Tag: porcellino’s

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Wok’n in Memphis Pop Up Sunday


Wok’n in Memphis will make its Memphis debut on Sunday at Porcellino’s. Its first go was in Seattle.

Wait … what?

Wok’n’s Spencer Coplan is from Seattle. He moved to Memphis a little over a year ago with his girlfriend who is a teacher with Teach for America.

Coplan’s background is in fine dining. He worked for Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen. But, he says, “I’ve always had this love for Asian food, especially Chinese food.”

We’re talking the cheap, feed-the-masses Chinese food — beef broccoli, crab rangoon, orange chicken, and the like.

Coplan says his version is with “better quality ingredients, elevated but not in any way pretentious.”

Sunday’s dinner is $20 per person and includes an appetizer. Drinks can be purchased through Porcellino’s.

Here’s the menu:

Vegetable Eggrolls
Pork Dumplings
Sichuan Eggplant

Fried Brussel Sprouts with Chinese Sausage

Entrée
(select one)

General Tso’s Chicken
Beef & Broccoli
Kung Pao Shrimp
Mapo Tofu
Sweet & Sour Pork

Sides
(select one)
Steamed Rice
Veggie Lo Mein
Egg Fried Rice

Coplan says he’s in the “getting off the ground” stage. He does catering and he’s working on an upcoming pop up at the Cove.

To purchase tickets, go to www.wokninmemphis.com.

Categories
Cover Feature News

Shop Local, Memphis!

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Meet Your Makers

Let’s fantasize for a moment. This holiday season, wouldn’t it feel good to resist the suck of Target or a crowded shopping mall? Consider a gift not made in China or replicated by the dozens in every color and pre-wrapped so you’re done with absolutely no thought at all. Think about the heft of a lovingly made earthenware bowl or a piece of handcrafted jewelry, made by someone you might very well bump into at your local coffee shop.

Shop local, support your local artisan. This is easy enough to do in Memphis, where there are dozens of makers crafting their wares. We spoke to a few of them, and we have a few ideas …

If you have eyeballs, then you’ve seen the work of Michelle Duckworth. The Bartlett native is an illustrator/artist whose work has hung in local galleries. Duckworth also participates in 10 to 12 artists’ markets a year, selling her mounted wood prints.

Duckworth describes her work as “fairytale-ish — a snapshot from the middle of the story.” She’s inspired by fairy tales and folk tales and old illustrated books from around the world. The works call to mind Grimm’s Fairy Tales — images that are at the same time pleasing to look at but a little scary, too. “They walk the line between being kind of nice and being kind of off,” she says.

Duckworth’s work is available at Five in One Social Club on Broad and through her Etsy shop at MichelleDuckworth.

If this speaks to you, you’ll want to check out the porcelain works of babycreep — pretty baby faces shorn off for planters, a tiny spoon that tapers into a finger. Fingers figure a lot in her work. There’s jewelry, too. Also available at Five in One Social Club.

Justin Fox Burks

babycreep’s wares

“I like to make my jewelry so that you see a cohesive design first. The tickle comes from the fact that it’s food,” says Funlola Coker.

Coker is primarily known for her oh-so-tiny and stunningly detailed food jewelry. Donuts, sushi, peas, asparagus, bacon and eggs, avocados, cauliflower, and more adorn her earrings and rings.

“I like to think that it’s for everyone,” she says. “A lot of people assume it’s for quirky or alternative folk, but really you can pair a simple pair of donut earrings with a chic grey dress.”

Is it the appeal of the food or working in miniature that drives her? It’s both, she says. “I love food and food presentation. I feel like I enjoy my food a lot more with good presentation. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just visually appealing. However, I love to dive into the process of my work. Rolling out tiny peas or texturing a little piece of chicken is extremely satisfying. It’s all very time consuming, but the more I do it the faster I get, and before I realize it, I’ve iced 60 miniature donuts by the end of the day.”

Coker’s work is available at Five in One Social Club and at funlolacoker.com.

Looking for a unique set of earrings? Five in One’s popular Grit and Grind earrings are one way to show that you are a homer. Their pretty tinysaw label earrings bring to mind architecture and beehives.

After Lisa Wheeler graduated from college with a degree in ceramics, she was itching to make something … anything. But, she decided, it would have to be something she could use, something she needed. And that’s how she ended up making soap.

