Author: Lesley Young

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Now out: Reel Masters and Art of Dining in Memphis 3.

CREDIT: Susan Schadt Press

God bless Susan Schadt. As the progeny of a long line of sportsmen, to the level of religiosity, quite literally, Schadt makes Christmas (and birthday and Father’s Day) shopping a breeze. The former Arts Memphis head is the visionary behind the acclaimed Wild Abundance cookbook and photo journal First Shooting Light, which documents Mid-South hunting lodges.

My Christmas-shopping woes are relieved yet again this year as Schadt, through her 2015 imprint Susan Schadt Press, has released another quality production, titled Reel Masters: Chefs Casting About with Timing and Grace.

Reel Masters adopts the cookbook model again, this time exploring favorites of award-winning chefs from the South, while also sharing their stories and secrets, all centered around fishing.

Susan Schadt Press

Susan Schadt’s Reel Masters is a catch for cooks and sportsmen alike.

“There are eight award-winning and celebrated chefs taking us to their favorite gems and secret spots, where we shot photos of them,” Schadt says.

Chefs include Kelly English, John Currence, John Besh, Donald Link, Walter Bundy, Chris Hastings, Jeremiah Bacon, and Kevin Willmann.

Lisa Buser rose to the task as photographer for this book, the eye behind Wild Abundance, A Million Wings (which explores duck hunting across the Mississippi flyway), and Memphis: Sweet, Spicy & a Little Greasy (pretty self-explanatory).

Most of the text is from the chefs — meditating on why fishing is important to them, why it is important for conservation, and why it is important to the culinary world — accompanied by recipes.

Susan Schadt Press

“They talk about growing up fishing, fishing with their parents or grandparents, and why it’s important to them,” Schadt says.

There are also fishing tips from the chefs as well as other fishing guides.

Proceeds from each Schadt book has supported either Arts Memphis or Ducks Unlimited. A percentage of profits from Reel Masters will go to support a charity of each chef’s choosing.

Schadt’s next signing event will take place on Tuesday, December 6th at Besh’s new event space, Pigeon & Prince, at 129 Camp in New Orleans. Each chef will be in attendance and will share a dish along with New York Times outdoors columnist Peter Kaminsky, who wrote the foreword for the book.

For more information, visit susanschadtpress.com.

On the other side of that coin, I also come from a family of women who love to compare and contrast their special recipes. Enter Joy Bateman. Bateman (a senior account executive for Flyer parent company CMI), is the visionary behind The Art of Dining cookbook series. She has produced The Art of Dining in Memphis 1 and 2, The Art of Dining in New Orleans 1 and 2, and similar books for Amelia Island, Nashville, and Knoxville.

Happy Holidays to me and the women in my family. Bateman just released her third installment of the Art of Dining in Memphis, featuring recipes from 53 area restaurants.

“It’s not just a cookbook. It’s also a restaurant guide that gives you places and ideas of some of the best food and restaurants in that city,” Bateman says.

She first got the idea while standing outside a small bookstore in New York, where she noticed a cookbook highlighting various New York eateries, illustrated by the author.

Bateman, who comes from a long line of artists and who is a celebrant of good food, thought she’d give it a try herself.

Between publications, she always keeps her eyes and ears, and tastebuds, peeled for what to include in her next publication.

“There are more restaurants than I could possibly include in the book,” Bateman says. “I have to end it somewhere, or I would still be writing it.”

Bateman will have two signings this week: Thursday, December 1st at Booksellers at Laurelwood at 6 p.m, including Champagne and door prizes, with music by Rick Camp; and Friday, December 2nd at the Woman’s Exchange of Memphis, 88 Racine.

Her books can also be found at RSVP Stationers, More Than Words Gifts, Ménage Fine Stationery & Gifts, as well as online at joysartofdining.com.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Erling Jensen marks 20 years

If the foodie faithful were to track the history of the culinary scene in Memphis, they could almost date the chronology BE and AE, or “Before Erling” and “After Erling.”

Born in Denmark 59 years ago, Erling Jensen made his Memphis debut in 1989 after answering a New York Times ad for a job at a French-traditional restaurant named La Tourelle. Legend has it Memphis restaurateur Glenn Hays, who could also serve as a criterion for Memphis gastronomes, hired him over the phone.

