Friday, August 31, 2012
Lunch At Evergreen Grill
Posted by Susan Ellis on Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 10:01 AM
For lunch yesterday, it was Evergreen Grill, the cozy new restaurant located in the old Pizze Stone space on Overton Park in Midtown.
The menu is wide-ranging and includes a selection of soups (Minestrone and Wedding Soup) and salads (California with spinach, feta, and nuts and berries and Grilled Chicken, etc.) as well as a number of sandwiches (burgers, meatball, grilled vegetable) and mostly Italian entrees (lasagna, beef ravioli) and pasta dishes (Tomato Cream Shrimp, Sausage Arrabiata).
I opted for the Cappelini with angel hair pasta, tomatoes, basil, and marinara ($7 lunch, $10 dinner).
With fresh tomatoes and chunks of fresh garlic, this is a nice, light pasta, perfect for lunch as it's not so heavy as to put the brakes on the rest of your afternoon. Comes with a garlic bread stick and side salad.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Thai Bistro's Beignet Bits
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Aug 30, 2012 at 11:11 AM
Yes, we bullied the Lunch Martyr into choosing where we'd go for lunch. We were relentless — decide, decide, decide.
And so LM did. He opted for Thai Bistro — I'm always in the mood for their Pad Thai or Drunken Noodle — and to celebrate the occasion we had dessert:
The Beignet Bits are pretty much a dessert no-brainer in the best way possible — beignets topped with ice cream and syrup.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Hardee's Racy Ad for the Memphis BBQ Thickburger
Posted by Susan Ellis on Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Thanks (?) to Chris Davis for pointing out this Hardees ad for the Memphis BBQ Thickburger, a cheeseburger topped with barbecue pulled pork (which sounds a lot like this burger at Tops).
The commercial is an origin story, which shows, it was pointed out to me, a clear appreciation of the Craig Brewer oeuvre. What that means, of course, is that there are scantily clad and sweaty ladies lasciviously barbecuing.
Perhaps the best thing about this commercial is the Twitter hashtag: #MeatEmbrace.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Food Fund-raiser for Buddhist Temple this Sunday
Posted by Justin Fox Burks on Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 9:42 AM
This is some super-insider information from my good friend Tuyen (owner of New Que Huong) on where to get authentic, vegetarian Vietnamese food.
This Sunday, August 26th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Quan Am Buddhist Temple, located at 3500 South Goodlett St. near Winchester, is having a bake sale of sorts to raise money for the temple. Instead of cookies and pies, they will be selling homemade curries, soups, and authentic Vietnamese dishes packed up to go, and it's all vegetarian.
I speak from experience when I tell you that the food from this sale is amazing (see image at top). This is something you don't want to miss. It's open to the public and everyone is welcome.
Quan Am Buddhist Temple, 3500 S. Goodlett
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Bianca Phillips' Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 10:57 AM
Next month sees the release of Bianca's first cookbook, Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South featuring 140 or so recipes that pass the "crunk" test — what Bianca defines as having fun while showing pride and passion in her approach to Southern cooking.
So ... you've got your blog Vegan Crunk, the "vegan" tattoo on your wrist, and, now, you have a new cookbook, Cookin' Crunk: Eatin' Vegan in the Dirty South. What's your point?
I'm hoping to show people they can still enjoy classic Southern soul food without the ham hocks and bacon grease. Not only are my vegan recipes healthier than their meat-laden counterparts, but they're also kinder on the animals and the Earth. There are recipes for country fried tempeh steak, whole wheat buttermilk biscuits and chocolate gravy, a tofu chicken wafflewich with maple-dijon sauce, vegan ranch dressing, slow-simmered collard greens, peanut butter and banana "Elvis" cupcakes, and chocolate pralines to name a few.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
A Recipe from Clean-up Day
Posted by Susan Ellis on Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 4:17 PM
Once a year, we have a company-wide clean-up* — a day that feeds into my hoarder side.
I'm not the only hoarder in the building. A coworker showed me a collection of hard discs (and if he ever needs them, he's still got his Mac Classic). And someone just could not part with a whole box of circa-1995 subscription premiums for Memphis magazine.
As a thank-you for subscribing to the magazine you got a "kitchen garden" — with cilantro, dill, marigold, and pansy seeds plus recipes for dilled meatballs, cilantro shrimp, and marigold cheese muffins.
The muffin recipe follows ...
