Tag: Valentine’s Day

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Opinion The Last Word

Memphis Is My Boyfriend: A Teen’s Take on Dating

Sometimes all teens want is for someone to listen. (Photo: Courtesy Patricia Lockhart)

I’m a mom of four teenagers. An 11-year-old girl, twin 13-year-old boys, and a 16-year-old boy. And that 16-year-old is … DATING! This is a scary moment for me. Mostly because I know what “dating” looked like for me at 16. (We read and we don’t judge.) Nevertheless, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to hear about dating and Valentine’s Day from the perspective of a teenager. And now, here’s what my son has to say!

For teenagers, Valentine’s Day is a chance to celebrate your relationship, no matter how long you’ve been dating. As you have probably seen from most teenage rom-coms or from social media drama, Valentine’s Day can also be messy. 

In high school, there are tons of unique relationships and several types of couples. Some teens have been dating for only a few weeks, while others are approaching year three! There are some teenagers who struggle to start relationships because of their sexuality. Others struggle to keep relationships just because their partner loses interest and leaves them on “read.” Or some parents prohibit their teens from dating at all. Even if a couple may seem like they are going strong, it can come falling down.

Either way, dating and Valentine’s Day is a pivotal point for teens. Wherever they may be in their dating scene, here are a couple of things to keep in mind as a parent:

• Support your teen: You may not like who they’re dating, but support your teen and make sure they are doing well in their relationship. 

• Don’t embarrass your teen: It can be easy to bring up their flaws or messy habits, but it doesn’t feel good when you are getting embarrassed in front of your girlfriend or boyfriend.

• Offer advice, but don’t lecture: Talking down to someone and talking to them are two different things. You want to make sure that you are talking to teens about their relationship. Be wary of lecturing without giving them an opportunity to be active in the conversation. 

• Listen: Sometimes all teens want is for someone to listen. They may not even want advice, just someone to listen to their situation and understand them.

Luckily, I am in a healthy relationship. We have known each other for years and started dating only five months ago. My partner has to be one of the most enthusiastic and energetic people I have ever met. Whether it comes to the situationships in season seven of The Rookie or her cases at youth court, she always brings her energy to the table (unless she is hangry). Also, seeing her smile just brightens my day. I’ll never forget that. But here are a couple of points that I have learned from other successes and failures that I use to guide my relationship. Teenagers, take a pic of this:

• Communicate your boundaries: Make sure that you both are looking for the same or similar things in a relationship. Let them know up front what’s a “no-go.”

• Respect each other: Everyone deserves respect. In person and online!

• Consent, consent, consent: Ask permission for everything, even hugging and kissing.

• Don’t lie to your parents. Just be open and up front. They’re going to find out anyway. 

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are my plans for my very first Valentine’s Day.

I plan on taking my partner to Ciao Bella Italian Restaurant. Both of us are huge fans of Italian cuisine. With us being teens, we must factor in our parents. We aren’t fully independent, and we can’t just go sneaking out the window to a dinner date. So of course our parents will be there, but hopefully at a different table.

During dinner, I’ll present her with gifts. I know her pretty well. But I cannot afford front row seats to the next WWE Smackdown. And after the holiday season, my accounts aren’t overflowing. But fortunately, I love to make homemade/crafty gifts. I’ll be making an assortment of cards and flowers with a custom blanket that has her favorite celebrities on it (Eric Winter, Melissa O’Neil). In addition to that, I will be making a spray-painted sweatshirt with designs from Michael Jackson and Roman Reigns, a couple more of her favorite celebrities. 

Valentine’s Day as a teenager is a mix of excitement, nerves, and learning experiences. Whether it’s a first date, a longtime relationship, or just navigating the highs and lows of young love, it’s a time of growth. Remember, as parents, it isn’t your role to control the journey but to support, guide, and — most importantly — listen. 

Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. By day, she’s an assistant principal and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. Her son Aiden Lockhart is dating now!

Categories
Cover Feature News

Bluff City Love

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

The early days of 2023 brought more chilly winds and snowfall to the streets of Memphis. But as our teeth chattered and the thermostats dropped, we searched the city for the couples, the lovers, and the romantics who took a unique approach to their relationships, whether it was a chance encounter at Applebee’s or a simmering seven-year passion. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, read on for three uplifting tales of love that could melt an icy Poplar and thaw even the most frozen of hearts.

