October 2011
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10/30/11Occupy Memphis: Running the Food TentFor the two women behind the food tent at Occupy Memphis, cooking dinner for 50 people every evening takes creative kitchen skills and a little help from Google. “I have to go on the internet to figure out proportions for recipes,” said Alicia Rumbarger, who is handling most of the cooking along with friend Sharon Adams. “Today we made squash casserole with pinto beans.” The women try to get a hot meal downtown by 6 p.m. that accommodates vegans and vegetarians but doesn’t scrimp on protein. “We’ve had to teach ourselves how to cook this way, so we are using lots of beans,” Rumbarger said. Sometimes, they make two versions of the same dish, such as their Mexican casserole with roasted Poblano peppers, garlic, tomatoes,... |
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10/28/11The Food Buddha Is Coming to Grill 83Chef Rodelio Aglibot, popularly known as “The Food Buddha” from the TLC television show, is heading to Memphis to help direct the redesign of the Madison Hotel’s sister restaurant, Grill 83. Aglibot and Los Angeles chef Frank Fronda will be in and out of Memphis to help rebrand the restaurant’s menu and physical space, according to Kerri Guyton, the restaurant’s public relations representative. The restaurant already has a new name - Eighty3 – and its current staff will stay in place, Guyton said. The restaurant itself, however, will relocate Sunday to the Madison’s mezzanine. It will continue to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, showcasing some items from the new menu. The complete menu will not be rolled out until Eighty3 reopens... Posted at 03:28 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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10/26/11Cornish Rock Chickens from True Vine FarmsWhen I was younger, single and living in Los Angeles, my brother-in-law Kenny always kidded me about my date dinners. I had a two-dish rotation, and roasted Cornish hen was the deal cincher, thanks to springs of rosemary and plenty of freshly squeezed lemon juice. I stopped eating Cornish hens years ago, not because I didn't want to impress my husband (yes, the hens worked on him), but because I discovered how most hens and chickens are raised. Still, I've missed my favorite meal, which is why I'm so excited that hens are back on our family menu, thanks to the lovely Cornish-Rock cross now available from True Vine Farm at the Cooper-Young Farmers Market. Lisa and Frank Hart raise the chickens in Byhalia, but they are processed in Bowling Green, Kentucky, ... |
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10/22/11Peppers and Sausage A La Mike VaughanMy cousin Mike Vaughan is a master grill guy, plus he's the family's cook, which probably explains his recipe for sausage, peppers and onions. I've heard through the family grapevine that this recipe originally came from Mike's in-laws. Either way, it's a keeper and here's why: His sausage and peppers could be the easier and best tasting dish you will ever make. It requires three ingredients. That's it. Yes, you have to slice the peppers and onions. Otherwise, there is nothing else to do except turn on the oven (no pre-heating necessary). The photo is the dish before it's cooked. Mike makes the dish with all Italian sausage. I like to mix in some fancy chicken sausage, because I think all Italian makes the dish too... Posted at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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10/19/11Acre Rolls Out New (and Delicious) Bar MenuThe bar at Acre in East Memphis is a stylish oasis for drinks on the patio or a cozy chat inside. In addition to its ambience, there's bartender Bart Mallard, who reminds me of a crazy chemist infusing Red Riding Hood moonshine with fennel, figs and pecans or inventing drinks like Ginger Falls and Compost, two of the his latest seasonal cocktails. “Why Compost?” I asked about the drink's odd name. “I've just always wanted to make a drink with the name Compost,” he says, smiling and handing me a taste of the rich dark brew made with Gosling's Black Rum, black garlic, Dr. Pepper, figs, and a piece of black licorice. While the Compost is delicious, I order Ginger Falls instead, a mix of ginger beer, candied ginger,... |
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10/14/11Field Pea Salad With Radish and MintFlyer travel writer Paul Gerald lives in Portland, but he grew up in Memphis, and when he was visiting earlier this summer, Susan and I took him to the Agricenter Farmers Market. (Yes, we do this for fun.) Paul cooks for his parents when he visits, and he had already fixed a batch of field peas, a southern specialty he can’t find in the Northwest. I thought of his fond accolades for our humble pea at the downtown market where I spotted bags of fresh peas still available for purchase. I bought two: lady peas and speckled butter beans. At home, I had a beautiful bowl of cherry tomatoes from my CSA, a necessary ingredient for my favorite fresh pea salad made with radishes and mint. I’m not sure where this recipe came from originally, as I tweak... |
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10/12/11Hey Foodies! Time to Vote in Our Restaurant Poll!You’re a foodie right? You know the difference between lentils, lattes, and locavores. You also know your way around the kitchen, and if you didn’t grow your own vegetables this summer, you wish you had. Even more important, you know your restaurants, and that’s why you need to click right here and cast your votes in the Memphis Magazine Reader’s Restaurant Poll. We want your opinion, but you must vote by October 31, so we can compile ballot results for our annual dining issue in February. If you’re still not convinced, remember this: Voting gives you the credentials you need to whine about the winners, or even better, to toast your favorites who make it to the top. |
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10/10/11Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen To Open New PizzeriaWhen I was leaving Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen on Friday night, I ran into Andy Ticer on the front steps. It’s always a pleasure to talk with the chef after a great meal, especially one as charming and friendly as Andy. He was pumped up about the restaurant’s new venture, a lunch through late-night pizzeria located nearby. “See that blue building?” he asked, pointing across the street. “We’ve already got the sign up. We’re calling it Hog & Hominy.” In the mid 1800s, Tennessee was known as the “Hog and Hominy” state, thanks to its huge production of hogs and corn. The pizzeria’s name salutes both the chefs’ home state and their celebrated love of pig, a food prominently... Posted at 06:54 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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10/07/11Mr. President: Meet Newman FarmMark and Rita Newman are accustomed to celebrity customers. Chefs from New Orleans to New York feature the farm’s heritage Berkshire pork on their menus, including such luminaries as Momofuku’s David Chang. Still, even the Newmans were flabbergasted to learn that their pork belly would be served to Barack and Michelle Obama at a well-heeled fundraiser in St. Louis catered by Kevin Nashan, chef and co-owner of Sidney Street Café. “I saw the menu myself,” Mark Newman said a few days before the event, held Oct. 4 at the home of Tom and Lisa Carnahan. “I told Kevin, all I want is a menu signed by the president.” For $25,000 a plate, participants ate seasonal fare from local providers, including their choice of one of five... Posted at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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10/02/11Half-Off Mondays at Ronnie GrisantiFor the past month or so, I’ve gotten e-mail reminders from Ronnie Grisanti about the restaurant’s “Half Off Mondays,” so Tony and I decided to stop by. Let me say this up front in case you can’t keep reading: Go to Ronnie Grisanti tonight. We were more than pleased to find that on Mondays any bottle of wine also sold by the glass is half-off, along with the restaurant’s six different pizzas. Typically, I head right for Ronnie’s pasta, but half-off is a great incentive, so I asked our server to explain the pizza choices. When she got to the vendura pizza (that’s vegetable in Italian), she also said, “And Ronnie grows all the vegetables in his garden in Collierville.” Really? Who knew that... Posted at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
