Author: Susan Ellis

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Dog Park Bar Opening Soon!

My. Head. Just. Exploded.

There’s a dog park/bar opening at 730 S. Main called Lucky’s Social Club. It’s having a soft opening on March 16th and March 17th in conjunction with St. Pawtrick’s Day. (Died.)

Chelsea Glass and Brian Ellsworth are behind the venture. Both are in event planning. Mac Hopper, who was co-developer of Loflin Yard and Carolina Watershed, is also a partner.

The bar will be members-only — $10 a day; $25 per month; or $275 per year. To enter with your dog, you must have proof of vaccination and spay/neuter. And, you will have to sign a paper swearing your dog is not aggressive. No dog? No problem. You’re welcome too.

Glass says Lucky’s, which is near the Active Bolt and Carolina Watershed sites, is in an ideal space, with lots of room for roaming and running and nearby to retail and living spaces.

According to Glass, there will be Yappy Hours and a Paw of Fame wall. A menu will serve gourmet hotdogs — a Greek dog, Chicago-style, veggie. They’re hoping to offer a beer for dogs.

The idea, says Glass, who has two dogs, Duke and Titan, is to provide a space for dogs and their human friends that is fun and safe.

The St. Pawtrick’s Day party will feature food trucks and live music. It runs from noon to 6 p.m.

Lucky’s Social Club is set to open May 1st.  

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Kelly English to Take Over Midtown Fino’s

CREDIT: tripadvisor.com

tripadvisor.com

Exciting news, Kelly English is taking over the Midtown Fino’s.

His goal, he says, is to preserve something that is so authentically Midtown.

He plans to serve breakfast, with an emphasis on breakfast sandwiches, including pork rolls. But, otherwise, the menu will be much the same.

He hopes to have it open by early April.

When asked if this was out of his comfort zone, English replies, “Everything I do is outside of my comfort zone.” He says that’s what keeps him striving.

He says he is not taking over the East Memphis location.

We’ll keep you posted on this story. 

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Grind City Coffee Expo set for March 9th; plus Comeback Coffee and Vice & Virtue.

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Is Memphis in a coffee renaissance? It may be too soon to tell. But something certainly is, ahem, brewing. For proof, look to all the third wave places like Launch Process and Low Fi popping up. Our next piece of evidence is the Grind City Coffee Expo, set for March 9th at Memphis College of Art.

Daniel Lynn and Rachel Williams are the event’s organizers. “It’s a way to bring Memphis coffee [purveyors] together under a neutral roof,” says Lynn. “And it’s a way to expose Memphians to what [these purveyors] have to offer.”

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Daniel Lynn (left) and Rachel Williams, organizers of the Grind City Coffee Expo

Guests will be given a tasting card and a five-ounce tasting mug to sample coffees from the nine vendors who will be at the event. The vendors include: Dr. Bean, Vice & Virtue, Comeback Coffee, The Avenue, Awal Coffee, The Hub, Reverb, Launch Process, and French Truck. Each, in turn, will offer something special for the show. Vice & Virtue is bringing a mini-roaster and guests can roast their own beans. Comeback Coffee will have coffee sodas(!).

Lynn says he was inspired to create the expo after attending the Science of Beer event, though he acknowledges “coffee’s more of my speed.” Lynn notes that he’s learned a lot from setting up the expo. For example, “spro” is short for espresso.

“Coffee is almost like a plate of barbecue,” says Lynn. “It’s something you can bond over.”

Tickets are $30, with proceeds going to Protect Our Aquifer.

Grind City Coffee Expo at Memphis College of Art, Saturday, March 9th, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Comeback Coffee, set to open in Uptown March 29th, has a lighted sign on the wall that reads, “Stay a while,” and they mean it. Comeback is owned by Hayes and Amy McPherson. Hayes marvels at the variety of potential customers. You’ve got your Uptowners, your St. Juders, North Memphians, Mud Islanders, and so on. “All those people can rub shoulders,” he says.

Hayes vows that Comeback will be quick and consistent. He plans on a little quality pushing. What this means is that there are no fancy pour-overs; drinks will be made by machine but from the finest sources. Folks can “sit and be,” he says. Plus, price points will be reasonable.

There will be classic coffee drinks as well as seasonal and specialty drinks such as mochas. A giant espresso machine sits on the counter just waiting to hit customers with a caffeine buzz. In addition, a menu, designed by noted local chef Cole Jeanes, will feature pastries, sandwiches, and toasts.

