales are the clay dishes used for making tortillas. So the name pretty much explains this unpretentious restaurant, where folks settle in for a beer after work. No wonder they like to hang out. Dos Equis is on tap, and the food is fresh and seasoned perfectly with cilantro, carmelized onions, and lightly grilled pablanos. Here's my suggestion for ordering: Skip the standards (although the enchiladas are excellent) and try something new. At $2.75, a chicharron (fried pork skin) sope stuffed with shredded lettuce, avocado, and tomatoes is a meal in itself. Seven Seas soup is my new favorite, a... |
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04/09/12Memphis Farmers Market Opens DowntownThe Memphis Farmers Market opened Saturday, and the day couldn't have been more perfect. Tony and I didn't make it downtown until after 11 a.m., but there was still plenty of produce left, along with gorgeous flowers for Easter. First things first. I finally met Jill and Keith Forrester's new baby, Fox. Can a baby be any cuter than this little guy? He was hiding out in the Whitton Farms truck with Jill, probably because the music was so loud. Suggestion: Move the band. It's hard to know your farmers when you can't hear a word they are saying. Next, I discovered a new vendor called Earth Sprung Grain. Drum roll please: We now have locally sourced jasmine rice from Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, a state that grows more rice than any... Posted at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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04/06/12Heirloom Vegetable Plants at Urban FarmsThe beds stripped along my side yard look more like burial mounds than vegetable gardens, except for the robust parsley plant that survived through the winter months. The unseasonably warm weather threw me off my gardening game, because I kept waiting for it to get cold. Now my beds are patiently waiting for me to get busy. Fortunately, I stopped by Urban Farms Market the other day and founds buckets of compost (locally sourced I might add) for $3 each. I bought four. The market, which has opened a garden area behind the grocery, also is selling heirloom vegetable plants and some assorted bedding plants, including Arkansas Travelers, an heirloom tomato that was a good producer for me last summer. In a remarkable show of restraint, I didn't buy the plants.... Posted at 06:03 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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04/04/12Jr’s Fish & Chicken Takes Over Castle RestaurantCan fried chicken happily coexist with gyros? Only time will tell at Castle Restaurant on Park Avenue, now called Jr's Fish & Chicken. I stopped by the small eat-in and take-out restaurant located a few doors down from Las Delicias a few days ago when I noticed the grand opening banner. At least for now, the new owners are promoting both menus, which is a good thing, because Castle's gyro, a wonderful grilled boat of a sandwich, combines beef and lamb layered in pita bread with tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced onions, and a liberal dose of tzatziki sauce. It is an excellent gyro. I had to goggle Jr's, which apparently is locally owned and operates restaurants on South Perkins in Parkway Village, on Covington Pike, and on Elvis Presley... |
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04/02/12Raffe's Beer Garden Is Getting a MakeoverTony and I stopped by Raffe's Deli on Poplar Saturday to put together a six-pack of singles for dinner and then poked into the Beer Garden in the back to see what was going on. We found out that the bar is closed until Wednesday, when it will reopen with new owners. Goodbye drapes and Christmas lights, says Maggie Sakaan, whose cousin Basma Lucchesi has purchased the business with her husband, Tony Lucchesi. The couple is coming home after a few years on the West Coast and plans to spruce up the space with new decor and an expanded menu. "They are adding some family recipes, so it will be Italian and Syrian food," Sakaan said. "Plus they will have wine when they get their license." It's always fun to wander around Raffe's and check... |
