Category: Food & Drink

I have a copy of the classic tome Larousse Gastronomique: The Encyclopedia of Food, Wine, and Cookery, by Prosper Montagné. It’s written in a deliciously snooty Euro-crusty tone, with recipes that can take weeks to prepare. Salad, meanwhile, is relatively simple and quick, and its preparation is infinitely flexible. Montagné defines salad as a dish “made up of herbs, plants, vegetables, eggs, fish, and meat, seasoned with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, with or without other ingredients.”

While Montagné confirms that you can make a salad out of practically anything, there is a huge difference between raw things and cooked things. Today, I’m talking about salad that is raw and green, whose ingredients are in-season and alive, right here, right now. Montagné addresses this type of salad by quoting gastronaut Brillat-Savarin, who declared that a leafy salad “freshens without enfeebling, and fortifies without irritating.”

These words resonate profoundly in my belly as I sit here digesting the aftermath of a rite of summer, a creamed combination of items cleaned from my freezer: smoked salmon, corn, and basil paste, cooked with bacon, potatoes, garlic, and onions – what I call “Freezerburn Chowder.” It tastes good at the time, but now in the heat of the afternoon I feel like I could sleep for 100 years.

Indeed, food is about much more than how it tastes. It’s about how you feel after you swallow. In this respect, it’s tough to beat raw foods. And interestingly, what really brought out the flavor in my Freezerburn Chowder was the final garnish of cilantro and red onion, whose raw, living vigor cut through the heavy cream like the first dandelion sprouts of spring.

Speaking of which, many wild greens – often considered weeds – can add nicely to a salad if they’re picked in the young pre-bitter state before they flower, preferably from a shady spot. Dandelion, lamb’s quarter, purslane, even young thistle. Just be careful that you know what you’re eating and seek advice if not.

I used to think that salad was a good thing to eat at the end of a meal, when I’m too full to keep eating but I don’t want to stop chewing. Indeed, one challenge in making a full meal of salad is finding a way to fill your belly with it. But with enough extras on top, a salad can deliver complete satisfaction. And you can always serve it with bread.

When my dad makes a salad, the whole world stops. He enters a blissfully meditative state that would make the Buddha blush green. When Dad makes a salad, people rearrange their schedules to partake, waiting patiently as he carefully prepares and assembles the parts.

First he washes the lettuce, a combination of Romaine and Greenleaf, before cutting it into bite-sized chunks and spinning it dry in a salad spinner. He washes watercress and a small amount of Belgian endive, patting dry with a towel and then chopping.

He combines these leaves in a large wooden bowl and then tosses in a clove or two of pressed raw garlic to coat the leaves – this is very important! If you are a garlic lightweight, try rubbing the inside of the salad bowl with the cut end of half a clove instead.

Dad’s dressing is a vinaigrette of two parts oil to one part balsamic vinegar, with a little salt. For the oil, he blends a mixture of olive, safflower, and canola oils. He tosses the leaves in this and then tosses in tomato wedges (or cherry tomatoes cut in half), avocado wedges, and chopped onion.

He serves kalamata olives and feta cheese separately in bowls. If you toss these goodies in, they will end up swimming in vinaigrette at the bottom of the bowl, so it’s better to sprinkle them atop the tossed salad. This way, each eater can personally administer the goodies.

Dad’s salad is a perfectly balanced symphony of living flavor, the product of many years of ritual and refinement. I love it when I go home, but on my own I’m not so set in my ways. I let what’s available dictate what’s in the salad rather than shop for the same specific ingredients. I’ll throw in snap peas, or cucumber, or spinach. You can’t go wrong with salad mix, also known as mesclun mix, available these days almost everywhere they sell lettuce. I also play around with different types of oil and vinegar – mixing balsamic with cider or wine vinegar, for example – while keeping the oil/vinegar ratio roughly at 2:1. In the goodie department, I like pickled peppers and smoked salmon in addition to olives and feta. Whatever I do, I never skip the garlic.

After a meal of salad, your digestive juices will flow happily along as they distribute the raw life energy of salad. Freshened rather than enfeebled, fortified rather than irritated, you’ll be able to skip that food coma and stay awake to enjoy every last drop of summer.

Kysha Benjamin created quite a splash when she opened Zanzibar in 2001 on South Main. The restaurant combined art, music, and food with a global flair and a casual atmosphere. The restaurant closed in 2003, but on August 10th, Zanzibar reopens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be music and an art opening for Texas artist Joseph Cohen.

“It’s exciting to be back in the space and the community and neighborhood that we love so much,” says Benjamin. “Conceptually, it’s pretty much the same, with the focus on creative expression. The artistry in the kitchen is a big part of the creative, as is the engagement and diversity through art. Art is the most amazing vehicle to find commonality among people.”

