Tag: The Second Line

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Chef and Actor Dan Kopera

Dan Kopera (Photo: Michael Donahue)

When it came to recreating cuisine from the recent Indie Memphis Film Festival showing of The Taste of Things, Dan Kopera was a perfect fit.

Or, as they say in the movies, he was typecast.

In addition to being a chef, Kopera, 49, is an actor, who has appeared on stage in local productions.

He put his take on dishes shown in the movie for a tasting October 28th at the old Pantà restaurant after the movie aired at Playhouse on the Square.

Growing up in Michigan, Kopera liked to sing and draw, but he also was intrigued with cooking. “Both my parents were home cooks, but my grandmother was a classically trained chef. She was the home editor for The Detroit News. Kay Kopera.

“One of my earliest memories was standing on the step stool cooking bacon for her when I was about 6.”

His grandmother made cooking fun. “She would explain where things came from. Some of the science behind cooking. And how to taste things along the way while you’re in the midst of making a dish.”

Kopera decided to become a chef. “When I was about 10, 12, that’s what I wanted to do. But my life took a change of direction. I ended up going into college for theater.”

Kopera played Alfred P. Doolittle in Northern Michigan University’s production of My Fair Lady. “But shortly after that, I switched over to the technical side and became a technical director and designer.”

Kopera moved to Memphis in 2001 for graduate school at University of Memphis. “That didn’t work out. I dropped out and got my job at Theatre Memphis.”

He continued to work in the technical side at Theatre Memphis for 14 years. He also spent five years at Germantown Community Theatre.

“I still did some acting here and there throughout the years. In 2019, I won an Ostrander Award for ‘Best Featured Performer in a Musical.’”

He won for his portrayal of Caiaphas, the head priest in Jesus Christ Superstar at The Harrell Performing Arts Theatre in Collierville.

Kopera was working at Germantown when Covid hit. “They kept me on salary until the end of August that year, at which time they furloughed me.”

During Covid, his wife, costume designer Ashley Whitten, began creating and sewing novelty pandemic masks.

In 2021, Kopera got a job as line cook and later rose to kitchen manager at Cafe Ole. He then got a call from Germantown Community Theatre’s executive producer. “He told me, ‘The job is still yours if you want it, but it sounds like you found a new career path.’”

Kopera began working at Pantà in November 2021. “I went with Kelly [English] to Restaurant Iris when it opened [in Laurelwood] for about nine months. And then I moved back to Pantà and became a chef over there in June.

“When they decided it was time to shut down Pantà, I just moved over to The Second Line.”

The old Pantà site is now being used as an event rental space, but Kopera and chef Derk Meitzler currently are “working on a new menu for that place. It will be under the umbrella of The Second Line: The Swamp Bar.”

“It’ll be part of Second Line, but Derk and I are kind of tag-teaming the chef responsibilities of both. Derk is the one that came up with most of the menu for both sides other than Kelly English classics like we’ll always have. I’m working on specials. And I’m working on a lot of the rentals, wine dinners, and those menus.”

Kopera can’t reveal much about The Swamp Bar, but, he says, “We are keeping the David Quarles interior design. That will remain the same.”

Kopera, who originally interviewed with New York grad schools, is glad he chose Memphis. “You can go out and do something any time of the day or night pretty much.”

And, he says, “The theater community is amazing here. The food scene is so good. There are influences from around the world here I can experience without having the stress of living in a city like New York.”

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Hungry Memphis

Eat Like a Movie Actor

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.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Dessert, Anyone?

Ghost meringues coming to Fino’s From the Hill (Photo: Caleb Sigler)

For those who eat too much at restaurants and, heaven forbid, are too stuffed to look at the dessert menu, here are some that restaurants offer, along with fall specials.

Dory: “The desserts at Dory are in the spirit of our childhoods,” says executive chef/co-owner Dave Krog. “Our current six-course dessert is aerated peanut butter mousse, chocolate sponge, salted caramel, blackberry, and peanut dust.”

Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen: “The fall pot de crème will be killer,” says general manager/beverage director Nick Talarico. “Spiced apples with an oat and walnut crumble. It’s like a crème brûlée and vanilla pudding.”

Kinfolk restaurant: “Bourbon pecan crème brûlée,” says chef/owner Cole Jeanes. “We toast the pecans before soaking them in heavy cream with a little orange zest. They steep overnight and, instead of granulated sugar, I use brown sugar. It’s rich, nutty, and super smooth. With a crunchy brûlée topped with candied pecans, there’s a great contrast in textures. Add a little smoked salt for another layer of flavor.”

