Tag: Alchemy

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Pass the Kimbap: Salt|Soy’s Virtual Cocktail Dinner

CREDIT: Nick Scott

This Thursday, enjoy the flavors of Asian cuisine from the comfort of your own home during a virtual cocktail dinner presented by Salt|Soy and special partners Alchemy, Tattersall Distillery, West TN Crown, and Joe’s Wine & Liquor.

Salt|Soy is a sushi pop-up that was founded in 2016 by Alchemy owner Nick Scott, out of his love and passion for crafting Asian cuisine, which he discovered during years of experience as a sushi chef for Do Sushi and Bluefin.

Nick Scott

Nick Scott’s Salt|Soy brings you virtual sushi.

“It’s been something that I’ve always loved to do, and if I had a specialty, that would be it,” he says.

In the past, Scott has hosted regular sushi pop-ups and collaborative cocktail dinner events at Alchemy and at Puck Food Hall, but when COVID-19 put a wrench in his plans for future events, he quickly got to work planning virtual experiences to showcase his and others’ culinary talents.

As hosts walk viewers through what went into the Korean- and Japanese-inspired menu, attendees can expect to savor the flavor of saké-infused cocktails crafted by Alchemy with menu items such as sunomono (Japanese cucumber salad) and kimbap (Korean sushi) with a unique twist.

Nick Scott

“We’re going to be incorporating bulgogi into the kimbap,” he says.

Scott says he is thrilled to be able to continue bringing people together, albeit virtually, to enjoy dinner and drinks while supporting small or local businesses.

“We’re experiencing a culture shift, and no one knows what that’s going to end up looking like,” says Scott. “So we wanted to bring people together without bringing people together and provide an experience like you would sitting at a long table with everybody. And this gives people a chance to learn something new about unique ingredients or local products.”

Salt|Soy Virtual Cocktail Dinner Featuring Cocktails By Alchemy, Thursday, May 28th, pick up at Alchemy at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:45 p.m., $70.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Zero Proof

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Nick Manlavi always felt drawn to bartenders. “Bartenders are rock stars who couldn’t be bothered to learn to play instruments,” he says, paraphrasing a line from a movie.

Manlavi is bar manager at P.O. Press Public House & Provisions, one the area’s hottest new restaurants, located near the town square in Collierville. P.O. Press has gotten raves for its creative and thoughtful treatment of ingredients, which extends to the bar.

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Nick Manlavi

One recent meal fully engaged all of Manlavi’s creative muscles. It was a special occasion, an anniversary dinner. It would be nine courses, paired with drinks. But, there was a wrinkle. One of the party did not drink.

P.O. Press usually has two or three “mocktails” — i.e., no alcohol — on its seasonal menu.

Manlavi says his goal to make something that is fun to drink. He’ll ask for preferences. He’ll consider a meal’s dishes and think about flavor profiles. He’ll take advantage of the restaurant’s full arsenal of ingredients and equipment.

For this dinner, he made an Arnold Palmer with pomegranate foam, a beet and carrot old fashioned, a ginger and peppercorn cordial, a coconut pina colada, and a radish and mint mule.

The mule Manlavi made to match the root vegetable sushi roll, one of the dinner’s courses. Manlavi says he had to tread carefully with this drink. “Radish is a weird flavor,” he says. “And they smell like feet.” He ended up using a lot of grapefruit in this one.

Manlavi says he’s particularly proud of the pina colada, even more so because there was no pineapple juice in the house. To approximate pineapple juice, he used lime juice and champagne vinegar.

The old fashioned is particularly clever. The carrot is used to simulate the dense mouthfeel usually associated with the beverage.

Manlavi says such an endeavor is much like pairing wine with a meal, and, ultimately, it boils down to a sort of customer-is-always-right ethos. “Not drinking is an important thing for a lot of people,” he says. “I’m happy to take people on a tour.”