Her first batch involved coconut oil, olive oil, and lye. (“The lye really freaked me out,” she says.) She let the soap cure for two months, and then she tried it out. “I loved it,” Wheeler says. “I felt like a chemist.”

After experimenting with ingredients, Wheeler was ready to launch her line — LATHA. First she needed a gimmick. She’d seen cupcake soaps, cake soaps. She then hit upon drink soaps. Among her Bawdy Bars, which come in a cup, are Electric Lemonade, Sparkling Mojito, and Sex on the Beach. LATHA also sells bath bombs, including the Jager bomb, and scrubs such as On the Rocks. For the recent Crafts and Drafts event, LATHA introduced beer-inspired soaps.

Susan Ellis

LATHA soap

One drink she hasn’t been able to translate into soap is bubble tea. The color was weird. “I’m going to revisit that,” she says.

LATHA soaps are available at lathabar.com.

Need to clean up your act? Check out Gifts from Nature. Some of their bar soaps: the blue-striped Seersucker, Rehab (with charcoal), and the Mannish. Available at www.gfnsoap.com. — Susan Ellis

Naughty and Nice

Aunt Margaret would clutch her pearls if she got the “Merry Fucking Christmas” card from Five in One Social Club, but Uncle Bob would love it.

You can’t please everyone all the time, especially when it comes to holiday gifting. But you can get pretty close if you shop locally.

Small, locally owned retail shops dot the landscape from Broad to the river. In them, you can find beautiful, useful things for the nice people on your list, like Aunt Margaret, and funny, kitschy things for those on your naughty list (lookin’ at you, Uncle Bob).

The Nice List

You know that friend that is In. Love. With. Memphis? Stock and Belle on Broad offers up tons o’ tasty treats to help get them grit, ground, and Bluff-i-fied.

Look for artist Kyle Taylor‘s prints of a melty, good-enough-to-eat Pancho’s cheese dip man and Taylor’s huge prints of a matadored Marc Gasol as Big Spain. Stock and Belle also carries plenty of Memphis wearables, like the Nine Oh One trucker hat and the house-made “Embrace Your Inner Memphis” T-shirt.

For the luxe-loving jet-setter on your list, hit up 20twelve on Broad. The store focuses on high-end fashion, and, while picking out clothes for somebody else can be tricky, 20twelve has plenty of perfect gift items.

Toby Sells

20twelve

Chocolate-bacon-pretzel bites, anyone? Yes, everyone. That’s but one flavor in Sugarfina’s Vice Collection candy bento box, which also includes maple bourbon caramels and pale ale gummies.

20twelve also sells many high-end fragrance brands — and gift cards, of course.

That friend of yours who won’t stop talking about running probably loves Breakaway Running. Its Overton Square location still feels new and has everything to get your running buddy on the road — or trail.

Picking out clothes for someone else is tough (that’s double for running clothes), but you can’t go wrong with a pair of Yurbuds, the sport earphones that just won’t fall out. Ever. Or, get your runner some nighttime illumination, like a Petzl headlamp.

A sense of adventure fills you up when you open the door at Outdoors Inc., and you see all the gear you could possibly need to enjoy the, well, outdoors.

Toby Sells

Outdoors Inc. medical kit

Your pal may do that fake smile thing when she opens the Adventure Medical Kit from Bighorn, but she’ll be praising your name when she’s mending a wound on the trail. If you want to win Christmas, give someone the Yeti Hopper, the indestructible, always-cold cooler that has become a status symbol for the outdoor set.

Toby Sells

Breakaway Running headlamp

The Naughty List

Let’s get straight to the penis candles, shall we?

Tater Red’s has been a shopping mecca for Beale Street tourists (and locals alike) for more than two decades. It’s a cornucopia of the peculiar and profane.

You know you have one friend who would love one of Tater’s penis candles, (which come in red and black). Tater has vagina candles, too, but he was out of those on a recent visit. Also, look for a ton of throwback Memphis sports gear, adult coloring books, voodoo dolls, and Hangover Helper Mints.

Toby Sells

Tater Red’s mints

Okay, we’re back at Five in One, but we’re on the Naughty List and, well, the Broad Avenue shop is the only place you’re going to find that “Merry Fucking Christmas” card, which is made in-house. Five in One has tons of great, original Memphis-themed stuff, like Samantha Crespo’s new book, 100 Things to Do in Memphis Before You Die Vol. 2, T-shirts and sweaters, and Beerings — earrings made from cans of Memphis beers.

