Month: July 2019

Categories
Art Art Feature

Blast Off: NASA Photo Exhibit at Edge Alley

Ryan Adams loves to hear what people say when they view his NASA photographs, which range from images of the moon’s surface to a rare color photo of Mars.

“It’s just hearing the stories they have if they were living during that time,” says Adams, 34. “Someone came in the other day, his father had taken him to go see the launch for Apollo 15. He said, ‘We were four miles away, and I could feel the concussion of the rocket in my chest.’

“It’s hard to imagine seeing a rocket that large,” says Adams. “It’s crazy — that it would burn 20 tons of fuel a second.”

Photos from Adams’ collection are on view in “Edge of Space: Apollo 11, Orbiter, and Viking I,” the debut show at the new Shift + Gallery inside Edge Alley at 600 Monroe.

All the images are vintage photographs. “Vintage photography just means that it was printed at the time it was taken,” Adams says. The photographs “aren’t photos that have been reprinted. These are actual photos from NASA that are stamped ‘NASA’ on the back.”

NASA photo of Mars

They were “truly just reference materials for the scientists at NASA. The primary purpose was never to be art.”

Adams’ love of space dates to conversations he had as a child with his grandfather, who had friends who worked for NASA. “Exploration has always been a massive interest of mine,” he says.

He began collecting NASA photographs 20 years ago after he found some at an estate sale at the home of a former NASA employee. He became more knowledgeable about NASA photography when he was director of special collections for Historic Images, which digitizes photographs in newspaper archives.

He also dealt with space photographs when he became director at Daniel Blau gallery in Munich. The gallery’s vintage photography collection included photos of major space missions. “There would be [photos] of the Apollo missions, Gemini, Skylab … different missions to Mars … Voyager.”

A majority of his collection came about a few years ago when he began contacting former NASA employees. “I started using genealogy searches trying to find relatives of photographers who took photos I had in my possession.”

Adams was specific about what photographs he wanted, which included photos taken during the Orbiter missions between August 1966 and August 1967. “The Orbiter photographs are just such a monumental feat of engineering, both in rocket science and photography,” he says. “The satellites orbited the moon with film, took photographs, developed the film on board the satellite, scanned the film, and then transmitted the image back to Earth, where they would print the strips out. And then collage the strips together.”

The Orbiter image in the show is actually about 30 strips that make one large image.

Adams put this exhibit together after Edge Alley chef/owner Tim Barker suggested he do a photo show to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 (July 20th).

The Mars photo, which sells for $7,500, is Adams’ favorite. “It’s the first color photograph of another planet,” he says. “It’s also the third known example outside the Smithsonian and NASA’s museums in Houston and Huntsville.”

The image, taken on a Viking I mission, is “the first photo that was sent back of another planet’s surface … July 20th, 1976.

“Out of the thousands of years people have been studying the stars and planets and looking to the heavens in the sky for meaning in life or mathematics, this is the first time we have a photograph of another planet’s surface.”

And, Adams says, “It’s beautiful.”

Edge Alley, 600 Monroe, 425-2605.

Categories
Opinion Viewpoint

Farewell, Clean Power; Trump’s EPA Plan Will Make Pollution Worse

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Last week, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) regulation to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP). But the replacement rule will be neither affordable nor clean. The CPP would have driven significant emission reductions in the Southeast, bringing health and economic benefits. 

I spent more than three years becoming the “CPP expert” at a global firm of about 450 energy consultants, and this is possibly the last chance I’ll get to use that now-obsolete knowledge, so here is some background on what’s happening — and why it matters to my fellow Tennesseans.

After the draft CPP was released, there was plenty of pontificating about how easy/hard compliance would be and how many costs/benefits would follow. I spoke at conferences, met with clients, and was asked the same question: Will the regulation happen? I even moderated a conference panel while eight mo

Justin Fox Burks

TVA’s old Allen Coal Plant

nths pregnant, not a typical sight at an energy industry event.

The final CPP rule came out in the middle of my maternity leave. My husband cared for our baby for a few days while I voraciously read through the rule documentation. My team and our clients needed my take on the rule.

The day after the 2016 election, I updated all our models to remove any carbon regulation. We knew the CPP would never go into effect. It felt like a big change, but results didn’t change much. Economics, not the CPP, was driving the model to select a future with less coal and more wind and solar.