Jensen, who graduated from Tech College Aalborg in Denmark with a culinary degree, took the venerable eatery to new heights, garnering awards and recognition over his seven-year tenure at the turreted house on Monroe.

In 1996, he ventured out on his own to open his eponymous eatery on Yates, with the vision of keeping it real, quite literally.

“My vision has always been to stay within my European background — no cutting corners,” Jensen says.

That means making all his sauces from scratch as well as his veal and fish stocks.

That does not mean staying within any status quo.

“My influences come from everywhere,” he says. “I’m all over the map. I do some Asian things, new American. There’s a lot of good stuff coming up now.”

It all seems to have worked for the venerated chef. Erling Jensen: The Restaurant has made frequent appearances as “Best Restaurant” on various Memphis polls year in and year out.

Some dishes have come and gone, and some have become a Jensen tradition.

His rack of lamb has been synonymous with the Jensen name since his days in Midtown. The pasta with shrimp and scallops, his crab cakes, and his Dover sole are institutions.

Most recently his bison burgers have made their way on to the list of reliables.

The foodie faithful might just be wondering what’s next for the Memphis darling?

A celebratory 20-year anniversary dinner, anyone?

Starting Thursday, November 17th through Saturday, the 19th, Jensen will offer a special five-course dinner.

The three days are sold out, but Jensen is considering adding a Sunday dinner if enough interest warrants the move.

On the menu for those nights:

Scallops with saffron vanilla sauce, Scottish pheasant breast with lingonberries, roasted lamb loin en croute with lobster glacé, and bison ribeye with foie gras and a demi glacé.

The fact that it ends with his chocolate soufflé deserves its own paragraph.

Each course is paired with wine.

In the meantime, his energy is contagious.

In addition to running a longstanding landing-place, where he can be found every other day and where he designs weekly menus, he’s at nearly every restaurant event in Memphis, and he has a 3-year-old little boy, Blake, to look after as well as a new wife.

“I would say everything’s been going pretty good,” Jensen says. “It’s had its ups and downs, like everything, like life.

“I try not to rest on any laurels. All the restaurants we have now. It’s crazy. It’s good. You have to be on your toes. You have to be on your toes every day.”

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

New chefs at Folk’s Folly, Interim, and Bounty.

When one chef leaves, another steps in to take his or her place, bringing his or her experience, enterprise, and general tenor to the venue. There’s been some diversification in the top brass department across the Memphis restaurant landscape of late. Here’s a round-up of some of the changes, from institutions old and new to new(er) kids on the block.

Max Hussey has cooked Cajun cuisine at Emeril’s New Orleans and barbecue in San Francisco (where he won a Top 30 BBQ Restaurants in the Country designation) and even studied Indian cuisine under an Awa (grandmother).

He was imported to Memphis in 2015 to steer the ship at eighty3 in the Madison Hotel but found himself restless enough to make the transition to what he heard was the legendary Folk’s Folly. Eventually.

“When the position first opened [at Folk’s Folly], I balked,” Hussey says. “I felt like I still had work to do at the Madison.”

Moving on up — Max Hussey is the executive chef at Folk’s Folly.

The second time he had the chance, though, he definitely jumped.

“They’ve had servers working there for 36 years and line cooks for 22,” he says. “Nobody has that kind of longevity in the restaurant industry. There must be something to it.”

He’s been able to do things like make watermelon or pumpkin caviar as a garnish or add black cardamom to the collard greens.

“I do love being creative,” he says. “I enjoy bringing new techniques and products and different styles to the weekly specials.”

Dave Krog made a return to Interim, but this time a bit further up in the kitchen hierarchy. He started out as sous chef at the sleek and elegant eatery, leaving in the fall of 2015 for the Terrace at River Inn. He’s been executive chef at the nine-year-old restaurant — which takes its name from serving as an interim restaurant after Wally Joe closed shop in the space in 2007 and Jackson Kramer took the helm — since this spring.

Since taking over, Krog has started his own wine dinner, getting to play with limited-release products from local vendors once a month and serving the specialities to 16 lucky gastronomes in the restaurant’s private dining room.

“I did that immediately,” Krog says. “It offers a challenge to me and the staff, and I get a chance to serve something you can’t get at every restaurant.”

