Go Memphis Stories: Dining Spotlight

Dining Review: Edo offers tour of Japanese dishes on its 'Love Boat'

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs, Peggy Burch) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0000

Once a month, dining reviewers Jennifer Biggs and Peggy Burch visit a long-established local restaurant and write about the experience. Biggs introduced Burch to Edo, and Burch is now a fan. "Thank you for introducing me to the Love Boat. Such a great range of tastes on that platter. I love the skewered beef and chicken. But I think it's made for at least four diners, right? After we finished, I felt like I would not float on water. Still, it didn't keep me from eating the orange gelatin."

Best Bets: Pizza

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:11:00 -0000

You're not likely to happen upon The Pizza Shack, unless you're at Lowe's on Perkins and taking the side exit out to Summer. The little restaurant is in the parking lot of the home improvement store, facing the north side of the building. I checked it out when it first opened as another pizza place and liked the pizza, but worried about the location. About six months ago, it switched hands and became The Pizza Shack. Starved and tired one night last week, it was a good time to give take-out a try.

Dining Review: Le Chardonnay has new digs, impressive dishes

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:05:00 -0000

Le Chardonnay is known by those who follow local government as the site of the mysterious private meeting in 2007 between then-Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and then-Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton. Since then, Herenton has moved out of City Hall and Wharton has moved in. And Le Chardonnay is in a different place, too. In May 2008, the restaurant left its cozy corner of Overton Square near Palm Court, and moved across Madison into the space west of Paulette's.

Best Bets: Chat papdi

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:33:00 -0000

I first heard of chat papdi when I read about it in Sheila Lukins' "All Around the World Cookbook" in 1994. For 15 years I've thought about the dish from time to time, though I'd forgotten the name (and am not even sure Lukins called it the same thing). This weekend I asked Indian friends to tell me which restaurant serves the most authentic Indian food in town, and that was the first I heard about Asian Groceries.

Dining Review: Alaskan crabs give king-size dining pleasure

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:06:00 -0000

This is an unusual review in that it's not of a restaurant, but of a specific meal. The whole king crab at The Blue Fish now through the next couple of months is such a treat that keeping it from you would be cruel. This is the third year The Blue Fish has purchased fresh king crab from a broker who procures them from boats in Alaska -- yes, this is the stuff of TV's "Deadliest Catch."

Best Bets: Chili

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:28:00 -0000

Beef stew, potato soup, and most of all, chili: Those are the three foods I crave when fall comes. Making them at home is preferred, but sometimes you just don't want to bother. I recently asked Whining & Dining bloggers where to get good chili and this is what they had to offer:

Dining Review: New Que Huong brings Saigon Le flavor to Collierville

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:00:00 -0000

Tuyen Le is having a personal and culinary renaissance in Collierville. The restaurant she opened in June, where she is very much at home and very much in charge, is New Que Huong; in English, "New Homeland." It's about 25 miles east of the characterful Midtown site of Saigon Le, where she started in the Memphis food business. Her new place is in an unremarkable shopping center on Poplar. But the food she's generating from this kitchen is often remarkable.

Best Bets: Tex-Mex

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:13:00 -0000

Just about everyone adores Mexican food, but let's show a little love for Tex-Mex, cheese dip and all. Whining & Dining bloggers recently shared their thoughts on good local Tex-Mex: Don Gale gives a thumbs up to both El Nopal and El Mezcal (each have multiple locations, though he points out the East Memphis El Mezcal at 402 Perkins Ext. is his favorite.

Dining Review: Mexican fare a fairly Simple, tasty bargain

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:05:00 -0000

Rarely have I seen more anticipation about the opening of a simple little restaurant than that of Las Delicias' second location. I fielded phone calls and answered e-mails almost daily after writing that the tiny and popular Mexican eatery in Hickory Hill would open a larger spot at Getwell and Goodlett. It didn't take long for folks to start coming through the doors. There was a fair crowd on the first Saturday for lunch, a good one on a Friday afternoon a week or two later, and every table in the main dining room was full last Friday night.

Best Bets: Breakfast sliders

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:41:00 -0000

I love an egg sandwich, and I also like a sandwich with the unexpected addition of a fried egg. The Amazing Island Club Sandwich at Bardog Tavern Downtown comes to mind when I think of the latter, so when I heard the fine folks there were serving breakfast sliders, I figured I needed to take a trip. The sandwich pictured here contains a fried egg, served with spicy mayonnaise, ham, cheese and bacon on a soft bun.

