Memphis • THE CITY MAGAZINE • W W W.MEMPHISMAGAZINE.COM
BOBBY RUSH REMEMBERS | OUR 2018 DINING GUIDE | OAKLAWN: OFF TO THE RACES!
T HE CI T Y M A G A Z INE VOL XLII NO 11 | F E B R U A R Y 2 018
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VOL XLII NO 11 | FEBRUARY 2018
Up Front 12 14 18 20 22
in the beginning on the town fine print city journal out and about
Features
26 Off to the Races!
For generations, Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, just a few hours from Memphis, has been an integral part of the American horse-racing scene. ~ by david hill
31 Top 10 New Restaurants
And the results of our annual Readers’ Restaurant Poll.
44 Eat Up!
An impressive roster of restaurants supports the Crosstown Concourse mission to live healthy and eat well.
52 great homes
A Colorful Chisca Abode A historic “businessman’s hotel” has been transformed into a whimsical retreat. ~ by anne cunningham o’neill
66 The Entertainer
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on the cover City Silo PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS
Bobby Rush’s confessions carry decades of wisdom. ~ by jon w. sparks
Columns
59 901 health
On Not Taking It with You Dr. James Eason makes Memphis a transplant destination. ~ by anna traverse
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72 ask vance Coletta’s
Our trivia expert solves local mysteries of who, what, when, where, why, and why not. ~ by vance lauderdale
74 endgame
Happy Jones
Midwife to Progress. ~ by jackson baker
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77 garden variety
A Guide to Winter Wonders “Rising Sun” and “Cherokee Princess” may sound like Disney movie characters, but they’re actually beautiful flowering trees. ~ by chris arpe gang
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86 city dining
Tidbits: Carolina Watershed; plus the city’s most extensive dining listings.
96 last stand
Knocking Holes in the Darkness Empathy in action in Memphis and beyond.
~ by anna traverse
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Memphis (ISSN 1622-820x) is published monthly for $15 per year by Contemporary Media, Inc., P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 © 2018. Telephone: 901-521-9000. For subscription info, please call 901-521-9000. Subscription customer service mailing address is Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. All rights reserved. • Periodicals Postage Paid at Memphis, TN. Postmasters: send address changes to Memphis, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101.
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BONUS
In This Issue SCENE DINING 2018
special advertising section
SCENE DINING Looking for the right spot for that first date? What about something new for your next anniversary? Or do you simply find yourself with a hankering for a nice, thick burger and fries? Whatever your craving may be, you’re sure to find a delectable destination on the following pages.
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Voted Best Pizza, come see why! With 60+ beers and handcrafted cocktails we offer slices, pies, fresh salads, sandwiches, and the most authentic NY cheesecake in town. Approaching our 5th year in the heart of downtown on the trolley line, we feature a hip atmosphere and spacious patio. Great for large parties or before a big game! Kid friendly and downtown delivery. Eat more pie!
Aldo’s Pizza Pies Midtown
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Our Midtown pizzeria offers a unique rooftop patio, exceptional service, and a cozy neighborhood feel. Full bar, great wine and house-made limoncello. You can enjoy the same fresh ingredients and hand-made pizza that our downtown location has become known for. We deliver in Midtown too!
Come and enjoy Bangkok Alley’s award-winning Thai cuisine and the area’s most outstanding sushi. Fresh ingredients and the creativity of our sushi chefs allows Bangkok Alley to provide you with the best sushi in the MidSouth. Three locations to serve you: 715 W. Brookhaven Circle, 901.590.2585; Collierville, 2150 West Poplar Avenue, 901.854.8748; Downtown Memphis, 121 Union Avenue, 901.522.2010.
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pages 79-85 Profiles of the leading restaurants in the greater Memphis area.
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Coming In April 2018 MLK50 SPECI A L IS SUE A commemorative issue devoted to the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
appraisals handwash/cleaning sales reweaving repairs color run restoration pet and other stain removals moth damage odor removal and much more
Coming In May 2018 GO RED F OR WOMEN
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THE A MER IC A N HE A RT ASSOCI ATION CONTIN UES TO BAT TLE HE A RT DISE ASE .
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very 80 seconds, a woman dies of cardiovascular disease, which is a statistic the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign is striving to change. The campaign launched in 2004 with a simple goal: increase women’s awareness of their leading killer — heart disease. Since then, around 280 fewer women die each day of heart disease and stroke, and more women are aware of their risk factors. “Eighty percent of cardiovascular disease is preventable through a healthy lifestyle,” says Kim Cherry, senior vice president of communications for First Tennessee and the chair of the 2017 Go Red for Women campaign in Memphis. “It is so important for us to do whatever we can to not only raise awareness of this health threat among women, but also to educate women about the healthy habits necessary to live a heart-healthy life.” Since last summer, Cherry and fellow campaign leaders have been fundraising and planning for the 2017 Go Red for Women
Luncheon, which will take place on Thursday, June 1st, at the Great Hall and Conference Center in Germantown. “Through the Go Red for Women luncheon, the American Heart Association educates female leaders in the Mid-South on risks associated with heart disease and shares simple tips for living a heart-healthy life,” Cherry says. “Our guests are then able to take and share that knowledge with other women in their lives as they return to the workplace and home.” Doors open at 11 a.m. with a Wellness Expo
2016 Go Red for Women chair Monica Wharton, senior vice president and chief legal counsel for Regional One Health, and 2017 campaign chair Kim Cherry, executive vice president of corporate communications for First Horizon National Corporation.
Our annual guide to the local American Heart Association's Go Red For Women event.
featuring CPR training, health messaging, and screenings. Makeup artists from Macy’s, a national sponsor of the Go Red for Women campaign, will provide free mini-makeovers. The campaign is also sponsored nationally by CVS Health. Local sponsors include the First Tennessee Foundation, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Cigna, Caesar’s Entertainment, Regional One Health, Ring Container Technologies, and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Media sponsors include Local 24 Cares, La Prensa Latina, Entercom and Contemporary Media, Inc. The luncheon program includes education on heart health and culminates with a survivor’s testimony and survivor fashion show, which is presented by Macy’s. For more information on the Go Red for Women Luncheon, visit memphisgored.heart. org or call 901-248-7954.
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Coming In June 2018 T OP DOC T ORS
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Our annual list of the Top Doctors in the greater Memphis area, chosen by their peers via Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.
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2959 Walnut Grove Road • Memphis, TN 38111 901-323-1177 8 • MEMPHISMAGA ZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 20 18
For more information on advertising or our upcoming special sections, please contact Margie Neal at margie@memphismagazine.com
Memphis T H E CIT Y M AG AZIN E
General Excellence Grand Award Winner City and Regional Magazine Association 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014
&7
PUBLISHER/EDITOR kenneth neill EXECUTIVE EDITOR michael finger MANAGING EDITOR frank murtaugh SENIOR EDITOR shara clark ASSOCIATE EDITOR samuel x. cicci ARTS & LIFESTYLE EDITOR anne cunningham o’neill FOOD EDITOR pamela denney CONTRIBUTING EDITORS jackson baker, john branston,
michael donahue, christine arpe gang, david hill, vance lauderdale, jon w. sparks, anna traverse EDITORIAL INTERN julia baker
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CREATIVE DIRECTOR brian groppe PRODUCTION OPERATIONS DIRECTOR margie neal SENIOR ART DIRECTOR carrie beasley ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR christopher myers GRAPHIC DESIGNERS jeremiah matthews,
bryan rollins PHOTOGRAPHY justin fox burks, michael donahue,
karen pulfer focht, julie wage ross, anna traverse, david yerby ILLUSTRATION chris honeysuckle ellis
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SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES joy bateman,
sloane patteson taylor
Help us care for the working uninsured
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE jacob woloshin ADVERTISING ASSISTANT roxy matthews
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published by contemporary media, inc. memphis, tn 901-521-9000 p • 901-521-0129 f subscriptions: 901-521-9000
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CONTROLLER ashley haeger DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT jeffrey a. goldberg
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EDITORIAL DIRECTOR bruce vanwyngarden DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES anna traverse SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR molly willmott DIGITAL DIRECTOR kevin lipe SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER matthew preston DISTRIBUTION MANAGER lynn sparagowski EMAIL MARKETING MANAGER britt ervin IT DIRECTOR joseph carey ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT celeste dixon RECEPTIONIST kalena mckinney
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february 2018
member: City and Regional Magazine Association member: Circulation Verification Council 10 Memphis.Ad.HelpUs.Ad.2.7.17.indd • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M1 • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
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IN THE BEGINNING | by kenneth neill
Food for Thought
Straight dope on the Memphis dining scene.
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hese days, in terms of culinary excellence, those of us who’ve lived here for some time have to stop and pinch ourselves. A miracle seems to have occurred; we now reside in a city that truly resembles hog heaven. Memphis, to put it charitably, was for decades something of a lost cause in terms of both fine and not-so-fine dining. But those days are long gone.
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Memphis Magazine’s
THE 2017
FACE OF
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Just thumb through the pages of our dining or three, well, you understand just how much listings in the back of this month’s Memphis the Memphis culinary universe has expanded — our 36th annual dining issue. I think you’ll over the years. Once upon a time, doing our find yourself astonished at just how many annual dining issue reminded me of the old places around the Mid-South offer truly Bogart movie, Casablanca: “Round up the usual splendid dining experiences. suspects.” Even with the readers’ poll, one And the really good news is that price is no could pretty much bet on which place would object. Of course, there are plenty of wonder- win which category every year. Today, howful places in town where customers can enjoy ever, both the number and diversity of Memspectacular cuisine, décor, and ambience for phis Restaurant Poll winners have increased $100 a person. But our city also dramatically, a ref lection of has lots of decidedly more humjust how far the city’s dining ble abodes — restaurants where horizons have been expanded, one can enjoy just as inspiring a and keep expanding with every lunch or a night out for a fifth passing year. of that price. Having been here since JusHere at Memphis, we signifitine Smith was still holding cantly revamped those monthly court on Coward Place, I can redining listings last summer, in member when we did our very the course of which we made first Memphis dining issue, way our choice of the city’s Top 50 back in July 1983. We decided restaurants. Check those out on upon a catchy theme: pages 86-95. These aren’t just Our then-dining critic Tom July 1983 the 50 top fine-dining spots in Martin would pick his eight fatown (although many are included); nor are vorite Memphis restaurants, and we would they the 50 best values. Rather, this is a list title his cover story “Dinner At Eight,” the representing our staff ’s picks of the 50 places title, by the way, of a famous 1933 movie starwhich offer the most distinctively Memphis ring Jean Harlow and Lionel Barrymore. (By dining experiences in and around the city. the way, the only restaurant still around from The idea behind our Top 50 was simple: that first dining issue is Chez Philippe in The We wanted to give newcomers to Memphis Peabody.) a heads-up, by providing them with once-aThe issue was well-received, so the next week places they might seek out as they get year we decided to repeat the “Dinner at acquainted with their new hometown. At Eight” theme. There was just one problem. year’s end, new Memphians who chose to Tom Martin reviewed all the candidates, and make the rounds could rightfully claim that determined that only six Memphis restauthey had absorbed the city’s dining scene. rants that year were worthy of inclusion. Oops. Hopefully, the Top 50 also has proven just We kept the catchy “Dinner at Eight” title, as useful for longtime residents looking to with but six restaurants included. We have no such problems anymore. In fact, expand their own dining horizons. Our opinions, however, are no more import- we have an embarrassment of riches these days, ant than yours. That’s why every November, for with scores of local establishments being honmany years now, we have conducted our annual ored this year with awards. Check them all out, Memphis Readers’ Restaurant Poll, the results at least once, sample their wares, and broaden of which are always published in our February your own particular culinary universe. And thanks to each and every restaurateur issue. In a digital world where bots can throw off elections in all kinds of places, we scrupu- in this city, and the members of their staffs, for lously try to ensure that our thousand-plus poll all that you do to make and keep Memphis a voters represent the best possible cross section foodie’s dream come true. of bonafide Memphis diners. Check out this Kenneth Neill year’s winners on pages 32-43. If you happen to have lived here a decade editor/publisher
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WHAT: AutoZone Liberty Bowl President’s Gala WHERE: The Peabody
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WHEN: December 29, 2017
he night before all the twisting and shouting at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, which pitted the University of Memphis against Iowa State, about 950 attended the game’s President’s Gala at The Peabody, where The Isley Brothers performed “Twist and Shout” as well as other hits. At the next day’s game, the duo — Ronald and Ernie Isley — would entertain the crowd at halftime. During the cocktail portion of the gala Gerry Finney and Andy Gaia performed in the Continental Ballroom. Andy Childs and his band played during dinner in the Memphis Ballroom. Asked why the Presidents’ Gala is special, AutoZone Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart said, “Everybody has a good time because there’s no long dinner, no auctions, nothing to sit through to take away from great music and great fun. Except for the blessing and the welcoming by the mayor and recognizing the coaches’ wives, there are no long speeches. Nothing to take away from just having a great time.” And, he said, “I give credit to Charlotte Neal.” Neal celebrated her 21st anniversary as gala chair. “It’s the night before the game,” she said. “It’s coming to a climax. It’s exciting. And it’s a beautiful party. People come from all walks of life, plus all the out-of-towners. The sponsors of the Liberty Bowl are so loyal. They come every year and they look forward to it. I look forward to it. “The ingredients are all there. It means a lot to a lot of different groups.” Leigh Shockey was this year’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl president.
1 Joanna Dykes 2 Kimberly Bridges, Kemona Ward, and Tiara Whitelow 3 Leigh Shockey, Diane Black, and Pat Kerr Tigrett 4 Greg Duckett, Calvin Anderson, Steve Erhart, Mike Longo, and Kevin Kane 5 Pat and Shelby County Mayor Bill Luttrell 6 Mayor Jim Strickland, Janie and Bruce Hopkins 7 Jacob and Melissa Harper and Brandon Fizer 8 Tanya and Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell and Brett and Veronica Batterson 9 Quadray Kohlhiem and Mercedes Garner10 Ronald and Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers 11 Avery Toliver and Dominic Middleton 12 Kendra London, Jessica Fitzhugh, and Natasha Rosko 13 Austin Barr, Alanna Diaz, and Randy Chumley 14 Romeo Khazen and Dierdre Battista 15 Chandler Grace and Nick Underwood 16 Lethelea Jackson and Dennis Collins 17 Mia Atkinson and Doug Brown 18 Andy Childs
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WHAT: Phoenix Club New Year’s Eve Masquerade WHERE: Children’s Museum of Memphis WHEN: December 31, 2017
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n addition to funny hats and noisemakers, the Phoenix Club New Year’s Eve Masquerade featured the Memphis Grand Carousel. This year’s Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis fundraiser was held at the Children’s Museum of Memphis. This was the first year the Phoenix Club held the event at the museum, said Paul Stephens, who chaired the event with Michael Brennan. “It was a cool space,” he said. “The carousel was an attraction itself.” This was the second consecutive year Stephens and Brennan chaired the New Year’s Eve party. About 500 attended the event, which raised $10,000 for Boys and Girls Clubs, Stephens said. In addition to the carousel, the event featured a silent disco and music by City Mix.
1 Neil Lovett and Elana Malkin 2 Paul Stephens, Stephanie Wharton- Stephens, and Michael Brennan 3 Keely Kennedy, Webb Emerson, Kelsey Jones, William Blair, and Andrew Taylor 4 Austin Alexander, Lauren Wallace, Ann Wallace, and Tyler Burnett 5 George Newton and Ruth Bryan 6 Tyler Wehr and Alexandra Bickenbach 7 & 8 Natalie and Jackson Cross at midnight 9 Seated: Philip O’Malley and Alexis Smith and in rear Amanda Staggs and George Smith 10 Lee Olswanger and Kendall Kraus 11 Jennifer Fisackerly and Parker James 12 Anna Walsh, Matt Thomas, and Hannah Lin 13 Malcolm Wood, Matthew Z. Mazer, and Sayle Atkinson 14 Michael McCaffrey and Nour Haddad 15 Leighton Corrigan, Spencer Corrigan, and Eustis Corrigan
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FINE PRINT
A Place at the Table When so many things divide us, food is the great equalizer — in most cases.
by john branston its survival was an international corporate-sponsored barbecue contest on the river. Some peg the decline of the shopping mall to the decline of the department store on account of online shopping. I prefer to look at it through the decline of the food court. Same goes for the airport. Food fads come and go. I fell hard for those Blue Apron meal kits delivered to my door but, like most customers, tired of it after a few months. On the other hand, a dissertation could be written (and may have been already) about the enduring popularity of the Starbucks at McLean and Union Avenue. Food is also the unequalizer. You could read scholarly books and articles about food deserts The Annual Memphis Chicken Wing Festival held on the riverfront featured chicken wings from all over the Mid-South. in the inner city, the link between junk food and diabetes, and how he ball is in play about 10 minutes in a college place at the table with hotties neighborhoods die and get reenor professional football game. Food and drink, on like Nashville, Austin, Charles- ergized. Or you could keep it simthe other hand, are in play for about an hour of ton, and Portland so long as there ple and just visit Overton Square is food on it. and Lamar Avenue to see evicommercial time in a nationally televised game and pretty If you have lived here for a dence of the extremes with your much all day for the hardcore viewers and the tailgating while, as I have since 1982, few own eyes or, alternatively, with set. The national college champion may be Alabama, the things capture the essence of your appetite, choosing between Super Bowl champion will be known February 4th, but a place and the changes in our the $12 farm-to-table burger in the Square or the the grand champion is food and drink by a margin of a hometow n over A city such as $3.75 special with time than the what, pizza and a plate of wings. Memphis, bypassed where, and how of two cheeseburgers, The food spread beats the and ethnicity are no barrier. Food its food. fries, and a drink so often in other point spread every time. Locally is the new football, only better, A white-tabledown the street at ways, can get a owned city magazines like this uniting us as we stuff our mouths cloth restaurant Burger King. one, 42 years old this year, were instead of dividing us as we run used to be named We routinely add place at the table on to this way before the mass them. There is a place in the kitch- for its owner, like 15 percent to the with hotties like bill at restaurants media started doing “36 Hours en for the urbane gastronome, Anderton’s or Jim’s Nashville, Austin, where servers tell in Memphis” and “Five Best Bets” the pig-out dude, the babe, the Place East. Today features heavy on hot restauhunk, the tatted-up ex-con, the it’s more likely to be us their names and Charleston, and “take care of us” by rants, pubs, and chefs sprinkled fussy perfectionist, the hammy known by its chef Portland so long as with a dash of museums and host, the comically incompetent, (often the owner, bringing us a plate the endearingly scatter-brained, too) like Kelly Ennatural attractions for flavoring. and refilling the there is food on it. Mainly, it seems, what we do the thrilling competition while glish or Erling Jenwater glass. But the when we travel is eat and drink racing against the clock, the por- sen who gets the attention. cashier at Kroger or Cash Saver four times a day. And even if we nographic detail of the close-up Memphis in May, starting in who wears a name tag and smiles don’t, at least we watch, we read, shot of the creation handled, dec- 1977, had a pretty good run as a and rings up the bill and bags the we check it out, and we discuss. orated, bathed, and plated. celebration of foreign countries stuff gets $7.25 an hour and someThe knowledgeable foodie is Food is the equalizer. A city — quick, name the honoree last times gets a thank-you. now indispensable, and the best such as Memphis, bypassed so year or this year — but what My gut feeling is that this is can become stars. Gender, age, often in other ways, can get a saved its bacon and guaranteed neither good nor fair.
PHOTOGRAPH BY CALVIN LEAKE | DREAMSTIME
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CITY JOURNAL
The Centurion Remembering the long and distinguished career of Lewis Donelson.
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remember a conversation I once had with Lewis Donelson in his 22nd f loor office in the First Tennessee Bank building downtown. It was 2011, during Donelson’s 95th year on this earth, and I was working for this magazine on a profile of this seemingly ageless gnome of so many accomplishments, which in turn brought so many important consequences to his communities, local, state, and national. Lewie, as everyone called him — the name bestowed on him by his mother to distinguish him from a father of the same name — was truly a player. He had, by this time, relinquished direct control of the now world-class law firm he had captained — Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, and Berkowitz, PC. But at 95 he was still a leading rainmaker and substantially more than a figurehead, called upon to litigate on occasion for blue-ribbon clients and still sure of his prowess in a courtroom. And elsewhere. “I still drive,” he assured me. “At night!” At some point we had wandered over to his picture wall, where he called my attention to a framed photograph of then President George H.W. Bush in a casual conversation group on Air Force One with several others, including Lewie himself, who was in fact the focal point of the picture. “Bush told me when he sent this to me that I’d like it. If you’ll notice, I’m talking, and everybody else is listening,” Lewie said. There was a younger man in the picture, one who would become famous in his own right during George H.W. Bush’s successful 1988 presidential campaign. We both recalled it was Lee Atwater, the eager young hatchetman who pioneered the use of seriously negative attack stratagems, like the TV ad featuring a black convict named Willie Horton, who had tortured a husband and raped his wife, whose early release had been
Donelson over his ten decades. Not long before, I had attended a testimonial event for Lewie at the Racquet Club, at the end of which, Donelson took to the rostrum, saying, “I’ve heard so many nice things said about me tonight that I almost feel obligated to die.” Not that he had exactly played beanbag in his own political life. It was Lewie Donelson, after all, who had engaged in some
“When I first became a Republican, it was a very pro-integration group. It’s become less so over the years. I’m [still] very strong on that issue.” authorized by Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, Bush’s 1988 opponent. There had been other sides to Atwater, and I remember thinking how different was his fate — dead at 40 from a malignant brain tumor and doomed to a villainous memory despite his having backed up B.B. King on a blues album — from the aura of genial affection which enveloped fellow Republican
serious hardball back in the early 1950s when he’d begun the task of wrestling control of local Republican affairs from long-dominant black figureheads like Lt. George W. Lee in that age of one-party white Democratic control of the South. Donelson’s Republicanism, though authentically conservative, was essentially a challenge to Boss E.H. Crump’s nominally Democratic machine in the interest of
creating a two-party system. And when Donelson, who had meanwhile midwived into being the statewide political careers of moderate Republicans like Howard Baker and Lamar Alexander, achieved political office in his own right in 1968, as a member of Memphis’ newly created City Council, he worked across political and racial lines, using his influence to try to end that year’s fateful sanitation strike on terms of economic fairness and racial harmony. “When I f irst became a Republican, it was a very pro-integration group. It’s become less so over the years. I’m [still] very strong on that issue,” he would say of his party affiliation. A decade later, Donelson, serving as righthand man to the newly elected GOP governor Lamar Alexander, would arrange the early transfer of gubernatorial power to Alexander from the corrupt incumbent Democrat, Ray Blanton, charged with both selling pardons to convicted offenders and illegally peddling liquor licenses. And for decades, he served on numerous boards, chairing The Med and giving impetus to the expanding institution now known as Regional One. At a book-signing for his autobiographical tome in 2011, Donelson was asked to name his most important public priority. His response: “The 25 percent of the people in poverty, without opportunity. We’ve got to deal with them before they get to kindergarten. By then it’s already too late. Everybody in Memphis ought to think that’s their number-one problem, and they don’t.” Lewis Donelson, perhaps Memphis’ grandest of Grand Old Men, left us in January, only a few months after celebrating his 100th birthday, a genuine centurion for our city.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS HONEYSUCKLE ELLIS
by jackson baker
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Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
2.2-2.3 Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW ECCLES
A
lvin Ailey’s choreography is known for its expression of intense emotions through dance. This weekend, The Orpheum features Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations, as well as some of his other classics like Ella, Night Creature, and The Golden Section. The Orpheum, 203 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com
2.1-2.28
2.3
Conversations: Art+Music+Poetry
All month long, stop by the Goodwyn Gallery at Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library to experience the unique collaboration between the youth of Carpenter Art Garden and artist Lonnie Holley. Events include Conversations: Art+Music+Poetry, an afterschool workshop at the Garden’s “Purple House,” and visits to Lester Prep Middle School and Cornerstone Elementary School. Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Ave. memphislibrary.org
2.2
R.LUM.R
On-the-rise R&B star R.LUM.R plays at Minglewood. Otherwise known as Reggie Williams,
Crosstown 10K
A perfect chance for Crosstown residents to embrace their neighborhood or for others to simply explore or discover the area, this 10K race starts and ends at Crosstown Concourse and winds through the nearby districts. Proceeds benefit Church Health. Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave. crosstownconcourse.com R.LUM.R is currently based out of Nashville. His music has been featured by Spotify, Sirius XM, and VEVO, and he has been well-regarded by Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR Music, and the New York Times. Minglewood Hall, 1555 Madison Ave. minglewoodhall.com
2.3
Black Resistance: Ernest C. Withers and the Civil Rights Movement Exhibit
Open until August 19th, this exhibit features the photography of Ernest C. Withers during the Black Resistance, a series of protests during the Civil Rights Movement, in Memphis. Much of the exhibit centers around Martin Luther King Jr. and the 50th anniversary of his speaking at the Mason Temple, the sanitation workers strike, and the march to City Hall. Brooks Museum, 1934 Poplar Ave. brooksmuseum.org
Neil deGrasse Tyson
2.7
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Esteemed astrophysicist, NASA insider, author, and documentary host Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to The Orpheum after a sold-out show in 2017. This time, he will cover the “Ten Things You Should Know about the Universe.” The Orpheum, 203 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com
2.9
Mindy Smith
Crosstown 10K
PHOTOGRAPH BY BLAIR EVAN BALL
Folk-country singer Mindy Smith, who got her break after releasing a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” performs at the Buckman Performing Arts Center. Buckman Performing Arts Center, 60 S. Perkins Extd. buckmanartscenter.com
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2.9
2.14
The eighth annual Wine for Wishes, hosted by Make-A-Wish MidSouth, is a wine-tasting event that features live music, a wine pull, door prizes, and hors d’oeuvres. Cadre Building, 149 Monroe Ave. midsouth.wish.org
Funnyman Katt Williams will provide laughs for you and your Valentine at Landers Center. Katt Williams is known for his stand-up comedy, as well as for his roles in Friday After Next, Wild ’n Out, My Wife and Kids, The Boondocks, and more. Landers Center, 4560 Venture Dr. landerscenter.com
Wine for Wishes
Katt Williams
Robert Klein community. Klein, who has two Grammys and a Tony Award under his belt, has served as an inspiration to notable comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Billy Crystal, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and Bill Maher. Klein will be accompanied by his longtime music director Bob Stein. Halloran Centre, 225 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com
Souvenir
2.9-2.25 Souvenir
Souvenir tells the humorous and heartfelt tale of Florence Foster Jenkins, a self-promoted performer (who can’t actually hold a tune), and her accompanist, Cosmé McMoon, as they try to make it in the music industry. Theatre Memphis, 630 S. Perkins Extd. theatrememphis.org
2.10
Robert Klein
Stand-up comedian Robert Klein headlines at the Halloran Centre to support Temple Israel’s mission to be a force for good in the greater
2.13-2.18
The Color Purple
The Color Purple, a Tony Awardwinning musical based off the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, brings its jazz, gospel, ragtime, and blues score, along with its story of a young American woman’s journey to the 1930s South, to The Orpheum. The Orpheum, 203 S. Main St. orpheum-memphis.com
2.14
Big Gigantic
Take your Valentine to dance to EDM artist Big Gigantic’s melodious tunes and mind-bending beats at the New Daisy Theatre. Shallou will be opening. The New Daisy, 330 Beale St. newdaisy.com
2.23
Grizzlies vs. Cavaliers
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers make their lone visit to FedExForum this season. A four-time MVP, “King James” is pushing toward an eighth straight appearance in the NBA Finals, this time with a new running mate, former Celtic All-Star Isaiah Thomas. FedExForum, 191 Beale St. fedexforum.com
2.24
Winter Festival of Lights Gala
Enjoy an evening of dinner, drinks, dancing, and a silent auction to benefit Merge Memphis’ Merging Bridge project. Merging Bridge, located at Adams Ave. and Danny Thomas Blvd., will become a work/ live facility for homeless women. 409 South Main, 409 S. Main St. eventbrite.com
Winter Festival of Lights Gala
The Color Purple
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW MURPHY
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Speech therapy enhances Parkinson’s patient’s life
D
ale Nevels was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 12 years ago. He was determined to not let it affect his life. He has continued playing golf, and more than a year ago took up boxing. He takes two lessons a week for about two hours per day. He said he lives for it. But one part of his disease that became a struggle was speech, particularly with his job as a packaging broker that requires him to have regular conversations with customers. “I realized I was talking to clients and they’d say they couldn’t understand me,” Nevels said. “I was difficult to understand. It was difficult to have a conversation with my wife or someone at church. My speech pattern was rapid fire.” Nevels learned about the work Regional One Health does to help Parkinson’s patients with their speech and he called to make an appointment with Johnna Johnson, speech and language pathologist at Regional One Health Center for Rehabilitative Medicine at the East Campus. “When I went to see Johnna my speech was rapid fire. People couldn’t understand me. She helped me learn to slow that down,” said Nevels. Nevels completed the LSVT Loud program with Johnson at Regional One Health’s Center for Rehabilitative Medicine. Johnson is one of six LSVT LOUD-certified clinicians in Shelby County. LSVT LOUD is a speech treatment that improves vocal loudness by stimulating the muscles of the larynx and speech mechanism through a range of exercises. Patients work with Johnson four days a week for one hour at a time over the course of one month. But the work continues at home; Johnson goes over daily homework assignments that help patients improve and maintain their speech. That constant maintenance is followed up three months later. Like many Parkinson’s patients, it was a slow process to realize what was going on for Nevels. He began noticing tremors in his hands and a general achiness in his arms. He traveled a lot, which made it worse. “The tremors were the worst thing,” he said. “I couldn’t figure out why my
When I went to see Johnna my speech was rapid fire. People couldn’t understand me. She helped me learn to slow that down. DALE NEVELS hands were shaking. My doctor said I had a Parkinson’s walk. I’ll always remember that. It’s like if you ever get stopped by the highway patrol and asked to walk a straight line. You can’t do it.” A decline in his speech came later. Johnson said people with Parkinson’s experience a hearing loss of two to four decibels. So when they’re told to speak louder they often believe they’re screaming. When a new patient comes in she records their voice and plays it back to them so they begin to understand the difference between their perception and reality of their voice. Getting someone to speak louder also forces them to speak slower, making their speech easier to understand. That’s where the LSVT LOUD program does its magic. But it also helps strengthen the tongue and throat muscles, which benefit more than speech. Long term, Parkinson’s patients can experience problems swallowing or have the need to cough when they eat. The No. 1 cause of death for Parkinson’s patients is aspiration pneumonia, and LSVT LOUD helps patients keep that at bay. The LSVT LOUD program also can work for people with multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
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Johnson said if someone notices a problem swallowing or coughing while eating that’s when they need to tell their physician who can make a referral to Johnson and Regional One Health. Nevels’ one piece of advice to others diagnosed with Parkinson’s is to seek professional assistance to maintain speech. He said he can’t imagine recovering his speech like he has in recent months without the help of Johnson and the program offered at Regional One Health. Johnson sees patients at Regional One Health Center for Rehabilitative Medicine at the East Campus, located at 6555 Quince Road.
