Category: Food & Drink

There’s no shortage of choices for dining at the intersection of Poplar and Mendenhall. For example, Café Toscana opened May 23rd in the shopping center next to Malco’s Paradiso cinema.
Chef and owner Giacomo Ciabattini went to cooking school in Florence, Italy, where he was born. After working for a restaurant there for about 10 years, Ciabattini moved to the United States in 1984, working first in California, where he opened his own restaurant in San Francisco in 1994. He then joined Romano’s Macaroni Grill to work in menu development and met his wife, Lea, a Memphis native. He later did menu development for the Olive Garden and was able to spend three months out of the year in Tuscany.
“It was great. I got to go home a lot, but now we have two little girls getting ready to start school, and we wanted them to be raised around their cousins, grandparents, and family,” Ciabattini says. “We moved here in December and started looking for a place, because we knew that’s what we wanted to do.”
The couple chose the location where Le Petite Bistro was for many years and spent weeks transforming the décor to give the restaurant a brighter, more open ambience. Ciabattini used a warm red and soft yellow palette to give the restaurant a more Tuscan feel. He also modeled the menu after an authentic Tuscan café, with fresh seafood and pasta dishes.
“It a little bit of a mixture, with more Tuscan and more contemporary,” says Ciabattini. “It is more simple and fresh than the traditional Italian dishes you would find at most restaurants.”
Café Toscana is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for dinner from 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily except Sunday. Reservations are strongly recommended.
Café Toscana, 5007 Black Road (761-9522)

Downstairs from Cafe Toscana, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream is set to open this week. Owner Marc Tate opened a Ben & Jerry’s in Germantown in July 2004, and he says it’s been a huge success, though he does plan to offer some new features at the new Memphis location.
“I want it to be not just an ice cream shop. I want it to be a dessert emporium,” Tate says. The location will offer low lighting and offerings beyond ice cream, such as cakes and Belgian waffles. In addition, Tate will open a patio with live music on the weekends.
A grand opening is slated for August 6th. “I’ve talked to a few of my neighbors, and we’d like to have a block party that weekend,” Tate says.
Ben & Jerry’s will be open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 1 to 11 p.m. Sunday.
Ben & Jerry’s, 5007 Black Road ()

Also new to the neighborhood is Carraba’s Fine Italian Grill, which opened its first Memphis location June 27th at the entrance to Clark Tower. The restaurant, owned and operated by Outback Steakhouse International, features an exhibition-style kitchen, where guests can watch the chefs in action. In addition to Italian specialties, the menu features wood-grilled meat and fish. Kids can shape and mold fresh pizza dough while waiting for dinner. A second location is slated to open in Collierville in the fall.
Carraba’s is open at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The restaurant closes at 10 p.m. throughout the week and stays open until 11:30 on Friday and Saturday.
Carraba’s Fine Italian Grill, 5110 Poplar Ave. (685-9900)

“Patrick Kelly: A Retrospective,” now at the Brooks Museum through August 28th, highlights the Vicksburg-born designer’s work from the 1980s. Kelly worked in Paris and was one of the first African-American designers to enjoy success in the competitive world of fashion.
To pay tribute to Kelly and celebrate Bastille Day, chef Penny McCraw of the museum’s Brushmark restaurant, will present a menu of French fare July 12th through July 16th. McCraw will prepare lobster bisque, crêpe de jour, and mesclun salad with duck confit and wild mushrooms, just to name a few items.
Kelly is also the inspiration for the Brooks’ Avante Garde Party, being held Saturday, July 16th. “You do have to be a museum member to attend,” says Diane Jalfon, public-relations manager of the Brooks. “But many people purchase a membership just for this event,” she says. The theme this year is “Material World: Couture and Casino Party.” The evening will include dancing, casino games by Harrah’s Entertainment, a fashion show from stores in Laurelwood Shopping Center, and, of course, plenty of food.
“We will have an upscale buffet with some French influences, but with it being summertime, we’ll have some fresh, crisp flavors,” says McCraw. “Outside I’m going to have an interactive station where I’ll be doing flaming bananas Foster.”
The Brushmark is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations are recommended.
For more information about museum membership, contact Effie Phillips at 544-6230.
The Brushmark, at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, in Overton Park (544-6225)

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It’s 10:45 in the morning, and Sonny Reese is hungry. Over a double-bacon BLT at the Arcade restaurant on South Main, Reese tells me about his time in the Army. While stationed in Missouri, he met another soldier who liked to eat as much as he did. “On the weekends, we would go AWOL to Memphis to eat at the Rendezvous,” he fondly recalls. “’Course when we got back, they would punish me by sticking me on KP duty.”

That seems to be the story of Sonny Reese — out of the frying pan and into ? well, another frying pan. A lifelong passion for good food led Reese to perfect his own seasoning salt, which he now sells at several local restaurants and specialty stores. He calls it Sonny Salt.