Comeback is in a pretty, old building on North Main. There is exposed brick and large windows on the west side. The McPhersons, who live upstairs, had taken note of the building, fantasizing what they could do with the space. Amy’s father is in commercial real estate. He had, on his own, taken interest in the building as well. The two sides compared notes and decided it was meant to be.

Hayes says he’s excited about the upcoming expo. “We’ve needed this for a long time,” he says. “We on the cusp of a coffee culture.”

Comeback Coffee, 358 N. Main

Wee beginning roasters often start with an air popper (meant for popcorn) to roast their first beans. Tim and Teri Perkins of Vice & Virtue Coffee did and quickly moved on to a whirley pop, trading up to better equipment as their knowledge grew. They are currently working out of a space on Hollywood with a commercial roaster and hope to eventually open a small shop of their own. Their coffees are currently available at Curb Market, Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market, Belltower Artisans, City Silo, the Grecian Gourmet Taverna, and at the roastery.

Tim and Teri Perkins of Vice & Virtue Coffee

Tim calls this a passion project, but this is an obsession of a Fatal Attraction variety. They travel to conferences, take classes. They talk, talk, talk coffee and never get sick of it. They caught the fever when they heard their first bean crack.

On the name, it involves Aristotle, the human condition, good versus evil. “It appealed to us,” says Tim. “I’m vice, she’s virtue.”

Tim points out that the “v” in the logo is actually a martini glass, which points to the notion of craft coffee moving into the craft cocktail space and the Perkinses’ plan to serve coffee cocktails one day.

The Perkinses say they’ve enjoyed learning about different beans from different countries, experimenting with coffee, and coaxing out the best flavors. “We know what we’re doing, but we can get better,” says Teri.

At the expo, Tim plans to walk guests through the roasting process, having them immerse themselves in the sensory experience. Like the McPhersons, the Perkinses say the expo is a long time coming and that Memphis’ coffee community has thus far been underserved.

“It’s a craft,” says Tim. “It’s an artform.”

Vice & Virtue offers cuppings on the first Friday of the month, from 6:30-8 p.m., at the Hollywood roastery, in conjunction with Broad Avenue First Friday. The next cupping is March 1st and will have a March Madness theme, where tasters are put to the test. Cost is $5.

Vice & Virtue Coffee, 482 N. Hollywood

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Coming Soon: Cousins Maine Lobster

The Cousins Maine Lobster food truck will make its debut Saturday, March 2nd at Crosstown Brewing.

The truck, which is one of about two dozen nationwide, is known for its lobster rolls.

Cousins is run by two cousins — Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac. According to Lomac, they were only in business a couple of months when they were urged by the producers of Shark Tank to appear. They did and convinced Barbara Corcoran to back them.

The company has since expanded wildly — now with 30 trucks and eight brick-and-mortar restaurants. Lomac says it was the exposure from the show that helped them realize this sort of success.

Lomac says that the Memphis market appealed to them because they recognized the promise in the food scene.

The truck will be at Crosstown Brewing on March 2nd from 2:30 to 7 p.m. From there, it’s a busy schedule:

Buster’s Liquors & Wines
3/3/19
191 S Highland Street, Memphis TN 38111
Serving Noon-5:00pm

West Clinic
3/5/19
7945 Wolf River Blvd, Germantown, TN 38138
Serving 10:30am-1:00pm

Wiseacre Brewing Co.
3/7/19
2783 Broad Avenue, Memphis, TN 38112
Serving 5-8:30pm

Health Sciences Park
3/8/19
Madison Avenue & S Dunlap Street, Memphis TN 38103
Serving 11am-2pm

Memphis Made Brewing Co
3/10/19
768 Cooper Street, Memphis, TN 38104
Serving 1pm-6pm 

The menu for the Memphis truck features two types of lobster roll (Maine and Connecticut), a lobster grilled cheese, lobster tots (!), clam chowder, and lobster tacos and shrimp tacos.

For Lomac, sourcing the lobster through Maine guarantees quality, which will be something Memphians will appreciate. “It’s an affordable luxury,” he says. “And we saved them a trip to Maine.”

Those interested in booking the truck, can contact them through their website.
[pdf-1]

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

The Scoop on Knifebird

Knifebird, the new wine bar in Cooper-Young, is set to open in May.

First things first, let’s get the name out of the way. It is the bar owner Kate Ashby’s nickname, based on a tattoo of a bird on her wrist. It looks, from some angles, like a dagger.

Knifebird will be next to Urban Outfitters, across the street from Railgarten. The look will be mid-century industrial chic.

Ashby describes it as “a watering hole for dignified people.” She says that Memphis has plenty of cool breweries and restaurants, but Knifebird will be a place to stay a while — without the smoky atmosphere and promise of regrets.