To schedule an appointment with Johnson or learn more about our services online at
RegionalOneHealth.org or call 901.515.EAST
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After an accident or illness, getting back to your life is the top priority. At the Center for Rehabilitative Medicine, we are dedicated to helping you recover and regain your physical health. Our care team, led by a boardcertified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, collaborates with you to develop progressive paths to wellness that may include physical therapy, pain management, and other therapeutic services. It’s not just our job to give our patients the specialized care they need to return to an active life, it’s what we love to do.
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ROAD TRIP
OFF TO THE RACES!
Oaklawn Park has been a major attraction in Hot Springs since 1904. PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID YERBY
^6 FOR GENERATIONS, OAKLAWN PARK IN HOT SPRINGS, JUST A FEW HOURS FROM MEMPHIS, HAS BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE AMERICAN HORSE-RACING SCENE.
^6
by david hill
H
ot Springs has always been a gambling town. For the four decades stretching from about 1927 to 1967, the federal government considered Hot Springs to be the largest illegal gambling operation in America. There were no fewer than a dozen casinos in Hot Springs, with dice games, roulette wheels, and slot machines, and gamblers would travel from all over America to get in on the action. That action was anchored by the one type of gambling that was not illegal in Arkansas: betting on horses at the racetrack. Hot Springs has been home to Oaklawn Park since 1904, where people have been betting on the ponies off and on for more than a century.
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I say off and on because there was a period of time early on when betting on horses, too, was illegal in Arkansas. And unlike the proprietors of Hot Springs’ many casinos, the owners of Oaklawn (based at the time in St. Louis) weren’t interested in defying the law. The last time they tried that, back in 1907, the governor sent the militia in to stop them from racing. But during the Great Depression, things got desperate for the gamblers of Hot Springs, and they pleaded with the newly elected governor, Marion Futrell, to let the owners open up the racetrack, so that the tourist trade might get a shot in the arm. Futrell was keen to do it, but the clergy across the state were furious. Oaklawn reopened in 1935. The tourists came back to town, and they’ve been coming back ever since. Horse racing was once the most popular sport in America; Presidents would attend the races. Franklin Roosevelt listened to the race results on a radio in the White House. Folks would travel long distances to see a race and make a bet because, up until recently, that was the only way to experience the sport — live and in person. The popularity of the sport may have suffered over recent years, ceding
ground to things like televised football and basketball. Today as well, gamblers can bet on horse races from the comfort of their own homes or casinos anywhere in the world, which has cut into the number of in-person spectators at racetracks around the country. But in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Sport of Kings is very much alive and well. One can count the number of honest-to-God racetrack towns in America on one hand, and Hot Springs is certainly one of them. Year after year, the spring crowds at Oaklawn are the envy of racetracks in cities 10 times the size of Hot Springs. “Racing season” is woven into the fabric of life not only in Hot Springs — 200 miles west of Memphis — but all over Arkansas, with fans traveling from every corner of the state to come spend a day at the track most weekends during the “meet”; the racing season stretches every year from mid-January to mid-April. While the pomp and circumstance of horse racing has disappeared at many big-city tracks, Hot Springs folks still get gussied up for a day at Oaklawn as if they were headed to a fancy garden party. Locals and visitors talk about horses all over town, in the bars, the coffee houses, and the hotel lobbies. Stand in the crowd waiting for F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 27
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ROAD TRIP
O A K L AW N PA R K
Timeless scenes from the racing season at Oaklawn. PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID YERBY
Hot Springs National Park and the Hot Springs Historic District as seen from tower.
a table on a weekend morning at the Pancake House downtown, and you’ll hear bad beat stories from the day before or, if you’re lucky, catch a hot tip on a big race later that day. Sit beneath the portrait of Man ‘o’ War losing his only race to Upset and eavesdrop on the table next to you, and you’re likely to hear a Hall of Fame trainer, or maybe the owner of a million-dollar thoroughbred, discuss the day’s races. But even if your neighbors are simple salt-of-the earth types, odds are they are headed to the track after they finish breakfast. The state police eventually managed to shut down the illegal casinos in Hot Springs in the late 1960s. It took the election of a transplanted New York Republican named Winthrop Rockefeller as governor and a whole lot of Bible-thumping from the Baptists around the state to finally do it. The racetrack, however, has not only survived; it has flourished, becoming a hotbed of hobnobbing for wealthy and influential Arkansans. The politically powerful were known to traffic in passes and box seats at Oaklawn as gifts. Longtime Governor (and future President) Bill Clinton — who grew up in the town and attended Hot Springs High School — was a regular attendee during the 1980s, as was his mother, Virginia Clinton Kelley. “I’m not sure which I liked more,” she wrote in her autobiography, “the gambling or the scene. In those days, everybody dressed for the races, and the characters who hung around were wild and colorful and larger-than-life.” Her answering-machine message said it all: “If I’m not here, I’m probably down at the racetrack.” Today the track remains a scene, as these are boom times for Oaklawn and Hot Springs. Ironically, the legalization of casino gambling at the track has contributed to the racetrack’s success. In 2005, voters approved “games of skill” at the track, and a decent-sized casino was built alongside Oaklawn, to house slot
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AND WHILE YOU’RE VISITING HOT SPRINGS... PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN SCANTLEBURY | DREAMSTIME
machines, blackjack, poker, and roulette games. The largess from the casino has allowed Oaklawn to increase its purse sizes, which has in turn increased the number of quality race horses being stabled in Arkansas each winter. Last year, Oaklawn led the country in field size. This winter there were more than 1,500 horses stabled at Oaklawn, raring to go when the 2018 season launched on January 12th. The track this year will award more than $30 million in purses, which puts this small-town racetrack very much in the big leagues when it comes to thoroughbred racing in America. While the casinos once needed Oaklawn to get the gamblers to come to town, today the situation is reversed: The casino games keep the track in high cotton. The churches once preached hellfire and damnation against the gamblers at the track; today the First Christian Church down the street from the track advertises that their first Sunday service is over before the start of the day’s first race. Oaklawn enjoyed a burst of national attention when perhaps the most famous American race horse of this century, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, did his final prep for the Kentucky Derby in Hot Springs in 2015, winning the Rebel Stakes in March and the season-ending Arkansas Derby a month later. American Pharoah, of course, was the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. His trainer, Bob Baffert, found Oaklawn an ideal “spring-training” venue for his star, and plenty of trainers have followed in his footsteps. Trainer Doug O’Neill, whose Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby the year after American Pharoah, brought 20 horses to Hot Springs for this season’s Oaklawn meet. You won’t want to miss the fun. For three-year-old horses on the Kentucky Derby trail, Oaklawn offers four major stakes races during the season to get them ready for the first Saturday contin u ed on page 75
Hot Springs is nestled at the base of the Ouachita Mountains. PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL RAY | DREAMSTIME
I
f you want a snapshot of the good old days in Hot Springs, be sure to visit the History of Hot Springs Gambling Museum, located at 3349 Central Avenue, only a mile or so up the road from Oaklawn itself. For the low admission price of free, the visitor can stand at a craps table
from the old Belvedere Club, or pump half dollars into still-working slot machines from The Southern Club, and admire the personal firearm of New York City crime boss turned Hot Springs casino operator Owney Madden. There are a growing number of museums in Hot Springs dedicated to the city’s intriguing past, but this one is by far the best — not just because it is free, but because the owners are local historians as well as collectors. One of them, Lanny Beavers, is currently writing a definitive history of Oaklawn. Let Lanny dazzle you with obscure racetrack trivia, including not-so-tall tales from the libertine days of this former Sin City of the South. Be sure not to miss Bathhouse Row, built around the therapeutic hot springs that gave birth to the city itself in 1851. Eight magnificent neo-classical and Art Deco buildings were constructed along Central Avenue in the early twentieth century, when the medicinal impact of mineral springs were highly valued and attracted visitors from all around the South. Most of these have been lovingly restored and are a delight to visit, forming an integral Historic Bathhouse Row. PHOTOGRAPH BY SANDRAFOYT | DREAMSTIME
part of the country’s smallest National Park. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 29
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APRIL 25-29, 2018
S T A Y L A F AY E T T E Experience Festival International in the Happiest City in America.
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Must be 21 years or older to gamble or attend events. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. ©2018, Caesars License Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
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TOP 10 NEW RESTAURANTS FOR 2018 PRESENTING THE
WINNERS
OF OUR MEMPHIS MAGAZINE READERS ’ RESTAURANT POLL
T
here’s no getting around it; Memphis has quite a good restaurant scene, and the new establishments popping up year after year are no slouches. Going out to eat costs both time and money, though, and you have to be certain that whichever place you like to go is going to tick all of the right boxes. One should always be cautious when getting into the restaurant recommendation game. A myriad of factors out of your control can make or break the dining experience for someone else. Maybe the service is off that night, or perhaps the cook is distracted and your meal overcooks while unattended. Either way, whether you recommend somewhere to a friend, colleague, or partner, a bad dining experience can have a devastating effect on that relationship. Luckily enough, Memphis magazine has compiled an extensive list of the best places to eat in our 2018 Readers’ Restaurant Poll. To ensure the sanctity of the results, Memphis has installed online voting safeguards to prevent multiple entries, making our poll the definitive resource for Memphis’ dining scene. The top three restaurants in each category are listed, with the first place option listed in bold type. Each winner had to have received at least 10 percent of the total votes. You’ll surely recognize plenty of familiar names throughout the poll, but be sure to scan the list carefully. After all, your next favorite new restaurant is just waiting to be discovered.
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p h otog rap hs by j u s t i n f ox b u r k s ore than two dozen new restaurants opened in Memphis last year, thanks in part to new development in established neighborhoods. On Highland Row, the university district’s restaurant revival continued, and inside Midtown’s Crosstown Concourse, new restaurants brought variety to Cleveland Street, a longtime Asian stronghold for eating out. (Be sure to read more about Crosstown Concourse restaurants in “Eat Up,” on page 44 in this month’s issue.) Along with the number of new eateries, the wide range of winners for Best New Restaurant proved that Memphis magazine readers are indeed a diverse lot. Preferences in food ranged from aromatic bowls of Japanese ramen to Southern-inspired chicken and chops. Restaurant locations showed similar diversity. In fact, four new restaurants in Germantown and Collierville — long underserved by independent restaurateurs — were among this year’s top-10 winners. With the promise of a robust economy, additional new restaurants in Memphis seem guaranteed for 2018. Already this year, Carolina Watershed opened in the South Main warehouse district, and The Gray Canary, the latest venue from chefs Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer, is ready to roll out woodfired cooking inside the Old Dominick Distillery building. We can hardly wait. — Pamela Denney
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S OU T HER N S OC IAL BEST PIZZA
MEMPHIS PIZZA CAFE ALDO’S PIZZA PIES (TIE) ROCK-N-DOUGH PIZZA CO. AND HOG & HOMINY BEST MEXICAN
LAS DELICIAS LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA MOLLY’S LA CASITA BEST ITALIAN
ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN PETE & SAM’S CIAO BELLA BEST MEDITERRANEAN
CASABLANCA RESTAURANT TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE (TIE) KWIK CHEK AND PETRA CAFE
Hand-crafted cocktails served at a popular and spacious bar, along with Southern Social’s well-appointed dining room, provide a gracious Germantown setting for Southern-inspired dishes like an oversized tomahawk pork chop served with sweet potato casserole and Brussels sprouts. The restaurant also serves weekend brunch.
BEST CHINESE
MULAN WANG’S MANDARIN HOUSE A-TAN RESTAURANT & SUSHI BAR
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he dining room at Southern Social is a beauty, with its crystal chandeliers and window view of the historic train depot. But the heart of the restaurant is the bar, a sprawling and well-appointed testament to how much people like to eat and drink together. Wildly popular with Germantown’s well-heeled professionals, the bar works for drinks — and there are many choices — or food if you are lucky enough to get a seat. With more than 200 choices, flights of wine are a good choice. I prefer
martinis, expertly made and flavored with three fat olives. Along with the bar, the restaurant’s aroma is what I remember from mid-century chop houses, a layered-in-butter smell that promises (like sports coats and padded menus) good things to come. Happily, the food at Southern Social does not disappoint. Try chilled shellfish or tropical crab Louie to start and one of a dozen entrees like braised Kobe short ribs or fried chicken and biscuits, some of the best in the city.
On a recent visit, I watched a couple eat a tomahawk pork chop with sweet potato casserole, Brussels sprouts, and herb butter. Although each serving is generously portioned, they explain that the entrée is shared, a smart justification for also ordering blackberry strudel or a slice of key lime pie. — Pamela Denney SOUTHERN SOCIAL, 2285 S. GERMANTOWN RD., GERMANTOWN (901-754-5555) $$$$$. OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK FOR DINNER AND SUNDAY FOR BRUNCH.
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R AIL GAR T EN DINER BEST JAPANESE
SEKISUI SEKISUI PACIFIC RIM OSAKA BEST INDIAN
INDIA PALACE GOLDEN INDIA BOMBAY HOUSE BEST VIETNAMESE
PHO SAIGON PHO BINH LOTUS VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT BEST THAI
Located at the corner of Cooper and Central, Railgarten is a sprawling venue offering ping-pong tables, bars for hand-crafted cocktails, an outdoor stage for music, and a restaurant serving globally inspired diner food, such as fish tacos and Korean crispy chicken sandwiches.
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ith a playground, volleyball court, ping-pong bar, fire pits, live music, and ice cream shop, Railgarten has become one of Midtown’s most popular hangouts. And the globally inspired menu at the Railgarten Diner landed the venue on our readers’ Top 10 list. Sit inside the cozy restaurant, or order from the yard window and have your meal brought out to you. As chef Aaron Gardner described in a November 2017 Memphis interview, the restaurant serves a variety of “world-league flavors and
American cuisine.” Breakfast offerings include a Gotta Get Up to Get Down waffle made with Wiseacre stout batter. The all-day diner menu also features such starters as Szechuan lettuce wraps, filled with kimchi and Szechuan chicken, and the decadent RG Poutine — crispy duck fat fries adorned with French Truck coffee-rubbed pulled pork, creamy slaw, and a generous dose of herbed gravy. Among the entrees, short rib mac & cheese mixes penne pasta, luscious threecheese pimento cheese, and milk stout
braised short rib, while the Korean Crispy Chicken Sandwich, with a perfectly fried chicken thigh, kale kimchi, and Sriracha ginger chili aioli, is another popular choice. And don’t forget dessert. The ice cream parlor, adjacent to the diner, features unique flavors like Bourbon Burnt Sugar, in addition to vegan options. — Shara Clark
BHAN THAI BANGKOK ALLEY (TIE) PHO BINH AND MOSA ASIAN BISTRO BEST VEGETARIAN
FUEL CAFÉ LYFE KITCHEN (TIE) CITY SILO & PANTRY AND MAMA GAIA
2158 CENTRAL (901-504-4342) $-$$. OPEN SUNDAY AND TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY FOR LUNCH AND DINNER. SERVICE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY ALSO INCLUDES LATE-NIGHT. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 33
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L UC K Y C A T R AMEN BEST FOOD TRUCK
CENTRAL BBQ SUSHI JIMMI (TIE) FUEL CAFÉ AND SAY CHEESE BEST CAJUN/CREOLE
BAYOU BAR & GRILL THE SECOND LINE (TIE) OWEN BRENNAN’S AND DEJAVU BEST SHARED PLATES
BABALU BOUNTY ON BROAD (TIE) ALCHEMY AND CATHERINE & MARY’S BEST DELI
ELWOOD’S SHACK (TIE) FINO’S DELI & FINO’S EAST AND YOUNG AVENUE DELI BOGIE’S DELICATESSEN
The mesmerizing taste of Japanese ramen comes to Cooper Street, thanks to proprietors Zach and Sarah Nicholson, pictured above. Their menu includes seasonal ramen bowls and snacks, which change weekly, along with standards like bao buns and Shoyu 12, a scrumptious ramen made with pork bone broth.
BEST PLATE LUNCH
SOUL FISH (TIE) CUPBOARD RESTAURANT AND PATRICK’S (TIE) ARCADE RESTAURANT AND LITTLE TEA SHOPPE
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uck has nothing over good ol’ hustle by the folks at Lucky Cat. Zach and Sarah Nicholson parlayed their popular ramen-heavy pop-ups into a hoppin’ brick-and-mortar space at the corner of Cooper and Peabody. Part of the joy in Lucky Cat Ramen is the ritual of taking in the hearty steam. Working up your appetite with the deep, intoxicating smells just before digging in. Those wonderful
soft-boiled eggs. The tangy, lemongrass/ginger broth of the Yuzu Veggie. Delicious! Get it with a dash of chili oil and you won’t be sorry at all. Other offerings include the Shoyu 12 with pork bone broth, Chicken-Corn Miso, the Bacon Shio, and the 72-hour Hakata-style Tonkotsu 13. There’s not a dud in the bunch. Beyond the soups are the bao buns, wonderful little sandwiches with your choice of fried
chicken skins, barbecue pork, pork belly, banh mi, or tempura avocado. This spring, they’ll be moving to the old Tart space in the Copper-Young neighborhood. It’s a bigger restaurant with a bigger menu. Lucky us! — Susan Ellis 247 S. COOPER (901-633-0300) $-$$. OPEN WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY FOR DINNER.
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S U S HI JIMMI BEST BURGER
HUEY’S EARNESTINE & HAZEL’S TOP’S BAR-B-Q BEST STEAK
FOLK’S FOLLY RUTH’S CHRIS {TIE} CAPITAL GRILLE AND BUCKLEY’S RESTAURANT Sushi chef Jimmy Sinh, pictured below, transitioned his popular food truck into a brick-and-mortar on Poplar Avenue last year. A Los Angeles native, Sinh serves Asian fusion food, including a Sinh roll with scallops and crawfish, and kimchi fries, a sensational combination of Japanese, Korean, and American flavors topped with sunny-side-up egg.
BEST SEAFOOD
(TIE) THE HALF SHELL AND TSUNAMI PEARL’S OYSTER HOUSE ERLING JENSEN THE RESTAURANT BEST TACOS
BABALU TAPAS & TACOS LAS DELICIAS LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA BEST BARBECUE SANDWICH
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n 2015, chef Jimmy Sinh showed Memphis just how good — and fresh — sushi served from a trailer could be, launching Sushi Jimmi at that year’s Mid-South Food Truck Fest. But it wasn’t just sushi that kept customers lining up, and food selling out, at each stop. The mobile restaurant’s fusion cuisine, like kimchi fries — savory and tangy and finished with a perfectly runny fried egg — and spicy crawfish nachos became increasingly popular. And so, with the help
of Sinh’s brother David, he opened a brick-and-mortar location in a former Burger King spot on Poplar Avenue last year. Menu offerings, as the name suggests, include multi-ingredient sushi rolls — some deep-fried — but creative dishes stand out. Hefty sushi burritos filled with things like spicy tuna, salmon, or panko chicken, and the crawfish nachos — crawfish served atop a bed of nacho-cheese Doritos with pico de gallo, spicy mayo, and Sriracha — are customer
favorites. And for a twist on traditional jalapeño poppers, halved jalapeños are lightly battered, pan-fried, and topped with crab mix, scallions, and other goodies. The heat from the peppers mingled with the fresh, cool accoutrements allows for a perfect pairing. — Shara Clark
CENTRAL BBQ GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY (TIE) CORKY’S, THE BAR-B-Q SHOP, AND PAYNE’S BAR-B-QUE
2895 POPLAR (901-729-6985) $. OPEN TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AND SUNDAY FOR LUNCH AND DINNER; SATURDAY FOR DINNER AND LATE-NIGHT. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 35
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C I T Y SIL O T AB L E + P AN T RY
BEST BARBECUE RIBS
CENTRAL BBQ CHARLES VERGOS’ RENDEZVOUS CORKY’S BEST FRIED CHICKEN
GUS’S FRIED CHICKEN JACK PIRTLE’S UNCLE LOU’S BEST BRUNCH
OWEN BRENNAN’S (TIE) THE BEAUTY SHOP AND MAJESTIC GRILLE FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR BEST BREAKFAST
Owner Scott Tashie and chef Will Byrd, pictured above, keep eating fun and healthy at City Silo with salads, sandwiches, bowls, and a mix-andmatch menu. Build your own burger or pick a spread (almond butter, serrano avocado, or lemon garlic hummus) and topping (fresh fruit or grilled veggies) for your toast. There are also juices, smoothies, and super shots, and breakfast is served all day.
BROTHER JUNIPER’S BRYANT’S BREAKFAST BLUE PLATE CAFE
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n Scott Tashie, we trust. About a year ago, when space next to the old Cosmic Coconut opened, Tashie had the vision to expand the vegan juice bar into something grander. Much to the dismay of vegans, City Silo Table & Pantry now offers chicken, but it remains true to its roots, offering a vast array of truly thoughtful vegetarian dishes under the direction of chef Will Byrd. Try the Buffalo Tempeh & Sesame Cauliflower Bowl, and you’ll be a believer. With tangy, not too hot buffalo
tempeh and expertly prepared cauliflower over a choice of rice, quinoa, or zucchini noodles, this bowl satisfies while filling you up. Good, too, are the build-your-own burgers with a black bean Silo burger, a beet and walnut burger, and a marinated Portobello burger. (Pro tip: Take that burger to-go and head to nearby Sear Shack for fries and a shake.) If there’s perfection in sandwich form, it’s gotta be the Foxy BBQ, a collaboration with local photographer
and cookbook author Justin Fox Burks. This is grilled spaghetti squash with local barbecue sauce. Is your mouth watering yet? Plus, Cosmic Coconut fans have no need to fret. City Silo still has a large menu of smoothies, kombucha cocktails, and juice shots. And for alcohol drinkers, there’s beer and wine. — Susan Ellis 5101 SANDERLIN CENTER (901-729-7687) $-$$. OPEN MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER.
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MAMA GAIA BEST COFFEEHOUSE (NON-CHAIN)
CAFÉ ECLECTIC MUDDY’S COFFEE AND BAKE HOUSE OTHERLANDS COFFEE BAR BEST DESSERT SHOP
MUDDY’S BAKE SHOP FROST BAKE SHOP (TIE) LA BAGUETTE AND CHEESECAKE CORNER
At Mama Gaia, vegetarian eating gets a contemporary update, thanks to owners Philipp and Cru von Holtzendorff-Fehling’s culinary mission. The fast-casual restaurant serves salads, bowls, and pitas filled with grains, organic veggies, and proteins like sesame-crusted tofu. (Yes, you will love it!) Don’t skip handcut potato wedges and beverages, like green tea lemonade made in-house.
BEST FROZEN TREAT
JERRY’S SNO CONES MEMPOPS LA MICHOACANA BEST CHAIN RESTAURANT
HOUSTON’S AMERIGO (TIE) TEXAS DE BRAZIL AND CAPITAL GRILLE
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emphis’ first all-organic, vegetarian restaurant is a groundbreaking spot. The first restaurant to open in the Crosstown Concourse adheres to the development’s motto “better together.” By “better,” we’re talking about paying attention to the ingredients, highlighting the flavors. This approach is best observed in Mama Gaia’s Asia pita with sesame-crusted tofu tucked inside pitas baked by the Jerusalem Market. (OMG!)
BEST KID-FRIENDLY Superlatives extend to the restaurant’s recently added veggie burgers, available, like the pitas, as single items or combo meals. The Smokehouse is a divine thing with a house-made patty, a four-cheese blend, and a dang good, slightly tangy, roasted garlic aioli. The Petitzzas, Mama Gaia’s take on pizzas, are also tasty. A few months ago, Mama Gaia, which means “Mother Earth” in ancient Greek, branched out to open a satellite space in the gorgeous new Ballet Memphis
building in Overton Square. The menu is similar, though smaller. Especially recommended are the Gaia cocktails. The Crosstown Cooler with cucumber juice is as refreshing as any drink out there, and the Allegro, with organic orange juice and berry puree, is as pretty and seductive as a cocktail can get. — Susan Ellis
HUEY’S BELLY ACRES (TIE) MELLOW MUSHROOM AND RAILGARTEN DINER
1350 CONCOURSE, SUITE 137 (901-2033838) $-$$. OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER.
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NE X T DOOR AMER IC AN EA T ERY
BEST PEOPLE WATCHING
PEABODY LOBBY BAR LOFLIN YARD (TIE) FLYING SAUCER AND LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM BEST LATE-NIGHT DINING (AF TER 10 P.M.)
HUEY’S BARDOG TAVERN THE HALF SHELL BEST DATE NIGHT
FLIGHT RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR RESTAURANT IRIS ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN BEST OUTDOOR DINING
LOFLIN YARD BHAN THAI (TIE) THE SECOND LINE AND BABALU TAPAS & TACOS
Healthy food advocate Kimbal Musk brings a Colorado sensibility to Crosstown’s Next Door American Eatery with dishes like roasted veggie bowl with arugula and quinoa. To snack or share, try chorizo bacon-wrapped dates with red pepper sauce or calamari fritto misto dressed up with zucchini, pepperoncini, and lemon Sriracha aioli for dipping.
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ll the way from Boulder comes Next Door Eatery, a new American restaurant from Kimbal Musk that prides itself on working directly with farmers to provide high-quality food. Setting up shop in an open, brightly lit space in the Crosstown Concourse, Next Door (not to be confused with the Sweet Grass affiliate of the same name) boasts a healthy-centric menu with enough options to satisfy both small and hearty appetites. Appetizers range from kale chips to delectable salt-and-pepper chicken bites to calamari fritto miso, a much-touted
favorite with lemon Sriracha aioli that deserves all the praise. A variety of salads can be customized with vegetarian, fish, and meat proteins. For the main course, Next Door offers sandwiches and burgers like Next Door 50/50, a scrumptious patty made with cremini mushrooms and beef. But the best options are specialty bowls, which mix grains and vegetables with Gulf shrimp, Alaskan salmon, ancho chili chicken, or slow-cooked meatballs. To round out the menu, Next Door also serves daily specials, such as mushroom
ragout or shrimp ’n’ grits. Complement one of the restaurant’s many offerings with a craft beer or zero proof cocktail, and definitely don’t miss happy hour drinks and snacks from 3 to 6 p.m. For those with dietary restrictions, Next Door also offers a wide range of vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free dishes. — Samuel X. Cicci 1350 CONCOURSE, SUITE 165 (901-779-1512) $$. OPEN EVERY DAY FOR LUNCH, DINNER, AND HAPPY HOUR.
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B ROOKS P HAR M2F OR K
WORTH THE DRIVE
CITY GROCERY (OXFORD, MS) COMO STEAKHOUSE (COMO, MS) (TIE) BOZO’S (MASON, TN), BIG BAD BREAKFAST (OXFORD, MS), AND WILSON CAFÉ (WILSON, AR) After closing The Farmer in East Memphis, Mac Edwards turned his attention to Collierville’s historic town square. Servers like Crystal McKee serve dishes such as chicken tostada with local field pea relish or burgers three ways (6-ounce beef, salmon, or portabella mushroom cap). The restaurant also has a full bar and dinner entrees like pan-seared catfish and country-fried steak.
BEST PLACE TO IMPRESS OUT-OF-TOWNERS
CHARLIE VERGOS’ RENDEZVOUS GUS’S FRIED CHICKEN FOLK’S FOLLY RESTAURANT WE MISS THE MOST
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rooks Pharm2Fork (a clever riff on the farm-to-table style restaurant that’s situated inside a former pharmacy on Collierville’s town square) welcomes you to its table for a feast of food responsibly grown and raised by local and regional farmers. The lunch menu, served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., has a delicious lineup of soups, salads, and sandwiches, plus some enticing entrees featuring catfish, salmon patties, and various roasts. The options should delight fans of owner Mac Edwards’ cooking style, whose other restaurant The
Farmer regrettably closed early last year. Once dinner time starts at 5:30 p.m., Brooks Pharm2Fork brings out its big guns. Soups, salads, and charcuterie plates transition into specialty fish options, including pan-seared scallops or Lake’s catfish, as well as daily fresh fish specials. Diners looking for meat-centric options can’t go wrong with pork triangle steak, country fried steak, or Prime New York strip served with lobster compound butter. If Southern comfort is more your thing, try the shrimp-n-grits plated with
tasso ham, braised greens, and original Grit Girl grits. In addition to an extensive beer and wine list, Brooks Pharm2Fork goes one step past The Farmer with a full-service bar. There’s even been talk of quick breakfast options down the road, so stay tuned. — Samuel X. Cicci
JIM’S PLACE EAST ANDERTON’S JUSTINE’S RONNIE GRISANTI’S/MIDTOWN AND JOHN GRISANTI’S
120 E. MULBERRY, COLLIERVILLE (901-8537511) $-$$. OPEN FOR LUNCH AND DINNER TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AND LUNCH/ BRUNCH SUNDAY AND MONDAY. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 39
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14 8 NOR T H BEST NEW RESTAURANT (OPENED SINCE NOVEMBER 2016)
SOUTHERN SOCIAL RAILGARTEN DINER LUCKY CAT RAMEN SUSHI JIMMI CITY SILO TABLE & PANTRY MAMA GAIA NEXT DOOR AMERICAN EATERY BROOKS PHARM2FORK 148 NORTH BLUE HONEY BISTRO BEST RESTAURANT
FOLK’S FOLLY FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR RESTAURANT IRIS BEST HAPPY HOUR
PEABODY LOBBY BAR BROOKHAVEN PUB (TIE) CELTIC CROSSING YOUNG AVENUE DELI BARDOG TAVERN AND FLYING SAUCER BEST PLACE TO WATCH THE GAME
BROOKHAVEN PUB BAYOU BAR & GRILL FOX AND HOUND
Chef Brian Thurmond shines at his own restaurant in Collierville, where the menu is inventive and accessible. Dishes include pan-seared Alaskan halibut with butternut squash, yellowtail tuna topped with garlic roasted peanuts, house-ground burger of the day, roasted rack of lamb, and a lovely quiche made with caramelized onion and lobster.