His goals are to “continue to elevate the food in the building” with “the best kitchen in town” and keep his vendors as close to home as possible.

Speaking of Interim. Kramer left the space on Sanderlin in 2014 to open Bounty on Broad. More recently, he left Memphis to pursue his culinary dreams in the PNW and while at it, leaving a chance for Russell Casey to put his spin on the entirely gluten-free restaurant.

In addition to adding patio seating, Saturday brunch, and a bar menu, Casey has put a duck duo on the menu, with seared duck breast, confit leg, and homemade sweet potato pudding. They’re unveiling their new menu this week, and soon will be baking their own gluten-free bread, which will add more choices to the brunch items.

“Russ was available, and the owner was connected to him, so it was kind of serendipitous,” Bounty manager Severin Allgood says.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Now open: Char and Catherine & Mary’s

Earlier this year, restaurateur Ben Brock took home the Restaurateur of the Year award from the Memphis Restaurant Association.

Brock owns 11 restaurants in Tennessee and Mississippi, including Amerigo and, most recently, Char, a seafood and steakhouse in the Highland Row development near the U of M.

This is the second Char location after 15 years of success in Jackson, Mississippi. From floor to ceiling, kitchen to table, it is no surprise that Brock can add the MRA trophy to his mantel.

“It’s unlike your typical steakhouse,” Brock says. “It has a little more personality, a little more Southern charm.”

It’s a perfect mixture of old and new, with dark wood and white tile, big open spaces and large windows, and a menu that will inspire a following of regulars who will want to check off every item.

Brock says their gumbo won a Jackson, Mississippi, gumbo contest, with its thick, dark roux and generous chunks of crab, sausage, and chicken ($5/cup, $7/ bowl).

“It’s stirred a lot,” Brock says. “It gets a lot of love.”

The Cornbread Dusted Redfish, which has been getting a lot of attention from the clientele, is served with Delta Grind grits, spinach, and Abita Amber crab pan sauce ($15 lunch, $28 dinner).

“That’s a recipe from [chef] Steven Howell,” Brock says. “He’s newer to our concept, so he gives everything a new spark.”

Ben Brock’s Char — not your typical seafood and steakhouse

Char-Jackson veteran Anthony Hatten is the other half in the kitchen, the brains behind the longtime favorite, the filet, a cut of tenderloin served with two choices of sides ($36/eight ounces, $51/12).

And Brock swears by his pecan pie.

“We also sell them whole during the holiday season,” he says. “[In Mississippi], we’ll sell up to 150 during Thanksgiving week. It’s one of the best, and we make it in-house, every day.”

Char is located at 431 S. Highland, #120. Brock owns the restaurant along with three partners through his company 4-Top Hospitality.

Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon. through Sat., and Sun., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 249-3533, memphis.charrestaurant.com.

Childhood friends, co-chefs, and business partners, Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman have done it yet again.

The pair behind Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Hog & Hominy, and Porcellino’s Craft Butcher have branched out of their familiar Brookhaven Circle multi-digs and headed west with their latest edition of traditional Italian cuisine with a Southern flourish, Catherine & Mary’s.

Housed in the ground floor of the Chisca on Main, this iteration of their brand of distinct Italian food would make their grandmamas proud.

It is named for them, after all — from Hudman’s grandmother, Catherine Chiozza and Ticer’s Mary Spinosa.

The approach can be bracketed between Andrew Michael and Hog & Hominy, according to Ticer and Hudman.

There are no shrinking violets on the menu, with oysters served with spinach, brandade, paddlefish, caviar, and panna gratta; radiatore served with pistachio pesto, mint, basil, and smoked ricotta salata; monkfish; cassarecce served with foie gras and giblets; and yes, they have Maw Maw’s gravy … with meatballs.

With a menu like that, you need a knockout setting, and the Chisca delivers.

Full windows flank the northwest walls with enviable views of Main Street.

Walls are left rough, and I kind of want to take all of the furniture home with me.

A 27-foot bar seats 20 along the north wall, and they offer a private dining room with access to a Chisca event room.