Marcella Simien and Dustin Reynolds (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)

Marcella Simien and Dustin Reynolds

A lot of locals know singer/songwriter Marcella Simien’s story, including her roots in Mallet, Louisiana. “There’s a church and grocery store, and that’s about it,” she told us last year. “That’s where my grandparents’ home is and where my dad grew up. The Simien family’s ancestry goes back hundreds of years there.” But Simien arrived in Memphis to study art and play the music she’s now celebrated for here. And not long after that, her current romance began — sort of.

“I met Dustin way back in 2012, when I was 20 and he was 36 at the time,” she laughs.

“Nope!” interjects Dustin Reynolds, recalling that time and his reluctance to take things further then. After leaving his native Oklahoma City for Austin, he wound up in New Orleans, which in turn led him to tour with Jack Oblivian and Harlan T. Bobo. “After that I was like, ‘That’s it. These are my dudes. I’m just going to be full-time Memphis.’ And everybody here was like, ‘So you’re from New Orleans! You’ve got to meet Marcella!’ I’d heard of Terrance [Simien] in New Orleans, just because he would play Jazz Fest a lot. I knew his name. So I met 20-year-old Marcella, and I thought she was charming and beautiful, but she needed to ripen on the vine. A little too young!”

“And a little too wild!” interjects Marcella. “So we kind of got our ya ya’s out, and then reconnected when we were a little more calm.” The singer has a gift for understatement: Getting their ya ya’s out actually took a full seven years.

“So I moved home to Oklahoma City for a while, got my shit together, saved some money,” Dustin explains. Meanwhile, the connection they’d felt stayed with both of them.

“I had kind of a crush on him when we met in 2012, but we just had a couple conversations and that was about it,” Marcella says of their first encounter. “He was only in Memphis for a short time that year. Then in 2019, I reached out to him. I really wanted to see him. During that seven-year span, he was kind of in the back of my mind. Like he’d pop up in my mind and I’d think about him sometimes and wonder how he was doing and what he was up to. Those thoughts became so strong that the day after New Year’s 2020, I drove up to Oklahoma City to visit him. And stayed for the weekend, and when it was time for me to leave, we didn’t want to be apart, so he drove his car back to Memphis with me! And he said he was just going to stay a few days —”

Dustin lets out a big laugh, then Marcella continues, “And we didn’t want to be apart, so he just stayed!”

Looking back now, they feel they had two things going for them: their shared love of music and the weeks of lockdown due to Covid. The latter turned out to be a plus, romantically speaking. “It was actually kind of the perfect way to dive in,” reflects Marcella. “It’s sink or swim, and you’re either going to go so well together that you can tolerate and handle each other and know when to give each other space, or not. It’s the fast track to developing a relationship, and I think it strengthened our first year together. We wouldn’t be where we are without that constant time.”

They also made plenty of music during that time, including a single they just dropped, a cover of Johnny Thunders’ “I’m a Boy, I’m a Girl.” And making beautiful music together clearly makes their bond ever stronger, as becomes clear when, at the close of our interview, Marcella lets out: “We just got engaged in August!” — Alex Greene

Regis and Ashley Eleby (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)

Regis and Ashley Eleby

Twenty-four years ago, 19-year-old Regis Eleby’s grandma spotted a hiring sign at the Applebee’s on Union while they were out for lunch after church. She urged him to apply, so he did. Soon, he was hired as an expeditor in the kitchen. “And that’s how it happened,” Regis recalls. That’s how he met Ashley.

Prior to meeting Regis, Ashley had been working at the Applebee’s for a year or so as a hostess. “I was quiet,” she says. “I saw him, but I just thought he was the new guy. He was very loud. Seriously. His job was to call the waiters to come get their food when it was ready in the kitchen and literally I could hear him when I was at the front door at the hostess station.”

Yet, as Ashley and Regis say, opposites attract. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Regis found her cute. But their differences, they soon realized, complemented one another. “I think we’ve kind of rubbed off some on each other,” Ashley says.