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hef Brian Thurmond’s 148 North in Collierville is a gem of a place and not easily described by typical restaurant labels. Like its rustic contemporary space — half bar, half dining room — the menu is a Southern hybrid of casual eats and more elevated fine dining. There are 14-ounce rib-eyes with loaded potato sides and a fixed three-course dinner built — in the winter — around a braised pork shank entree. And in the bar, plates are eclectic: pork belly sliders with curry and slaw; Japanese ramen with redfish; and a comforting
but unique interpretation of fried chicken pot pie. Thurmond’s expertise, honed as the chef de cuisine at Kelly English’s Restaurant Iris, shines through in small details and conceptualized plates. On a recent visit, we try four dishes, and three are shoo-in contenders for my annual top-10: deep-fried pickles in an oversized bowl, sliced wafer thin; lobster knuckle, wrapped inside puff pastry and dipped in tarragon butter; and filet mignon burger (filet mignon is not a typo) ground
in-house and served with mustard and romaine on a lightly grilled bun. Skinny fries, tossed with truffle oil and toasted Parmesan crumbles, fill out the plate. Cocktails at 148 North are boozy and flavorful. Try “Pink Lady,” a mule updated with grapefruit juice in a chilled sterling tumbler, or an icy Paloma in a tall Tom Collins glass. — Pamela Denney 148 NORTH, COLLIERVILLE (901-610-3096) $-$$$. OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK FOR LUNCH, DINNER, AND WEEKEND BRUNCH.
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B L UE HONE Y B I S T RO BEST CRAFT COCKTAILS
ALCHEMY PEABODY LOBBY BAR CATHERINE & MARY’S BEST DIVE BAR
EARNESTINE & HAZEL’S ALEX’S TAVERN THE COVE BEST WINE LIST
FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR FOLK’S FOLLY CAPITAL GRILLE
In an intimate space, chef Drew Bryan serves bigflavored dishes that are delicious and beautiful. To start, order a trio of table snacks (pimento cheese, black-eyed pea hummus, and deviled ham) or soup, like purple cauliflower garnished with arugula puree. Entrees, like salmon with olive caper tapenade, and desserts, such as chocolate Bundt cake with crème anglaise, change regularly.
BEST BEER SELECTION
FLYING SAUCER YOUNG AVENUE DELI BOSCOS SQUARED BEST LOCAL BREWERY
WISEACRE GHOST RIVER MEMPHIS MADE
S
ince my first visit to this charming and intimate restaurant in Germantown, proprietors Drew and Courtney Bryan have added a comprehensive wine list, and I learn about interesting whites from Spain. Craft beers also come on strong, including favorites from Tennessee’s own Blackberry Farm Brewery. And for cocktails, the Blue Honey sounds lovely, mixing Barr Hill gin, Cointreau, lemon, and honey. While for me the drinks are new, the restaurant’s service and kitchen finesse duplicate the skill I remember from previous meals. In the dining room, Courtney is in-
contin u ed on page 43 formed and attentive, welcoming customers like family members. In the kitchen, Drew is masterful, mingling textures and tastes into exquisite bowls like flounder and micro-greens on a mushroom-spiked mix of farro, quinoa, kale, and caramelized onions. For a starter, rich enough to share, order short rib lasagna layered in a mini Le Creuset — warm and bubbly — with jus, Gruyere, and house-made pasta. And to finish? Almond nut and brown butter cake, lovingly cradled between spiced applesauce and a turret of whipped cream. Open since June, the restaurant is small
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— about two dozen seats — so call ahead for reservations, especially at dinner. Brunch lovers should visit Saturdays, when the menu includes frittatas, beef tip hash with over-easy eggs, and steel-cut oats dressed up with roasted peaches and pumpkin seeds. — Pamela Denney BLUE HONEY BISTRO, 9155 POPLAR AVE., SUITE 17 IN GERMANTOWN (901-552-3041). OPEN MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY FOR DINNER, WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY FOR LUNCH, AND SATURDAY FOR BRUNCH. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 41
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PEOPLE LOVE MAGAZINES.
contin u ed from page 4 1
BEST MEMPHIS CHEFS
A ND R E W T IC E R A N D MICH A E L HUDM A N A N D R E W M I C H A E L I TA L I A N K I T CHE N / HOG & HOMI N Y / P O R C E L L I N O ’S / C AT HE RI N E & M A R Y ’S
K E L LY E N GL ISH R E S TA U R A N T I RI S / T HE SE CON D L I N E
BE N SMI T H T SUN A MI
E RL IN G JE N SE N E R L I N G JE NSE N T HE RE S TA UR A N T
M A X HUSSE Y F OL K ’S F OL LY
J OSE GU T IE RRE Z RI V E R O A K S
F E L ICI A W IL L E T T F E L I CI A SUZ A N N E ’S
Love a little, die a little and break the law.
Trey Milligan did all three in the summer before his 14th birthday. From Sartoris Literary Group, the debut novel by Frank Murtaugh. Available NOW at Amazon.com. Paperback ($19.95) and eBook ($8.95). Also available at Burke’s Book Store (936 S. Cooper)
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS
MICH A E L PAT RICK RI Z Z O’S DI N E R
PAT RICK RE IL LY M A JE S T I C GRI L L E
D AV E K ROG F O R M E R L Y O F I N T E RI M
4726 Poplar Ave. Suite 6, Memphis, TN 901.590.2022 • Mon-Fri 10am - 5:30am acoinandsilvershop.com
U.S. & World Coins Sterling Silver Flatware Tableware & Jewelry Antique Collectables F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 43
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Eat Up! C|R|O|S|S|T|O|W|N C|O|N|C|O|U|R|S|E
An impressive roster of restaurants supports the Crosstown Concourse mission to live healthy and eat well. edited by pamela denney photography by justin fox burks
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History, foresight, and good timing shape a remarkable neighborhood success story. by makayla boswell
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n August of 1927, a 10-story Sears & Roebuck distribution center — one of 10 in the United States — opened in Memphis. Almost 90 years later, it opened again, this time as a redeveloped vertical urban village with residences, restaurants, and a medical clinic for the working uninsured. Crosstown Concourse, which celebrated its grand opening August 19th, spans more than one million square feet and houses a diverse group of tenants involved with education, healthcare, and art. Food plays a large role, too. Already, nine restaurants and vendors embrace the Crosstown mission to promote wellness and sustainability. Three additional restaurants are in the works, including a pizzeria with a wood-fired brick oven, a full-service bakery called Lucy J’s, and a Crosstown Arts café, where a seasonal menu will serve both resident artists and the extended Crosstown community. “We will have large tables and a communal dining atmosphere, so people can interact and exchange ideas and eat plant-based food,” explains Bianca Phillips, the communications coordinator for Crosstown Arts. Todd Richardson, co-leader of the Crosstown development team and co-founder of Crosstown Arts, says the building today is 98 percent leased. When Crosstown High School opens to ninth-graders next August, more than 2,600 people will come and go from the building every day. “It’s almost like a microcosm of the city as a whole, and the reason that’s really cool is because it’s a place to experiment,” Richardson says.
“If you have ideas and they’re successful here, there’s a good chance they will be successful on a larger scale.” During a tour of the building, Richardson, who spearheaded Crosstown Concourse with developer McLean Wilson, explained the building’s history and reimagined mission. Here’s some of what he had to say.
thick Sears catalog in the mail, and it was probably printed in this building. Kids would look through the catalog, figure out what they wanted for Christmas, and dogear the pages. The catalog was your Christmas list for the year. Just imagine Amazon printing a catalog, and that’s what Sears was 30 or 40 years ago. How did distribution work exactly?
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Memphis: Are you surprised that Crosstown Concourse has been so immediately successful? Todd Richardson: Abso-
lutely. It really was a miracle, a perfect coming together. Number one is the building. People just love this building. It’s iconic. Number two is the idea of a vertical urban village with arts, education, and healthcare. There’s a lot of momentum in Memphis for all three of those things. And finally, there was the timing. We went through the planning process in the middle of the recession. People were hungry for work. If we tried to do the same project today, our pricing would be 20 percent higher.
If you ordered anything from Sears in the Southeast, it came from this building. So if Memphis is America’s distribution hub thanks to FedEx today, this building went a long way toward defining that identity early on. The retail store was open here until 1983, and the building as a whole closed in 1993. It had been completely empty almost 18 years when we got started in 2010. You talk about three components: education, healthcare, and art. Can you explain how those impact Crosstown?
Crosstown High, a new public charter school, is on floors four and five of this building. There is Memphis Teacher Residency, which is our local version of Teach For America. They recruit recent graduates from across the country. Between 60 and 80 new residents come to Memphis, earn a tuition-free master’s in education, and they’re provided an apartment in the building for free for a year, and that’s all in return for teaching in Memphis’ highest-need urban schools.
Tell us a bit about the building’s history.
And the health component?
In early November, back in the day, everyone would get a big,
If we have an anchor tenant, it’s Church Health, which
provides quality healthcare to the working uninsured. They’ve also partnered with the YMCA, so they have a new 25,000-square-foot YMCA here. St. Jude has space, as well, and families who are getting treated at St. Jude live in the building. Ph.D. students from St. Jude also live here, and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has the entire sixth floor. Can you explain more about Crosstown Arts?
Crosstown Arts is a contemporary art center that now has about 40,000 square feet on the second floor. They have five primary components: an artist residency program, a plantbased community cafe, shared labs, so you can pay a monthly membership fee to have access to a wood and metal workshop, a digital media lab or screen print shop, and exhibition and performance space. With restaurants like Mama Gaia and Next Door Eatery, it seems Crosstown may be leaning toward organic eating and locally sourced food. What do you think?
In terms of mission-oriented restaurants, whether it be organic or other things like that, we wanted this building to be, for the most part, dedicated to wellness, so we’re very intentional. I love barbecue, but there’s probably not going to be a barbecue shop here.
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Eat Up!
For a longtime Crosstown resident, a job at Mama Gaia connects home, work, and neighborhood.
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by anne catherine demere ment didn’t happen by chance. onna Palmer’s children It was part of a larger plan by are all flown and grown, the developers. as she says. But before “Part of the initial vision they left home, she repeated of Crosstown Concourse was advice she thought valuable: definitely to bring life back to First, make a difference six feet the neighborhood in various around you. ways, including by providing In retirement, Palmer ended job opportunities for people up taking her own advice. who live near Concourse,” says The small house she shares Ginger Spickler, project director with her two cats and two dogs at Crosstown. sits on Forrest Avenue, close to Palmer’s relationship with Crosstown Concourse, the giant the building she used to call Sears warehouse-turned-verthe “big, scary dark monster” tical-village. Her house is 324 in its empty state began when steps away from the developCrosstown representatives ment’s main entrance. came knocking on her door. Palmer walks these steps a Ultimately, Crosstown ended few times a week to her partup using about one-third of time job at Mama Gaia, the first Palmer’s yard for the redevelrestaurant opened in Crosstown oped property. last March. Sticking to the “I was approached by the health-conscious Crosstown co-developers, maybe five or mission, Mama Gaia serves six years ago,” she says. “I went vegan and vegetarian dishes. to the city of Memphis with At Mama Gaia, Palmer works them in support as a neighbor as a dining room attendant, for the building to happen. where she serves food and I was truly supportive. I was squeezes juice for the restauthe most directly affected rant’s signature ginger green neighbor.” tea lemonade, orange juice, Other neighbors were not so and other organic drinks. But enthused. Whispers of disapmore accurately, Palmer is an proval followed the Crosstown ambassador for Mama Gaia and Concourse announcement, and its menu. If you look lost trying Palmer knows it. She thinks it’s to read the restaurant’s vegan absurd; she cites community dishes, it’s Palmer who will negotiations with developers break it down for you. and paid relocations for resiPalmer’s Crosstown employ-
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Donna Palmer, who works as a dining room attendant at Mama Gaia, lives nearby.
dents to better homes. “So, yeah, some people may say it was ‘get out the poor folks,’ but they treated them so well,” she says. “One woman told me she had a house with a fenced-in yard for the first time because of them.” And, at that point, Palmer was retired and had no intention of working anywhere ever again, let alone at Crosstown Concourse. During the early stages of construction, she would sit on the curb and watch workers throw decades of accumulated debris out of the building’s windows. “It sounded like war of the worlds at my house,” Palmer says. “Literally, the house would shake sometimes. But you know, I’m going to miss it. I’m going to miss the construction.” Over time, employment in some capacity at this new vertical village started tugging at Palmer’s curiosity. So, when Crosstown held a job fair in December, she was there. It
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Pineapple Greens @ I Love Juice On a recent episode of the Showtime series Shameless, Lip Gallagher meets an AA sponsor over a glass of “Pineapple Greens” juice, a fun coincidence for me after discovering the lovely combination at I Love Juice the same day. The drink juices cucumber, pineapple, parsley, lemon, kale, and mint into a crisp and refreshing pick-me-up the color of new moss. At only 100 calories, the juice leaves plenty of opportunity for one of the restaurant’s grab-and-go snacks. For lunch, try spring rolls hand-rolled in rice paper and stuffed with avocado, spinach, romaine, and cilantro, or for breakfast, a bowl of steel-cut oats made overnight with chia seeds and almond milk and topped with bee pollen, local honey, and a sprinkle of cacao nuggets. — Pamela Denney
was at the fair that she met and interviewed with Philipp Von Holtzendorff-Fehling, Mama Gaia’s CEO. “Donna is an absolutely wonderful person who has a big heart and loves to interact with people,” Von Holtzendorff-Fehling says. “She also understands the problems we’re trying to solve with Mama Gaia, which are all around people’s health, the environment, and animal welfare.” Now, as Mama Gaia’s dining room attendant, Crosstown is engrained into Palmer’s life more than she ever expected. In late November, she held a baby shower for her daughter at the restaurant. “Mama Gaia catered,” Palmer says. “Lucy J’s Bakery, a few shops down, made cupcakes. I had a tab open at Mempops for the kids. I wanted a Concourse experience.” For Palmer, the Concourse experience includes her favorite Mama Gaia dish: a smokehouse veggie burger served with smoked onions, garlic aioli, and a four-cheese blend (vegan cheese, of course). Palmer recalls an earlier Crosstown event sponsored by MEMFix, a community revitalization group, that showcased Crosstown’s services and facilities to come. “I cried,” she says. “I was like, look at my neighborhood! Look at my neighborhood; it’s coming alive.”
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Advocate and Restaurateur Kimbal Musk answers real questions about real food. by gus carrington South African native and the brother of a Silicon-Valley tech billionaire, Kimbal Musk seems to have two words constantly on his mind: real and food. When he isn’t aiming to marry the two through restaurants and food-related projects in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, or Boulder, where he lives, the 45-year-old can likely be found in Memphis. Here in the Bluff City, the entrepreneur has opened nearly 100 outdoor classrooms he calls “learning gardens,” as well as the Shelby Farms chapter of his restaurant brand The Kitchen and The Kitchenette, a grab-and-go restaurant in the Shelby Farms visitor center. His latest venture is the Crosstown Concourse establishment Next Door American Eatery, where he held a meet-andgreet with customers before the holidays. I met up with Musk before the event to talk about his cowboy hat, his big brother Elon, and his hopes to help mend America with nourishing food.
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Memphis: How does a billionaire who lives in Colorado become so interested in Memphis? Kimbal Musk: I don’t like to
really think of myself that way. I just love working with America and finding these beautiful gems like Memphis that have so much potential. There are so many great things going on to recognize and join the community here. The restaurant scene here is amazing, the school scene with Dorsey E. Hopson as superintendent of Memphis schools. It’s just a wonderful community. Have you heard any good Memphis music?
I’ve gone to Raiford’s many times, which is amazing. I’ve brought a lot of my friends there. It’s the star attraction, I think, in the whole city. And then, just enjoying the serendipitous musical discoveries — going to Loflin Yard and hearing a band you’ve never heard of, but they’re great. That sort of stuff is really fun for me. So you’re basically aiming to take the country’s food system focus back to healthy, organic food rather than food with chemicals.
I like to use the phrase ‘real food.’ We are not here to preach ‘healthy.’ We think healthy has a bad reputation. It means food doesn’t taste good. We work very hard to make sure our menu is gluten-free, or at least absolutely accessible to people who are gluten-free, and vegetable-forward. But there’s a kickass cheeseburger, and there’s a kickass pork sandwich. It’s all real food — food that you trust to nourish your body, nourish the farmer, and nourish the planet.
You haven’t been without critics. Some people have said, “His heart is in the right place, but he doesn’t know this or that.” How do you usually convince these critics that, while you are a billionaire, you get your hands dirty and you know what you’re doing?
You know, I think I work very hard. I don’t phone it in, so to speak. And I think all of those folks who you are mentioning are wonderful people and very much a part of the movement. For me, just working hard and delivering delicious, real food is what I focus on. How do you convince millennials to stay away from chains like Taco Bell?
The most important way is with your taste buds. Real food just tastes better. If you go to Next Door and you have a cheeseburger versus any of the fast food chains out there, it’s just so much better at Next Door. It’s delicious, it’s nourishing, it doesn’t make you feel crappy afterward. It’s a really good cheeseburger. Following 9/11, you spent six weeks volunteering as a cook for firefighters. What was that experience like?
Honestly, it was an awful and wonderful experience at the same time. To see these giant piles of melting metal — still melting after six weeks — moved me to my core. And to feed these firefighters ... They would connect with each other, eat the food, and thank us, then go right back into these giant piles of metal and save American lives. It was such a wonderful and difficult experience, but I’m forever grateful I was able to help a little bit.
“Real food just tastes better,” says Next Door founder Kimbal Musk.
Do you think food, in a sense, is something that can heal some of the divisions in this country?
Food is the most wonderful way to bring people together from different viewpoints to different income levels, educations, races, and countries. Food is the gift we give each other three times a day. Let’s make it real food and delicious. You’re a younger brother and you used to cook for your family. Brothers don’t always get along. Is there something you cooked that your brother turned his nose up at and didn’t like?
My brother, and my whole family, are actually pretty picky eaters. But it’s a labor of love and, slowly but surely, they’re all just enjoying their food more … Since I was 12 years old cooking for the family, it was a wonderful way to get my family (which is a family that never sits still) to sit down, connect with each other. To me it was wonderful because it was my gift that I could give to them.
I’ve got to ask about the hat. Disney just announced they are remaking The Lion King with a new cast. Are you holding out that they also remake Toy Story ? Would you accept the role of Woody if you had the opportunity?
Oh I love that ... I totally would, that would be amazing. I’ll take it. Has it been the same hat the whole time?
I’ve actually only had two in my life. The first one lasted for about three years, and I really pushed that one to the edge. This one I’ve had for about six months, and I’ve broken it a little bit, but that’s part of the character. But it’s a really simple hat. It’s a working hat. It’s not a fancy hat. I started wearing it, and I’ve spent a lot of time on farms. And it’s a fun symbol of America. I love America. It’s my adopted country, so for me, supporting the American way is really good for me.
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What’s not to love about chef-driven burgers made responsibly and served fast? by natalie martin he burger arrives medium-well, packed with aged white cheddar and caramelized onions. Sweet potato fries, crispy and sprinkled with parsley, serve as a decadent and delicious counterpart to the already decked-out burger. But wait. There’s more: Sweet potato hushpuppies paired with apple butter complete the meal, a savory side and dessert all wrapped in one. I can’t ask for anything better (except maybe more hushpuppies). While the components sound like a fast-food combo, the meal I am devouring for $15 isn’t from McDonald’s, Burger King, or Five Guys. Instead, I’m sitting in the Crosstown Farm Burger, a not-so-average burger joint that dares, and succeeds, to be different. Unlike typical fast food restaurants, Farm Burger lets you build your own burger from numerous options. Choices of chicken, pork, beef, or veggie quinoa shape the burger base, and a long list of toppings include fresh jalapeños, fried farm egg, and oxtail marmalade, a spread made of oxtail meat, shallots, and carrots reduced in vinegar, sugar, and red wine. Farm Burger started its build-your-own menu with localized ingredients in the
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Atlanta-based Farm Burger marries farm-totable taste with fast and efficient service.
spring of 2010, with its first location in Decatur, Georgia. Since then, the chain has expanded to 12 more locations, ranging from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, California, and Tennessee. Owner George Frangos started the company in hopes of bringing farm-to-table options at lower prices, says Eric Hawkins, general manager of the Concourse location. “When this company was started, the owners looked around in Atlanta and saw that all of the farm-to-table options were just the $50-a-plate restaurants,” Hawkins says. For their more
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affordable chain, they use grass-fed and dry-aged beef that is locally farmed and ground fresh. For instance, the meat at the Concourse location comes primarily from a farm in Atlanta, Georgia, but a farm in Tupelo, Mississippi, supplements the supply. “Since we’re in Memphis, we use a farm outside Tupelo, and a farm in Como for local vegetables,” Hawkins says. Sweet Magnolia gelato, a company based in Clarksdale, Mississippi, also joins the local lineup for the restaurant’s milkshakes and floats. The owner of Sweet Magnolia comes in every week, Hawkins says. “He sees
what we need and brings us gelato directly off of his truck.” Along with burgers and shakes, Farm Burger offers options not typically found on burger restaurant menus, like roasted bone marrow, which is the soft, fatty tissue found in the hollow center of beef bones, usually the leg or spine. At Farm Burger, cooks simmer the marrow until it’s tender, then finish it with butter, parsley, and garlic. Hawkins describes the marrow as good and interesting, especially for newcomers: “It’s kind of like the meat butter, so you can spread it on your burger.”
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Burger and Root Beer Float at Farm Burger Even in a burger town like Memphis, Farm Burger stands out for both its mission and its taste. While a number of restaurants operate under the farm-to-table mantra, Farm Burger’s commitment to whole animal butchery is unique in a fast-casual restaurant chain. “We even render down the tallow from our cows and use the fat to sear our burgers,” explains company chef Nathan Whiting. Little wonder the griddled patties taste so good, especially when topped with crispy pork belly or local goat cheese. Even better: Keep the burger simple and order a resplendent Brown Cow float. For this happy diner classic, Abita root beer cradles three scoops of vanilla gelato from nearby Sweet Magnolia, and alongside? Extra root beer in a squat milk bottle to refill the glass as you scoop away. — Pamela Denney
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French Truck Coffee brings freshly roasted beans to every cup. by mitchell koch alk through the doors to the main atrium of the Crosstown Concourse building, and the aroma of fresh-roasted coffee beans from French Truck Coffee welcomes visitors with a fragrant and hospitable embrace. Started in New Orleans in 2012 by former chef Geoffrey Meeker, French Truck prides itself on brewing the freshest possible cup of coffee from fair-trade beans sourced worldwide. “One of the things people forget about is that coffee is a crop, just like any other,” says Meeker, a New Orleans resident since 1999. “If you don’t buy it when it’s fresh, you’re not going to have a good cup of coffee.” Although the company is
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headquartered in New Orleans, the Crosstown location roasts all the French Truck coffee beans sold locally. “Everywhere we have a location, we have a roaster, so we can roast the coffee and either brew it immediately or put it in a bag and give it to the customer immediately, so they have the same experience at home,” Meeker says. Meeker began the company after sampling a cup of coffee made with a gift from his cousin. “I have been working in five-star restaurants my entire career,” Meeker says. “I had this coffee, and it was the best cup of coffee I have had in my life.” He learned that roasting and freshness are the keys to great coffee. “There’s a significant
difference in flavor between coffee that’s less than 10 days old and coffee that’s older,” says Meeker. To start, Meeker bought a coffee roaster and set up shop in the laundry room of his home, delivering his freshly roasted beans to friends in the restaurant industry. He bought a small, yellow, French-style
French Truck head roaster Jeff Pates.
truck for the deliveries and now operates two coffee shops in Memphis and four more in Louisiana. “There are a lot of similarities between Memphis and New Orleans, whether it is the music or the food or the people or the culture,” Meeker says. “It feels like home.” Jimmy Lewis, owner of the former Relevant Roasters in Memphis, contacted Meeker to ask if he would like to join forces to open a shop in the new Crosstown building. The two
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companies merged initially, but Lewis sold his share to Meeker in the fall of last year. Meeker is exceptionally proud of how his company contributes to the personal growth of employees, like self-proclaimed “coffee nerd” Jeff Pates, now head roaster of the Crosstown location. After working for a church and traveling to play music, Pates joined French Truck as a barista and delivery worker. Pates says the Crosstown shop currently has coffee from
10 different countries, including Nicaragua, Kenya, El Salvador, and Peru. The shop’s decaf coffee is from Mexican beans, and Memphis Premium Dark Roast, made from Brazilian and Colombian coffee, is Crosstown’s best-selling blend. Company representatives visit every coffee growing site, and Pates particularly likes the company’s focus on fair-trade practices. “You can go to the farm, and you can talk to the famers, see their practices, their farming methods,” he says.
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Toast All Day at French Truck Coffee Toast, the humblest of breakfast foods, gets a West Coast update at French Truck Coffee in five different ways. All varieties come open-faced on toasted flat bread, but toppings move from savory to sweet. There’s avocado spread — the most popular — with pickled onion slices; white bean with Parmesan and pistou; and maple bacon, an addictive schmear of fresh ricotta topped with candied hazelnuts and bacon maple syrup. The toasts sliced into halves work equally well with a chilled shot of expresso or something a little stiffer. Stop by for happy hour starting daily at 4 p.m., when wine and beer on tap cost $4. “I try to keep the beer taps rotating,” says head roaster Jeff Pates. “Something hoppy, something dark, something middle-of-the-road, and something seasonal.” — Pamela Denney
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So Nuts and Confections infuses Crosstown ambience with the nostalgic smell of roasted snacks.
by lauren benton hile the rest of Memphis is sleeping, Terri Fleming is going nuts. Every morning around 7 a.m., she rolls into Crosstown Concourse, where she operates her business called So Nuts and Confections. She is ready to roast: Cajun almonds, praline pretzels, bacon and cheese cashews, and barbecue peanuts. Along with flavored nuts, Fleming sells other desserts and confections, such as chocolate-covered strawberries, cupcakes, and a chocolate cake invention called Nannie Pups. The roasting process at So Nuts is relatively simple. Fleming dumps the nuts inside the roaster to cook, and then after they are done, she rolls them to dry. Now they are ready to be seasoned, but the seasoning recipes are a secret Fleming is not quite ready to tell. Her business, quite literally, started as a dream. Fleming was working for a waste treatment facility and wanted a way out. “It was very dangerous,” she says. “There were chemicals. It was hazardous to my health. I wanted a way to earn income and to be a business owner. So, I just prayed to God:
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What do I do?” And so, over a series of dreams and visions, Fleming found her calling: Roast nuts in unique and inventive flavors. “It was all kind of divinely orchestrated, for a lack of better words,” says Fleming, who relocated her business from Horn Lake, Mississippi, and hopes to expand to larger cities within the next five years. The exotic flavors, like garlic Parmesan walnuts and sour cream and onion peanuts, also come to Fleming in dream-like visions. Her newest flavor, rolled out for the holidays, is sweet potato for both walnuts and pecans. “I can’t even explain to you how it comes — it just comes,” Fleming says. Customers walk by and ask about the flavors, and when Fleming starts to name them off, they are shocked. “You have bacon and cheese cashews?” they ask, amazed. Customer Angela Sherrill says Fleming’s sweet potato walnuts taste exactly like a slice of sweet potato pie. “There’s cinnamon, sweet potato, and I can even taste some brown sugar,” she says. The location of So Nuts
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So Nuts owner Terri Fleming calls Nannie Pups “absolutely addictive.”
near the entrance to the main atrium was intentional, says Todd Richardson, co-leader of Crosstown Concourse. “If you talk to anyone over the age of 50 about the Crosstown retail store, the smell of roasted
nuts and popcorn is the first thing they say.” Richardson says. “From a development standpoint, we knew early on that we wanted to bring back the nostalgia.”
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Nannie Pup at So Nuts and Confections For me, food on a stick combines nostalgia with anticipation. (Think deep-fried Snickers at the county fair.) The “Nannie Pup” builds on similar memories. With the first bite of icing — bittersweet and chocolate — I float back to Hostess cupcakes at lunch, but the artistry of the Nannie Pup soon takes hold. Made to order (they take about 10 minutes), the chocolate fudge cake is baked in a press like a corn dog, iced, and topped with a choice of roasted nuts. Pro tip: Get a sprinkle of praline peanuts. Jearlean Johnson, owner Terri Fleming’s mother, is the Nannie Pup’s inventor and namesake. “She’s a motherly type,” Fleming says. “Since the time she was a little girl, everyone called her Nannie because she’s always taking care of people.” Thanks, Nannie, for taking care of us. — Pamela Denney
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At Area 51, a farm-to-scoop mission steers the seasonal menu of ice cream flavors. by antwan harris & nathan galloway used to make homemade ice et’s start with Bourbon cream in the park. Butter Pecan at Area 51, “My passion for ice cream a memorable riff on a started from childhood, when Southern favorite. The cream a sweet scoop could make the itself is a mixture of heavy rest of the world melt away,” cream, eggs, and butter, but Steve says. contains only seven grams of Karen, who moved from fat. The pecans are toasted baking to ice cream making, and coated with brown sugar says her ice cream addiction and Kosher salt. The ice cream is so obsessive that she often gets its bourbon flavor from comes home from work and barrel-aged whiskey. eats a pint of ice cream as dinOne of 12 signature flavors, ner. “We both thought it would the butter pecan’s locally be more affordable to open an sourced and seasonal ingrediice cream business to make the ents exemplify what sets Area ice cream rather than support 51’s “farm-to-scoop” mission Karen’s ice cream habit,” says apart from other creameries. Steve. “Ice cream is like anything Farm-to-scoop best else,” says owner Karin Cubdescribes how the ice cream bage. “The quality that you put is made. Area 51 uses natural, into it is what you get out of it.” seasonal ingredients from the Made from scratch in small Hernando Farmer’s Market to batches at Area 51’s original ensure that their ice cream is shop in nearby Hernando, fresh and their business beneMississippi, which opened its fits local farmers. doors May 2014, the ice cream is For example, the creamery delivered daily to the Crosstown only offers strawberry ice cream location. Here, Karin and her when strawberries are ripe and husband Steve operate their in season. The same concept second store, tucked between applies for pumpkin and blueFrench Truck Coffee and Farm berry flavors. Burger, selling cookies, sorbets, Area 51’s chocolate-based and floats along with a changmenu items also use ing menu of ice cream flavors. high-quality ingredients. For The couple’s love affair with instance, chocolate ice cream, ice cream is longstanding, chocolate brownies, and chocstretching back to childhood, olate chip cookies only include when each of their parents
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Joelle Cubbage builds an ice cream tower of flavors locally made by Area 51.
a high-quality chocolate called Callebaut, which has Belgium origins. The couple churns the ice cream in small batches with a standard kitchen mixer with dasher blades. The mixer can be set at altered speed and spin times, just like the household washer and dryer combos, which affects how much air goes into the ingredients. The mixer is a major player in the ice cream’s texture, and guests can definitely tell the difference from other ice cream. “One of the things that people
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like about our ice cream is that it is thicker and has a different kind of mouth feel to it,” Karen says. “Part of that is because we spin ours at a slower rpm than most people do.”
