Author: Sonia Alexander Hill

The duo responsible for the North End (and the hot fudge pie) is back in business. Jake Shore and David Harsh opened the restaurant, a staple of the Pinch District, in 1983 and ran it together until Shore sold his interest in 2002 and Harsh closed the doors for good in February.

Now the two, friends since 1976, have opened Westy’s, at 346 N. Main.

“This restaurant will have a lot of things the North End had: 30 varieties of wild rice, Creole cooking, and, of course, hot fudge pie,” says Shore. “But the North End was one of a kind, and Westy’s will again be one of a kind.”

Solid-mahogany booths, tables, and bar offer the same casual setting as the North End. Plus, Shore says you can expect the same attentive service even in the wee hours.

“If you order at 3 a.m., we’re not going to run you out at 3:30,” says Shore. “I don’t believe in rushing anyone out.”

Westy’s menu features pastas and melts, like tomato and cream cheese. Many of the new dishes are tailored to the health-conscious and to vegetarians. The drink list features nearly 80 beers, inexpensive wines, and a full bar in a few weeks.

The Cordova Ridge Italian CafE at 1204 N. Houston-Levee offers dishes from pizza and sandwiches to gourmet Italian dinners and a variety of wines.

Husband-and-wife team Zack and Autumn Abdallat designed the space to mimic an Italian outdoor café. While there is sidewalk seating, the real transformation is indoors. With wooden shutters, candlelight lanterns, and soft Italian music playing, it’s possible to imagine the café overlooking a piazza in Florence.

Zack gained experience as a general manager for Memphis restaurants, such as Applebee’s, the Olive Garden, and the Macaroni Grill, but he acquired his talent for cooking from his mother who was born in Milan.

“I learned a lot from my mother,” says Zack, who opened the restaurant in May. “We are quality-driven. People definitely get their money’s worth and more. People tell us, ‘This is too much food,’ and we say, ‘Take it home and share it with a friend.'”

The cost of lunch is $6 to $8, while dinner ranges from $10 to $13 a person. The dinner special always includes two glasses of the featured wine of the week. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Explosions of Chinese fireworks kicked off the grand opening of China Inn II, 2829 Covington Pike, on August 3rd. The first China Inn is known for its mix of Chinese food and American home-cooking and has served South Memphis since 1971. After nearly 20 years in business, owners Lynn and By Fong passed the restaurant down to Lynn Fong’s niece, Jasmine Chow. Jasmine and her husband, King Chow, relocated the restaurant once because of an expired lease but remained in Whitehaven.

“We have customers from Mississippi, Arkansas, and East Memphis who would always ask when we planned to open another location,” says Jasmine Chow. “Then we found an opportunity on Covington Pike. It is much bigger and nicer.”

What can be said about deviled eggs? Apparently a lot. Entire books have been devoted to the subject. Now the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization under the auspices of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at Ole Miss, will chronicle recipes and recollections in “an online deviled-egg diary.”

The Foodways folks are seeking stories about (100 words or so) and recipes for these creamy picnic favorites. Send yours to DeviledEggs@olemiss.edu. Three finalists will be selected on September 15th, and the winner will be crowned king or queen of deviled eggs during the Southern Foodways Symposium held in Oxford, Mississippi, October 7th-10th. The winner will also receive a free pass to this annual four-day event.

NOW there’s no reason to stand in line for a table at Jim’s Place, 5560 Shelby Oaks Drive. For years, Jim’s Place — known for its Greek specials — accepted reservations on Fridays and Saturdays for large parties only. You can now call ahead for a table for two or 20. The number is 388-7200.

Stop 345, at 345 Madison, spices up the menu with a bit of Italian. Owners Mike and Becky Todd have introduced Pete & Sam’s toasted ravioli and Mama Cecelia’s spaghetti to complement the regular bar fare. Mama Cecelia is Mike’s Sicilian-born mother. She taught her daughter-in-law the secrets to making her special sauce, or “gravy” as she calls it.

“She would never give me the recipe,” Becky says. “She would say, ‘I don’t have a recipe. You just have to watch me make it.'”

Try out the signature sauce at 345’s “Birds, Beer, and Bowl” during the next Redbirds game. The special includes free parking for the game, a draft beer, and a big bowl of Mama Cecelia’s spaghetti for $5.

The bar currently opens Tuesday through Saturday at 4 p.m. However, the couple plans to extend the hours to offer a basic Italian menu during lunch.