In fact, when we look at the CPP, it seems quaint for most parts of the country. The Department of Energy’s own analysis shows the country’s emissions likely to be lower in 2030 than the CPP would have required. However, the Southeast, including Tennessee and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), is not on track to reduce emissions, even at the minimal rate called for in the Clean Power Plan. The CPP would have made a big difference in the Southeast, and residents of these states will suffer greater health and economic hardships as a result of its repeal. 

I am outraged that an agency tasked with protecting the American people is using a finding that CO2 endangers public health and welfare so perversely. The proposed ACE not only rolls back the CPP, but it also could lead to an increase in air pollution across our region and promises to negatively impact public health and welfare.

The ACE proposes to reduce CO2 emissions through making coal plants more efficient so they generate more electricity from each unit of coal. Sounds good, right? And a more efficient plant costs less to operate. Still sounds like a good thing. However, utilities and markets operate power plants based on the plants’ cost to generate. If coal plants cost less to operate, they will be used to generate more electricity. Therefore it is likely that coal emissions would increase under ACE.

The EPA’s analysis of ACE shows increases in coal generation. That means more smog, heavy metals, and particulate matter that lodges in our lungs and gives our kids asthma. This is really nasty stuff. The ACE rule would cause 1,400 more premature deaths per year than the CPP. Instead of changing the rule to reduce the actual number of premature deaths, the EPA is proposing to ignore those premature deaths by changing the way they are calculated.

In the ACE, the Trump EPA also promises to change a part of the Clean Air Act known as New Source Review (NSR) in the future. I don’t have enough space for details, but the change could allow coal power plants to pollute more per year.

I want to give a shout-out to all my fellow CPP experts, particularly current and former EPA employees, who put hours of thought, analysis, blood, sweat, and tears into the Clean Power Plan. I see you. I’m with you. And though the CPP is a thing of the past, the effort that went into it will make carbon policy across the U.S. better in the future.

The release of the final ACE rule felt very different from the release of the CPP. Instead of being on maternity leave, we just celebrated my son’s fourth birthday. I have moved from consulting to advocacy work. Instead of wondering how states could work together to reduce emissions, I’m worried about how the ACE rule will affect our children’s future.

Maggie Shober is director of Power Market Analytics at the Southern
Alliance for Clean Energy.

Categories
Music Music Features

Why Should I Care? New Chilton Film is in the Works

CREDIT: David Leonard

Back in 1982, a young Memphian and his friend were planning a trip to New Orleans when an acquaintance asked for a ride. He was a musician, a one-time hitmaker in fact, who was now set on starting a new, sober chapter of his life. Catching a ride to this new life with only a backpack and his considerable wits, Alex Chilton was leaving all his Memphis baggage behind.

Cut to the next century, and it’s clear that Chilton made the right choice. He identified deeply with the Crescent City, where he staged yet another reinvention of himself and remained until his sudden death in 2010.

David Leonard

Alex Chilton

Meanwhile, one of the youngsters who drove him there, David Julian Leonard, has had a notable career in film and photography. Through the years, he stayed on friendly terms with Chilton, leaving him in a good position to honor his memory. Many who Chilton befriended, myself included, have felt that other celebrations of his life never quite got it right. In Leonard’s case, that nagging feeling has led to a decade of action, in the form of a slowly evolving documentary on the singer, guitarist, and songwriter, now titled Alex Chilton: Why Should I Care?

Having amassed many hours of interviews since just after Chilton’s death, Leonard is now taking the production to the next level, with a Kickstarter campaign set to begin this week.

“It’s kind of crazy, related to what I know about most filmmaking,” he tells me from his current home in Arles, France. “With most of these interviews I’ve done, I’m the only technical person in the room. And so I’m doing the camera and the sound and the lighting. I have carried this a long way on that basis, and I would like to hire some other people, who deserve to be paid, to help me take this over the finish line. I need another editor to come in. As for myself, I need to just focus on this for some months. It takes some deep immersion to complete something like this.”

Leonard especially sees where the story needs to go beyond recent celebrations of Big Star. “There’s a woman who wrote a treatment for a biopic about Big Star, and I have her audio interview with Alex,” Leonard says. “And he just totally crashed her dreams by saying, ‘This is a fantasy. We were a recording project, is what we were. As far as a band, like the Monkees, that’s gonna be on a lunch box, that does not exist, that did not exist.’ And he didn’t want it to exist, you know?”

For Leonard, the real story is Chilton’s continual reinvention as an artist. “He was a great one for crashing myths, for crashing idolatry. And his story is about what it means to be an artist. Because he was true to that. He was uncompromised. It wasn’t random, these choices he made. There is a through-line, when you finally look at it, that he was true to himself.”