In 2008, they opened their flagship restaurant, Andrew Michael, followed by the more casual Hog & Hominy in 2012. Porcellino’s, which, in my opinion, offers some of the strongest coffee in town, made its debut in February of last year, and early this year New Orleans hipped themselves to the Memphis duo with the opening of Josephine Estelle in the new Ace Hotel.

Catherine & Mary’s is located at 272 S. Main. Open Mon.-Thurs., 5-10 p.m., and Fri. and Sat., 5-11 p.m. 254-8600, catherineandmarys.com.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

New cookbooks from the Chubby Vegetarian and Marisa Baggett.

It all started with a bowl of pasta and a few too many habaneros for Justin Fox Burks and Amy Lawrence.

“That was the first dish we cooked for each other,” Burks says. “We went together to the grocery store. We thought the habaneros were real pretty. It was so hot, but we ate it because we had made it.”

They’ve come a long way since that first dish they cooked together as a couple, creating a blog, chubbyvegetarian.com, that now has more than 3.5 million visits, appearing on the Food Network, lecturing and cooking at the James Beard House, and now coming out with their second cookbook, The Chubby Vegetarian (Susan Schadt Press).

“A lot of really fortunate things have happened,” Burks says.

The Chubby Vegetarian is a follow-up to their first cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian (Thomas Nelson), which has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Kitchn, and P. Allen Smith’s Garden Style.

“The first book looked inward at our Southern culture and tried to fit what we live,” Burks says. “The second is a look at other cultures, particularly cultures that already eat a lot of vegetables.”

There is the Veggie-Packed Napa Cabbage Wraps with spicy Peanut Sauce, or the Samosas with Raita Dipping Sauce, and the Asian-Inspired Taco Bar, or the Egg Foo Yung with Sriracha Gravy.

There are also some typical American dishes but with a veggie twist.

Like the Charred Carrot Hot Dog — a carrot charred on the grill, then smoked inside aluminum foil, topped with all the fixings, and served in a hot dog bun.

Or the Olive-Bar Puttanesca with Cauliflower Chops — big chunks of cauliflower roasted in the oven and made to look like pork chops topped with a spicy puttanesca sauce using things found at an olive bar.

“We were trying to keep things light. We don’t want it to be intimidating or to make it super serious,” Lawrence says.

“We’re taking vegetables and transforming them with just some simple alchemy,” Burks says.

The couple has several events planned for their book launch, including a booksigning at Booksellers at Laurelwood Thursday, October 27th at 6:30 p.m. and a book launch party Sunday, November 6th at the Second Line at 5 p.m.

For Marisa Baggett, it started in a locked bathroom with a

bottle of Jack Daniels.

Eleven Japanese businessmen had shown up at her Starkville restaurant wanting to try her “sushi.”

“All of my employees were concerned and knocking on the door saying, You’ve got to come out of the bathroom,” Baggett says. “I said, No, I’m not coming out.”

Eventually she came out, made her version of sushi that she had learned from books on Japanese cuisine from the library, and promptly enrolled in sushi school.

“After that, I said, You know what, I want to be able to stand in front of anybody and feel comfortable with what I make for them,” Baggett says.

She graduated from the California Sushi Academy with a job lined up at a new sushi restaurant opening in Memphis under the leadership of Karen Carrier — Do.

All the while she was thinking there must be more people like her out there who would like to be able to make their own sushi at home and who may not have access to elaborate Asian markets.

She pitched her idea to several publishers, but no takers, until after she started sharing her knowledge and experience on a blog, and Tuttle Publishing approached her about writing a sushi cookbook for home cooks.

And Sushi Secrets: Easy Recipes for the Home Cook was born.

Baggett recently released her second cookbook, Vegetarian Sushi Secrets: 101 Healthy and Delicious Recipes.

“I knew as soon as I turned in my first book, I was going to do something on vegetarian sushi,” Baggett says. “I was a vegetarian from the time I was in seventh grade until about age 25. It doesn’t seem fair the things they put in front of people and sell as vegetarian.”

Baggett’s books can be found at Booksellers at Laurelwood as well as most bookstores and ordered online. For more information, visit marisabaggett.com.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Now open: Zaka Bowl and DWJ2.

There’s a new trend on the Memphis dining scene, and hopefully one that’s here to stay — healthy offerings. The build-your-own salad bowl has become a leading part of that trend, and Zaka Bowl is the latest to surface, this time with a full-of-flavor vegan slant.