P.O. Press, 148 N Main in Collierville, popress.com

Over at Alchemy in Cooper-Young, bar manager Ben Williams says they serve around 30 to 40 mocktails a week. Much of their mocktail menu, which features seven drinks, is based around their proofier offerings, which makes sense: The cocktails have always been the big draw at Alchemy.

The Oh Clementine is Alchemy’s most ordered mocktail. It’s orange juice, lemon, sugar, and strawberry puree. The KCCO is an Alchemy landmark. KCCO stands for Keep calm, Collins on. It’s a cheeky play on both a mojito and a Tom Collins, which is achieved through the mint and lemon.

The Orange You Glad is another favorite. “It is good,” says Williams. “It’s made for those who remember growing up eating a Dreamsicle from the ice cream guy who drives by the neighborhood.”

Alchemy, 940 S Cooper,
alchemymemphis.com

Bart Mallard says he created the mocktails at Crosstown Art’s Art Bar because, “I’m interested in [the Art Bar] being a place where everybody can come and not feel uncomfortable. And people who are most uncomfortable at bars are people who don’t drink. So I was like, well, let’s change that as fast as we can.”

Mallard usually goes to his favorite markets to scan the produce for inspiration. He also turned to his friend Chris Cosby, who, with his wife Stephanie, is in charge of the plants at Crosstown. Cosby turned Mallard on to herbal tinctures.

There are two mocktails on the menu now at Art Bar. The Plum the Golden Depths (with the exotic golden plum) and the Rise of Spring (with banana pepper and damiana). They are both labor- and ingredient-intensive, Mallard says.

Bart Mallard

“I would prefer the menu to be half and half,” Mallard says of alcoholic and non-alcholic drinks. “But I don’t think we’re quite there yet culturally.”

Art Bar, Crosstown Concourse, 2nd floor

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Alchemy Owner Takes Over Sports Junction

According to Tony Westmoreland, it was a deal too good to pass up. 

Westmoreland, who owns Alchemy with other partners, has taken over ownership of Sports Junction — starting tomorrow. A new name, he says, will be announced in 45 to 60 days. 

According to Westmoreland, he worked with the Sports Junction owner as a consultant about a year ago. He had recently checked in with the owner who told him he was increasingly busy with other projects … and one thing led to another. 

The hookahs and cigars will be going, Westmoreland says. There will be a new emphasis on draft beer, and the menu will be brought up a notch. He plans to add a patio to the front sometime in the spring. 

With the zoo and Levitt Shell across the street in mind, they’ll be going for a more family vibe. And, they plan to pay respect to the old Hi-Tone by having music and comedy shows. 

Those 30 TVs and five projection screens? “They’re there,” says Westmoreland. “We’re going to use them.” 

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Bar Report: On the Regular

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

If there’s a bar where everybody knows your name, you’re probably an alcoholic — anonymous

That’s a riff on the old Cheers theme song, of course. And, of course, it’s not true. You are not an alcoholic — not you! — just because the bartender looks up when you arrive and starts pouring your favorite libation. You’re not an alcoholic just because everyone at the bar turns and shouts your name when you enter. You’re a regular, just like they are. You’re walking into your home away from home, your family away from family. Your special joint.

And that’s what this new monthly column, “Bar Report,” is going to be about — a look into Memphis bars and pubs and the culture surrounding them. Flyer staffers are going to take turns writing the column. We’ll be talking about all kinds of stuff: What are the best bars for first dates? What makes a good sports bar? How do you find a bar that’s age appropriate? Is there one thing that all good bartenders have in common?

We’ll be writing about drink trends, seasonal beverages, day drinking, historic bars, bar hopping, ethnic bars, dive bars, high-end dining bars, seasonal drinks — you name it, and we’re probably going to cover it.

I was discussing “regulars” with a bartender friend the other day and thought maybe that would be as good a topic as any with which to kick off this column. It’s one of the things that isn’t discussed much but seems obvious on reflection: how various establishments become venues for particular age groups — how “regulars” select their venue. One bar might draw baby boomers while the place two doors down the street is filled with millennials. The choice gets made based on many factors: the kind of food, the music, the décor, the noise level, the proximity to other places. A craft brewery will draw a different crowd than a wine bar or a cocktail-centric bar, obviously.