Reese grew up around good food. Born in Mississippi, he came of age in the Kitchen of Mama Dean’s and Clyde’s Fish Camp, the eateries run by his grandmother and father. His first job as a traveling salesman took him around the Mid-South. Courting customers often involved serving them a meal, something Reese excelled at. People who tasted his special seasoning would tell him he ought to market it.

In 2000, Reese won first place in a catfish-cooking contest sponsored by Original Louisiana Hot Sauce. He won it again in 2002. The response of the crowd and the acknowledgments of the contest’s judges convinced Reese his salt might make a good product.

Reese wanted to make sure that his salt didn’t lose anything when it became commercially available. “I took it in to get bottled, but they just couldn’t get it to taste the way we wanted,” he says of the local distributor he won’t name. “I had to test it seven times before they got the formula right.”

After the salt was to his taste, Reese took it from there. He is a consummate salesman, constantly marketing his product, leaving samples everywhere he travels. At the Arcade, Reese restocks a few tables and teases some reluctant patrons into giving his salt a shot. “We started off with one production a month. That wasn’t enough, so we doubled it. Now we’re doing three productions a month,” says Reese, with a wide grin.

Many of the retailers carrying Sonny Salt are impressed with its success. “I didn’t think it would sell all that well, but we’ve had a great response,” says Jeff Wilkerson, the assistant manager at Miss Cordelia’s Grocery. “People taste it straight, then they imagine what it would taste like on food, and they buy it right away,” says Scott Blen, president of Lit, a restaurant supply store, where Reese recently hosted the store’s first in-house demonstration and tasting.

When describing the salt, Reese sounds like a seasoning yogi. At lunch, he instructs me to put some Sonny Salt in my palm and lick it. “There is a three-step journey across the palate,” he says. “First you taste the herbs, then the salt, and then, last, you should get the heat in your throat.” True to his word, there are three stages: first, a burst of herbs, such as cumin and thyme, then salt, and finally a pepper-induced heat. The tastes are wonderfully distinct and give a good sense of exactly what Sonny Salt will add to a meal.

“Sonny Salt is good because it works on everything. It’s less boring than your average seasoning salt,” says Blen. At Alice’s Urban Market and the Brookhaven Pub and Grill, Sonny Salt has found a place in the kitchen. “Yeah, it’s that good. You can use it on any type of meat. We put it on our hickory burger,” says Paul Degloma, a manager at the Brookhaven Pub.

A lot of Sonny Salt’s brisk sales have been attributed to its eye-catching advertising and packaging. The bottle, with its dark-orange label adorned with a photo of Reese’s face, is hard to miss. “We used to have all kinds of homemade labels. Stuff like ‘Damn Good’ and ‘Slap Yo’ Momma Good,’ but that wasn’t working,” Reese says. The new campaign from Conaway Brown was designed by Eric Robinette, who is now Reese’s business partner. It has won two local advertising awards. “Sonny Reese has been eating since he was born,” the ads exclaim. “And with that kind of background and experience it gave him the insight into what a spice should truly taste like.”

When I ask how it feels having his face on bottles all over town, the boisterous salesman is suddenly shy. “I don’t know if I’m that guy from the campaign,” he says. “I’m no chef, that’s for sure. I’m a cook. I can’t tell you any fancy French terms, but I can cook you the best steak you’ll ever eat.”

The interview at the Arcade is over. Reese chuckles when he sees my lunch is half-eaten. His plate is wiped clean. For Reese, the taste, the simple joy of eating, is always what comes first. 

You can buy Sonny Salt at Lit, Alice’s Urban Market, Miss Cordelia’s Grocery, and the Arcade. Reese’s Web site, SonnySalt.com, includes recipes, banter, and advice.

Every Friday and Saturday night, the smell of charcoal-grilled steak wafts around Somerville’s Historic Town Square and the twang of bluegrass dances in the air. These come-ons to the senses emanate from Sippin’s Coffee Shop, where owner Thomas Lynne fires up the grill and makes room for anyone who has brought an instrument and is ready to jam.

In most respects, Sippin’s is an ordinary small-town coffee shop. Everybody knows everybody as the square’s courthouse crowd filters in to check out the daily lunch special or to grab a sandwich. But with its steak nights, Sippin’s has earned notoriety among the locals who say it has the best steaks around.

The secret to Sippin’s steaks is in the grilling, which Lynne does on an ordinary charcoal grill pulled into the alley behind the landmark building where he opened his restaurant in December 2002.

Earlier that year, Thomas’ father, Tommy Lynne, bought the Two Sisters’ Building, which was once a sewing and fabric store operated by Paulie and Lucy Claxton. The owners leased the building for many years after closing their store. It was auctioned following their death.