“I went vegan in February 2014 after doing a lot of research on factory farming,” Zaka Bowl’s co-owner, Ed Cabigao, also the co-owner of South of Beale (SOB), says. “I weighed 220 pounds at the time. About six months later, I got down to 180.”

As he considered opening a second restaurant after SOB’s now seven-year run, and continued to lose weight once he picked up running, he wanted to share the health.

“That whole experience made me passionate about that kind of lifestyle,” Cabigao, who owns the two restaurants with his wife, Brittany, says. “I always knew I wanted to open a second restaurant, and I knew I wanted to meld my love of the restaurant industry with my lifestyle goals.”

Zaka Bowl is clean, simple, and engaging.

Diners walk into a colorful and graphic-laden room and up to the counter, where they begin to create their bowl. A plant-based biodegradable bowl, with lid options, I might add.

First they choose a base from four options, such as Garlic Olive Oil Quinoa, Wild Rice, Vegetable Noodles, or Chopped Spinach. Then they add H.I.P. veggies — “high in protein,” not bearded, tattooed, with a ukelele, or whatever the kids are doing these days — choosing three from a list of options such as Smoked Portabella, Roasted Tofu, Mustard Herb Cauliflower, Lemon Garlic Broccoli, or Agave Brussels Sprouts. Then come three Hot and four Cold Garnishes, including Roasted Beets, Cinnamon Chili Sweet Potatoes, Rosemary Carrots, Guacamole, Pickled Jalapeño, or Pineapple Pico, among many others.

The salad artist can then add as many housemade sauces as his or her heart desires, including Creamy Avocado, Green Tea Vinaigrette, Coconut Curry, Sriracha BBQ, Sesame Soy Vinaigrette, and the Zaka Sauce, a sort of comeback sauce but vegan. I’ll take a bowl of the Coconut Curry sauce, please.

There are a couple of featured bowls on the menu, including the Zaka Flocka Flame and the Samurai Soy, as well as House Blended Juices, such as Pineapple Mint and Blueberry Lemonade.

All bowls are $10.

“I wanted to make something that’s easily accessible,” Cabigao says. “And I know how much better I feel after I eat a bowl of veggies.”

Zaka Bowl, 575 Erin, 509-3105

zakabowl.com

Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

All of Midtown is abuzz about the latest in cultural cuisine offerings — DWJ2, which opened in the old Greencork space the week of Cooper-Young Fest.

Korean food devotees may know that the “2” stems from its being a second location for DWJ owners, and brothers, Hwan and Jun Lee, who opened the original DWJ in East Memphis in 2002 and is now at Hacks Cross and Winchester.

“We had decided to open another restaurant, and we were looking at Ole Miss or Denver, Colorado,” Hwan says.

“The partner of the landlord dined in our first location, and enjoyed the food and dropped the question if we would like to be their new tenant,” Jun says.

They describe their food as traditional Korean food with an update.

They offer pajeons, bibimbap, stir fry, noodle dishes, rice dishes, hot pots, some extremely intriguing fish dishes, as well as the whole barbecue experience, with grills at every table and the option to finish cooking your food if two people order from the barbecue menu.

Prices range from $9 to $34.

“We’re very satisfied with the response,” Hwan says. “There has been a really positive vibe. I didn’t know people would be so excited. I can’t stop smiling.”

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Now open: 99¢ Soul Food, Tuscany Italian Eatery.

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Will Eddie Nash Jr. got into restaurant ownership after serving in the charter school program where he provided breakfast, lunch, and snacks to more than 3,000 students five days a week.

In June, he opened 99¢ Soul Food Express at 414 S. Main to fulfill a longtime dream of his.

“I’ve had this idea for probably over 20 years,” Nash says. “I decided not to go back to the charter school industry so I could give this 125 percent of my time and focus.”

The setup works like a Picadilly-fast-food hybrid, with everything made fresh, by hand, daily.

“I tried to create a fast-food experience but from a soul food standpoint,” Nash says.

He serves the same items every day — 13 meats to choose from, such as oxtail, meatloaf, smoked ribs, fried catfish, liver and onion, pork chops, chicken, and others.

