This dish comes from one of the restaurant’s featured in Memphis magazine’s Dining Issue.
The first person to correctly ID the dish and where I’m eating wins a fabulous prize.
To enter, submit your answer to me via email at ellis@memphisflyer.com.
The answer to GWIE 60 is the Barefoot bowl at Maui Brick Oven, and the winner is … Leigh Buck!
In recent years, Memphis has seen the resurgence of several neighborhoods that most people had written off: places like Overton Square, South Main, and Broad Avenue. Inevitably, those comebacks have been preceded by ferocious bouts of murmuring. Did you hear that Overton Square is coming back? I heard it’s coming back.
Now people have started murmuring about a new neighborhood: Crosstown. Buoyed by the redevelopment of the old Sears building, this formerly disinvested district is starting to show signs of life — and nowhere is that more apparent than at Midtown Crossing.
Justin Fox Burks
Midtown Crossing’s Octavia Young
This friendly neighborhood pub was started by chefs Jeremiah Shields and Octavia Young. Both cooked at Harrah’s in Tunica; both lost their jobs when the casino closed. But in this case, Tunica’s loss is Memphis’ gain.
“I love it here,” admits Young. “I was all set to move to North Carolina, but I wasn’t feeling it. It’s not my scene at all.”
Shields and Young want Midtown Crossing to be a center for the local community. Which is easy enough to say, but they actually seem to be following through on it. When I visited, there was a ukulele night going on in the main dining room.
The concept is simple. Take people who can play the uke and people who want to learn. Get everybody together in a big room — parents, children, hipsters, weirdos — and let them figure it out. All right, it gets pretty noisy. But it’s actually kinda cool when you think about it.
As far as food goes, Midtown Crossing serves an upscale take on pub grub: pizzas, sandwiches, nachos, cheese sticks. I say “upscale” because they do most of it in-house: They smoke their own meat and cure their own bacon. They pickle their own onions and make their own tomato jam.
The best thing I tried was the Wild Mushroom Pizza ($11). Although the mushrooms likely weren’t wild — they were too big, too unblemished — it was nonetheless quite tasty, served with crumbled bacon, caramelized onions, and topped with a fried egg.
Although many of the dishes lean heavily on meat, Young says she is interested in developing more vegetarian and vegan offerings. And she’s got time: Midtown Crossing just opened in December. For now, it seems to be hitting the right note. When I visited, it was crowded with a mix of twentysomethings, neighborhood regulars, and families.
When people talk about Maui Brick Oven, they tend to mention two things. First: gluten-free. Second: Germantown. And while both are technically correct, they also miss the point. Yes, Maui is out past Saddle Creek on Poplar. Yes, the restaurant eschews gluten, which is another word for wheat products.
But no one’s talking about the food, and food is the real story. It’s light, loaded with local vegetables — and actually pretty affordable. In a city swimming in greasy barbecue nachos, Maui is a breath of fresh air.
Take the Barefoot Bowl ($11). Beautiful portobello mushroom slices are arranged in a fan across the top of this hearty vegan dish, which includes pickled carrots, onions, and cauliflower, garlic kale, mandarin orange slices, and crispy garbanzo beans. It’s served over a bed of quinoa and brown rice and drizzled with Thai coconut sauce.
More to the point? It’s delicious.
“Sometimes these big burly dudes come in here for lunch,” says general manager Dana Doggrell, “and I can tell, they don’t know it’s gluten-free.
“And you know what?” he continues. “I don’t tell them. Because they’re enjoying it, and I don’t want to mess with that.”
Maui’s is owned by restaurateurs Taylor Berger and Michael Tauer, who launched it in partnership with the original Maui, in Hawaii. Tauer says he got the idea while vacationing with his wife, who can’t eat gluten.
In addition to pathbreaking grain bowls, the menu also features more traditional fare: things like crunchy coconut shrimp and brick-oven pizza. I particularly liked the Paradise Pesto Pizza ($14), loaded with artichoke hearts, roasted garlic, Greek olives, and feta.
If I had tasted that pizza without knowing it was gluten-free, you know what I would have said? Dang, that’s a good crust. Thin and crispy. Germantown or not, I’ll be heading back to Maui.
Last winter, Holly Whitfield of the I Love Memphis Blog announced that Memphis is in the midst of a spectacular “Foodnado.” How apt! My cursory count of restaurants, breweries, and sundry food-related places that opened in 2014 adds up to 40, and not all of them in Overton Square.
But, then again, a lot of them are in Overton Square. Babalu Tacos & Tapas opened in June, offering tableside-prepared guacamole and lots of sharing plates. The place has been packed since. In August came Jimmy Ishii’s Robata Ramen & Yakitori Bar with a fine menu of ramen noodle bowls and skewers. Lafayette’s Music Room, an homage to the original much-loved, circa-’70s Overton Square bar named for the recently passed away ace bartender Lafayette Draper, opened in September and features wood-fired pizzas and a music schedule set at palatable hours. Schweinehaus, a cheeky Memphis take on German food, also opened in September. There’s beer, brats, and the occasional lederhosen sighting — what’s not to like? If you need olive oil, there’s the Square Olive, and there’s more music and fun at the Chicago-based Zebra Lounge.