Bylines: Student food writers from the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis wrote and produced both the print and online editions of the Crosstown Concourse package. The contributors included Lauren Benton, Makayla Boswell, Gus Carrington, Anne Catherine Demere, Nathan Galloway, Antwan Harris, Aspen Hayes, Maisa Jabi, Dominique Jennes, Mitchell Koch, Brittany Lumpkin-Cousins, Natalie Martin, Allison Plummer, and Nia Williams.
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Maple Bacon popsicle at Mempops Winter weather doesn’t diminish Memphians’ love for home-grown Mempops, where seasonal flavors like maple bacon and mint chocolate chunk keep the chill away. The second brick and mortar store for the frozen treat shop opened in August, and business is brisk. “We have a lot of traffic from people who want to show Crosstown to their family and friends,” says owner Chris Taylor, who lives nearby. Cream-based pops are particularly popular when temperatures drop. That maple bacon pop, for instance, mixes Porcellino’s bacon stock with cream, milk, and maple syrup. After the pops freeze, they are dipped again in cream and sprinkled with bacon dust. Tiramisu follows a similar trajectory, whipping homemade Ladyfingers with cream, cream cheese, and simple coffee syrup. As for Taylor’s current favorite, he’s siding with cinnamon praline custard. “We make the pralines, crush them real fine, and mix them into the custard,” he explains. “They are really, really good.” — Pamela Denney F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 51
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GREAT MEMPHIS HOMES
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A COLORFUL CHISCA ABODE A new resident’s space in this historic “businessman’s hotel” has been transformed into a whimsical retreat.
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his light-filled, open-plan apartment in the now-renovated historic Hotel Chisca is the result of a successful and colorful collaboration between interior designer Jenna Wallis and her client Amy Raines. Having moved two years ago with her young daughter, Parker, from a large, traditional home in East Memphis to the center of downtown’s South Main scene, Raines was looking for a new experience — a decorative change-of-pace as well as a lifestyle one. For her part, Wallis jumped at the chance to work on a project in the Chisca, as the preservation of Memphis’ architectural heritage is close to her heart.
by a n ne cu n ningh a m o ’ neill | photography by j ulie wage ros s
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great memphis homes The Chisca itself was built in 1913, and with 400 rooms, it was the city’s largest hotel during the middle decades of the twentieth century. It was considered more of a business-traveler’s hotel — benefiting from its close proximity to both downtown railroad stations — than the more elegant Peabody Hotel a few blocks north. But it was a bustling place, and many a party and celebration were held in the rooftop Chickasaw Room. Famously, Dewey Phillips broadcast Elvis’ first record in July 1954 from the WHBQ radio studio on the mezzanine above the Chisca’s lobby. The decline of railroad passenger travel, however, was a death knell for the Chisca, which closed its doors in 1971. The building was gifted to the Church of God in Christ, whose headquarters
were in the two bottom floors, but the Church left the Chisca in the late 1990s, and the once-famous hotel stood abandoned for the better part of two decades. Fortunately, a local development group acquired the eight-story, 300,000-square-foot building on the eve of its 100th birthday, reopening the Chisca in 2015, with 149 apartments and commercial tenants on the ground floor. Indeed, the lobby where Dewey Phillips first told the world all about Elvis is now the bustling home of Catherine and Mary’s, one of downtown Memphis’ most popular restaurants. The task at hand for Jenna Wallis and her client Amy Raines, then, was to transform a simple, neutral two-bedroom space into a cheerful, whimsical retreat that
above: Trees and bushes in the open Chisca courtyard add a welcome touch of greenery. above right: Raines and her daughter enjoy their urban view from the apartment’s balcony. right: The fourthfloor apartment is located in the renovated rear annex of the historic hotel building.
combined pattern, texture, and crisp vibrant color. As Raines puts it, she wanted something “more girly and fun,” and with Wallis’ expertise, that is exactly the happy, magical place she got. Her fourth-floor 1,500-squarefoot apartment is in the annex of the original Chisca, in what was formerly the parking garage, and there is a slight industrial vibe to the place, with tiny pipes running across the ceiling and the look of the metal balcony railings. Raines notes that she was the first occupant of her particular place; happily now, the
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The task was to transform a simple, neutral twobedroom space into a cheerful, whimsical retreat that combined pattern, texture, and crisp, vibrant color.
top: Wallis uses coffee-table books and fruit as decorative accents in this corner of the living room. left: The sleek, open-plan kitchen juxtaposed with the living room’s
bright cane-patterned wallpaper creates a sophisticated look. above: Oranges and elephant: one of many whimsical vignettes throughout the apartment.
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great memphis homes
There are so many things that make this place special. In the living room, the blue-and-white cane-patterned wallpaper by Dorothy Draper and Company is bold and colorful, and sets the tone for the home’s exuberant style.
above: First impressions in this colorful entry hall tell the visitor this place is going to be fun.
building is almost 100 percent occupied. She loves the urban views from her balconies and rhapsodizes about the pleasures of living downtown, describing herself as “a tourist in my own town.” Raines is a busy catering assistant for Central BBQ, and when she is not working, she and her daughter walk everywhere and enjoy getting to know all the people and places in their new neighborhood. Needless to say, there are a number of nearby restaurants to choose from;
along with Catherine and Mary’s, LYFE Kitchen is in the Chisca, while Pearl’s Oyster House is right across the street. As to the décor of the apartment, there are so many things that make this place special. In the living room, the blue-andwhite cane-patterned wallpaper by Dorothy Draper and Company is bold and colorful, and sets the tone for the home’s exuberant style. Decorator Wallis says she was inspired by the Draper wallpaper used at the famous Greenbrier resort
in West Virginia, and knew that it would be just perfect for the Raines space. She also added a touch of Hollywood glamour and sophistication with the pair of fuchsia chairs with brass bases and brass x benches, with blueand-white zebra print by Taylor Burke Home. I noticed the colorful pairs of lamps used throughout (Raines tells me she likes light) and was told that Memphis’ own World’s Away was the source for the pink lamps in Parker’s bedroom and the green lacquer lamps in the
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hallway. The artwork is wonderful and includes three small Paul Edelsteins in the entry, a Jade Miller painting, and the arresting “face” artwork above the sofa commissioned from Texas artist, Haley Mitchell. Wallis likes to bring coffee table books into a project, as they are on display in the entry hall and living room. I was told, too, that while there were some definite decorative splurges, some of Raines’ furniture, such as two couches and several chests, had been reused from her previous home.
above: The Tennessee state flower is colorfully represented in the master bedroom’s irispatterned fabric. above right: Butterflies are free in this little girl’s bedroom retreat.
All the fabrics selected are so fresh and pretty, including the peony pattern on the living-room chair pillows and the blue, white, and green spring iris fabric by England’s Designer’s Guild in the master bedroom — all the more fitting and fun since the iris is Tennessee’s state flower. In Parker’s bedroom, the wallpaper with butterflies floating on a pink background is by Christian L a c r o i x fo r Osborne & Little, and it creates a dreamy retreat for its 11-year-old occupant. Wallis also included touches of purple (Parker’s favorite color) in the custom bed linens and applique monogram pillow. By the way, for those of us raised in the Play-Doh era you may be interested to know there is something called “slime” that is very big with young people these days. One very artsy and talented young lady, Parker has set up a “slime shop” in the bathroom; she makes it, bags it, and sells or trades it. All I can tell you is that it grows like yeast and is billed as “ooey, gooey” fun. Who knew? As a bit of background which explains her wide reach, Wallis told me that she had been fortunate in her interior design career to work on projects around the
globe, including luxury and boutique hotels, resorts, and spas. She studied in London and has lived in Atlanta and Los Angeles and says she likes to incorporate her global experience into her clients’ homes. In fact Wallis calls Raines “a dream client,” explaining that she “gave me complete control to design what I felt was best for her needs, and had no hesitancy about living with bright and bold patterns and textures.” Furthermore, Raines wanted to have a mix of concepts, and therefore products were sourced from Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and beyond. I always find it interesting to discover how client and designer first are introduced, and in this case I learned the two women got together at a swim meet for their children. It is clear that they have become great friends, and both agree they are “in love” with the results of their design project. I am guessing that readers will agree! And speaking personally, having the opportunity to meet Raines and Wallis and visit this bright and pretty Chisca abode was a ray of sunshine on a cold and drab January day.
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T O
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M A G A Z I N E
ON NOT TAKING IT WITH YOU &7
DR. JAMES EASON MAKES MEMPHIS A TRANSPLANT DESTINATION &7
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by anna traverse
olly had two kidneys when I first met her, in 2009, and no plans to lose either. When we reconnected the following year, she had half as many kidneys — and, it seemed to me, twice as much of some intangible substance, something light, open, grounded. She’d heard that our mutual friend Alex was in trouble — suffering from polycystic kidney disease, the same disease that had taken his father when Alex was just a baby in Mexico. Though they didn’t know each other well, when she heard of Alex’s condition, Molly had felt something stir within her — perhaps something behind the peritoneum, which lines the abdomen. That stirring prompted her to express willingness,
then to be tested as a possible match, and then, at Methodist University Hospital, to have one of her kidneys removed and transplanted into Alex’s body. Nowadays Alex — who likes to joke that one of his kidneys is Jewish — is on his way to Mexico, where he was born and where he has chosen to retire. I texted Molly recently to ask why she did it. She and Alex aren’t related, nor are they a couple. Though they’re like family now — Alex and his Jewish kidney often sit at Molly’s family table on holidays — the two didn’t know each other very well, before Alex became part-Molly. So... why? Simple. “I can leave this earth knowing — without a doubt — that I did something palpably lifealtering for another human being,” Molly typed back. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 59
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Dr. James Eason in surgery. Advances in technical proficiency and equipment have transformed transplant surgery from 12-hour ordeals to two- and three-hour procedures — with greatly reduced recovery times. PHOTOGRAPH BY BREEZY LUCIA | COURTESY METHODIST / UTHSC
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n a recent snowy afternoon in his University of Tennessee Health Science Center office, on the seventh f loor of the Madison Professional Building, Dr. James Eason leans forward in his chair. His tone grows emphatic when answering a question about the need for organ donors. “Everybody should be a donor,” he says. “You can’t take it with you. Whether as a live donor or a deceased donor — and anyone can be a deceased donor, so long as they make that decision and notify their loved ones. We don’t have enough of either live donors or deceased donors.” Eason is director of the Transplant Institute at Methodist University Hospital. He is also professor of surgery and division chief – transplantation at UT Health Science Center, where he and his team perform liver, kidney, and pancreas transplants. Among Memphis’ most widely known physicians (he was Apple founder Steve Jobs’ liver-transplant surgeon in 2009), Eason has helped make the city a destination for those in need of kidney and liver transplants.
“Every year,” Eason explains, “10 percent of patients on the waiting list die before they have a chance to get an organ. There’s a mismatch between the number of patients in need and how many organs are available.” More than 600,000 patients currently receive kidney dialysis in the U.S. and 100,000 of those are on the waiting list to receive a transplanted organ. And each year, 16,000 transplants are performed. One needs no specialized training to diagnose the problem with those numbers.
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or quite literally as long as he can remember, Eason has been interested in medicine. It’s the family business. His brothers, his father, even a great-grandfather all went to UT for medical school. Though he was born in Memphis and the family relocated soon after to McNairy County, Eason grew up in Jackson. His mother moved there to be nearer her family after her husband — Eason’s father — died in an auto accident. Eason was just one year old when he lost his
father, a general practitioner who was one of only two doctors in McNairy County. “Even though I never really knew him, we had that image in our minds that somehow [medicine] was our destiny.” He attended David Lipscomb College in Nashville, then received the Air Force Health Professionals scholarship for medical school. When Eason was a teenager, his mother remarried; his stepfather was a former Air Force pilot, which “steered me in that direction.” After five years’ general surgery training at Wilford Hall in San Antonio, on Lackland Air Force Base, Eason continued on to Harvard and Massachusetts General for transplant training. The rapidly advancing field of transplantation had begun to compel Eason while he was in the Air Force, studying under a kidney-transplant surgeon, Greg Jaffers, whom Eason believed to be “the best surgeon I worked with.” And, temperamentally drawn to challenges, the complexities of transplant work appealed to him – both the technical expertise of the operations and the science of the pro-
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L to R: Jacqueline Roberts, Dr. James Eason, Amy Thomason, Keith Pridgen, Dr. Satheesh Nair, and Todd Dixon. Brother and sister Pridgen and Thomason were among the first in Methodist’s living-liver transplant program; Pridgen donated a portion of his liver to Thomason. PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAN HOWELL | COURTESY METHODIST / UTHSC
cess as a whole. He was fascinated by immunology, deciphering the causes of rejection – and by the overall complexity of managing transplant patients’ care. Much as he was attracted by intricate surgeries, Eason had overlooked the fine print of his own scholarship program. So after transplant training in Boston, back to Wilford Hall he went – “I owed time,” he smiles. But in this instance, not reading the fine print worked out. At Mass General, he had become an expert in liver transplants. “The Air Force had been doing kidney transplants for a couple of decades before I was there,” he recalls, “but they had just started on livers. So the plan was for me to learn livers and come back and develop a DOD [Department of Defense] liver program — which is what I did.” In 1998, having repaid his debt of time to the Air Force, Eason relocated again — this time to New Orleans, where he successfully launched a liver-transplant program at the Ochsner Clinic. Then, in 2006, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he relocated again, this time to Memphis.
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he titles beneath Eason’s name on his business card read, “Medical Director, Transplant Institute | Professor | Chief of Transplant.” He also serves on the board of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. “I wear a lot of different hats,” he says, but “I prefer to be in the operating room.”
“Every year, 10 percent of patients on the waiting list die before they have a chance to get an organ. There’s a mismatch between the number of patients in need and how many organs are available.” — Dr. James Eason The technical challenges and complexities that appealed to him in the first place keep him motivated today. But not simply for the satisfaction of puzzle-solving. In the regular course of his workdays, Eason watches patients be reborn. “Seeing a patient who really has no option other than transplant or death,” he says, “and
being able to give them the opportunity to live again” — that’s what he loves, what motivates him. All of the patients he sees with liver and kidney disease have fatal illnesses. Whether it’s end-stage renal disease or end-stage liver disease, a patient is not in line for a transplant unless she won’t survive without the new organ. Kidney patients can remain on dialysis for some time, but, Eason points out, there’s a high mortality rate for patients on dialysis. Dialysis patients’ five-year survival rate is around 36 percent, compared with an 86 percent five-year survival rate for transplant patients. Eason’s team is developing new and better protocols for liver patients, too. As obesity rates increase, they see more patients with liver failure caused by fatty liver disease. Hepatologists here are working to treat fatty liver disease, but also to perform transplants on patients with the disease — and to prevent it from recurring after the transplant. And, Eason says, “We’re considered a center of excellence for patients with certain types of F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 61
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A key factor in the success — or failure — of a transplant is the ischemic time: that is, the time that elapses from the moment the kidney or liver comes out of one patient and the moment it goes into another, blood supply restored. “We do very quick operations — much quicker than most centers — so we’re able to use livers that others don’t think they can.” And higher-volume transplant centers tend to produce better outcomes. “Like anything else,” Eason says, “you get used to something that you do frequently. Liver transplants started becoming successful in the mid-1980s. In fact, UT Health Science Center was the third program to have a transplant program.” In the early days of transplantation, technical proficiency, experience, equipment — none of it was as sophisticated as today. Eason remembers his first liver-transplant case, in the early 1990s. The surgery took 12 hours, requiring large quantities of blood transfusions. In those days, patients stayed sick for a long time after the transplant.
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Now, thanks to increased technical proficiency (better instruments and methods to induce coagulation and limit bleeding) — and what Eason describes as generally “learning how to stay out of trouble along the way” — transplants take two-and-a-half to three hours, often requiring no blood transfusions at all.
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ot every Alex has a Molly — a willing donor who appears when needed most. End-stage liver and kidney patients typically land on a waiting list. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), a government contractor, regulates transplant programs and organ allocations. Patients who need new livers are prioritized based on their individually calculated MELD score. MELD, short for Model of End-Stage Liver Disease, determines, essentially, how sick a patient is — how urgent their need. MELD scores are dynamic, changing when patients sicken or improve, but remaining the same no matter where in the country a patient goes. “There’s been some concern about people being able to go somewhere and get on the list,” Eason notes, “but whoever gets the liver
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is whoever has the higher score on the list.” Kidneys are a little different: Whereas the MELD score doesn’t factor in considerations like age, kidney patients are put on the list based on a range of factors, including their time on dialysis. And younger patients are given “some priority,” Eason says, in the kidney system. And in both the kidney and liver systems, pediatric patients are a priority — pediatric organs are transplanted into pediatric patients, whenever possible. Le Bonheur is the only pediatric liver transplant in the Mid-South; pediatric kidney transplants are also performed. Some patients are born with liver or kidney disease; others suffer effects caused by viruses or other illnesses. Eason’s team has performed transplants on patients as young as one year old, and pediatric transplant work is an area “that we’re really trying to expand. Some in the outside medical community don’t realize that children may be eligible for transplant. We’re trying to spread the word: send us these children with kidney and liver disease.”
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hat’s next? UTHSC and Methodist recently received an anonymous $40 million endowment. Half of the money is being put into a new Transplant Institute, currently under construction and scheduled to be completed in early 2019. Eason displays artists’ renderings of the space, which he worked with architects to develop. It will include a “360-degree modular system” — a f loorplan that will allow doctors and nurses to maintain continuous visibility of all their patients. The other half of the endowment will go towards the new transplant research institute; a director to lead that institute has been hired and soon will join the 14 doctors (“from the most prestigious institutions around the world,” per Eason) already in place. The team will conduct translational research, primarily: identifying problems on the clinical side for study on the research bench, then implementing clinical solutions. A genomics expert will help guide the research. And there are also plans in the works for further technical advancement in preserving and improving the quality of organs, such as through pulsatile profusion machines that repair organs at the cellular level prior to transplant. “We really are proud of what we’ve been able to do here, in this community,” says Eason, whose wife, Laura, and two young adult daughters, Sydney and Claire, help him stay rooted in Memphis. “We look at the Mid-South as our main patient population. It’s important to us that we are able to serve them — the people we live among.” F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 65
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obby Rush is humble, sincere, harsh, witty, forthright. The no-nonsense entertainer is acutely aware where he is in life and how he got there. Yet he will tell you this: “God has allowed me and blessed me to live long enough to know I don’t know nothing. When a man tell what he know, he won’t talk long because man don’t know nothing.” Anyone who has observed and pondered things for decades knows what he means, a variation of the old saw that “the more you know, the less you understand.” But don’t let that fool you. Rush has been performing since he was a teenager, from the Chitlin’ Circuit to the Great Wall of China, and has won scads of awards, although it wasn’t until last year at age 83 that he took home a Grammy. He won Best Traditional Blues Album for Porcupine Meat, a lyric of which goes like this: “Too fat to eat, too lean to throw away.” He’s still touring, vigorous as ever, giving his audiences what they’ve come to love from him. And what a remarkable journey it continues to be. 66 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
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ter Cen e h t in s at rm stival o f r e e f . p e s r h phi o lklo Rus by ern Fo n Mem nues t is b o B h ti w th ith nto con Sou for n Dow 84, he nces w g. It’s e ie 6i lin 201 , at ag m aud orytel wide y t r s a a im l Tod nd ch s/sou ght h my a e u m u r o l r a u b r b t to G k/ s /fol at ha ing a e Mea k n n d i h t p fu u . l r u c c e , in Por bum are a c nition r for es Al a u g e l o y B rec ast nal rd l aditio a Aw t Tr Bes as
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ack in 2015, photographer Karen Pulfer Focht King and the Chitlin’ Circuit. (Rolling Stone magazine declared Rush to be King of the Chitlin’ Circuit a few years ago, revealing to white and I decided that we’d track Rush down in hopes of getting audiences what the entertainer’s African-American fans had already a few minutes with him. It was part of our ongoing effort long known.) to document the singular culture of the Mid-South, Instead, I got an education. The first part of which including its musical legends. Just weeks before, B.B. “People come out to King had died and we were very much aware that the was that, even though Rush does play the blues, he be entertained. Not to ranks were thinning. In January of this year alone, doesn’t embrace the label. His more than 300 recorded we’ve lost Denise LaSalle and Preston Shannon. tunes include forays into soul and funk — he has an be sung to and not to So on that summer day, we drove to Clarksdale, album titled Folk Funk — and he shines as a storyteller, be played to. I’m an Mississippi, where Rush was being inducted into the incorporating all those styles. entertainer.” Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame. “People come out to be entertained,” he said. “Not Focht had met Rush before and taken pictures, so to be sung to and not to be played to. I’m an enterwe figured we might be able to grab a few minutes if he wasn’t too tainer that plays guitar. I’m not a guitar player that sings. There is a busy with soundchecks and preparations. We did catch up with him, difference.” You see it in his involvement within every aspect of the job. but he was surrounded by a phalanx of Canadian TV people who “When I was 15 years old, I wanted had been with him for a couple of days. Good fortune was with us, though. to write a song until I found a writer. I The Canadians took a break around 6 wanted to produce until I found me a p.m. and Rush led us to a room in the producer. I wanted to promote myself Clarksdale Civic Auditorium where until I found somebody to promote we could talk. me. I was going to book myself until I Rush knew Focht, but nothing about found an agent. I was going to manage me, so he spoke carefully, thoughtfully, myself until I found a manager. Almost and a bit guardedly. He hadn’t quite 50 years later, B.B. King came to me figured out where I intended to go and he said, ‘Bobby Rush, I need you to with the interview, and a lifetime of produce a song for me.’ I said, ‘Me? I’m these conversations and press covtrying to do me.’ What I was looking erage had made him cautious about for, it was under my nose all the time. I was this guy.” media and wary of perceptions. Rush right away offered up cauRush was born to be an entertainer tionary tales about the press. Not of (who happens to play guitar) and he inaccuracies or mistakes, but somedidn’t waste time going after it. As that ambitious teen, he would famously put thing more far-reaching, perhaps on a fake mustache so he could look old even insidious. enough to perform in clubs. He started “I went to Oklahoma one time out on the edge and he stayed there. many years ago,” he said. “The writer wrote about how he liked the show “You can teach a man how to play guiand how the girl was on the stage tar,” he said. “You can teach him how to blow a horn. You can teach him how to dancing. He wrote, ‘Now, Bobby Rush is a little raunchy. He’s a little play most things, but you can’t teach a at the edge.’” man to do what I do or what Elvis Presley Bobby Rush describes what he It was clearly a positive review, do. You got to be born to do that.” does as writing a good song And yet he’s an exemplar of hard work but Rush — whose stage perforabout the kind of truth that mance thrives on his own style of and savvy perception. That fake-mustahurts — but telling the story in storytelling and includes his notochioed teenager also was carefully watcha funny way. “I got to give you rious shake dancers — was acutely ing audiences, studying what it took to be something to laugh abo ut.” aware that his act was at the edge, someone who could entertain crowds for so much so that he feared getting decades, one show at a time. For a very pushed off of it. “Not by the public, long time. not by my audience, but the man who wrote about me being this edge “I’ve been here all the time doing what I do,” he said. “I’m what kind of a guy.” The one-dimensional description fueled expectations. everybody watches. They may not tell you, but most black men and “They set people up for failure before they see it.” women watch what I do. I set the trend.” Here’s how Rush described what he does: “I started writing about Rush concluded that Karen and I were legit and not pursuing an agenda. “Most of the time the interview is not for the person you these kind of things because that’s life. I just write a good song, a good interview. It’s for the benefit of the person doing the interview,” he story, and tell it in a funny way that you can laugh about it. Because the truth always hurts, and the truth ain’t funny, but I try to tell it in said pointedly. “What’s enthused me about this interview is your pera funny way. When someone come and steal your woman from you, sistence. You don’t let me go. Karen won’t let me go. That means she wants to talk to me, and she didn’t disrespect me. This is what makes especially a godless man, you can laugh about it because it sounds me tick. Respect for what I have to do. Respect for what I have to say jokey — but it ain’t funny. It bypasses people’s heads because I said it and how I say it and what I talk about.” so jokified. I got to give you something to laugh about. If I don’t give you something to laugh about, they probably wouldn’t play the songs I went into the interview thinking I’d get a musician’s reminiscences on the radio because they’d be too political.” of his career playing the blues, maybe some anecdotes about B.B. 68 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
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A history lesson
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hings have changed,” Rush said. “From a physother six. We’d sell six for 25 cents apiece. That’s a dollar and a ical standpoint things have changed, but mentally, evhalf a night. We were making two dollars a day. Dollar and a half, two dollars, three dollars a night won’t fit in your wallet — a lot erything has remained the same.” of money. My day job wasn’t paying but $12.50 a month.” What’s called the Chitlin’ Circuit was significant not only because it was where you could hear the music Outside of the Chitlin’ Circuit, the music of African Americans in the Mid-South. It was appreciated as long as it was heard, and “A white guy can play the same was also where food was currency. the band not seen. So the players performed music I play and they’ll pay him. “Most of the time the Chitlin’ Circuit behind a curtain. I play the music, I’m a black guy, was 99 percent black people because “This was in Illinois,” Rush said. He knew slaughterhouses, when they killed pigs, J.B. Lenoir, who had a political hit with they won’t pay me as much. horses, cows, what have you, the inside 1954’s “Eisenhower Blues,” but Lenoir’s senThat’s it.” of them we called the chitlins, which is sibilities didn’t necessarily jibe with white their guts. They didn’t sell them, they audiences. “J.B. had this job,” Rush said, gave them away. Black people cleaned them and ate them. Now “but he didn’t want to work it. I said, ‘Well, I’ll work it,’ because I they sell them in the store. Chitlins. ‘Chitterlings.’” didn’t know about the racial thing. He did. He didn’t want to work it He said, “We used to work for the food. The Chitlin’ Circuit because it was a downstroke to him — working behind a curtain all meant that you got chitlins, chili, hamburgers, fries, potatoes, or night because the all-white audience didn’t want to see our faces.” what have you. That’s what you had for dinner. I used to work for Things have changed and they've remained the same. “A white guy can play the same music I play and they’ll pay him. I play the 10 hamburgers a night. Eat four, me and the band, and sell the
an and Morg Bobby Rush m& th at the Rhy Freeman me Fa f c Hall o Blues Musi in s ie n o cerem induction pi in ip ss si is ,M Clarksdale ing’s , the even sh u R . 5 1 0 2 ed into ct u d , was in headliner the event ization at the organ iven the an was g and Freem nt Award. e chievem Lifetime A
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music, I’m a black guy, they won’t pay me as much. That’s it. Would you rather play behind the curtain and get paid or come out from behind the curtain and don’t get paid but you play the same? Which is worse? Half a dozen in one hand, six in the other.” Musicians, Rush said, didn’t have black and white issues. “Most musicians just want to play music. Problem was, people who hired the musicians wanted to make a difference in their pay scale. When you make a different pay scale, then the people who are getting paid feel there’s a difference in who’s important. If you get $50 a night and I’m getting $20 a night, who do you think is going to think themselves important?” He acknowledged that there has been improvement. “Yes, you got a lot of guys who want to see the better guy get better money,” he said. “If you got a hit record,
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“I think people respect what I say because of my age, not because of what I say. I think they listen a little bit because that old man may be right.” you got a hit record. If you’re the better musician, you’re the better musician. But then they would be like, ‘Who you know?’ and ‘Who hired you?’ Like a turtle race — which one’s the fastest? It depends on who you’re racing against. Surely a turtle is real fast to a snail. It’s not very fast to a rabbit. That’s the way it is.” Even as Rush started moving into the big time, there were still lessons to be learned. “I was in New York City with B.B. King and Ray Charles,” he said. “They had the hit records, and I didn’t. I was an opening act. I had been there two or three days on Broadway. People loved me, loved B.B. King, loved Ray Charles. Quite naturally I thought I was this big man. I was changing my show for the next night because I could do that because I had a band who played top 40 music. I could change it up because I’d rather do some things going on in the jukebox. That top 10, top 20. “B.B. and Ray were sitting in a room with me and Ray said, ‘Bobby Rush?’ I said, ‘Yes sir?’ all politely. He said, ‘Why are you changing your show?’ I said, ‘Because I’ve been here three days. I’m going to change my show around.’ He said, ‘No, no. Change it up is fine if they don’t like it, but if people like your show — don’t change your show. Change towns if you been here too long.’ I haven’t changed my show since.”
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Philosophy of life
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ush in his 80s is a man who has gained perspective about what’s important. “I spoke at B.B. King’s funeral,” he said. “I told the audience that I was blessed and happy to be at his funeral, not because he died, but to be a friend of his so long and learned what I learned from him. I was thankful to be knowing him for 60-someodd years.” And there are the awards — and he’s earned a lot of them. Besides last year’s Grammy and the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame, he’s also in the Blues Hall of Fame, is a multiple Blues Music Award winner, and was the 2015 B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. But Rush was circumspect about all the honors. He wondered if he’s really deserving. “I have put in a lot of days, a
“I spoke at B.B. King’s funeral,” he said. “I told the audience that I was blessed and happy to be at his funeral, not because he died, but to be a friend of his so long and learned what I learned from him.” lot of hours, a lot of ups, a lot of downs to get here,” he said. “I have probably stepped on people unintentionally that I shouldn’t have stepped on. I probably said some things I shouldn’t have said. I probably did some things I shouldn’t have did. At the time I did them, it was the best choice because that’s all I know. So, I’m bothered about whether they’re giving me this award because I earned it or there ain’t nobody else to give it to.” His fans would immediately shout, “Of course you earned it, Bobby!” but they don’t have the perspective that he does. “There are people dead and gone now that had an opportunity [to get an award], but since I’m here, what I receive I take in the name of the one who didn’t have a chance, but had the talent and the work.” Rush is similarly attuned to those around him, younger and perhaps in need of some w isdom. “ Sometimes I believe they think I’m crazy,” he said. “That I’m an old man who don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m just blowing smoke. That will happen in life until you’re dead and gone, then people are, ‘Ah, he was right!’ When I was a young man, I was talking the same talk. I think people kind of respect what I say now because of my age, not because of what I say. I think they listen a little bit because that old man may be right.”