Las Tortugas: “We do a piña colada flan, a traditional caramel flan that cooks in a water bath in the oven,” says chef/manager Jonathan Magallanes. “We then add roasted and fresh pineapple along with coconut shavings and crushed cashews, Mexican fresh cream, and powdered sugar.”

Acre: “I had an apple custard cake on the menu years ago,” says executive chef Andrew Adams. “The center was soft and custardy with bits of apples, and the top was a little crunchy and caramelized. This fall, I switched out the all-purpose flour with buckwheat. I steam the cake for the first 30 minutes and then put it in a high oven. I made the apples smaller, added cinnamon and cardamom and an oat top. The buckwheat adds a nutty flavor.”

The Beauty Shop Restaurant: Chef/owner Karen Carrier features an array of fall desserts — apple-caramel-almond babka from Love Bread Co., pistachio and fig babka, chocolate meringue pie, pecan pie with scoop of sweet potato gelato, lemon zest-sugar-butter crepe with a scoop of cinnamon Mexican chocolate chili gelato, and a dark chocolate crepe with pumpkin pie gelato.

Salt|Soy: “Chocolate miso chess pie with a sesame crust, Suntory Toki whipped cream, and sesame brittle,” says chef/owner Nick Scott. “It’s our East-meets-West take on chess pie. We started running it last fall and it became our house dessert.”

River Oaks Restaurant: “A lemon mousse with raspberries and caramelized whipped cream,” says general manager Colleen DePete. Another dessert: Chef/owner José Gutierrez will add “a poached pear with homemade vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and dark chocolate ganache garnished with thin cookies tuile.”

Southern Social: “Praline hazelnut cheesecake with caramelized hazelnuts and a warm chocolate sauce,” says pastry chef Franck Oysel.

117 Prime: “Pumpkin Delight Ooey Gooey Bars,” says chef/owner Ryan Trimm. “A rich, buttery cake bottom with a pumpkin spice cream cheese marbled custard baked to perfection.”

Kelly English restaurants: “At Pantà, we’re offering a decadent chocolate hazelnut cup topped with raspberry Chantilly,” says pastry chef Inga Theeke. “Look for that to change to a pumpkin and chai combination later this month. We’ve also played with the presentation of our Mel i Mató and now offer Mel i Cannoli. Mel i Mató is a traditional Catalan dessert that features a loose cheese similar to ricotta covered in honey. We top our house-made ricotta with Bee 901 honey and toasted pistachios. All tucked inside a Neules cone, a Catalan cookie.”

Fino’s From the Hill: “Apple spice bars will be in the case later this week, and ghost meringues will make their appearance later this month.”

The Second Line: “Seasonal desserts are changing to a chocolate pecan pie and caramel apple cheesecake.”

Restaurant Iris: “Desserts here are definitely influenced by the season. Look for a pear tarte Tatin and a pumpkin cheesecake over gluten-free spice cake, among others.”

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

The Second Line Restaurant Changes Its Identity For a Week

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.”

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Memphis Chefs Personalize Barbecuing: Part 1

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.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

ThunderRoad Memphis Delivers Mason Jar Cocktails and More

David Parks and Jef Hicks of ThunderRoad Memphis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Changes Coming to Agave Maria and Second Line

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Jeff Johnson has a hard time sitting still.

In 2010, he opened Local Gastropub in the old Sauces restaurant space downtown. Two years later, he expanded the concept to Overton Square. In 2014, he introduced a burger bar with an Asian twist in the form of Oshi Burger Bar on Main, and last year, Agave Maria opened its doors, offering Mexican-style dishes in an enchanting setting downtown.

Also in there are his recent event and pop-up restaurant space the Green Room on Overton Park, the Lousiana-style food truck Parish Grocery, forming the consulting group RFJ Concepts, assisting other restaurateurs with menu designs, traveling, and other stuff.

Recently Johnson sunk his teeth back into Agave Maria, and this week the industrious restaurateur launched a new menu at the establishment on Union.

“It’s exciting the direction we’re going back to,” Johnson said at the Brown Burch-prepared fund-raiser for Best Buddies hosted at Agave March 1st.

The direction is east, as in Vietnamese and Thai, while maintaining the Latin American base.

“We’re getting away from heavy Mexican and going for more of a fusion idea while still pulling from Latin American influences,” Johnson says.