After choosing a meat option, diners opt for their veggies, such as black eyed peas, greens, yams, cabbage, green beans, fried okra, mac and cheese, and homemade dressing.

Each three-ounce serving of vegetables is only 99 cents, including the buttermilk cornbread.

Most meats are anywhere between $2.99 and $10.99.

Then there’s dessert. Summer in a bowl, otherwise known as peach cobbler, apple cobbler, lemon pound cake, like “from old-time church socials,” and double chocolate cake, all with the a-la-mode option.

“I just want to serve my community and give the best possible experience with great soul food,” Nash says.

99¢ Soul Food Express, 414 S. Main,

207-5124, 99centsoulfoodexpress.com.

Mon.-Tues., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wed.-Sat. 11 a.m. to p.m., and Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Business partners Jeremy Martin and Debbie Houck had to close doors after their Olive Branch Tuscany Italian Steakhouse burned in January.

They knew they wanted to reopen, but they wanted to find just the right place, particularly to be closer to the children’s hospitals in Memphis.

Martin hoofed the pavement of downtown Memphis for months looking for an ideal location while asking around what people were looking for in a new restaurant.

The feedback he received consisted of a deli that wasn’t corporate, something Italian, and good quality.

So Martin put his 26 years of restaurant experience to work and came up with Tuscany Italian Eatery, an Italian deli that serves up paninis, pasta, and salads, all hand-made from scratch.

“I grew up on a produce farm, and I would sell produce from the back of a truck when I was 8, so I’ve always been about fresh ingredients and quality,” Martin said.

Houck described his meatballs as “out of this world” more than once, which you can order with pasta or on a sub.

He serves Chicago beef, which he seasons and cooks for 12 to 15 hours, and his salad dressings he makes from scratch.

They deliver downtown, and offer catering, which includes not only their Italian specialities, but also most any other cuisine requested.

Their reason for relocating from DeSoto County to downtown Memphis is obvious before diners even walk through the doors. Signs advertising St. Jude 5Ks sit in every window, and the interior walls are covered in paintings — all of which are for sale to help the cause — created by children with cancer.

Martin offers his catering services to cancer research fund-raising functions at a major discount, and invites families to come eat at his restaurant at no cost.

Martin and Houck also plan to open a breakfast and lunch spot at 200 Jefferson any day now, and eventually a commissary.

“There are so many amazing restaurants down here, and I wanted to be a part of that and add to what’s down here,” Martin says.

Tuscany Italian Eatery, 116 S. Front,

567-4065, tuscanyitalianeatery.com.

Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Sun.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Vin-A-Que at the Brooks

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Memphis has been a food destination for decades. After all, it does host the world’s largest barbecue-cooking contest. The Brooks Museum of Art has been in tune with this fact for almost as long, hosting various foodie events on and off-site of their Overton Park grounds for the past 25 years with their Wine + Food Series.

Their newest addition to the series is the extremely popular wine- and barbecue-pairing event, Vin-A-Que, which invites various eateries in town, particularly barbecue restaurants, to do their worst with pork and attendees to pair the wines presented with whichever dishes speak to them.

“This is our biggest fund-raiser,” Lindsey Hedgepeth, the Brooks’ fund-raising events manager, says.

Now in its sixth year, Vin-A-Que brings in 350 to 400 people every fall. This year’s event will be held Friday, September 30th, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Brooks.

Close to 20 restaurants will present barbecue-inspired dishes, with local barbecue favorites such as Payne’s, the Rendezvous, Jim ‘N Nick’s, One & Only, and Central BBQ, as well as some surprises, like Mosa Asian Bistro, Babalu, and Interim, mixing it up with dishes such as boudin balls, New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp, sliders, and other twists.

Andrew Michael will return with their whole-hog magic, alongside Sweet Grass and Central BBQ, and, if a palate-cleanser is in order, MEMPops will be serving up their handmade, all-natural popsicles, and Frost will offer some sugar relief.

On the wine side, Glazer’s Distributors will provide various tasting options as well as five signature cocktails with either vodka, gin, or bourbon as the base, and Ghost River is providing beer.

“This is a nice counterpart to our other wine and food events, which tend to be more formal,” Braden Hixson, Development Associate, says.