In pursuit of the deeper story, Leonard has interviewed more than 50 friends and colleagues of the artist, including a few from the unlikely setting of Glasgow. “He really dug the people,” says Leonard. “And he dug the town. They have some sort of whimsy in common, something lighthearted. Sure, they dug Big Star and all that. But they probably dug [Chilton’s solo album] Like Flies on Sherbert more.” One of the premium rewards for contributing to the film’s funding is a personal guided tour of the city by Chilton’s friends.

Along the way, Leonard has also amassed perhaps the greatest archive of Chiltonia imaginable. “I spent four days scanning Pat Rainer’s negatives. She was a friend of Alex’s ever since Central High School, the ultimate fan, and also has great video. The stuff that she and Tav Falco and Randall Lyons shot! Tav was also very kind and sent me a box of tapes to transfer.”

To these ears, the title, taken from one of the obscure jazz-tinged covers the singer was fond of, perfectly captures both the man’s blunt, sometimes cutting sharpness, and his sincere curiosity, laced with humor. As Leonard puts it, “Asking ‘Why should I care?’ is not necessarily the same thing as not caring.”

Contribute to the film’s Kickstarter page here.
For more information, visit www.alexchilton.rocks.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Champions! The USWNT Deserves Equal Pay for Equal Play

CREDIT: Reuters | Bernadett Szabo

Women deserve pay equal to their male counterparts in every circumstance and on all stages. There is no reasoning, no logic, and no basis to support why women, doing the same job as men — and in some cases doing it better — should be paid less because of their gender. Over the past few weeks, the U.S. women’s national soccer team dominated the World Cup championship in France, taking home the trophy for the second straight time. The team’s 2-0 victory over the Netherlands on Monday was their fourth World Cup title and further secured the players’ spot in the pantheon of the world’s great athletes. 

While winning the title — and being fierce examples for other women athletes — members of the team were also involved in a lawsuit, filed in March, against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for equal pay. 

Reuters | Bernadett Szabo

Megan Rapinoe

Twenty-eight members of the team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation for alleged gender discrimination. The players argued, rightfully, that the women’s team is paid substantially less than the men’s team, despite the women’s team consistently outperforming the men. The women are also fighting for equal playing, training, and travel conditions, as well as equitable promotion of their games. 

The lawsuit also points out that although over the past three years the women’s team has generated more revenue and higher TV ratings than the men’s team, which didn’t even qualify for the 2018 World Cup, they are paid less simply because they are women. From 2016 to 2018, women’s team revenue was $50.8 million, compared to the $49.9 million for the men. 

And the women are not earning the bonuses that the men are for similar accomplishments. According to an analysis by The Guardian, the women’s team earned a total of $200,000 in bonuses for their performance at the World Cup. In contrast, the men’s team would earn $1.1 million for the same outcome — a $900,000 difference. 

Nike reported that the women’s 2019 stadium home jersey has outpaced sales of all other U.S. soccer jerseys during one season, men’s or women’s. 

The players are not alone in their pursuit for equality. After their victory on Sunday, the cheers of the crowd in Lyon, France, quickly turned into a chant urging for equal pay. In addition, after the women players filed the lawsuit, the men’s national team issued a statement in support of the women’s efforts. “We wait on U.S. Soccer to respond to both players associations with a way to move forward with fair and equal compensation for all U.S. soccer players,” the men wrote. 

Even some in Congress, including Tennessee 9th District Representative Steve Cohen, entered the conversation, writing a supportive letter to the USSF president. It was signed by more than 50 legislators and asked the federation to justify the differences in compensation, pointing out that the current pay disparity sends a message to women that “their skills and accomplishments are of lesser value.”

In a post-game interview, Megan Rapinoe, the team’s badass captain, reiterated to reporters that it was time to have a conversation about equal pay. “We can’t do anything more to impress more, to be better ambassadors, to take on more, to play better, to do anything.” 

She’s right. These women have more than proven they deserve fair compensation. What else will it take to make the world believe that all women athletes deserve equal pay for their hard work, achievements, and expertise? 

And it’s not just with athletes. The gender pay gap also permeates the workplace. According to payscale.com, women on average make 79 cents for every dollar men make, when comparing the median salaries for all men and women. When looking at men and women performing the same job, women make two percent less than men. According to payscale.com, in health care, women are making 89 cents to every dollar men make. In the legal field, women are only making 62 cents for every dollar. And in architecture and engineering, women make 93 cents for every dollar men make.  

It’s time for a change — on the field and off.