“I bought the building to save it,” says Tommy. “I was going to open an art studio. My son wanted to open up a coffee shop, and I told him you’re going to have to serve more than coffee to make it work.”

Before opening the restaurant, the pair worked together to restore the building to its original form. During the restoration, Tommy discovered that the rafters in the attic were hand-hewn and pinned with wooden pegs. “They used horse-hair plaster, where they mixed horse hair with the plaster to make it stronger,” he says.

When decorating the restaurant, father and son chose wooden tables and an Oriental rug that would complement the original features of the building, such as the tin ceiling and hardwood floors. They also created space to display artwork by Tommy, who is a nationally known portrait photographer and sculptor. Pottery by Mark Davis and sculpture by Ellen McGowan have also been on display.

“My dad had the vision of what Sippin’s has come to be,” says Thomas. “He is the mastermind behind the design.”

The elder Lynne is equally quick to lay the credit at his son’s feet. Tommy says what Thomas, who is now 23, lacked in age and experience, he made up for with determination and dedication.

“My son has worked endless hours for a little of nothing, turning it into what it is today,” says Tommy.

When Thomas first returned home to Somerville, after graduating from high school in Portland, Tennessee, he didn’t expect to be running his own business. He started working at Sonic.

“I had a really good boss, and I enjoyed working with the food and getting it out quick,” he says. “I grasped it. I knew I liked it and that I could do it really well.” He has proved exactly that.

About six months after opening, Thomas realized he would have to offer something different to succeed, so that’s when he started grilling steaks in the back alley.

“It’s what pulls us through,” says Thomas. “With four other restaurants on the square, we knew we’d have to do something else.”

Most who stop by Sippin’s on Friday and Saturday come for the 12-ounce ribeyes and 8- to 10-ounce filets. But some come for the music.

“We have bluegrass, country, and gospel — all acoustic,” says Thomas. “It’s not regular bands. It’s more of a jam session. Mostly it’s people from around here. It gives them something to do on the weekend.”

In May, Thomas expanded the hours to stay open late on Thursdays, when, during the month of June, Somerville hosts a concert series at I.M. Yancy Park. “On Thursday nights, we’ve been serving baby back ribs and barbecue. We were doing crawfish, but we didn’t have much turnout for that, so we may do jambalaya or some kind of crawfish stew,” he says.

Any time of the day, customers can enjoy desserts baked by Thomas’ grandmother, Elizabeth Lynne, along with the gourmet coffee drinks that Thomas first envisioned when he decided to open Sippin’s. 

Sippin’s Coffee Shop is located at 114 W. Market St. in Somerville, (901) 466-1480. The hours are 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and until 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

The world would be a better place if people would get over themselves. We’re so concerned about how “uncool” we’re going to look while drinking pink wine that the act of enjoying a refreshing dry rosé becomes secondary. People, it’s good.

Many in “the industry” love dry rosés. They’re perfect for cutting the summer heat and can accompany any sort of food, from grilled hamburgers to pasta in cream sauce. Most winemakers even produce a case or two of rosés for their own consumption.

Of course, one reason some folks turn up their noses at rosés is the ubiquitousness of White Zinfandel, for years the top-selling wine in the United States. And there are still plenty of rosés out there that reek of canned cherries in syrup. But that’s what critics are for: to help you dodge the dogs.

All grapes, no matter the color of their skins, have clear juice. The tint depends on the amount of time the red grape skins are allowed to stew with the juice: days or weeks for red wines; a few hours for rosés, or blush, as some wineries call them. You’ll notice that some rosés are darker than others. That indicates the winemaker kept the juice sitting longer with the skins, coaxing more tannins into the wine to give it a more flavorful punch.

Rosés come from most countries and from any red grape: Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel. (Wineries that wish to avoid the déclassé “White Zin” moniker call their pink wines “Zinfandel Rosé.”) Some of the best come from the Provence and Languedoc regions of France, where citizens guzzle them by the gallons.

The characteristic smack of White Zinfandel comes from adding sugar to the juice or stopping fermentation before the sugar has been transformed into alcohol. In dry rosés, most of the sugar gets converted during fermentation, yielding a high-octane beverage. One reliable, yet not infallible, method of determining whether a rosé tastes sweet is by looking at the alcohol percentage located on the label. Those with higher alcohol content, normally between 12.5 percent and 14.5 percent, are dry, and sweeter wines show 10 percent to 12 percent.

So it’s time to get out there and look uncool, but dammit, you’ll be drinking good stuff. Besides, it’s certainly cool to be drinking the cutting edge.

Recommended Wines

Turkey Flat 2004 Dry Rosé Barossa Valley — A spectacular symphony of red fruit flavors that indulge the palate with strawberry, cherry, and raspberry. Elegant, with fantastic acidic balance. Well-priced for the quality. One word: yummy. $15.