Old favorites like the spicy prawn ceviche will be on the new menu. Every Thursday will offer live jazz performances, and Saturday remains salsa night. The décor features the same warm tones, but the colors are more subtle. “It’s just turned up a notch – urban, sexy, and whimsical – a little more cosmopolitan but still neighborhood,” Benjamin says.

Zanzibar will offer more seating and privacy on the newly constructed mezzanine level and will provide wireless Internet. Benjamin also plans to add some breakfast items to the menu for brunch 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The brunch menu will have the same eclectic, global influence found in the dinner menu.

“Zanzibar is an island off Africa, and we consider ourselves an island oasis on South Main,” Benjamin says. “We’re hoping to travel the world with food that is simple but intriguing in flavors from around the world.”

With the support of the Sekisui Group management team, Benjamin has begun renovations to the building’s basement to create a venue for music events, which she says will open later this year.

Zanzibar is open for lunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and opens for dinner at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. throughout the workweek and 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. For information, visit ZanzibarMemphis.com.

Zanzibar, 412 S. Main St. (543-9646)

Simply for Me, which started as a gift shop and tea room, is now simply food.

“We opened August 17th of 2001 and survived 9/11, but the attack changed the state of my gift shop. That was when we changed the focus to food,” says owner Michelle Jackson. “After 9/11, people weren’t spending money on luxuries, but they still wanted food, so that aspect of my business grew.”

That growth is what prompted Jackson to close the gift shop and relocate to open a restaurant and catering business in May. The new space features an inviting sitting area, more tables, and a larger kitchen.

“We outgrew the kitchen,” Jackson says. “Now I have a fryer and a grill, so I can offer more options. We just started doing catfish on Friday, and it outsold everybody’s favorite – the poppy-seed chicken casserole.”

A large portion of Jackson’s business developed from catering home-cooked meals to offices in downtown Memphis.

“We send out two or three office lunches every day,” she says. “We have meals with a choice of entrées and side items, and we send a cake with our catering orders.”

Jackson is known for creating a variety of two-layer cakes, such as butter pecan and double chocolate. The “Neapolitan” features three layers of white, chocolate, and strawberry cake with strawberry icing and fresh strawberries.

Although the restaurant is only open for lunch, Jackson is taking advantage of her new beer and wine permit to offer “Taste of Tuesdays,” a wine tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday with live jazz and appetizers.

Simply for Me is open Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Simply for Me, 151 Jefferson (525-4775)

Frank A. Grisanti, president of Foodline Services, Inc., was chosen to be the featured chef during the Oklahoma State University Distinguished Chef Series. The event, now in its 10th year, brings chefs from across the country to inspire students in the school’s hospitality program. Grisanti will prepare a four-course meal that will be served at the school’s largest annual fund-raising event, where tickets cost $200 per person. Grisanti, accompanied by his son Larkin, will oversee the dinner on September 29th in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

These days, wine drinkers are savvier, ask more questions, and are less intimidated when ordering wine in restaurants. They want variety and innovation, and restaurants are responding with what industry insiders are calling the “wine-list revolution.”

In Memphis, there are some restaurants, both old and new, that are active in the revolution. Their lists provide choices that reflect the identity of the restaurant, complement the cuisine, and meet pricing requirements relative to market demands.

McEwen’s on Monroe (122 Monroe, 527-7085) is an old favorite of mine and has one of the finest wine lists in the city. They offer wines from countries all over the world, and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The prices are fair (very fair), and there are a lot of wines by the glass as well as by the bottle.

During a recent visit, I was delighted by my before-dinner selection: the Vionta Albarino, a deliciously crisp white from the Rias Baixas area in Spain. The EOS Petite Syrah from Paso Robles, California, went perfectly with my roasted half-chicken, green tomato au jus, and smoked mashed potatoes.

Check out McEwen’s menu and the wine list online at mcewensonmonroe.com.

Next door to McEwen’s is the relatively new restaurant, Lolo’s Table (128 Monroe, 522-9449). When I stopped in to check out their list, I was thrilled to see Spanish, Italian, French, and South African wines. They offer 13 wines by the glass, including the Trocadero sparkling wine from France. Trocadero is a fine choice, a sparkling wine that should be enjoyed year-round instead of just on special occasions.

