“Chefs and Chiefs,” the annual benefit that helps support educational programs at the Chucalissa Archaeological Museum, will be held at Chez Philippe in The Peabody hotel at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, November 14th. Chez Philippe’s Jose Gutierrez will be joined by other chefs, including Karen Carrier of Automatic Slim’s, Cielo, Beauty Shop, and Another Roadside Attraction catering, Nick Vergos of the Rendezvous, Erling Jensen of Erling Jensen restaurant, and Stan Gibson of the University Club of Memphis. New to this year’s event will be chefs Lee Craven and Trish Berry of Madidi, the upscale restaurant in downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi, owned by actor Morgan Freeman and attorney Bill Luckett.
Native-American cuisine will be served, and although the dinner’s setting is swank, the event is geared toward a comfortable come-as-you-are atmosphere. A silent auction and a flute performance will entertain guests.
“Some people donate things they find in the attic. We encourage Native-American items, but we accept anything,” says Charles H. McNutt, president of the Friends of Chucalissa and a retired archaeology professor from the University of Memphis. “We have some things that go for $30 and some that go for $3,000.”
Tickets for the event are $150 per person. For more information, call 452-7554.
Colder weather means “Soup Saturdays” at Memphis Botanic Garden’s café, Fratelli’s. Every Saturday through mid-December, restaurant owner and chef Sabine Baltz will prepare four homemade soups from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Every week the soups will be different,” Baltz says. “If it’s successful, I may continue it after the first of the year, while it’s cold outside.”
On November 13th, featured soups include butternut squash, cream of asparagus, old-fashioned chicken with dumplings, and Italian wedding soup. All soups will be served with toasted asiago bread.
In addition to “Soup Saturdays,” Fratelli’s also holds “Tuesdays on the Terrace.” On the last Tuesday of the month, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Fratelli’s will host a wine tasting and serve finger foods. On November 30th, the theme will be “Pansies and Pinots.” The cost is $20 or $15 for members.
Fratelli’s still serves the paninis and focaccia that were the trademarks of the downtown deli before it moved to the Botanic Garden last spring.
Baltz likes the new site, which is centrally located in East Memphis. The garden also offers a beautiful backdrop, especially when it’s warm enough to enjoy the terrace.
“It’s really kind of an overlooked little jewel,” Baltz says.
Midtown has a new choice for Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean food: Boogey’s Bistro, 288 N. Cleveland.
“Especially in Midtown, people love the fresh hummus and falafel,” says manager Nikki Melton. “It definitely has a Midtown flavor. We’re casual, relaxed, and we welcome all people to come.”
The restaurant opened in September and is owned by Terry Digel and Najeh Salim. Salim, a native of Jerusalem, is the primary chef responsible for creating dishes like the restaurant’s specialty, shwarma.
“Shwarma is turkey thighs that are seasoned and cooked on the rotisserie, then shaved and served on homemade pita bread,” Melton says. “We also have lamb dishes served with rice and salad and hummus made fresh every day and some vegetarian dishes.”
In addition, the menu features such American favorites as hamburgers, fries, and salads, and Digel makes homemade desserts. The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A $5 raffle ticket will win a dinner for two a month at 12 participating restaurants in DeSoto and Shelby counties. The funds will benefit First Book — Mid-South, a branch of the national organization that helps provide books for children of low-income families.
“Each certificate is a little different depending on what the menu is. For one restaurant, it might be $75, or for another it’s two entrées and two drinks,” says Eileen Saunders, co-founder of the local First Book. “There’s a wide range of restaurants like Bonne Terre, Timbeaux’s, and McAllister’s in DeSoto County and the Magnolia Grill, Capriccio, and Brontë café in Memphis.”
Tickets can be purchased through November 30th at the Book Haven, 579 Goodman Road, Southaven, or by mail at Table for Two, P.O. Box 1796, Southaven, Mississippi, 38671. The drawing will be held on December 8th. For more information, call 662-404-0816.
Following the 4 p.m. performance of excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado by the Ole Miss Opera Theatre November 14th, Café de France will be serving desserts and coffee at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. For more information, call 761-5250.
