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07/30/12Las Delicias: Checking Out the New Location on QuinceThe salsa tasted too much like tomato sauce at the new Las Delicias on Quince Avenue, but the guacomole was the same excellent chunky mix of avocados, cilantro and lime that I order every time I visit. The pork tacos, served on four mini house-made corn tortillas, and tamales also were excellent. I always worry when a good restaurant opens multiple locations because sometimes the food doesn't stack up. At the third location for Las Delicias, the salsa was disappointing but the rest of the meal was just fine, especially the tilapia ceviche, an aromatic bowl of perfectly diced fish, tomatoes and peppers garnished with hefty slices of avocado. The restaurant's charro beans also tasted exactly like the soupy pintos I know and love: smokey with a little kick and seasoned with... |
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07/29/12Last Day to Vote in Memphis Flyer's "Best Of Memphis" Readers' PollVoting in the Memphis Flyer Best of Memphis Readers' Poll is a lot like participating in a national election: No bitching about the results unless you play the game. There is one catch. Today is the last day to cast your ballot, and it must be filed before midnight. Click here to read the rules (there are just a few) and to get started. The annual readers' poll is fun to take because it includes dozens of categories for goods and services, arts and entertainment, media, night life and food and drink. That last category is my favorite, natch, and I was happy to see a few new listings such as "best food truck" and "best new American cuisine." Good luck picking a favorite for those two. Winners will be announced in the September 27 issue of the Flyer... |
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07/27/12Burger King's Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich: Not Half BadA spontaneous right turn Thursday landed me in the parking lot of Burger King on Poplar, so I walked in for a late lunch and ordered a Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. I lived to tell the tale. Don't get me wrong. I'm no fast-food snob, and I have a life-long love affair with Egg McMuffins. But it's been hard to muster much enthusiasm for the barbecue rolled out last month at Burger King, which includes Whoppers and chicken sandwiches with Texas and Carolina BBQ sauces along with the Memphis addition. So how did the Memphis BBQ sandwich taste? Not bad, considering my reaction when I peaked inside the “artisan-style” bun (actually quite good) and found the sliced onions floating in an off-white coleslaw mayo sauce. “Oh... |
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07/24/12Norah Jones Recipe Tastes Like Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken (Almost!)My sister Debbie is a great cook with a real feel for updated Southern cooking. During a visit with her in Richmond this week, I discovered we had both saved Norah Jones' recipe for fried chicken, printed a few weeks ago in Parade magazine. The recipe is particularly appealing because Jones has tweaked it to taste like Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken. According to the article, Jones became obsessed with Gus's chicken (who can blame her?) while filming “My Blueberry Nights” in Memphis in 2006. Her recipe soaks the chicken in buttermilk and uses onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne and hot sauce to kick up the more traditional salt and pepper seasoning. As most chicken lovers in Memphis know, Gus's prides itself on its... Posted at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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07/21/12Local Freestone Peaches at Easy-Way: Delicious!Peaches have been disappointing to me the past few summers, so I hesitated in front of this display at Easy-Way Produce on Mt. Moriah. Then I noticed the sign on the display (Flippen Fruit Farms, Troy, TN), and the steady stream of customers bagging up the golden beauties. So I jumped in, taking six peaches home. After a day in my fruit bowl, the peaches were perfect. They were so juicy and flavorful that I ate two in a row, standing over my kitchen sink. Several days later, I was back for more, along with many other customers. “We sell 30 to 40 cases a day,” said assistant manager Candace Pickard. “I don't like peaches, but most people do.” No kidding. At 25 pounds per case, Easy-Way is selling between 750 to 1,000 pounds of peaches... |
