Tag: Tsunami

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Plates & Updates

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

What does Chef Ben put on all of his tomatoes before they leave our
kitchen?” This was Grace restaurant’s Facebook update on October 28th.
The person who answered correctly was promised a $50 gift
certificate.

Over 200 guesses (ranging from sea salt to mini cucumbers), one
hour, and one hint later, someone finally got the right answer:
gastrique. Since then, chef/owner Ben Vaughn has been doing food and
wine trivia giveaways about once a week.

Christiana Leibovich, who participated in the tomato quiz, was
endeared by it. “It made me feel like they were fun, and I liked
connecting with the owner/chef,” she says.

Vaughn also updates with pictures of dishes, specials, and general
restaurant info. “It really creates fan ownership for Grace,” he says.
“When customers come in for lunch or dinner, they kinda already know me
and feel like it’s their place.”

The user-friendly formats of Facebook and Twitter have made them
especially popular with restaurants. David Lindsey, director of
marketing for Sekisui, Inc., says, “With Facebook and Twitter, we don’t
have to give away anything to gain fans. The effects of viral marketing
that are built into social networking sites do the work for us.”

Deni Reilly says that when she first created the Majestic Grille fan
page, she sent it out to just her group of friends. Those friends sent
it to their friends and so on. “In a few days we had hundreds of
members that I didn’t know,” Reilly says. “The people who sign up as
fans of your page are genuinely interested, so you’ve already got a
built-in target audience.”

Reilly says she was hesitant about using Twitter at first. She says,
“I figured, other than my mother, who really cares that much?” After
some research and requests from her guests, she added Twitter to the
marketing plan but in a very specific way. “Every morning, we tweet our
lunch or brunch specials and, in the late afternoon, our dinner
specials, and people love it.” Reilly says.

What Lindsey appreciates most about Facebook and Twitter is that
most any restaurant manager can learn to use the services in about five
minutes. “It doesn’t cost anything, and I don’t have to provide tech
support,” he says.

Colleen Couch-Smith and Ben Smith of Tsunami like having the ability
to get feedback on things that are in the works. “It gives us a good
audience to sound off ideas to as well as a place for our customers to
have a voice,” Colleen says.

The folks at the Cove credit its Facebook page for helping people
become aware of their specials and promotions, but, like the Smiths,
they’ve really benefited from the feedback they receive on Facebook.
Mike Grabman, “the really tall bartender” who updates the bar’s page,
says, “It gives the customer a unique opportunity to communicate their
wants and desires for what the Cove should be. It is as much their
place to hang out and feel comfortable as it is our place.”

Christopher McRae, owner/operator of Main Street Hound Dogs and the
“best-looking purveyor of hot dogs, fresh squeezed limeades, soups and
hot drinks on the corner of Union and Main,” uses Twitter to better get
to know his customers. He got the idea from a New York Times
article his sister-in-law sent him. “I have found Twitter to be an
almost playful way for me to interact with my customers. I can look
them up and learn more about them,” McRae says.

It will be interesting to see where the social media revolution
takes the customer/restaurant relationship in the future. Ben Smith
jokingly contemplates adding a “reality TV” element onto Tsunami’s
Facebook page.

“I think that people get a vicarious pleasure,” he says, “from
watching other people go through the hell of running a restaurant.”

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Winter Farmers Market in Cooper-Young

dodson_sproduce2.jpg

Next week is my last CSA from Whitton Farms, and quite honestly, I’ve been worrying about how I will feed my family. Cooking for me is so dependent on my weekly bag of produce, that I hardly remember how to plan meals any other way.

Fortunately, a handful of local growers have organized a winter market and are selling their produce every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of Tsunami restaurant in Cooper-Young. They plan to be there all winter.

Categories
Best of Memphis Special Sections

Best of Food & Drink

CREDIT: Alex Harrison

Alex Harrison

Buttery tikka masala, tender tandoori, spicy vegetable dishes, and all other manner of Indian specialties are served at Midtown institution India Palace in its airy, comfortable Poplar Avenue location.

We’ll admit we find it adorable when, in the “Best Chef” category,
you write in “My Wife,” “My Husband,” or, better yet, “My Mom.” (The
answer “Your Mom’s House” for “Best Romantic Restaurant” is not so
cute.) Chef Boyardee didn’t stand a chance with only two votes for
“Best Chef,” but at least he’s got bragging rights over Mrs. Winner
who, despite the name and the chicken and biscuits, got only one
vote.