“I’m really hoping to create a neighborhood bar with ambience and character,” Ashby says.

Ashby has a background in wines, working most recently at the Kitchen Bistro and Char. She says that Knifebird will sell about 35 to 40 wines by the glass, ranging from $10 to $15 with a few high dollar glasses available. There will be local beers and a full bar as well. Ashby is bringing in a bartender to design the cocktail menu.

The bar will have a cold kitchen, meaning charcuterie plates and cheeses and the like.

Ashby says that Knifebird won’t be pretentious and they aren’t out to educate anybody. They will offer wines are that are familiar for those who like what they like and more “out there” wines for the more adventurous.

She says in her experience she finds that Memphians like California wines, but she hopes to turn them on to French wines. She herself likes a good glass of Beaujolais.


Knifebird, Instagram

Knifebird to-be

Categories
News News Blog

Memphis Pets of the Week (Feb. 7-13)

Each week, the Flyer will feature adoptable dogs and cats from Memphis Animal Services. All photos are credited to Memphis Pets Alive. More pictures can be found on the Memphis Pets Alive Facebook page.

[slideshow-1]

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

No More Plastic Bags at Cordelia’s Market

Cordelia’s Market in Harbor Town has made the decision to get rid of its plastic bags, effective today.

And, it’s having a party to celebrate!

Kroger announced last summer that it plans to do away with plastic bags by 2025. Last fall, the city council discussed plans to tax consumers for each plastic bag used. I believe Cordelia’s is the first Memphis-area market to do away with the bags.

“The environment,” says Erica Humphreys on the reason why Cordelia’s made this move.

Humphreys, who is a manager at Cordelia’s, says that plastic bags are just no good. They aren’t recyclable and it takes up to 1,000 years for a bag to fully degrade, and they junk up the ocean.

Humphreys says they had been thinking about it for a while and starting feeling out their customers’ reactions at the register. The ban was well received. Cordelia’s will offer paper bags for those who don’t bring a reusable bag.

Today at the market, 3,000 reusable bags will be given away and for those who bring their own mug, there’s free coffee, and discount beer for those who bring their own pint glass. 

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Dipping into Alex Farms’ chicken salad and Clay’s smoked tuna.

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Alex Farms sells chicken salad out of its shop in Hickory Hill. The “Alex” of Alex Farms is the daughter of Darwin and Kyra Henderson. Kyra says that Alex has always liked animals and the family joke was that she would one day have a farm. But it is son Darrius who proved to be the impetus for this business.

As Kyra Henderson explains, Darwin made some chicken salad for his son’s fifth grade graduation and it was a big hit. And when it was time for Darrius to go to college, Kyra began to sell the salad at local beauty shops and barber shops to help defray the costs of Darrius’ education.

The Hendersons then opened up a shop in Hickory Ridge Mall in 2015. “We were very successful in the deadest mall in the city,” she says. They moved to their current shop near the Kroger on Riverdale last November.

The key to their success, says Henderson, is their smoked, all white-meat chicken they use in the salad. In fact, their motto is, “Where the smoke changes the game.” There are no eggs in the salad, and it’s not very mayonnaise-y. The secret ingredient, she says, is love.

Alex Farms sells three signature sandwiches — chicken salad on toasted white bread; croissant minis with three croissants; and the chicken salad BLT. The addition of bacon is about as fancy as it gets. Eight ounces of the salad are available for $6; 16 ounces, $10.50; and 32 ounces, $20.50. Platters and pans are sold as well, ranging from $35 to $75.

On the Alex Farms’ logo is a super buff chicken. “Faith is the family’s strength,” Henderson says. The Hendersons vowed to put this strength to work. First, they would help people eat better. Second, they would help other businesses. To that end, the shop hosts pop-ups and gave Bluff City Crab a leg up. “It’s okay to help someone,” she says. “We don’t have to get it all ourselves.”

Alex Farms has thrived on word of mouth. Henderson says they have regulars as from far away as Dallas and Atlanta. Henderson says she appreciates all their customers. “If I’m here,” she says, “they get a ‘thank you’ before they are out the door.”

Alex Farms, 4780 Riverdale,

alexfarms.net

Clay’s Smoked Tuna‘s journey began in Orange Beach at a place called the Pony. Abrian Clay ordered the Pony’s smoked tuna dip, and he thought, “Nobody in Memphis does that.” So he decided to do it himself.

He bought some ingredients and started working on his recipe. Clay’s Smoked Tuna uses rotisserie-smoked yellowfish tuna, which is first marinated in white wine. Clay says, all in all, it’s about a nine-hour process. The results, he says, are “to die for.”