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07/20/12Hog & Hominy: A Great New Addition to the Memphis Restaurant SceneProsciutto, fennel, taleggio, lardo and slices of fresh fig on a brick-oven pizza sent me over the moon Tuesday night at Hog & Hominy, Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman's much anticipated new restaurant. The combination, aptly called Boom-Baba, is one of eight different pies at the center of the restaurant's menu, and one of three we tried during our first visit to the restaurant on Brookhaven Circle. I love going out to eat with Susan Ellis and Hannah Sayle, the other food writers at Contemporary Media, and my husband Tony because we give ourselves permission to eat through the menu, which is pretty much what we did starting with arancini (fried risotto balls stuffed with pickled cabbage) topped with Parmesan, a bowl of popcorn and cocktails. We stuck... |
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07/15/12Stop by Fresh Market for Nostalgic Candy of All KindsRaise your hand if you remember Mallo Cups. No? How about Zagnut, Banana Turkish Taffy or Sky Bars, those fabulous four squares of chocolate filled with caramel, vanilla, peanut and fudge? My sister Debbie was absolutely crazy for Mallo Cups, which is why I did an abrupt about-face the other day in Fresh Market when I spotted a basket of the candy bars in a prominent display called “Old-Fashioned Candy Shop.” I can still see Debbie standing in the aisle at Peoples Drug Store and biting into a Mallo Cup’s ridiculously sweet center of coconut and marshmallow cream. I was never sure if she really liked the candy or just bought it for the redeemable cardboard coupons packaged inside. She kept a box of those coupons stashed away in her room.... Posted at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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07/14/12Andrew Michael Shakes Up Perfect Summer Cocktail With Cathead Honeysuckle VodkaEarlier this summer, I received a bottle of Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka from Bottle Tree Beverage Company in Gluckstadt, Mississippi. The press release describes the vodka as the “first legally-distilled spirit in Mississippi,” a clever explanation that's as cute as the vodka's name. Cathead is a loose reference to Cat Heads, a moniker for blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta. The relationship extends to the brand's philanthropy as well. For every bottle sold, the company contributes one dollar to the Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit supporting Southern musicians. But back to my bottle of honeysuckle vodka: It's still unopened on my kitchen counter (amazing restraint on my part, I know). I've been waiting to throw a dinner party... |
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07/08/12Tickets On Sale for Labor Day's Cochon Heritage BBQIt’s hard to imagine a more perfect way to spend Labor Day than at Cochon Heritage BBQ, a three-day celebration of heritage pork, bourbon, and Memphis’ favorite food. Tickets for the event went on sale this weekend, offering comprehensive VIP passes and individual tickets to separate events. The barbecue blowout kicks off August 31st with guest chef and distiller dinners and a rooftop soiree at The Peabody and culminates September 2nd with a snout-to-tail barbecue competition between 24 chef-lead teams at the Columns on North Main Street. Unlike the Memphis in May barbecue cooking contest, where sampling options are limited, participants at Cochon Heritage BBQ can eat and drink with gusto. “Swine and sweet” food stations will offer a cornucopia... |
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07/06/12Cocoa Van Cupcakes: Bet You Can't Buy Just One!A devoted Elvis fan visits Graceland regularly, and when he does, he brings the DJs at Sirius XM Elvis Radio cupcakes from Cocoa Van Cupcakes in Cordova. This gesture pleases DJ Jim Sykes big-time, because Sykes and his wife Alison already know (and love) Nicole Reed’s extraordinary gourmet flavors. Reed, who runs the charming shop at Trinity Place Shopping Center with her husband Brian, is a classical pianist, and she bakes with similar artistry. Here’s how Brian explains her approach: “All of Nicole’s cupcake flavors include the cake. She doesn’t just take a flavor of icing and put it on a chocolate or vanilla cupcake. She layers in the flavors at every level.” The first time I visited the store, Nicole was... |
Memphis Stew is a food blog that celebrates our city’s community table and the people who grow, cook, and eat Memphis food. It is written by Pamela Denney, food editor of Memphis magazine, who sees food as a delicious way to build families, friendships, and a more healthy and sustainable future.