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ASK VANCE
Coletta’s Our trivia expert solves local questions of who, what, when, where, why, and why not. Well, sometimes.
by vance lauderdale DEAR VANCE: Is it true that Coletta’s, the Italian restaurant on South Parkway, introduced pizza to Memphians? And if so, when did that momentous event take place in our culinary history? — p.t., memphis.
right: Emilio and Candida Coletta stand behind the counter of their newly opened Suburban Ice Cream Company. Note the high stools, gleaming white counter, and broken-tile floor. In the early days, the establishment mainly offered sodas, sundaes, and other ice cream delights. cream sandwiches, ice cream bars, popsicles, and sunbinations of toppings than I can calculate with my daes. The sherbet selection for that day, scribbled on a desktop abacus, that one would think it had been here, blackboard, was pineapple. It’s a fine-looking place, all there, and everywhere — even in Memphis — forever. right, but the photo shows that something was missing. Customers. And what was once a lunchtime or certainly dinnertime meal can now be enjoyed throughout the day, even for Almost immediately, the Colettas determined Membreakfast, though the Lauderdales prefer to stick with phians wanted something more than just ice cream. “So caviar and Vienna sausage, as we have for generations. they offered what you might consider a weird combiBut the truth is that it is indeed a relatively recent dish nation,” says Stephen. “The menu included ice cream, in these parts, and it was indeed first served at Coletta’s. pasta, and beer.” But that pasta meant basic dishes like ravioli and lasagna. No pizza on the menu. Not yet. But here’s the thing. Coletta’s didn’t begin as a pizza parlor. It started as a soda fountain. The business was a success and son “What would happen Here’s what I know, after chatting with Horest Coletta took it over in the 1940s. if we put barbecue Stephen Coletta, the fourth generation of Another photo of the interior from this the family to be involved in the restaurant time (opposite) shows the rather drastic meat and barbecue business in Memphis. The year was 1923, transformation, with the walls cluttered sauce on a pizza?” and his great-grandparents, Emilio and with menus and lists of sandwiches for Candida Coletta, decided to open an ice cream parlor in sale, and ads for all sorts of products: Dr. Pepper, Green a humble brick building at 1063 South Parkway East, in Spot soda, Portina cigars, and Choca-Lac drinks. The what was mainly a residential part of town. Since those name officially became Coletta’s after they stopped connew parkways were considered the boundaries of our centrating on ice cream and soda fountain dishes and city limits at the time (hard to imagine, I know), they offered more traditional Italian fare, such as lasagna called their new establishment Coletta’s Suburban Ice and ravioli. But after World War II ended, soldiers who Cream Company. had been stationed in Europe — Italy, in particular — returned to Memphis with tales of an unusual, utterly An early photograph (above) shows the Colettas standflat, round dish, and Horest was intrigued. ing proudly behind the marble counter of their gleaming new establishment, with rows of soda glasses on shelves “My grandfather went to these new pizza parlors behind them, and hand-lettered signs announcing ice that had opened in places like New York and Chicago,”
PHOTOS COURTESY COLETTA FAMILY
DEAR P.T.: Pizza is such a popular dish, with more com-
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left: Just a few years later, the open room shown on the opposite page looked like this, reflecting the Coletta family’s wise decision to add beer, pasta, and other items to the menu. Pizza would come later. The walls are covered with eye-catching advertisements for soft drinks, cigars, medicines, and other products of the time. inset: Horest (left) and Jerry Coletta. says Stephen, “and he came back and added pizza to the menu.” The exact date has been lost to history. “I only know it was in the late 1940s,” he says. And nobody wanted anything to do with it — a pasta dish you ate with your hands? Why, you’d never see a Lauderdale doing such a thing, even in our private dining hall. But Horest was clever. He knew that Memphis was, then as much as now, a barbecue town, so he thought: “Okay, you don’t want pepperoni. What would happen if we put barbecue meat and barbecue sauce on a pizza?” Here’s what happened. “It was an immediate hit,” says Stephen, “and barbecue pizza is one of our signature dishes today.” Coletta’s opened a second location on Summer Avenue, just east of Mendenhall, in the late 1950s. Run by Horest’s son, Jerry (this would be Stephen’s father), it drew the same crowds as the original location until a disastrous fire in 1996. The restaurant had closed for the evening, so there were no injuries, but the structure was a complete loss. After debating several years whether to rebuild, the Coletta’s, which now included the fourth generation (are you keeping up with all these Colettas?) of Stephen and sisters Lisa and Christina — decided to build a brand-new and larger facility at 2850 Appling Road. Over the years Coletta’s has attracted quite a few celebrity customers, none more famous than Elvis Presley. In the late 1960s and 1970s he made a few personal visits
to the South Parkway location, but to avoid making a scene he usually sent Priscilla or one of his pals at Graceland to fetch him boxes of pizza. “We’d just keep a running tab,” says Stephen, “and Colonel Parker would come in and take care of it.” “I never planned to be in the restaurant business,” says Stephen. “When I was in school, I saw how much my father, and his father, and his father put into it, night after night, and I didn’t want any part of it. But then I started working here a few days a week and — well, now I’m in the restaurant business.” He points out that the menu has expanded to include seafood and other non-Italian dishes, and he’s proud of the fact that almost everything they serve is homemade: the bread, pizza dough, sauces, dressings. Even the sausage is ground and flavored there. “It’s an awful lot of work, and if you don’t enjoy it, you won’t last,” he says. “But I really do enjoy it, and we’re coming on 20 years now.” The original location, now managed by Jerry Coletta after Horest retired, claims to be one of the oldest restaurants in Memphis. A few other places here make that same claim — the Arcade, Little Tea Shop, Jim’s Place among them — but Coletta’s is that rare eating establishment that has remained in the same location, and in the same family, for its entire existence. In five years, it will celebrate a century of dishing out tasty Italian food in Memphis.
Got a question for vance?
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ENDGAME
Happy Jones She was this area’s midwife to progress (1937-2017).
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here are two competing accounts of how the dation for a Greater Memphis nickname Happy was earned by Dorothy Snowden “Legends” award. Politically, she worked within the Republican Jones, who was never called anything else. Party to help establish a two-parOne story has it that her two older sisters, Sally and Edie, ty political system during the were so delighted when they got news of the pending 1960s and 1970s, later becoming arrival that they insisted to their mother Grace that their an independent, working across sister be called “Happy” — basically, because that was the party lines as her ever-growing emotion which the prospect of welcoming her created in progressive streak became irthem. Another version has it that when the newborn got reconcilable with the rightward drift of the party she had been the ritual celebratory buttocks-slap from the attending born into. physician, she proceeded to laugh rather than cry. In the words of her longtime
Possibly both stories are true, inasmuch as the prospect of encountering Happy Jones, who left us last November at the age of 80, was always one that begat smiles of anticipation. She is still receiving testimonials of love and respect from her community — most recently from the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, which honored her in a special January ceremony at First Congregational Church, and by being named an honoree in the forthcoming Memphis Suffrage Monument (called “Equality Trailblazers”) which will be placed on Civic Center Plaza in May 2019 during city bicentennial events. That latter piece of public art will feature eight bronze busts and four etchings, where Happy will be included along with Marion Griffin, Maxine Smith, and Minerva Johnican. Jones was the first donor to the Memphis Suffrage Monument and was the primary enabler of a published memorial to the state’s decisive Happy involved herself in every imaginable public issue aimed role in the passage of, in 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment: The at broadening justice and opportunity for citizens at large. Perfect 36: Tennessee Delivers Woman Suffrage, editions of which have — from the sanitation workers’ friend, current Memphis Conappeared as a bound volume, an struggle of 1968 to black-white gressman Steve Cohen: “Happy e-book, and an audiobook. comity to women’s rights to the was always in the forefront of Born a member of the social- extension of voting rights to fair- progress and justice. She was a ly prominent Snowden family, ness and equality for the LGBTQ leader for over 50 years, crossing Happy Jones, like her sisters, em- community. political and racial lines. Hers braced society in the largest posJones was an activist for nu- was a life well-lived.” merous other causes, working sible sense. She involved herself At election time, for the last in every imaginable public issue as a marriage and family thera- couple of decades, she had joined aimed at broadening justice and pist and social worker, and was a with two other activist women, opportunity for citizens at large recipient of the Women’s Foun- Jocelyn Wurzburg and Paula Ca-
sey, in publishing a widely-distributed and equally widely-regarded ballot. (Jones, Wurzburg, and Casey usually agreed, but not always, making a point of always stating the reasons for their recommendations.) In the crisis year of 1968, Wurzburg had been a co-founder with Jones of the Memphis Panel of American Women, which organized consciousness-raising events to counter bias, each public panel group including a moderator and four other women: a white Protestant, an African American, a Jew, and a Catholic. Wurzburg relates a story illustrating how Jones could combine her crusading instinct with a sense of impish irony: “Happy once sat next to a man on a plane ride home. She told him she was a member of the Panel of American Women. He didn’t quite understand who we were, but he told her he belonged to a patriotic organization too, and Happy recognized its name as being related to the segregationist White Citizens’ Councils. “Thinking he was with someone like-minded,” Wurzburg continues, “the man proposed us as a program for one of his group’s meetings. Happy agreed to the booking , and they sure were surprised when the night came, and our integrated panel walked in and started speaking against anti-Semitism and racism.” No mere ideologue, however, Happy Jones was a skilled communitarian. She was the soul of companionability, a well-loved wife and mother, and a fully rounded character with several hearty pastimes, including sailing, where she possessed captain’s skills for every size craft from a one-passenger pram to a 50-foot sloop. In this, as in her pursuit of justice in the choppiest of times, Happy Jones always managed to keep an even keel.
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS HONEYSUCKLE ELLIS
by jackson baker
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ROAD TRIP
O A K L AW N PA R K contin u ed from page 29 in May: the $150,000 Smarty Jones on Martin Luther King Jr. Day; the Grade 3, $500,000 Southwest on President’s Day; the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel on St. Patrick’s Day; and the crown jewel, the Grade 1, $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby on April 14th. Not only will each of these races showcase the best three-year-old racing talent in the nation, but all four events fall on holiday weekends, when there will be plenty to do in the Spa City. Hot Springs is a racetrack town, to be sure, but it is so much more than that. Home to America’s smallest National Park, Hot Springs boasts three lakes, mountain trails
The Back Porch Grill is one of many dining options in the heart of Hot Springs. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ART MERIPOL / VISIT HOT SPRINGS
for hiking and biking, plenty of great food and colorful watering holes, and a vibrant arts and music scene. This year’s Rebel Stakes falls on the same day as the First Ever 15th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, an event that sets records both in brevity and levity. The one-block parade usually draws more than 30,000 spectators, scores of Elvis impersonators, lots of libation, and the occasional B- or C-list celebrity. That particular weekend also marks the kickoff of the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival, a quirky and crowded gathering that catches many of the bands traveling to and from South By Southwest in Austin. Many bands who’ve played at VOV return year after year in spite of the smalltown crowd, often even planning their days off to coincide with the festival so they can hang out in Hot Springs and enjoy some oldworld recreation with a soak in a bathhouse and a beer at the track. No one can resist the charms of this resort, not even urban hipster rock-and-rollers. The season culminates on April 14th with the Arkansas Derby, and while that day may not be a holiday in the rest of the world, in Hot Springs it’s certainly the most special day
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ROAD TRIP
O A K L AW N PA R K
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Rinaldo “Ronnie” Grisanti. The tradition continues at Ronnie Grisanti’s Restaurant in Sheffield’s Antiques Mall in Collierville. Open for Lunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday Open for Dinner: 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday 685 West Poplar Ave. Collierville, TN 901-850-0191
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of the year. Locals call the Arkansas Derby simply “The Derby,” Kentucky be damned. April 14th, three weeks before the First Saturday in May, is always referred to in Arkansas as “Derby Day.” On Derby Day, the population of Hot Springs will more than triple. The Arkansas Derby regularly draws crowds of more than 60,000 people, making it one of the largest events in the state, rivaled only by Arkansas Razorback football games. In fact, the Arkansas Derby is one of the largest racetrack audiences in America outside of a Triple Crown or Breeders Cup event. A lot of those 60,000 will arrive in seersucker or fascinators, white bucks, and tall heels. Just as they do on most big race days, Oaklawn will open up the infield of the track to spectators to accommodate the large crowd. There, guests will find luxury tents for private catered parties along the rail of the racetrack, so close you can (almost) reach out and touch the horses, as well as magicians and petting zoos and bouncy castles to entertain the kids while the grownups handicap the races, lounging in the shade of a dogwood tree. Throughout the crowd moves a mariachi band, a barbershop quartet, a brass ensemble playing Dixieland jazz. The governor will be on hand to present the trophy to the winner, enjoying the scene, perhaps eating a corned beef sandwich, perhaps making a bet or two. Charles Cella, the longtime owner of the track, passed away this past December. Cella was the third generation of his family to run Oaklawn, taking the reins in 1968 the year his father died and, coincidentally, the year that the last of the illegal casinos was shuttered. Oaklawn is one of the few family-owned racetracks left in America, and the Cella family has guided the track through many a storm over the years, often outpacing their corporate-backed rivals. Charles’ sons will take over in his stead, as he wanted it, and as it has been for the last hundred years. This is a large part of what makes Oaklawn such a unique racetrack, and what makes Hot Springs such a unique destination. Even with all that is new, it’s a town with traditions, customs, and a rich sense of history, with a beating heart that feels old and wise, inspiring a journey backwards in time. A native of Hot Springs, David Hill’s work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, and various other publications. He is currently working on a book about the history of gambling and organized crime in Hot Springs.Hill now lives in Brooklyn, and you can read his work or contact him at his website, davidhillonline.com.
G A R D E N VA R I E T Y
a guide to Winter Wonders “Rising Sun” and “Cherokee Princess” may sound like Disney movie characters, but they’re actually beautiful flowering trees.
by christine arpe gang
Yoshino cherries annually dazzle drivers on Cherry Road. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINE ARPE GANG
S
pring doesn’t officially arrive until March 20th, but our blooming season arrives much sooner, depending on the whims of that respected mom, Mother Nature.
In early January when we talked, Mark Pitts was enjoying the pink blooms on the flowering apricot in his front yard. Although it is more widely seen elsewhere, flowering apricot, or Prunus mume, is rarely seen here. Its fragrant flowers may be white, red, or pink;
single or doubles. Pitt has been enjoying the tree in his garden for 20 or so years. “It’s one of the earliest trees to bloom and consistently f lowers in January for me,” said Pitts, a former nursery owner who now propagates plants at Dabney Nursery. “Its
Q
also be pruned within several weeks AFTER they bloom. If you have reblooming hydrangeas, be sure to clip off flowers quickly after they fade. You will be rewarded with more blooms as the season progresses. Should you prune crape myrtles now? Yes and no. Do remove interior branches that are rubbing other branches, taking care to save the strongest branch. Also remove dead branches and those that may be rubbing against the walls or roof of your house. What you should not do is take a chain saw and give the tree a flat top. That produces thin and spindly new growth. Your goal should be to encourage the big, beautiful, and thick branches that have matured along with the tree. Will the tree live and bloom again if you do any of
I’ve heard that February and March are the best times to prune trees. Is this true and what can you tell me about pruning? — Mary from Memphis
A
Yes, late February and early March are ideal times to prune some trees and shrubs. The plants are likely still dormant and, if they are deciduous, their leaves have not yet returned, giving the pruner a clear picture of their structures. But if the tree also flowers, there are additional caveats. As a rule, you prune spring blooming plants and trees AFTER they bloom. If you do it now you will remove the buds for this year’s flowers. Summer flowering shrubs such as hydrangeas should
fragrance fills the front yard.” We mused a bit on why nurseries might not stock largely unknown winter bloomers and decided gardeners aren’t hanging out in nurseries in January and February so they don’t see some great trees in bloom. But there are other places to look for winter wonders. Both Memphis Botanic Garden and The Dixon Gallery and Gardens offer an eye-opening array of winter-blooming plants that are typically well labeled. Deep into the Botanic Garden’s 96 acres, the Magnolia Trail becomes a dazzling wonderland of white and pink flowers on branches that arch over your head or hug your sides. The flowers are produced by star and saucer deciduous Asian magnolias. Because the peak bloom time typically occurs on the chilly days of late February or early March, it’s difficult to charm visitors into taking that long walk. That’s a shame because a nice collection of camellias intermingles with the magnolias and many bloom at the same time. Fortunately you can’t miss some of these magnolias (often called tulip trees because of their cupped pink flowers) in residential landscapes around the area. I asked Pitts to recommend blooming trees that guarantee a progression of spring flowers and he provided some specific cultivars to look for, too. ◗ Star magnolia, the earliest blooming Asian magnolia, has white, star-like fragrant f lowers. Look for “Water Lily,” whose abundant double white f lowers open from pink buds about two weeks
those no-nos? Yes. It just won’t attain the beauty it was destined to have. Every pruning cut produces a reaction by the tree. The University of Tennessee offers a detailed look at pruning techniques in Best Management Practices for Pruning Landscape Trees, Shrubs and Ground Covers and additional advice in Topping Hurts Trees. You can read them online by googling the titles with University of Tennessee Extension. Have a question about plants or planting for our resident gardening expert, to be answered in a future “Garden Variety” column? Send your queries to christine.gang@gmail.com. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 77
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later than most others, making it less sused redbud in our area, is valued not only for its rosy pink f lowers but also ceptible to a literal nip-in-bud from frost. for foliage that emerges in a scar“Royal Star” also has double and highly fragrant white flowers. Both are let-purple hue and matures to maroon. compact trees reaching only about 12 to Pitts also likes “Rising Sun,” a new 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide but contribredbud cultivar that has the f lowers we all expect in early spring but then pushute hugely to our winter landscapes. “Jane,” a saucer magnolia of similar size, es forth foliage in hues of apricot, gold, has large reddish-purand tangerine before settling in on a limeple flowers with white interiors. Her slightly green shade all summer. shorter sister “Ann” has A l l redbuds have heart-shaped leaves similar reddish-purple flowers. but after f lowering the ◗ Flowering almond is red leaves of “Hearts of Gold” turn (as you a fast blooming shrubmight expect) to a viby tree that tolerates The petals of the star magnolia drought once estabbrant gold. form star-like flowers as early lished. It’s prized for ◗ F lo w er i ng do gas mid- to late-February. the profusion of double woods grow wild near PHOTO BY DON KLOTWOG pink f lowers appearwoodsy areas and will ing on otherwise bare pop up as volunteers in branches. your garden if a bird is ◗ Yoshino cher r ies kind enough to deposusually burst forth it a seed along with his cluster s of l ight droppings. I don’t care pink to white f lowhow they get to me; to my ers around the third mind, they’re all good. But the dogwood week in March. They Flowering apricot is not widely k now n as “C her o are glorious to behold grown here but the hardy tree is kee Princess” is notespecially when plantone of the earliest and most fragrant ed for blooming coned in mass as they flowering trees around. sistent ly early and are on both sides of PHOTO BY MARK PITTS Cherry Road as it biheavy with large white sects Audubon Park. f lowers. In the fall its O ne eveni ng on leaves turn rust-red. Kousa dogwoods, what seemed like the which are native to peak of the bloom, I eastern Asia, bloom was astonished to see after the native f lownumerous people stop ering trees when the their cars, get out, tree has its leaves. and begin taking photos of their families “Milky Way” is a popand friends under the ular variety with profuse bloom heavy branchcreamy white f lowers followed by large edies of those t rees . These trees have ble red berries. Its dark Rising Sun looks like a typical redbud lifespans of just 20 green leaves turn orwhen it flowers but its uniqueness to 25 years but they ange-red to scarlet in shines when it produces its gold, pack a lot of beauty the fall. apricot, and tangerine-colored leaves into their brief time from spring until summer. on earth. Thankfully, There are many more PHOTO BY MARK PITTS members of the Litworthy flowering trees tle Garden Club, who so you may want to consult a nursery, arborist, or landscaper for adbought the original trees planted in 1950, vice before purchasing one. have purchased and installed more as the Master gardener Tom Rieman has comoriginal trees died off over the years. piled a list of f lowering plants for this area ◗ I’m always glad to see the pink blooms on our native Eastern redbud trees, which and their likely bloom times. It is published often grow on the edges of forests. The in the 2018 calendar put out by Memphis f lowers are bright and edible — some Area Master Gardeners. A few may still be say they taste nutty. To me their blooms available at local book and gardening supare leading a parade that will soon bring ply stores. The chart can also be viewed at the website of the Memphis Horticultural the dogwoods and azaleas to pass by. “Forest Pansy,” a widely plantSociety at memphishorticulture.org.
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SCENE DINING Looking for the right spot for that first date? What about something new for your next anniversary? Or do you simply find yourself with a hankering for a nice, thick burger and fries? Whatever your craving may be, you’re sure to find a delectable destination on the following pages.
AC’s Steakhouse Pub 333 Losher St. • 662.469.9790
Aldo’s Pizza Pies Downtown
With more than 70 awards, including Best Restaurant in DeSoto County for four years running, AC’s Steakhouse Pub is the perfect getaway in North Mississippi. AC’s offers fine-dining food in a casual atmosphere without city prices. AC’s offers a full bar, Sunday brunch, and gluten-free options. Open daily at 11 a.m.
Voted Best Pizza, come see why! With 60+ beers and handcrafted cocktails we offer slices, pies, fresh salads, sandwiches, and the most authentic NY cheesecake in town. Approaching our 5th year in the heart of downtown on the trolley line, we feature a hip atmosphere and spacious patio. Great for large parties or before a big game! Kid friendly and downtown delivery. Eat more pie!
Aldo’s Pizza Pies Midtown
Bangkok Alley
Our Midtown pizzeria offers a unique rooftop patio, exceptional service, and a cozy neighborhood feel. Full bar, great wine and house-made limoncello. You can enjoy the same fresh ingredients and hand-made pizza that our downtown location has become known for. We deliver in Midtown too!
Come and enjoy Bangkok Alley’s award-winning Thai cuisine and the area’s most outstanding sushi. Fresh ingredients and the creativity of our sushi chefs allows Bangkok Alley to provide you with the best sushi in the MidSouth. Three locations to serve you: 715 W. Brookhaven Circle, 901.590.2585; Collierville, 2150 West Poplar Avenue, 901.854.8748; Downtown Memphis, 121 Union Avenue, 901.522.2010.
3964 Goodman Rd. E. • 662.408.4791 • acssteakhouse.com
752 S. Cooper Avenue • 901.725.PIES • aldospizzapies.com
100 S. Main Street • 901.5.777.PIE • aldospizzapies.com
bangkokalley.com
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The Bar-B-Q Shop
Bardog Tavern
Voted #1 BBQ BBQ restaurant restaurantininAmerica Americaforbyribs The Network. NowNow over3027 Voted #1 byFood The Food Network. years in the Midtown area, west of Overton Square on Madison Avenue, The years in the Midtown area, west of Overton Square on Madison Avenue, The Bar-B-Q Shop has been using recipes made from scratch that are over 60 Bar-B-Q Shop has been using recipes made from scratch that are over 60 years old. Originators of BBQ Spaghetti & The Texas Toast BBQ Sandwich, years old. Originators of BBQ Spaghetti & The Texas Toast BBQ Sandwich, we serve real pit barbecue cooked daily with a blend of our Dancing Pigs we serve real pit barbecue cooked daily with a blend of our Dancing Pigs Bar-B-Q Sauce and Dry Seasoning, also sold in Kroger. Featured on Bar-B-Q Sauce and Dry Seasoning, also sold in Kroger. Featured on USAToday.com, Andrew Zimmerman of The Travel Channel, & regularly in USAToday.com, Andrew Zimmerman of The Travel Channel, & regularly in Southern Living. Private dining and bulk orders available. Southern Living. Private dining and bulk orders available.
Highly regarded and well-reviewed, a favorite neighborhood bar that opens its doors by 8 a.m. Monday-Friday. Bardog Tavern is a bar with a restaurant, not the other way around. Locals and tourist alike always enjoy the friendly staff and fun atmosphere, but they stay for the food. Serving up breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night menu until 2 a.m. Don’t forget brunch on Saturday and Sundays too! Bardog is a “21 and up” establishment with two dining and bar levels, smoking upstairs and non-smoking downstairs. Book the Underdog Room for private parties. Daily downtown delivery.
Bhan Thai
Blues City Cafe
1782 901.272.1277 ••dancingpigs.com dancingpigs.com 1782 Madison Avenue •• 901.272.1277
1324 Peabody Avenue • 901.272.1538 • bhanthairestaurant.com Owner Molly Smith along with Chef Sorrasit “Alex” Sittranont offers original Thai cuisine in an elegant, friendly environment both inside and outdoors. Our newly expanded patio is sure to capture your presence! Longtime favorites are pad Thai, tiger cry, crispy duck, tuna and many more. Voted Best Thai 2003-2015. Lunch Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and dinner Tuesday–Friday beginning at 5 p.m. Closed Monday.
Broadway Pizza
2581 Broad Avenue Ave • 901.454.7930 & 629 South Mendenhall •• 901.207.1546 901.207.1546 • 901.454.7930 & 629 S. Mendenhall Old-fashioned pizza house with a lovely comfortable atmosphere where the Old-fashioned pizza house with a lovely comfortable atmosphere where the staff has you feeling like you are in their pizza home. Delicious hot pizzas staff has you feeling like you are in their pizza home. Delicious hot pizzas overflowing with toppings of your choice. Appetizers, salads, spaghetti, overflowing with toppings of your choice. Appetizers, salads, spaghetti, catfish, cheeseburgers, Philly cheese steaks, Broadway whole wings, daily catfish, cheeseburgers, steaks, Broadway whole wings, daily plate lunch specials, andPhilly more.cheese Located in Memphis’ Broad St. Arts District plate lunch specials, and more. Located in Memphis’ Broad St. Arts District and look out, Memphis... NOW a second location at 629 South Mendenhall and look out, Memphis... NOW a second location at 629 South Mendenhall at Poplar. Legendary Pizza since 1977. Call-in orders are welcomed! at Poplar. Legendary Pizza since 1977. Call-in orders are welcomed! 80 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
73 Monroe Avenue • 901.275.8752 • bardog.com
138 Beale Street • 901.526.3637 For ribs, catfish, steaks, tamales, and seafood gumbo, head to Blues City Cafe on Iconic Beale Street. Enjoy lunch or dinner in our main dining room with the kitchen exposed, or VIP section with a 1958 Pink Cadillac on the wall. Dance the night away to live music seven nights a week in the Band Box, an authentic juke joint. The kitchen stays open late until 3 a.m. serving our full menu.
Celtic Crossing
903 S. Cooper St. • 901.274.5151 • celticcrossingmemphis.com Celtic Crossing is an authentic Irish pub located in the heart of Midtown’s beloved Cooper-Young. Custom art and imported furniture from Ireland create a cozy neighborhood hangout where you’ll always find good food, cold Guinness, and lively conversation. There’s always something going on at Celtic Crossing. Open 7 days a week, we offer lunch and dinner, featuring daily specials. We also offer brunch Saturday and Sunday, with live EPL Soccer matches, Celtic music and drink specials. Don’t miss a thing; check us out on Facebook and Twitter.
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Central BBQ 901.272.9377
Ciao Bella
Voted Best BBQ sandwich, ribs, and food truck by Memphis magazine. Our beef brisket, BBQ turkey, and smoked hot wings continue to be a Memphis treasure. With seating up to 200 folks there is plenty of room for all your family and friends. Our catering team can bring you the best Central BBQ has to offer to any location. Catering business luncheons, private parties, and weddings.
Located in the heart of East Memphis, Ciao Bella Italian Grill serves authentic Italian cuisine and hand-tossed gourmet pizzas. We offer a full bar with an extensive wine list, beautiful patio, and private party facilities with full visual equipment. Dine in or carry out. Catering available. Happy Hour Sunday 4-7 p.m., Monday-Thursday 11-7p.m. Open for dinner 7 days a week. Lunch served weekdays. PGF Certified.
Clancy’s Cafe
Como Steakhouse
Located in northern Marshall County, Clancy’s Cafe is close but far enough to be out of the city bustle. We live by the slogan “Southern Soul with Smoke.” Perfectly fried, never-frozen Mississippi catfish; tender, moist smoked cue; and made-from-scratch sides and desserts — we have you covered on southern comfort classics. Open Thursday-Sunday, 11:00 a.m. 9:00 p.m. We also offer catering.
The famed Como Steakhouse, located in a 125-year-old former mercantile store, attracts visitors from around the Mid-South. In addition to its famous hand-cut steaks, the Como Steakhouse offers salmon, shrimp, chicken, and catfish prepared on one of the open charcoal pits. We offer a full bar, and feel free to dress casually when you stop by. Reservations are recommended for parties of 8 or more. Upstairs, you can visit Oyster Blues, where you can enjoy our quaint nautical decor and our casual dining menu. You can also enjoy a dozen raw oysters while you wait for your table downstairs.
4375 Summer Avenue • 901.767.4672 & 147 Butler • 901.672.7760
4078 MS-178, Red Banks, MS 38661 • 662.252.7502
565 Erin Drive • 901.205.2500 • ciaobellamemphis.com
203 North Main Street, Como, MS 38619 • 662.526.9529
Cooper Street 20/20
Erling ErlingJensen Jensen
Cooper Street 20/20 is located conveniently in the heart of Midtown’s Cooper-Young neighborhood. For Gourmet on the Go, you can choose from over 70 quality prepared entrees, soups, starters and sides. Each dish is made from scratch in the kitchen of Kathy Katz and prepared using only the finest ingredients including many gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. The concept is simple: take out, heat in, eat well. Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m.7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. PGF-certified.
In an elegantly sophisticated, yet warm and inviting atmosphere, Erling In an elegantly sophisticated, yet warm and inviting atmosphere, Erling Jensen’s Jensen’s appetizers, such as Maine Lobster Pancakes or Jumbo Lump appetizers, such as Maine Lobster Pancakes or Jumbo Lump Crabcakes, are Crabcakes, are totally amazing. A few entrees to mention are Seasonal totally amazing. A few entrees to mention are Seasonal Sea Food, Elk Chop and Sea Food, Elk Chop and Filet of Buffalo. Small Plates and Specialty Drinks Filet of Buffalo. Small Plates and Specialty Drinks at the bar. Wine Dinners at the bar. Wine Dinners offered every Friday night. Sundays are Special: offered every Friday night. Sundays are Special: three courses for $38. Jensen’s three courses for $38. Jensen’s approach is globally inspired and classically approach is globally inspired and freshest, most executed,using the freshest, mostclassically seasonalexecuted,using ingredients to the produce meals of seasonal ingredients produce the highest caliberContact for 19+ us years. the highest caliber forto19+ years.meals Dinnerofnightly 5pm-10pm. for Dinner nightly p.m. Contact Special Events5orp.m.-10 Corporate Affairs. us for Special Events or Corporate Affairs.