But the variations on a theme are almost endless: There are pickup bars, gay bars, wine bars, craft beer joints, live music clubs, dance clubs, after-hours bars, foodie bars, artisanal cocktail bars, Irish pubs, to name a few. Someone who’s out to meet strangers and drink themselves into a bed will go to a different kind of venue than the person who just wants a quiet joint where they can have a conversation with friends. A married couple in their 50s will want a different bar experience than two single women in their 30s.

One thing is certain, though: Regulars are the lifeblood of any drinking establishment. David Parks, who holds down the fort behind the bar at Alchemy, says “regulars represent 75 percent of my income, but it’s more than that. Some of them have become close friends — and friends with each other. A few even got married, with varying degrees of success.”

Justin Fox Burks

Allan Creasy

Allan Creasy is the bar manager at Celtic Crossing. He says regulars can make — or break — a bar: “If you walked into a bar, and it was perfect — had all your favorite drafts, had the televisions on exactly what you wanted to watch, there was a friendly bar staff — but if every person who started a conversation with you was an ass, you would stop going, eventually.

“Friendly regulars are worth their weight in gold,” he adds. “It’s impossible for me to chat with everyone and make drinks at the same time. A good regular is almost doing a part of my job for me, making the pub more of a home.”

Tyler Morgan and Justin Gerych man the bar at Cafe 1912. They will tell you the quiet backroom venue tends to draw a more mature crowd, seasoned Midtowners looking for decent food and friendly conversation.

On a recent night, when Morgan was pouring the drinks and the place was filled with regulars, a young couple walked in and took the last two seats at the bar. They were immediately peppered with friendly questions: “Where do you work?” “Where do you live?” “Do y’all like Midtown?” “How long have you been dating?” It was like they’d just come home from college and were dealing with nosy parents, probably not what they expected to encounter on a dinner date, but they endured the inquisition good-naturedly.

At one point, a geriatric-looking fellow — a regular, of course — stood up and adjusted his pants at the crotch.

“What are you doing, Richard?” asked his companion, slightly horrified.

“Adjusting my chemo bag and having another drink, goddammit.”

He then turned to the young couple and said, “I bet you two feel like you’ve just walked onto the set of Cocoon.”

Ah, regulars. Can’t live with ’em. Can’t live without ’em.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Taste of Cooper Young Thursday

poster.jpg

The Bouffants have a motto: “The higher the hair, the closer to God.” So it seems especially appropriate that the popular showband, with its ever-changing cast of big-voiced (and bigger-wigged) singers, should headline Thursday’s A Taste of Cooper Young. The annual party for Memphis foodies used to benefit the Memphis Literacy Council, but the event has been taken over by First Congregational Church, and proceeds go toward funding the progressive church’s various outreach ministries.

Starting at 5 p.m., participants can pick up wristband from First Congregational Church. The wristband entitles the wearer to a small dish, or “tasting,” at a dozen popular Cooper Young area restaurants all within walking distance of the church.

Participating restaurants and food-related businesses include Alchemy, Bar DKDC, The Beauty Shop, Cafe Ole, Celtic Crossing, Sweet Crass, Mulan, Strano, Stone Soup, Soul Fish, Green Cork, and Get Fresh.

The food tasting continues till 8:30 p.m. Meanwhile, saxophonist Pat Register will be performing in the corner gazebo and the Bouffants will play from 8 p.m.-9:30 p.m. in the sanctuary at First Congo, where a silent auction will also be conducted.

First Congo is a justice-minded church. Its outreach ministries range from traditional food ministries, to community gardens, to a “Blessed Bee” program that helps to repopulate devastated bee populations.

A Taste of Cooper-Young is Thursday, September 18th, 5:30-9 p.m., $50
tasteofcooperyoung.com

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

#Hashtag

Beauty Shop Country Ham Hash

Beauty Shop, 966 S. Cooper (272-7111)

The Beauty Shop starts serving brunch at 10 a.m., and I recommended getting there early or making a reservation if you want a seat. On a recent Sunday, sidewalk seating was full by 11 a.m. — and it was 54 degrees outside.