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Abrian Clay drops off dip at Curb Market.

In fact, according to Clay, his dip has a cult following, which Clay has nurtured over the past three years on social media. Clay says an illustration of this was when he pitched the dip to Curb Market. He was told to give out samples at the store and they would see how it goes. He put out the call and ended up moving $600 worth of product in three hours. Needless to say, the product, along with Clay’s Smoked Buffalo Chicken dip, is now sold at Curb Market. You can also find his products at Snappy Sacker Grocery and DeeO’s Seafood.

Clay works out of a commercial kitchen on North Parkway. On the weekends, he sells other smoked foods like chicken wings, salmon, lamb and pork chops. Folks can pick up his dip there, too, but he also makes deliveries.

Clay says he would like to get into more grocery stores and restaurants. (Those interested can call 901 848-5640.) One thing he’s not planning to do is expand his product line. His thinking is pretty much, why mess with perfection? Of his tuna salad, Clay says, “It’s a masterpiece.”

Clay’s Smoked Tuna, 726 N. Parkway, facebook.com/clayssmokedtuna

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

2019 Beer Bracket Coming at Ya!

Folks, let’s all raise a beer! The 2019 Beer Bracket Challenge is returning February 11th. Duking it out for the title of Best Beer of Memphis 2019 will be Crosstown, Meddlesome (last year’s champ!), Wiseacre, Memphis Made, High Cotton, and Ghost River.

The bracket has been shaken up a little this year, with new categories.

Toby Sells, who is in charge of the editorial side of this gig, explains, “Instead of limiting selections to just dark, light, IPA, and seasonal, we want to let our breweries choose which four beers they want to compete. It’ll be a sort of Royal Rumble, winner-take-all kind of thing.”

Sells says, “This year, we’re giving each brewery on opportunity to change one match-up they don’t like. Is your beer up against 201 Hoplar (last year’s winner)? Breweries can swap with another beer in another match up. But they can only do that one time.”

Voting begins Wednesday, February 13th with the first round. Rounds last two days, with the last and fifth round running through February 22nd. Basically, it’s Beer: Thirty all the time!

Beers face off NCAA-style. The beer with the most votes moves on. The final two beers left go head-to-head. The winner will be announced on Thursday, February 28th via Facebook Live.

And if that’s not interactive enough for you, you can get in on the action by taking a picture with one of the competing beers to be entered for a prize. And, all those who vote are entered to win a prize.

But wait that’s not all! All Memphis beer fans are invited to Aldo’s Downtown to watch the seeding on Monday, February 11th, at 4:30 p.m. p.m. And then back again at Aldo’s for the awarding of the VanWyngarden Cup to the winning brewery on February 28th, 3 p.m. Be there!

“We started the Beer Bracket Challenge to promote (and have fun with) Memphis beers and those who make it,” says Sells. “Brewers are fun and hard-working folks and they’re making some of the best damn beers in the U.S.of A. right here in Memphis, Tennessee.”

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

The Greyhound is Now Open

The Greyhound, in the new Hilton Garden Inn Downtown on Union, opened last Thursday.

This chic bar, which claims to be the first of its kind in the city, specializes in craft gin cocktails.

The name is a nod to the bus station that once stood in the same location. Greyhounds abound in the bar. Two statues of the dogs, named Danny and Jude, guard the door. Ice for the drinks can be stamped with an image of the dog, and you can buy stickers with greyhounds on them from an old stamp machine.

This a bar less about the drinking than it is about the experience. A bar trolley is used, so drinks can be made table-side. The cocktails are served in pretty Waterford crystal glasses with little tin straws. A smokebox is available so drinks can be infused with a smoky flavor. And the bar menu has a page with a circle on it for placing your drink — to frame it just right for social media.

Kel’s Bells

The Greyhound carries some 50 gins. Bar manager Kendrick Cook says you can’t really beat gin for its versatility. You can make it sweet or bitter or spicy, he says, it all works.

Among the signature cocktails are the Greyhound Station (Hayman’s Sloe Gin, mint, grapefruit, Aperol, oleo); Memphis Grizzlies (Botanist gin, creme de violet, lime, and seasonal berries); and the Keeper, which is a nod to the new soccer team, with Brugal rum, Cynar, Orgeat, and tiki bitters.

And there are the classics, such as the Gimlet, the Martini, Last Word, and Sazerac, as well.

The bar menu features twists on Southern classics, including a Jack Daniels’ BBQ brisket sandwich, Southern chicken with grilled chicken and pimentos cheese, chicken wings, and house-made pub chips.

The Greyhound opens daily at 4 p.m.