800 S Cooper Street • 901.871.6879 • cooperstreet2020.com
1044 Road• •901.763.3700 901.763.3700• •ejensen.com ejensen.com 1044 S. S. Yates Yates Road
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Fratelli’s Café
Huey’s
Fratelli’s Café is a lunchtime destination, popular for fresh and creative soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts. Each of our delectable options is served with a touch of Old World flair. Nestled between the Water Garden and the Sculpture Garden, Fratelli’s Café has seating options that provide a lush, natural view of the beautiful Memphis Botanic Garden. We are a Project Green Fork certified restaurant, supporting sustainable practices and reducing environmental impact. Open Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Huey’s is celebrating over 48 years of “Blues, Brews, and Burgers” and has been voted Best Burger for 33 consecutive years by the readers of Memphis magazine! Enjoy live music on Sundays, sip on a local brew, shoot frill picks in the ceiling and write on the walls. The menu offers 13 different burger choices, a variety of delicious sandwiches ranging from a grilled tuna fish sandwich to a reuben, awesome salads and yummy homemade soups. Enjoy one of the World Famous Huey Burgers at one of our nine convenient locations. For directions and hours of operations, please visit hueyburger.com.
The Kitchen at Shelby Farms Park
Lafayette’s Music Room
415 Great View Drive East, Ste. 101 • 901.729.9009
2119 Madison Ave • 901.207.5097 • lafayettes.com
The Kitchen has stunning lakeside views in the heart of Shelby Farms Park with an expansive patio. Offering a seasonal menu in addition to various signature items such as hand-cut garlic fries, tomato soup, mussels, and sticky toffee pudding. The Kitchen has been named one of “America’s Top Restaurants” according to Food & Wine, Zagat, Gourmet, and the James Beard Foundation.
Located in Overton Square, the historic Lafayette’s Music Room offers a variety of Southern-inspired dishes for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. With offerings such as po-boys, sliders, shrimp and grits, wood-fired pizzas, and made-from-scratch desserts, Lafayette’s is a staple for all to enjoy great food, good local conversation, and the best live music in town.
Mama Gaia
Marlowe’s Ribs & Restaurant
Memphis’ first organic restaurant offers a vibrant and award-winning menu which is mainly Mediterranean-inspired. Mama Gaia serves delicious health food that is made from scratch and boosts your energy, while the average wait time is impressive (under five minutes). They don’t use any refined sugar on the menu and offer a lot of vegan and gluten-free options. Mama Gaia also offers online-ordering, pick-up, delivery and catering. You can download their loyalty and online-ordering app in the app store by typing in “Mama Gaia.”
Family-owned and operated since 1973, Marlowe’s is the longtime gathering place for Elvis fans. Known for Pink Cadillac limo rides featuring Elvis memorabilia on the walls and tables. Fully stocked gift shop, spectacular barbecue featured on Food Network, traditional American fare, Southern hospitality, and a full bar. Dine in or take out, plus delivery to area hotels. One mile south of Graceland. Open Noon-3 a.m. daily.
750 Cherry Road • 901.766.9900 • fratellisfinecatering.com
Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Avenue Overton Square, 2144 Madison Avenue • 901.203.3838 • mamagaia.net
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hueyburger.com
4381 Elvis Presley Blvd. • 901.332.4159 • marlowesmemphis.com
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Marshall Steakhouse
Maximos On Broad
North Mississippi new, premier steakhouse. A unique dining experience that’s also a feast for the eye. Serving steak, prime rib, fresh catch-of-theday, Gulf seafood, grilled chicken, pork chops, burgers, fresh vegetables, cakes, pies and much more. Some of the restaurant’s features include handmade table slabs, catering, bars upstairs and downstairs, a concert area and dance floor, and a 3,000-square-foot patio that can be reserved for private events.
Taste the lively fusion cuisine and enjoy the quaint inviting feeling of Maximo’s on Broad tapas restaurant and wine bar, in the Arts District of Broad Avenue. Open Wednesday-Saturday for dinner (5-10 p.m.) and Sunday brunch (10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.) Join us for our $3 happy hour from 5-7 p.m. and Wine Wednesdays for half-price bottles of wine. Reservations are recommended.
Medallion - Holiday Inn / U of M
Memphis Pizza Cafe
2379 Hwy. 178 West • 662.252.2424 • marshallsteakhouse.com
2617 Broad Ave. • 901.452.1111 • maximosonbroad.com
Select this this award-winning award-winning hotel hotel for for your your catering catering needs. needs. Located Located in in the the Select heart of of Memphis, Memphis, we’re we’re first first in in banquets banquets up up to to 1,000 1,000 people people and and receptions receptions heart up to to 1,400. 1,400. Our Our European-trained European-trained chef chef reigns reigns over over aa 12,000-square-foot 12,000-square-foot up ballroom with with aa permanent permanent stage stage and and three three wood-inlay wood-inlay dance dance floors. floors. Ice Ice ballroom carvings, wedding wedding cakes, cakes, and and hand-made hand-made hors hors d’oeuvres d’oeuvres are are among among our our carvings, specialties. Also Also try try our our fabulous fabulous Sunday Sunday brunch. brunch. specialties.
memphispizzacafe.com memphispizzacafe.com Our crust is prepared one way — thin and crisp. Choose one of our specialty Our crust is prepared thinextensive and crisp.ingredients Choose one of and our specialty pizzas or create your one own way from—our list, see why pizzas or create your“Best own Pizza” from our and see why we’ve been voted 20extensive years in ingredients a row. Bestlist, pizza. Coolest we’ve been “BestOverton Pizza” Square 23 years a row. Best -pizza. Coolest workers. Fivevoted locations: at in 2087 Madison 901.726.5343, workers. Four locations: Overton at 2087 Madison — 901.726.5343, East Memphis at 5061 Park Ave. Square - 901.684.1306, Germantown at 7604 W. East Memphis at 5061 ParkSouthaven Ave. — 901.684.1306, Germantown at 7604and W. Farmington - 901.753.2218, at 5627 Getwell - 662.536.1364, Farmingtonat —797 901.753.2218, Collierville at 797 W. Poplar — 901.861.7800. Collierville W. Poplar -and 901.861.7800
Pancho’s Mexican Foods
Pearl’s Oyster House
Take a trip to Mexico right here in Memphis. Pancho’s has wowed Memphians with its unique Mexican flavors since 1956. It’s the perfect in-town getaway. Famous for its mouth-watering cheese dip, Pancho’s also serves up a variety of tacos, enchiladas, and mix-and-match platters. 717 North White Station in Memphis, 901.685.5404, and 3600 East Broadway, in West Memphis, AR, 870.735.6466.
Pearl’s Oyster House is one of Memphis’ favorite spots for great seafood, steaks, chicken and pasta. Pearl’s is the perfect place for business luncheons, private parties and casual evening dining. Located in the historic South Main Arts District, Pearl’s charm is sure to please everyone with free parking and easy access to FedEx Forum and the Orpheum. Open Sunday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
3700 Central Avenue • 901.678.8200
panchoscheesedip.com
299 S. Main St. • 901.522.9070 & 8106 Cordova Center Dr. • 901.425.4797
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Pontotoc
R.P. Tracks
314 S. Main St. • 901.207.7576
3547 Walker Avenue • 901.327.1471 • rptracks.com
Jazz in the air, inspired culinary artists get to work daily squeezing, slicing, and prepping their product for your anticipated enjoyment. A well-balanced menu of air, land, and ocean meet storied and new-age cocktails. Find us in the charming and rejuvenated South Main district.
RP Tracks has been serving the University of Memphis area since 1987. It is home to the World Famous BBQ Tofu Nachos, in addition to various other uniquely “Tracks” dishes. We have a full bar and a large beer selection including our favorite local beers on tap. We also offer brunch every Saturday and Sunday. RP Tracks is open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m.-3 a.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-3 a.m. Dine-in or carry-out. Please visit our website to see our full menu.
RED KOI JAPANESE CUISINE
Rendezvous
Locally owned Red Koi serves amazing Japanese Cuisine. Awesome Sushi, Hibachi, Sashimi and Nigiri. Daily Lunch Specials, Early Bird Specials and Happy Hour Monday thru Thursday with a full bar. Impress your clients, friends and family in a delightful contemporary atmosphere with delicious Japanese classics. Open 7 days a week. Please visit our second location, 2946 Kate Hyde Blvd., Suite 102, Bartlett, TN 38133, when it opens at the end of February.
The Vergos family has been cooking up food in a downtown Memphis alley since 1948. The pork ribs are legendary, as are the waiters and the vintage Memphis décor. Winner of numerous awards in Southern Living and other publications, the menu offers barbecued ribs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, cheese plates, barbecue nachos, Greek salads, local beers and wine. We ship our ribs overnight, too! Call about private parties for lunch and dinner. Open for dinner, Tuesday - Saturday. Lunch, Friday - Saturday only. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Restaurant Iris
Slider Inn
5847 Poplar Ave. #101 • 901.767.3456 • redkoimemphis.com
2146 Monroe Avenue • 901.590.2828 • restaurantiris.com Home of James Beard Award semi-finalist and one of Food & Wine magazine’s “Best New Chefs” for 2009, Chef Kelly English is inspired by the familiar flavors from his childhood in southern Louisiana and incorporates that inspiration into each dish he cooks. Restaurant Iris appeared on the Food Network’s Guilty Pleasures and was voted Memphis’ “Best Restaurant,” “Best Service,” and “Best Chef,” in 2012, 2011, and 2010 by Memphis magazine readers. 84 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
52 South Second Street • 901.523.2746 • 888.HOGSFLY • hogsfly.com
2117 Peabody Avenue • 901.725.1155 • thesliderinn.com This is where most of the neighborhood comes to eat, drink, and play. We are dishing out burgers, chicken, fried green tomatoes, homemade meatballs, and many more custom sliders. Proudly serving the Mid-south’s only authentic lobster roll, a savory delight prepared with fresh Maine lobster shipped in three times a week. Try our house-made Jameson Slushie; it won’t disappoint. We’ve been told we have one of the biggest patios in town, but we’re not into comparing. Kitchens open till 2 a.m., bar closes at 3 a.m. Downtown location coming soon; come see what all the fuss is about!
SCENE DINING 2018
special advertising section
Sweet Potato Baby
Tops Bar-B-Q
From seasonal pastries and handcrafted specialty cakes to international cuisine and full-service menu offerings, Sweet Potato Baby draws on Food Network Star Celebrity Chef Aryen Moore-Alston’s culinary experience to create expertly crafted and piquantly flavored dishes that are a feast for both the eyes and taste buds. Our passion for food and commitment to great service will truly set your event apart. From a casual party to a formal event, from feeding just a few guests to catering for a large crowd of hundreds of people, we are happy to lend our expertise toward making your event a success. Let us cook, bake, serve and, most importantly, spoil you!
Tops Bar-B-Q Bar-B-Q Inc. Inc.isisMemphis’ Memphis’oldest oldest and only home-owned chain of 15 Tops and only home-owned chain of 15 barbecue restaurants, serving real Memphis pit barbecue since 1952. Now barbecue restaurants, serving real Memphis pit barbecue since 1952. Now serving brisket brisket and and ribs. ribs. Slowly Slowlycooking cookingpork porkshoulders shouldersthe theold-fashioned old-fashioned serving way over overreal realhardwood hardwood charcoal hickory imparts way charcoal andand real real hickory woodwood imparts that that characteristic moist, smoky flavor that has distinguished our products for characteristic moist, smoky flavor that has distinguished our products for over half a century. Coming August 2015: We’re relocating our Southaven over half a century. General offices: 5720 Mt. Moriah Road, 901.363.4007. location to 313 Stateline Road. General offices: 5720 Mt. Moriah Road, 901.363.4007.
Wang’s Mandarin House / East Tapas & Drinks
Woman’s Exchange
Come to Wang’s to enjoy fine traditional and contemporary Chinese Cuisine, voted Memphis best since 1986. Our services include a lunch buffet, dinein, take-out, free deliveries, and catering. We also have a private room for business meetings and/or parties. Or go next door to East Tapas and Drinks which offers unique small plates prepared with an Asian twist, a long list of libations like no other, and live music on selected evenings. East is the place to wind down and relax after a long day of work.
The Woman’s Exchange Tearoom is a treasured gem, part of the “little house” at 88 Racine. Chef Emanuel Bailey and his staff daily order and prepare an array of foods, ranging from fresh vegetables, tenderloin (a Thursday tradition), homemade vegetable soup, and cornbread to mouth-watering caramel brownies. When you finish eating, you can browse the gift shop for that perfect present or an outfit for one or all of the grandchildren.
8556 Macon Road • 901.401.0379 • sweetpotatobaby.com
6065 Park Ave • 901.685.9264 • wangsmemphis.com • east-tapas.com
topsbarbq.com
88 Racine Street • 901.327.5681 • womans-exchange.com
Young Avenue Deli
2119 Young Avenue • 901.278.0034 • youngavenuedeli.com Referred to as “The Deli” by locals, a neighborhood favorite for over 20 years. The menu features unique sandwiches made from scratch, hand-breaded cheese sticks, vegetarian fare, Memphis’s Best hand-patted hamburgers, and the Top 10 French Fries in the nation (USA Today). Cocktail menu and fully stocked bar, with more than 150 beers and 36 draft options. Large groups are welcome, in a family-friendly environment with pool tables, big screen TV, jukebox, and a pet-friendly patio. Open 11 a.m.-3 a.m. 7 days a week, with full menu served until 2 a.m. Take-out and delivery available.
To advertise in the August 2018 Scene Dining please contact Margie Neal at: 901.521.9000 or margie@memphismagazine.com.
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the
MEMPHIS DINING guide
The Carolina Watershed’s name reflects its downtown location (Carolina Avenue) and its unique site where two waterfalls — 12 and 14 feet high — maximize the property’s natural elevation. The ponds, along with cottonwoods, dogwoods, mimosas, and red maples, command the Watershed’s landscape in both winter and summer. Inside, silos shape a circular bar where bartender Erin Simpson oversees cocktails, wine, and beer on tap. Chef Andy Knight, also pictured, steers the Watershed’s appealing menu which includes the CW Club with housesmoked turkey and bacon, salads, pizzas, brunch, and late-night options.
Tidbits: Carolina Watershed
T
he steps behind Carolina Watershed nestle into the hillside, and on a winter weekend with temperatures in the teens, we race to the top to find the trains. We watch the boxcars crawl by for a minute or two, and then spin around to see the hardscrabble outline of downtown warehouses and cottonwood trees, angled in odd ways to reach the sun. To our left, a waterfall tumbles over Arkansas fieldstone to the yard below, where a rustic silo beckons us to come inside, like a welcomed arctic outpost promising fellowship and food. Thanks to Chef Andy Knight, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and shared plates are exceptionally good, but it’s the respectful landscaping that makes the Watershed absolutely unique. “In the late 1930s, dirt was
a commodity, so they bulldozed the dirt out of these two lots,” explains Mac Hopper, coowner with Brad Barnett of the new restaurant and bar, located on Carolina Avenue just east of South Main. “Basically, the lots sat here untouched for the next 70 years.” The property’s unusual elevation dictated its development. “We mulched and contoured, built the water features and some retaining walls, but left the lay of land,” Hopper explains. “We fell in love with the elevation.” Interior spaces, constructed with adjoining silos, also fit the site. Inside, everything is circular, including the bathrooms and the bar, which serves cocktails, beer, and wine. Be sure to meet Jolene, a f lirty handcrafted drink made with sweet tea, lavender lemonade, and Old Dominick toddy, locally
produced on Front Street downtown. Knight’s updated Southern menus for weekdays, late night, and weekend brunch also complement the Watershed’s fun and sociable vibe: Pickled vegetables and blue cheese dressing perk up sweet and spicy wings; catfish smoked in-house comes with arugula and remoulade; and buttermilk fried chicken and slaw stack nicely inside a brioche bun. For a delicious and shareable sandwich, try pimento cheese and fried green tomatoes on grilled sourdough bread. “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had,” says Beth Cooper, an Oakland, California, journalism teacher on a recent visit home. “And I am absolutely serious.” Carolina Watershed, 141 E. Carolina Ave. (901-321-5552) $-$$
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS
by pamela denney
We celebrate our city’s community table and the people who grow, cook, and eat the best Memphis food at M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M / F O O D - D I N I N G 86 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
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CIT Y DINING LIST
A Curated Guide to Eating Out
M
emphis magazine offers this curated restaurant listing as a service to its readers. Broken down alphabetically by neighborhoods, this directory does not list every restaurant in town. It does, however, include the magazine’s “Top 50” choices of must-try restaurants in Memphis, a DINING SYMBOLS group that is updated every August. Establishments open B — breakfast less than a year are not eligible for “Top 50” but are noted as L — lunch “New.” This guide also includes a representative sampling D — dinner of other Bluff City eating establishments. No fast-food SB — Sunday brunch facilities or cafeterias are listed, nor have we included WB — weekend brunch establishments that rely heavily on take-out business. X— wheelchair accessible Restaurants are included regardless of whether they ad MRA — member, Memphis vertise in Memphis magazine; those that operate in multi Restaurant Association ple locations are listed under the neighborhood of their $ — under $15 per person without drinks or desserts original location. This guide is updated regularly, but we $$ — under $25 recommend that you call ahead to check on hours, prices, $$$ — $26-$50 and other details. Suggestions from readers are welcome; $$$$ — over $50 please contact us at dining@memphismagazine.com.
CENTER CITY ALDO’S PIZZA PIES—Serving gourmet pizzas — including Mr. T Rex — salads, and more. Also 30 beers, bottled or on tap. 100 S. Main. 577-7743; 752 S. Cooper. 725-7437. L, D, X, $-$$ THE ARCADE—Possibly Memphis’ oldest cafe. Specialties include sweet potato pancakes, a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, and breakfast served all day. 540 S. Main. 526-5757. B, L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, MRA, $ AUTOMATIC SLIM’S—Longtime downtown favorite specializes in contemporary American cuisine emphasizing local ingredients; also extensive martini list. 83 S. Second. 525-7948. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BANGKOK ALLEY—Thai fusion cuisine includes noodle and curry dishes, chef-specialty sushi rolls, coconut soup, and duck and seafood entrees. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. at Brookhaven location; call for hours. 121 Union Ave. 522-2010; 2150 W. Poplar at Houston Levee (Collierville). 854-8748; 715 W. Brookhaven Cl. 590-2585. L, D, X, $-$$ BARDOG TAVERN—Classic American grill with Italian influence, Bardog offers pasta specialties such as Grandma’s NJ Meatballs, as well as salads, sliders, sandwiches, and daily specials. 73 Monroe. 275-8752. B (Mon.-Fri.), L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ BEDROCK EATS & SWEETS—Memphis’ only Paleocentric restaurant offering such dishes as pot roast, waffles, enchiladas, chicken salad, omelets, and more. Closed for dinner Sun. 327 S. Main. 409-6433. B, L, D, X, $-$$ BELLE: A SOUTHERN BISTRO—Brisket in a bourbon brown sugar glaze, and chicken with basmati rice are among the specialties; also seafood entrees and such vegetables as blackened green tomatoes. Closed for dinner Sun. and all day Mon. 117 Union Ave. 433-9851. L (Sat. and Sun.), D, WB, X, $-$$$ BELLE TAVERN—Serving soups, salads, sandwiches, and more, including smoked turkey and homemade dumplings with jalapeno Johnny cakes and beef short rib tamales. 117 Barboro Alley. 249-6580. L (Sun.), D, $ BLEU—This eclectic restaurant features American food with global influences and local ingredients. Among the specialties are a 14-oz. bone-in rib-eye and several seafood dishes. 221 S. Third, in the Westin Memphis Beale St. Hotel. 334-5950. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $$-$$$ BLUEFIN RESTAURANT & SUSHI LOUNGE— Serves Japanese fusion cuisine featuring seafood and steak, with seasonally changing menu; also, a sushi bar and flatbread pizza. 135 S. Main. 528-1010. L, D, X, $-$$ BRASS DOOR IRISH PUB—Irish and New-American cuisine includes such entrees as fish and chips, burgers,
sandwiches, salads, and daily specials. 152 Madison. 572-1813. L, D, SB, $ CAFE KEOUGH—European-style cafe serving quiche, paninis, salads, and more. 12 S. Main. 509-2469. B, L, D, X, $ CAPRICCIO GRILL ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE— Offers prime steaks, fresh seafood (lobster tails, grouper, mahi mahi), pasta, and several northern Italian specialties. 149 Union, The Peabody. 529-4199. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$$ CAROLINA WATERSHED—This indoor/outdoor eatery, set around silos, features reimagined downhome classics, including fried green tomatoes with smoked catfish, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, burgers, and more. 141 E. Carolina. 321-5553. L, D, WB, $-$$ CATHERINE & MARY’S—A variety of pastas, grilled quail, pâté, razor clams, and monkfish are among the dishes served at this Italian restaurant in the Chisca. 272 S. Main. 254-8600. D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CHEZ PHILIPPE—Classical/contemporary French cuisine presented in a luxurious atmosphere with a seasonal menu focused on local/regional cuisine. The crown jewel of The Peabody for 35 years. Afternoon tea served Wed.-Sat., 1-3:30 p.m. (reservations required). Closed Sun.Tues. The Peabody, 149 Union. 529-4188. D, X, MRA, $$$$ COZY CORNER—Serving up ribs, pork sandwiches, chicken, spaghetti, and more; also homemade banana pudding. Closed Sun.-Mon. 745 N. Parkway and Manassas. 527-9158. L, D, $ DIRTY CROW INN—Serving elevated bar food, including poutine fries, fried catfish, and the Chicken Debris, a sandwich with smoked chicken, melted cheddar, and gravy. 855 Kentucky. 207-5111. L, D, $ EVELYN & OLIVE—Jamaican/Southern fusion cuisine includes such dishes as Kingston stew fish, Rasta Pasta, and jerk rib-eye. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun.-Mon. 630 Madison. 748-5422. L, D, X, $ FELICIA SUZANNE’S—Southern cuisine with low-country, Creole, and Delta influences, using regional fresh seafood, local beef, and locally grown foods. Entrees include shrimp and grits. Closed Sun. and Mon. A downtown staple at Brinkley Plaza, 80 Monroe, Suite L1. 5230877. L (Fri. only), D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ FERRARO’S PIZZERIA & PUB—Rigatoni and tortellini are among the pasta entrees here, along with pizzas (whole or by the slice) with a variety of toppings. 111 Jackson. 522-2033. L, D, X, $ FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR— Serves steaks and seafood, along with such specialties as bison ribeye and Muscovy duck, all matched with appropriate wines. 39 S. Main. 521-8005. D, SB, X, $-$$$ FLYING FISH—Serves up fried and grilled versions of shrimp, crab, oysters, fish tacos, and catfish; also chicken and burgers. 105 S. Second. 522-8228. L, D, X, $-$$
(This guide, compiled by our editors, includes editorial picks and advertisers.)
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This is more than a Dumpster — This is moreIt than — It is atoCommitment is aa Dumpster Commitment Recyclingto Recycling
CIT Y DINING LIST
Everyday is Earthis Day at EBOX. Areat weEBOX. on your job? Everyday Earth Day
Are we on your job? 901-850-9996
901-850-9996
It’s Time to Apply!
It’s Time to Apply!
Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School is a coed, independent school located in the heart of Midtown’s beautiful Central Gardens neighborhood. Since 1947, GSL has been preparing boys and girls to become creative problem solvers, confident lifelong learners, and responsible citizens in their communities and the world.