Inside, it’s warm, welcoming, and totally funky in the best way. From the mismatched mugs and salt and pepper shakers to the repurposed hairdryers, there’s nothing institutional about it. The Beauty Shop is undeniably full of beautiful people — from young, urban couples (not hipsters) to fashionable forty- and fifty-somethings who appreciate that the waitress half their age calls them darlin’ rather than ma’am.

The menu is expansive and has everything you ever wanted in a brunch. If it’s hash browns you want, there are three choices: Country Ham Hash, Chicken or Beef Tenderloin Hash, and Pastrami Hash. All sell for $13.

I went for the Country Ham Hash, which, according to the menu, features: potatoes, sweet potatoes, red peppers, onions, and cracked eggs with mustard chipotle sauce. Once cracked, I asked for the eggs over hard. Smothered in the spicy sauce, they were the perfect topping for the potatoes. I don’t love sweet potatoes and wasn’t sad that there were maybe only three mixed in. I did love the addition of red peppers. The country ham is cured, so it’s drier and saltier than regular ham, which is fine by me, and there was just the right amount of it. A touch of cilantro on top gave the dish that little something extra.

The coffee is good, and the mimosas are immense.

Alchemy’s Pimento Cheese Hash

Alchemy, 940 Cooper (726-4444)

Down the road at Alchemy, the brunch scene is decidedly less “eat and be seen,” and much more “drink, eat, and relax.” If you have a hangover or like to spend your Sundays day-drinking, this is the place for you.

The separate drink menu features the most extensive list of Bloody Mary options I’ve ever seen. There’s a house-made vegan mix, 12 kinds of garnish (including the day’s pickled treat), and special add-ons like blue cheese olives. If Bloody Marys aren’t your thing, then there’s also a Bellini bar (with “Surprise me!” as an option), house-made sangria, and a variety of coffee-booze concoctions. Bartender David Parks is also happy to throw together fancy non-alcoholic beverages, which he dubs “prenatal cocktails.”

Food starts coming out of the kitchen at 10:30 a.m., and the bar closes at 4 p.m.

In terms of hash browns, there are two options, and I had to try them both. The Pimento Cheese Hash Browns, which can be ordered as a side, come in a small skillet. It’s filled with crispy diced potatoes (that look as though they were originally meant to be fries) and topped with a large dollop of house-made pimento cheese. The cheese gets a little melty when added to the hot potatoes, and the result is simply delicious. It could easily be a meal and would be the best $5 you spent all day. Trust me.

Alchemy’s Shrimp & Bacon Hash

For a fancier start to the day, there’s the Shrimp and Bacon Hash ($18), which features poached eggs on toasted French bread with salsa fresca and cotija cheese. The shrimp are plump and juicy, the bacon is thick, crispy, and crumbled, and the eggs are cooked to perfection. The French bread is slender, yet has no problem providing the perfect base for this dish. The hash browns are the middle man and make it a satisfying, hearty meal. The Shrimp and Bacon Hash makes me wish every day was Sunday.

The Kitchen Sink from Three Angels

Three Angels Diner, 2617 Broad (452-1111) If low-key is what you are looking for, then head over to Three Angels on Broad, which starts serving brunch at 10 a.m. It’s part diner, part bar and attracts a mixed bag of hipsters, families, and hipster families. By far, it has the most hash brown bang for the buck in town.

The Kitchen Sink ($11) includes beef brisket hash, homemade sausage, bacon, garlic cheese grits, flat top potatoes, cheese, two fried eggs, and homemade salsa. This has to be the most serious brunch offering in the city. I dare say there should be a food competition built around it.

The grits are smeared across the bottom of the plate. There’s at least two or three cups worth of brisket hash, full strips of bacon, sausage patties cut in half —you get the picture. My serving even included a few boiled red potatoes.