Lolo’s also has a nice selection of specialty martinis and beers, and they have a happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Another new place with a great wine list is the Big Foot Lodge (97 S. Second, 578-9800). They serve California, Oregon, Italian, and Australian wines, and their prices are some of the fairest I’ve seen in Memphis. There’s a variety of sweet and dry wine, with my particular interest lying somewhere in between with the Sokol Blosser Evolution from Oregon, which is composed of nine grape varietals and pairs well with a wide range of foods. Big Foot’s house wines sell for $3.99 a glass and are from the Australia winery Rosemount Estate.

Napa Café (5101 Sanderlin, 683-0441) focuses on wine and is known in the industry for its cutting-edge choices. The prices are reasonable, and they offer up to 25 wines by the glass and a great half-bottle selection.

From time to time, Napa offers a flight of wines. A flight of wine is usually four or five one-ounce pours of different wines, which allows the customer to discover the one they like most and then order accordingly. (This is a great way to learn without spending too much. If you are not sure whether a restaurant offers flights, ask.)

For the summer, Napa is featuring a Rose flight. The one you should look out for is the Gargiulo Vineyard Rosato di Sangiovese. A beautiful salmon color, this wine has subtle hints of dried fruit with an incredibly dry, lingering finish.

I was also impressed to see K Vintners on Napa’s exclusive list. K Vinters is a Washington state winery that produces some great Syrah from the Wahluke Slope and Walla Walla Valley.

In the same neighborhood as Napa, there is a new Italian bistro called Café Toscana (5007 Black Rd., 761-9522). They offer two wine lists. The first includes exclusive and expensive bottles. The other offers 20 wines for $21 a bottle and $5.75 a glass no matter which wines are chosen. I was particularly pleased with the Italian white by Falesco called EST! EST! EST! It is a great summer white composed of 60 percent Trebbiano, 30 percent Malvasia, and 10 percent Roscetto – nice pear and melon fruit on the front with a clean finish.

Another wine to try at Café Toscana is the organically grown red from Lolonis called Ladybug Red. It’s a perfect medium-bodied red that can be enjoyed with or without food.

Recognizing the need for better choices at decent prices is what the wine revolution is all about, and I, for one, am happy to see that Memphis restaurants have joined the fight. n

Chez Philippe chef de cuisine, Jose Gutierrez, has decided to leave the roost he’s ruled for more than 20 years, and his departure is prompting some changes at The Peabody, which will be celebrating its 80th anniversary in September.

Under Gutierrez, Chez Philippe earned national recognition and awards for its French cuisine. Hotel management is looking for Gutierrez’ replacement and plans to preserve the restaurant’s French style while spicing it up a bit with Asian fusion.

Gutierrez, who will leaving in mid-August, is opening his own restaurant in Peabody Place. His new restaurant, called Encore, will feature the casual elegance of a Mediterranean-style café.

Gutierrez was born in Provence and trained at the Professional Culinary School in Manosque, France. Since coming to Memphis in 1983, the chef has been recognized as one of the first to combine classical French training with elements of traditional Southern food, a style that has flourished with other Memphis chefs. In 1995, Gutierrez was admitted to the ranks of Master Chef of France.

Even with changes underfoot, The Peabody will celebrate its 80th year with a series of dinners, month-long specials, and a brunch. Anniversary dinners will be held at the Capriccio Grill on September 9th and at Chez Philippe September 16th. The cost for each event is $50 per person. On September 25th, a champagne brunch will be served in the Grand Ballroom from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

When planning the events, executive chef Andreas Kisler found inspiration in menus from the 1930s. The four-course dinner at Capriccio will include braised prime-beef ribs, which were adapted from a 1939 menu, as was the appetizer, Oysters Peabody.

For more information about The Peabody’s anniversary, call 529-4000.

home-style Southern cooking and the twang of a banjo in this turn-of-the-century country home overlooking the once bustling (now paved over) train depot in Oakland, Tennessee, make you feel like you stepped back in time.

When owners and sisters-in-law Monica and Deborah Choate opened Anna Renae’s Tea Room and Gift Shoppe in November 2003, they preserved the character of the 1912 house that boasts 20-foot ceilings, original chandeliers, hardwood floors, and a fireplace in nearly every room.

The restaurant has earned recognition among locals for its lunch menu and its quaint gift shop. And starting August 5th, the restaurant will begin serving dinner every Friday from 6 to 9 p.m.

“Every Friday, we’ll have a different special to go along with our regular menu,” says Monica. The regular menu features salads, sandwiches, and homemade desserts prepared by Deborah’s mother, who is also named Deborah. But for dinner, Monica and Deborah plan to also offer traditional home cooking, including stuffed bell peppers, cream corn, and glazed carrots.

Anna Renae’s is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 6-9 p.m. Fridays only.

Anna Renae’s, 14520 Hwy. 194 (465-0245)

Camille “Camy” Archer is delivering something new.

