Tag: Tonica

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Restaurant Recs 2022

Paella at Tonica (Photo: Samuel X. Cicci)

Restaurant Iris’ new location is probably the most anticipated restaurant opening of the last year. The restaurant at 4550 Poplar Avenue, where the old The Grove Grill was located, is stunning. The main dining room includes serpentine booths and Italian glass-balloon-looking fixtures that add to the energy. Executive chef Russell Casey describes the fare as “classic New Orleans” with some Iris staples. Additional murals, private dining spaces, and even more serpentine booths make the new Iris an exciting place to dine.

Tonica, another elegant/tasty addition, is at 1545 Overton Park. It’s two doors down from Ecco, which, along with Libro, is one of the bar/restaurants from Sabine Bachmann and her sons, chefs Armando and Mario Gagliano and general manager John-Paul Gagliano. The food, Armando says, has “a Spanish influence with a little bit of Italian-Mediterranean twist.” The decor is “as close to a Mediterranean Spanish style” as they can get, John-Paul says.

South Point Kitchen at Downtown’s South Point Grocery at 136 Webster Avenue serves sandwiches, most of them created by chef/musician/comedian Josh McLane. They include HEELS, named after his band that consists of himself and Brennan Whalen. It’s made of spicy peanut butter, jalapeño strawberry jam, bacon, and provolone cheese.

Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh introduced his Poke Paradise food truck, which will officially hit the road in 2023. He now is booking the food truck for events. Recently, he has been busy doing pop-ups, special orders, private dinners, and other catering events. Poke is diced fresh fish, usually served with soy sauce and onion.

Tops Bar-B-Q is known for its great hamburgers. But during the year, Tops introduced new food items. Smoked BBQ Bologna, which launched in April, was the first new Tops item in 10 years. “We score it and season it with our rib rub and then we smoke it,” says Tops Operations LLC vice president Hunter Brown. “After smoking it, we grill each one to order.” They then put it on a bun and add their “famous slaw and our signature Tops barbecue sauce.”

Then in November, Tops introduced its Fire-Braised Chicken Sandwich with Memphis white sauce. It’s chicken seared over fire and then topped with the sauce, says Tops CEO Randy Hough. — Michael Donahue

New Wing Order, one of Memphis’ most popular food trucks over the past couple years, found a roost on Beale Street earlier this year. The truck continues to operate, but owners Cole Forrest and Jesse McDonald set up their first brick-and-mortar shop inside Ghost River Brewing Co. Now, brewery-goers can sip on their favorites ales while munching on Memphis Buffalo, Ja’s Sweet Heat, or any of the other delectable sauces. “Having this space really allowed us to increase our capacity,” says Forrest. Adds McDonald, “We get to experiment with a lot of new menu items now, too.”

The former Pontotoc Lounge space is open once again, but with a whole new concept that draws upon OG Memphis’ roots as an Egyptian city. Called IBIS, the new bar and lounge by Jeremy and Matthew Thacker-Rhodes promises plenty of craft cocktails and fine dining in a chic space on Main Street. Think lobster rolls, lamb meatballs, and plenty of other colorful mixed drinks that will wet your whistle (I recommend the tequila- and grapefruit-based “Por Que”). Look forward to gospel and mimosa Sundays, drag shows, live music, and plenty of other live programming in the upstairs lounge.

Carlisle Restaurant Group launched the first unique dining concept planned for the One Beale project. Fancy’s Fish House opened back in April in The Landing Residences, offering a wide variety of fresh and raw seafood to Downtown diners. But the menu recently underwent a complete makeover thanks to new chef Nate Henssler, who has quickly put his stamp on things. A raw bar serves everything from East and West Coast oysters to ahi tuna tartare, and there’s a gargantuan seafood tower that combines all the raw bar options for a full seafood bounty. Meanwhile, Henssler focuses on simple flavors and techniques to elevate his à la carte fish dishes (the miso-marinated cod is a must-try). There are some other surprises, like a delicious steak frites entree or the rosemary roasted half chicken. Some interesting cocktails, like a chai old fashioned or frozen pineapple margarita, round out a compelling riverside experience. — Samuel X. Cicci

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Tonica to Open in Early February

Tonica, a new Midtown restaurant, will open in early February. (Credit: Sabine Bachmann)

Tonica will open in early February at the location of the old Marena’s restaurant at 1545 Overton Park, two doors down from Ecco on Overton Park.

Tonica is a new bar/restaurant from the people who brought you Ecco and Libro: Sabine Bachmann and her sons, chefs Armando and Mario Gagliano, and John-Paul Gagliano, who is general manager for all the restaurants.

“January 31st to February 3rd is kind of our target date,” John-Paul says. “We’re only going to be starting off Thursday through Sunday for service — 4:30 till right now.”

Describing Tonica, John-Paul says, “We’re trying to get as close to a Mediterranean Spanish style. Kind of a European style. Real flowers. Upscale. We’ve redone the whole building. Completely remodeled building. All hand-made cabinetry. We’re renovated our entire kitchen. We have a back dining room, another private room.”

At the rear of the restaurant is “a New Orleans alleyway. When the weather gets better, we can put tables back there for outdoor seating.”

