Writing this story was an exercise in torture.
Part of it, at least.
I began working on this while I was still snowbound for two weeks at home. I thought discovering new menu items or even just popular ones at Memphis restaurants would be a good idea. But after half a month of a canned tuna fish/pasta diet, culinary terms from the chefs I spoke with were sounding painfully delicious.
So, for those who had to endure a snow lockdown and are ready to hit the restaurants now that spring-like temperatures have returned, here are some tempting selections to make your mouth water instead of waiting on the ice in your yard to turn to water.
Kelly English, Iris: “Sweetbreads and dumplings just hit the menu at restaurant Iris. Crispy fried sweetbreads with ricotta gnocchi, sherry roasted mushrooms, fresh herbs, and a jus from roasted chickens and onion.
“The new muffuletta roasted bone marrow at Iris is a fun little appetizer. All of the flavor profile elements of a traditional muffuletta exist with salami spice on the marrow, giardiniera on top, and fresh olive and provolone focaccia to eat it with.”
Muffuletta roasted bone marrow, Iris (Photo: Caleb Sigler)
Felicia Willett, Felicia Suzanne’s: “Classic cheesecake [with] cookie crust, citrus marmalade, Chantilly cream. A recipe I’ve carried with me since I was 15, first served with my mom’s praline sauce and later, a fan favorite, with fresh coconut and strawberries, now reimagined for citrus season. Sweet marmalade and gentle acidity balance the richness of the cream cheese. Thoughtfully updated and plated by our pastry chef Inga Theeke. Some recipes just grow up with you.”
David Lorrison, owner of the old Rumble Fish restaurant, is planning another pop-up dinner in mid-to late March. One of the items: “Crispy Chinese rice-paper-wrapped salmon ceviche with coriander and mango crème fraîche.”
Jimmy Gentry, The Lobbyist: “Our crudo is newer and probably one of my favorites, currently. What makes ours different … since we are veggie-forward and that’s what everybody’s come to expect from us, ours is not meat. So, we take kohlrabi, we slow cook it with miso and brown butter and let that go for 12 hours, then come back and compress it to let the vegetables set back up. After that, we let it sit overnight, then come back in and slice it paper-thin on the slicer. So you get that initial texture that you would get from flesh. But there’s a little bit of bite, to the point where you almost identify it as not meat, but it’s very interesting. We top that with a little lemon zest, Maldon [sea salt], smoked walnuts, and then basil oil around the side.”
Crudo, The Lobbyist (Photo: Haze Photography
Nate Henssler, Amelia Gene’s: “Item number one: Iceberg, roasted sunchokes, blue cheese, buttermilk dressing. This is my version of the classic iceberg salad, which I find always reliable, especially this time of year. Instead of using bacon, we roast sunchokes with balsamic vinegar, topped with sunchoke chips and Dunbarton blue cheese, which is a cellar-cured English-style cheddar with blue veins by Roelli Cheese Haus.
Bone marrow ravioli, Amelia Gene’s (Photo: Brody Kuhar)
“Item number two: Bone marrow ravioli, tomato sauce, brown butter, toasted garlic. I really enjoy making this pasta. Bone marrow is brined, lightly cooked, and removed from the bone. Then we combine it with ground short rib, caramelized onions, toasted breadcrumbs, and some fresh herbs. We make a dark tomato sauce, which gets finished with brown butter that has garlic toasted to order. The end result of the sauce is something like a butter chicken curry sauce, only garlicky.”
Karen Carrier, Beauty Shop Restaurant: “Sugar & Spice Crispy Peking Duck with almond skordalia, pomegranate red wine butter, roasted black grapes and figs, sugar snap shiso petite herb salad, grilled corn, cotija aioli, and cayenne salt.”
More items include the “Ode to Chef Susana Trilling,” with cast iron mole chicken, Thai green coconut curry, jasmine rice, and Oaxacan mole sauce, with sesame, queso fresco, red onion, avocado, and cilantro.
A beef tenderloin carpaccio features shallot oil, crisp capers, Vietnamese mint, lime, roasted peanuts, and Ms. Cindy’s vinaigrette. And the Hawaiian Tuna Agua Chile includes tomato, lime, sesame seeds, cucumbers, jalapeño, cocoa spice dust, shiso, and prosciutto crisp.
Chip Dunham, Magnolia & May: “Jerk Home Place Pastures pork belly, coconut grits, braising liquid, Jamaican apple compote.”
Theresa Schuenke, Fawn: “A new weekly thing is burger night every Tuesday. It features house-ground Home Place Pastures beef. Every week has different fun fixings to showcase what’s in season, what the kitchen is obsessed with or craving. Keep an eye on the Fawn Instagram every Tuesday to see what it will be.”
Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh, Poke Paradise: One of his popular items is “Ahi tuna, flown in from Hawaii to Memphis, diced, marinated in chef’s special shoyu sauce and sweet onion. Comes with sides of edamame, cucumber, seaweed salad, and avocado.”