Bonny Doon 2004 Big House Pink California — Dry, yet kinda tastes like a cherry Jolly Rancher. An odd bit of guava in there, but it works. $10.

Vina Vilano 2004 Rosado Ribera Del Duero — Like biting into a chilled strawberry, with some gutsy cranberry and cassis coming into play. From Spain and made with the Tempranillo grape. Not your momma’s White Zin, my friends. $10.

Fiddlehead Cellars 2004 Pink Fiddle Santa Rita Hills — A rosé from southern California Pinot Noir, and it’s really fun. Zesty and enthusiastic, this pink gem sports tart cherry and some lemon-lime action. $16.

Solo Rosa 2004 Rosé California — These guys only make rosé, and damn, do they make it well. It’s flirty and fun with unusual full-bodiedness. Gorgeously ripe strawberry and raspberry complete this fabulous wine. $13.

Mas de la Dame 2004 Les Baux de Provence — Pretty flower aromas. Refreshing and flirtatious with strawberry dipped in honey flavors. Energetic acids round out the sip. Limited availability. $19.

Peachy Canyon 2004 Rosé Paso Robles — A slight sweetness gives this rosé some serious body and fullness. Bright cherry with a delicious lingering aftertaste that keeps giving. $12. 

It took about two months of remodeling to turn the former Amber Palace on Second Street into the Big Foot Lodge. Owners Shawn and Lana Danko used timbers from Montana for the log-cabin walls, Tennessee River rock for the fireplace and stone columns, and birch bark trees from Minnesota for a room divider between the spacious dining room and bar. Stuffed game animals adorn the space, along with the restaurant’s mascot, an eight-foot resin sculpture of a Sasquatch, forged in Midtown artist Yvonne Bobo’s studio.

The restaurant’s namesake isn’t the only thing of enormous proportions. “We have a four-pound cheeseburger – ‘The Sasquatch’ – that is $19.95, and it comes with a pound of fries,” says chef Sean Andrews, who came to Memphis from Port Lucy, Florida, where he worked as a trainer for the Olive Garden and a manager for Applebee’s. “If you can finish the burger in less than 60 minutes by yourself, you get it free.”

The menu also offers choices ranging from grilled ham-and-cheese and catfish to prime rib and lobster. And, of course, no wintry lodge would be complete without s’mores. Guests are served all the fixings for these tasty campfire treats and can even roast the marshmallows at their table using a Sterno flame.

This is the first restaurant for owners Shawn and Lana, although Shawn has worked 13 years at Hard Rock Café, most recently as general manager of the Beale Street location. His wife, Lana, is a sales and marketing executive for radio stations WRVR and the Buzz. After opening the first location, the couple hopes to open five more locations in the next six years.

“We thought the lodge theme would have a great appeal here in the Mid-South, where so many people spend time outdoors,” Shawn says. “We wanted to create a casual dining concept that I hope will appeal to all kinds of people with a fantastic menu at a reasonable price.”

The Big Foot Lodge is open 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The Big Foot Lodge, 97 S. Second St. (578-9800)

“This will be the biggest and best Buckley’s yet,” says co-owner Jeff Fioranelli of the Cordova location, the fourth Buckley’s since Fioranelli and his partner Kenneth Dick first opened a restaurant together 11 years ago. While the original Poplar location and Buckley’s downtown have a traditional atmosphere with warm rich wood, the partners are trying something new in Cordova. The restaurant, scheduled to open after July 4th, is brighter and more open with dividers offering more private dining for some of the tables.

“It’s going to be quite different,” says Fioranelli. “It’s going to be contemporary. We’re going to use this as a model for future locations. We’re looking for a style of our own. Our other locations are somewhat traditional. We just wanted to go with an updated look.”

They have also updated the children’s menu for a broader appeal to the family market and added a to-go entrance for takeout.

“We’re trying to make the place a combination,” says Fioranelli. “Buckley’s is often perceived as a date restaurant. We’re trying to make this Buckley’s a place that appeals to [daters] as well as families.”

Buckley’s Fine Filet Grill will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 9:30 Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Buckley’s Fine Filet Grill, 714 N. Germantown Parkway (756-1639)

After months of renovation and expansion, Miss Cordelia’s Grocery in Harbor Town is ready to unveil the changes with a grand opening celebration July 1st from 3 to 10 p.m. The day’s events will feature live jazz performances by Ron Shorr, Pete Vescovo, and Friends, a wine obstacle race, activities for the kids, and tours of the store. And, of course, there will be samples from the new dine-in deli, Miss Cordelia’s Table, from the expanded wine and beer section, and from many products offered in the neighborhood grocery. There will be door prizes ranging for $100 gift certificates to tickets to area events and gift baskets.