Ecco diners will be able to take advantage of Tonica. “Summertime, springtime when we have additional seating outside, any overflow, you can grab a drink and we can bring you back to Ecco when your table is open. Or you can stay there and eat. I think they will compete with each other.”

Ditto for when people finish eating at Ecco. “After you finish at Ecco — last call is at 10 — you can go to the other restaurant and enjoy the same kind of atmosphere, same craft cocktails you can get at Ecco for a later service.”

As Armando said in an earlier Memphis Flyer interview, “It’s going to be a bar, but a bar that serves food.” It will be a “neighborhood bar,” where people can get small plates and more substantial dishes. But, he said, “I don’t want that to be considered a tapas bar or anything like that, but it will be more focused on the cocktails. We’re going to put more focus on the cocktails and the wine list.”

And, he says, “The food is not going to be an afterthought. It will be really good — a Spanish influence with a little bit of Italian-Mediterranean twist.”

John-Paul says: “We’re going to have a selection of paellas. We’ll have traditional Serrano ham croquettes. We will have different ceviches. Fried chicken wings made with Spanish chiles. Spanish spice chicharróns, among other things.”

Bachmann, who visited Spain last July to research the lifestyle, food and drinks, and atmosphere, came up with the name “Tonica” to pay tribute to the country. “The Spanish national drink, believe it or not, is gin tonics, which in Spain is ‘gin tonica,’” Bachmann told the Flyer.

“They are very known for their different types of gin tonics,” Armando said. “They do a lot of tonics with gin and different spirits and herbs and liqueurs.”

Customers will be able to order plenty of Spanish-inspired gin and tonics and house gins imported from Spain, as well as European and South American wines.

“We’re going to have an extensive gin list,” John-Paul says. “Mary Connor Jones is our beverage director. She’s creating the cocktail list.”

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Tonica: Ecco’s New Sister Spot Slated to Open in October

The Midtown site of the upcoming Tonica bar/restaurant.

Get ready for Tonica — a new drinking and eating establishment from the folks who brought you Ecco on Overton Park and Libro.

That would be Sabine Bachmann and her sons, chefs Armando and Mario Gagliano, and John-Paul Gagliano.

It’s slated to open in October at the location of the old Marena’s restaurant at 1545 Overton Park, two doors down from Ecco, says Armando.

“It’s going to be a bar, but a bar that serves food,” he says.

Tonica will be a “neighborhood bar,” where people can get small plates and more substantial dishes. But, he says, “I don’t want that to be considered a tapas bar or anything like that, but it will be more focused on the cocktails. We’re going to put more focus on the cocktails and the wine list.”

And, he says, “The food is not going to be an afterthought. It will be really good — a Spanish influence with a little bit of Italian-Mediterranean twist.”

Bachmann came up with “Tonica” for the name, which is Spanish derived. “The Spanish national drink, believe it or not, is gin tonics, which in Spain is ‘gin tonica,’” Bachmann says. “That’s where I got the name.”

“They are very known for their different types of gin tonics,” Armando says. “They do a lot of tonics with gin and different spirits and herbs and liqueurs.”

Customers will be able to get similar drinks as well as European and South American wines, he says.

John-Paul, who is general manager of all their restaurants, wants Tonica to also be a place people can enjoy while waiting for a table at Ecco, Armando says.

Decor will be “similar to Ecco, but a lot more floral. More plants hanging off the walls. Very white background. A lot of greenery around.”

“Natural wood for the bar and everything,” Sabine says. “Light and airy.”

As of now, Tonica will be a “Thursday through Sunday type of deal,” Armando says. “Something like 4:30, 5 p.m. to around midnight. Kitchen closing at 10 each night. But also some small plates to serve from 10 to close. Like olive trays and bruschetta and stuff like that. Hot food stopping at 10 p.m.”

And the menu won’t be limited to just small plates, Bachmann says. “We also will have paella and some Spanish-influenced main dishes as well.”

His mother always liked Marena’s, Armando says. “My mom loved the location when she lived in the neighborhood long, long ago.”

“Marena” was named for Rena Franklin. “Her cooking was just amazing,” Bachmann says. “Also, she featured different countries every month. It was just wonderful. Then I liked Jack a lot. Her husband, who was always front of the house. They really left a legacy there.”

Bachmann and her sons had previously looked at the location. “It wasn’t right for us at the time,” she says. “Now it’s really right for us to go in there.”

The location previously housed Parish Grocery, which moved to Cooper-Young. “It just seemed like a really good place to put a smaller sister restaurant in the neighborhood,” Armando says. “Like a smaller tavern, but maybe not even that. Just a very local bar, especially to the Evergreen district.”

“Walk to your bar,” Bachmann says. 

The rear of Tonica has a New Orleans courtyard feel.

As for seating, Armando says Tonica will be “somewhere in the neighborhood of what we have inside Ecco and then some. There is some sidewalk dining — not too much — but there’s also this really cool back alley that almost has this New Orleans vibe to it. It’s kind of tucked away, a really tight space. It has a lot of brick back there.”

It has “almost a courtyard kind of feel, but very homey. It’s very intimate.”

Stay tuned. Tonica sounds like a tonic for the neighborhood.