Tag: Cafe Pontotoc

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

ThunderRoad Memphis Delivers Mason Jar Cocktails and More

David Parks and Jef Hicks of ThunderRoad Memphis

ThunderRoad Memphis is a “delivery service,” says founder David Parks. But even so, it’s not competing with FedEx or UPS.

The name came from “the old Robert Mitchum movie,” says Parks, who operates the business with Jef Hicks.

In the Thunder Road movie, which was released May 10th, 1958, Lucas Doolin (Mitchum) is a whiskey runner, or “transporter,” who delivers moonshine in his “tanker” — a 1950 two-door coupe — to Memphis and other areas.

Parks and Hicks deliver cocktails, with names like Tropical Deliciousness and Raspberry Sage Sipper, and food in a 1991 Isuzu Rodeo and a 1988 Jeep Wagoneer to people’s homes in Memphis and nearby areas. But the cocktails are transported in Mason jars. “Harkening back to the old days,” Hicks says. They also deliver wine, beer, and food. ThunderRoad Memphis began five weeks ago, “and it’s gone nuts.”

Parks is a bartender who was laid off at The Second Line because of the quarantine. Hicks was a bartender at Cafe Pontotoc. Since they were “no longer on the payroll,” Hicks says, they decided to do home delivery of their cocktails. They operate out of Midtown Crossing at 394 N. Watkins, where they are partnering with owner Octavia Young. They will deliver food from the restaurant. They also are partnering with local chefs.

Hicks and Parks contacted chef friends to join them and prepare food, which they can pair with their cocktails. “Sandwiches and small plates,” he says.

It was a way to help their out-of-work service industry friends “keep shelter over their head, their utilities on, and a little bit of food on the table,” Hicks adds. “We tried to give as many people a job as we could.”

The chefs include Jesse Parks, a baker who has been doing their bread; Jake Behnke, who was at Iris Etc. catering; and Amanda Hicks. 

They begin their day at 1 p.m. They load up about 2 p.m., and they’re done by 7:30 p.m.
ThunderRoad Memphis operates Wednesdays through Sundays. They recently added Germantown and Cordova to their route.

One of their most popular cocktails is the Tequila Mockingbird, a drink Parks created for a Mid-South Literacy fundraiser. It’s made of tequila, watermelon, lime, and a little spiced Agave. Another popular cocktail, Passionate Purple Drank, which was created by Hicks, is made with Butterfly Pea Blossom infused gin, lavender shrub, ginger syrup, and fresh lime juice.

As for the cuisine, Amanda’s brisket tacos are a big seller. It’s corn beef brisket in “drunken salsa,” which includes a dozen vegetables marinated in vodka for 21 days. The brisket is smoked by Brent McAfee, who was laid off from Cafe Pontotoc and Silly Goose. The barbecue pork butt sandwich with sriracha slaw on brioche bread is another winner.

ThunderRoad Memphis has a Facebook group, which now has more than 2,800 members. People take photos of ThunderRoad Memphis cocktails and food. Some people put the cocktails in their own fancy glasses for the photographs.

Hicks and Parks are pleased with the ThunderRoad Memphis response. “We built an enterprise that provides jobs, builds community, and reduces the instances of drunken driving,” Hicks says. “We need to change home delivery of cocktails from a temporary governor’s resolution to be permanent legislation.”

Parks says he’d “love to have a big, old ambulance and turn it into a mobile bar and we’d do your party.”

The ThunderRoad Memphis motto is “All this and a bag of chips,” Hicks says. “All customers are required to purchase some food item, be it chips, sandwiches, baked goods, etc. This keeps us legal. Also, we give everyone a fortune cookie and ask them to post their fortune.”

Customers have been returning the Mason jars, which are sanitized and re-used. “They get a discount if they return them,” Hicks says.

To contact ThunderRoad Memphis, call (901) 443-0502.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

The news from the Brass Door and Pontotoc

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

The Gate Clock Bar in the Dublin airport is the place for those leaving Ireland to get their last real pint of Guinness. It was there, at around 6 a.m. some 15 years ago, that Patrick Reilly met Seamus Loftus. They were introduced by Patrick’s wife Deni.

A couple weeks ago, Loftus and the Reillys were at the bar at the Brass Door talking over, yes, a pint of Guinness. The Reillys, who own the Majestic Grille and run the Front Porch, were brought in as consultants to bring order at the Brass Door, which is owned by Loftus and Meg and Scott Crosby.

“It’s a selfish project for us,” says Deni. The Reillys felt a connection to the Brass Door. They loved the building, saw the potential. Downtown should have an Irish pub, they thought. A place where soccer fans can gather and watch the games. What the Brass Door needed, they believed, was just a little guidance.

“The team needed a new captain,” says Loftus. “We found a new captain.”

The Brass Door, which had closed in July, reopened in early November. The pub was given a good cleaning, and equipment was updated. A new staff was hired. The Reillys sought to bring consistency to the pub’s hours, the service, and the food.

Some of the Brass Door’s tried-and-true favorites remain on the menu. The fried goat cheese is there, as are the hand-cut fries, Shepherd’s Pie, and the BELT sandwich.

One new dish is the Vegetable and Chickpea Balti. Balti is a Pakistani curry. This is Patrick’s nod to Birmingham, England’s soccer culture and its large Pakistani population.

They’ve also upped the Irish on their drinks menu. There’s Mangers Irish Cider and Murphy Goode wines. They’re also aiming to have the most extensive collection of Irish whiskeys in the city, including the Dubliner, Sexton, and Power’s John’s Lane. Among their speciality cocktails is the Caskmates Stout Pairing with Jameson Caskmates Stout mixed with Guinness and the Black Barrel Old Fashioned made with Jameson Black Barrel. There is, of course, Irish coffee.