Toby Sells

Before You Die

Maggie’s Pharm is another great Nice List shopping place, but Maggie also loves the naughty snark.

That special someone in your life needs a pair of socks that read, “I hate everyone, too.” You’ve got that other friend who needs a bottle of “I Can’t Believe I Fucked That Guy” hand sanitizer. Load up on stocking stuffers like “I Love My Penis” gum, “Coffee Makes Me Poop” gum, or “Mother Fucking Girl Power” gum.

Toby Sells

Maggie’s Pharm socks

Maggie’s also has nice cards, wide selections of herbs, coffees, teas, and more. But, y’know, go for the gum and the socks.

Head on down to A. Schwab on Beale Street, and bring home a fat sack of 100 percent USDA-certified Memphis kitsch.

You want the authentic hip-swiveling Elvis clock? How about a pair of Elvis sunglasses (you know the ones)? A TCB patch legit enough to fool even the Memphis Mafia? Go to Schwab. And what says Christmas more than a pink Elvis snow globe refrigerator magnet?

There’s plenty of great non-Elvis stuff, too, like a “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Beale Street” coozie, an old-school collectible Memphis plate, and Beale veteran John Elkington’s kids book, The Pirates of the Gayoso Bayou. — Toby Sells

Eat, Drink, Be Merry

I’m not big on giving gifts of food for Christmas. What with all the ham, weird wedges of cheese, chemically enhanced popcorn, loads of cookies, and tins and tins of peppermint bark — erp! — it’s too much. But there are exceptions. Lots of exceptions …

You can’t go wrong with a bottle of Pyramid vodka. The general reception for this smooth delight: Hells, yeah! And, if the holiday family-together time is getting to you, we recommend you grab your friends and take a tour of the Pyramid facilities. You’ll learn something, for sure, and the tour is capped off with a taste of the product. You might want to call to make sure they’re open first, though: 576-8844.

Absolutely nobody complains about a gift certificate from Joe’s Liquor or Hammer & Ale. For the mixologist on your list, there’s the Elixir No. 01 line — simple syrup, mint julep, and orange and green chile syrup — from the Crazy Good folks.

I receive a tin of Aunt Lizzie’s cheese straws every year. If I don’t get one, there’s going to be trouble. Bad trouble. These are the perfect snack for sports-watching or Netflix-binging during that lovely stretch between Christmas and New Year’s.

For out-of-town folks, get them an order of barbecue — Corky’s, Rendezvous, Germantown Commissary, doesn’t matter — and you’ll be treated like a damn hero. Another option: a gift box from Memphis Flavor (memphisflavor.com). The Memphis Flavor Original Sampler box includes barbecue sauce from Central BBQ, a jar of Flo’s Homemade Goodness, Makeda’s Cookies, and more.

I’m a sucker for good packaging. Judy Pound Cakes’ simple brown box, tied in string and stamped with a pound sign, rings all my bells. The cakes come in all sorts of flavors — chocolate cayenne, cherry almond, plum — but the Plain Ol’ pound cake is my favorite. Makes a good hostess/host gift.

Susan Ellis

Judy Pound Cakes

Your dog has been a good, good dog. (Forget about the couch!) Treat him or her right with a bag of Farm House Santa Paws, yogurt-iced peanut butter cookies, available at Curb Market. Donuts, brownies, muffins, and cupcakes — why not? At Hollywood Feed Bakery, each treat was created specifically for your pup.

Susan Ellis

House Santa Paws

Susan Ellis

Hollywood Feed Bakery

One of my go-to gifts for Christmas, birthdays, house-warmings, whatever is Dinstuhl’s Cashew Crunch. The angels sang when they created this candy. I once gave a friend a box as a thank-you present, and she ended up breaking a tooth. After three or four visits to the dentist, she was totally fine and still eating the crunch.

Hipsters need gifts too. Scratch ’em off your list with a jar of brilliant red Koolickles from Porcellino’s. Pickles and Kool-Aid — it’s a match made in … well, we’re not sure exactly where.

Susan Ellis

Koolickles from Porcellino’s

The caramels from Shotwell Candy are a fine, fine thing indeed. Just thinking about the Craft Beer & Pretzel caramel, I’m misting up. You might want to warn the recipient that this gift is precious and should be hidden immediately in their secret snack drawer.

