Go Memphis Stories: Dining

Pizza that nourishes the soul

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 -0000

Well, come on. Surely we can all have a good laugh together at the mural on the wall at the Mellow Mushroom, the one that says "The Soul of Germantown." Say what? Hey, no one's knocking Germantown here, and definitely not taking a shot at the Mellow Mushroom. It's just funny. Soul and Germantown. Hmmm ... I wonder if Stax is thinking about moving to the 'burbs ...

Go Taste: Local dining events

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 -0000

Want something good to eat or drink this week? Consider the following:

Meet the Chef: Tony Oliveira

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:52:00 -0000

Describe a dish you created. I took sweet potato flour -- it's dehydrated sweet potatoes -- and I made the pasta out of the flour and then filled it with Colorado goat cheese and sweet potatoes. And ... pickled red onions, braised turnip greens and duck confit over it.

Best bets: Cookies

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:58:00 -0000

Pie and cake are not everyone's cup of tea, but even folks who don't have a serious sweet tooth usually won't say no to a cookie. And I don't know anyone who would turn down a Makeda's cookie. Lucky for CA staffers — we've been known to dash out on Makeda's runs — there's a new shop in Midtown.

Dining Review: Confident Classic dishes at Judd Grisanti's Trattoria

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:02:00 -0000

Through their restaurants, the Memphis Grisantis have reveled in their Italian heritage for decades. Last year, Judd Grisanti left the glamorous dining space he created at Spindini on South Main and returned to the scene of his youthful introduction to the family business, the site once known as Ronnie Grisanti &amp; Sons. His father's former restaurant on Poplar, west of Chickasaw Gardens, now is Judd Grisanti's Trattoria.

Meet the Chef: Tinawat "Gai" Klaimongkol

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:51:00 -0000

Who or what was your first cooking influence? My dad. ...When he cooks, he cooks a lot, so he needs the helper. So I volunteered to be in the kitchen with him. First thing, I don't like it that much 'cause you put your hand on slimy chicken, raw meat and stuff like that. He did say to me, "If you're afraid to touch 'dirty' things, don't be in the kitchen."

Best Bets: Fried Green Beans

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:58:00 -0000

I think the battered vegetable-as-appetizer trend started with fried mushrooms. It’s the first I remember, though I’m not going to get into whether the Hollywood’s fried dill pickles should take precedence — I’m talking widespread snacking here. And onion rings were a side, not really an appetizer. The list grew until before long we were getting our 5 A Day fried in batter and dipped in ranch dressing all kinds of ways, from cauliflower to zucchini.

Mexican eatery offers balanced indulgence with grilled meats, fresh pastries

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:05:00 -0000

So many Mexican restaurants have sprung up on Macon Road that it's giving Summer Avenue a run for the money. I recently met a friend for lunch at Caminos de Michoachan and spied her parked about 100 feet from me, waiting in front of another restaurant. We both stepped back and looked at the signs to double-check before we walked in the right place, and were immediately enveloped by the sweet aroma of baking pastry and consumed with carnivorous lust from the smell of grilling meat.

Go Taste: Local dining events

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0000

Napa Café hosts a port and cheese tasting at 6:30 p.m. today. Wines will be presented by Jorge Andre Pais Vaz Nunes of Symington Family Estates and Brett Barrett from the Victor L. Robilio Co. Alyce Mantia of Lucchesi's selects the cheeses. $40; five wines and five cheeses. 683-0441; 5101 Sanderlin.

Meet the Chef: Seth Krasnove

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:16:00 -0000

What was the first thing you ever cooked or baked? Mac and cheese just out of the box. ... I went to put it in the strainer and accidentally ran cold water under it. . . .How would I heat it up? I mixed everything back up in a glass bowl and put it on the stove. Right about the time my mom walked in, the glass bowl blew up all over the kitchen.

Best Bets: Sushi Rolls

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:35:00 -0000

No doubt the ancient Japanese are rolling over in their graves, wondering how sushi became the stuffed silly, deep-fried, over-the-top rolls on menus all over the country. But contemporary Americans just say “mmm, mmm” as we eat ’em up. There are two new ones at Ryu Sushi Bar worth adding to the lineup.

Sean's Cafe + Balewa's Vegan Gourmet = urban food emporium

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0000

Take a few more steps inside, and you can get a shot of wheat grass at Smooth Moves, or, a bit farther in, a shot of espresso at the High Point Coffee bar. Head to the south wall, and your horizon broadens to include the kitchen at Sean's Cafe, which serves an extensive list of well-rendered traditional Middle Eastern dishes — gyros, stuffed grape leaves, lamb kebab.

Go Taste: Local dining events

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0000

Want something good to eat or drink this week? Consider the following:

Meet the Chef: Kjeld Petersen

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:52:00 -0000

Kjeld Petersen has always known his way around a kitchen. Early on, he had an office job during the day and in a kitchen at night. "I found myself looking forward every day not going to the office job, but going to the kitchen job. Had the opportunity to work around some really good people, people that were inspiring ... that motivated me to approach it in a more serious way."

Best Bets: Calvary Waffle Shop Salad Plate

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:16:00 -0000

I call the Salad Plate “the taste of spring,” because Waffle Shop usually is going on when winter turns to spring, and the red bud, pear and cherry trees bloom and the weather gets warmer. You only can taste the inimitable Waffle Shop versions of tomato aspic, chicken salad, shrimp mousse and pear with a tiny dab of cottage cheese during this time of year.

Dino's in Midtown Memphis a slice of Italian history

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs, Peggy Burch) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0000

It's funny that when we review old Memphis restaurants together, we often end up eating Italian. First we went to Pete & Sam's, then Coletta's on South Parkway. This week, Dino's. While we didn't try it together, I've got to rave for a minute about one of the most heartburn-inducing dishes in town: 3-Way Tamales.

Go Taste: Local dining events

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0000

Want something good to eat or drink this week? Consider the following:

Meet the Chef: Karen Roth

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:20:00 -0000

What made you decide to become a chef, and when was that? It's the first job I ever had. When I was 13, I got a job at a country club. As long as you show up every day, you progress. ... I started working on the greenway, pulling weeds out of the flower pots. Next thing you know, the dishwasher doesn't show up, so you're washing dishes. Then the salad guy doesn't show up, so you're doing that. I fell in love with it.

Bold, fresh flavor served at Tao Too Asian Eatery

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0000

When I start raving about edamame and tofu, chances are roughly 100 percent that the chef in charge has done something extraordinary. Sure, I'll eat either, but I've raved exactly once, and that was last week at Tao Too Asian Eatery in Germantown. Lime juice, in addition to the standard sprinkling of salt, is all it takes to elevate edamame to heights previously unknown to the addictive green soybean (frequently eaten as a snack with beer in Japan).

Meet the chef: Matt Owens

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:12:00 -0000

A chef once told Owens, "'When you go out to dinner or when the guests come to see us, it needs to be a religious experience.' ... Every plate that I make, everything that I do, whether it's a sandwich or an egg, I feel that it needs to be a religious experience."