Try out a fitness class at Healthier 901 Fest. (Photo: Courtesy MLH)
For the past year, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) has been challenging Memphians and people across the Mid-South to lose one million pounds as a community within three years through the Healthier 901 initiative. So far, 6,828 pounds have been lost by those who have joined through the Healthier 901 app.
This Saturday to celebrate the initiative’s first year and push for more success, MLH will host its second annual Healthier 901 Fest on Saturday at Shelby Farms Park. “Everyone is so excited,” says April Wilson, one of Healthier 901’s associates. “We have made it even better this year.”
This year’s fest will have live cooking demos by Kelly English and other local celebrity chefs, giveaways, live music, and food trucks. There will also be fitness classes throughout the day including tai chi, yoga, meditation, hip-hop, jazzercise, aerobics, and more.
“This year, we really want people to find their fit,” says Sarah Farley, Le Bonheur’s communications specialist. “We’re having the Find Your Fit Zone this year with about 20 different vendors who will be on site with various fitness activities. So you can try it out and see if you like it, and then work with that vendor for a longer term to explore whatever that exercise or activity is. There’s a million ways to get active. You don’t have to go to go to the gym; you don’t have to walk on a treadmill.”
There’ll also be the Le Bonheur Family Zone, which will have pickleball courts, hula hoops, bungee trampolines, a rock wall, a ninja tower, and educational activities. Both Wilson and Farley recommend downloading the Healthier 901 app before attending the fest to get enrolled into the raffles for special giveaways.
The app and Healthier 901’s website will also have more information about ongoing programming throughout the year. Wilson, for instance, speaks of working with businesses, churches, and schools. “The things that we’re doing out there in the community are really bringing everyone together,” she says. “And what I can see just from outside looking in, people are really enjoying learning about health and just being active. If you’re moving constantly every day on a daily basis, of course, you gonna see pounds drop, but your overall goal is to be healthy.”
Healthier 901 fest, Shelby Farms Park, Saturday, August 31, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., free.
Tim Barker after Edge Alley closed (Photos: Michael Donahue)
When one door closes, another one opens.
Lately, these doors have the name of a restaurant on them.
Since April, several high-profile Memphis restaurants have closed. Reasons include staffing, crime, leases running out, and so on.
But announcements for more brand-new restaurants have also popped up in recent months.
One of those slated to open is the eagerly-awaited, new restaurant from Felicia Willett-Schuchardt, owner of the old Felicia Suzanne’s on North Main. I ran into Willett-Schuchardt at a couple of tasting fundraisers. She told me she planned to open her new restaurant in the fall. That’s in the old Spindini restaurant space at 383 South Main Street.
That’s great news. But then I began hearing about closings.
Edge Alley at 600 Monroe Avenue was the harbinger when Tim Barker announced his restaurant would close December 10, 2023. He told me he decided to close “for a number of reasons.” Number one? “I feel it had started to become unsustainable,” he said.
Closing Edge Alley “makes the most sense. I don’t want to lower the quality of the product, change our service standard, cut staff. Now is kind of the time for me. Also, my lease is up. So, everything is all at once. Rising costs, lease is up, and then maybe the concept has run its course.”
Then came Bounty on Broad, which announced its closing on April 3rd on Facebook. “Today, with a heavy yet grateful heart, Bounty on Broad announces its closure, effective immediately …”
Not long after that, more and more restaurants began following suit.
Dory, a fine dining restaurant at 716 West Brookhaven Circle, closed June 29th. The restaurant, owned by executive chef David Krog and his wife, Amanda, opened in 2021 during the pandemic.
David told me in an interview, “It’s been coming since the day we opened. We were brand-new and unestablished and not on anybody’s radar, either. We didn’t get the honeymoon. These aren’t excuses. These are just what happened. There is no excuse. It was sad. The restaurant business is tough. For us, we didn’t make it.”
I wrote about Maximo’s when it announced it was going to close the same day Dory closed. Amy Zuniga, who owned the restaurant at 2617 Broad Avenue with her husband, Julio, told me, “There’s not enough business to sustain us. And we’ve been short-staffed and can’t find anyone. We can’t keep going, unfortunately.”
And, she said, “We’ve been trying to hang in there for awhile, but it’s just gotten to this point where there’s only so much hanging on we can do.”
Fino’s From the Hill at 7781 Farmington Boulevard, Suite 101, is now closed. But the other location at 1853 Madison Avenue is still open. Owner Kelly English says, “The lease was up and it made sense for us to close and focus on one location rather than to sign on again. There is nothing else to it.”
Andrew Ticer, Michael Donahue, Michael Hudman at Bishop in 2023
A shocker was the recent announcement of the closing of Bishop, the elegant Downtown restaurant owned by Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman in Central Station Hotel.
The hotel’s Facebook page says it “will be opening a brand-new restaurant this fall.”
I was stunned when I heard Jeff Fioranelli announced his restaurant, Buckley’s Grill, was closing in June after 30 years.
“Our lease was up at the end of August regardless,” Fioranelli says. “And, frankly, I had made a commitment five years ago to sign on for one more five-year term. Regardless of what my partner wanted to do after that, it was time. I figure 30 years in the trenches was enough for me. If he wanted to go on, so be it.
“The climate has gotten so difficult for so many reasons,” Fioranelli says. “The restaurant industry is getting hammered from all sides. Especially in Memphis.”