Dining Review: 1776 deli gives you bang for your buck

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:34:00 -0000

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all sandwiches are not created equal. And when in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to find the sandwich that should be the inalienable right of all people, she will seek it under spacious skies, above the fruited plain, and in her local shooting range. 1776, the deli inside Range USA on Whitten Road, easily makes the list of my favorite unexpected treasures.

Best bets: Muffaletta at Jerry's Sno Cones

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:38:00 -0000

I got an e-mail from my cousin on Saturday telling me that Jerry's Sno Cones was serving muffalettas and that we had to go. As if either of us needed another excuse; Jerry's has always been a family favorite. A long-standing tradition for me is to grab a book, run by Jerry's for a large snow cone and patiently endure the line at the White Station vehicle inspection center every June.

Dining Spotlight: 20/20 Diner will alter your perception of school cafeterias

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:00:00 -0000

The words "school cafeteria" conjure a vision of uniformly cut vegetables and large quantities of things you don't especially want in large quantities. Technically, the 20/20 Diner is a school cafeteria -- it's on the fourth floor of the Southern College of Optometry in Midtown -- but as soon as you set down your tray and start to eat your meal, you'll forget that connection.

Dining Review: Alex's Tavern true to roots

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs, Peggy Burch) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:01:00 -0000

Where else in town can you find, as Eyvette behind the bar says, "Nuthin' but Natural Light" on tap? This is just one of the reasons I adore Alex's -- it never changes. Never. The signs are the same. The music -- and you gotta love it -- never changes. Or at least it changes slooooooowly. As Rocky said, "We add something new to the menu about every 15 years."

Best Bets: The Peanut Shoppe

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:10:00 -0000

When's the last time you went to The Peanut Shoppe for a bag of freshly roasted peanuts? Hmm. Yeah, me, too. A reader sent me a reminder and I stopped by the Summer Avenue store this week. Who knew you could get boiled peanuts there? Not that I did; I am no fan, but I sure did enjoy the peanuts roasted in the shell.

Dining Spotlight: Flight is dining made sample

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:00:00 -0000

New restaurant Flight has taken the place of Stella's in the old Brodnax Jewelry Building at 39 S. Main. The word "flight" is used here to mean sample. So, when you order the Fresh Fish Flight for $29, for instance, you get a sampling of Atlantic grouper, halibut and Chilean seabass delivered on a wooden tray with three holders.

Dining Spotlight: Overton Park Pizze Stone hard to beat

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:00:00 -0000

I predict a new trend in my family to show appreciation for good food: A single, resounding clap following the last bite. This is how 7-year-old Lily concluded her meal at Overton Park Pizze Stone this week. Her clap was meant particularly for the tiramisu; I give a hearty clap all 'round.

Best Bets: Tamales

biggs@commercialappeal.com (Jennifer Biggs) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:35:00 -0000

Hattie’s Tamales have been sold for years in a convenience store at Trigg and Lauderdale. That out-of-the-way spot meant planning a trip, but now that’s changed: Hattie’s has opened in the shopping center with Winchester Farmers Market, a frequent stop on my shopping route. They come spicy or mild — I’m all about the spicy, so that’s what I tried.

Dining Spotlight: It's DejaVu -- with Creole soul

burch@commercialappeal.com (Peggy Burch) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:01:00 -0000

The neighborhood around E.H. Crump Boulevard and Florida Street, south of Downtown, isn't a likely place to put a restaurant. Aside from its Mardi Gras gold-and-purple paint job, the clean brick building that houses DeJaVu is Spartan, probably chosen more for its affordability than its charm. The food -- a conglomeration described in the headline on the menu as "New Orleans Creole Soul Food and Vegetarian" -- is hearty, rich and spicy.

Best bets: Appetizer

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:00:00 -0000

Who'da thunk it? Bacon-wrapped bananas. More to the point, why would I actually order it? Well, I did it once and I'll do it again. I dashed into Automatic Slim's for a Popsicle martini -- more accurately, a mojito in a martini glass with a delightful cinnamon stick wrapped in sweetened ice -- and was intrigued by the bananas. It was just $5, so there wasn't much at stake.