Tag: eighty3

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Mardi Gras in Memphis

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

The first American Mardi Gras was celebrated in 1703 in what is now Mobile. The first krewe was the Masque de la Mobile. By 1718, New Orleans was a thing, and by the ’30s (the 1730s), they were doing Mardi Gras too. With a vengeance. In 1875, Louisiana Governor Henry Warmoth signed the Mardi Gras Act, designating Fat Tuesday as a legal holiday.

Somewhere in there the first pot of gumbo was made, and by the Great Depression, the Martin brothers threw some potatoes and roast beef gravy on French bread, and the first po’boys were served to New Orleans streetcar workers on strike.

Just as much as New Orleans is le centre Americain for all things Mardi Gras, its identity is also inseparable from its distinct cuisine.

Mardi Gras is just around the corner — Mardi, February 9th — and area restaurants are offering some traditional New Orleans dishes and signature drinks to save you the six- (or five or four-) hour trip. (And running around like an amateur.)

Chef Kelly English is synonymous with Louisiana in these parts — he’s a native — and if Mardi Gras means traditional New Orleans cuisine, it’s a party all year-round at his restaurant the Second Line. His menu of po’boys, including the O.G., short for original gangsta, short for the Martin brothers concoction of French fries and gravy; chicken and andouille gumbo; and barbecue shrimp will make you think you need to cross the neutral ground to go make some groceries.

For the big holiday, English will be offering drink specials as well as a bread pudding baby lottery, meaning one dish of bread pudding will have a king cake baby, and the lucky diner will receive dinner for two.

The Second Line, 2144 Monroe, 590-2829

Justin Fox Burks

Owen Brennan’s

Owen Brennan’s was one of Memphis’ original New Orleans ambassadors, taking home Best of trophies year after year. They’ll be Mardi Gras-ing it up this year with a celebratory menu of $5 small plates and drink specials. Their holiday menu will offer crawfish beignets with crawfish tails, andouille sausage, and tasso ham fried in a beignet and served with sriracha tartar sauce; Cajun calamari served with agrodolce and remoulade sauces; king cake; hurricanes; Mardi Gras Ritas; and Mardi Gras Mosas. They’ll also turn it up a notch with jazz music and a bead throw from the indoor balcony.

Owen Brennan’s Restaurant, 6150 Poplar, 761-0990

Lafayette’s is the new old kid on the block. After 38 years of shuttered windows, the Midtown music fixture reopened with a balcony that models those characteristic of the Big Easy. This week, from Monday, February 8th through Saturday, February 13th, chef Jody Moyt will serve up Carnival food specials such as red beans and rice for $4 a cup; muffalettas for $12 served on authentic Gambino bread shipped in from NOLA with mortadella, salami, homemade olive relish, and roasted red peppers; and king cake, either by the slice or whole — yes, the whole ones will have babies. “We’re the Mardi Gras spot in Overton Square. We’ve got the double-decker balcony out front and a mezzanine inside. We’ll have a horn band that will get a train going through the restaurant. It will be a big party. We’ll be as close to Mardi Gras as you can get without going down South,” Moyt says.

Lafayette’s Music Room, 2119 Madison, 207-5097

Chef Max Hussey at eighty3 Food & Drink at the Madison Hotel downtown says he loves Cajun cuisine and has been recognized with several awards for his gumbo. The New Orleans cuisine enthusiast added a Mardi Gras special to his menu for a limited time. For $15, revellers can get a crawfish po’boy and a cup of traditional New Orleans-style gumbo, made with clam and seafood stock, crawfish, shrimp, okra, scallops, lobster, rice, and creole seasonings. The special menu will run from Friday, February 5th to Tuesday, February 9th.

eighty3 Food & Drink, 83 Madison, 333-1224

It’s pretty much always Fat Tuesday at the Bayou. “Our menu is already suited for it,” owner Bill Baker says. This year on the big day they’ll have a crawfish boil as well as king cake, and the New Orleans-inspirited Mighty Souls Brass Band will carry you away to Frenchmen on their tuba, trombone, sax, et al. “It will start to pick up mid-afternoon, and by evening it will get crazy. We’ll have a bunch of beads. Beads will get thrown. Laissez le bon temps roulez,” Baker says.

The Bayou, 2094 Madison, 278-8626

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Easter Events

CREDIT: Konstanttin | Dreamstime.com

There has not been a want for “eggstravaganzas” around these part. Case in point: the Eco EGGstravagnza at Shelby Farms (Saturday, April 4th, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.), which kicks off the park’s month of Earth Day events. This family-friendly event includes an egg hunt, environmental exhibits, eco crafts, a fishing rodeo, nature hikes, live music, food trucks, and more. The park’s new Treetop Adventure course and zipline will be open as well. The Memphis Botanic Garden is holding a Family Egg Hunt (Saturday, 1-4 p.m., $10), with age-specific hunts. The Easter Bunny will be there for photo opportunities and there will be a magic show and crafts. The Dixon’s also in the egg-hunt game (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-noon, $10). Reservations are required for this one: 761-5250.