He saw customers who live outside of Memphis “less frequently. A lot did not want to risk driving to Memphis from outlying areas. Collierville. Bartlett.”
Because of crime or the perception of it, they now feel it’s “a lot safer if you go out of the city limits. Asking someone to leave Collierville to come to town when you’ve got so many options is not something we can bank on.”
Will Fioranelli open another restaurant? “I have a passion for the business. But when you step out of this business and look in, you realize there are forces beyond your control at this point that you just can’t fight. A business in another area? Possibly. But right now I think I’m just going to grow my hair out like you did.”
The good news is more restaurants are opening.
Harrison Downing, Schuyler O’Brien, Cole Jeanes with their sons in 2023
Hard Times Deli at 655 Marshall Avenue in the Edge District has a planned fall opening. “We’re directly across the street from Sun Studio,” says Harrison Downing, one of the chef/owners along with Schuyler O’Brien and Cole Jeanes. “It’s the building next door to the Edge Motor Museum.”
The famous hamburger-making “Patty Daddy” members of the “Secret Smash Society” will serve “elevated deli sandwiches.” It’s similar to how Kinfolk, which is owned by Jeanes, does its elevated breakfasts, Downing says. “We’ll take all our fine dining training and make it an elevated sandwich shop.”
With the “cost of food now” and “places closing,” opening a new restaurant is daunting. But, as for their concept, Downing says, “Everybody seems excited about us bringing this to Memphis.”
A news release says Cocozza American Italian owners Patrick and Deni Reilly, who also own the Majestic Grill, are slated to open a second location of the restaurant this winter at 919 South Yates. It states, “The Reillys look to fill the same niche for busy East Memphis families as they do at their original location in Harbor Town, by providing family-friendly, classic American Italian fare in a casual full-service restaurant with a fun, funky dining room that evokes memories of eating in your favorite grandmother’s kitchen.”
Meanwhile, the Tandem Restaurant Group is moving and shaking things up around town.
Ben Yay’s at 51 South Main Street is closing “probably at the end of this month,” says Tony Westmoreland with the group which owns Ben Yay’s.
Why? “There’s just absolutely no traffic down there.”
But, he adds, “We’re not going to lose the concept. We’re going to move the concept to Sugar Grits.”
That will make Sugar Grits at 150 Peabody Place, Suite 111, a combination of “North Carolina and Creole-inspired cuisines.”
Tandem, which owns several restaurants, has been busy. “We’re trying to pivot and use spaces we have commitments in. We’re not looking for anything brand-new.”
The “pinch” in the restaurant business began happening in August of last year, Westmoreland says. “And it has not let up.”
Sales at their restaurants, mostly Downtown, have been lower this year than last year. “May kicked everybody Downtown in the teeth. We didn’t even beat a normal month with all the events and stuff.”
The group’s Carolina Watershed at 141 East Carolina Avenue closed in January. “We put it on the market. We have a couple of people looking at it. We felt like we were going to get it sold before summer is over, but it hasn’t happened yet.”
But, Westmoreland says, they might put in a pop-up for their new Memphis Original Gangsta Fried Chicken restaurant at the old Carolina Watershed until the new restaurant opens at 786 Echols Street. Chef Duncan Aiken will be serving his “gangsta fried chicken” with his special sauce at the pop-up as well as the new restaurant. And he’ll serve soul food, including corn bread, mac and cheese, greens, and smashed potatoes. “It’s going to be like a chicken spot with some sides. That will probably be September before we get that one rolling.”
Uncle Red’s, which was going to open at the Echols address, is now going to open in August at 2583 Broad Avenue, the original site of Salt|Soy, which has now combined with Alchemy Memphis at 940 Cooper Street. Uncle Red’s will serve smoked turkey legs based on family recipes from FreeSol, lead singer of the alternative band also called FreeSol. FreeSol, aka Christopher Anderson, will be the operating partner at the restaurant, which will serve lunch and dinner. “It’ll be a fun menu. But the majority of it will be based around turkey and smoked products.”
Front Street Deli, also owned by Tandem, is slated to be open by July 18th. The restaurant at 77 South Front Street will be run by Westmoreland, Aiken, Stephanie Westmoreland, Julien Salley, and Nick Scott. “Duncan is doing the sandwich portion and part of the pasta portion. And Nick is finishing up the pasta portion.”
The pasta portion will feature their new brand, “Pasta Cosa Nostra,” which will be pasta served in small containers so people can walk up and down the street and eat it.
Another Tandem business, Old Zinnie’s, which has been closed since May, will be back. The bar/restaurant at 1688 Madison Avenue will be called “Zinnie’s,” but they will primarily serve authentic-style Phillys — Philadelphia shaved steak. The real Phillys. And Cheese Whiz.”
They plan to re-open Zinnie’s in August, if not sooner. “We’re doing a little bit of remodeling right now ’cause it just needs a cleanup. We will be reopening as non-smoking. So, that’s going to be your game changer.”
The Indie Memphis showing of The Taste of Things will be followed by an actual food tasting.
Moviegoers often wish they could be eating what the characters are eating in certain scenes in a film. Think of the famous dinner scene in Tom Jones. Or everything edible in Julie & Julia, the movie about chef Julia Child. And then, of course, there’s that spaghetti in Walt Disney’s animated classic, Lady and the Tramp.