Hedgepeth and team decided to go with a bohemian theme, encouraging patrons to channel their inner Stevie Nicks while providing a backdrop of tepees, pouf seats, a fortune teller, and make-your-own flower crowns.

Mark Edgar Stuart will provide entertainment.

“It will look totally different,” Hedgepeth says. “Now we’re utilizing the plaza outside, which is so nice, because we’re in this beautiful park setting, and when the weather cooperates, it’s magical.”

The Vin-A-Que event originated as a way for the Brooks to show off their city to the out-of-town wine vendors who participated in their food events.

“They wanted a taste of Memphis, particularly barbecue, and they
usually wanted it more than once,” Hedgepeth says.

Proceeds from the various Wine + Food Series benefit the Brooks Museum education programs, such as the Art Builds Creativity visual art enrichment program conducted with Memphis schools; the Inside Art hands-on family art gallery; the Tea & Tour series for seniors; Art Therapy Access; and the phenomenal film screenings, among many other programs.

Tickets are $75, and valet parking will be offered.

For more information, visit memphiswine.org or call (901) 544-6209.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

New locations for Tart, Babalu, and Wild Beet Salad Co.

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

It is not news that Memphis is experiencing a renaissance on multiple levels, particularly on the food front, becoming a foodie destination all of its own.

So much so that some of the relative newcomers to the scene are already expanding.

Heather Bryan-Pike and Abby Jestis opened the French-inspired cafe and patisserie Tart in 2014 to much fanfare, and in April of 2015 sold the Cooper-Young establishment to a silent owner.

Almost since taking it over, the new owner and Sleepy Johnson, Tart’s chef and general manager, have been prepping for a new location, settling on the lobby of One Commerce Square.

The reasons are not only to bring their fresh, homemade, and locally sourced sandwiches (Croque Monsieur, am I right?), pastries, and soups to people who live in zip codes other than 38104, but also because of logistics.

“We sell our bread to other businesses, and we have to rent another space to make it and ship it [to our Cooper-Young restaurant]. It’s a pain, and it’s costly,” Johnson says.

At their second location, Johnson and company will make all their breads and offer a to-go window with most of the favorites on the menu as well as a few pre-made salads, granola, etc.

Johnson says they are looking at November for the opening.

Their plans don’t stop there either.

“We hope to acquire the restaurant space in the building and open a brasserie. It will be a whole other ball game,” Johnson says.

Tart, 820 Cooper St. and 40 S. Main,

(901) 725-0091, tartmemphis.com.

When Babalu first opened in Overton Square in 2014, there were two-hour waits on Friday nights. I know. I was there.

The Eat Here Brands eatery, which is also responsible for four other Babalus in Jackson, Mississippi, Birmingham, Knoxville, and Charlotte, hopes to reach those outside the parkways with its second Memphis location next to International Paper.

“They built a new building just off of Poplar,” Eat Here Brands CEO Bill Latham says of the former Cozymel’s location. “They contacted us and asked if we would be interested. We took a look and said yes.”

Plans are to be similar to the Overton Square location but different.

“Every one of our restaurants is different, but we will try to make sure there are plenty of similarities,” Latham says.

Perhaps most importantly, it will have another kick-ass patio. And the guacamole.

Latham says they hope to open by the end of the year.

“I’ve always thought Memphis could support two Babalus,” Latham says. “It’s a great location with a tremendous amount of office space all around us and great neighborhoods north, south, east, and west. We love Memphis.”

Babalu Tacos & Tapas,

2115 Madison and near the corner of International Drive and Poplar, (901) 274-0100,

https://memphis.eatbabalu.com.

Wild Beet Salad Co. has diversified its operations in more ways than one.

After opening in 2014 as Lettuce Eat Salad Co., owner Kelcie Hamm was informed that using “lettuce” as a verb was already trademarked by a company in Chicago. Eventually she settled on Wild Beet Salad Co.

“I love it. I’m very happy with it,” Hamm says.

Now that she’s in the middle of ordering all new uniforms, signage, and binary codes, she figured it would be a good time to secure that second location.

In April she signed a lease at a location in Knickerbocker Plaza at 4715 Poplar.

She hopes to open in the fall.

Wild Beet Salad Co. serves fresh, chopped salads made to order topped with fresh-made dressings along with a variety of wraps in a fast-casual style.