Maya Smith is a Flyer staff writer.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

3rd & Court Now Open

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

On the wall of the newly opened 3rd & Court, near Court Square Downtown, is a cluster of throwback recipes serving as wallpaper. The recipes call back a yesteryear replete with Jell-O salads and dishes involving Dr. Pepper as a key ingredient. One head-scratcher calls for condensed milk, peas, corn, and salmon.

On another wall hangs various antique kitchen tools, such as spatulas and hand beaters and others of unknown purpose.

There is a long white counter at the back, lined with stools topped in orange vinyl that, of course, spin. Booths in avocado green line a window. Toward the left is a dedicated lounge area with a bar and with seating, in the same green, surrounding coffee tables.

Indeed, the whole look, created by Ann Parker of Parker Design Studio, brings to mind the good (and some could reasonably argue, bad) old days, when folks dressed up for airplane flights and mom and dad and Susie and Biff took long road trips across the newly created interstate highway system.

When Ryan Trimm and his associates of Across the Board Hospitality Group were approached by Hotel Indigo, he says his first thought was “diner.” He thought about the hotel and about traveling and his own trips when he was a kid. He says he wanted a place where the food was recognizable and comforting — a burger, a steak. He pictured a Betty Draper type sitting in the lounge, shaking off a long day of being stuck in the car with squabbling kids, and slowly sipping on a martini and snacking on finger foods.

To bring his vision to light, he enlisted Shelby Kight as the head chef. “I talked to her,” recalls Trimm. “What do we want to do? How do we want to do it? I gave her some ideas of the theme, the period. And then she just ran with it.”

On that menu are the burger (two patties, American cheese) — one of the diner’s big sellers — and a steak (it’s hanger steak with a coffee rub and mole butter). There’s a pork belly Reuben sandwich and Beast Loaf, made with cow, lamb, and bison.

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

3rd & Court also offers a meat-and-two special of the day, which includes the Beast Loaf (Mondays); a smothered pork chop (Tuesdays); and Fried Chicken (Wednesdays). Sides include collard greens, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, roasted tomato slaw, and farm peas.

Breakfast is served, starting at 6:30 a.m., seven days a week. The menu features treats like a pound cake French toast (!), house donuts, and the Sophisticated Grain Bowl made with quinoa. In addition, they’re slinging such classics as an omelette plate, Egg-in-a-Hole, and Chicken Hash, which comes with two eggs (sunny side up) and potatoes.

Kight says she worked hard to keep to the diner aesthetic, but she also wanted more elevated dishes than your typical diner fare.

“I said, let’s put a twist on it and see what we can do,” she says.

For the Osso Bucco, which comes with polenta and collard greens, she braised the polenta and fried the collard greens. With the Beast Loaf, she coats the meat with a Korean chili paste and a chili sauce for an added bit of flavor.

The lounge menu — made up of things that don’t require a proper table setting — was designed to be eaten from the coffee table. There are meatball sliders and lobster rolls. The deviled eggs come with roasted poblano, cilantro, cotija, and radish. There are Gochujang-glazed lamb ribs made grilled-to-order with peanuts and pickled red onions. But the absolute genius move here may be the pimento cheese ball, which is pimento cheese rolled into a ball and served with pepper jam and fire crackers — a true throwback if there ever was one.

Of course, any diner has got to serve up pie. 3rd & Court has a trio of offerings, including coconut cream pie, bourbon chocolate pie, and strawberry mile-high pie. Trimm insisted on the latter. It’s fresh strawberries covered in a strawberry glaze and drizzled in balsamic vinegar, nestled in a house-made pie crust.

3rd & Court, 24 S. B.B. King Blvd.,
290-8484

Categories
News The Fly-By

Plan Panned

Citing “rats as big as cats” and a “horrendous stench,” Whitehaven neighbors successfully urged Memphis City Council members to vote against a plan from a waste collection company last week.

Waste Connections wanted to reposition its 30-acre waste transfer site near Brooks Road, which sits right behind more than a dozen homes. It collects 900 tons of waste each day. The company said its proposal would have moved its operation further away from the residents and created a larger buffer zone.

Officials with Waste Connections said its proposal would have been better for the neighboring residents, but after more than an hour of debate, the council voted it down.

Rita Davis, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, said she lives right behind the site and can’t “tolerate it.” She said there are “rats as big as cats jumping out at you” in her backyard. She also said a “horrendous stench” comes from the facility.

“We’re tired, and we want you to listen to us,” said Yvonne Nelson, another neighbor. “We live there. We live this. You came and visited for five minutes and you left.”