Miss Cordelia’s is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Cordelia’s Table kitchen is open until 9 p.m. n

Miss Cordelia’s Grocery, 737 Harbor Bend Road (526-4772)

Well, which is it? TV producer, documentary filmmaker, and human guinea pig Morgan Spurlock says you shouldn’t. Celebrity chef, star restaurateur, and Food Network heartthrob Tyler Florence says you should. (So does Klutz: see below.) At issue: to eat or not to eat “this book.”

Spurlock’s the guy who force-fed himself a diet of McDonald’s – three (happy?) meals a day for a full 30 days – in the movie Super Size Me, and guess what: Spurlock had a gut reaction. His innards cried foul. His private parts started tingling. His head went haywire.

Now he’s an author with Don’t Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America (Putnam), and guess again: If you’re among a big chunk of American men, women, and children, you’re right there with him – chowing down and fattening up on the processed junk that passes for mealtime in today’s number-one fast-food nation. But why beat up on McDonald’s? You deserve a break today. Just try “passing” this:

Hardee’s “Monster Thickburger” – two 1/3-pound slabs of Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese, and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame-seed bun. That’s 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat in a single sitting, and that’s without fries to further gum up your works and a half-gallon of sugary soft drink to wash it all down. But wait. There’s more. Have some hard facts to go with your order, the same facts that open Don’t Eat This Book.

According to one fat-tracking medical association, obesity figures for Americans went from 12 percent in 1991 to 21 percent in 2001, and according to the Associated Press, America’s widening waistlines are hurting the bottom line. A case in point: Heavier fliers have created heftier fuel costs. In 2000, that translated into an additional $275 million to burn 350 million more gallons of airline fuel just to get U.S. asses off the ground, which in turn sent 3.8 million extra tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Take a breath. Read on.

According to Spurlock, everybody’s doing their part: from the fat cats who run the fast-food megabusinesses, to the fat cats who dream up the false advertising, to the fat cats who lobby in Washington, to the fat cats in Congress who turn a blind eye, to the fat cats who head the FDA and the USDA, to the fat cat (you?) who swallows all of it.

Spurlock’s advice: Don’t buy into any of it. Spurlock’s book: top-heavy with good reasons why.

For a refresher course in fine dining, see Tyler Florence’s scrumptious Eat This Book: Cooking with Global Fresh Flavors (Clarkson Potter), a cookbook with photographs by Petrina Tinslay that are good enough to devour.

An easy(?)-to-prepare case in point: Florence’s recipe for “Grilled Octopus from a Small Restaurant in Nice,” which calls for the following: some garlic, some lemon zest, some kosher salt, some celery, some fennel sauce, some olive oil, a grill, and a five-pound decapitated octopus. (Takes one hour and 45 minutes to fix; serves six; discard octopus head.)

Sounds icky? Try “Grilled Pizza with Mozzarella di Bufala, Sausage, and Fresh Tomatoes.” Start by making your own dough from scratch. Then make a mess. “Crush” the tomatoes using your hands. “Rip” the mozzarella into pieces. “Crumble in” the Italian sausage. Add a “glug-glug” of olive oil. (Takes two hours to prepare; serves four to six; and don’t worry with the buffalo. You’re free to buy the mozzarella, made from the milk of said beast.) Then sit yourself down.

Your guests too – according to your table’s placecards made out of the pages of Eat This Book! by the people from Klutz Press, a children’s-book publisher. The paper is edible. The ink from the marker provided is edible. But one word of caution: One reader on Amazon reports that guests ate their placecards as a first course, but the ink stained their lips and tongue something awful.

Recipe to do something about the stains and make your guests feel right at home: Arm & Hammer’s “Shake ‘n Shine” baking soda – the handy “Sink-Side Shaker” in the plastic container with “Resealable Lid.”

“Not for Antacid Use” reads the product’s fine print, however. Not for use as a dentrifice either. Or for baking. Not for consumption, period.

What the hell’s it for? A fresher, cleaner microwave, refrigerator, pot, or pan, we’re told. And here I’ve been brushing my teeth with this stuff for years. Now, I learn, it’s not fit to eat. It and my routine meals, in spite of Spurlock, never mind Florence, at McDonald’s. n

Kudos to a couple of Memphis restaurateurs who have recently received national recognition.

Johnny Kirk, chef and co-owner of Stella, was featured as a “Rising Star of American Cuisine” by the James Beard Foundation, a nonprofit organization that recognizes talented chefs and food writers.

Kirk was honored with an invitation to prepare a dinner at the James Beard House, the late chef’s brownstone home in New York City, on June 2nd. His handpicked staff included Teddy Brantley of Grill 83, Michael Patrick of McEwen’s on Monroe, and Lee Craven of Madidi.