Well, Dan Kopera is making that a reality. He will serve some of the cuisine featured in The Taste of Things following the 11:30 a.m. movie showing, which will be Saturday, October 28th at Playhouse on the Square. Those who bought tickets to the 2023 movie, directed by Tran Anh Hung ,will then walk to the old Pantà restaurant at 2146 Monroe Avenue for Kopera’s take on some of the dishes in the film.
Chef Dan Kopera (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Describing the movie, Kopera, 49, a chef at The Second Line, says, “It’s a romantic relationship between the chef and his cook, and it all revolves around food. There’s so much food in the movie. It’s primarily French food. It does take place in France in the 19th century.
“They sent me a screening line. I enjoyed it. It’s not a movie I would have sought out for myself. It’s not my style. But it was very good.”
Then, he says, “I copied a few things from the movie that were interesting to me.
“I spent a couple of hours the next day just brainstorming and doing some research. Which then I took to chef Kelly English [owner of The Second Line] and consulted with him to get his thoughts on it. He added his opinions and that’s how we came up with these four items.”
Some dishes in the film were unfamiliar to Kopera. But, he says, “A couple of things from the movie I could do. Baked Alaska was one. It’s the only dessert featured in the movie.”
Making Baked Alaska is “much easier to make in modern days than it was in the 19th century when it was invented.”
Back then, making the dessert “was kind of an all-day-long process.
“For one, we have refrigeration. And they had to use ice chests to make the ice cream. And, also we have modern equipment. The blow torch to cook the outside of the meringue. Rather than what they did, which was light brandy on fire and roll it over it to cook the outside. Meringue protects the ice cream from melting.”
He’s also doing chicken vol-au-vent. “They did a very large version of this. It’s a puff pastry filled with various things. I’m doing a chicken dish with it. It’s one of those things you can fill with anything. Almost a cream puff kind of thing. I’m going to be doing little mini vol-au-vents for everyone to try.”
Kopera will make croque monsieur dip with crostini. “The original dish is a sandwich. A grilled ham and cheese. I’m taking it to another level. I’m French toasting it.”
And, finally, he will be serving ratatouille skewers. “It’s eggplant, zucchini, tomato, peppers — taking the basic ingredients of ratatouille, which is usually baked in a sort of casserole — and I’m making that into hand-held bite-sized skewers.”
Like popcorn, everything Kopera is serving will be finger food. “These are little tastes, so people can get the taste of the movie and the taste of France.”
For more information on The Taste of Things showing and tasting, go here.
Fino’s will open a second location — Fino’s Corner Market — hopefully later this month in Germantown in what was formerly Happy Glaze Donuts at 7781 Farmington Boulevard Suite 101.
Fino’s will continue to operate at 1853 Madison Avenue.
The restaurant group that owns Fino’s, as well as Restaurant Iris, Second Line, and Panta, already purchased the Happy Glaze brand. They will continue to sell doughnuts out of Fino’s Corner Market. And they will expand into opening a doughnut food truck.
Fino’s Corner Market will sell the majority of Fino’s menu. It will also sell grab-and-go items created both by the team and other local vendors.
Owner Kelly English says, “We are thrilled to start strategically looking at what the Fino’s brand can be, starting in Germantown. Sandwiches are one of my favorite food groups. Look for a robust grab-and-go offering as well as pizza and pasta. With the purchase of Happy Glaze, and the Fino’s expansion, our team is now able to offer a much wider range of options to better fit the needs of our ever-growing and changing city. Covid and online ordering changed dining forever. And we are thrilled to be more laser focused on meeting those changes with great options in all of our dining locations.”
Inga Theeke grew up with Latvian baking. Like pīrāgis.
“It is like yeast dough filled, usually, with bacon and onion,” says Theeke, who is from Chicago. “A little bit of ham in there. And that is the official Latvian treat.
“Every grandmother has their touch to it. It’s one of those things. They can’t give you the recipe, but they can show you if you spend some time with them in the kitchen.”
Theeke keeps busy nowadays baking things like seasonal pear tarte Tatins and pumpkin cheesecake over gluten-free spice cake.
She moved to Memphis in July 2021 to become pastry chef for all of the Kelly English restaurants, which include Restaurant Iris, Pantà, Second Line, and Fino’s from the Hill, and for the catering arm, Iris Etc.
Theeke worked in human resources in Chicago, but that changed after she went to pastry school at Kendall College. “I thought I was going to learn more about techniques and recipe development and just use it for hosting family and friends. But I caught the bug and started working for some fine dining restaurants after that.”
She worked as a pastry chef at Carlos’ in Highland Park, and the old 302 West in Geneva, Illinois.
Her specialty is “maybe taking an ingredient or something we haven’t always used in pastry and figuring out how to pull that together into something unique. I’m one of the rare birds that really likes change. So, being in an environment we have now, where we can pivot and try things out, has really been fun.”
Theeke met her current employer online. “During the pandemic, I looked into one of Kelly English’s Zoom classes and participated with about 70 people around the country. I watched him make a dish.”
She found English “so engaging and so real in connection with people via Zoom” and contacted him the next day. “And I said, ‘I don’t know if you are hiring, but this is who I am and keep in touch.’ We started a conversation and that turned into this position.”