But Adrian Bond, representing Waste Connections, said, “We’ve got fact versus fiction” and “improvement versus fears.” The site has never been cited for violations by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Memphis Public Works, the health and fire departments, or vector control. He said the rodents were coming from a nearby, vacant apartment building.

Bond said many of the concerns the neighbors expressed, such as proximity to the site and noise levels, would have been mitigated with the relocation. He said the company’s operations are too confined and that in order to create a larger buffer zone between residents’ houses and the site, the company needs to reposition its layout.

“The council has the opportunity to put things in place to ensure that these neighbors and Waste Connections can coexist,” Bond said. “A no vote is a travesty because it doesn’t address the issues.”

But council chairman Kemp Conrad said, “You don’t expand a house to take care of a house you currently have.” Conrad said many of the items Waste Connections is proposing could have been done without council approval. He also questioned why there hasn’t been any outreach with the community until recently.

“Had y’all been better neighbors until this point and there was trust between you all and the neighbors, I would think they probably would support what you’re talking about doing,” Conrad said. “You would have built the goodwill needed to get support for this project. You don’t need our vote to do that, and if this fails, I hope you do it.”

Councilman Worth Morgan, the sole member to vote for the proposal, said the case “makes the least amount of sense in terms of where the opposition is coming from.”

“These are usually things the neighbors come together and argue for,” Morgan said. “In my best judgment, this actually improves conditions in the neighborhood for y’all rather than a step backward or keeping them the same, which is what a no vote does.”

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet

Soul Fish locked and loaded

Facebook: “Why is everyone in this restaurant packing heat?”

‘Absolute Trash’

An epic rant posted to Facebook recently sought to utterly destroy the redesign of the Audubon Place Target store. The 34-year-old “huge Target fan” claimed the store “has been my happy place,” that is until it reopened with a renovation recently.

“I don’t know what market research, behavioral science, or psychology you used to decide your remodel strategy, but it is absolute trash.

“You aren’t Sephora. You are a place where we can drink slushes and buy cat litter at the same time, and you need to own it.

“I want to accidentally spend $100 in a relaxing way, not in the Mad Max-esque bumper car ‘this-is-how-millenials-shop’ dystopia you’ve created.”

Reddit: ‘Only in Memphis’

Categories
Cover Feature News

Burger Time! Taste-Testing 10 Great Memphis Burgers

Did you have a hamburger on the Fourth of July? Of course you did. You’re no dummy. Maybe it was a little burnt from the grill. Piled dangerously high with all the fixings. Maybe, just maybe, you broke out the mayochup.

That’s the thing about burgers. You can enhance them to Kim Kardashian-like proportions or just keep it as simple as the classic patty, pickle, onion, tomato, lettuce, bun. It’s all good.

We love a good hamburger, no matter how they’re made or what’s on them. So, in this, Burger Week, we’ve turned our eye toward some fine examples of restaurants taking the humble burger and turning it up to 11. Ever think to yourself that what this burger is missing is an onion ring? No worries here. We’ve got you covered. Think an egg-topped burger is everything? Don’t fret. It’s in there. Like your burger good and greasy? Well, sure, who doesn’t? It’s there, too.

For Burger Week, happening now through July 16th, some 26 restaurants are offering their chosen burger for the low low price of $5.99. Now that’s a deal you just can’t pass up. Let us know what you ate with the social tag #FlyerBurgerWeek.

Slider Inn

Flat Iron at Slider Inn

What’s the difference between a slider and a burger? A slider is a type of burger defined by its bun size. The term was originally applied to White Castle’s small burger with caramelized onions served on steamed buns. But in the last few years, “slider” has proven to be as elastic a word as “burger.”

You can get a classic American meal of three sliders and fries at Slider Inn, but they also sell a variety of exotic sliders, from a falafel to a jerk pork version. The buffalo chicken version is a personal favorite, and the Big Deuce will satisfy the hardiest appetite, but without a doubt the most extreme burger on the menu is the Flat Iron.

It begins with a chunk of steak that overflows the confines of the slider bun, covered in melted cheese and topped with the sautéed onions that were one of the original slider signifiers and crispy onion straws. Roasted red bell peppers round out the toppings, and horseradish aioli, a tasty nod to steak culture, serves as a condiment.

The meat is a little more al dente than ground beef, but the flavor is juicy and immensely satisfying. The two different kinds of onions work in delicious tandem, and the peppers add a little extra smoky sweetness. The Flat Iron is a burger that punches way above its weight.