It’s a man’s dish. Or, at the very least, a roller derby girl’s.

Photographer Joey Miller, who happened to be sitting next to me at the bar eating the most beautiful blueberry pancakes I’d ever seen, said, “Last time I got the Kitchen Sink, I drank nearly a whole bottle of Jameson the night before, with no Taco Bell.”

The coffee’s nothing special, but there’s local beer on tap, and the French 75s are perfect.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Bar Guide

Alchemy

Game Days at Alchemy Memphis: Happy Hour with $1 off domestic beers and discounts on featured items from our specialty cocktail list. The game isn’t over until we say it is!

940 S. Cooper • 726-4444 alchemymemphis.com

Bardog Tavern

Ignore the cold in our cozy downtown bar, but don’t ignore the cold beer! $2.50 Buds and Bud Lights, $3 Yuengling drafts during every Tiger and Grizzlies game. The sound is on on the upstairs and downstairs TVs, including the 60-inch HDTV in the Underdog Room. Open for those brunch games starting at 11 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays.

73 Monroe • 275-8752 • bardog.com

Belle Diner 

Looking for a great new place to eat and have drinks before the game? Look no further than one of downtown’s newest restaurants, Belle Diner. With decades of bringing Memphis great food, the team of Roger Sapp, David Johnson, and Joe Ferguson have teamed up to bring an upscale Southern diner to downtown Memphis. Come in Game Day and try any appetizer prepared by Chef Johnson for only $8 and $1 off all drinks.

117 Union • 433-9851 facebook.com/BelleDinerMemphisTN

Blind Bear Speakeasy

Game Day specials start one hour before and last throughout every Griz and Tiger game: $2.50 Miller Lite, Miller High Life, and Coors Light bottles and $4 24-oz. Coors Light Griz cans! While you’re here, check out the new menus by Chef David Scott Walker, and be sure to mark your calendar for Bean’s Birthday Bash on October 25th and our Halloween Party on October 31st.

119 S. Main • 417-8435 blindbearmemphis.com

Celtic Crossing

Join us Monday nights at Celtic Crossing for the ultimate Game Day, featuring football, giant board games (Jenga, Cards Against Humanity, and lots more), and beer. Beginning Mondays at 5 p.m., all drafts are just $3.

903 S. Cooper • 274-5151 celticcrossingmemphis.com

Central BBQ

When Memphians want great barbecue and fun times, they head to their nearest Central BBQ location. Before Tiger and Grizzlies home games, visit the newest location just minutes away from the Forum and try one of our many draft beers featuring local microbreweries. For away games, come celebrate with other fans at the Summer or downtown locations, where there are plenty of large HDTVs.

4375 Summer • 767-4672


147 E. Butler • 672-7760


2249 Central • 272-9377


cbqmemphis.com

The Cove

The Cove offers too vast an array of expertly hand-crafted cocktails to single out just one as our “signature” concoction, but Town & Country, Southern Living, and Urban Spoon proclaim our authentic Sazerac as the perfect accompaniment to a sultry summer evening. For more outstanding cocktail options, see thecovememphis.com. Come by the Cove after games for the best late-night eats and treats! 

2559 Broad • 730-0719


thecovememphis.com

Dan McGuinness

Dan McGuinness is your Game Day HQ with great specials for both college and pros: $3 pints and $9 pitchers of McGuinness Pub Ale, $11 buckets of longnecks. On Mondays, it’s 2-for-1 domestic beers and $3.95 burgers and fries.

4698 Spottswood • 761-3711 danmcguinnesspub.com

Dejavu Restaurant

Let the good times roll before and after Grizzlies and Tiger basketball games! The newest location at 51 S. Main is four minutes from FedExForum and is filled with all the extras you would expect in New Orleans. Check out the new bar and try some award-winning soul food and vegan/vegetarian cuisine. 

51 S. Main • 505-0212


dejavurestaurant.org 

Happy Mexican

Join us before, after, or during the game to watch with us! Happy Mexican has a Happy Hour for its award-winning margaritas Tuesday through Sunday 3 to 7 p.m. on the lime flavor only. Special pricing includes small for $4.25, medium for $6.99, or large for $8.99.