Archer has added more items to “Camy’s Fine Food Delivered to You” menu and is now offering corporate catering.

In the 12 years since opening, Camy’s has become well-known for its pizzas and oven-baked sandwiches. Now Camy’s also offers hot wings with a choice of hot or barbecue sauces. In addition, there are four new salads for the summer. The Caesar and Greek salads have new-and-improved dressings. The mandarin chicken salad has grilled chicken and mandarin oranges, and the steak salad features a 6-ounce ribeye grilled to order.

The catering menu now includes an assortment of party platters, such as meat and cheese, fresh fruit, and vegetables.

Camy’s is open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Camy’s, 3 South Barksdale (725-1667)

At the salad bar these days, I forgo lettuce entirely. Nothing against lettuce, but where else do you have to pay $5 to $8 a pound for it? On the other hand, a plate full of Baco-Bits represents quite a savings over what it would cost to make bacon at home.

But alas, even I might find a full plate of bacon too much. So I build my salad around a whopping pile of the baby green that eats like a meal­ – spinach.

And I’m not the only one wolfing down spinach. In my lifetime, U.S. consumption has quintupled. Americans haven’t eaten this much spinach (2.4 pounds per year per capita, according to the USDA) since the 1950s, when Popeye gave the industry a boost.

Back then, spinach was usually eaten from cans. Today, Americans like their spinach fresh and young – although not necessarily in that order. Baby spinach is the nation’s new green darling, according to a recent Bon Appetit survey of diners’ favorite vegetables. People are buying pre-washed baby spinach by the bag, mostly grown in the Southwest. Me, I like my baby spinach. But it doesn’t compare to a succulent, dinnerplate-sized leaf, fresh straight from the ground.

In the same family as beet and chard, spinach is thought to have originated in ancient Persia (now Iran). Spinach arrived, via Nepal, in seventh-century China, where it is still called “Persian Greens.” Spinach didn’t hit Europe until the 11th century, when the Moors brought it to Spain. Known for a while in England as “the Spanish vegetable,” the name was shortened and modified to “spinach,” before Popeye lengthened it to “spinachk.”

Spinach’s list of nutritional qualities stretches longer than Olive Oyl’s legs. Vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, iron, you name it – but if iron is what you are after, make sure to cook the spinach with lemon or some other acid, which makes that rust-prone nutrient more accessible.

Spinach does have one downside. According to the Environmental Working Group, spinach is one of the 12 common food crops most likely to be contaminated by pesticide residue. The most common pesticides found on spinach are Permethrin, Dimethoate, and – get this – DDT, which is known to cause cancer, birth defects, and reproductive damage.

Wait a minute … Wasn’t Dichlorodiphenyltri-chloroethane (DDT) banned in 1972? Banned for use in the U.S., yes. But we continue to manufacture and export it by the ton to developing nations. One of the reasons, arguably a good one, is DDT’s mosquito-killing power, which is a big help in the global fight against malaria. But it’s no secret that farmers in developing nations still use DDT on their crops, and the joke is on us when some imported spinach is found to contain significant traces of DDT. The other reason DDT is found on spinach is that it persists in the environment for years. Domestic spinach can still contain traces of DDT that was sprayed before 1972. Pesticides, so the saying goes, don’t know when to stop killing. Thus, more than almost any other item of produce, spinach should be purchased in organic form.

While most of the nation’s spinach is grown in California, Texas, and Arizona, this time of year it shouldn’t be hard to find organic spinach locally. The Farmer’s Market is the most obvious place, followed by stores that make an effort to market organic produce.

When heated, spinach cooks down remarkably. If you want to cook it at all, baby spinach can be tossed onto a dish as it’s leaving the stove, and the heat of the food will wilt it. But if you have a nice quantity of spinach, you might want to try the following Indian dish called saag paneer, which means “spinach and cheese” in Hindi. Fry half a cup of chopped onion or shallots in two tablespoons of butter. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and one tablespoon of garam masala, an Indian spice mixture available at many stores and online. Let this cook together for a few minutes, then add the equivalent of two bunches of spinach to the pan and half a cup of cheese curds. Season with salt to taste. Cook with the lid on until the curds are soft.