He plans on keeping the crowd-pleasers, including his tacos, tortas, and the very popular build-your-own burritos, but patrons can plan on dining on Pork Belly Confit in soy barbecue broth with black bean puree, radish salad, and chili oil ($9) or Seared Tuna Tataki with chili lime salt, crisp garlic, radish jalapeño, ponzu, and cilantro oil ($12).

He’s most excited about offering small plates for sharing.

“When I go out to eat, the best part is being able to share things. With three people, rather than having three entrees, you order a bunch of food and share it,” he says. “How many bites do you need to say you tried something?”

There will be a few changes to the interior, replacing sconces, adding bar stools to the window to create a patio feel, and, of course, some new saints.

“We might have to retire one of our saints,” he says of the prayer candle-inspired poster and candle designs honoring Memphis saints such as Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and B.B. King.

He’s launching an online store to purchase said merch, along with several other items from his various projects.

“My intent is to be an awesome restaurant first with amazing dishes made with fantastic ingredients that you don’t see that often,” he says.

“I travel quite a bit. I have a thirst for knowledge, and I want to offer something fun and exciting.”

Agave Maria, 83 Union, 341-2096

agavemariacantina.com

Kelly English spins a lot of plates. Has his fingers in a lot of pies. Wears a lot of toques. You get the idea.

There’s his repeat award-winning Restaurant Iris, its more casual counterpart the Second Line next door, Magnolia House on the Gulf Coast, and, most recently, a second Second Line in the town of his alma mater, Oxford, Miss.

This Friday, English will fulfill a long-time dream of his — to offer casual New Orleans dining for lunch at the Memphis Second Line location.

“When I opened the Second Line, one of the things I really wanted to do was to present outside of New Orleans what you can get every day at your average casual restaurant in New Orleans,” English says. “I’ve been thinking about that for years.”

The O.G. devotees of this world can now have a roast beef gravy and French fries po’boy before 5 p.m. In fact, they can have one between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. on the weekends, and 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. on school nights.

English will first offer his menu for lunch Friday, March 11th and Friday, March 18th, then officially open for lunch every day on Friday, March 25th.

“I think the Second Line screams lunch,” English says.

The Oxford site has offered lunch since it launched in August, another dream from way back fulfilled.

“I’m an Ole Miss boy. That’s what brought me here,” English, a Louisiana native and 2001 graduate of the University of Mississippi, says. “Getting to open a Second Line there has been so cool for me personally. It’s great to be able to go down there and be a part of that community like I’m a part of this community.”

English plans on offering lunch specials; a $10 po’boy special, which includes half a po’boy — either the O.G., the Fried Mississippi Catfish, or the Verno (chicken) — a grocery (side), and a soft drink, tax included; cups of gumbo; and red beans and rice.

“The restaurant I grew up in [R & O’s] inspired what the Second Line is. It’s my baseline. It’s just really good casual New Orleans dining. It started in my eyes there,” he says. “I’m really excited about us doing this. One of my favorite things about the Second Line is showing people what an everyday restaurant in New Orleans is, without any pretense and not putting a spin on anything. The Second Line says a lot about who I am.”

The Second Line, 2144 Monroe,

590-2829, secondlinememphis.com

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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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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Sports Talk on the Menu

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Memphis is a town of many deep-rooted sports interests. Between the University of Memphis Tigers basketball and football programs, the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, et al, sports fandom in Memphis is as passion-filled and potentially divisive a subject as religious faith. And as revered as these teams and institutions are, so too are the newsbreakers and speculators that populate the local sports talk radio airwaves and newspaper pages. Inevitably, these sports media figures are recognized for their talents and influence in numerous ways, including the illustrious honor of having menu items named for them at local restaurants.

Chef Kelly English’s The Second Line features a po’boy sandwich called the Verno on its menu, a tribute to 92.9 FM midday radio host and Grizzlies TV commentator Chris Vernon. According to Vernon, the naming of the sandwich came from an on-air football bet between himself and Chef English.

“The deal was, the Cowboys and Saints were playing. This was before The Second Line opened,” he says. “If the Cowboys won, he had to name a sandwich after me. If the Saints won, I had to say ‘Go Saints’ coming in and out of every segment on my show. The Saints absolutely destroyed the Cowboys, but he named the thing after me anyway.”

The sandwich is built on a generous base of braised and shredded chicken thighs, topped with melted Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on crusty French-style bread.