PRESCHOOL
Little Lukers (Age 2) Pre-Kindergarten (Age 3) Junior Kindergarten (Age 4)
LOWER SCHOOL
Senior Kindergarten-4th Grade
MIDDLE SCHOOL 5th-8th Grade
Coed | Age 2 - Grade 8 | Midtown gslschool.org • 246 S. Belvedere Blvd., Memphis, TN 38104 901.278.0200 • learnmore@gslschool.org
gslschool.org • 246 S. Belvedere Blvd., Memphis, TN 38104 Cocktails • Oysters • Atmosphere 901.278.0200 • learnmore@gslschool.org
The Cove
21 and over (but no smoking)! • 2559 Broad Avenue • www.thecovememphis.com
88 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
THE FRONT PORCH—Beale Street Landing eatery serves Southern-inspired appetizers, such as Crispy Grit Bites, along with burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Closed Monday. 251 Riverside Dr. 524-0817. L, X, $ GUS’S WORLD FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN—Serves chicken with signature spicy batter, along with homemade beans, slaw, and pies. 310 S. Front. 527-4877; 215 S. Center St. (Collierville). 853-6005; 2965 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 373-9111; 730 S. Mendenhall. 7672323; 505 Highway 70 W., Mason, TN. 901-294-2028. L, D, X, MRA, $ HAPPY MEXICAN—Serves quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, vegetable and seafood dishes, and more. 385 S. Second. 529-9991; 6080 Primacy Pkwy. 683-0000; 7935 Winchester. 751-5353. L, D, X, $ HUEY’S—This family friendly restaurant offers 13 different burgers, a variety of sandwiches and delicious soups and salads. 1927 Madison. 726-4372; 1771 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 754-3885; 77 S. Second. 527-2700; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-4455; 7090 Malco Blvd. (Southaven). 662-349-7097; 7825 Winchester. 624-8911; 4872 Poplar. 682-7729; 7677 Farmington Blvd. (Germantown). 318-3030; 8570 Highway 51 N. (Millington). 873-5025. L, D, X, MRA, $ ITTA BENA—Southern and Cajun-American cuisine served here; specialties are duck and waffles and shrimp and grits, along with steaks, chops, seafood, and pasta. 145 Beale St. 578-3031. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ KOOKY CANUCK—Offers prime rib, catfish, and burgers, including the 4-lb. “Kookamonga”; also late-night menu. 87 S. Second. 578-9800; 1250 N. Germantown Pkwy. 1-800-2453 L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ THE LITTLE TEA SHOP—Downtown institution serves up Southern comfort cooking, including meatloaf and such veggies as turnip greens, yams, okra, and tomatoes. Closed Sat.-Sun. 69 Monroe. 525-6000, L, X, $ LOCAL GASTROPUB—Entrees with a focus on locally grown products include truffle mac-and-cheese and braised brisket tacos. 95 S. Main. 473-9573; 2126 Madison. 725-1845. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ LOFLIN YARD—Beer garden and restaurant serves vegetarian fare and smoked-meat dishes, including beef brisket and pork tenderloin, cooked on a custom-made grill. Closed Mon.-Tues. 7 W. Carolina. 249-3046. L (Sat. and Sun.), D, $-$$ THE LOOKOUT AT THE PYRAMID—Serves seafood and Southern fare, including cornmeal-fried oysters, sweet tea brined chicken, and elk chops. 1 Bass Pro Dr. 620-4600/291-8200. L, D, X $-$$$ LUNA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE—Serving a limited menu of breakfast and lunch items. Dinner entrees include Citrus Glaze Salmon and Cajun Stuffed Chicken. 179 Madison (Hotel Napoleon). 526-0002. B, D (Mon.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ LYFE KITCHEN—Serving healthy, affordable wraps, bowls, sandwiches, and more; entrees include herb roasted salmon and parmesan crusted chicken. 272 S. Main. 526-0254. B, L, D, WB, X, $ MACIEL’S TORTAS & TACOS—Entrees include tortas, hefty Mexican sandwiches filled with choice of chicken, pork, or steak. Also serving fried taco plates, quesadillas, chorizo and pastor soft tacos, salads, and more. Closed Sun. 45 S. Main. 5260037. L, D, X, $ THE MAJESTIC GRILLE—Housed in a former silent-picture house, features aged steaks, fresh seafood, and such specialties as roasted chicken and grilled pork tenderloin; offers a pre-theatre menu and classic cocktails. Wellstocked bar. 145 S. Main. 522-8555. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ McEWEN’S ON MONROE—Southern/American cuisine with international flavors; specialties include steak and seafood, sweet potato-crusted catfish with macaroni and cheese, and more. Closed Sun., Monroe location. 120 Monroe. 527-7085; 1110 Van Buren (Oxford). 662-234-7003. L, D, SB (Oxford only), X, MRA, $$-$$$ MESQUITE CHOP HOUSE—The focus here is on steaks, including prime fillet, rib eyes, and prime-aged New York strip; also, some seafood options. 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-8902467; 88 Union. 527-5337; 3165 Forest Hill-Irene (Germantown). 249-5661. D, SB (Germantown), X, $$-$$$
CIT Y DINING LIST MOLLIE FONTAINE LOUNGE—Specializes in tapas (small plates) featuring global cuisine. Closed Sun.-Tues. 679 Adams Ave. 524-1886. D, X, MRA, $ OSHI ASIAN KITCHEN—Eatery offers Asian cuisine, including sushi and nigiri, with such entrees as Sticky Short Ribs, Wagyu Flank Steak and Quail Eggs, and Bi Bim Bap. 94 S. Main. 729-6972. L, D, X, $-$$ PAULETTE’S—Presents fine dining with a Continental flair, including such entrees as filet Paulette with butter cream sauce and crabmeat and spinach crepes; also changing daily specials and great views. River Inn. 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3300. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PEARL’S OYSTER HOUSE—Downtown eatery serving seafood, including oysters, crawfish, and stuffed butterfly shrimp, as well as beef, chicken, and pasta dishes. 299 S. Main. 522-9070. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ PONTOTOC—Upscale restaurant and jazz bar serves internationally inspired Tapas menu; more than 30 wines available. Closed for dinner Sun. 314 S. Main. 207-7576. D, WB, X, $-$$ RENDEZVOUS, CHARLES VERGOS’—Menu items include barbecued ribs, cheese plates, skillet shrimp, red beans and rice, and Greek salads. Closed Sun.-Mon. 52 S. Second. 523-2746. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, X, $-$$ RIZZO’S DINER—Chorizo meatloaf, lobster pronto puff, and lamb belly tacos are menu items at this upscale diner. Michael Patrick among the city’s best chefs. 492 S. Main. 304-6985. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ SABOR CARIBE—Serving up “Caribbean flavors” with dishes from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Closed Sunday. 662 Madison. 949-8100. L, D, X, $ SOUTH MAIN MARKET—Food Hall featuring a variety of vendors serving everything from bagels and beer to comfort food and healthy cuisine. 409 S. Main. 341-3838. $-$$ SOUTH MAIN SUSHI & GRILL—Serving sushi, nigiri, and more. 520 S. Main. 249-2194. L, D, X, $ SPINDINI—Italian fusion cuisine with such entrees as woodfired pizzas, gorgonzola stuffed filet, and fresh seafood; large domestic whiskey selection. 383 S. Main. 578-2767. D, X, $$-$$$ SUNRISE—From owners of Sweet Grass and Central BBQ. Serves breakfast all day, including house-made biscuits, frittatas, kielbasa or boudin plates, and breakfast platters. 670 Jefferson. 552-3144. B, L, X, $ TERRACE—Creative American and Continental cuisine includes such dishes as filet mignon, beef or lamb sliders, chicken satay, and mushroom pizzetta. Rooftop, River Inn of Harbor Town, 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3366. D, X, MRA, $$ TEXAS DE BRAZIL—Serves beef, pork, lamb, and chicken dishes, and Brazilian sausage; also a salad bar with extensive toppings. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 103. 526-7600. L (Wed.-Fri.), D, SB, X, $$-$$$ TUSCANY ITALIAN EATERY—Menu includes paninis, deli subs and wraps, soups, and desserts. Closed Sat.-Sun. 200 Jefferson, #100. 505-2291. B, L, X, $ TWILIGHT SKY TERRACE—Offers small plates of tostados, nachos, flatbreads, paninis; also hand-crafted cocktails and sweeping rooftop views of the downtown Memphis skyline. Open, weather permitting. The Madison Hotel, 79 Madison. 333-1224. D, WB, X, $ UNCLE BUCK’S FISHBOWL & GRILL—Burgers, pizza, fish dishes, sandwiches, and more served in a unique “underwater” setting. Bass Pro, Bass Pro Drive, 291-8200. B, L, D, X, $-$$ THE VAULT—Shrimp beignets, stuffed cornish hen, and bacon-wrapped chicken roulade are among the dishes offered at this Creole/Italian fusion eatery. 124 G.E. Patterson. 591-8000. L, D, SB, X, $-$$
COLLIERVILLE 148 NORTH—French cuisine meets Southern comfort food here with menu items such as chicken and waffles, duck confit, and JKE’s Knuckle Sandwich, made with lobster knuckle and puff pastry. 148 N. Main. 569-0761. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ BROOKS PHARM2FORK—Serving fresh vegetables and meats responsibly grown by area farmers. Entrees include
Marmilu Farms Pork Triangle Steak, Old School Salmon Patties, and Pan Seared Lake’s Catfish. 120 Mulberry. 853-7511. D, X, $-$$ CAFE PIAZZA BY PAT LUCCHESI—Specializes in gourmet pizzas (including create-your-own), panini sandwiches, and pasta. Closed Sun. 139 S. Rowlett St. 861-1999. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BABY—Specializing in Neapolitan-style pizza made in a wood-fired oven. Also serves house-made mozzarella, pasta, appetizers, and salads. 890 W. Poplar, Suite 1. 457-7457. L, D, X, $ EL MEZCAL—Serves burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, and other Mexican cuisine, as well as shrimp dinners and steak. 9947 Wolf River, 853-7922; 402 Perkins Extd. 761-7710; 694 N.Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 755-1447; 1492 Union. 274-4264; 11615 Airline Rd. (Arlington). 867-1883; 9045 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 383-4219; 7164 Hacks Cross Rd. (Olive Branch). 662-890-3337; 8834 Hwy. 51 N. (Millington). 872-3220; 7424 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 417-6026. L, D, X, $ EMERALD THAI RESTAURANT—Spicy shrimp, pad khing, lemon grass chicken, and several noodle, rice, and vegetarian dishes are offered at this family restaurant. Closed Sunday. 8950 Highway 64 (Lakeland, TN). 384-0540. L, D X, $-$$ FIREBIRDS—Specialties are hand-cut steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and wood-grilled salmon and other seafood, as well as seasonal entrees. 4600 Merchants Circle, Carriage Crossing. 850-1637; 8470 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 379-1300. L, D, X, $-$$$ RONNIE GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT— This Memphis institution serves family classics such as Elfo’s Special and chicken ravioli, along with lighter fare and changing daily chef selection. Closed Sun. Sheffield Antiques Mall, 684 W. Poplar. 850-0191. L (Mon.-Sat.), D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ JIM’S PLACE GRILLE—Features American, Greek, and Continental cuisine with such entrees as pork tenderloin, several seafood specialties, and hand-cut charcoal-grilled steaks. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 3660 Houston Levee. 861-5000. L, D, X, $-$$$ MULAN ASIAN BISTRO—Hunan Chicken, tofu dishes, and orange beef served here; some sushi, too. 2059 Houston Levee. 850-5288; 2149 Young. 347-3965; 4698 Spottswood. 609-8680. L, D, X, $-$$ OSAKA JAPANESE CUISINE—Featuring an extensive sushi menu as well as traditional Japanese and hibachi dining. Hours vary for lunch; call. 3670 Houston Levee. 861-4309; 3402 Poplar. 249-4690; 7164 Hacks Cross (Olive Branch). 662-8909312; 2200 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 425-4901. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE SEAR SHACK BURGERS & FRIES— Serving Angus burgers, fries, and hand-spun milkshakes. Closed Mon. 875 W. Poplar, Suite 6. 861-4100; 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 103. 567-4909. L, D, X, $ STIX—Hibachi steakhouse with Asian cuisine features steak, chicken, and a fillet and lobster combination, also sushi. A specialty is Dynamite Chicken with fried rice. 4680 Merchants Park Circle, Avenue Carriage Crossing. 854-3399. L, D, X, $-$$
CORDOVA BOMBAY HOUSE—Indian fare includes lamb korma and chicken tikka; also, a daily luncheon buffet. 1727 N. Germantown Pkwy. 755-4114. L, D, X, $-$$ THE BUTCHER SHOP—Serves steaks ranging from 8-oz. fillets to a 20-oz. porterhouse; also chicken, pork chops, fresh seafood. 107 S. Germantown Rd. 757-4244. L (Fri. and Sun.), D, X, $$-$$$ FOX RIDGE PIZZA—Pizzas, calzones, sub sandwiches, burgers, and meat-and-two plate lunches are among the dishes served at this eatery, which opened in 1979. 1769 N. Germantown Pkwy. 758-6500. L, D, X, $ G. ALSTON—Food Network Star finalist and owner Chef Aryen Moore-Alston serves New Southern cuisine at this fine dining establishment. Shrimp beignets are among the appetizers, and entrees include Sous Vide Rosemary Lavender Lamb and Sauteed Scottish Salmon. 8556 Macon. 748-5583. Closed Mon. D, SB, X, $$-$$$ GREEN BAMBOO—Pineapple tilapia, pork vermicelli, and the soft egg noodle combo are Vietnamese specialties here. 990 N. Germantown Parkway, #104. 753-5488. L, D, $-$$
KING JERRY LAWLER’S MEMPHIS BBQ COMPANY—Offers a variety of barbecue dishes, including brisket, ribs, nachos topped with smoked pork, and a selection of barbecue “Slamwiches.” 465 N. Germantown Pkwy., #116. 509-2360. L, D, X, $ JIM ’N NICK’S BAR-B-Q—Serves barbecued pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, and fish, along with other homemade Southern specialties. 2359 N. Germantown Pkwy. 388-0998. L, D, X, $-$$ MISTER B’S—Features New Orleans-style seafood and steaks. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. and Mon. 6655 Poplar, #107. 751-5262. L, D, X, $-$$$ PRESENTATION ROOM, THE—American bistro run by the students of L’Ecole Culinaire. Menu changes regularly; specialties may include such items as a filet with truffle mushroom ragu. Service times vary; call for details. Closed Fri.-Sun. 1245 N. Germantown Pkwy. 754-7115. L, D, X, $-$$ ON THE BORDER—Dishes out such Tex-Mex specialties as fajitas and Southwest chicken tacos; also fresh grilled seafood specials. 8101 Giacosa Pl .881-0808; 6572 Airways (Southaven). 662-655-4750. L, D, WB, X, $ SHOGUN JAPANESE RESTAURANT—Entrees include tempura, teriyaki, and sushi, as well as grilled fish and chicken entrees. 2324 N. Germantown Pkwy. 384-4122. L, D, X, $-$$ TANNOOR GRILL—Brazilian-style steakhouse with skewers served tableside, along with Middle Eastern specialties; vegetarian options also available. 830 N. Germantown Pkwy. 443-5222. L, D, X, $-$$$
EAST MEMPHIS
(INCLUDES POPLAR/ I-240) ACRE—Features seasonal modern American cuisine in an avante-garde setting using locally sourced products; also small-plates and iconic bar. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 690 S. Perkins. 818-2273. L, D, X, $$-$$$ AGAVOS COCINA & TEQUILA—Camaron de Tequila, tamales, kabobs, and burgers made with a blend of beef and chorizo are among the offerings at this tequila-centric restaurant and bar. 2924 Walnut Grove. 433-9345. L, D, X, $-$$ AMERIGO—Traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine includes pasta, wood-fired pizza, steaks, and cedarwood-roasted fish. 1239 Ridgeway, Park Place Mall. 761-4000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN— Traditional Italian cuisine with a menu from two of the city’s top chefs that changes seasonally with such entrees as Maw Maw’s ravioli. Closed Sun.-Mon. 712 W. Brookhaven Cl. 347-3569. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE—Offering several varieties of eggs benedict, waffles, omelets, pancakes, beignets, and other breakfast fare; also burgers, sandwiches, and salads. 6063 Park Ave. 729-7020; 65 S. Highland. 623-7122. B, L, WB, X, $ BENIHANA—This Japanese steakhouse serves beef, chicken, and seafood grilled at the table; some menu items change monthly; sushi bar also featured. 912 Ridge Lake. 767-8980. L, D, X, $$-$$$ BLUE PLATE CAFÉ — For breakfast, the café’s serves old-fashioned buttermilk pancakes (it’s a secret recipe!), country ham and eggs, and waffles with fresh strawberries and cream. For lunch, the café specializes in country cooking. 5469 Poplar. 761-9696; 113 S. Court. 523-2050. B, L, X, $ BRYANT’S BREAKFAST—Three-egg omelets, pancakes, and The Sampler Platter are among the popular entrees here. Possible the best biscuits in town. Closed Mon. and Tues. 3965 Summer. 324-7494. B, L, X, $ BUCKLEY’S FINE FILET GRILL—Specializes in steaks, seafood, and pasta. (Lunchbox serves entree salads, burgers, and more.) 5355 Poplar. 683-4538; 919 S. Yates (Buckley’s Lunchbox), 682-0570. L (Yates only, M-F), D, X, $-$$ BUNTYN CORNER CAFE—Serving favorites from Buntyn Restaurant, including chicken and dressing, cobbler, and yeast rolls. 5050 Poplar, Suite 107. 424-3286. B, L, X, $ CAPITAL GRILLE—Known for its dry-aged, hand-carved steaks; among the specialties are bone-in sirloin, and F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 89
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CIT Y DINING LIST
Memor a ble Memphia ns illustration by chris honeysuckle ellis
Justine Smith
I
1913-2004
don’t remember what I ordered on my one and only visit to Justine’s, the New Orleans-style French restaurant housed for almost 40 years in the extraordinary AndersonCoward House at 990 Coward Place, just off Crump Boulevard in the shadows of Elmwood Cemetary. It was 1992, I was 23 years old, and dining beyond my reach. I had a girlfriend from New England to impress, so my father (a native Memphian) insisted I take her and a friend to Justine’s. Twenty-six years later, the outing stands out, and that girlfriend is my wife. The elegance of Justine’s had everything to do with its eponymous owner, Justine Smith, who opened the restaurant in 1958, ten years after the original Justine’s had made its debut on Beale Street. The pink stucco and white marble steps made the establishment’s exterior part of the grand experience. A night at Justine’s was, indeed, an outing. “Aside from the sheer pomp and circumstance of the place, Justine’s food is the real attraction,” wrote reviewer Tom Martin in this magazine’s July 1983 issue. “The menu is probably the most extensive in town; one could eat for weeks on end without duplicating a dinner.” Just as there was no duplicating Justine Smith. —Frank Murtaugh
porcini-rubbed Delmonico; also seafood entrees and seasonal lunch plates. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. Crescent Center, 6065 Poplar. 683-9291. L, D, X, $$$-$$$$ CASABLANCA—Lamb shawarma is one of the fresh, homemade specialties served at this Mediterranean/Moroccan restaurant; fish entrees and vegetarian options also available. 1707 Madison. 421-6949; 5030 Poplar. 725-8557 ; 7609 Poplar Pike (Germantown). 425-5908. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BELLA—Among the Italian and Greek specialties are lasagna, seafood pasta, gourmet pizzas, and vegetarian options. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 565 Erin Dr., Erin Way Shopping Center. 205-2500. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CITY SILO TABLE + PANTRY—With a focus on clean eating, this establishment offers fresh juices, as well as comfort foods re-imagined with wholesome ingredients. 5101 Sanderlin. 729-7687. B, L, D, X, $ CORKY’S—Popular barbecue emporium offers both wet and dry ribs, plus a full menu of other barbecue entrees. Wed. lunch buffets, Cordova and Collierville. 5259 Poplar. 685-9744; 1740 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 737-1911; 743 W. Poplar (Collierville). 405-4999; 6434 Goodman Rd., Olive Branch. 662893-3663. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ ERLING JENSEN—For over 20 years, has presented “globally inspired” cuisine to die for. Specialties are rack of lamb, big game entrees, and fresh fish dishes. 1044 S. Yates. 763-3700. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE—Serves wet-aged and dry-aged steaks, prime beef, chops, and seafood, including salmon, Australian lobster tails, and a catch of the day. 6245 Poplar. 761-6200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$
FOLK’S FOLLY ORIGINAL PRIME STEAK HOUSE—Specializes in prime steaks, as well as lobster, grilled Scottish salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, rack of lamb, and weekly specials. Now celebrating their 40th year. 551 S. Mendenhall. 762-8200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FORMOSA—Offers Mandarin cuisine, including broccoli beef, hot-and-sour soup, and spring rolls. Closed Monday. 6685 Quince. 753-9898. L, D, X, $-$$ FRATELLI’S—Serves hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts, all with an Italian/Mediterranean flair. Closed Sunday. 750 Cherry Rd., Memphis Botanic Garden. 766-9900. L, X, $ FRANK GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT— Northern Italian favorites include pasta with jumbo shrimp and mushrooms; also seafood, fillet mignon, and daily lunch specials. Closed for lunch Sunday. Embassy Suites Hotel, 1022 S. Shady Grove. 761-9462. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE GROVE GRILL—Offers steaks, chops, seafood, and other American cuisine with Southern and global influences; entrees include crab cakes, and shrimp and grits, also dinner specials. Founder Jeff Dunham’s son Chip is now chef de cuisine. 4550 Poplar. 818-9951. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $$-$$$ HALF SHELL—Specializes in seafood, such as King crab legs; also serves steaks, chicken, pastas, salads, sandwiches, a ”voodoo menu”; oyster bar at Winchester location. 688 S. Mendenhall. 682-3966; 7825 Winchester. 737-6755. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$
HERITAGE TAVERN & KITCHEN—Featuring classic cuisine from the country’s five regions, including lobster rolls, fried chicken, smoked tamales, Green Goddess shrimp, and more. 6150 Poplar, Regalia. 761-8855.L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HIGH POINT PIZZA—Serves variety of pizzas, subs, salads, and sides. Closed Monday. A neighborhood fixture. 477 High Point Terrace. 452-3339. L, D, X, $-$$ HOG & HOMINY—The casual sister to Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen serves brick-oven-baked pizzas, including the Red-Eye with pork belly, and small plates with everything from meatballs to beef and cheddar hot dogs; and local veggies. Closed for lunch Mon. 707 W. Brookhaven Cl. 2077396. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HOUSTON’S—Serves steaks, seafood, pork chops, chicken dishes, sandwiches, salads, and Chicago-style spinach dip. Farmous for first-class service. 5000 Poplar. 683-0915. L, D, X $-$$$ INTERIM—Offers American-seasonal cuisine with emphasis on local foods and fresh fish; macaroni and cheese is a house specialty. Closed for lunch Sat. 5040 Sanderlin, Suite 105. 818-0821. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ THE KITCHEN BISTRO—Tomato soup, pan-roasted ribeye, sticky toffee pudding, and dishes made using in-season fruits and veggies are served at this establishment at Shelby Farms Park. 415 Great View Drive E., Suite 101. 729-9009. L, D, X, $-$$ LA BAGUETTE—An almond croissant and chicken salad are among specialties at this French-style bistro. Closed for dinner Sun. 3088 Poplar. 458-0900. B, L, D (closes at 7), X, MRA, $ LAS DELICIAS—Popular for its guacamole, house-made tortilla chips, and margaritas, this restaurant draws diners with its chicken enchiladas, meat-stuffed flautas, and Cuban torta with spicy pork. Closed Sunday. 4002 Park Ave. 458-9264; 5689 Quince. 800-2873. L, D, X, $ LIBRO AT LAURELWOOD—Bookstore eatery features a variety of sandwiches, salads, and homemade pasta dishes, with Italian-inspired options such as carbonara and potato gnocchi. Closed for dinner Sun. 387 Perkins Ext. (Novel). 800-2656. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$ LISA’S LUNCHBOX—Serving bagels, sandwiches, salads, and wraps. 5030 Poplar, 761-4044; 5885 Ridgeway Center Pkwy., Suite 101. 767-6465; 2659 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 1200; 2525 Central (Children’s Museum); 166 S. Front. 729-7277. B, L, $ LOST PIZZA—Offering pizzas (with dough made from scratch), pasta, salads, sandwiches, tamales, and more. 2855 Poplar. 5721803; 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-892-8684. L, D, X, $-$$ LYNCHBURG LEGENDS—This restaurant with a Jack Daniels’ theme and Southern cuisine serves such entrees as Bourbon Street salmon, buttermilk-fried chicken, and grilled steak and wild mushroom salad. DoubleTree Hotel, 5069 Sanderlin. 969-7777. B, L, D, X, $- $$$ MARCIANO MEDITERRANEAN AND ITALIAN CUISINE—Veal Saltimbocca with angel hair pasta and white wine sauce is among the entrees; also steaks, seafood, and gourmet pizza. Closed Sun. 780 Brookhaven Cl. 682-1660. D, X, $-$$ DAN MCGUINNESS PUB—Serves fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, burgers, and other Irish and American fare; also lunch and dinner specials. 4694 Spottswood. 761-3711; 3964 Goodman Rd. 662-890-7611. L, D, X, $ MAYURI INDIAN CUISINE—Serves tandoori chicken, masala dosa, tikka masala, as well as lamb and shrimp entrees; also a daily lunch buffet, and dinner buffet on Fri.-Sat. 6524 Quince Rd. 753-8755. L, D, X, $-$$ MELLOW MUSHROOM—Large menu includes assortment of pizzas, salads, calzones, hoagies, vegetarian options, and 50 beers on tap. 5138 Park Ave. 562-12119155 Poplar; Shops of Forest Hill (Germantown). 907-0243. L, D, X, $-$$ MOSA ASIAN BISTRO—Specialties include sesame chicken, Thai calamari, rainbow panang curry with grouper fish, and other Pan Asian/fusion entrees. Closed Mon. 850 S. White Station Rd. 683-8889. L, D, X, MRA, $ NAM KING—Offers luncheon and dinner buffets, dim sum, and such specialties as fried dumplings, pepper steak, and orange chicken. 4594 Yale. 373-4411. L, D, X, $ NAPA CAFE—Among the specialties is miso-marinated salmon over black rice with garlic spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Closed Sun. 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 122. 683-0441. L, D, X, $$-$$$
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CIT Y DINING LIST NEW HUNAN—Chinese eatery with more than 80 entrees; also lunch/dinner buffets. 5052 Park. 766-1622. L, D, X, $ OLD VENICE PIZZA CO.—Specializes in “eclectic Italian,” from pastas, including the “Godfather,” to hand-tossed pizzas, including the “John Wayne”; choose from 60 toppings. 368 Perkins Ext. 767-6872. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ ONE & ONLY BBQ—On the menu are pork barbecue sandwiches, platters, wet and dry ribs, smoked chicken and turkey platters, a smoked meat salad, barbecue quesadillas, and more. New on the BBQ scene, but worth a visit. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 751-3615; 567 Perkins Extd. 249-4227. L, D, X, $ ONO POKÉ—This eatery specializes in poké — a Hawaiian dish of fresh fish salad served over rice. Menu includes a variety of poké bowls, like the Kimchi Tuna bowl, or customers can build their own by choosing a base, protein, veggies, and toppings. 3145 Poplar. 618-2955. L, D, X, $ OWEN BRENNAN’S—New Orleans-style menu of beef, chicken, pasta, and seafood; jambalaya, shrimp and grits, and crawfish etouffee are specialties. Closed for dinner Sunday. The Regalia, 6150 Poplar. 761-0990. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PARK + CHERRY—Partnering with CFY Catering, the Dixon offers casual dining within the museum. Menu features sandwiches, like truffled pimento cheese, as well as salads, snacks, and sweets. Closed for breakfast Sun. and all day Mon. 4339 Park (Dixon Gallery). 761-5250. L, X, $ PETE & SAM’S—Serving Memphis for 60-plus years; offers steaks, seafood, and traditional Italian dishes, including homemade ravioli, lasagna, and chicken marsala. 3886 Park. 458-0694. D, X, $-$$$ PF CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO—Specialties are orange peel shrimp, Mongolian beef, and chicken in lettuce wraps; also vegetarian dishes, including spicy eggplant. 1181 Ridgeway Rd., Park Place Centre. 818-3889. L, D, X, $-$$ PHO SAIGON—Vietnamese fare includes beef teriyaki, roasted quail, curry ginger chicken, vegetarian options, and a variety of soups. 2946 Poplar. 458-1644. L, D, $ PORCELLINO’S CRAFT BUTCHER—Small plates, charcuterie selections, specialty steaks, house-made pastries, and innovative teas and coffees are offered at this combination butcher shop and restaurant featuring locally sourced menu items. Restaurant open for breakfast and lunch. Butcher shop open until 6 p.m. 711 W. Brookhaven Cl. 762-6656. B, L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ PYRO’S FIRE-FRESH PIZZA—Serving gourmet pizzas cooked in an open-fire oven; wide choice of toppings; large local and craft beer selection. 1199 Ridgeway. 379-8294; 2035 Union Ave. 208-8857; 2286 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 207-1198; 3592 S. Houston Levee (Collierville). 221-8109. L, D, X, $ RIVER OAKS—Chef Jose Gutierrez’s French-style bistro serves seafood and steaks, with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 5871 Poplar Ave. 683-9305. L, D, X, $$$ RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE—Offers prime steaks cut and aged in-house, as well as lamb, chicken, and fresh seafood, including lobster. 6120 Poplar. 761-0055. D, X, $$$-$$$$ SALSA—Mexican-Southern California specialties include carnitas, enchiladas verde, and fajitas; also Southwestern seafood dishes such as snapper verde. Closed Sun. Regalia Shopping Center, 6150 Poplar, Suite 129. 683-6325. L, D, X, $-$$ SEASONS 52—This elegant fresh grill and wine bar offers a seasonally changing menu using fresh ingredients, wood-fire grilling, and brick-oven cooking; also a large international wine list and nightly piano bar. Crescent Center, 6085 Poplar. 682-9952. L, D, X, $$-$$$ STAKS— Offering pancakes, including Birthday Cake and lemon ricotta. Menu includes other breakfast items such as beignets and French toast, as well as soups and sandwiches for lunch. 4615 Poplar. 509-2367. B, L, WB, X, $ SUSHI JIMMI—This food truck turned restaurant serves a variety of sushi rolls, fusion dishes — such as kimchi fries — and sushi burritos. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Mon. 2895 Poplar. 729-6985. L, D, X, $ SWEET POTATO BABY CAFE—The Eggplant Parmesan panini and mac and cheese hushpuppies are among popular dishes offered. Menu includes a variety of desserts, including
Westy’s
DELICIOUS! Open: 10am-3am every day Delivery: 11am-2pm / 5pm-2am 346 North Main, Memphis, TN 38103 (on the trolley line) 901-543-3278 • www.westysmemphis.com
MIDSOUTH MARKETPLACE s
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CIT Y DINING LIST Sweet Potato Baby Cake. Closed Sat.-Sun. 1005 Tillman. 6081742. L, D, X, $ TENNESSEE TACO CO.—From the creators of Belly Acres, offers such appetizers as crawfish and chorizo mac-n-cheese and homemade guacamole and specializes in street tacos. 3295 Poplar. 207-1960. L, D, X, $ THREE LITTLE PIGS—Pork-shoulder-style barbecue with tangy mild or hot sauce, freshly made coleslaw, and baked beans. 5145 Quince Rd. 685-7094. B, L, D, X, $ TOPS BAR-B-Q—Specializes in pork barbecue sandwiches and sandwich plates with beans and slaw; also serves ribs, beef brisket, and burgers. 1286 Union. 725-7527. 4183 Summer. 3244325; 5391 Winchester. 794-7936; 3970 Rhodes. 323-9865; 6130 Macon. 371-0580. For more locations, go online. L, D, X, $ WANG’S MANDARIN HOUSE—Offers Mandarin, Cantonese, Szechuan, and spicy Hunan entrees, including the golden-sesame chicken; next door is East Tapas, serving small plates with an Asian twist. 6065 Park Ave., Park Place Mall. 763-0676. L, D, X, $-$$ WASABI—Serving traditional Japanese offerings, hibachi, sashimi, and sushi. The Sweet Heart roll, wrapped — in the shape of a heart — with tuna and filled with spicy salmon, yellowtail, and avocado, is a specialty. 5101 Sanderlin Rd., Suite 105. 421-6399. L, D, X, $-$$ WOMAN’S EXCHANGE TEA ROOM—Chicken-salad plate, beef tenderloin, soups-and-sandwiches, and vegetable plates are specialties; meal includes drink and dessert. Closed Sat.-Sun. 88 Racine. 327-5681. L, X, $ ZAKA BOWL—This vegan-friendly restaurant serves buildyour-own vegetable bowls featuring ingredients such as agave Brussels sprouts and roasted beets. Also serves tuna poke and herbed chicken bowls. 575 Erin. 509-3105. L, D, $
GERMANTOWN BLUE HONEY BISTRO—Entrees at this upscale eatery include brown butter scallops served with Mississippi blue rice and herb-crusted beef tenderloin with vegetables and truffle butter. Closed Sun. 9155 Poplar, Suite 17. 552-3041. D, X, $-$$$ BROOKLYN BRIDGE ITALIAN RESTAURANT— Specializing in such homemade entrees as spinach lasagna and lobster ravioli; a seafood specialty is horseradish-crusted salmon. Closed Sun. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 755-7413. D, X, $-$$$ FOREST HILL GRILL—A variety of standard pub fare and a selection of mac ‘n’ cheese dishes are featured on the menu. Specialties include Chicken Newport and a barbecue salmon BLT. 9102 Poplar Pike. 624-6001. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches; Mon.-night all-youcan-eat ribs. 2290 S. Germantown Rd. S. 754-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA— Authentic Mexican food prepared from local food sources; specializes in tortugas — grilled bread scooped out to hold such powerfully popular fillings as brisket, pork, and shrimp; also tingas, tostados. Closed Sunday. 1215 S. Germantown Rd. 751-1200; 6300 Poplar. 623-3882. L, D, X, $-$$ MISTER B’S—Features New Orleans-style seafood and steaks. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. and Mon. 6655 Poplar, #107. 751-5262. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE PASTA MAKER RESTAURANT—This Italian eatery specializes in artisanal pasta. Entrées include Spaghetti allo scoglio, Penne Boscaiola, and Fusilli Primavera. Gluten-free options available. Restaurant closed Mon. and Sun. (cooking classes by reservation Sun.). 2095 Exeter, Suite 30. 779-3928. L (Thurs. only), D, X, $-$$ PETRA CAFÉ—Serves Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern sandwiches, gyros, and entrees. Hours vary; call. 6641 Poplar. 754-4440; 547 S. Highland. 323-3050. L, D, X, $-$$ PIZZA REV—Specializes in build-your-own, personal-sized artisanal pizza. Choose from homemade dough options, all-natural sauces, Italian cheeses, and more than 30 toppings. 6450 Poplar. 379-8188. L, D, X, MRA, $
RED KOI—Classic Japanese cuisine offered at this family-run restaurant; hibachi steaks, sushi, seafood, chicken, and vegetables. 5847 Poplar. 767-3456. L, D, X $-$$ ROYAL PANDA—Hunan fish, Peking duck, Royal Panda chicken and shrimp, and a seafood combo are among the specialties. 3120 Village Shops Dr. 756-9697. L, D, X, $-$$ RUSSO’S NEW YORK PIZZERIA AND WINE BAR—Serves gourmet pizzas, calzones, and pasta, including lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, scampi, and more. 9087 Poplar, Suite 111. 755-0092. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SAKURA—Sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are Japanese specialties here. 2060 West St. 758-8181; 4840 Poplar. 572-1002. L, D, X, $-$$ SOUTHERN SOCIAL—Shrimp and grits, stuffed quail, and Aunt Thelma’s Fried Chicken are among the dishes served at this upscale Southern establishment. 2285 S. Germantown Rd. 754-5555. D, SB, X, $-$$$ WEST STREET DINER—This home-style eatery offers breakfast, burgers, po’boys, and more. 2076 West St. 757-2191. B, L, D (Mon.-Fri.), X, $
MIDTOWN (INCLUDES THE MEDICAL CENTER) ABYSSINIA RESTAURANT—Ethiopian/Mediterranean menu includes beef, chicken, lamb, fish entrees, and vegetarian dishes; also a lunch buffet. 2600 Poplar. 321-0082. L, D, X, $-$$ ALCHEMY—Southern fusion, locally grown cuisine features small and large plates; among the offerings are pan-seared hanger steak, quail, and lamb chops; also handcrafted cocktails and local craft beers. 940 S. Cooper. 726-4444. D, SB, X, $-$$ BABALU TACOS & TAPAS—This Overton Square eatery dishes up Spanish-style tapas with Southern flair; also taco and enchilada of the day; specials change daily. 2115 Madison. 274-0100; 6450 Poplar, 410-8909. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ BAR DKDC—Features an ever-changing menu of international “street food,” from Thai to Mexican, Israeli to Indian, along with specialty cocktails. 964 S. Cooper. 272-0830. D, X, MRA, $ BAR-B-Q SHOP—Dishes up barbecued ribs, spaghetti, bologna; also pulled pork shoulder, Texas toast barbecue sandwich, chicken sandwich, and salads. Closed Sun. 1782 Madison. 272-1277. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ BARI RISTORANTE ENOTECA—Authentic Southeastern Italian cuisine (Puglia) emphasizes lighter entrees. Serves fresh fish and beef dishes and a homemade soup of the day. 22 S. Cooper. 722-2244. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BARKSDALE RESTAURANT—Old-school diner serving breakfast and Southern plate lunches. 237 Cooper. 722-2193. B, L, D, X, $ BAYOU BAR & GRILL—New Orleans fare at this Overton Square eatery includes jambalaya, gumbo, catfish Acadian, shrimp dishes, red beans and rice, and muffalettas. 2094 Madison. 278-8626. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ BEAUTY SHOP—Modern American cuisine with international flair served in a former beauty shop. Serves steaks salads, pasta, and seafood, including pecan-crusted golden sea bass. Perennial “Best Brunch” winner. Closed for dinner Sunday. 966 S. Cooper. 272-7111. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BELLY ACRES—At this festive Overton Square eatery, milkshakes, floats, and burgers rule. Burgers are updated with contemporary toppings like grilled leeks, braised tomatoes, and sourdough or brioche buns. 2102 Trimble Pl. 529-7017. L, D, X, $ BHAN THAI—Authentic Thai cuisine includes curries, pad Thai noodles, and vegetarian dishes, as well as seafood, pork, and duck entrees. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. and all day Mon. 1324 Peabody. 272-1538. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ BLUE NILE ETHIOPIAN—Kabobs, flavorful chicken and lamb stew, and injera (flatbread) are traditional items on the menu, along with vegetarian options. 1788 Madison. 474-7214. L, D, X, $-$$
BOSCOS—Tennessee’s first craft brewery serves a variety of freshly brewed beers as well as wood-fired oven pizzas, pasta, seafood, steaks, and sandwiches. 2120 Madison. 432-2222. L, D, SB (with live jazz), X, MRA, $-$$ BOUNTY ON BROAD—Offering family-style dining, Bounty serves small plates and family-sized platters, with such specialties as chicken fried quail and braised pork shank. 2519 Broad. 410-8131. L (Sat. and Sun.), D (Mon.-Sat.), SB, X, $-$$$ BROADWAY PIZZA—Serving a variety of pizzas, including the Broadway Special, as well as sandwiches, salads, wings, and soul-food specials. 2581 Broad. 454-7930; 627 S. Mendenhall. 207-1546. L, D, X, $-$$ CAFE 1912—French/American bistro owned by culinary pioneer Glenn Hays serving such seafood entrees as grouper and steamed mussels; also crepes, salads, and French onion soup. 243 S. Cooper. 722-2700. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ CAFE BROOKS BY PARADOX—Serving grab-and-go pastries, as well as lunch items. Menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches, such as the Modern Reuben and Grown Up Grilled Cheese. 1934 Poplar (Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). 544-6200. B, L, X, $ CAFE ECLECTIC—Omelets and chicken and waffles are among menu items, along with quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. Menu varies by location. 603 N. McLean. 725-1718; 111 Harbor Town Square. 590-4645; 510 S. Highland. 410-0765. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $ CAFE OLE—This eatery specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine; one specialty is the build-your-own quesadilla. 959 S. Cooper. 343-0103. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ CAFE PALLADIO—Serves gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches, and desserts in a tea room inside the antiques shop. Closed Sun. 2169 Central. 278-0129. L, X, $ CAFE SOCIETY—With Belgian and classic French influences, serves Wagyu beef, chicken, and seafood dishes, including bacon-wrapped shrimp, along with daily specials and vegetarian entrees. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 212 N. Evergreen. 722-2177. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ CANVAS—An “interactive art bar” serving salads, sandwiches, and flatbreads. 1737 Madison. 619-5303. D, $ CELTIC CROSSING—Specializes in Irish and American pub fare. Entrees include shepherd’s pie, shrimp and sausage coddle, and fish and chips. 903 S. Cooper. 274-5151. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ CENTRAL BBQ—Serves ribs, smoked hot wings, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken, turkey, nachos, and portobello sandwiches. Offers both pork and beef barbecue. 2249 Central Ave. 272-9377; 4375 Summer Ave. 7674672; 147 E. Butler. 672-7760. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ CHEF TAM’S UNDERGROUND CAFE— Serves Southern staples with a Cajun twist. Menu items include totchos, jerk wings, fried chicken, and “muddy” mac and cheese. Closed Sun. and Mon. 2299 Young. 207-6182. L, D, $ THE COVE—Nautical-themed restaurant and bar serving oysters, pizzas, and more. The Stoner Pie, with tamales and fritos, is a popular dish. 2559 Broad. 730-0719. L, D, $ THE CRAZY NOODLE—Korean noodle dishes range from bibam beef noodle with cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables, to curry chicken noodle; also rice cakes served in a flavorful sauce. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 2015 Madison. 272-0928. L, D, X, $ ECCO—Mediterranean-inspired specialties range from rib-eye steak to seared scallops to housemade pastas and a grilled vegetable plate; also a Saturday brunch. Closed Sun.-Mon. 1585 Overton Park. 410-8200. L, D, X, $-$$ FRIDA’S—Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex standards, including chimichangas, enchiladas, and fajitas; seafood includes shrimp and tilapia. 1718 Madison. 244-6196. L, D, X, $-$$ FUEL CAFE—Focus is on natural dishes with such specialties as bison burgers, quinoa chili, and tacos; also vegan and gluten-free options. Closed Sun.-Mon. 1761 Madison. 725-9025. L, D, X, $-$$
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CIT Y DINING LIST GOLDEN INDIA—Northern Indian specialties include tandoori chicken as well as lamb, beef, shrimp, and vegetarian dishes. 2097 Madison. 728-5111. L, D, X, $-$$ GROWLERS—Sports bar and eatery serves standard bar fare in addition to a pasta, tacos, chicken and waffles, and light options. 1911 Poplar. 244-7904. L, D, X, $-$$ HM DESSERT LOUNGE—Serving cake, pie, and other desserts, as well as a selection of savory dishes, including meatloaf and mashed potato “cupcakes.” Closed Monday. 1586 Madison. 290-2099. L, D, X, $ IMAGINE VEGAN CAFE—Dishes at this fully vegan restaurant range from salads and sandwiches to full dinners, including eggplant parmesan and “beef” tips and rice; breakfast all day Sat. and Sun. 2158 Young. 654-3455. L, D, WB, X, $ INDIA PALACE—Tandoori chicken, lamb shish kabobs, and chicken tikka masala are among the entrees; also, vegetarian options and a daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. 1720 Poplar. 278-1199. L, D, X, $-$$ JASMINE THAI AND VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT—Entrees include panang chicken, green curry shrimp, and pad thai (noodles, shrimp, and peanuts); also vegetarian dishes. Closed Mon.-Tues. 916 S. Cooper. 725-0223. L, D, X, $ LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM—Serves such Southern cuisine as po boys and shrimp and grits, and wood-fired pizzas. 2119 Madison. 207-5097. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ LBOE—Gourmet burger joint serves locally sourced ground beef burgers, with options like the Mac-N-Cheese Burger and Caprese. Black bean and turkey patties available. 2021 Madison. 725-0770. L, D, X, $ THE LIQUOR STORE—Renovated liquor store turned diner serves all-day breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees such as Salisbury steak and smothered pork chops. Closed for dinner Sun.-Mon. 2655 Broad. 405-5477. B, L, D, X, $-$$ LITTLE ITALY—Serving New York-style pizza as well as subs and pasta dishes. 1495 Union. 725-0280, L, D, X, $-$$ LUCKY CAT RAMEN—Specializes in gourmet ramen bowls, such as Bacon Collards Ramen, made with rich broth. Bao, steamed buns filled with various meats and veggies, also grace the menu. 247 S. Cooper. 6338296. L, D, X, $-$$ MAMA GAIA—Greek-inspired dishes at this vegetarian eatery include pitas, “petitzzas,” and quinoa bowls. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 137. 203-3838; 2144 Madison. 214-2449. B, L, D, X, $-$$ MARDI GRAS MEMPHIS—Serving Cajun fare, including an etouffee-stuffed po’boy. Closed Mon. 496 Watkins. 530-6767. L, D, X, $-$$ MAXIMO’S ON BROAD—Serving a tapas menu that features creative fusion cuisine; entrees include veggie paella and fish of the day. Closed Mon. 2617 Broad Ave. 452-1111. D, SB, X, $-$$ MEMPHIS PIZZA CAFE—Homemade pizzas are specialties; also serves sandwiches, calzones, and salads. 2087 Madison. 726-5343; 5061 Park Ave. 684-1306; 7604 W. Farmington (Germantown). 753-2218; 797 W. Poplar (Collierville). 861-7800; 5627 Getwell (Southaven). 662-5361364. L, D, X, $-$$ MOLLY’S LA CASITA—Homemade tamales, fish tacos, a vegetarian combo, and bacon-wrapped shrimp are a few of the specialties. 2006 Madison. 726-1873. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ NEXT DOOR AMERICAN EATERY—The Kitchen’s sister restaurant serves dishes sourced from American farms. Menu features chorizo bacon dates, spicy gulf shrimp, and dry-aged beef burgers. 1350 Concourse Avenue Suite 165. 779-1512. L, D, X, $ ONIX RESTAURANT—Serves seafood dishes, including barbecued shrimp and pecan-crusted trout, and a variety of salads and sandwiches. Closed Sun. 1680 Madison. 552-4609. L, D, X, $-$$ PAYNE’S BAR-B-QUE—Opened in 1972, this family owned barbecue joint serves ribs, smoked sausage, and chopped pork sandwiches with a standout mustard slaw and homemade sauce. About as down-to-earth as it gets. 1762 Lamar. 272-1523. L, D, $-$$
in 1977
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ORIGINAL
ENJOY MEMPHIS’ MOST ROMANTIC RESTAURANT — DOWN BY THE RIVER. JOIN US!