Konstanttin | Dreamstime.com

Also happening Saturday are the annual Bunny Run in Audubon Park (9 a.m.), a 5K and fun run benefiting SRVS, which helps children with special needs, and the Easter Eve Concert at Levitt Shell (6-9 p.m.) featuring family-friendly music by the Passport and more from the students of Visible Music College.

All that egg-hunting can build up an appetite, so head downtown for eighty3’s Easter brunch (Sunday, April 5th, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m.). The special menu includes an andouille sausage pie, brown sugar smoked ham, and a trio of desserts to choose from, including carrot cake ice cream sandwiches with ginger ice cream and lime caramel dipping sauce. Reservations: 333-1224. The Peabody will be having its annual Easter brunch (10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., $22 for children 5 to 12, $64 adults). This is a massive feed with 100s of dishes to choose from and a 32-foot-long dessert table. Reservations: 529-4183.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

A Visit to Eighty3’s New Patio

JKM_Eighty3_Patio.JPG

Did you notice? The weather this week has been perfect. Lows in the 50s, highs in the 70s, crisp and sunny with a steady fall of autumn leaves. Perfect weather for a pumpkin beer or a bowl of butternut squash soup.

Or heck, dinner on the patio. Am I right?


To celebrate the season, my editor and I decided to meet up for appetizers at Eighty3’s new patio. The restaurant, named for its address at 83 Madison Ave., opened in 2011 and has since become a go-to for bold, Southern flavors.

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We started with the Eighty3 Signature Skillet Cornbread ($8). It was sweet and lightly spicy, with an appealing, crisp crust. The accompanying honey-jalapeno butter was tasty, although I wish there had been more of it.

JKM_Eighty3_Cornbread.JPG

Then came the Eighty3 Chopped Salad ($12), hold the bacon. It was crisp and fresh, crammed with fall flavors: onions, apples, avocados, tomatoes, and corn. The dressing was light and tangy, and the gorgonzola cheese added a piquant note.

Last was the Hummus Plate ($11). The addition of garlic-marinated white beans to the usual garbanzo mix gives this hummus a light, creamy texture, and the pita chips seemed to be home-made.

JKM_Eighty3_Hummus.jpg

The patio itself was cozy and well-lit, like something you might encounter in New Orleans’s French Quarter. Somehow the heat lamps seemed to know what temperature it was (is this possible?). They would switch on as the temperature got cooler; as a result, the patio stayed warm well into the night.

Meanwhile, outside the window, pedestrians and cyclists rolled by on South Main St. Altogether, it was a great way to spend a cool fall evening.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Sandwich Craft

Bleu has a build-your-own-sandwich menu that puts your sad little lunchbox to shame, with options like Ahi tuna, sweet Thai chili sauce, Bermuda onions, local goat cheese, and fried tomato.

Here’s how it works: Take your menu card and mark your choice of protein from options like 100 percent Angus beef, fried catfish, or a portabello mushroom cap. Follow it up with your preference of temperature. (Obviously this matters less with the marinated chicken breast than with the sliced sirloin steak.) Then home in on the bread to suit your mood. Fried catfish? Opt for a poor-boy French bread. Going for lean with chicken breast? Try a tortilla wrap. Hankering for a burger? For an additional $3 you can have it on a grilled cheese bun — your burger placed between two grilled cheese sandwiches.

The rest of the menu plays out much as you would expect, with plenty of room for innovation and a chance for blunders as well. Six sauces, six cheeses, 10 regular toppings, and five premium toppings await your selection. How well do Jarslberg Swiss, fried egg, and something called Spicy Fancy Sauce go together? There’s only one way to find out, and the joy of having all those sauces and cheeses and toppings at the flick of your pen is worth the gamble. You might just find a new favorite sandwich.

Bleu, 221 S. Third (334-5950)

bleumemphis.com

If you’re less inclined to build your own sandwich and prefer to leave your meal in the hands of a trained professional, Chef Connor O’Neill at eighty3 is your man. For a little over a month, he has been emailing out a list of weekly signature sandwich specials, using the lunch hour as a canvas for his vision of the perfect mid-day meal.

“People in downtown Memphis, it takes them 10 or 15 minutes to get down an elevator and then they’ve got to walk somewhere and get their food and get back out — they really only have about 20 minutes of time,” O’Neill says. “The most efficient way to give them the same quality of food that we give to our nighttime diners was to figure out how to get the products into a format that’s easy to cook, and sandwiches have always been the answer.”