Frank Grisanti, owner of Frank Grisanti’s in the Embassy Suites and Bol á Pasta eateries, was reelected to a three-year term on the National Restaurant Association’s board of directors at the group’s annual tradeshow in Chicago, which was held May 21st through 24th. Through his position on the board, Grisanti, who started working in his family’s restaurants at age 13, keeps abreast of legislation and trends in demographics and marketing that affect the restaurant industry.

Grisanti has employed innovative marketing techniques through his Web site, FrankGrisanti.com, which allows people to schedule private events and choose catering menus on-line. He has also expanded his services downtown to provide restaurant service to the Hampton Inn.

The Medallion at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn will honor dads with a Father’s Day brunch Sunday, June 19th. Chef Edward Nowakowski will prepare a buffet feast fit for any king of the household.

Brunch will include a breakfast station with made-to-order omelets and waffles. Those with a heartier appetite can choose from an assortment of entrées, including prime rib, roast leg of lamb, country ham, and baked turkey breast. There will also be a special section with kid-friendly dishes. Reservations are required; call 678-5410. The cost is $24.95 for adults and $9.95 for kids ages 5 to 12.

Miss Cordelia’s in Harbor Town will host a “Beer-N-Brat Extravaganza” for Father’s Day beginning at 4 p.m. on June 19th. Wash down grilled bratwurst with some specialty beers. You can get the inside scoop on what you’re drinking from beer specialist Jeff Wilkerson. The cost is $5 per person.

The Medallion, 3700 Central (678-5410); Miss Cordelia’s, 737 Harbor Bend Rd. (526-4772)

Cozymel’s has taken the shooter in a whole new direction. “Pequeños” may be served in a shot glass, but it’s a dessert, not a potent potion.

“We feel that while a lot of people decline dessert, they secretly want a little something,” says Helen Leflar, a representative of the Dallas-based chain. “We decided to add the pequeños to our menu because these little tastes offer a variety of flavors without the addition of too many calories. The shot glasses are only two ounces, so you don’t overdo it even when you indulge yourself with dessert.”

Memphis’ Cozymel’s introduced the new line of bite-size desserts June 1st. “The response has been tremendous,” says general manager Dave Odham. “It’s something that no one else does. After a big lunch you don’t want to have dessert and then go back to work tired, but with this you can satisfy your sweet tooth without getting stuffed.”

There are 18 varieties of pequeños. Each day, five choices, such as mango-raspberry cake, margarita cheesecake, banana pudding, piña colada pie, or Kahlua chocolate fudge cake, will be prepared fresh and brought to the table on a tray. Diners can choose one for $1.99 or an assortment for $7.99.

Cozymel’s, 6450 Poplar (763-1202)

Now you can go to Café de France at night. Starting June 17th, the European-style café in Palladio Antique Mall will be open for dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. every Friday. Each week, owners Jeanell and Donnie Morris will create a selection of entrées, soups, salads, and desserts. There will also be live music on occasion. Guests are invited to bring their own wine. (Conveniently, Central Liquors is next door.)

The premiere dinner menu will feature lobster bisque, shrimp in spicy gazpacho, smoked pork loin, and roasted duck. Entrées are reasonably priced under $20. Customers can sign up for e-mail notices of the changing menu and featured entertainment. You can make reservations by calling 725-2212.

Café de France, 2169 Central (725-2212)

Kudos to a couple of Memphis restaurateurs who have recently received national recognition.

Johnny Kirk, chef and co-owner of Stella, was featured as a “Rising Star of American Cuisine” by the James Beard Foundation, a nonprofit organization that recognizes talented chefs and food writers.

Kirk was honored with an invitation to prepare a dinner at the James Beard House, the late chef’s brownstone home in New York City, on June 2nd. His handpicked staff included Teddy Brantley of Grill 83, Michael Patrick of McEwen’s on Monroe, and Lee Craven of Madidi.

Frank Grisanti, owner of Frank Grisanti’s in the Embassy Suites and Bol á Pasta eateries, was reelected to a three-year term on the National Restaurant Association’s board of directors at the group’s annual tradeshow in Chicago, which was held May 21st through 24th. Through his position on the board, Grisanti, who started working in his family’s restaurants at age 13, keeps abreast of legislation and trends in demographics and marketing that affect the restaurant industry.

Grisanti has employed innovative marketing techniques through his Web site, FrankGrisanti.com, which allows people to schedule private events and choose catering menus on-line. He has also expanded his services downtown to provide restaurant service to the Hampton Inn.

The Medallion at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn will honor dads with a Father’s Day brunch Sunday, June 19th. Chef Edward Nowakowski will prepare a buffet feast fit for any king of the household.