Since opening a year ago, the restaurant/bar has gone through many changes and challenges. It began as a comedy club with Sandra Bernhardt as the debut performer, but the club was hidden beneath the dust and debris from construction on the Madison Avenue trolley line. Now, Stop 345 uses its large event room for wine tastings, special events, and musical guests such as the band Styx, which will perform July 23rd.

“We probably made a mistake coming in with such big acts before Madison was finished,” Mike says. “The biggest killer was that Madison was impassable. I think as the area develops and the trolley continues to run and people are more aware of it, it will become one of those out-of-the-way places that people love.”

The monthly wine tastings at the Corkscrew, 511 South Front Street, have been suspended and will resume in the fall, but owner Andy Grooms has partnered with local caterer Elizabeth Boyd to create Alice’s Dish, a deli-style lunch spot in Fratelli’s former location next door. While it will be a few months before the restaurant opens, Boyd will begin catering from the location August 1st.

“We will start marketing corporate lunches although I’ve done weddings, cocktail parties, and other events,” Boyd says. “Then, as soon as we get everything ready, we’ll open for lunch, with sandwiches, soups, and salads. We will also prepare gourmet products to take home.”

“Catfish Ain’t Ugly” is the motto of the Cajun Catfish Co., located at 1616 Sycamore View Road in Bartlett. After moving Willie Moffatt’s to Whitten Road, owner Steve Prentiss, with general manager and chef Ron Bates and other investors, opened the family-style restaurant.

The restaurant has been remodeled using raw cypress to capture the feel of a fisherman’s wharf and even features a gift shop. The menu includes Cajun dishes, such as étouffée and gumbo, and, of course, catfish.

“We use only fresh catfish. The catfish you eat today was killed yesterday,” says Bates. “And we hand-cut our fries every day.”

The fries are coated with Bates’ own creation: Cajun garlic butter seasoning. Bates also worked with Memphis-based Ingredients Corporation of America to create five dry seasonings and two hot sauces, which will be available in the restaurant’s gift shop, the Hot Shop, in a few weeks. The gift shop also features Tabasco products and Elvis memorabilia.

“Moffatt’s is more like a neighborhood bar and restaurant,” says Bates. “We wanted to create a family-style sit-down restaurant near the interstate where people can get good fresh food and browse for souvenirs.”

Show some chutzpah, y’all, and submit your best Southernized kosher recipe to the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, which is compiling a cookbook to raise money.

The school’s parent-teacher association and ladies’ auxiliary are accepting recipes from contributors in Memphis and around the country. Members plan to test the recipes during PTA/LA events. Once the recipes have been selected, the book will be published in December 2005 and marketed nationwide by Memphis-based Wimmer Cookbooks.

Southern dishes are encouraged but not required. The book will include 10 sections: appetizers; soups; salads; fish; poultry; meat; side dishes; pasta; brunch and dairy; and desserts. It will also feature kitchen tips and table-setting and entertaining ideas.

To submit a recipe, send it to MHA/FYS, 390 S. White Station Road, Memphis 38117, or by e-mail to pta@mhafyos.org. Indicate in which section the recipe belongs. n

Here’s the dish for those who plan to drag out the picnic basket, grab a blanket, and find a spot to watch the sparks fly on the Fourth of July.

Firework displays are scheduled all over town. Bartlett will present “Fireworks Extravaganza” at the Bobby K. Flaherty Municipal Center on Saturday, July 3rd, from 6 to 10 p.m. On Sunday, there will be festivities at H.W. Cox Park in Collierville, at Shelby Farms for FM 100’s Independence Day Celebration, and at Tom Lee Park for AutoZone’s “4th of July Red, White, & Blues Celebration.”

Vendors will be serving typical fair foods at each event, but participants may also bring food and drinks with the exception of glass containers and alcohol.

Shelby Farms has a few grills and tables in the picnic pavilions. However, the best views for the fireworks are from the front lawn area. For those headed downtown, skip the picnic and enter the hot-wing or hot-dog eating contests held in Tom Lee Park.

Want the picnic without the hassle? Pre-order or just stop by Miss Cordelia’s Grocery, 737 Harbor Bend Road, in Harbor Town, which will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Fourth. For $7.95, the deli offers pasta salad, all-American apple pie, and a choice of four gourmet sandwiches served on fresh-baked focaccia or ciabatta bread.

“We will have the ‘Red, White and Blue’ roast beef with Gorgonzola and a creamy horseradish sauce; ‘Blazing Buffalo’ roasted chicken with cheddar, bacon, and tomato; maple-glazed honey turkey with Monterey jack; and rosemary, sun-dried tomato, and ham with Swiss,” says deli manager Carl Wallin.