Justin Fox Burks

The Verno from The Second Line

“I love it,” Vernon says. “Kelly English is one of the best chefs in America, and there is a sandwich on his menu named after me. There’s not a week that goes by that someone doesn’t text or tweet me about that sandwich. It’s unbelievable.”

The menu at Republic Coffee boasts its own sports journalist-tribute item, a breakfast sandwich formerly known as the “Ahab.” “It’s funny, you always think that if you are going to have a sandwich named for you, that you would get to design the sandwich, or at least be asked if you want a sandwich named for you,” says Geoff Calkins, the lead sports columnist for The Commercial Appeal and a morning radio host on 92.9. “But that didn’t happen in my case.”

In fact, Calkins didn’t realize that the Calkins — large hunks of smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, and onions, all packed inside slices of a toasted everything bagel — even existed until he walked in to Republic one afternoon after talking about great Memphis sandwiches on his radio show, and the barista asked him why he didn’t mention his own sandwich.

“I had no idea. Apparently they re-named it after me because I ordered it so much,” Calkins says. “I think I might have singlehandedly kept it on the menu.”

“The fact that I had a sandwich made Gary [Parrish] extremely jealous,” he adds, half-jokingly. “That’s how he got his sushi roll. He lobbied on the air to get it because he was jealous of me.”

Parrish, the evening drive-time host on 92.9 and a national columnist and TV analyst for CBS Sports, denies the claim.

“I would never be jealous of a man who turned a Harvard Law degree into a newspaper job,” he says, returning the jibe. “In all seriousness, that may have been where the whole bit actually started.”

Justin Fox Burks

The G. Parrish Anxiety Disorder at Bluefin

The bit Parrish is referring to was an on-air monologue about not understanding “anonymous donors” and wanting his name on everything, including fast-food items, buildings, etc. This resonated with the folks at Bluefin.

“Fast-forward a few weeks. I’m in Bluefin with some friends, and one of the managers approached me as I was walking out,” Parrish says. “He said he listens to the show and would love to design a roll with me and slap my name on it. Next thing you know, it’s on the menu.”

Dubbed the G. Parrish Anxiety Disorder, Parrish’s namesake roll is a kitchen-sink creation with tempura shrimp, crab, and cream cheese inside, topped with smoked salmon, avocado, eel sauce, and, most crucially, spicy Sriracha, which cuts through the richness of the other ingredients. Not surprisingly, the roll has become one of the restaurant’s most popular items.

“I’m genuinely and oddly proud of how everything has turned out,” Parrish says. “I honestly thought this would just be something that might be funny to me and only me for a few weeks or months, and then they’d change the menu and it would just go away. But here we are, all these years later, and it’s still there.”

Of course, anyone who has listened to sports talk radio in Memphis for more than a few minutes is surely familiar with the legendary George Lapides, currently a morning host on Sports 56. Lapides has been covering sports in print and on the air in this town for longer than some of his colleagues have been alive.

It is very fitting that Germantown Cajun restaurant Mister B’s offers a dish bearing his name, the George Lapides Special. Lapides has long been a spokesman for the eatery — for my money, “I want to tell you about Mister B’s” is up there with “I don’t think the Cardinals will ever win/lose another game” and “I want to play” in the pantheon of George-isms. He is also, in fact, the inventor of the dish.

“I used to always get a cup of the crawfish etouffee as an appetizer, and I knew they had wild rice as a side” Lapides says. “One night I asked my server to fix me a big, dinner-sized plate of wild rice, with the etouffee poured on top.”

And the results?

“Oh, it’s fabulous,” he says. “It was just a word-of-mouth thing at first, but people started ordering it so much they put it on the menu. It looks strange to me to see it, but I don’t mind.”

Not to be outdone, the radio voice of the Grizzlies and afternoon host on 92.9, Eric Hasseltine, has his own signature menu item as well: a dessert-y cocktail at the soda fountain inside A. Schwab‘s called the Eric Hasseltine Cherry. The drink is simple but effective — and delicious. Think of a lighter, sweeter version of a Manhattan; house-made cherry syrup, bourbon, and bitters poured over “Sonic-style” ice nuggets in an old-fashioned soda glass, topped with fizzy soda.

“It’s very flattering,” Hasseltine says. “I’m not a huge partier anymore, but I’ve always been a whiskey guy. Sometimes I’m disappointed they aren’t open later so I could go in and get one after a game.”