— Chris McCoy

Slider Inn, 2117 Peabody, 725-1155

The Bluff

Babineaux at
The Bluff

The Bluff, a popular Cajun-themed bistro on the Highland strip near the University of Memphis, is divided essentially into several separate but connected spaces — outdoor patios, a sports-bar entry space with seven screens to keep you interested as you sip and munch, and an interior dining-room area with a stage for live entertainment.

Burgers are a major component of the sports-bar menu, and the Babineaux is one of several specialty burgers offered there. It requires some big bites to take it all in. It’s a pile. Compressed between its top and bottom buns are: a thick fried onion ring, a layer of more onion pieces (raw), generous pieces of lettuce, a hefty slice of tomato, bacon strips, and homemade remoulade sauce — all of this in the service of a thick half-pound hunk of burger, topped with melted pepper jack and cooked to your pleasure. Served with fries as a side. Add mustard or ketchup as thou wilt, and open wide.

It’s a lot for $12, especially considering that those jumbo-sized patties are hand-shaped from fresh meat delivered fresh daily from local sources. Nothing assembly-made here!

— Jackson Baker

The Bluff, 535 S. Highland, 454-7771

Farm Burger

No. 2 Vegan Burger at Farm Burger

Nestled in the heart of Crosstown Concourse, near the famous winding red stairs leading to Crosstown Arts, is one of my favorite burger joints in town. (And if we’re being honest, I’m something of a hamburger fanatic. I get misty-eyed thinking about the steamed hammy from the long-gone Three Angels Diner, and I celebrate the Flyer‘s Burger Week like it’s a national holiday.) I’ve been eating my way through Farm Burger’s delicious menu since they opened, and this cover story gave me the perfect excuse to check another of their burgers off my list.

Though I’m not a vegetarian, my love for burgers is big enough to include room for the occasional beefless version. And what’s more extreme than a burger without a hint of meat? Farm Burger’s No. 2 Vegan Burger boasts a gluten-free patty made of kale, quinoa, cremini mushrooms, sweet potato, caramelized onions, and a veritable smorgasbord of spices. Topped with cucumber salad and garlic-lemon tahini dressing, this mouth-watering slice of plant-based deliciousness is equal parts spicy veggie pattie and cool, crisp salad on top. As an added bonus, Crosstown’s schedule is so jam-packed with fun events that diners at Farm Burger might have the unexpected pleasure of being serenaded by big-band jazz while they eat, as I was. Thanks, Memphis Jazz Workshop.

— Jesse Davis

Farm Burger, 1350 Concourse in Crosstown Concourse, 800-1851

TJ Mulligans

Barbecue Burger at TJ Mulligan’s

There’s a lot going on in this concoction, most of it good. First, there’s the base, a seven-ounce slab of grilled ground beef. Plenty of meat, right? Nope. TJ’s steps it up by topping the beef patty with a pile of slow-smoked pulled pork. What? Yes. And there’s more! Like, jalapeño cream cheese, coleslaw, and a tangy barbecue sauce. That ought to do it, you’d think. But noooo. For good measure, they top this baby with crispy onion straws. It’s a crazy mix of textures and savory flavors battling it out in your mouth. Somehow it all works beautifully. But, fair warning: It’s huge, and you’re probably going to want to split this bad boy with somebody.

— Bruce VanWyngarden

TJ Mulligan’s, 1817 Kirby Pkwy, 755-2481

Hopdoddy

Breakfast Burger at Hopdoddy

If Scrubs taught me about one thing, it’s the unsurpassable satisfaction of brinner (in case you live under a rock, that’s breakfast for dinner). I can’t handle a big morning meal. Sausage is a bit heavy, bacon a tad greasy, pancakes too sweet, and biscuits? Instant nap time. Altogether, certain detriments to my get-up-and-go.

While I love brinner, I’ll admit, I was hesitant to order Hopdoddy’s Breakfast Burger. Its hefty patty is a combination of ground sausage, smoked ham, and beef — definitely not what you envision when readying to dive into a big, juicy burger. Would it be too sausage-y? Ground ham? But let me tell you, this thing is pretty darn good.

That interesting combo-meat-grind was spiced just right. And things got better from there, with super melty American cheese, herbed mayo, a scrambled egg patty (no runny yolk here), a couple strips of crisp bacon, and, in lieu of hash browns, a stack of crunchy “potato hay,” which is just a fancy term for fried shoestring potatoes. It’s all the fixings for the best of breakfast plates, but all piled nicely on a soft, fresh-baked bun. Surprisingly, 10/10: would order again.