Justin Fox Burks
Robata Ramen & Yakitori Bar
The most recent addition to Overton Square is Belly Acres, a farm-to-table burger restaurant, the latest of three burger-centric places to open in Memphis. This trend has our full endorsement. Belly Acres has a fantasyland interior and a menu that demands to be gone through one burger at a time. Down the street, there’s LBOE (Last Burger on Earth). Its menu raises the bar with such burgers as the super spicy Lava Me or Lava Me Not and the garlic-laden Love Stinks. Oshi Burger Bar downtown has something for everyone — beef burgers, tuna burgers, vegetarian burgers, gluten-free buns. They also have great milkshakes.
Justin Fox Burks
Oshi Burger Bar on South Main
Plenty of glasses have been raised at the taprooms opened in 2014 at High Cotton Brewing Co. and Memphis Made Brewing Co., and Memphis promises to get buzzier still in the new year with Pyramid Vodka. Wine in grocery stores finally passed, and while that doesn’t happen until 2016, local liquor stores are making the best of it with growler stations and more.
In grocery-store news: Whole Foods opened its expanded store in East Memphis, which includes a site-specific barbecue restaurant and a growler station. There’s the new Fresh Market in Midtown, and Kroger continues to show its commitment to Memphis in updating its stores, most recently the one at Cleveland and Poplar. Plus, there’s been some buzz about a Trader Joe’s opening sometime somewhere. We shall see.
In coffee news: Everybody freaked out when Muddy’s Bake Shop announced a new Midtown store in August 2013. Muddy’s Grind House opened this fall and offers a little of everything, from coffee to breakfast eats and yoga. The Avenue, near the University of Memphis, has great coffee and treats with Christian fellowship. There’s also Cafe Keough downtown in a gorgeous setting with a great cafe Americano. Tart offers quiches and more — a great go-to place when expectations are high. Ugly Mug took over the Poplar Perk’n space, and Jimmy Lewis, who founded Squash Blossom, returned to the scene with Relevant Roasters, selling wholesale, environmentally sound, and worker-friendly coffee with the motto “Every Cup Matters.”
After a few false starts, the Riverfront Development Corporation came through with Riverfront Grill. It serves a sophisticated but not too syrupy Southern menu and also has some of the best views in Memphis. Also new this year to downtown are the Kwik Chek spinoff Nacho’s, Marie’s Eatery in the old Rizzo’s Diner spot, and Cafe Pontotoc. Rizzo’s moved into the old Cafe Soul site, and there’s the Love Pop Soda Shop, a nifty craft soda shop.
In East Memphis, Skewer, serving Yakitori and ramen, opened in January. 4 Dumplings opened around the same time, and, as its name suggests, the menu is built around four dumplings. The vegan dumpling with tofu is not to be missed.
Since at least four people mentioned to me that Jackson Kramer’s Bounty on Broad is “secretly” gluten-free, I’m guessing it’s not really a secret. The dishes at this lovely farm-to-table spot are thoughtfully done and a delight to look at. The menu changes frequently, but at a recent dinner, there were mussels in fragrant coconut milk, charred broccolini, and creamed kale served over polenta. Also gluten-free is the Hawaiian import Maui Brick Oven, serving brick-oven pizzas and grain bowls.
Justin Fox Burks
Bounty on Broad’s Jackson Kramer
At Ecco on Overton Park, Sabine Bachmann’s cozy neighborhood restaurant, there are heaping dishes of pork chops, delicate pasta dishes, and artful cheese plates — something for every appetite. Strano Sicilian Kitchen & Bar serves a great roasted carrot soup and Italian classics from meatballs to pizza.
At press time, Porcellino’s, Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman’s latest venture, was due to open “any minute now.” File this one under “This Should Be Interesting.” This is a butcher shop/sundry/coffee spot/wine bar offering grab-and-go sandwiches, fresh pastas, cured meats, house-made pastries, and more.
Maui Brick Oven, a restaurant in Maui, Hawaii, that serves healthful, gluten-free dishes, including brick-oven pizzas, has opened a new location in Germantown.
The restaurant’s interior has a modern, Pacific-inspired brightness. The staff was friendly and helpful, giving detailed answers to my questions about some of the menu items.
I visited the restaurant on the second day of its soft opening at the end of November. The menu features rice bowls, salads, brick oven pizzas, and finger foods like coconut shrimp, chicken satay, and chicken tenders.
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I ordered the Bi Bim Bowl ($11), which was a bowl of basmati rice and broth topped with a fried egg, pickled kimchi, portabella mushroom, candied carrots, and crispy kale.
My uncle ordered the Kalua Pig pizza ($16), which had a thin gluten-free crust covered in barbecue sauce, braised pork shoulder, caramelized onions, and mozzarella cheese (they can also substitute vegan Daiya cheese).
On their own, the ingredients in the Bi Bim Bowl were pretty tasty (the crispy kale and candied carrots were delicious), but overall, the bowl could have used a little more flavor – maybe some extra seasoning in the broth or a little hot sauce spritzed over top to bring the flavors together. My uncle’s pizza had a hearty serving of barbecue on it, and he gave it two thumbs up.
About half of the menu is vegan or has a vegan option, making Maui Brick Oven a good option if you hold to a vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free diet, or if you’re just looking for a healthier place to dine out.