Theeke, whose daughter graduated from Rhodes College, had visited Downtown and Midtown Memphis. She found Memphis “so authentic and so inviting.”
She expanded Fino’s menu. “I changed their tiramisu recipe to make it a little more traditional and easier for more production.”
Theeke then came up with the desserts at Pantà. “I’m a food anthropologist at heart. Although I’ve never been to Spain, I had the opportunity to do the research and do the homework when I prepared the dessert menu for Pantà. I dug into cookbooks, travel journals, online research — anything about the Catalan region I could access from Memphis. It wasn’t just the items but the stories behind them, so when the server brought it to the table, they could tell you how that fit into Catalan culture and the traditions as well.”
She also met people who had spent time in that region, asked them what they ate, what it tasted like, and then she created something.
Like brazo de gitano. “Ours here is a chocolate cake rolled with chocolate ganache in between and then finished with a little bit of latte crème anglaise. The style is a little bit different from what I believe is served in Spain, but it resembles it enough.”
As for the Iris desserts, Theeke says, “The goal is definitely to offer a traditional Creole menu with our own spin on things as well. Again, I have been to New Orleans, but I did my research on these as well so that we understand the story behind some of these. Like bananas Foster. It’s everything you think of in a Creole restaurant’s Foster, but our twist here is to make it a bananas Foster within a tres leches cake. Bring that roasted banana and rum taste through it. And then our crème brûlée here features a chicory coffee flavor.”
All the restaurants “set the tone” for what the dessert menu will look like. But Theeke says, “Every now and then I’ll come up with something. And they’ll let me know if I’ve crossed the line between forgiveness and permission.”
Restaurant Iris opened for lunch October 3rd (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The eagerly-awaited opening of Restaurant Iris at its new location at 4550 Poplar Avenue in the Laurelwood Shopping Center took place today, October 3rd.
The restaurant, the epitome of an elegant contemporary restaurant, opened at 11 a.m. for lunch. The restaurant, which is probably more than twice the size of its old location, now occupied by Pantà, is at the old location of The Grove Grill.
Restaurant Iris (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Russell Casey is executive chef of the restaurant, which is owned by Kelly English. Casey said in an earlier Memphis Flyer interview, “We’re going to do classic New Orleans cuisine. Think Galatoire’s with my footprint, hand print, whatever you want to call it, all through the menu.”
A menu item closely related to what Casey does is his pan-seared flounder with lima beans, succotash, béarnaise, and jumbo lump crabmeat.
According to marketing director for Iris Group LLC Caleb Sigler, lunch, with a menu that will expand in the coming weeks, will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week. A brunch menu will be featured on Saturdays and Sundays.
Dinner reservations are now available online, restaurantiris.com, for Friday October 7th and Saturday October 8th. Additional dinner reservations will be added in the coming weeks.
And, Sigler says, “Bar menu will be available all day starting October 10th. Bar menu will include a handful of classic Restaurant Iris favorites (ravioli, lobster knuckle sandwich, etc.)
The spacious bar and oyster bar are off the main dining room.
Ann Parker and her team at Parker Design Studio designed the interior. The elegant-looking restaurant features a green-and-white mosaic floor at the entrance into the main dining room with its serpentine booths. Italian glass fixtures resemble colorful balloons because of the light bulbs that are run by an LED lighting system. They feature the full spectrum of colors, which are manipulated at a control panel off the main dining room.
The restaurant also has four private dining rooms that can accommodate both small or large groups.
Steve & Todd's Creole Italian popup will move into The Second Line's space for a week (Credit: Caleb Sigler)
Fino’s from the Hill will temporarily close its doors at 1853 Madison Avenue and relocate to nearby The Second Line at 2144 Monroe. Both restaurants are owned by chef Kelly English.
According to a text from marketing director for Iris Group LLC Caleb Sigler, the restaurant will be closed between September 19th and 25th.
The Second Line will have a new name and feature a different type of cuisine during that week.
“The building they [Fino’s] are located in is having main water line renovations, so we decided to do something special for you,” Sigler says. “Introducing Steve & Todd’s Creole Italian PopUp! The Second Line will convert to a Creole Italian restaurant for the week serving lunch and dinner from Monday to Sunday with brunch on Saturday and Sunday. A full new menu will include items like stuffed eggplant (cheese stuffed with crabmeat cream sauce), sweet heat oysters, muffulettas, baked ziti, eggplant parm, sautéed red snapper topped with shrimp and crawfish and a crabmeat cream sauce, grilled shrimp or oysters over pasta Bordelaise, spaghetti and meatballs, and more.
A popup is coming to The Second Line for a week. (Credit: Caleb Sigler)
Our teams at both our restaurants have been hard at work to make this the most enjoyable and tasty event possible. You don’t want to miss this. Last time we did a popup it turned into Pantá.”
Pantá is another Kelly English restaurant, which took the place of Restaurant Iris, which will itself open where The Grove Grill once operated in Laurelwood Shopping Center.
Some items from Fino’s and Second Line will be included at Steve & Todd’s Creole Italian PopUp. “There are a few items from both restaurants, but not the full menu,” Sigler says.
The Second Line will have a new name and feature different cuisine during that week.
So, who are “Steve” and “Todd?” “The name is sort of a joke,” Sigler says. “Steve Richey is a co-owner of the company and Todd English is Kelly’s brother. Derk Meitzler is the general manager of Second Line and Pantá, and Matthew Crysup is the manager of Fino’s. This is their baby.”
