Thursday, February 2, 2012
Restaurant News MBJ Suspends Best Chef in Memphis Contest
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 6:36 PM
The Memphis Business Journal has suspended its Best Chef in Memphis contest just one day after it was launched.
The move came after restaurateurs and chefs included in the contest complained about the contest's format, which pitted chef against chef in a bracket, with the winner to be determined by an online vote.
MBJ made the announcement Thursday in a post on the paper's site, explaining, "We looked at the contest as a way to engage more local readers while highlighting the spectacular culinary scene we have in Memphis (which we plainly stated in the launch). We never intended to disparage or upset the chefs; we thought, quite honestly, it would be a fun, tongue-in-cheek way to incite a friendly competition."
Farm to Table Conference Monday, Feb. 6
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 4:06 PM
The second Farm to Table Conference will be held on Monday, February 6th, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Memphis BioWorks (20 Dudley).
The conference brings together farmers, those in the restaurant industry, consumers, and others to discuss the food system. About 70 people have registered so far for this year's conference, according to Josephine Alexander, former director of GrowMemphis.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Restaurant News Restaurateurs Respond to MBJ's Best Chef in Memphis Bracket: "We feel we will have to respect[fully] decline your offer to participate"
Posted by Susan Ellis on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 6:44 PM
Restaurateurs and chefs included in the Memphis Business Journal's Best Chef in Memphis tournament — which pits 32 chefs against each other in a bracket, with online voting to determine a winner — responded Wednesday afternoon with a letter to the paper.
The letter outlines the community spirit of Memphis restaurateurs and reads, in part, "The people who have chosen to make Memphis their culinary home in the past few years have done so with the forethought that Memphis can be and is different than other cut-throat restaurant towns. As such, we feel we will have to respect[fully] decline your offer to participate in the MBJ's Best Chef in Memphis Competition as it is currently structured. It just does not reflect the way in which we choose to do business and support each other."
The full letter below ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Chocistry's Heart of Gold
Posted by Susan Ellis on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 10:08 AM
I'm profiling P. Ashley Rix of the online chocolate boutique Chocistry for an upcoming issue of MBQ.
Rix seriously geeks out on figuring out formulas and different flavor combos. The Tango & Cash is lemongrass, coconut, and white chocolate. The Mean Green is apple, cayenne, and milk chocolate. The Passion Fruit caramel has passion fruit and Hawaiian red salt.
And then there's the Heart of Gold.
Monday, January 30, 2012
And Here's Another Protest Against Kroger
Posted by Susan Ellis on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 4:07 PM
So, earlier today I get a call from a well-known Midtown character (which, I know, narrows it down to about a zillion). He was telling me about his "guerrilla strike" against the Kroger on Union.
The sign reads "Come back, Mr. Seessel."
And the goal?
Friday, January 27, 2012
Mind Games, Girl Scouts?
Posted by Susan Ellis on Fri, Jan 27, 2012 at 11:33 AM
My coworker claims to have been brainwashed to buy Girl Scout cookies by subliminal messages on the order form.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Lunch At Evelyn & Olive
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 3:18 PM
I was mad mad mad when my colleagues went to lunch at the newly opened Jamaican/Southern restaurant Evelyn & Olive without me.
I'm sure I'll get over it someday. In any case, they enjoyed it enough to want to go back.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Lunch At Revival Southern Food Truck
Posted by Susan Ellis on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Finally got lunch from the Revival Southern Food Company Truck
The day was too chilly to be ideal for a food truck visit. That said, I can't wait to go back.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Angie's Big Love for Paula Deen
Posted by Susan Ellis on Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 3:36 PM
Earlier this week, Paula Deen announced she has diabetes, and what followed was a lot of criticism noting her buttery stock-in-trade can lead to a diabetes (and also that she's only divulging it now three years after her diagnosis when she's got a drug endorsement deal.)
"I couldn't take it anymore," she says. "It's time to show our support, to show our love."
To that end, Stewart has created National WE LOVE Paul Deen Weekend!!!!!!!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lunch At Swanky's
Posted by Susan Ellis on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 3:43 PM
It's relatively rare that I'm near a Swanky's Taco Shop at lunchtime. Such was the case last Wednesday, and I took advantage of it.