SERVING BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER 365 DAYS A YEAR & WEEKEND BRUNCH 50 Harbor Town Square • 901-260-3300 • paulettes.net F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 93
CIT Y DINING LIST PEI WEI ASIAN DINER—Serves a variety of Pan-Asian cuisine, including Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Thai. Noodle and rice bowls are specialties; a small plates menu also offered. 1680 Union Ave., #109. 722-3780; 2257 N. Germantown Pkwy. 382-1822. L, D, X, $-$$ PHO BINH—Vietnamese, vegetarian, and Cantonese specialties include lemon tofu and spring rolls. Closed Sunday. 1615 Madison. 276-0006. L, D, $ RAILGARTEN—Located in a former rail station space, this eatery offers breakfast items, a variety of salads and sandwiches, and such entrees as short rib mac-and-cheese and fish tacos. Also serves shakes, malts, floats, and cream sodas. 2166 Central. 231-5043. B, L, D, $-$$ RED FISH ASIAN BISTRO—From the former 19th Century Club building, serves sushi, teriyaki, and hibachi. Specialities include yuzu filet mignon and Chilean seabass. 1433 Union. 454-3926; 9915 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 729-7581; 6518 Goodman (Olive Branch). 662-8745254. L, D, X, $-$$$ RESTAURANT IRIS—French Creole cuisine includes shrimp and delta-grind grits, and New York strip stuffed with fried oysters. Chef Kelly English is a Food and Wine “Top Ten.” Closed Sun. 2146 Monroe. 590-2828. D, X, $$-$$$ ROBATA RAMEN & YAKITORI BAR—Serves ramen noodle bowls and Yakitori skewers as well as rice and noodle dishes. 2116 Madison. 410-8290. L, D, X, $ THE SECOND LINE—Kelly English brings “relaxed Creole cuisine” to his newest eatery; serves a variety of po-boys and such specialties as barbecue shrimp, and andouille, shrimp, and pimento cheese fries. 2144 Monroe. 590-2829. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SEKISUI—Japanese fusion cuisine, fresh sushi bar, grilled meats and seafood, California rolls, and vegetarian entrees. Poplar/Perkins location’s emphasis is on Pacific Rim cuisine. Menu and hours vary at each location. 25 Belvedere. 725-0005; 1884 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 309-8800; 4724 Poplar (between Perkins & Colonial). 767-7770; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-0622; 2990 Kirby-Whitten (Bartlett). 377-2727; 6696 Poplar. 747-0001. L, D, X, $-$$$ STANLEY BAR-B-QUE—Serving a variety of barbecue dishes and smoked meats, as well as burgers, sauerkraut balls, and pretzels with beer cheese. 2110 Madison. 347-3060. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ STONE SOUP CAFE—Cooper-Young eatery serving soups, salads, quiche, meat-and-two specials; and daily specials such as Italian roast beef. Closed Monday. 993 S. Cooper. 922-5314. B, L, SB, X, $ STRANO SICILIAN KITCHEN & BAR— Presenting a Sicilian/Mediterranean mix of Arab, Spanish, Greek, and North African fare, Strano serves small plates, wood-grilled fish, and hand-tossed pizzas such as the King Alaska, with salmon and chevre. Closed Mon. 948 S. Cooper. 275-8986. L, D, WB, X, $$-$$$ SOUL FISH CAFE—Serving Southern-style soul food, tacos, and Po Boys, including catfish, crawfish, oyster, shrimp, chicken and smoked pork tenderloin. 862 S. Cooper. 725-0722; 3160 Village Shops Dr. (Germantown). 755-6988; 4720 Poplar. 590-0323. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ SWEET GRASS—Chef Ryan Trimm takes Southern cuisine to a new level. Low-country coastal cuisine includes such specialties as shrimp and grits. Closed Mon. Restaurant’s “sister,” Sweet Grass Next Door, open nightly, serves lunch Sat.-Sun. 937 S. Cooper. 278-0278. D, SB, X, $-$$$ TART—Combination patisserie, coffeehouse, and restaurant serving rustic French specialties, including baked eggs in brioche, topped with Gruyere, and French breads and pastries. 820 S. Cooper. 725-0091; One Commerce Square. B, L, WB, X, $-$$ TROLLEY STOP MARKET—Serves plate lunches/dinners as well as pizzas, salads, and vegan/vegetarian entrees; a specialty is the locally raised beef burger. Also sells fresh produce and goods from local farmers; delivery available. Saturday brunch; closed Sunday. 704 Madison. 526-1361. L, D, X, $ TSUNAMI—Features Pacific Rim cuisine (Asia, Australia, South Pacific, etc.); also a changing “small plate” menu. Chef Ben Smith is a Cooper-Young pioneer. Specialties include Asian nachos and roasted sea bass. Closed Sunday. 928 S. Cooper. 274-2556. D, X, $$-$$$
SABROSURA—Serves Mexican and Cuban fare, including arroz tapada de pollo and steak Mexican. Closed Sun. 782 Washington. 421-8180. L, D, X, $-$$
SOUTH MEMPHIS (INCLUDES
PARKWAY VILLAGE, FOX MEADOWS, SOUTH MEMPHIS, WINCHESTER, AND WHITEHAVEN)
COLETTA’S—Longtime eatery serves such specialties as homemade ravioli, lasagna, and pizza with barbecue or traditional toppings. 1063 S. Parkway E. 948-7652; 2850 Appling Rd. (Bartlett). 383-1122. L, D, X, $-$$ CURRY BOWL—Specializes in Southern Indian cuisine, serving Tandoori chicken, biryani, tikka masala, and more. Weekend buffet. 4141 Hacks Cross. 207-6051. L, D, $ DELTA’S KITCHEN—The premier restaurant at The Guest House at Graceland serves Elvis-inspired dishes — like Nutella and Peanut Butter Crepes for breakfast — and upscale Southern cuisine — including lamb chops and shrimp and grits — for dinner. 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd. 443-3000. B, D, X, $-$$$ DWJ KOREAN BARBECUE—This authentic Korean eatery serves kimbap, barbecued beef short ribs, rice and noodles dishes, and hot pots and stews. 3750 Hacks Cross, Suite 101. 746-8057; 2156 Young. 207-6204. L, D, $-$$ THE FOUR WAY—Legendary soul-food establishment dishing up such entrees as fried and baked catfish, chicken, and turkey and dressing, along with a host of vegetables and desserts. Around the corner from the legendary Stax Studio. Closed Monday. 998 Mississippi Blvd. 507-1519. L, D, $ INTERSTATE BAR-B-Q—Specialties include chopped pork-shoulder sandwiches, ribs, hot wings, spaghetti, chicken, and turkey. 2265 S. Third. 775-2304; 150 W. Stateline Rd. (Southaven). 662-393-5699. L, D, X, $-$$ LEONARD’S—Serves wet and dry ribs, barbecue sandwiches, spaghetti, catfish, homemade onion rings, and lemon icebox pie; also a lunch buffet. 5465 Fox Plaza. 360-1963. L, X, $-$$ MARLOWE’S—In addition to its signature barbecue and ribs, Marlowe’s serves Southern-style steaks, chops, lasagne, and more. 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd. 332-4159. D, X, MRA, $-$$ UNCLE LOU’S FRIED CHICKEN—Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for good reason: fried chicken (mild, hot, or home-style); jumbo burgers four patties high; strawberry shortcake, and assorted fruit pies. 3633 Millbranch. 332-2367. L, D, X, MRA, $
SUMMER/BERCLAIR/ RALEIGH/BARTLETT ASIAN PALACE—Chinese eatery serves seafood, vegetarian items, dim sum, and more. 5266 Summer Ave. 766-0831. L, D, X, $-$$ ELWOOD’S—Casual comfort food includes tacos, pizza and sandwiches. Specialties include meats smoked in-house (chicken, turkey, brisket, pork), barbecue pizza and steelhead trout tacos. 4523 Summer. 761-9898. B, L, D, X, $ EXLINES’ BEST PIZZA—Serves pizza, Italian dinners, sandwiches, and salads. 6250 Stage Rd. 382-3433; 2935 Austin Peay. 388-4711; 2801 Kirby Parkway. 754-0202; 7730 Wolf River Blvd. (Germantown). 753-4545; 531 W. Stateline Rd. 662-3424544 (check online for additional locations). L, D, X, MRA, $ GRIDLEY’S—Offers barbecued ribs, shrimp, pork plate, chicken, and hot tamales; also daily lunch specials. Closed Tues. 6842 Stage Rd. 377-8055. L, D, X, $-$$ LA TAQUERIA GUADALUPANA—Fajitas and quesadillas are just a few of the authentic Mexican entrees offered here. A bona-fide Memphis institution. 4818 Summer. 685-6857; 5848 Winchester. 365-4992. L, D, $ LOTUS—Authentic Vietnamese-Asian fare, including lemon-grass chicken and shrimp, egg rolls, Pho soup, and spicy Vietnamese vermicelli. 4970 Summer. 6821151. D, X, $ MORTIMER’S—Contemporary American entrees include trout almondine, chicken dishes, and hand-cut
steaks; also sandwiches, salads, and daily/nightly specials. A Memphis landmark since the Knickerbocker closed. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 590 N. Perkins. 761-9321. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGASAKI INN—Chicken, steak, and lobster are among the main courses; meal is cooked at your table. 3951 Summer. 454-0320. D, X, $$ PANDA GARDEN—Sesame chicken and broccoli beef are among the Mandarin and Cantonese entrees; also seafood specials and fried rice. Closed for lunch Saturday. 3735 Summer. 323-4819. L, D, X, $-$$ QUEEN OF SHEBA—Featuring Middle Eastern favorites and Yemeni dishes such as lamb haneeth and saltah. 4792 Summer. 207-4174. L, D, $ SIDE PORCH STEAK HOUSE—In addition to steak, the menu includes chicken, pork chops, and fish entrees; homemade rolls are a specialty. Closed Sun.-Mon. 5689 Stage Rd. 377-2484. D, X, $-$$
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT (INCLUDES CHICKASAW GARDENS AND HIGHLAND STRIP)
A-TAN—Serves Chinese and Japanese hibachi cuisine, complete with sushi bar. A specialty is Four Treasures with garlic sauce. 3445 Poplar, Suite 17, University Center. 452-4477. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE BLUFF—New Orleans-inspired menu includes alligator bites, nachos topped with crawfish and andouille, gumbo, po’boys, and fried seafood platters. 535 S. Highland. 454-7771. L, D, X, $-$$ BROTHER JUNIPER’S—This little cottage is a breakfast mecca, offering specialty omelets, including the open-faced San Diegan omelet; also daily specials, and homemade breads and pastries. Closed Mon. 3519 Walker. 3240144. B, X, $ CHAR RESTAURANT—Specializing in modern Southern cuisine, this eatery offers homestyle sides, char-broiled steaks, and fresh seafood. 431 S. Highland, #120. 249-3533. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ DERAE RESTAURANT—Ethiopian and Mediterranean fare includes fuul, or fava beans in spices and yogurt, goat meat and rice, and garlic chicken over basmati rice with cilantro chutney; also salmon and tilapia. Closed Monday. 923 S. Highland. 5523992. B, L, D, $-$$ EL PORTON—Fajitas, quesadillas, and steak ranchero are just a few of the menu items. 2095 Merchants Row (Germantown). 754-4268; 8361 Highway 64. 380-7877; 3448 Poplar, Poplar Plaza. 452-7330; 1805 N. Germantown Parkway (Cordova). 624-9358; 1016 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-5770. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ JOES’ ON HIGHLAND—Specializes in fried chicken and comfort sides such as warm okra/green tomato salad and turnip greens. Entrees include salmon patties and chicken fried steak. Closed Mon. 262 S. Highland. 337-7003. L, D, X, $ MEDALLION—Offers steaks, seafood, chicken, and pasta entrees. Closed for dinner Sunday. 3700 Central, Holiday Inn (Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality). 678-1030. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ ROCK’N DOUGH PIZZA CO.—Specialty and custom pizzas made from fresh ingredients; wide variety of toppings. 3445 Poplar Ave., Ste. 1. 512-6760; 7850 Poplar, #6 (Germantown). 779-2008. L, D, SB, X, $$
OUT-OF-TOWN TACKER’S SHAKE SHACK—This family-run establishment offers plate lunches, catfish dinners, homemade desserts, and a variety of hamburgers, including a mac ‘n’ cheese-topped griddle burger. Closed Sun. 409 E. Military Rd. (Marion, AR). 870-739-3943. B, L, D, $ BONNE TERRE—This inn’s cafe features American cuisine with a Southern flair, and a seasonal menu that changes monthly. Offers Angus steaks, duck, pasta, and seafood. Closed Sun.Wed. 4715 Church Rd. W. (Nesbit, MS). 662-781-5100. D, X, $-$$$ BOZO’S HOT PIT BAR-B-Q—Barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, and subs. 342 Hwy 70 (Mason, TN). 901-294-3400. L, D, $-$$
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CATFISH BLUES—Serving Delta-raised catfish and Cajun- and Southern-inspired dishes, including gumbo and fried green tomatoes. 210 E. Commerce (Hernando, MS). 662-298-3814. L, D, $ CITY GROCERY—Southern eclectic cuisine; shrimp and grits is a specialty. Closed for dinner Sunday. 152 Courthouse Square (Oxford, MS). 662-232-8080. L, D, SB, X, $$-$$$ COMO STEAKHOUSE—Steaks cooked on a hickory charcoal grill are a specialty here. Upstairs is an oyster bar. Closed Sun. 203 Main St. (Como, MS). 662-526-9529. D, X, $-$$$ LONG ROAD CIDER CO.—Specializes in hard apple ciders made with traditional methods. Cafe-style entrees include black eye peas with cornbread and greens, chicken Gorgonzola pockets, cidersteamed sausage, and housemade ice creams. Closed Sun.-Wed. 9053 Barret Road. (Barretville, TN). 352-0962. D, X, $
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CASINO TABLES BOURBON STREET STEAKHOUSE & GRILL AT SOUTHLAND PARK—1550 Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-800-467-6182. CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE AT THE GOLDSTRIKE—1010 Casino Center Dr., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-24KSTAY /662-357-1225. FAIRBANKS AT THE HOLLYWOOD—1150 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-871-0711. JACK BINION’S STEAK HOUSE AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE. LUCKY 8 ASIAN BISTRO AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, TEMPLATEFILE 1 Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE. SAMMY HAGAR’S RED ROCKER BAR & GRILL AT SOUTHLAND PARK—1550 Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-870-735-3670 ext. 5208 THE STEAKHOUSE AT THE FITZ —711 Lucky Ln., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-766-LUCK, ext 8213. MANILA FILIPINO RESTAURANT—Entrees include pork belly cutlet with lechon sauce, and shrimp and vegetables in tamarind broth; also daily combos, rice dishes, and chef specials. Closed Sun.-Mon. 7849 Rockford (Millington, TN). 209-8525. L, D, X, $ MARSHALL STEAKHOUSE—Rustic steakhouse serves premium Angus beef steaks, seafood dishes, rack of lamb, and more. Breakfast menu features griddle cakes, and lunch offerings include hamburger steak and oyster po’ boys. 2379 Highway 178 (Holly Springs, MS). 628-3556. B, L, D, X, $-$$$ MEMPHIS BARBECUE COMPANY—Offers spare ribs, baby backs, and pulled pork and brisket, along with such sides as mac and cheese, grits, and red beans. 709 Desoto Cove (Horn Lake, MS). 662-536-3762. L, D, X, $-$$ TEMPLATEFILE NAGOYA—Offers traditional Japanese cuisine and sushi bar; specialties are teriyaki and tempura dishes. 7075 Malco Blvd., Suite 101 (Southaven, MS). 662-349-8788. L, D, X, $-$$$ PANCHO’S—Serves up a variety of Mexican standards, including tacos, enchiladas, and mix-and-match platters; also lunch specials. 3600 E. Broadway (West Memphis, AR). 870-735-6466. 717 N. White Station. 685-5404. L, D, X, MRA, $ PIG-N-WHISTLE—Offers pork shoulder sandwiches, wet and dry ribs, catfish, nachos, and stuffed barbecue potatoes. 6084 Kerr-Rosemark Rd. (Millington, TN). 872-2455. L, D, X, $ RAVEN & LILY—Eatery offers innovative Southern cuisine with such dishes as onion ring and pork rind salad, chipotle hot chicken with spiced cabbage, and shrimp and grits benedict. Closed for lunch Monday. 7700 Highway 64 (Oakland, TN). 235-7300. L, D, SB, X, $-$$ RAVINE—Serves contemporary Southern cuisine with an emphasis on fresh, locally grown foods and a menu that changes weekly. Closed Mon.-Tues. 53 Pea Ridge/County Rd. 321 (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, SB, X, $$-$$$ STEAK BY MELISSA—Aged, choice-grade, hand-cut steaks are a specialty here. Also serving fresh seafood dishes, plate lunches, burgers, and sandwiches. 4975 Pepper Chase Dr. (Southaven, MS). 662-342-0602. L, D, WB, X, $-$$$ WILSON CAFE—Serving elevated home-cooking, with such dishes as deviled eggs with cilantro and jalapeno, scampi and grits, and doughnut bread pudding. 2 N. Jefferson (Wilson, AR). 870-6550222. L, D (Wed. through Sat. only), X, $-$$$
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Virtuoso M USIC IN MOTION Violinist Marisa Polesky, clarinetist Andre Dyachenko, and pianist Adrienne Park, all Memphis Symphony stars, present an eclectic program of works by Milhaud, Khachaturian, Poulenc and Shostakovich. They are joined by New Ballet Ensemble dancers in a specially choreographed chamber version of Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat.” Celebrate music, dance, and the visual arts! JOIN US
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Knocking Holes in the Darkness Empathy in action in Memphis and beyond.
by anna traverse
E
xactly one year ago as I write this, I was standing in a crush of women queued for SmarTrip cards at the Reagan National Metro station. A smattering already had donned their knitted pink pussy hats, one day before the Women’s March that vividly distinct headwear has come to signify. Many were unfamiliar with the D.C. subway system: no shyness here, though, about asking for directions.
The flight from Memphis had been packed with Women’s Marchers; one woman at the gate handed out double-peaked pink fleece hats to anyone who’d come without. The captain muttered across the intercom’s fuzz, “Stay safe this weekend, if you’re marching.” He needn’t have worried. On the Yellow Line train, women began to compare notes: where we had come from, and why. I was bound for the Shaw/ Howard University station, near my cousin Hannah’s apartment; two Traverses would be marching side-by-side. There was a giddiness in the foggy air, a spring-like exuberance of bright cheer blooming against the deep-gray winter afternoon. But mixed with the exuberance, a mote of anxiety: We’d all seen the reports of anarchist violence that Inauguration Day morning. We’d memorized phone numbers to call for bail money; some of us would scrawl emergency-contact information on our forearms in permanent ink, lest we be knocked unconscious in a stampede. We needn’t have worried. The Women’s March was one of the largest — if not the largest — peaceful collective demonstrations in our nation’s history. In Washington, I marched among some half a million people, by conservative estimate — people of all gender identities, ages, races, creeds. Including dozens of sister events around the world, held on the same day — one intrepid group assembled in Ant-
offered protein bars and apples from strangers’ clear plastic backpacks as we raised high our clever, heartbreaking, determined poster-board signs. One hand-lettered sign we saw in D.C. announced, “You know it’s bad when introverts show up at a protest.” I smiled in recognition. I don’t much like shouting,
The Women’s March was one of the largest – if not the largest – peaceful collective demonstrations in our nation’s history. arctica — more than 5 million people are estimated to have participated in January 2017, united earnestly by the belief that deep social change is possible when diverse women and their communities work together. As it turned out, I could have stayed in Memphis, where more than 9,000 marched downtown. In an era not given to an abundance of kindness, I was struck as much by the caring consideration of those around me as by their fierce determination. I went to D.C. half-expecting to be teargassed. Instead, I was
96 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8
or moving with a crowd. Calland-response chants: against my very nature. And yet. My friends Susan and Lisa happened to be on the same plane with me from Memphis to Washington. In the intervening months, we’ve reconnected almost exclusively at protests and demonstrations: in support of Dreamers, in opposition to Confederate statues, in hopes that millions might retain health insurance. No need to schedule coffee dates: We can simply show up the next time someone grabs a bullhorn for a cause we believe in.
On a gasping furnace of a summer day, half a year after the Women’s March, I was standing in another crowd, hoisting another sign, wearing inappropriate shoes and growing dehydrated, again. (Something to be said for consistency.) #TakeEmDown901 had assembled at Health Sciences Park in front of the since-removed statue of Memphis slave-trader and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. What made the news that August day were the streets closed by marchers streaming onto the steaming blacktop. The seven protesters arrested after attempting to cover the statue with a tarp. Perhaps the squad car nudging its nose into a crowd refusing to budge. What I remember just as vividly are the people who arrived early, hauling flat cases of water bottles to stack in cooling shadows cast by the statue’s pedestal. I remember those who quite literally propped each other up when the heat bent us down. This is the South: we know how to be nice. But I’ve been watching as a heedless world propels us into kindness more than niceness, empathy more than charity. I’ve been watching as we assemble to protect and defend those who don’t look like us. We’ve been growing. As we enter this 50th anniversary year of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I’m thinking of Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles, who was with Dr. King on that April day in 1968. Rev. Kyles used to tell the story of a young Robert Louis Stevenson, who watched lamplighters illuminate the streets outside and saw them “punching holes in the darkness.” Rev. Kyles liked to describe the work of brave change like this. “Those of us who have the strength and the ability,” he said, “we should be knocking holes in the darkness.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANNA TRAVERSE
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