The main dining room of Restaurant Iris (Credit: Michael Donahue)
OK. I’m just going to say it. Or write it, rather. The new Restaurant Iris is going to be the prettiest restaurant in Memphis.
It’s stunning.
Owner Kelly English, who says he doesn’t know when the restaurant will open, gave me a tour of his new eating establishment at 4550 Poplar Avenue in the Laurelwood Shopping Center. It’s where the old restaurant, The Grove Grill, was located. Restaurant Iris’s former location is where English’s restaurant, Panta, now is located.
The view when I opened the door at the new Restaurant Iris almost knocked me down. Not really. But mentally. It was a jolt. In a good way.
This is what a fabulous, elegant contemporary restaurant looks like in your dreams. A lot of color and energy.
Restaurant Iris foyer and main dining room (Credit: Michael Donahue)
You move from the green-and-white mosaic floor at the entrance into the beautiful main dining room with Italian glass fixtures that resemble colorful balloons because of the light bulbs that are run by an LED lighting system. They feature the full spectrum of colors, including blue, purple, pink, green, and yellow. English showed me how the colors can be manipulated at a control panel off the main dining room.
Ann Parker and her team at Parker Design Studio designed the interior of Restaurant Iris. “That lighting system operates throughout the whole restaurant,” she says. “You are in control of the perfect lighting of light levels and clarity of light and color traces.”
And she says, “You will always look beautiful in the restaurant. So, be careful.”
The serpentine booths in the center give the restaurant so much movement and energy that I almost fell down again. Also in a good way.
Serpentine booths in the main dining room at Restaurant Iris (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Those who remember entering the old Justine’s restaurant will remember the chandeliers, the French-inspired antiques, and the black-and-white flooring at the entry way. Restaurant Iris achieves this same opulent sensation, but with contemporary furnishings instead of antiques.
Both Justine’s and Restaurant Iris have that New Orleans feel. English, who everybody probably knows by know, is from New Orleans. So, the restaurant is a great reflection of the Crescent City. Come to think of it, those center booths in the main dining room are crescent shaped, actually. Was this an accident?
The whimsical and beautiful mural of a Louisiana landscape in the main dining room is by local artist Dorothy Collier.
Dorothy Collier painted the mural in the main dining room (Credit: Michael Donahue)
But don’t get me wrong. This place feels fun. Not stiff. People are going to have a good time here. And create memories.
“The process was to create a space that was emulating the old Iris on lots of levels,” Parker says. “And we mimicked a lot of that in some of the color tones and then taking it to the next level: an elevated level of its old location and all that will offer.”
The concept? “We were wanting to play with your senses. The food will play with your senses as much as your environment.”
When I looked to my left on entering the restaurant, I saw shelving. That’s for the restaurant’s “grab and go” grocery store, English says. It will include everything from pickles and canned goods to prepared family meals.”
When I looked to my right, I saw the spacious bar and oyster bar. In addition to ordering by the bottle, the bar will feature 29 wines, two champagnes, and two sparkling wines by the glass.
A portion of the Restaurant Iris bar (Credit: Michael Donahue)Restaurant Iris oyster bar (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The restaurant has four private dining rooms that can accomodate both small or large groups. The mural depicting a garden party on the wall in the larger private room is spectacular.
A Restaurant Iris private dining room (Credit: Michael Donahue)A private dining room at Restaurant Iris (Credit: Michael Donahue)A mural of a garden party graces walls in a private dining room at the new Restaurant Iris (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The kitchen is enormous — 3,500 square feet, English says.
Restaurant Iris kitchen (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The bathrooms are gorgeous.
Restaurant Iris women’s bathroom (Credit: Michael Donahue)Restaurant Iris men’s bathroom (Credit: Michael Donahue
And now — the food. It’s also going to be gorgeous and delicious. Executive chef Russell Casey says, “We’re going to do classic New Orleans cuisine. More upscale. Think Galatoire’s with my footprint, hand print, whatever you want to call it all through the menu.”
Restaurant Iris executive chef Russell Casey (Credit: Michael Donahue)
A menu item “closely related” to what Casey does is his “pan-seared flounder with speckled lima beans, succotash, béarnaise, and jumbo lump crabmeat.”
Casey also will feature “tons” of his sides, which will be featured à la carte. “But we’re putting that New Orleans stamp on it.”
Casey, who used to bus tables as a teenager at The Grove Grill, is amazed at the transformation of the space. He’s worked with many chefs at several restaurants, but, Stephen Hassinger, who was executive chef at the old Inn at Hunt Phelan, was his biggest inspiration. “Every person who was in that kitchen has gone on to do wonderful things. I think it starts with Stephen Hassinger. He’s been so influential in turning out some great chefs when Memphis really was kind of in its infancy stage of becoming a culinary destination. Which I think we are well on our way to if not already there instead of just a barbecue destination.”
When I asked how he felt, English said, “Great.”
“Iris will return to the true roots it set out at with added space to achieve it,” he says. “We will be a classic Creole restaurant in every sense of the term, with dishes you remember from the early years of Iris, an oyster bar, daily lunch. All of that and you get Russell Casey’s food, too.