While there is a regular menu, I've never not gotten the build-your-own burrito (about $7.50 for a veggie).
Friday, January 13, 2012
Memphis Beer Beat: New Beer in Town
Posted by Andrew Caldwell on Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 5:09 PM
As a self-proclaimed beer nerd, it’s always a delight to see new beer on the shelf. So when I walked into Joe’s Wine earlier this week, I was happy to experience just that pleasure. Considering that we’ve been engrossed by several weeks of Chuck Spypeck’s insight into the brewing world, I thought it’d be nice to take a break over a pint. And just in time for the weekend, too.
Hop heads, rejoice! Three of the four beers to be reviewed are, as we will see, simply fantastic IPA’s: Sierra Nevada’s 2011 Estate Homegrown Wet Hop Ale and the brand new Ruthless Rye IPA as well as Chug’s Private Stash Big Bite IPA by Spanish Peaks Brewing Co. The fourth beer, also from Spanish Peaks, is Chugs’s Private Stash Big Bite Peach Wheat.
So let’s get this started, shall we?
First up is Sierra Nevada Estate. While not exactly a new beer to Memphis, Estate is released once a year so it’s been quite some time since I’ve had the pleasure of cracking one of these open. From their website:
“From our fields comes a remarkable homegrown ale, made with organic wet hops and barley grown at our brewery here in Chico and one of the few estate-made ales produced anywhere in the world!”
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Cuisinart Thinks I'm Stupid
Posted by Susan Ellis on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 1:24 PM
I recently bought Cuisinart's Extreme Brew™ 10-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker.
As much as I've enjoyed the maker, the box is a real hoot too.
From the box flap ...
This post should be tagged: Cuisinart; Extreme Brew™ 10-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker; Ass-covering; U R Dumb; Doesn't Know How to Use a Box; Cuisinart, Damn.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Kroger Tweeting
Posted by Susan Ellis on Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 3:48 PM
I dislike grocery shopping quite a lot, but live-tweeting last Sunday's excursion to Kroger kept me distracted enough.
On Monday, someone who had seen the Kroger timeline asked if I was poking fun at Twitter account Kroger Hater.
No! I was genuinely unhappy about the arugula situation.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Cravings
Posted by Susan Ellis on Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 3:34 PM
Last night I had the strongest craving for a Wendy's Frosty. No explaining it ... I like them fine (what's not to like?), but I probably hadn't had one in 10 or more years.
I managed to resist the Frosty, but one dish I never turn down is Asian noodle soup. I especially like the one at Pho Vietnam (roughly $10).
This one has broccoli, carrots, onions, and bok choy with peppers, sprouts, lemon wedges, basil, and mint for garnish.
Since I'm always in the mood for the soup, I'm not even sure if that counts as a craving. Does it?
Pho Vietnam, 1411 Park (728-4711)
Friday, January 6, 2012
Memphis Beer Beat: Q&A with Chuck Skypeck, Part 3
Posted by Andrew Caldwell on Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 1:50 PM
First off, I hope everyone had a great and beer-filled holiday season. Well, I guess we can jump right into the third installment in my Q&A with Boscos and Ghost River co-owner and head brewer, Chuck Skypeck in which experimentation, collaboration, and Memphis are discussed.
Do you feel like you have become more experimental, more willing to push styles over time?
I think you have to look at that in two perspectives, and one of those is that when we opened Boscos, our four beers on tap were the Tennessee Cream Ale which still sells well whenever we brew it, the Germantown Alt— a German-style brown ale, a beer we called Bluff City Amber which kind of morphed into a pale ale over time, and a real mild winter warmer. When we first introduced an IPA in 1993 or ’94, it was only 38 or 40 IBUs which at the time was probably the hoppiest IPA east of the Mississippi. That was Bombay IPA, and that’s grown over the years to the IBUs it has now.
It’s really interesting to me when we take that beer to the [Great American Beer Festival], people will come up and taste it and say things like, “This isn’t an IPA.” It sells like crazy for us, and I’m not going to make it extremely hoppy for a couple of hop heads who tell me I should be ashamed for calling it an IPA. It used to be around 40 IBUs, and now it’s closer to 60. So in that sense yes, [we have experimented]. You see what people are buying and drinking over time. Lately, there’s been a gravitation to hoppier beers.
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