My final suggestion is something I call “Scrambled Spinach Omelet.” If you don’t eat meat, you can skip the pork belly and use oil instead. Otherwise, begin by preparing the pan with a strip of chopped bacon. While it’s cooking, add chopped onion and peppers, if you like those things. Meanwhile, beat as many eggs as you want to eat, beating in salt, pepper, and mashed or pressed garlic. When the stuff in the pan is almost ready, pour in the eggs. While the eggs begin to cook, drop little dollops of cheese (I like Brie, chevre, and/or Parmesan) on top of the gently cooking egg pancake. Add a whopping handful of baby or chopped spinach. When you smell the eggs starting to cook, stir the contents of the pan until the eggs are to your liking. n

As a woman, I get especially proud when I meet a dynamic, talented female winemaker. It means she’s not afraid of the good ol’ boy wine industry. Women have made considerable advancement in the wine ranks, thanks to the commitment of many stalwart individuals. Still, there’s room for improvement. I recently Googled “female winemakers,” and three of the first four sites extolled the sex appeal of these ladies rather than their abilities. In a land that reveres fake boobs and facelifts, it’s kind of expected, but come on. It would be nice if kudos for female winemakers came for verve not va-voom.

Like many other industries, the turnaround began during the women’s movement in the early 1970s. In 1973, MaryAnn Graf, the first female graduate of University of California at Davis’ viticulture and enology program, became head winemaker at Napa Valley’s Simi Winery, a business with a tradition of employing female managers. Then Zelma Long, considered the most important woman in California wine history, started her career in the labs of Robert Mondavi Winery, moving to Simi as winemaker and eventually becoming the executive vice president of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s California wineries, which includes Simi.

Inspiring many others were additional trailblazers such as Merry Edwards and Helen Turley, two women who also made it on their own. Edwards got her start in the early ’70s when, even armed with a Master’s degree in enology, she kept getting rejected after interviewers learned “Merry” equaled female. Undeterred, she eventually landed a position at Mount Eden Vineyards and is now one of California’s foremost vintners – male or female – producing unbelievable Pinot Noirs in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley.

Turley, the genius behind super-venerated, super-concentrated cabernets from Pahlmeyer, Colgin, and Marcassin, has been called the best winemaker in California by many writers and winemakers alike. She started at Sonoma’s BR Cohn, one of my favorite Cabernet producers, in the mid ’80s. After wowing everyone, she began an illustrious consulting career.

In Europe, gender equality in the wine world still hovers in the Middle Ages, but strong-willed females have made progress. In 1975, Maria Martinez, a warmhearted yet tough survivor, began her wine career in Spain’s Rioja region. After only four years of working in the cellars, she earned her spot among the esteemed winemaker ranks and has since been crowned “the Queen of Rioja” as the head winemaker at highly respected, 130-year-old Bodegas Montecillo.

When asked about her role as a high-profile female in this business, Martinez quietly replied, “I am in love with this profession … and I’m a fighter.” She sadly admits, though, that there are no other “respected” female winemakers in Rioja. (At a recent luncheon I attended in Tampa, Florida, honoring Martinez, only two of the 14 wine industry attendees were women.)

The rise of women shouldn’t surprise anyone. Research has shown that women possess a better sense of smell than men, and more “supertasters” – those with more tastebuds and thus more sensitive palates – are female. And chicks drink. A 2003 study from the Wine Market Council found that 60 percent of Americans who consumed wine once or more a week were women. In that same year, Simmons Market Research Bureau reported that women consumed more than half of all wine.

And females continue to grow into the profession. Today, women make up almost 50 percent of the undergraduates at the winemaking program at UC Davis. Get ready world. Chicks have arrived.

Recommended Wines

Montecillo 2003 Bianco – Smells like summer, with fragrant lime and fresh, clean sheets. Tart lemon-lime and creamy vanilla in the mouth, with an acidic finish. Excellent value. $6.

Merry Edwards 2002 Pinot Noir Russian River – Oh my, how I love her wine. Earthy cherry, raspberry and blueberry home in on that one special spot in your mouth that ignites such pleasure. Elegant, classy, and sophisticated. $34. n

Ahmed Saffarini hopes to bring the Middle East into the middle of East Memphis.

To that end, Saffarini has opened Pita’s Mediterranean Restaurant at 5030 Poplar in a strip shopping center in front of Office Depot and Wild Oats Market. Saffarini sees an opportunity and believes he has found the place and the food to make it work.

Saffarini, who is from Palestine, used to own Sinbad Café in the University of Memphis area. He sold it about a year ago and used the money to open Pita. And while Pita will offer Middle Eastern cuisine like Sinbad, Saffarini considers it a whole different animal. The concentration here is on lunch. The traffic on Poplar and the lunchtime crowds from Clark and White Station towers put the restaurant in a prime location, Saffarini says.

Plus, he’s got a culinary ringer: his shawarma. “It’s layers of steak marinated for a whole day and cooked very slowly with 32 spices,” he says. “We know spices, and that’s what cooking is all about.”