— Shara Clark

Hopdoddy Burger Bar, 2-6 S. Cooper and 4584 Poplar, 654-5100 and 683-0700

Mortimer’s Restaurant

Oyster Rockefeller Burger at Mortimer’s Restaurant

The Oyster Rockefeller Burger at Mortimer’s began as a “pregnancy craving” by the restaurant’s owner Christopher Jamieson’s wife, Ashley.

The burger consists of an eight-ounce hamburger patty, four fried oysters, jack cheese, and spinach artichoke dip made of sautéed spinach, artichokes, cheddar, and cream cheese.

“I was sitting at home and I was pregnant with our first son, McCall,” Ashley says. “I was craving oyster Rockefeller. And you can’t eat oysters when you’re pregnant.”

She tried to think of a way to get that taste of the famous appetizer without the oysters. She called Christopher and said, “Bring a burger with spinach and cheese.” But she told him to leave off the oysters.

Ashley loved the result. She told Christopher, “We have to add the fried oysters. This is going to taste like oyster Rockefeller.”

“I knew it was going to be fantastic,” she says.

“We sell a ton of burgers and we sell a ton of oysters,” Christopher says. “This is a way we could put the two together. Kind of a no-brainer.”

Christopher originally listed the Oyster Rockefeller burger as a blackboard special. He added it to the menu — permanently — six months later.

McCall, is 4 years old. “So, the oyster burger is as old as he is,” Ashley says.

— Michael Donahue

Mortimer’s Restaurant, 590 N. Perkins, 761-9321

Dixie Queen

Cheeseburger at Dixie Queen

Where’s a good burger? I ask my kids. “Five Guys,” they say. “No,” I say, done that. Josh says, “Okay, I go to the Dixie Queen near where I live in Cordova, and when they hand you that brown paper bag with grease spots all over, you know it’s going to be good.” There’s around a dozen of the no-frills joints around town, so, I go to the one on Summer Avenue next to what used to be the Paris Adult Theatre (we shall now respectfully call it the Luciann), and order the single cheeseburger, with everything, regular fries, and, help me Lord, a chocolate shake. Emerging from the window was a brown paper bag with grease spots all over and a cheery “You have a blessed day.” The burger was mashed at the bottom of the bag, crinkle fries dumped on top (the wife disapproves as that indicates “frozen” and they were, in fact, not memorable). It was a thinnish patty with gobs of mayo. Some tomato slices and lettuce bits were, I reckon, not fresh from the garden. No matter. It was sloppy and tasty and required every last one of the napkins layered on top of the bag. Get a double or triple if the patty size isn’t to your liking. Don’t expect your doctor to approve.

— Jon W. Sparks

Dixie Queen, 2442 Summer, 567-4701

Mojo Cafe

Byron Donut Burger at Mojo Cafe

I’m kind of a burger snob. I like it plain and simple — just good meat between a bun. So when I ordered the Byron Donut Burger from Mojo Cafe, I was a little wary.

Still, because I adore burgers, and donuts were my first love, I was hopeful about the journey my taste buds would soon embark on.

As the name suggests, this baby is served on a warm glazed donut. The sweet aroma of the donut caught my attention first. Before biting into the work of art in front of me, I paused to admire the craftsmanship of the sliced donut, buttered and toasted to perfection. An egg fried over-hard, melted cheese, six ounces of beef, and slices of candied bacon sit between it.

The donut might seem like the star of the show, but the ground chuck patty, seasoned with care like a burger from your mom’s kitchen, is the real MVP. It doesn’t matter what accoutrements are on a burger, it won’t rise to the occasion if the beef doesn’t. Mojo’s did.

Mojo bills itself as the “Burger and Sammie Joint where we make the best burger and Sammies you’ve ever had,” and I might have never heard a truer statement.

The donut burger is only sold on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

— Maya Smith

Mojo Cafe, 7124 US Highway 64,
207-6041

LBOE

The Grizz at LBOE

The Grizz at LBOE is the monster truck of Memphis burgers.

It’s bulked up with double everything — double beef patties, double portions of hardwood smoked bacon, and double cheese (yellow and white American). The whole thing is Memphis-ized with a tasteful drizzle of barbecue sauce. It’s all dressed out with lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

And, yeah, it is a whole thing. At $14.95, The Grizz is the single most expensive item on the LBOE menu. Its enormity was apparent even as the waitress was carrying it from the kitchen. Its size was enough to raise a few eyebrows from fellow diners. I could swear I heard a low thud as she sat the burger on the table.