Justin Fox Burks

Kelly English, Restaurant Iris, 1st place: ‘Best Chef’

Best Chef

1. Kelly English, Restaurant Iris

2. Erling Jensen, Erling Jensen the Restaurant

3. John Bragg, Circa

Last October, Food & Wine magazine named Kelly English
one of the Top 10 “Best New Chefs” for 2009. That was quite the honor.
Now Flyer readers have vaulted English to the top spot for the
first time.

Best Lunch

1. Huey’s

2. Soul Fish

3. Lenny’s

Hey, you know all those other restaurants that were in the running
for “Best Lunch” in Memphis? Stick a toothpick in ’em. They’re done.
Huey’s gets the nod for lunch nosh this year.

Best Breakfast

1. Brother Juniper’s

2. Blue Plate Cafe

3. Bryant’s Breakfast

Oh Brother, Wherefore Art Chow? Sorry. Brother J. has won “Best
Breakfast” many times, and it’s because they offer delicious,
innovative, homemade food in an eclectic space crammed with interesting
people, especially on weekend mornings.

Best Romantic Restaurant

1. Paulette’s

2. Le Chardonnay Wine Bar & Bistro

3. The Melting Pot

Maybe it’s the desserts. Or maybe the soft tinkling of the ivories.
Or maybe just the wonderful menu, nice wine list, and warm ambience.
Paulette’s is a classic.

Best Sunday Brunch

1. Owen Brennan’s Restaurant

2. Boscos Squared

3. Peabody Skyway — tie —

Beauty Shop

Owen Brennan’s sits at the cusp of Germantown and East Memphis, but
it draws Memphians from all over for its New Orleans-themed Sunday
brunch: the best in town for 2009.

Best Wine List

1. Le Chardonnay Wine Bar & Bistro

2. Texas de Brazil

3. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse

Le Chardonnay moved across Madison Avenue a couple years ago, but it
has retained its dark, ski-lodge-y charm, its extensive wine list, and
first place for “Best Wine List” in your hearts.

Best Steak

1. Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House

2. Ruth’s Chris Steak House

3. The Butcher Shop

Folk’s Folly valets meet you at the curb. Once inside, you hear
sweet piano-bar stylings and the sound of cold drinks and cocktail
chatter. But who are we kidding? It’s all about the steak here, and
Folk’s Folly’s steaks sizzle!

Best Barbecue

1. Central BBQ

2. Corky’s

3. The Bar-B-Q Shop

Central BBQ takes top honor in what is probably the toughest
category in this poll: “Best Barbecue.” No matter how you spell it
— barbecue, BBQ, Bar-B-Q, whatever — Central’s on top
again.

Best Ribs

1. Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous

2. Central BBQ

3. Corky’s

The Rendezvous is sometimes derided as a place where tourists go to
eat Memphis’ most famous food group (16 barbecued ribs), but the
Flyer‘s poll makes it clear that locals love the Rendezvous as
much as people wearing Elvis T-shirts. And well they should.

Best Burger

BOM 1. Huey’s

2. Earnestine & Hazel’s

3. The Belmont Grill

That “BOM” designation means Huey’s has won “Best Burger” for so
long that it’s not even fair to anybody else in the running. Lots of
places in Memphis make good burgers, but only one takes the top spot,
year after year after year.

Best Hot Wings

1. Buffalo Wild Wings

2. D’Bo’s Buffalo Wings-n-Things

3. Central BBQ

With five Memphis-area locations, 14 sauces (ranging in heat from
“Blazin'” to “Sweet Barbecue”), and TVs set to sports everywhere you
look, Buffalo Wild Wings is leading the city’s wing scene.

Best Fried Chicken

BOM 1. Gus’s Fried Chicken

2. Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits

3. Jack Pirtle Fried Chicken

If you want to eat lunch at Gus’s, you’d better get there early.
Folks line up for the crispy, smoky, spicy uniqueness that makes Gus’s
fried chicken better than anybody’s in Memphis. Or in the world.

Best Cajun/Creole

1. Bayou Bar & Grill

2. Owen Brennan’s Restaurant

3. Pearl’s Oyster House

The Bayou, like its sister restaurant, Le Chardonnay, hasn’t missed
a beat by moving across Madison. It’s bigger, but it still has a nice
patio, cold beer, stellar gumbo, and lots of other Cajun
delectables.

Justin Fox Burks

Petra, 1st place: ‘Best Mediterranean’

Best Mediterranean

1. Petra

2. Casa Grill

3. Petra Cafe

What’s more Midtown than this: Greek-Korean fusion in a restaurant
housed in a former gas station/garage, with patio seating right next to
the pumps? Spanikopita, moussaka, falafel — Petra is Greek
delicious. And the Korean soups and kimchi are fabulous too.