385 S. Second • 529-9991


6080 Primacy Parkway • 683-0000


7935 Winchester • 751-5353


happymexican.com

Hard Rock Café Memphis

Stop by Hard Rock Café Memphis on Friday Game Days for a Hard Rocking Happy Hour! Now featuring a new Happy Hour every Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. with a special “Bar Bites” menu. $2 domestic drafts; $3 import drafts; and $4 margaritas (bar area only).

315 Beale • 529-0007

Local Gastropub

Local has specials going on just about whenever there’s a game to watch. Happy Hour is Monday through Friday 4 to 7 p.m. Game Day specials run Monday (starting at 6:30 p.m.), Saturday (11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.), and Sunday (11 a.m.-11 p.m.) and include domestic beer buckets, five for $10, $25 table taps of draft, and small-plate food specials. Tuesday is half-off bottles of wine from 7 to 11 p.m. Wednesday is Pint Night with $2 off pints. Thursday is Ladies Night with $5 “tini’s” and tier-one wines. Join us Sunday for late-night Happy Hour starting at 11:30 p.m.

95 Main • 473-9573


2126 Madison in Overton Square


725-1845 • localgastropub.com

Los Comales Mexican Restaurant

Watch the game while enjoying our authentic Mexican food and unique drinks. Buy one margarita and get a second half-off every Monday and Thursday, and get $5 off any order over $20 when you mention our ad in the Flyer!

2860 S. Perkins • 369-0528 loscomalesrestaurant.com

Molly’s La Casita

Molly’s has the ultimate Game Day drink. It’s our first-place award-winning margarita (Memphis Flyer readers poll 2013). Be sure to try our new low-calorie Nectar Girl Margarita if you are trying to watch your darling figure. Molly’s has an ice-cold one ready for you that is sure to please.

2006 Madison • 726-1873 mollyslacasita.com

Mulan Asian Bistro

Sports and sushi are a great combination! Enjoy Mulan Asian Bistro’s Happy Hour for sushi and drinks from 3 to 6 p.m. daily. Try the Mulan Martini for only $7.95.

2149 Young • 347-3965


2059 S. Houston Levee • 850-5288


mulanbistro.net

Newby’s

Newby’s has all your Game Day specials. Monday is Ghost River $10 Beer Bust. On Tuesday, we have $2 burgers and beer. On Whiskey Wednesdays, it’s $3 whiskey drinks. The Always Happy Hour is $1 off bottle beers and mixed drinks every day ’til 9 p.m. Start early and stay late at Newby’s.

535 S. Highland • 452-8408 newbysmemphis.com

Paula and Raiford’s Disco

Come party after the game at Memphis’ best dance club! Paula and Raiford’s Disco is your one-stop shop for fun in downtown Memphis. Enjoy music, drinks, and dancing every Friday and Saturday night just minutes from FedExForum.

14 S. Second • 521-2494


paularaifords.com

Pearl’s Oyster House

Come watch the game with us! Happy Hour is Monday through Friday, 4 to 7 p.m. There are daily draft beer specials as well. Try the famous chargrilled oysters, only $1 each on Wednesdays. Pearl’s also features daily fresh fish specials and free parking too.

299 S. Main • 522-9070 pearlsoysterhouse.com

The Pumping Station

We have just the right stuff to enjoy your games every week. Friday Beer Busts: $3, Ghost River and Blue Moon $8. Sunday Beer Busts: PBR $5 and Ghost River and Blue Moon $9. Happy Hour specials all week long.

1382 Poplar • 272-7600 pumpingstationmemphis.com

The Slider Inn

Wow! During every Tiger and Grizzlies game, get your Bud and Bud Light longnecks for only $2.50. Come enjoy our great atmosphere and our heated deck this winter, complete with outdoor TV. It’s perfect for catching up with your Midtown friends. Who loves you, baby? We do.