O’Neill has been dedicated to the art of the sandwich since his days in the Army.

“I love a good sandwich. When I was in boot camp, anything that fit between two pieces of bread was about as much time as you had to eat,” he says. “It got me started there.”

Now ask him about any of his menu items, and you’ll see how far he’s come from the days when whatever-fits-between-two-slices-of-bread was the standard. He eagerly explains, at length, how each component contributes to a complete flavor and texture profile.

“I like layers of texture and flavor,” O’Neill says. “If I have a sharp meat like salami, with a lot of meaty, fatty flavor, I’ll want a vinegar to contrast that, something like a slaw. Then I’m going to be looking for a good bread, something that’s going to stand up to the flavors and soak up some of that saltiness but be firm enough not to get soggy. Next, I’m looking for something creamy, like a Provolone cheese, and then finally I need a smoky or grilled flavor, so I’m going to grill my bread.”

O’Neill can wax poetic about any of his sandwiches, from his pulled-pork wrap to his steak sandwich, to his grilled cheese with Gruyère, leek fondue, mushrooms, and a Parmesan-encrusted bread. No wonder he gets excited enough to plan his sandwich offerings two weeks in advance.

Any of the sandwiches can also be ordered as a salad or wrap and will run you about $10. In a hurry? O’Neill encourages patrons to order in advance and swing by to pick up a quick bite on the way to Court Square or back to the office.

eighty3, 83 Madison (333-1224)

eighty3memphis.com

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Out with the Old…

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Chef Rodelio Aglibot, the culinary director behind Grill 83’s rebranding, has definite ideas about the newest incarnation, eighty3, and this one is particularly strong: “You want to create a concept that’s in a hotel but not a hotel restaurant. There’s this feeling that you just don’t go to the hotel restaurant.”

Madison Hotel owner Mohamad Hakimian agrees, having worked hard to establish Grill 83 as a destination restaurant in its own right. After nine years, Hakimian was looking for a way to keep this reputation strong, so he brought on Aglibot to shift eighty3 away from the white-tablecloth fine dining of Grill 83 to something new.

“Upscale fine dining is going away, and more upscale casual, ‘fun dining’ is taking the place of that,” Aglibot says. “The food is going to be very interactive. It’s modern American, which means we’ll have Southern influences, Italian influences, Asian influences, but all interactive — plates that can be shared and playful things.”

One of the more convivial aspects of dining at eighty3 is in the “breads” section of the menu. What Aglibot envisions is something like the experience of fondue — everyone gathered around a hotpot with dipping bread — except the offerings will be more varied. He was hesitant to give away too much before eighty3’s big reveal this week, but Aglibot mentioned that a number of breads and croutons would be offered as well as toppings like crab meat and baked artichoke hearts and a number of dipping sauces and broths.

Aglibot has an impressive pedigree as a culinary consultant, a position that blends business savvy with kitchen artistry, and he has a tendency of leaving successful and innovative restaurants in his wake. He also recently starred in The Food Buddha on TLC, a show where he went from city to city, getting advice on local restaurants, and famously ordering OOE (“one of each”).

This “one of each” policy peeks through in eighty3’s emphasis on small portions for tasting and sharing. More than 50 options keep your palate entertained, including bar snacks like candied maple bacon, a “raw” portion of the menu with tuna tartare, sweet potato gratin, Gruyère macaroni and cheese, skillet-braised mussels, pan-roasted corn with chorizo, and what Aglibot considers some of the best cornbread in town — crispy and moist, served in a cast-iron skillet with honey jalapeno butter.

“We really encourage sharing and communal dining,” Aglibot says. “It’s not only conceptual. It’s about pricing. There’s something for everyone on the menu.”

But traditionalists searching for familiar foods and entrée portions will be just as comfortable at eighty3.

“It’s about making people feel comfortable when they move into a new concept, not intimidated by the menu,” Aglibot says.

Chop salads, seafood, and Grill 83’s signature steaks are still on the menu. Breakfast features Southern favorites, like chicken-fried steak, biscuits and red-eye gravy, pulled-pork hash, and deep-fried French toast. The lunch menu consists of twists on standards like the steak sandwich, with caramelized onions and Brie. Instead of the played-out portobello burger, the vegetarian sandwich is made with braised leeks and mushrooms served on Parmesan-encrusted bread.

Eighty3 will keep the same hours as its predecessor. Breakfast is served seven days a week from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m., and lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner Sunday to Thursday is from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. Look out for Sunday brunch at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

eighty3, 83 Madison (333-1224)