“I balance her out, with her coming out a little bit more,” Regis says. “And she actually showed me ways and times when I need to pull back just a little bit. … She has taught me just generally in life, there’s a give and take.”

“Once we really got to know each other,” Ashley adds, “it was like we were different, but we were somehow the same. We realized that [we shared] a lot of experiences from growing up. … We both had our grandparents kinda heavily in our life. I lived with my grandparents and my mom, and he stayed with his grandparents, too. And so I think a lot of the traditional things that we saw growing up just kind of attracted us to each other ’cause it was so familiar.

“Like even I tell [Regis] — him and my grandfather share the same birthday — but I think sometimes the longer we had been together, I realized that they were so much alike. So it was kind of familiar in that way. It was just like some things felt too easy to not be real.”

And things have remained easy for the two, even through difficult times. “With us being together forever,” Regis says, “we’ve gone and grown through normal things in life with each other — setbacks and celebrations. We’ve done that with each other over all of this time.

“And, like, when we got married [in 2018], it was not a formal thing, but kind of more like a celebration ’cause everybody was constantly asking us for the longest time, ‘When y’all getting married?’ Imagine hearing that for 20-something-plus years from everybody’s family and everybody you know.”

“We’ve pretty much grown up together,” Ashley adds. “You change as a person, personalities and sometimes expectations change. If you don’t recognize that, that’s where the ripples come from. At times we’ve gone through that and had our ups and downs. And in those times we have realized that maybe this is just us from being together so long, changing and growing, so we gotta switch it up and figure out how to settle things.”

Still, the two have found fun in growing together, raising their dog Ro, traveling, embracing being homebodies, and, after their days at Applebee’s, embarking on different careers: Regis as a lead department manager at Floor & Decor, and Ashley a case manager at Regional One Health Medical Center. Through it all, laughter remains at the core of everything they do, whether that’s speaking in obscure movie quotes or gifting each other with gag gifts.

“I think anybody else would probably get sick of us,” Ashley says. “But at times where things just get rough and you wanna cry, we find something funny out of it, so I think it definitely eases a lot of the conflict. We gotta laugh.”

As the couple reflects on their 24 years together, from rocking baggy jeans to rocking gray hair and back problems, they look forward to the future and growing older together. “We just talk about [the past] and look at what we’ve been through and realize how that is helping us to focus on the future of what’s coming and just to be ready,” Regis says. “Ready to tackle and handle whatever comes.” — Abigail Morici

Alex da Ponte and Karen Mulford (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)

Alex da Ponte and Karen Mulford

Alex da Ponte and Karen Mulford’s meet-cute wasn’t ushered in by a car ride from Chicago to New York or a summer romance set at the beach. Believe it or not, their relationship started with a slap.

Alex — a local musician — and Karen met at Ardent Studios, where a music video was being filmed.

“Karen was the star of it,” Alex explains. “She was having to slap people across the face to the beat of a song.”

Alex explains that as someone was running around Ardent Studios looking for other volunteers to be slapped, she was doing vocals for another project, and eventually became lucky enough to be slapped by Karen.

“Literally the first time I met her, she slapped me across the face,” Alex says.

After a few conversations, Karen says she thought Alex was cute and remembers reaching out to Alex to see if she was playing anywhere.

“I ended up going to one of her shows at the ‘old-old’ Hi Tone,” explains Karen. “That’s kind of how we got to talking and kind of started to get to know each other a little bit better.”

“In true lesbian fashion, we moved in fairly quickly,” says Alex. “I think we knew when we had gotten through the whole summer and we were still wanting to be around each other all the time.”

April will mark 10 years since they’ve been together, and it also marks their seventh wedding anniversary. And a lot has changed since the couple first crossed paths in 2012, including welcoming a child through IVF. While parenting has changed their lives, there has been a defining characteristic of their relationship that they say has stayed true: silliness. Alex explains that it’s something they both share, and something that keeps things fun.

Becoming parents has also provided an opportunity for the two to learn more about each other, and how to balance each other out with their strengths.

“It’s been funny to see both of us coming on this journey from completely different sides of the coin,” Alex says.

Alex grew up as the middle child of five, while Karen grew up as the “baby of the family.”