2117 Peabody • 725-1155


thesliderinn.com

Tamp & Tap

Offering hand-poured coffees, sandwiches, and local beers all close to FedExForum, Tamp & Tap gives Game Day specials of 10 percent off your food purchase with the same-day ticket or stub.

122 Gayoso (Second and Main)


207-1053 • tampandtap.com

facebook.com/TampTap @tampandtap on Twitter

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Switchin’ Kitchens

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

After six winters injury-free in Boston, it took Kelly Hartman, the new chef de cuisine at Paulette’s, all of about a month to slip on a patch of ice and break his wrist in Memphis.

Hartman moved here in December to join his wife, a fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Broken wrist aside, this new transplant to the Mid-South has wasted no time reworking Paulette’s French/continental menu to preserve treasured favorites and introduce new seasonal items. (Don’t fret; the hot popovers and strawberry butter aren’t going anywhere.) Paulette’s will roll out the updated menu in the next few weeks.

“[The traditional Paulette’s menu] has been probably the central issue that we’ve been addressing since I got here, and the way we finally settled on doing it was rather than trying to integrate new dishes throughout, we made it a left-side, right-side sort of thing,” Hartman says. “On the right side of the menu, you’ll have the more traditional Paulette’s, and on the left side, you’ll have a more seasonal menu.”

This isn’t Hartman’s first time in the South. He was a sous chef in New Orleans for years, where he helped Donald Link open the acclaimed Cochon in 2006. He brings that influence with him, as well as his experience cooking in Boston and in Palo Alto.

“I like the eclectic side of American food, using local ingredients but bringing in a broad range of influences,” Hartman says. “I think most chefs … you’re never completely your own. You’re sort of an amalgam of different styles that you’ve cooked along the way, and as a chef, you have to be able to adapt to whatever situation you’re in. You can’t just say, well, all I do is fine dining, French food, Italian food. You have to adapt, and any chef worth his salt can do that.”

Paulette’s, 50 Harbor Town Square (260-3300)

riverinnmemphis.com

Cortona Contemporary Italian is putting greater emphasis on the contemporary side of its menu, brought on by the addition of new head chef Fortunato “Nate” Oliva and a new manager, Jennifer Dickerson.

Both Oliva and Dickerson were part of the Erling Jensen team but saw an opportunity to mix things up when Cortona’s David Cleveland decided to take a step back from the day-to-day restaurant life. The two came on board at Cortona earlier this month.

“There were a lot of good things here to begin with,” Oliva says. “I’m just trying to do something a little more contemporary. David was doing more traditional Italian fare. For the neighborhood and the trends of today, I felt like something a little sleeker, a little more modern would make more sense.”

What does that sleeker menu look like? It’s lighter, for one thing, and features more innovative items like a pork-belly pizza with melon and a Marsala wine gastrique.

While Oliva is adding contemporary touches, he still hopes to highlight the traditionally artisanal, rustic aspects of Italian food and will prepare everything in house, from the cheese and sausages to the breads and pizza crusts.

“There will be a real continental flair rooted in Italian traditions,” he says.

Dickerson and Oliva have decided to suspend brunch service indefinitely and focus all their attention on dinner, which begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and ends at 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Cortona Contemporary Italian, 948 S. Cooper (729-0101)

cortonaitalian.com

Alchemy had already gained a reputation for tasty small plates when new executive chef Nick Seabergh was brought in last November.

“I definitely put my style of cooking into the menu,” Seabergh says. “And there are some things we just couldn’t take off the menu, like the fish tacos. So I took those items and made them more ‘me.'”

Newer items on the menu include a duck confit with locally sourced Muscovy duck legs and a hangar steak with duck-fat potatoes.

Seabergh says his cooking style has been described as “Creolized Italian,” with a grab bag of influences, including his German grandmother’s kitchen and time he spent in Louisiana. “I grew up cooking with my grandmother,” he says. “It’s basically comfort food.”