Best Dessert

1. Paulette’s

2. Beauty Shop

3. Kooky Canuck

Restaurants come and go, but Paulette’s “K-Pie” is a constant. Rich
coffee ice cream in a pecan-coconut crust, topped with whipped cream
and Kahlua, the Midtown institution’s Kahlua-mocha parfait pie is a
classic but not their most popular dessert. That designation apparently
belongs to the restaurant’s hot chocolate crepe. With crème
brûlée, Key lime pie, and other desserts dotting the menu,
Paulette’s is where Memphians go for post-dinner sweets.

Best Italian

1. Ronnie Grisanti & Sons Restaurant (now closed)

2. Pete & Sam’s

3. Bari — tie —

Ciao Bella Italian Grill

Long synonymous with Italian dining in Memphis, Ronnie Grisanti’s
closed its doors in August after a 25-year run at its Chickasaw Oaks
Plaza location on Poplar. But Memphians won’t be without the Grisanti
family’s authentic Tuscan cuisine, which has delighted local diners for
generations. Most of the restaurant’s staff — including Ronnie
himself — will relocate to the family’s Germantown location,
Elfo’s, which will be renamed simply Grisanti’s.

Best Mexican

1. El Porton Mexican Restaurant

2. Happy Mexican

3. Taqueria La Guadalupana

In an increasingly saturated local Mexican food scene, El Porton
maintains the top spot with five area locations, quick, reasonably
price lunches, a diverse menu, a full bar, and happy-hour specials.

Best Chinese

1. P.F. Chang’s

2. Wang’s Mandarin House

3. A-Tan

National chain P.F. Chang’s became a big local hit when it opened
its lone Memphis location — on Ridgeway in East Memphis — a
few years ago. In P.F. Chang’s large, opulent dining room, patrons can
feast on a diverse array of Chinese classics such as Mongolian beef,
ginger chicken, and spicy dumplings.

Best Thai

1. Bhan Thai

2. Bangkok Alley

3. Jasmine

Located in a large, converted Midtown house (the former home of
restaurant Maison Raji), Bhan Thai offers intensely flavorful Thai
dishes — masaman curry, pad thai, crispy duck, coconut-milk-based
soups, etc. — in an elegant atmosphere full of character, from
its small, intimate dining rooms to its popular patio in the back.

Best Vietnamese

1. Saigon Le

2. Pho Saigon

3. Pho Hoa Binh

This no-frills Midtown eatery has a loyal clientele because of its
focus on the food, which includes authentic Vietnamese specialties
— fresh spring rolls, great pho soups, vermicelli and tofu
dishes, and plenty of vegetarian options.

Best Japanese/Sushi

1. Sekisui

2. Blue Fin

3. Sekisui Pacific Rim

Restaurateur Jimmy Ishii has come to define Japanese cuisine, and
particularly sushi, in Memphis. The local chain is celebrating its 20th
birthday this year, first opening its Humphreys Center flagship
restaurant in 1989 and now covering the city with five locations.

Justin Fox Burks

Soul Fish, 1st place: ‘Best Home Cooking / Soul Food’

Best Home Cooking/Soul Food

1. Soul Fish

2. The Cupboard

3. Blue Plate Café

For exquisite catfish and hush puppies and a big daily selection of
veggies, it’s hard to order anything else off of Soul Fish’s menu. But
try their smoked half-chicken, and you’ll be doubling up on meals to
satisfy all your menu urges.

Best Vegetarian

BOM 1. Whole Foods Market

2. The Cupboard

3. Jasmine

Whole Foods Market, a foodie oasis on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis,
is more than a grocery store. Its large prepared-foods section —
pizzas, sandwiches, salad bar, bakery, coffee and juice bar — and
dining area make it a popular lunch and dinner spot for vegetarians and
health-food enthusiasts, in particular. Whole Foods also offers cooking
classes to help you find interesting things to do with the fresh and
healthy items they sell.

Best Seafood

1. Tsunami

2. Bonefish

3. The Half Shell

The anchor restaurant of Cooper-Young does it again, taking “Best
Seafood” for the millionth year in a row. Scallops, sea bass, mussels,
you name it, Chef Ben Smith and crew deliver a ship full of great taste
in a sophisticated atmosphere.