“I’ve learned a lot about parenthood through her,” Karen says. “The first diaper I’ve ever changed was my son’s diaper, and I was like 35. So seeing how she is with other kids, with our son, she’s just really good at just setting boundaries and sticking to them, and it being consistent.

“We have different strengths in that arena for sure,” she continues. “Swooping in when we see the other one needs to switch out. It’s been a good experience.”

Karen points to tasks outside of parenting, such as housework, that they’re able to level each other out with. Alex also shares that while she has been able to teach Karen about parenting, she’s been able to learn more about authenticity.

“I think she helped me get more comfortable with being sincere and genuine,” says Alex. “I’m much more guarded in general, and I think I was more so, before Karen, very guarded, less open. I feel like I’ve become more open.”

They’ve been able to help strengthen each other in areas that they may lack, but they also emphasize how the little things make a big difference.

“If I get anxiety over calling the doctor, she’ll just do it for me. Always. It’s just something that she takes care of. And vice versa. It’s lots of little things like that where it’s like, ‘I got you,’ or ‘I’m here for you,’” Karen says.

Those little things are actually key in a successful relationship, Karen says.

“You never feel like you’re going to have to face something alone, for one. You’ve always got your teammate, your partner, but also if it’s something that you can’t handle then you know the other one is there,” Alex adds.

“It’s a tag-team effort.”

This is also a result of time, which the couple agrees has made their relationship stronger. Karen says that in the beginning they weren’t used to each other’s quirks and rhythms. But as they continue to get to know each other, it becomes so much easier. — Kailynn Johnson 

Categories
Cover Feature Memphis Gaydar News

Heartwarming

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

It’s been a cold week in Memphis. For many of us, ice storm 2022 brings back not-so-fond memories of 1994’s monster of a storm. But, with Valentine’s Day right around the corner and many of us (your editor included) in need of a distraction, we’re checking in with some of the Bluff City’s romantics. If these stories of love don’t warm your heart on a frigid February day, we’re not sure what will.

❤

Sheree Renée Thomas + Danian Darrell Jerry

“The night that I met Sheree, it was for a book-signing for Memphis Noir. And what had happened is that I had submitted a story to Memphis Noir, right? But my story didn’t get accepted, so I really didn’t wanna go to the book-signing,” says writer Danian Darrell Jerry on the fateful event that introduced him to Sheree Renée Thomas, a writer who had returned to her hometown after more than a decade in New York City and a stay at Millay Arts residency.

Lucky for both writers, Danian decided to attend the party at Crosstown’s StoryBoard space to support the writers included.

Sheree Renée Thomas and Danian Darrell Jerry found each other through their shared love of writing. (Photos: Justin Fox Burks)

“You know when I met Sheree … I don’t think she was really feelin’ me,” but Danian had an in. He had graduated from the creative writing MFA program at the University of Memphis, where he’d studied with fiction writer Cary Holladay. Holladay, who had mentored Danian and encouraged his literary pursuit, also introduced him to another writer, Arthur Flowers, a longtime mentor and friend to Sheree.

Danian’s connection to Flowers — and his striking looks — first caught her attention. “So he came, and I saw him. And he’s so sweet and so handsome. He has the most gorgeous eyes, right? So I was like, ‘Hmm, who is this? Who is this fine man comin’ in here?’ And then he mentioned one of my favorite people on the Earth, Arthur Flowers, author of Another Good Loving Blues … one of my favorite love stories, which is a blues story and a tribute to Memphis. Then he introduces me, in his way, to a person who would become not only one of my best friends, one of my dream partners and brainstormer of insane ideas and adventures, but also just an amazing person and a person I fell in love with!”

But the courtship wasn’t without a bit of conflict. Sheree admits she was apprehensive about a romantic relationship with Danian at first meeting and gently tried to keep a discerning distance despite initial attraction on both sides. “I tried to steer clear of dating writers. Part of it is because my younger years as a writer were in New York and I saw a bunch of nightmare stories about that. Especially for women writers,” she says. “A lot of times I would see the women’s careers — their writing — would get put aside. Sometimes it’s by choice, right? Like we’re on the outside looking in. But other times, it’s just male ego, and stuff, right? And it didn’t usually seem to work out.”