In Midtown, Square Foods Natural Market, 2094 Madison, will be closed on the Fourth but will prepare box lunches for advance orders. For $20, each box will include a choice of free-range chicken tenders, roasted vegetables with portobello mushrooms, or Santa Fe-style turkey breast with tomatoes, sprouts, and avocado served on Juniper Bakery’s struan bread or a spinach tortilla wrap, plus organic fruit, olives, homemade oatmeal cookies, and a choice of the boldly named “Memphis’ Best Potato Salad” or the “Best Ever Pasta Salad.”

“Memphis’ Best Potato Salad has been around forever,” says Square Foods owner Jeanice Blancett. “It is light on the mayo and is neither super-sweet nor super-tangy.”

“From Russia with love for the children,” says Café Samovar owner Gregory Sadetsky about the upcoming dinner and wine tasting to benefit the kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The story of one girl touched Sadetsky and his wife and inspired them to host a charity event at their downtown restaurant at 7 p.m. on July 8th.

“St. Jude helps many children, even as far away as Russia,” says Sadetsky. “One Russian girl came to St. Jude because she had leukemia, and they saved her life. Now she’s okay.”

The five-course dinner will feature a choice of three entrées: duck breast, beef tenderloin, or sea bass and will be accompanied by a sampling of wines.

Café Samovar, 83 Union Avenue, specializes in Russian-American cuisine. The cost is $40 per person. Call 529-9607 to make reservations or for more information.

The Midtown Food Co-op is also holding a fund-raiser, “Feast for the Senses,” a silent art auction and an evening of music, dance, and spoken-word performances, July 16th at the Buckman Performing & Fine Arts Center

“It’s going to be a beautiful event,” says Ariel Roads, the co-op’s events manager. “But it’s not just for fun. It’s important for us to raise some money. We will use a large portion of the money to make improvements to the store.”

The Midtown Food Co-op, 2158 Central Avenue, is a small healthy-foods grocery that opened in 2001 to provide the more than 500 members with natural and organic products and hormone-free meats and dairy products. As a co-op, it is owned by its members and governed by a board of directors, and any profit is reinvested into the co-op.

“It will be the biggest event we’ve put on thus far,” says Roads. “There will be food and drinks, and Voices of the South will be doing a theater piece. Mark Allen will play either classical or flamenco guitar. The biggest draw will probably be Harlan T. Bobo and Tim Prudhomme, but it’s not going to be a rock show, just a duo session.”

In addition to other dance performances and storytelling by Judy Card, local artists (many of whom are also co-op members) have donated their work for the auction.

Tickets cost $25 for the event starting at 8 p.m. or $50 for the catered VIP preview party that begins at 7 p.m. and will feature a special guest performance. For tickets or more information, call the Buckman Center box office at 537-1486 or the Midtown Food Co-op at 276-2250.

All across town, new signs, new menus, and new

designs are springing up in old spaces. Lorenzen Wright’s Sports Bar changes from a neighborhood tavern into a casual East Memphis lunch spot called Rambert’s. A group of friends upgrades a Grady’s to Vina Bistro. Cuban goes Mexican as Sabor Tropical moves out and Los Compadres moves in.

At first glance, it may not seem like much has changed at Rambert’s. A giant plasma TV still hangs over the bar where an ESPN announcer shouts the latest scores. The dining room looks the same, with the exception of a few feminine touches not likely to be found in most sports bars.

The biggest surprise is in the back, the Nathaniel Room. The door may look like it leads to a closet — because it did before husband-and-wife team Eileen and Anthony Collier transformed a storeroom into a VIP lounge.

With its burnished-wood bar, white tablecloths, and fireplace, stepping through the door is like stepping into a 1920s speakeasy. This little room, available for private parties, even has a separate entrance, sound system, and gated private parking.

Since the restaurant opened April 19th, the Colliers have used the room to host a special Mother’s Day brunch for Anfernee Hardaway and his family and a little girl’s English tea party.

Chef Eddie Spivey, who brings more than 20 years experience with the Radisson hotels in Chicago and Memphis, creates everything from home-cooked Southern soul food to baked salmon and grilled steaks.

Rambert’s, 3101 S. Mendenhall, is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the week and until 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

What makes Vina Bistro special is not the food, though Chef Todd Mallin draws on classical training, 13 years experience, and even a little humor to create a menu that would delight the most finicky epicure. No. What makes Vina Bistro stand out is the staggering variety of wines served by the glass: 93.