Susan Ellis

Shotwell Candy

GiveGood Toffee makes an excellent stocking stuffer. At $5 for a pack-of-cards-sized box, it’s a little pricey, but the company was founded to empower young adults living on the autism spectrum. Learn more at givegoodco.com.

Susan Ellis

GiveGood Toffee

For those who like to represent, there’s the Nine Oh One coffee mug, available at 387 Pantry. The stoneware beer cup by Erica Bodine Pottery is pretty special, too, and you can put it in the dishwasher. You can find one at Miss Cordelia’s.

Susan Ellis

387 Pantry coffee mug

Muddy’s Bakery has made its rep on delicious cupcakes and gnome-tastic adorableness. The “Hustle n’ Dough” T-shirt features gnomes and a tumbling stack of pies. Resistance is futile. — Susan Ellis

Susan Ellis

Muddy’s Bake Shop T-shirt

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

City & State: A Clean, Well-Lighted Place


I spend a lot of time at City & State. It is a clean, well-lighted place (sic). Literally. It is flush with northern light from the sweeping wall of windows across the front — a great draw for an enthused iphoneographer. The decor is simple, industrial and graceful. The shop makes me feel creative just looking at all of the handmade goods, both local and national. And I can get a lot of writing done there.


At least these are the things I tell myself. Really, I’m pretty sure it’s the sugar demon that lives inside of me that disguises itself as someone with taste.


Because really, I want the Lumberjack Latte and the sticky bun from Porcellino’s.


The Lumberjack Latte is a latte with maple, pecan, and cinnamon. You forget that there’s an end to it, or you just don’t care, because you look down, and it’s gone. I think they named it that because it could serve as a meal. Or does it have something to do with the beard trend? Maybe that’s too last year?


The sticky bun is technically a bun made out of croissant bread flavored with lemon zest and fennel pollen and sealed with caramelized sugar. What that translates into is a croissant marinated in heaven and encrusted with God’s tears of joy. They’re fun to eat too. There are so many textures which lead to the gooey center, it’s like Candyland came to life and got a Pastry Arts Management degree.


Recently I went by and met with a friend, and because I did not want the extra caffeine (see: sleep issues), I got the Matcha Latte with honey and cinnamon. It’s made with tea and full of antioxidants. At least that’s what I tell myself, while it keeps the sugar demon, let’s call her Lucy, short for Lucifer, at bay.

I also picked up a jar of the Big Spoon Almond Cocoa butter from the Pantry, which offers small-batch, handcrafted edibles and mixables, including Maple Bacon-flavored Serious Cheesy Puffs, hot fudge, drink mixers, Himalayan salts, vegan-Paleo chocolate bars, and other fancy stuff.


And I dare someone to finish one of their pecan croissants. They are croissants filled with pecans, brown sugar, and butter, a sort of celestial paste inside the croissant that dopes Lucy up so much that she passes out, and I can’t finish them. So I dare you.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Guess Where I’m Eating Contest 79

Barely got a picture before the plate was cleaned off … 

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 78 is the egg and cheese biscuit at Porcellino’s and the winner is … Huntley Hudgins!

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Porcellino’s Butcher Box, Majestic at 10

• Porcellino’s is offering a weekly meat share called Butcher Box. For $35, you receive enough protein for a meal and a half for two people plus other goodies like pasta and sauce, dessert, Porcellino’s chicken stock, or pastries. Each box
has a theme and is equipped with recipes explaining how to prepare each item. The
boxes are picked up at the butcher counter each Monday.

A recent box included: Italian Wedding soup, chicken stock, 1 parmesan rind, 10 meatballs, Rice Crispy Treats for desserts, 2 smoked pork chops, and pickled tomatillos.

For more information, email Matt Farmer at matt@hogandhominy.com. 

• Majestic Grille is marking its 10th anniversary by holding 10 dinners. 

The “Ten til Ten” series launches on Tuesday, March 24th.

Ten ‘til Ten’ Dinner #1 Menu

Featuring the Estate Wines of Cliff Creek Cellars

Scallop crudo, crispy greens, hot pepper, kumquat & lime

Rousanne/Marsanne 2012

Warm duck salad, goat cheese, hazelnut vinaigrette.