In addition to shawarma, Pita offers other Mediterranean favorites, such as falafel, hummus, tabouleh salad, and dishes built around pita bread. A typical meal costs around $7, including drink. For lighter fare, there is salad or grape-leaf dishes. For dessert, Pita has baklava, a layered pastry soaked in honey.

Saffarini is not one to curb his enthusiasm when talking about his food. “I swear to God,” he says, “our kabob will melt in your mouth. We know the secret.”

When Saffarini moved to the U.S., he chose Memphis because his brother, Anan, lives here, and he had heard good things about the University of Memphis. He arrived six days before 9/11.

Saffarini started at the U of M, studying computer science. But he had always wanted his own business. He saw the opportunities in the U.S. “Here, there is a way to be successful if you are good,” he says. “It’s very hard to start anything over there [in Palestine].”

So he started Sinbad Café on Highland and opened Odyssey Wireless in Hickory Hill. He sold Sinbad because, he explains, “I want to try my luck somewhere else.”

Every new business venture has its challenges, particularly restaurants. Saffarini, however, discovered a few extra obstacles while opening Pita – not the least of which was finding employees who know how to prepare the dishes. Where do you go to find a good shawarma maker in town? Saffarini had to train his new cooks in a new kind of cooking. “This food is very hard to deal with,” he says.

He did not rush the opening. He secured the spot in January, hung a banner announcing Pita’s impending arrival, and began the process. An opening date a few weeks away turned into a few months. He wanted to be sure everything was ready before inviting guests. On June 28th, he replaced the “Coming Soon” banner with one reading “Grand Opening.”

Saffarini is familiar with the statistic that 80 percent of restaurants fail shortly after opening. “It’s very hard,” he says. “You are always looking for perfection. You always look at the little things.” He is giving all his attention to the restaurant, and his cousin will be taking over Odyssey Wireless.

In all, Saffarini is pretty confident about Pita’s chances. “Memphis is not like Chicago or Houston where you can get any type of food,” he says. While there are other Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurants in town, he sees Pita as filling an unmet need. And he doesn’t have just the Middle Eastern community in mind. According to Saffarini, “We are targeting everybody.” n

Pita Mediterranean, 5030 Poplar (683-5242), is open from 11 am to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. They do not serve alcoholic beverages.

On the last Tuesday of the month, the Memphis Botanic Garden hosts “Tuesdays on the Terrace at Fratelli’s in the Garden,” which they bill as “wine tastings with a botanical twist.” This Tuesday, July 26th, that twist comes with a splash of gin for the Shake-N-Stir Martini Party.

According to Fratelli’s owner, Sabine Baltz, the martini party will feature hors d’oeuvres centered around olives, such as sun-dried tomatoes and tapenades. “We will also have some champagnes and white wines for those who prefer it,” she says. Memphis jazz singer Reni Simon will perform.

On August 30th, the series will take on a Spanish flavor with Salsa Night, and a dance instructor from Fred Astaire Dance Studio will offer salsa lessons.

The wine tastings are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is $20 for garden members and $30 for nonmembers.

In other Fratelli’s news, Baltz has recently added to the menu more salads and panini sandwiches as well as some new desserts and appetizers. The pork tenderloin salad with spinach, bell peppers, oranges, and avocado is just one example of the expanded offerings. Fratelli’s is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Fratelli’s, Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Road (685-1566, ext. 118)

Bari is expanding. Owners Jason and Rebecca Severs plan to double the size of the 1,200-square-foot restaurant by September 1st. The additional space will offer room for a waiting area and a second dining area as well as a bar. “We plan to create an enotec, which in Italian means a wine library or wine bar,” says Jason. “The bars in Italy are mostly wine bars. Enotecs are everywhere in Italy, but in the U.S. you mainly find them in larger cities.” To accompany the wine bar, Jason says they plan to expand the antipasti menu to feature about 25 Italian cheeses and 10 cured Italian meats.

Bari, 22 S. Cooper (722-2244)

July is National Ice Cream Month. Did you know that the biggest ice-cream sundae in history was made in Edmonton, Canada, in 1988 and weighed more than 24 tons? Or that the U.S. enjoys an average of 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year, more than any other country? What’s more, the ice-cream cone’s invention is linked to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. An ice-cream vendor reportedly didn’t have enough dishes to keep up with the demand, so he teamed up with a waffle vendor who rolled his waffles into cones.

Learn more fun facts about ice cream July 30th at the 11th Annual Big Scoop Ice Cream Festival at the Agricenter International at Shelby Farms. The event, which is held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will benefit Ronald McDonald House and will feature plenty of ice-cream vendors, ice-cream eating contests, and a celebrity sundae-making contest.