Brunch will include a breakfast station with made-to-order omelets and waffles. Those with a heartier appetite can choose from an assortment of entrées, including prime rib, roast leg of lamb, country ham, and baked turkey breast. There will also be a special section with kid-friendly dishes. Reservations are required; call 678-5410. The cost is $24.95 for adults and $9.95 for kids ages 5 to 12.

Miss Cordelia’s in Harbor Town will host a “Beer-N-Brat Extravaganza” for Father’s Day beginning at 4 p.m. on June 19th. Wash down grilled bratwurst with some specialty beers. You can get the inside scoop on what you’re drinking from beer specialist Jeff Wilkerson. The cost is $5 per person.

The Medallion, 3700 Central (678-5410); Miss Cordelia‘s, 737 Harbor Bend Rd. (526-4772)

Cozymel’s has taken the shooter in a whole new direction. “Pequeños” may be served in a shot glass, but it’s a dessert, not a potent potion.

“We feel that while a lot of people decline dessert, they secretly want a little something,” says Helen Leflar, a representative of the Dallas-based chain. “We decided to add the pequeños to our menu because these little tastes offer a variety of flavors without the addition of too many calories. The shot glasses are only two ounces, so you don’t overdo it even when you indulge yourself with dessert.”

Memphis’ Cozymel’s introduced the new line of bite-size desserts June 1st. “The response has been tremendous,” says general manager Dave Odham. “It’s something that no one else does. After a big lunch you don’t want to have dessert and then go back to work tired, but with this you can satisfy your sweet tooth without getting stuffed.”

There are 18 varieties of pequeños. Each day, five choices, such as mango-raspberry cake, margarita cheesecake, banana pudding, piña colada pie, or Kahlua chocolate fudge cake, will be prepared fresh and brought to the table on a tray. Diners can choose one for $1.99 or an assortment for $7.99.

Cozymel‘s, 6450 Poplar (763-1202)

Now you can go to Café de France at night. Starting June 17th, the European-style café in Palladio Antique Mall will be open for dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. every Friday. Each week, owners Jeanell and Donnie Morris will create a selection of entrées, soups, salads, and desserts. There will also be live music on occasion. Guests are invited to bring their own wine. (Conveniently, Central Liquors is next door.)

The premiere dinner menu will feature lobster bisque, shrimp in spicy gazpacho, smoked pork loin, and roasted duck. Entrées are reasonably priced under $20. Customers can sign up for e-mail notices of the changing menu and featured entertainment. You can make reservations by calling 725-2212. n

Café de France, 2169 Central (725-2212)

Memphians love a cookout. There’s just something about smoked ribs with a hint of hickory flavor and marinated, grilled chicken breast that you can’t replicate in an oven or on the stove. But grilling can be an arduous task, full of laborious chores like lugging heavy bags of charcoal, keeping a constant eye on cooking meat, and scrubbing the grill afterward. Throw in the potential for eyebrow scorching, and this cooking technique may just be more trouble than it’s worth.

Nonsense, says grill guru Steven Raichlen. With just a little innovation and smarter operations, grilling can replace all other forms of preparing food. He ought to know. With a series of best-selling barbecue books, a television show, and a signature line of grilling utensils, Raichlen is the grill authority.

His path down charcoal road began in 1994, which he likened to hearing God’s voice saying, “Follow the fire.” Raichlen visited 25 countries on five continents before eventually publishing The Barbecue Bible. “Grilling is not rocket science. It’s done all over the world in primitive ways,” says Raichlen, who’s seen makeshift hubcap grills in Third World countries and open fires in the desert. Since then, he has gone on to write 26 books, defeat chefs Bobby Flay and Jacques Pepin in barbecue battles, and launch Barbecue University at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, where participants can earn grilling diplomas in a three-day crash course.

In the Raichlen household, every meal is grilled. When it comes to eating out, Raichlen doesn’t make judgments on others’ barbecue. “I celebrate regional variations,” he says. “People always ask who makes the best barbecue, and I don’t do that.” For Memphis, says Raichlen, what stands out are the dry rub and mustard glaze.

“The fascinating thing about grilling is that it’s different every time,” he says. “When you cook in an oven and set the temperature, it remains at a constant heat and the outcome is the same each time. With grilling, every time you build a fire it behaves differently.”

Raichlen is currently on a multi-city tour teaching audiences how to tame those fires and have a successful grill experience. The “Tools and Techniques Tour” includes information from The Barbecue Bible, as well as its counterpart, How To Grill. “[My] books are like food porn for guys who like to grill,” he says. “Lots of them feel like they should know how to grill, but you’re not born knowing it. You need to learn it.”

To reinforce these tenets, Raichlen’s tour programs demonstrate techniques similar to those found on his PBS show, Barbecue University, including the 10 Commandments of Grilling and the griller’s mantra: “Keep it hot. Keep it clean. Keep it lubricated.” Raichlen’s seminar also features the 53 gadgets in his new Best of Barbecue line, which includes a three-pound grill press and a clip-on grill headlight.

