Author: Michelle Lewis

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Jerry Lawler’s Deep-fried Ribs

Memorial Day Weekend marked one month since King Jerry Lawler’s Hall of Fame Bar & Grille opened up their doors on Beale Street. Did you know that they serve deep fried ribs?

I got the 3 Rib Special ($9.95). It comes with three ribs and you have the choice to get them wet, dry, Cajun-style, or deep-fried. Beans, slaw, fries and Texas toast accompany the ribs.

We’re talking the real-deal here: The ribs are crispy when you bite into it, but the meat underneath is tender. The BBQ sauce was sweet and tangy — a great dip for the ribs. Plus that coleslaw — fresh, crunchy, creamy, and light. A favorite! 

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Red Koi’s Kentucky Roll

Ladies and gentlemen … here’s a sushi roll with FRIED CHICKEN IN IT!

Red Koi’s Kentucky Roll ($6.75) consists of chicken katsu, cream cheese, avocado, and honey sauce. The chicken katsu is lightly fried, making the roll crispy. The cream cheese quickly messes with you though, as the roll changes from crunchy to creamy. Then there’s the avocado and the great honey sauce with the perfect amount of sweet. 

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

South of Beale’s Bar Pie Special

Once I saw the South of Beale’s Bar Pie Special ($11.50), I knew that I had to be adventurous for once.

This week, the bar pie is gator sausage, garlic, roasted red peppers, gouda, green onions and a chili-lime crème fraiche.

I have never tried alligator and was worried about how it would taste. I LOVED IT! I would compare the alligator meat to chicken and sausage. The meat tastes like chicken but better. It’s more flavorful, chewy, and it has the firmness of sausage. It fits right in on the bar pie. The roasted red peppers and green onions are fresh and the Gouda is nicely melted on the bread that is soft and grilled like a Panini. Lastly, the chili-lime crème fraiche adds a great kick of spiciness. If you like it spicy, you will love the sauce.

Grab it before it’s gone on Monday.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

City East’s Matzah Brei

It’s Passover this week, and City East has something on their menu that you can eat to celebrate the holiday. It’s their version of matzah brei and it’s on the menu year-round! The matzah brei is served with hash browns and you can get it topped with syrup or jam ($6.35) or with salami ($8.35). I got mine with salami.

Matzah brei is matzoh fried with eggs. The matzoh was broken into pieces and it was crunchy but softened. It mixed well with the eggs and the salami was nice and hearty. A simple but delicious dish!

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Old Venice’s Lucky Luciano

Meatballs on pizza? Why not? Old Venice takes on that challenge with one of their specialty pizzas, The Lucky Luciano ($17.99 for a large). There’s pizza sauce, Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, red bell pepper, meatballs, and it’s topped with shredded parmesan and fresh oregano.

The meatballs! Soft, flavorful, and juicy. And not messy … which I wasn’t expecting. I also thought it was going to be heavy. Not the case at all.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Andrew Michael’s A|M Breakfast

Our waitress let us know that one thing Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen prides itself on is a starter, the A|M Breakfast ($11).

The A|M Breakfast is made up of a poached egg, pork belly, polenta, and  pork rinds. The pork rinds are crunchy and spicy while the pork belly is juicy and smokey. The polenta is creamy, cheesy, and goes well with the poached egg. After trying everything separately, I mixed everything all together, which made it taste even better because the pork rind gets softer and changes texture. Delicious.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Stoney River’s Deviled Eggs

Yes, Stoney River is known for their steaks, but you shouldn’t ignore the other items on their menu.

I stumbled upon one of their starters, deviled eggs ($8). These are deviled eggs with a twist, finished with sugar-cured bacon and homemade pickle relish. The deviled eggs taste similar to a creamy egg salad. Thanks to the bacon on top, there’s a crunchy factor that you don’t expect and it’s sweet. If you like deviled eggs that taste like creamy, smooth candy, these are for you.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

A Visit to Park + Cherry

The owners of Acre Restaurant signed a three-year lease to run the Dixon Gallery and Garden’s new café called Park + Cherry. It opened this Tuesday and everything on the menu has an average price range of $8-$10. There’s a selection of sandwiches, salads, snacks, sides, sweets and coffee.

The first sandwich I tried was the truffled pimento cheese ($8). The bread is super soft and airy. As for the pimento cheese, it’s different from others that I’ve tasted. I chalk that up to the fact that there’s actually preserved black truffles worked into it! The pimento cheese is light, fresh and simply put… delicious. It’s also a nice serving size.

For the healthy option, I tried the quinoa, pickle pear, arugula, and cranberry salad ($9). The quinoa is cooked just right. The pear and cranberries give a nice hint of sweetness to the salad while providing two totally different textures at the same time. If you want a fresh and light-tasting salad that will fill you up and has a touch of sweetness, this is for you.

Lastly I sampled one of the hot-pressed sandwiches. I went with the smoked beef brisket Reuben ($10.) It had Swiss, sauerkraut, and sweet red wine mustard. On the first bite you can taste the smokiness of the meat. The brisket is smoked to the point where it isn’t overwhelming and that allows the sauerkraut to kick in. It’s got a great crunch and a sweet pickled taste to it. The red wine mustard with the melted Swiss cheese seals the deal. If you want a juicy sandwich, you can’t go wrong with this one.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Hard Rock’s Guinness & Jameson Bacon Cheeseburger

The Hard Rock’s Guinness & Jameson Bacon Cheeseburger ($14.95) — now here’s a burger for St. Paddy’s Day. It’s a half-pound certified Angus beef patty topped with Jameson Irish Whiskey bacon jam and Guinness cheese sauce. The burger is served with seasonal fries and a Sriracha mayo dipping sauce.

The bun is lightly toasted, the meat is flavorful and very juicy, and the Guinness cheese sauce creamy with a light hint of Guinness. But it’s the Irish Whiskey bacon jam that’s the star. It’s caramelized just right, making it sweet, crunchy, and crazy good!

Overall, you’ve got yourself a creative, sweet, and cheesy burger. Try it today before it’s gone. The Guinness & Jameson Bacon Cheeseburger will be on the menu until April 10th.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Mempops Opens New Store on Saturday

Mempops, a food truck specializing in all natural, handcrafted frozen pops, opens its first brick-and-mortor store on Saturday, March 12th, 11 a.m., in the Park Place Centre. You can buy and eat your pops in the store, watch them being made, and even sign up for a “make your own pops” party.

The featured flavors are broken into two categories, cream and fruit. The cream side includes Mexican Chocolate, Strawberries and Cream, Arroz con Leche, Orange Vanilla, and Reverb Coffee Dulce de Leche. On the fruit side there’s Avocado Lime, Strawberry, Pineapple Coconut, Mint Lemonade, and Spicy Pineapple.

I tried the Avocado Lime. It was a pleasant surprise, tasting like a raw avocado in a creamy form with a hint of lime. It’s a fresh, cold, creamy fruit pop. Delicious and refreshing!

In the future, Mempops plans on adding boozy pops to their menu. If you stop by tomorrow, all pops will be $2 (usually $3.25) to celebrate their grand opening.