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Intelligent Design, Cactus Burritos at Frida's
Posted by Susan Ellis on Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 12:36 PM
I stopped by the newly open Frida's Mexican Restaurante last week at around 4 p.m. and it was already bustling.
It took over a year to get the restaurant open, and while, to my eye, the layout is roughly the same as the exorcised Zinnie's East — bar immediately at the entrance, seating to the right and booths hugging the wall at left — the transformation is remarkable.
For one thing, I don't recall this piece of art at Zinnie's:
There are new tile floors, freshly painted walls, and a vibrant fountain out front. As I was looking over the menu, I heard a woman at the booth behind me say, "Beautiful, beautiful ... "
She was not, however, talking about the decor.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Help Memphis Mobile Market Get Rolling
Posted by Susan Ellis on Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 2:14 PM
Attention, Whole Foods shoppers, five percent of net sales on Tuesday, August 21st, will go to Memphis Mobile Market, a new nonprofit founded by UT medical students to address the issue of food deserts in the Raleigh and Frayser areas.
To provide access to healthy foods to those communities, a trailer has been converted into a mini store with aisles for displaying produce and some non-perishable items. The plan is to initially have three or four stops on Saturdays and Sundays, and then expand to other days of the week.
If they meet their funding goals, the Memphis Mobile Market will hit the road by late September or early October.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Contests: It's All Baloney ... and Ice Cream Too
Posted by Susan Ellis on Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 2:21 PM
About a year ago, I did a post about baloney boats and tweeted out the link, which led to a small flurry of responses. When I said I had no idea, one Twitter friend, said, "Oh, honey, there's a whole world of baloney out there. "
Indeed.
- Cochon 555
Among the many, many features of the Cochon Heritage BBQ, happening in Memphis on Labor Day weekend, is the Best Bologna Contest.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
At Holiday Deli & Ham, A Drive-Thru and Pimento Cheese-Topped Nachos
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 11:03 AM
A month ago today, July 16th, the Midtown Holiday Deli & Ham opened a drive-thru, the first for the local chain.
I stopped by last week to check it out, and I admit I was skeptical. But, it couldn't have been easier. Even though the order had multiple options for breads, sides, etc., it only took a minute or so, and the person manning the window was quite nice. I'm definitely adding this to my repertoire of quick lunches.
According to a Holiday Deli rep, a building to the east of the site was razed to make room for the drive-thru, and drive-thru purchases last week accounted to 20 percent of that location's sales.
As for those pimento cheese-topped nachos, that was something I saved for dine-in.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Move Over YoLo, It's PoLo
Posted by Susan Ellis on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 at 4:55 PM
So, coworker Greg Akers was telling me that he had gone to YoLo and that he had had some mascarpone gelato and that it was good and that someone should do the YoLo concept only with meat and cheese.
His thinking was that the base — the "yogurt," if you will — would be crackers or something. I pointed out that part of the allure of YoLo is the self-serve aspect, and while, sure, crackers would work, wouldn't mashed potatoes be so much better?
Yes, folks it's PoLo!
This could work. Why wouldn't this work?
Illustration: Whitney Hochstein
Lunch At Aldo's Pizza Pies
Posted by Susan Ellis on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Pam, Hannah, and I checked out Aldo's Pizza Pies today.
This trio started with the Bruschetta Trio ($6.50).
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Lunch At India Palace and Birthday Meals
Posted by Susan Ellis on Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 10:55 AM
The birthday boy wanted India Palace for lunch. The rule was he gets to choose AND everything he said that day was true.
The second part of the bargain was by far the toughest to swallow.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Lunch At Just for Lunch
Posted by Susan Ellis on Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 3:20 PM
So ... I was eating my egg & olive sandwich from Just for Lunch while flipping through 4 Memphis magazine, when an EZ version of "Tea for Two" started to play over the PA.
The scene was totally Squaresville, but that sandwich was good, as good as any egg & olive I've had, and I liked the slightly savory poppy-seed vinaigrette on the fruit salad.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Lunch At Alannah's Breakfast Kafe
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Aug 9, 2012 at 12:03 PM
Alannah's Breakfast Kafe on N. Main offers a number of options for lunch — vegetable plates, catfish & grits, and even Interstate BBQ. Seeing as this is a "Breakfast Kafe" — motto: We serve the most important meal of the day ... ALL DAY. — I went for the pancakes.
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