“We really wanted to maximize the space we had — both in the dining rooms and the kitchen — to best support our team. I think we have done that. Ann Parker and team have done a phenomenal job of bringing a space that did not exist in Memphis to life that we think will be a great complement to the larger restaurant community that we already have here.”
Kelly English, owner of Restaurant Iris (Credit: Michael Donahue)Restaurant Iris in Laurelwood Shopping Center (Credit: Michael Donahue)
You never know who you’ll run into late at night if you stop by a restaurant or bar that serves food after 10 p.m. In Memphis, it could be a drunk bounty hunter at now-closed CK’s, an election conspiracy theorist throwing back Bud Lights, or hopefully, a local celebrity.
Rocky Kasaftes remembers when Priscilla Presley stopped by Alex’s Tavern with a group of people around 11 p.m. Kasaftes, who owns the iconic bar/restaurant at 1445 Jackson Avenue, made his famous Greek Burgers, hot wings, and ribs for everybody. But he fixed something special for Presley.
“I don’t eat meat,” says Presley, who was in Memphis recently. “So instead I asked him to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. I still eat grilled cheese sandwiches when I need to.”
The sandwich was “great,” she adds. And Alex’s Tavern was “very quaint. And nice. Not too large. I enjoyed it very much.”
The Memphis Flyer recently set out on a quest to check out some late-night dining spots that continue to serve food after most places have shut down their kitchens. And while there used to be plenty of easy fixes for the late-night munchies, Covid saw some restaurants decide to forego their nocturnal offerings. But fret not: For the night owls among us, there are still those who work tirelessly to make sure that, yes, after stumbling out of the bar or getting off work late, they’re still here to keep us fed. As we ventured out into the night, our odyssey took us to three different pillars, old and new, of late-night dining that are sure to do the trick when Taco Bell just won’t cut it.
The authors’ first late-night stop took them to Pantá where they sipped on a Toussaint Daiquiri and split a Catalan Hot Dog. Oh, and they had coffee. Can’t forget the French press coffee. (Photo: KD Holliday)
Pantá
For our first stop, we trekked to a bumping new Midtown Catalan hot spot. Chef/owner Kelly English specifically wanted a late-night menu at his latest endeavor, Pantá, at 2146 Monroe Avenue.
“Pantá is a real view of Catalan eating and the way they approach dining in that region of Spain,” English says. “In Barcelona, a lot of restaurants don’t even open until 7 or 8. We open at 6. They stay open at least until midnight. This is a natural part of what we have set out to provide. The kitchen has been open until 11 on Thursdays and midnight on Friday and Saturday since we opened.”
The response has been great, English says. “We’ve recently changed the program for late night a bit to give our guests what we have heard them asking for — a little more approachable late-night food served with some of the exact same ingredients we use earlier in the evening.”
Diners who come in after 10 p.m. order from a special late-night menu, not from the earlier menu.
“We originally served our entire dinner menu through the end of service. We started this new menu a couple of weeks ago. It is also available during normal hours during Sunday supper.”
Pantá’s late-night menu has six items that harness the restaurant’s Catalan inspiration. They’re all a bit cheaper than the regular menu (think the $8-$12 range). There are some enticing-looking options like the Brava Burger — a patty of spiced beef with grilled onions, mozzarella, olive pickles, and brava sauce — or Pantá’s take on a Philly — made with pork secreto, slow-cooked onions and peppers, and a healthy helping of “melty white cheesiness.” We opted for the Catalan Hot Dog to start, a grilled “glizzy” placed on a bun, but there’s no sauerkraut-and-mustard combo here. Instead, the dog is topped with escalivada (a traditional Catalan vegetable mix) and a smooth garlic aioli. We cut it in half for an easy shareable and also ordered French press coffee to prepare for the journey ahead.
But perhaps the best late-night snack is the Loaded Brava Fries. It’s almost like a fries-based version of loaded nachos but with a Catalan twist. Let’s just say it certainly made a good impression. The tender, slow-roasted duck is delicious and very easy to scarf down with a handful of fries. And there’s a bit of a kick to it from a spicy harissa pepper sauce. It’s an approachable, but elevated, snack that has all the right ingredients to keep that buzz from spilling over. All the while, front-of-house manager and overall vibe-setter Aaron Ivory is ready to whip up one of his specialties.
“Personally, I like that we have a spot for people in my industry to come after work,” English says. “Or people in the world of theater. Both patrons and professionals. A place that can grow with what we think is a new chapter of Midtown that is coming about. I love the new avenue of freedom that our manager, Aaron Ivory, can show behind the bar and our chef, Patrick Kee, can express in the food.”
A group of young people came in Pantá around 11 p.m. and sat at a table in the dining room. They wanted to eat after leaving Tiger and Peacock, says Ken LeGassey. This was their first time at Pantá.
They wanted to eat as well as “continue to drink and socialize,” LeGassey says. Speaking for themselves and other young people out on the town, he says, “After they’ve been drinking, they’re looking for a place with the right food that’s unique, high-quality.” LeGassey and his friends found it at Pantá. “This is the new Taco Bell.”
Like Priscilla Presley, our authors made their way to Alex’s Tavern, where they caught up with owner Rocky Kasaftes about his famous Greek Burger. (Photo: Samuel x. Cicci)
Alex’s Tavern
Our next stop took us to Alex’s Tavern, which has been serving food late at night for decades.