A group of friends, who worked together at Yia’s Yia’s in Germantown, wanted to create an upscale wine and cigar bar. They found financial support from Jara International, Inc., represented by Steve Baker, his wife Renata, and partner Maria Jara, and Vina Bistro rose from the ashes of Grady’s, 6080 Primacy Parkway.

The interior looks much the same with the exception of subtle color changes and a newly added sitting area in the bar. The group plans to add a humidor and will offer a limited late-night menu until 2 a.m.

Presentation is as important as flavor for Mallin, who sees the white linen tablecloths as a blank canvas, where he can build layers of color with food as his medium of choice. Some dishes are even served on artwork. Order the baked brie, and it comes with Chardonnay-poached pear, Granny Smith apple, lavender honey and toasted baguettes on a leaf-shaped plate made by local potter Susan Crenshaw.

Mallin, a New Jersey native, trained at Johnson & Wales in Charleston, South Carolina, and likes to add his own twist to recipes. For example, Todd’s Twisted Cobb Salad features fried chicken, and the potato-wrapped shrimp is served with Pepper Jack grits.

Open 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily, the restaurant offers reasonably priced food and wine with entrées ranging from $8 to $28 and wines from $6 to $14 a glass.

“We wanted to offer the attitude of fine dining without outrageous prices,” says manager Sean McClenden.

Los Compadres, 2617 Poplar, kicked off Cinco de Mayo with its grand opening. Once partners Roberto Ferie and Arturo Herrera (they also have two other partners) chose the location, the former site of Cuban restaurant Sabor Tropical, it took less than a month to renovate, add personal touches, and open for business. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m., except Friday and Saturday when it closes at 11 p.m. n

Every spring, 8,000 shish kebabs, 4,000 servings of Grecian-style chicken, 8,000 servings of spanikopita, 2,000 pieces of baklava, and 1,200 butter cookies are handmade with love and laughter by old friends and family.

Cousins and restaurateurs, Nick Vergos of the Rendezvous and Dimitri Taras of Jim’s Place, will help skewer and grill 3,000 pounds of pork tenderloin for the 46th annual “Our Big Fat Greek Festival” May 7th and 8th at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 N. Highland.

Like many of the nearly 200 volunteers who begin cooking in February for this event, the festival has been part of Vergos’ and Taras’ lives since they were children. Their mothers and members of the church’s ladies auxiliary began the tradition, which has grown to about 9,000 festivalgoers.

“The ladies were the big backbone of this; they still are,” says Taras. “Even though there’s more involved now and the men do all the grilling, the ladies are still the backbone.”

Admission is $2. You can get the complete dinner for $10, try the gyros or Greek pizzas that are sold separately, or take advantage of the drive-thru for lunch and dinner.

“It’s a great time to come at lunch and bring your co-workers,” says Kathy Zambelis, a volunteer who also grew up in the church.

A live band will play music and the children’s Athenian Dance Troupe will perform.

Before leaving the festival, stop by the Pastry Shop to take home some desserts or the cookbook It’s Greek to Me. The Marketplace will sell clothing, art, pottery, and jewelry imported from Greece. Athens Olympics shirts will also be available.

Father Paul Christy will conduct three tours of the sanctuary and offer a brief history of the Greek Orthodox Church at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The event will be held rain or shine from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. or until the dancing stops.

“Bring your dancing shoes so you don’t have to feel guilty about all the food you eat,” advises Zambelis.

Here’s your chance for once to tell Mom to clean her plate. Mother’s Day is May 9th, so take her to brunch.

At Equestria, 3165 Forest Hill-Irene Road, Chef Kevin Rains and his staff will prepare a buffet, complete with omelet and crepe stations and tables laden with fresh fruit and vegetables, seafood, and pastries. Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $24.95 for adults and $9.95 for children. Call 869-2663 for reservations.

The beautifully restored 19th-century church Seasons at White Church,196 N. Main St. in Collierville, will serve a three-course prix fixe menu at 11 a.m., 1, and 2:30 p.m. The cost is $20 per adult and $11 per child. Make reservations by calling 854-6433.

Jim’s Place, 5560 Shelby Oaks Drive, will offer a special lunch menu with selections of steak, seafood, and Greek cuisine from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Prices range from $16 to $19. For more information, call 388-7200.