How on earth was I going to eat this thing? I decided it wasn’t going to be a polite affair, so I simply dove in and did the best I could. You know how your head shakes when you’re trying to take too big of a bite? Yep. And I came away with sauce and all that other burgery goodness all over me.

The taste is all-American. It ain’t flashy, but it’s everything you think a proper burger should be. Neither sleek nor subtle, The Grizz is a bonafide, badass hunger crusher.

— Toby Sells

LBOE, 2021 Madison, 725-0770

Second Line

The Cheeseburger at Second Line

Anyone ordering a burger at The Second Line by Kelly English should already know it will be out of the ordinary. For one thing, it’s not a burger joint, but one of the city’s best purveyors of New Orleans cuisine. For another, it’s run by a chef who’s been celebrated by Food & Wine magazine. Finally, the menu notes that this burger is served “Cooter Brown style.”

“It’s named after Cooter Brown’s Bar in New Orleans,” Second Line team member Christopher Williams tells me. “It’s an homage to their burger. So it’s got beef patties set side by side on our po’ boy bread, a little Creole seasoning, salt, pepper, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayonaisse.”

But there’s an echo of a Memphis mainstay in this burger as well. “It has to meet the standard of the Tops cheeseburger,” Williams says. “Kelly was once asked, if he was gonna leave something for Santa Claus, what would it be? And he said a Tops cheeseburger.”

Indeed, this gem of a burger captures much of that no-nonsense goodness, which, it turns out, perfectly complements the earthy po’ boy qualities of its Crescent City references. With a side of Second Line’s epic battered onion rings, it makes for a wholly unique burger epiphany.

— Alex Greene

Second Line, 2144 Monroe, 590-2829

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From Akira to DBZ: Anime Blues Con

CREDIT: Anime Blues Con

Cosplayers, gamers, and anime/manga fans unite! The ninth annual Anime Blues Con provides a fun, three-day conference perfect for nerding out.

“There’s something at this con for everyone,” says Matthew Santirojprapai, director of communications for Anime Blues Con.

Anime Blues Con

La Parfait Maid Cafe

Some of the guests of honor this year include Fullmetal Alchemist voice actors Aaron Dismuke and Caitlin Glass and One-Man Punch voice actor Max Mittelman. “We try to get guests from the same popular series so fans have the chance to meet more voice actors of the same series,” says Santirojprapai. “We’re also excited to have Samurai Dan and Jillian perform. Their martial arts instruction is really fun to look at.”

Other guests include Tiffany Grant, Micah Salusod, and La Parfait Maid Cafe.

An estimated 5,000 attendees will have an array of other cosplay, adult, and otaku (guest-led) tracked events and programming to immerse themselves in, like cosplay contests, gaming tournaments, the Animated Music Video (AMV) League, swap meet marketplace, and the ABC Formal Ball. Musical entertainment includes a performance by dance-rock band The Slants and an off-site after-party at Club Spectrum on Friday featuring DJ Aazera and Neo Tokyo Dancers.

Guests can purchase daily walk-in or three-day badges. Visit animeblues.com for more information.

Anime Blues Con, Memphis Cook Convention Center, July 12th-14th, $20-$25.

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Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis Returns

For more than a decade, Ruby O’Gray, executive producer and co-founder of the Women’s Theatre Festival of Memphis (WTFM) and an established Memphis playwright, dreamed of honoring women in theater.

“Sixty-three percent of theater audiences are made up of women,” says O’Gray. “So, to me, it was a no-brainer to create a theater festival centered around women.”

She approached longtime friend and director/event planner Karen Moore about starting a festival, and by 2012, WTFM was born. The inaugural festival took place at The Circuit Playhouse, Playhouse on the Square, and TheatreWorks and honored Memphis women involved in theater.

The Women’s Theatre Festival focuses on the theater-loving ladies of Memphis.

Now, seven years later, the festival has grown to cover more ground, with additional sites at Hattiloo Theatre, Theatre South, and Christian Brothers University Theater.

“I have worked to show the evolution and revolution of women,” says O’Gray.

This year, several theatrical works will be showcased, including O’Gray’s The Liberal: Mrs. Price and Making Folk Happy, as well as Natalie Parker-Lawrence’s Planting Firewood.

The festival will culminate in a Gyneka Awards Gala on Sunday featuring the 2019 honorees: Janie Paris, Precious Morris, and Natalie Parker-Lawrence.

Anyone interested in purchasing tickets for individual festival events may link to the Eventbrite page from womenstfmemphis.org.

Women’s Theatre Festival, Various locations, July 11th-14th.