Best Pizza

BOM 1. Memphis Pizza Cafe

2. Garibaldi’s Pizza

3. Old Venice

Memphis Pizza Café was an instant hit when it opened in 1993
and has since expanded its local pizza empire to five locations, all
serving tasty, crispy pizzas, including such faves as the white-sauce
“alternative” and the zesty Cajun chicken.

Best Deli

1. Fino’s from the Hill

2. Bogie’s Delicatessen

3. Young Avenue Deli

What says Midtown more than the intersection of Madison and McLean?
And what says a great deli sandwich better than Fino’s from the Hill,
on that very Midtown corner? In addition to the popular made-to-order
sandwiches — cold cuts, cheeses, toppings, all on good crusty
bread — Fino’s offers pasta dishes and grocery items. That’s
Italian!

Best Server

1. Jeff Frisby, Restaurant Iris

2. Michele Fields, Calhoun’s Sports Bar

3. Jean Pruett, Bardog — tie —

Brent Skelton, The Kitchen

Jeff Frisby at Restaurant Iris must be doing something right. Last
year, he was named one of the city’s best servers in our Best Of poll.
This year, he’s done it again. Must be that Frisby knows not only how
to serve, he knows what to serve when it comes to vino: He’s Restaurant
Iris’ wine manager. (Factoid: All our winners in this category work in
Memphis’ new or newish restaurant/bars. Good to see Flyer
readers appreciate the city’s evolving food scene.)

Best Service

1. Chick-Fil-A

2. Texas de Brazil

3. Houston’s

Drive-thru or in-store, the crew behind the counter at any of
Memphis’ Chick-Fil-A locations have it down pat: your order in your
hands — fast. More amazing (and given the volume of business),
they do it, hands down, with the friendliest service in town.

Justin Fox Burks

Chick-Fil-A, 1st place: ‘Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant’

Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant

1. Chick-Fil-A

2. Chuck E. Cheese

3. Huey’s

We forgot to mention (see “Best Service”) that the crew at
Chick-Fil-A must have nerves of steel. As a new winner in the
kid-friendly restaurant category, these folks have what it takes when
children combine with fast food. Call it grace under pressure.

Best Local Late-Night Dining

1. Huey’s

2. Earnestine & Hazel’s

3. Young Avenue Deli

And we mean late. We’re talking, at several of Huey’s
multiple locations, a kitchen that’s open until 2 a.m. Don’t deny it.
At that hour and after some damage, what your body’s craving is a
burger and onion rings.

Best Place for People-Watching

1. Flying Saucer

2. Young Avenue Deli

3. Celtic Crossing

The corner of Beale and Second: The wide-open windows at downtown’s
Flyer Saucer aren’t there for no reason. Whether you’re in the
restaurant or passing on the sidewalk, this place was tailor-made for
people-watching. Evidence: During the Memphis Music and Heritage
Festival a few weekends ago, the place was jamming, inside and out.

Best Patio

1. Celtic Crossing

2. Boscos Squared

3. Cafe Olé

In a word: trivia. Celtic’s popular Wednesday-night tournament this
past summer had the patio packed. Any night, any season, though, will
do for a Guinness and some major hanging-out in Cooper-Young. Bonus
attraction: On this patio, you’re only a few steps from the scene on
the street.

Best Local Place That Delivers

1. Garibaldi’s Pizza

2. Young Avenue Deli

3. Camy’s

Another new winner in our Best Of poll: Garibaldi’s Pizza —
established 30 years ago by owner Mike Garibaldi — has three
locations for handmade pizzas, pastas, salads, wings, sandwiches,
sweets, and more. Garibaldi’s caters to not only what you’re hungry
for, according to readers, it really delivers.

Justin Fox Burks

Muddy’s Bake Shop, 1st place: ‘Best Bakery’

Best Bakery

1. Muddy’s Bake Shop

2. La Baguette

3. Fresh Market

Again: a new winner. And, according to Muddy’s website, if you’re
rude, whiny, impatient, or otherwise unpleasant, forget stepping inside
this bakeshop. If you’re green-minded and egg-headed (Muddy’s uses eggs
from cage-free, free-range hens), you’re welcome! Plus, who’s to argue
with a cupcake called “Prozac?”

Best Local Coffeehouse

1. High Point Coffee (now closed)

2. Otherlands

3. Café Eclectic — tie —

Republic Coffee

High Point Coffee just closed. (It’s the economy, stupid.) But
Otherlands, Cafe Eclectic, and Republic Coffee — the hotshots
rounding out your picks for best local coffeehouse — havestill
got their vibe going and the caffeine coming.