Red Red Wine 2012

Roasted venison, root vegetable cassoulet, truffle reduction

Creek Cabernet 2011

Warm sticky toffee pudding

Claret 2008 

The dinner is $65 per person. Call 522-8555 for reservations. 

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

At the Swine & Wine for Cozy Corner

CREDIT: Frank Chin

Frank Chin

On Monday, Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman hosted Swine & Wine, a benefit for Cozy Corner, which had a fire in January. 

It was a progressive dinner with folks divided between Hog & Hominy and Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and then switching places. The evening culminated in a block party at Porcellino’s. 

The list of participating chefs was long and impressive. Among them Felicia Willett, Kelly English, Jackson Kramer, Patrick Reilly, and Ryan Trimm. 

About 150 people packed the sold-out event, with some $20,000 raised for Cozy Corner. 

Cozy Corner is also raising funds via Go Fund Me. 

All photos are by Frank Chin.

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Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

The things we ate in 2014.

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

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.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Culinary creativity and craft butchery at Porcellino’s.

CREDIT: John Klyce Minervini

With its black-and-white honeycomb tile and quaint vintage tableware, Porcellino’s — the new restaurant from chefs Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer — strikes an appealingly casual note, one that is matched by its affordable menu.

Porcellino’s is essentially two shops. In the front, there’s an espresso-centric, European-style café where you can order pastries for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and small plates for supper. In the back, there’s a craft butcher shop that features traditional steaks, sausages, and cured meats — plus some truly exotic cuts.

I began with a double shot of espresso — which, for me, is kind of a big deal. I’m pathologically sensitive to caffeine, so I usually draw the line at a single cup of green tea in the morning.

It was worth making the exception. The espresso — a Metropolis Redline blend — was like an awakening. It had a thick, creamy body and a beautiful crema, with notes of honey and lavender in the finish. Pair it with a couple of Bomboloni ($2) — fluffy Italian donuts — and you’re ready to take on the world.

“I want our coffee to be a craft experience,” says head barista Destiny Naccarato. “And that means eliminating guesswork. It means timing everything out, measuring it, weighing it.

“I actually think the first sip should be a little shocking,” she adds.

John Klyce Minervini

Apple Cider

On to small plates. When building their menu, chefs Hudman and Ticer say they were inspired by their friend the late Mark Newman of Newman Farm. The word “porcellino” means “baby pig” in Italian, and many dishes were created to showcase the farm’s heritage pork and lamb.

“We kept asking ourselves,” says Ticer, “why do we have to go to New Orleans to get boudin? Why do we have to go to St. Louis to get decent cured meat? We can do those things at least as well as anybody else. Hell, we can do them better.”

One of my favorite dishes was the Collard Green Dumplings ($9). Loaded with collards from Woodson Ridge Farms, spicy nduya sausage, Calabrian chili oil, and Newman Farm pork belly, these demure little rice paper packets pack a punch. But if you can stand the heat, they’ll reward you. Drizzled with benne oil — an aromatic, nutty oil derived from an heirloom ancestor of the sesame seed — they are interestingly tangy and peppery.

John Klyce Minervini

Ash Flour Pita

For those seeking something less spicy, I recommend the Ash Flour Pita — stippled with melted cheese and marinated olives — or the New Orleans-style boudin, served with pickled onions over corn bread porridge.

But Porcellino’s is first and foremost a butcher shop, so I decided to take a tour with head butcher Aaron Winters.

“You remember how, in The Brady Bunch, they had Sam the Butcher?” asks Winters. “That’s what I want. I want people to say, ‘Aaron’s my butcher.’ I want to start the conversation again.”

Naturally, the conversation will include things like tenderloin and pork chops. But part of Winters’ mission at Porcellino’s is to introduce Memphians to more uncommon cuts of meat. Things like bavette — a strip of beef loin that runs along the ribcage — and spider steak — named for its web-like pattern of marbling.

“In America,” Winters says, “most of these cuts get ground up for hamburger, so we never even see them. Which is a shame, because they are some of the tastiest parts of the whole animal.”

To learn about bavette and spider steak, Winters spent the summer in Italy. There he studied with Dario Cecchini, the world’s foremost master butcher, and Filippo Gambassi, scion of an ancient Italian salumi dynasty.

It probably goes without saying, but Winters is the only person within 300 miles of Memphis with that kind of training. Why don’t you pay him a visit and let him recommend something?