Rocky’s dad, Alex Kasaftes, who opened the bar in 1953, used to serve ham sandwiches.
“Remember the big hams? You could put a ham in a rack and slice off the bone? He did that.”
After his dad died in 1978, Rocky took over the bar. He began serving hamburgers, but he also concentrated on people who arrived late. “It was really for restaurant people that got off work at 11 or whatever. That’s kind of how it started. For a while it was mostly restaurant people or people who worked at the hospital or police to get a burger.”
His mother, Eugenia Kasaftes, would “make the patties at home, slice cheese and tomato, and I’d come pick it up.” Alex’s Tavern served food until 3 a.m. in those days. Now, it’s until midnight during the week and maybe 1 or 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Rocky now makes the hamburgers, which are 80/20 ground chuck. “My mom was big on just a good ol’ burger with salt and pepper, but we added Cavender’s to it.” Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning is on just about everything Rocky serves. He even sprinkles it on the potato chips. “Cavender’s, that’s the key to everything, which makes us different, I guess.”
His Greek Burgers have “the good crust on the outside.” And, he says, “You never press it on the grill. Never do that. The cheese has to be melted. You never want cold cheese on a piece of meat.”
Alex Tavern’s Greek Burger was featured on Burger Land with host George Motz on the Travel Channel and in Motz’s book, Hamburger America.
Rocky began doing hot wings in the late ’80s. “They’re not breaded at all. We just fry them.”
He dips the wings in a vat of Texas Pete Hot Sauce and butter for those who want hotter wings. He dips the others in a vat of Wicker’s marinade and Worcestershire sauce for people who prefer a milder snack. “I put them on the plate and sprinkle the Greek seasoning on top.”
He also uses Cavender’s on his ribs, which he began doing during football season about 20 years ago. He adds apple juice to the ribs while he cooks them. He then adds Wicker’s marinade and Worcestershire sauce. “While I cook them, I spray them with apple juice. Then when they’re almost done, we wrap them in tinfoil and I’ll put more apple juice on them. They’ll steam in that juice on the flattop.”
Gumbo came next. “It’s just really shrimp, sauce, and chicken. I’ll add other stuff, of course.”
He also does barbecued shrimp with lemon butter and garlic and cold shrimp with his own sauce “with lots of horseradish. Enough to where it brings a tear to your eye.” Usually during the winter Rocky makes his mother’s Mama K’s homemade vegetable beef soup.
Sometimes he makes toasted ravioli and fried cheese and pork tenderloin for special occasions, including events he caters. “Usually, I’m the one cooking. I like it that way.”
But Rocky doesn’t stop there. “I’ll do stuff for folks when they request it. A filet with a baked potato and salad, filet and shrimp. I’ve made my mom’s spaghetti recipe. Everything is from scratch. I made Alfredo with shrimp or chicken. They just have to let me know ahead of time. And they do.”
They’ll say, “Hey, I want something different.” And Rocky responds, “Okay, I got it.”
Just like when he came up with a grilled cheese sandwich for Presley. “I think I put two or three different kinds of cheese on it just for her.”
“Tell Rocky I’m coming back on Elvis Week in August,” Presley says. “I’m going to be here for about five or six days. It’s a wonderful, wonderful restaurant, and I know I’m going to get great food. Especially great grilled cheese sandwiches.”
An unusual menu item, the Tofu Nachos are RP Tracks’ secret weapon. (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
RP Tracks
The final stretch of our journey took us to RP Tracks at 3547 Walker Avenue, home of an eclectic guest list, thirsty University of Memphis students, and those oh-so-delectable barbecue tofu nachos. It’s a tried-and-true template, one that’s been working for Tracks and its customers for almost four decades now. Mary Laws has been running the place alongside her husband, Bernard, since 2015, after buying Tracks from original owners Rick Johns and Peter Moon.
And Laws has her own history there. “I’m a U of M grad, and I’d started working at RP Tracks in 2004,” she says. “And I met Bernard there. I was a server, he was a dishwasher, so it was kind of like a fairy-tale story that Rick and Peter approached us to buy the place.”
And since taking over seven years ago, Laws has continued to make sure that Tracks is a place that anyone can come to for some relaxation and recreation. And maybe even to meet some new people. “We’ve got a large crowd Monday through Friday that comes to watch Jeopardy!,” she says. “And late at night hanging out at the bar or in the restaurant, it’s so easy to strike up a conversation with someone who is virtually a stranger to you.”
Laws says Tracks has grown the food side of the business since trimming down the menu so that the cooks could get things out more efficiently. “We only have eight or so feet of cooking space, so they were bending themselves into pretzels to accommodate the larger menu.” But one steadfast presence at Tracks has been the popular barbecue tofu nachos. It’s the perfect snack, and certainly a perfect choice for late-night diners. It’s a heaping bowl, with thin chips covered with all the regular fixings: jalapeños, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, and sour cream. But Tracks’ secret weapon added to the mix is the layer of black bean chili (carnivores can order meat chili instead) that accentuates the crispy tofu blocks. And there are plenty of other nacho customization options to find the right flavor.
“Those nachos are wonderful and delicious, and always have been,” says Laws. “But I also enjoy our barbecue chicken Gouda quesadilla, and I like to put hot sauce on there for some heat. And the RP Burger with cheddar cheese is my other go-to.”