Best Restaurant

1. Restaurant Iris

2. Tsunami

3. Huey’s

Iris: It’s in the eye of the beholder. Restaurant Iris, “Best
Restaurant,” according to Memphians who value fine dining. In the space
of a year, nationally recognized chef Kelly English has succeeded in
turning Restaurant Iris into the city’s go-to address for exceptional
French-Creole-inspired cuisine. Doesn’t hurt that the restaurant also
features first-rate service in an intimate, romantic atmosphere.

Best New Restaurant

1. Flight

2. Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen

3. Overton Park Pizze Stone

The interior’s gorgeous, but it’s the food at Flight that has
Flyer readers hooked — and voting. Flight’s “flights”
— a trio of tastings from the entrée, dessert, and wine
menus — make it a wonderful way to sample what’s cooking in the
kitchen. What’s on your table: small plates but great taste. Or you
want regular-size portions? No problem. You can order that way too.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

One Sweet Santa

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

So what do you do with one pound of marshmallows, 60 pounds of Rice Krispy treats, 22 pounds of white chocolate, and 90 pounds of Royal icing? If you’re Konrad Spitzbart, The Peabody‘s executive pastry chef, the answer is obvious: Make a life-size Santa as part of the hotel’s holiday display.

“Last year, we did several smaller items, and I wanted to do something different this time,” Spitzbart says.

While the base of the Santa was built out of plywood and PVC pipe by the hotel’s engineering department, the rest of it is edible. Spitzbart, however, doesn’t recommend the indulgence. “We made this holiday display so it lasts for four weeks — not so it tastes good,” he says.

The trickiest part for the pastry chef will be getting Santa from the third-floor pastry kitchen into the hotel lobby. “We measured to make sure he’ll fit in the elevator, but we might have to tilt him a little,” he says.

If all goes well, Santa and his candy sleigh will be on display right in time for The Peabody’s tree-lighting ceremony on Friday, November 23rd, at 5 p.m.

The Peabody, 149 Union (529-4000)

Having served dinner for the past nine years, Ben Smith, chef/owner of Tsunami, felt the time was right to offer Memphis diners a new option.

“We have been open for lunch since the beginning of October but kept a rather low profile,” Smith says of the restaurant’s new hours. “There’s so much more going on in Cooper-Young since we first started, and it seemed like a good time to start opening for lunch.”

For the mid-day shift, Smith hired David King, who was part of Tsunami’s original staff and recently returned to Memphis from cooking stints in Denmark and San Francisco. Also back on board is Marissa Baggett, who left Tsunami several years ago to learn the ins and outs of sushi-making and went on to head the kitchen at Dō.

Lunch at Tsunami isn’t just a mini version of the dinner menu. It’s a different menu with a few favorites and several new dishes, such as seafood saimin, a Hawaiian-style noodle bowl with fresh seafood in a miso-dashi broth, and a traditional Thai beef salad with flank steak, tomatoes, cucumbers, and spicy lemongrass dressing.

Entrées and sandwiches cost between $8 and $12; soups and salads from $3 to $8. The restaurant serves lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner Monday through Saturday from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Tsunami, 928 S. Cooper (274-2556)

Ubee’s (not in anyway related to Newby’s, btw) is a new fast-casual restaurant on Highland in the University of Memphis area.

The first score for Ubee’s: Parking is available in the back so you don’t have to spend 15 minutes searching for a spot on the street in this busy neighborhood. The restaurant’s interior is light and modern, with an open kitchen almost extending the full length of the restaurant. A sleek and simple bar at the end of the dining room is framed by cobalt-blue booths.

The menu at Ubee’s reads like a text-message. Starters include “Yummus” and “Edu.Mame” (described as a “lipsmacking soysnacking nod to the University of Memphis”). Burgers include the “UBurger,” “UB Cheesy,” and the “DoubleU.” Paninis, salads, and treats continue along the same lines, with the “French 101,” the “Go-Go Granny,” and “Sweetie Pie.”

The second score for Ubee’s: “If U can’t come to Ubee’s, then Ubee’s comes to U,” with delivery service to the surrounding area.

Ubee’s, 521 S. Highland (323-0900)

Sushi is a new addition to Umai‘s menu. Chef/owner Ken Lumpkin currently offers three choices on the main menu and several daily sushi specials. Snapper sashimi with homemade vinaigrette and California greens; seared scallops with spicy sriracha sauce and apple salad; and tuna tartare with capers, scallions, and hazelnut oil are the options on the menu. Specials include a sushi appetizer from selected fish and a sushi platter.

Umai, 2015 Madison (405-4241)