Paulette’s, 2110 Madison Avenue, will feature a selection of eight entrÇes, including some special additions to the brunch menu — lobster and Jarlsburg cheese omelets, ham palascinta, and crab meat and spinach crepes. Brunch will be served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Prices range from $13 to $24 per person. Call 726-5128 for reservations.

Also on Overton Square, Boscos Squared, 2120 Madison, will open early at 10 a.m. EntrÇes are priced between $6 and $13, and Mom will receive a rose. The Joyce Cobb Trio will start performing at 11:30 a.m.

Downtown at The Peabody, Mom can choose between the annual buffet-style brunch in the Continental Ballroom for $40.05 for adults and $16.09 for children, including tax, or the three-course prix-fixe menu in the hotel’s Capriccio Grill, which costs $29.95 for adults and $12.95 for children under 12. Call 529-4000 for reservations.

To really make Mom — and daughter — feel like royalty, make a weekend of it with a traditional English tea at the Mallory-Neely House, 652 Adams on May 8th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy games on the lawn and a proper tea complete with lace tablecloths, scones, finger sandwiches, and an assortment of desserts. Call 523-1484 for reservations.

The Southern Food Festival won’t be on the menu at this year’s Memphis in May. The event began in 2000 to accompany the month’s finale event, the Sunset Symphony, a Memphis tradition since the first performance in 1977.

The two-day festival, which featured local restaurants, cooking contests, Southern chefs, arts and crafts, music, and kids’ entertainment, failed to attract the crowds desired.

“We established the festival to build a two- to three-day event during the last weekend of the month,” says Diane Hampton, executive vice president of Memphis in May. “It had been our hope that we would have another strong event that would grow to the size of the music festival or barbecue fest. This was not headed in that direction.”

The event has been fraught with difficulties since its inception. It was rained out the first year. The second year, the “no food or drink” policy upset picnickers. This along with poor attendance levels and market research led Memphis in May officials to cancel the event.

In November, the Memphis in May Marketing and Research Council conducted a telephone survey “to find out what people thought of our events and what people wanted to see out of Memphis in May,” says Hampton.

The Sunset Symphony will continue because research found that it is a treasured tradition in Memphis. Additionally, in response to the survey, Hampton says they will have a gospel performance to precede the symphony on May 29th. During the summer, the board of directors will consider expanding the event further.

“It costs as much in infrastructure and labor to set up Tom Lee Park for a one-day event as a two-day event,” says Hampton.

Cattlemen’s barbecue sauce, used over the years by many Memphis in May Barbecue Cooking Contest winners to professionals, is now for sale at Wal-Mart Super Centers.

“Although Cattlemen’s has been used for more than 30 years by chefs and professionals, it’s not a brand that consumers know,” says Stacey Bender, a representative for Cattlemen’s. “Now they will recognize it.”

To promote the Cattlemen’s sauces, the parent company, Reckitt Benckiser, is coming to the barbecue fest. On Friday, May 14th, Cattlemen’s will host the Frank RedHot Battle to the Bone Buffalo Wing Eating Competition. Like the contest’s title, the event will be a mouthful. The contest will be held at the Cattlemen’s booth in front of the main stage, where guests will also be able to talk with barbecue experts and pick up recipes.

In addition, the company will sponsor a barbecue sauce contest. The contest winner will receive hotel, food, and entertainment expenses to next year’s festival. Ten runner-ups will receive $100 American Express gift certificates.

To enter, send the recipe, which must include one of three Cattlemen’s flavors — Award Winning Classic, Hickory Smoke, or Golden Honey — by November 15th, to: Best of the Barbecue Contest, c/o BHGPR, 546 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043.

There’s a new delicatessen in town. Sweet Peppers Deli, located at 1250 N. Germantown Parkway, is billed as a “New York-style deli with Southern charm.”

Myril Bean and her sons John and Bernard joined forces with Robin Fant to create the first Sweet Peppers in Columbus, Mississippi, and then two more in Tupelo and Starkville.

“Sweet Peppers was developed by a family and good close friends, which makes it a family environment,” says Bernard Bean.

Exposed brick walls and an open design, with garage doors opening onto a patio, give the restaurant an airy, casual atmosphere. About 300 people attended a grand opening dinner to benefit Youth Villages of Memphis on April 19th.

The menu offers a wide representation of the four S’s — soups, salads, sandwiches, and spuds. The sandwiches can satisfy any craving, from vegetarian to the signature Bulldog, which begins with roast beef, kielbasa, pepper jack cheese, and barbecue sauce. There’s also a kids’ menu and an array of desserts.