One more thing: The Brass Door is now completely smoke-free, even the smaller side bar.

Deni says once word got out that they were reopening the place, she was flooded with texts and emails. “People have real feelings about this Irish pub.”

“It’s the old Door and the new Door,” Loftus says. “It’s the future and the past.”

Brass Door is open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Special early-morning Saturday and Sunday hours for international soccer matches.

Daniel Masters has a lot on his plate these days. The owner of Silly Goose recently opened the jazz bar Pontotoc in the old Cafe Pontotoc space and is now making the finishing touches on Civil Pour, a bar inside the food hall South Main Market, which will have its grand opening on December 2nd.

Masters says that when the Cafe Pontotoc space opened up for rent, there was a lot of interest. He, for one, wanted a spot that was still downtown but a bit away from all the foot traffic where Silly Goose is located. He wanted to spread his culinary wings a bit.

Masters is partnered with Jeremy Thacker-Rhodes and Matthew Thacker-Rhodes. They stuck with the name because they simply liked it. It means “land of hanging grapes” in Chickasaw.

Pontotoc opened in mid-October. Chef Chris Yuer is in charge of the kitchen. The menu can be described as Mississippi Southern: PBR Boiled Peanuts, Alligator Filet Fritters, Sister Schubert Beignet with sour cream gelato … There’s also duck confit, pot roast, and pork belly.

Pontotoc’s cocktail menu features the classics — Side Car, Manhattan, and Moscow Mule. And there are seasonal Old Fashioneds and Daiquiris. The winter Old Fashioned includes pecan bitters.

For the space, the owners carved a cute, sorta enclosed patio out front and brought in a large chandelier as a focal point for the interior. They took out a divider to make a larger dining space and covered up a window looking into the kitchen with a back mirror.

They added a piano, too, all the better for this jazz bar specializing in classic jazz from all eras. They’ll have live music Thursday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

As for Civil Pour, Masters says he’s still working on the identity of the place. He says he’s leaving the Jell-o shots at Silly Goose and is envisioning top-notch charcuterie plates and old school cocktails like a Sazerac made with French cognac.

Pontotoc is open Monday through Friday 4-11 p.m., and Saturday 2 p.m.-midnight, and Sunday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Lunch at Cafe Pontotoc

Cafe Pontotoc, which opened last June, recently started serving lunch. I, for one, welcome a new lunch option along that stretch of Main. 

The lunch menu has many of the same items as the dinner menu. The chief difference, as far as I can tell, is the addition of sandwiches, including a cheeseburger, grilled cheese, club, and reuben. There are a number of hot dogs as well — the Mexican Dog (with guac and jalapenos), Japan Dog (seaweed!, daikon), and the South Main (“If we’e got it, we’ll put it on there), etc.

I went pretty simple with soup and a salad. 

The soup was the Cucumber Avocado ($7) served with pita triangle. I liked the soup a lot — creamy, fresh crisp flavors, served cold. I don’t think it’s substantial enough to serve as a main part of the meal, but as a starter, it would certainly rev up the appetite. 

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Now Open on South Main: Café Pontotoc

Cherie Lamb and Cady Smith

  • Cherie Lamb (front) and Cady Smith

If you walk down South Main, you may notice a new, striped awning in front of the old Corked Carrot space. Hm, you might think. I don’t remember hearing anything about a new restaurant there.

Chances are, you didn’t. About a month ago, with exactly zero fanfare, owners Milton and Cherie Lamb opened Café Pontotoc, a wine bar with a growing menu of small plates. Despite the quiet opening, it’s worth stopping by. Or at least, Meg Gavin thinks so.

“It’s great for a girls’ night out,” said Gavin. “I mean, they have wine on tap, what could be better than that?”

On a recent Thursday night, Gavin was celebrating her 29th birthday with about 12 of her friends. The women said they planned to see Steel Magnolias at the Orpheum, followed by a night out on the town. But first they were enjoying some 2013 Acrobat Rosé of Pinot Noir and a light supper at Café Pontotoc.

“There really aren’t a lot of places like this in Memphis,” said McRae Sutter, age 28. “Where it’s not like, you know, BEER. A place where you can sit and have a glass of wine and a good conversation.”

The steak tacos ($7 for two) were beautifully seasoned, wrapped in local corn tortillas with a zesty pico de gallo. And the Vietnamese spring rolls ($8) were refreshingly crisp, served with both hoisin sauce and chili garlic sauce.

Owner Milton Lamb is the first to admit that his menu is a little eclectic. But he says that’s not a bad thing—especially when nothing on the menu costs more than $9.

“I guess I would just say try the food,” Lamb says. “We picked these flavors because we think they go well together, so I’ll just let the food speak for itself.”

“Life is short, you know?” adds co-owner Cherie Lamb. “And you’ve got to take chances. So this is the chance we’re taking.”

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Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Cafe Pontotoc To Open in Corked Carrot Space

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Cafe Pontotoc, so named because it’s near the corner of Pontotoc and S. Main, will open in mid- to late-June, according to owner Milton Lamb.

Lamb says the restaurant will feature a great wine list and beer from local brewers. While the menu is still being worked out, Lamb says it will include a selection of small plates.

Cafe Pontotoc will be in the old Corked Carrot space at 314 S. Main. Lamb says that the space is much the same, though he’s brought in some new tables and redid the back bar.

Lamb says the restaurant will initially be open Tuesday to Saturday, starting at 4 p.m., and will eventually expand to 7 days a week. He’s also considering having a Sunday brunch.

Lamb calls Cafe Pontotoc a “nice neighborhood hangout.” It will be a place, he says, “to sit down and have a conversation.”