In addition to ice cream and more ice cream, kids and adults alike can enjoy performances on the Hilton Hotels Entertainment Stage, including a show from Ronald McDonald at 11:30 a.m. The Memphis Zoo will bring Wildlife on Wheels, and kids can get their faces painted and their picture taken with Rocky the Redbird.

Admission is $7; children ages 3 and under are admitted free. Advance tickets can be purchased for $5 at local Schnucks stores and the Ronald McDonald House. For more information, call 529-4055.

Jimmy Ishii, owner of Sekisui restaurants, held a benefit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to celebrate the grand opening of his 18th restaurant, which is in Vestavia Hills, an upscale enclave of Birmingham, Alabama.

Continuing Ishii’s desire to support people taking steps along the same path he took when he first opened Sekisui in Memphis 15 years ago, he partnered with a former employee to open the new restaurant.

Owner/chef Matsui “Yasu” Yasuteru met Ishii while attending college in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Yasuteru would drive to Memphis to dine at Sekisui in the early 1990s. After graduating, he came to work for Ishii in 1992. The two worked together to choose a location for the new restaurant.

The Sekisui Group is also consulting on Zanzibar on South Main. Zanzibar owner Kysha Benjamin hopes to re-open in early August with an updated decor and menu. n

Equestria may be the best unknown restaurant in Memphis. There’s a lingering perception about this restaurant – that of dark interiors and a menu heavily weighted toward game – which was carried over from the days of the Saddles Steak House and the first two years after Equestria opened in 2001.

While the location in Germantown and the name remain the same, there have been dramatic changes. Dennis Scott, who owned the building, proved to be a patient investor. In 2003, when he assumed complete control of Equestria, he set out to create an environment he, his friends, and clients would frequent. Spaces were opened up, private function rooms were added, the color scheme was modernized, and an outside patio was installed for live music and al fresco cocktails. A garden was built to provide seasonal herbs, vegetables, and heirloom tomatoes. Most importantly, a new chef was hired. Kevin Rains, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Colorado, was brought over from the now defunct E.J.’s Brasserie. Together, Scott and Rains decided to purchase the very best ingredients available and let the food change people’s perceptions about the restaurant.

Chef Rains creates seasonal menus, with a nod to fusion cuisine, that are influenced by availability of ingredients and his interpretation of balance. In a cooler season, for example, I had an excellent calf’s liver and onions in a veal demi-glace. The liver was thick enough to have a crispy, charred exterior but retain a creamy, warm middle.

On another, more recent visit, our options were of a lighter fare. We started our evening with a scallop dish that featured three preparations. The pan-fried, seared, and grilled scallops were matched with a smoky tomato butter, a curry soy vinaigrette, and a lemon caper aioli. Each scallop was delicious and perfectly prepared. The Thai beef egg roll was cut on the bias and served in a pool of hoisin mustard sauce. Inside, a filling of beef tenderloin, Asian noodles, and vegetables was terrific. “Carlos’ Relleno” was a batter-dipped, crispy fried chili pepper stuffed with black beans, roasted corn, and andouille sausage. The red curry cream-cheese sauce completed this Cajun-Thai-Mex marriage, which was good enough to order as a main course.

All our salads were well-napped and extremely fresh. The blackberry arugula salad was a standout. Peppery arugula leaves were drizzled with a blackberry balsamic dressing and crowned with Maytag bleu cheese, bacon, blackberries, and pistachios. Who would have thought to have put so many of my favorite flavors in one salad? I was grateful for the experience.

For entrées, we were drawn to the exotic seafood preparations described on the menu, but we decided to balance our samplings with two meat choices. Although the “Three Peppercorn-crusted Rib-eye” enticed, our waiter encouraged us to order the filet mignon. The filet was well-prepared but proved to be pedestrian compared to our other dishes. The Australian lamb chops were served with the loin filleted and the herb-crusted ribs propped up like a mini-rack. The chops were well-seasoned and medium-rare in the center and came with a mint syrup that enhanced but did not overwhelm. The riblets were also very tasty.

The “Black and White Salmon” was sweetened by a honey Dijon glaze, made more complex by red curry and a grapefruit beurre blanc. Baby bok choy and black Thai rice added to this very satisfying dish. A Southwest-influenced cumin-encrusted ahi tuna was fragrant and spicy with its accompanying cracked pepper and corn sauce. It was perched on a bed of black bean risotto that was tasty and chewy but perhaps too dense for the delicate tuna. Micro greens from a specialty farm in Ohio decorated many of our dishes.

