NOTES by Louisa Koeppel On Cue We all know that Memphis barbecue is the best on the planet, but apparently some mule-headed regionalists insist on carrying on the discussion. So, just in time for the Memphis in May barbecue contest, on May 14th through 16th, the magazine Chile Pepper (“For Those Who Like It Hot”) has come out with its annual barbecue issue. Those areas making their claims to barbecue fame include Texas and Kansas City, while our side of the argument is handled by Memphis magazine food critic Kay Womack. Just short of speaking in tongues, Womack passionately declares Memphis-style barbecue heaven-sent. Chile Pepper is available at area bookstores. Something’s Percolating Java Blues is the newest addition to Peabody Place. Located in the Grand Lobby at 125 South Main Street, the coffeehouse is open 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Featuring hand-roasted coffee, Java Blues also offers breakfast and lunch items. They are working with City Bakery to provide a variety of muffins, bagels, croissants, and assorted pastries, as well as various gourmet sandwiches. Java Blues also offers Caribbean Fruit Ice, a gourmet water-ice product that is a cross between sherbet and sorbet. Java Blues is operated by Lifestyles Ventures, a Memphis-based entertainment and restaurant company which also manages both the B.B. King’s on Beale Street and the one in L.A. The firm plans to open several Java Blues around Memphis and will consider other cities in the future. Book ’Em Martha Phelps Stamps, an honors graduate of the Culinary School of America and chef at the Corner Market in Belle Meade, Tennessee, has written a cookbook titled The New Southern Basics. Reaching back to the foods that gave this region its character, this book re-creates the basic Southern foods in ways that accommodate the tastes and nutritional concerns of our time. Need a recipe for poke salad or sweet-potato biscuits? It’s all there. A particularly nice chapter is on snacks, a specialty of all Southern grandmothers. The New Southern Basics is published by Cumberland House and is available at area bookstores. Cucumber sandwiches, anyone? On the Move Dyer’s Hamburgers, famous for its 58-year-old grease, has moved to 205 Beale Street. Formerly located on North Cleveland, the restaurant has been a legend in Memphis. In 1912, Elmer Dyer began selling his hamburgers from a shack in the Crosstown area. In the 1940s, an employee named Kahn Aaron bought it with some co-workers. The restaurant is now run by Chance McMinn and his brother Mark, grandsons of Aaron. Their specialty is the burger, with its trademark preparation. Made from a ball of ground beef, the burger is pounded flat and dropped in a large skillet filled with hot oil. When the burger floats to the top, it is deemed cooked and served on a bun. The cooking grease is strained three times a day but never changed.		Far Away, So Close Bella Mia Ristorante has finally found a home in Midtown. by Louisa Koeppel alil Hamidi traveled a lot of miles to get to Bella Mia Ristorante and the Persian nights he hosts each Friday and Saturday. In April, Bella Mia Ristorante set up shop in the unobtrusive Holiday Inn on the corner of Union Avenue and McLean. This is not the first location for Bella Mia and its owner. In September 1996, Hamidi opened Bella Mia in Germantown. Business was good, according to Hamidi, but because of a bitter dispute over roof repairs with the landlord, Hamidi was forced to look elsewhere for a new building. Hamidi seems to be used to moving around. Before the Germantown dispute, he had a restaurant in Collierville called Bella Italia (1995) and in 1992 he opened Cafe Bella on Humphreys Boulevard. PHOTO BY DANIEL BALL Hamidi is not Italian. He was born and raised in Iran, drilled an oil well as a young man, and came to the States to get his degree in geology. Here he stayed, and through the turns and twists of life, became a restaurateur. He learned about Italian cooking in New York. There he worked under a Sicilian for the Sbarro’s corporation in the product-development division. Sbarro’s is an Italian chain restaurant most often found in mall food courts, featuring gigantic slices of pizza and calzones. Hamidi moved to Memphis, tomatoes and olive oil in tow. In Germantown, Bella Mia served its mixture of Italian and Continental cuisine with an option for Persian food every now and then. This gave Hamidi a chance to cook the foods from his homeland and gave diners a new and interesting experience beyond sun-dried tomatoes. Now that Bella Mia is in Midtown, the Persian nights have extended to every Friday and Saturday nights. “The mixture of people in Midtown is more varied,” says Hamidi, “and I feel they are more willing to eat and appreciate ethnic food.” Persian cuisine refers to foods from Iran. Cardamom, saffron, cinnamon, and turmeric are predominant spices, and many of the meat dishes are stewed in various fruit juices. Pomegranate and peach juices are popular, as well as prune and orange. In these fruit-based sauces, there are usually pistachios, walnuts, figs, or dates. Much of the food is similar to other Middle Eastern countries such as stuffed grape leaves and the use of fragrant spices. The difference with Persian food is that the curry spice is almost non-existent and garlic is used in the most subtle of fashions. Those looking for spicy hot foods should head for another cuisine. Do, however, come prepared for sweet, rich flavors. For $16.99, you get a four-course meal and the opportunity to watch a belly-dancer maneuver her way around the tables and chairs without knocking over drinks with her bejeweled skirt. My experience was, shall I say, surreal. This is probably due to the fact that, although Bella Mia has opened in the old Bluff City Diner, the decor is still, well, Bluff City Diner. The blue neon lights provide the ambience of an aquarium, and pictures of Elvis abound. In fact, I was uneasy that whole evening because there was this Elvis picture directly over me that seemed to stare at me no matter where I was. Perhaps because the staff is new, their knowledge of the Persian menu is almost nonexistent. The server seemed quite surprised that we even wanted the alternative menu, and it took a bit of convincing. Also, he had as much knowledge of the beer and wine selection as he did the Persian food, and it took a few trips to the bar before he finally rattled off the tiny selection. Once the ball was rolling, however, the meal was enjoyable, and interesting, to say the least. For the Persian meals, there are no written menus. The chef will bring food to the table with a simple explanation. This m.o. may turn up a serving of fava beans with an intriguing dose of pot liquor. Hamidi is very hopeful about the new Bella Mia and the Persian menu. On the weekends he is doing 20 to 35 Persian dinners a night, and many Middle Eastern groups are booking reservations. The cuisine has a definite flavor of its own and is worth experiencing, even if it does feel like dinner in a fish bowl. With a face-lift, Bella Mia would complete the feeling of mystery and ethnicity that the food gives off. But either way, perhaps Hamidi and Bella Mia have finally found a place to call home in Midtown.