“With the fast-casual concept, many restaurants tend to focus more on the fast,” says Bean. “Service is what separates us from other delis and other fast-casual restaurants.”

John Godwin, a Tupelo resident with no prior restaurant experience, liked the restaurant so much he purchased the franchise rights to Shelby and DeSoto counties. The Cordova location is the first of 10 sites planned by Godwin.

Godwin’s partner and friend, Adam Paxton, was also Bernard Bean’s neighbor.

“We would sit around and talk about it and they seemed interested,” says Bean. “A lot of people said they were interested. They actually did it.”

The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m., except Friday and Saturday when it remains open until 11 p.m. Catering is also available.

Now you can stop to smell the roses and the “carnivore” panini at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

Late last month, the folks at Fratelli’s, the Italian cafe and market, packed up the downtown Front Street store and moved to the garden, located at 750 Cherry Road.

Sabine Baltz opened Fratelli’s with Malcolm Aste, former director of marketing for The Memphis Flyer, in June 2002.

“It was a lot of work downtown — 60- to 80-hour weeks to make overhead, and now I can spend more time with my family,” says Baltz. “The Botanic Garden made us such an incredible offer because they hope to get more foot traffic.”

Though Fratelli’s will no longer sell imported gourmet pastas and oils, it will still offer its swanky sandwiches and colorful salad plates for lunch Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We will continue to do the box lunches, and we are really going to start promoting the catering more,” says Baltz. “We still have the same menu, same desserts. Everything is handmade.”

Memphis Botanic Garden interim executive director Bob FouchÇ says that he and the staff are excited about the move.

“It’s a good opportunity to take the Botanic Garden to another level by offering dining to the public,” says FouchÇ.

“We had some great loyal customers who loved the food, but there wasn’t enough foot traffic,” says Baltz. “In three or four years, after the south side of downtown develops, we would love to come back.”

Savor Sunday afternoon with rare wine and fine food at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park. Continuing “The Art of Good Taste,” an annual series of fund-raising events, the museum will present a classroom-style tasting of Mazzocco wines April 25th at 2 p.m.

Mazzocco Vineyards is a small boutique winery in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, California. At this tasting, guests will sample single-vineyard Zinfandels produced from 80-year-old vines as well as Matrix, Mazzocco’s Bordeaux-style blend.

“Mazzocco in 1987 was a pioneer in the California propriety-blend movement to create what are now called Meritage wines,” says local independent wine broker Tracie Hogan of Hogan Wine Ventures.

It’s a rare opportunity to taste the winery’s first vintage as well as preview yet-to-be released 2000 vintages.

Mazzocco’s director of marketing, Ned Carton will offer insight into the history of the family-owned winery, its winemaker, and the winemaking process and results.

Chef Jennifer Dickerson will prepare hors d’oeuvres in the newly refurbished Brushmark restaurant. The restaurant now features 300 new mahogany and chrome chairs purchased with funding from the “Take a Seat” campaign. A mahogany hostess stand and buffet, handcrafted by local artisan Stephen Crump, complement the new design. Turn-of-the-century stained-glass windows from the Hill Mansion, which once stood at 1400 Union Avenue, adorn the walls in specially constructed light boxes.

Tickets are $100 per person and can be reserved by calling 544-6219.

No permission slip required. This field trip calls only for a healthy appetite for down-home Southern cooking and an interest in race relations. Anyone can join the Southern Foodways Alliance to celebrate the power food has in uniting people across cultures and races.

From June 4th to 6th, the SFA, a group of culinary writers, historians, and enthusiasts, will travel to Birmingham to explore the connection between food and culture in the South.

The 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which declared segregation of restaurants illegal, gives special meaning to the fourth annual SFA Symposium, “Alabama in Black and White.”

“Like music, food is universally loved and shared, and we want to elucidate the power of food as a means of racial reconciliation,” says John T. Edge, SFA director.

The weekend events will include a tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, speakers and panel discussions, entertainment, and lots of food.

The trip culminates with a “freedom ride” to Willie King’s Freedom Creek Blues Festival in Aliceville, Alabama. Renowned chefs, such as John Fleer of the Inn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, and Scott Barton of Voyage in New York City, will join Birmingham chefs to prepare Southern favorites such as Conecuh County sausage and sweet-tea-brined fried chicken.

The SFA is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. Registration fees of $175 for members and $195 for nonmembers include transportation, some meals, and entertainment. Lodging is separate. For more information, contact the SFA at 662-915-7236 or visit SouthernFoodways.com.