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

Protective of her fruitful and well-earned writing and editorial career, Sheree decided not to pursue a romantic relationship. The healthy skepticism kept the two from dating, but it didn’t keep them from seeing each other again at Memphis literary events, where their exchanges blossomed into friendship.

When Sheree decided to organize the first Memphis Afrofuturism festival, Black to the Future, in 2018, Danian was beside her, offering positive feedback that fueled her community-building vision. The readings and panels saw them working side-by-side to smooth any ruffles in programming logistics, both running to find cables and empower emerging writers wherever necessary. The rush and success of the event, says Sheree, replanted “the seed,” demonstrating Danian’s optimism and reliability.

Over the course of three years, they fortified the bond through creative projects and a sincere mutual support that surprised them both.

“He was very mature and very whole. … When things would go well for me, he would be rooting for me — one of my biggest cheerleaders,” says Sheree. Danian’s ability to be helpful and happy for her successes and understanding of her losses in the writing industry was unlike the competitive, egoistic male writer stereotype that caused her apprehension.

Likewise, Danian was amazed.

“She just has this air about her that’s kind of, like, regal. So when I first met her, I didn’t think that — I thought she was kind of out of my league. I was surprised that she was interested in me,” Danian says. “She lifted me up so much. It shocked me when she looked at me like I was on her level.” Sheree found this easy to do as a fan of Danian’s writing and a crusader for the exceptionally talented yet humble Memphis creative community — a unique complex that often keeps deserving artists from taking leaps of faith into publishing and other career-building chances.

Finally, a partnership beyond book business was born — where else? The Southern Festival of Books. Sheree was scheduled to speak on a panel, and Danian made the three-hour drive “like Batman,” says Sheree. “I was calling him the Transporter” because she was worried about running late. They filled the trip with conversation and adrenaline, leaving them newly close on arrival. When it was time to read, Sheree was a bit nervous to present a piece she’d never read publicly before, and Danian sat in the front row, expressing his confidence in her.

“So we did this reading, and I did this story. And Danian was in the front row, and he has such a peaceful face. There’s just something about — he made us all feel like he was there just for us, and he was rooting for us. It was just a magical time. I think that successful experience, the adrenaline rush of him driving like Batman all the way down there, and then us just vibing about books and art and music and the crazy publishing industry and the weird politics in Memphis … all the things that we were talking about, I think that just kind of set it off. And we’ve been inseparable ever since!”

These days, the compatible two can be found creating together on a number of present and upcoming projects.

“We do a lot of things together, but I’ll say this, it’s good to be with someone who just gets you. We watched the last season of Game of Thrones together. … It’s good to have someone very close to you to share those kinds of moments,” says Danian.

Sheree adds, “It’s a big difference when you feel like you are where you’re supposed to be.”

❤

Allyson Blair Coley + Kori Coley

When the stars aligned the second time for Allyson and Kori Coley, Kori recalls, “And I walk into Garibaldi’s, and I see her at the cash register, and I’m like, ‘Oh, god, it’s that young girl that has a crush on me.’”

This was the second time workplaces had brought them together — the first when Kori and Allyson worked at neighboring establishments in Cooper-Young. The two had a brief introduction through a mutual friend, when Kori noticed the unusual yellow of Allyson’s eyes and Allyson spotted the film roll tattoo on Kori’s arm — an image she’d wanted herself but didn’t have. After learning of their seven-year age gap, Kori withdrew, and the two didn’t see each other again until Kori walked into the pizza joint to work.

Kori Coley noticed the yellow specks in Allyson’s eyes when she first met her as a co-worker. Now, the two are married. (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)

“And I was just having none of her at all, but everybody there who I had been friends with loved her,” says Kori of the chance encounter. Despite their age difference, the two became friends on the job and spent two years growing closer. Allyson ended things with her long-distance boyfriend back home in Arizona. Kori quit her job and headed elsewhere so that they could resume a serious romantic relationship without the secrecy or allure of an illicit workplace fling.

The two continued to compromise.

Kori says, “I was 30 at the time that we got together, and she was 23. So I had this, like, timeline of how a relationship should go. I had a clear idea of what I wanted out of a relationship, and I was very honest about it.”