Alchemy, 940 S. Cooper (726-4444)

alchemymemphis.com

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Comfy Sexy Cool

Stone Soup Café and Market, which opened two weeks ago in Cooper-Young, was inspired by a beloved folk tale: A stranger enters a town looking for food. When he is turned away, he lights a fire under a soup pot, throws in a stone and some water, and begins to make “stone soup.” Soon, the villagers bring ingredients to add to the pot, until there is plenty of soup for all to share.

“We like to say that the secret ingredient isn’t what goes into the pot but the community around it,” says Emily Bishop, who co-owns the restaurant with Sharon Johnson.

You may recall Johnson as the woman behind Cooper-Young’s beloved Buns on the Run. Fans of that erstwhile dining spot will be happy to hear that many menu items have survived, including Johnson’s famous bread, salmon cakes, biscuits and gravy, quiches, and crepes.

The owners’ love for Cooper-Young had them looking for a location within the neighborhood, and their vision of a restaurant and gathering space for residents made the house at 993 S. Cooper an obvious choice. Formerly the offices of Michael Hooks and Associates, the repurposed house, across the street from First Congregational Church, is a warm and welcoming yet spacious restaurant — with three dining rooms downstairs, room for two more upstairs, and room for patio seating in the front and back of the restaurant. They’ve also included a small market in the back of the building, where customers can dash in for a dessert to go, local honey, J. Brooks coffee, or Las Delicias tortilla chips.

To suggest that you’ll feel right at home at Stone Soup is not just a cliché: Repurposed residence aside, the menu is full of classic comfort food. Breakfast includes omelets, quiches, crepes, blintzes, pancakes, French toast, biscuits, and hash browns. Lunch ranges from sandwiches to plate lunches to soups — including the eponymous Stone Soup, made with a light tomato base, ground meat, smoked sausage, cabbage, onions, celery, peppers, carrots, and kidney beans. The bread is vegan — just water, yeast, flour, salt, and sugar — and the vegetables are made without meat, a nod to all the vegetarians in the neighborhood.

The special brunch menu includes a quiche du jour, frittata, fried potato pancakes with red hot applesauce, and more. They don’t have a liquor license, so don’t expect any mimosas or Bloody Mary specials, but Johnson says they’re looking into it. Stone Soup Café and Market is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

For now, though, Bishop and Johnson are settling into their new home away from home and invite you to do the same.

Stone Soup Café and Market, 993 S. Cooper (922-5314)

stonesoupcafememphis.com

Just down the street from Stone Soup, in the former location of Grace and Au Fond, Bert Smythe is in the process of opening Alchemy, which he describes as a “sexy, fun” bar with a strong mixology menu and elegant small plates.

Smythe and the other co-owner of McEwen’s on Monroe, John Littlefield, recently joined with Stewart Wingate to open a McEwen’s in Oxford, Mississippi. Now Smythe and Littlefield are turning around to open Alchemy within 60 days.

“It’s kind of insane, but you have opportunities that come along and you have to take them,” Smythe says.

Karen Roth‘s decision to leave her post as chef de cuisine at Erling Jensen and go it alone was another fortuitous opportunity for Smythe.

“Bringing Karen on really allowed us to take the food to a whole new level,” Smythe says.

The menu consists solely of small plates, ranging from $6 to $18. Roth describes the menu as a wide variety of options: “Irish car bomb” bread pudding, an assortment of risottos, and a trio of oysters all sprang to mind as Roth considered the 30 to 40 items she’s planning.

The apothecary-inspired bar is the focal point of the restaurant when you enter, and this is Smythe’s intention. He is consulting with mixology experts to help craft the bar menu, and though they will offer traditional drinks, Smythe hopes Memphians will branch out to sample some of their more unusual concoctions.

But beyond the front room, Smythe is equally enthusiastic about the open kitchen they’re building. Ten or so barstools will line the counter, offering front-row seats to the kitchen action.

Keep your eye out for Alchemy to be open mid- to late October, from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. every day. The closing time could change according to demand, and they are currently considering opening for a Sunday breakfast.

Alchemy, 940 S. Cooper (726-4444)

alchemymemphis.com