And at RP Tracks, there’s almost always something for everyone. The menu is “all over the place, in a good way,” says Laws, boasting everything from quesadillas to nachos to burgers to sandwiches to salads. But the ace up Tracks’ sleeve is the wealth of vegetarian bar food options they have for late arrivals. There are the nachos, of course, but the sandwiches and quesadillas both have a separate “animal-friendly” section featuring more tofu and fresh vegetables. Even hot wings can be swapped out for tofu slices. “It’s really important we have that. In addition to being the place where I cut my teeth on drinking, it’s where I also grew to really appreciate vegetarian food.”
For now, Tracks’ kitchen is open until 12:30 a.m., with the bar closing half an hour later. While Tracks would stay open until 3 a.m. pre-Covid, Laws says they didn’t see much business during that last hour and likely won’t bring that back. However, they will be expanding their hours again soon, pushing the kitchen to 1:30 a.m., with closing at 2 a.m. “We’ve been getting everyone acclimated again to our new schedules,” says Laws. “And I think in mid-August, we’ll be ready to keep our kitchen open until 1:30.”
Laws’ push to return to later hours comes from her trouble finding places to eat late on her drive home. “I would leave Tracks at midnight and be driving around, and things just weren’t open. And I think that’s one of the ways Covid really shaped things. I realized, ‘My god, there’s not much late-night dining anymore! We’ve gotta stay open until 1:30 so that people have a place to go, a place to eat.’ And I think that’s something a lot of Memphians want.”
Barbecue sushi from Poke Paradise (Photo: Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh)
If you’re a Memphis chef, chances are you’ve thought about creating some kind of barbecue. Or maybe you already have.
But what would be your “signature” barbecue? Even if the idea is still in your imagination?
Tamra Patterson, chef/owner of Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe: “If Chef Tam created her style of barbecue/meat, it would be barbecue catfish stuffed with a barbecue jambalaya. No matter what I cook, I always have to infuse my love of Cajun food and Cajun culture.”
Jonathan Magallanes, chef/owner of Las Tortugas: “My style would be twice-cooked for an extra texture. First, braised like carnitas with whole orange, bay leaf, lard, lime, and green chile. Then flash-fried in peanut oil. At Tops Bar-B-Q, I ask for extra dark meat on the sandwich. That bark and meat crust is divine. Then I would use a chipotle salsa. Pork is braised in a huge copper kettle. Chipotle, cilantro, lime, and onion for garnish. I like to do the whole rack of ribs this way, or shoulder. Crispy pork is the best pork, as it accentuates and concentrates the porcine flavor.”
Mario Grisanti, owner of Dino’s Grill: “I make my own barbecue sauce, but I make it sweet. I would make a beef brisket and smoked pork barbecue lasagna with layers of meats, mozzarella cheese, etc. Thin layers of each covered in barbecue sauce.”
Chip Dunham, chef/owner of Magnolia & May: “One of my favorite barbecue dishes I’ve created is our Tacos con Mempho. I smoke my own pork shoulder for 12 hours and serve it on two corn tortillas with American cheese melted between them, avocado salsa, and tobacco onions. At brunch, we simply just add a scrambled egg and it’s a breakfast taco. Another one of my favorites was our barbecue butternut squash sandwich. We roast butternut squash and toss it with some Memphis barbecue sauce. It’s a vegan sandwich that satisfies the biggest meat-eater.”
Kelly English, chef/owner of Restaurant Iris and The Second Line: “If I were to try to put my own fingerprints on what Memphis already does perfectly, I would play around with fermentations and chili peppers. I would also explore the traditions of barbacoa in ancient Central American and surrounding societies.”
Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh, Poke Paradise food truck owner: “I made a roll with barbecue meats a long time ago. Made with Central BBQ ribs. I made them plenty of times when I hung out with my barbecue friends. I did it in my rookie years. Inside is all rib meat topped with rib meat, barbecue crab mix, thin-sliced jalapeño, dab of sriracha, furikake, green onion.”
Armando Gagliano, Ecco on Overton Park chef/owner: “My favorite meat to smoke is pork back ribs. I keep the dry rub pretty simple: half brown sugar to a quarter adobo and a quarter salt. I smoke my ribs at 250-275 degrees using post oak wood and offset smoker. … The ribs are smoked for three hours and spritzed with orange juice and sherry vinegar every 30 minutes. After three hours, I baste with a homemade barbecue sauce that includes a lot of chipotle peppers and honey. Wrap the ribs in foil and put back on the smoker for two hours. After that, remove from the smoker and let rest in the foil for another hour. They should pull completely off the bone, but not fall apart when handled.”
FreeSol, owner of Red Bones Turkey Legs at Carolina Watershed: “I am already doing it with the turkey legs. We are smoking these legs for hours till they fall of the bone. … We [also] flavor them and stuff them.”
Ryan Trimm, chef/owner of Sunrise Memphis and 117 Prime: “Beef spare ribs are a personal favorite of mine. A nice smoke with a black pepper-based rub followed by a fruit-based sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce is my way to go.”
And even Huey’s gets in on the act. Huey’s COO Ashley Boggs Robilio says, “Recipe created by Huey’s Midtown day crew: Huey’s world famous BBQ brisket burger. Topped with coleslaw and fried jalapeños.”
Continuing to celebrate barbecue month in Memphis, more chefs share ’que ideas in next week’s Memphis Flyer.