The new location will be an exact replica of its original counterpart but with some additional seating.

“I’m really excited. I’m hoping to open more,” Hamm says.

Wild Beet Salad Co.,

6641 Poplar, Suite 106 and 4715 Poplar, (901) 552-5604, wildbeetsalads.com.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Now open: The Kitchen at Shelby Farms.

Like all good stories, this one starts with a dog. A black Lab to be exact, who, on his walk down Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, took it upon himself to jump into the lap of an innocent bystander. That chance encounter would not only be the start of a longtime friendship, but also a business partnership and a national effort for food advocacy.

The lap belonged to chef Hugo Matheson, and the Lab to Kimbal Musk and Jen Lewin. The three (not sure if the Lab was invited) ended up having dinner that night, prepared by Matheson, and the idea of opening a neighborhood restaurant that builds community around eating healthy food was born. Since that day in 2002, the dynamic trio has opened eight restaurants in Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Chicago, and Glendale. This week, they added Memphis to the roster, with the opening of The Kitchen, a “world-class neighborhood restaurant,” in the new FedEx Events Center in Shelby Farms Park.

“Memphis picked me,” Musk said at a recent fund-raiser for his nonprofit, The Kitchen Community.

In addition to creating homey, community-focused, and locally sourced restaurants, Musk, Matheson, and Lewin have developed The Kitchen Community, a series of outdoor Learning Gardens built at schools around the country to encourage healthy eating in students by incorporating the gardens into the curriculum.

It was the Learning Gardens that brought Musk to Memphis. And, of course, more kismet meetings centered around food.

“I was at a dinner, and I was sitting next to a great philanthropist from Memphis. I was telling him about our Learning Gardens, and he asked if I would consider building them in Memphis,” says Musk, who has a culinary degree from NYC’s French Culinary Institute. “I told him, ‘Sure, if someone will fund it.’ He said, ‘What if I funded it?'”

So far, Musk and company have built 65 Learning Gardens at Shelby County Schools, Jubilee Catholic Schools, and the Achievement School District, with three more approved so far. Their goal is to build 100 in Memphis.

A percentage of proceeds from the restaurants, which include The Kitchen community bistros, Next Door community pubs, and the Boulder-only Upstairs cocktail lounge, fund the Learning Gardens, as do various fund-raisers throughout the year.

But back to the restaurant.

Kimbal Musk admires the beautiful view from The Kitchen.

The 5,000-square-foot, 128-seat bistro keeps as its theme simple, clean, fresh, and local, preparing dishes like Sweet Corn Ravioli or Summer Melon & Country Ham using seasonal ingredients from local farmers, ranchers, and purveyors in and around Memphis.

And while the signature dishes such as the hand-cut garlic fries, the tomato soup, the mussels, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding will most definitely knock your socks off, the view might just be the main attraction.

Situated in the brand-new, eco-friendly FedEx Events Center as part of the $70 million Heart of the Park reimagining project near completion in Shelby Farms, the restaurant is almost entirely flanked by windows. That’s an important feature, because it sits on the southeast end of the newly expanded Patriot Lake, which recently grew from 52 acres to 80. Sunset views for days, people. There’s also a covered patio with tables and couches and lounge chairs facing the lake with western views.

With such competition, the interior needed some show stoppage, and it does not disappoint, with a blend of contemporary and rural styles that use reclaimed barn pendants, handmade wrought iron pipe sconces, and handcrafted dining tables made of reclaimed heart of pine.

Diners who stop by on Monday nights can opt to eat at the community table in the private dining room, where they are seated with strangers, and, who knows, might come up with the next idea that will change the world.

“My time in Memphis has been magical,” Musk says. “Memphis is historically an amazing food town. I want to give people a place they can go and get food that nourishes their body while creating local relationships.”

The Kitchen is the first of three endeavors Musk and his business partners have planned for Memphis. Next will be The Kitchenette, a grab-and-go cafe in the new Shelby Farms Visitors Center, and they will open one of their Next Door community pubs in the Crosstown Concourse building next year.

The Kitchen is open for dinner only until after Labor Day. Then its hours are lunch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., brunch Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner Sunday and Monday, 5 to 10 p.m., and Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.

For more information, visit thekitchenbistros.com or call 729-9009.