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

Allyson admits to being less clear on what she wanted and how to articulate it at that point in life. Deep-feeling but reticent, she says, “I don’t necessarily know how to talk about my feelings and communicate them. I didn’t do that a lot as a kid. But Kori loves communication, and it’s aggravating, but it’s made us stronger in the way she makes me talk about my feelings. If I’m not ready to, she’s patient, and she’s like, ‘Well, here’s all of mine.’”

The two laugh at their differences: Allyson wielding power tools and Kori melting at romance stories. Kori loving technology and Allyson prizing her old cameras, with which she shoots on film. Regardless of who kills the spiders (it’s Allyson), the pair agrees on the big pictures as a unified front:

“We’re opposite, but in the ways that we are the same, it’s all the important, meaningful core values,” says Allyson.

Kori adds, “I love that we’re opposite on so many things because that makes us our own thing — something we can put our passion into without having this competitiveness of ‘Are you better at this one thing than I am?’ We love different things, so we don’t have that at all. And I think it’s been very magical for us.”

Allyson: “You encourage me to do all the things I don’t think I can do.”

Kori: “Yep, you do the same for me.”

Perhaps most central to the Coley couple’s shared beliefs is their dedication to family — both their own and each other’s. Kori describes the first serious talk the two had with a glimpse into the future most couples don’t have early on.

“We’re both the children of single mothers. Our mothers are very important to us, and one of the first conversations we had when we got together was that our mothers will probably live with us someday.”

Both Allyson and Kori have grown into strongly directing their energy into a loving family they both can enjoy. For Allyson, the impulse didn’t always come naturally — largely because it wasn’t always possible. Allyson grew up in Arizona with few family members around. In moving to Memphis, she was taken underwing by her aunt who was openly gay and active in the community as a board member for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and as the owner of feminist bookstore Meristem. Her loving influence touched and inspired Allyson. Then both her parents moved to town, her father remarrying in his late 60s.

“My dad being the Southern man that he is, I didn’t really know how he would take it,” Allyson says. “So, yeah, for a while it was hard when he would say, ‘This is her friend’ when he would introduce us. Now my dad — like this is his daughter, and Kori didn’t have a father around at all, so it’s just beautiful [to see him] accept Kori and call her and sing her happy birthday on her birthday. He came to our wedding. It meant a lot, and it means a lot for him to accept us,” says Allyson, adding that her newish stepmom also wholeheartedly supports the coupling, having both over to their home in Covington to watch football with her and her twin sister, the four women discussing plays while dad scrolls his cell phone.

Of Allyson’s mom, Kori says, “Her mom was resistant at first toward us because she’s a Christian and she’s had this idea. But I was like, ‘No, this woman is about to be my best friend.’ I love her like she’s my own mother.”

Allyson and Kori’s mom are also considerably close, despite Kori’s mom’s shyness. Allyson shares a sweet illustration of their bond: “I had an art show for my 30th birthday at Otherlands. Kori’s mom showed up to my art show in, like, an alien mask and walked around. … She wanted to support me but didn’t want to meet anybody or have to have to talk to anybody, and Kori walked her around and she left. And it was the most beautiful, absurd, ridiculous, heartwarming [thing].”

After 10 years together, Allyson popped the question, and the union was a no-brainer. By their wedding, Allyson and Kori had everyone’s blessing, including Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, who agreed to officiate their wedding when the two reached out with interest in her beliefs and care for the city.

Today, volleying life philosophies from different lenses, the two somehow can’t help but finish each other’s sentences. “I needed to know that we could get through things that change in our lives,” says Kori.

“So we could change together and grow together,” says Allyson.

Categories
Music Music Blog

The Flow: Live-Streamed Music Events This Week, February 11-17

Valentine’s Day may be a quiet affair for most folks this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that music can’t be part of the equation. A few events are scheduled for the great day itself, while others warm up the earlier part of the weekend with pre-holiday events. Try out these players’ offerings, and be sure to tip them generously.

Yubu

REMINDER: The Memphis Flyer supports social distancing in these uncertain times. Please live-stream responsibly. We remind all players that even a small gathering could recklessly spread the coronavirus and endanger others. If you must gather as a band, please keep all players six feet apart, preferably outside, and remind viewers to do the same.