Desserts came in generous portions and reflected the same attention to flavor as the rest of our meal. The “Sorbet Trio” was bright and tart with seasonal fruit. Particularly refreshing was the pink grapefruit. A blueberry and almond turnover was flaky, warm, and comforting. The bittersweet chocolate torte had fabulous cocoa flavor, and a Grand Marnier poppy-seed cake had us begging for the recipe.

Our dinner was served by a very well-trained and attentive staff. Dressed in white chef coats with an Equestria logo, they displayed a professional decorum often lacking in Memphis restaurants. Meals are plated on a variety of interesting chinaware. A Wine Spectator award-winning wine list accompanies the dinner menu.

Judging from our experience and those of friends, perceptions about Equestria will soon change. This restaurant is hitting its stride. n

Equestria is located at 3165 Forest Hill-Irene Road in Germantown. Reservations are strongly encouraged (869-2663). The dinner, dessert, and wine menu, as well as information about live music, can be found at EquestriaCuisine.com.

The Lucchesi name became synonymous with Italian food in Collierville in 1990 when Pat Lucchesi and his father Vince opened Lucchesi’s Ravioli and Pasta Company. After selling his interest in that company more than a year ago, Pat opened Café Piazza by Pat Lucchesi July 12th.

The café sits in a circa-1912 house on the corner of Rowlett and Main across from Collierville’s Historic Town Square. Lucchesi spent months remodeling and restoring the home. The original wood floors have been refinished and the original crown molding repainted. The restaurant features four fireplaces and three separate dining areas. In the front dining room, Lucchesi replaced the windows around the original front porch with French doors that open onto a view of the old train depot and the antique cannon across the street. A second dining room, in shades of yellow, offers a bright, casual atmosphere.

“It’s like sitting in Grandma’s living room, because that’s what it is, really,” says Lucchesi. “For the third dining room, we used stucco in a warm green color and stained the wood rafters mahogany and added solid mahogany tables and chairs for an old-world feel.”

Café Piazza’s menu offers specialty pizzas such as the “Portobello,” a crispy thin crust piled high with mushrooms and red sauce or with toppings such as fresh goat cheese and pesto. The menu also features panini sandwiches and an assortment of fresh salads. Appetizers such as caprese tomatoes and brushetta are available. Lucchesi says the café’s signature dessert is canoli cake. “It’s a yellow cake with canoli filling, a cream-cheese icing, and pistachios,” he says.

Lucchesi is serving only dinner for the first couple of weeks but will expand the hours to serve lunch soon. Café Piazza will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Café Piazza by Pat Lucchesi, 139 S. Rowlett, in Collierville (861-1999)

Mahmood Sawar and his wife Maria Guzman opened the first La Hacienda in Cordova seven years ago. Since that time, they have opened three Italian restaurants – Fino Villa, Cucchina Italiana in Collierville, and Soprano’s in Olive Branch – and four more La Hacienda locations, including the one that opened in Oakland, Tennessee, July 2nd.

This location will be the first to offer breakfast, and Sawar hopes that it will be the first restaurant in Oakland to offer liquor by the drink. A liquor referendum passed last November, opening the community to opportunities to accept larger chains such as O’Charley’s, which has also expressed interest in the area.

La Hacienda is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

La Hacienda, 7034 Hwy. 64 in Oakland (465-1505)

July is American Beer Month, and Boscos Squared will celebrate with several events throughout the month.

One ongoing event is the annual competition between Boscos locations in Memphis, Little Rock, and Nashville to see whose customers can drink the most beer. Currently, Nashville holds the title. On every weeknight in July at 6 p.m., Boscos will also give away two tickets to the Redbirds game on July 31st for “Midtown Appreciation Day.”

On July 16th, Boscos will host a food and beer tasting from 2 to 4 p.m. Advance tickets, which cost $40, can be purchased at the restaurant or through the benefactor of the event, United Housing Inc. (UHI) at 51 N. Cooper.

UHI, founded by the United Way of the Mid-South in 1994, has assisted in the revitalization of about 600 homes in Memphis neighborhoods and offers educational support to homebuyers. UHI will also receive a portion of the sales of July’s signature beer, “Boscos Blue Ribbon.”

On July 26th, Boscos will host “American Beer Month Brewmaster’s Beer Dinner,” a five-course prix fixe meal at 6:45 p.m. The cost is $50 per person.

Boscos Squared, 2120 Madison Avenue (432-2222)

Hear Isaac Hayes talk about A new cookbook, Kidney Friendly Comfort Foods: A Collection of Recipes for Eating Well with Chronic Kidney Disease July 14th at The Peabody hotel. Hayes, who wrote the foreword for the cookbook, decided to turn his attention to an issue close to his heart since the death of his colleague and friend Barry White from kidney failure. The free event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., and tickets are available by calling 1-866-220-4467. n