While some of the cool gadgets may be a little extreme for amateur grillers, Raichlen does advocate the essentials, such as tongs and basting and grill-cleaning brushes. He says the main objective of the tour is to teach people something they didn’t know. For men: It’s okay not to know how to grill. For women: Their stumbling block is usually lighting the fire. Raichlen first teaches gas-grill safety. He recommends gas grills for women for easier grilling. For both sexes, the most common mistake is covering the grill with food, which makes maneuvering difficult.

“Every time we fire up the grill, we remember the moment when we moved from animals to humans when we began cooking our food,” says Raichlen. “If you’ve been grilling the way your daddy taught you – to scorch everything until it’s blackened – you will realize that you can control the food. The food doesn’t have to control you.”

Steven Raichlen‘s “Tools and Techniques Tour” at Viking Culinary Arts Center, 119 S. Main, 6th floor (578-5822), 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 22nd

by Janel Davis

She may be a professional chef, but former Food Network star Nathalie Dupree still makes mistakes — like the time she baked a large fish for a dinner party and then dropped it on the floor.

“We had to pick it up quickly and pile it on a plate. You know, the 30-second rule,” says Dupree. “It sure didn’t look pretty, but it tasted delicious.”

Dupree, who hosts PBS’ Comfortable Entertaining, will be showing off her skills at Wolfchase Galleria on Saturday, June 11th, as part of Simon Super Chefs Live!, a traveling-chef show that stops at malls across the country. The demonstration is free and will be set up in a central location in the mall.

In addition to the Dupree demo, Simon Super Chefs will feature local chefs, wine seminars, food and beverage sampling, and an autograph session with Dupree, who will sign her cookbooks. Her latest, Nathalie Dupree’s Comfortable Entertaining (Viking), will be for sale, but Dupree says she’ll be happy to sign her previous cookbooks that people bring from home.

At the end of the daylong event, a couple of audience members will be chosen to compete in a cook-off.

In her demonstration, Dupree will be teaching the crowd how to prepare oranges in a caramel sauce.

“I always try to demonstrate something that people wouldn’t do at home without learning it from someone else,” says Dupree, who’ll be taking questions throughout her demonstration.

Hopefully, the oranges won’t suffer the same fate as the fish. But if she does drop them on the floor, she probably won’t freak out. On her show Comfortable Entertaining, Dupree teaches her audience how to deal with such situations in a dinner-party atmosphere without stressing.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” says Dupree. “The people don’t come over for the food. They come over because they like you.”

Over the years, Dupree has hosted many shows on the Food Network and the Learning Channel. She’s also the author of 10 cookbooks, several of which deal with the “New Southern” cooking movement, which Dupree is credited with starting in the 1970s.

New Southern cooking is the blending of classic French cooking methods with traditional Southern ingredients. Dupree gives the example of preparing grits with whipping cream or yogurt rather than water. More complex dishes include a turnip-green-and-tomato-sauce soufflé roll and turkey scaloppine with mustard and marjoram.

Dupree attended the Cordon Bleu when she was in her 20s. Since she grew up in South Carolina, she says New Southern cooking was a natural marriage of cooking techniques.

Today, there are New Southern restaurants across the country, like Felicia Suzanne’s in downtown Memphis.

Dupree began cooking professionally when Julia Child was one of the few female chefs in the business. At the time she attended cooking school, it was still rare for a woman to run a professional kitchen.

“My mother told me ladies do not cook,” she recalls. “There were no women chefs back then, except women whose husbands ran restaurants or in boarding-house kitchens. They didn’t do fine dining.”

Dupree took an interest in the culinary arts after the cook at her student house fell ill and took a leave. Dupree stepped in to take her place and got her first taste of preparing meals for large groups.

Her first mass meal was tuna casserole. However, the dish took a turn for the worse when she failed to realize it wasn’t necessary to increase the amount of fat in the recipe when multiplying the ingredients for a large group. The casserole came out of the oven with a layer of fat on top. She threw in some more seasonings, mixed it all up, and proclaimed it “Tuna à la King.” Everyone loved it, and Dupree realized her calling.

After culinary school, Dupree served as master chef at three restaurants, one of which, Nathalie’s, was named after her. But these days, Dupree is taking it a little easier, taping her cooking show for PBS and touring with Simon Super Chefs.

When she hits Memphis, she won’t be setting up shop in some fancy hotel suite with a kitchenette, preparing gourmet meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Instead, she’s going on a quest for the best local barbecue.

“I don’t really go to restaurants for gourmet experiences when I travel,” says Dupree. “I like the local flavor.” n

Nathalie Dupree with Simon Super Chefs Live! at the Wolfchase Galleria, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, June 11th