ALL TIMES CST

Thursday, February 11
No scheduled live-streamed music events

Friday, February 12
7 p.m.
Yubu – at Peoples on Beale
Facebook

8 p.m.
Other Creatures – Goner TV
Website    Twitch TV

Saturday, February 13
10 a.m.
Richard Wilson
Facebook

1 p.m.
The Delta Duo – at Tin Roof
Facebook

Sunday, February 14
3 p.m.
Dale Watson – Chicken $#!+ Bingo
YouTube

4 p.m.
Bill Shipper – For Kids (every Sunday)
Facebook

6 p.m.
Rodell McCord – at Tin Roof
Facebook

Monday, February 15
No scheduled live-streamed music events

Tuesday, February 16
7 p.m.
Bill Shipper (every Tuesday)
Facebook

Wednesday, February 17
6 p.m.
Richard Wilson (every Wednesday)
Facebook

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Your Heart’s Desire: Local Restaurants Offer Valentine’s Take-Out Specials

CREDIT: Becky Githinji

Light the candles. Start the mood music. Scatter the rose petals. And let Memphis area restaurants provide the romantic Valentine’s Day dinners. Several local establishments put all their hearts into creating dinners you can pick up and enjoy in the privacy of your own love nest. Here’s a sampling:

Erling Jensen: The Restaurant at 1044 South Yates Road (901 763-3700) is featuring its Valentine’s Day To-Go, which includes clam and potato bisque and an arugula, pear, chèvre, and almond salad with saba vinaigrette; your choice of a 16-ounce beef Wellington or prosciutto-wrapped sea bass served with au gratin potatoes and roasted asparagus; and chocolate-covered strawberries. The dinner for two is $190. There will be an additional cost to interchange the options. Note: Erling’s also will be offering a half-dozen chocolate-covered strawberries for $25 on February 12th, 13th, and 14th.

Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe at 668 Union Avenue (901 207-2598) is offering a Steak Valentine’s Box for two, which includes one tomahawk steak with buttered mushrooms, butter-herb asparagus, garlic smashed potatoes, four honey-butter rolls, grilled strawberry shortcake, two premium cocktails, and one bottle of champagne. Price: $165 with cocktails and wine or $140 without. Becky Githinji

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza at 1761 Madison Avenue (901 410-8866) is providing a “fun, interactive Valentine’s meal” for two, says owner Miles Tamboli. His Valentine’s Dinner Date Meal Kit, which will be available February 13th and 14th, includes a bottle of rose or Pasqua Romeo & Juliet Passione Sentimento (red or white) wine, an appetizer, pizza dough, sauce, and toppings; a recipe card so you can make your own pizza;, and tiramisu for two. Price: $59.95.

Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen at 712 West Brookhaven Circle (901 347-3569), Catherine & Mary’s at 272 South Main Street (901 254-8600), and The Gray Canary at 301 South Front (901 249-2932) are offering a four-course Valentine’s Day Take & Bake dinner for two. First course: salmon tartare with trout roe, apple, crème fraîche, fine herb, versus bianco, and C&M cracker. Second course: Gemelli lobster amatriciana, with panna gratta and basil. Third course: beef tenderloin with root vegetable purée and black truffle bordelaise. Fourth course: chocolate sticky butter toffee pudding with brown butter pecan powder and salted caramel gelato. Wine is an Arnaud Lambert Château de Brézé Crémant de Loire cabernet rosé. The special can be ordered at any of the restaurants until February 11th. Pickup is between noon and 5 p.m. February 13th. Price: $125.

Iris at 2146 Monroe (901 590-2828). Iris partnered with Muddy’s Bakeshop, Joe’s Wine & Liquor, and Rachel’s Flower Shop. The package for two includes an artisan cheese and accoutrement plate, your choice of slow-roasted American kobe short ribs or red snapper and Gulf shrimp court bouillon. These are served with sides of grits and roasted Brussels sprouts. Also, two Muddy’s cupcakes, six roses from Rachel’s, two chocolate martinis from Second Line, and a bottle of Constantia Uitsig South African sparkling wine from Joe’s. And it comes with a card for you to pour your heart into to whoever you’re sharing (or not sharing) the package with. Price: $165.

Magnolia & May at 718 Mount Moriah (901 676-8100) is offering a Filet and House-Made Pasta Magnolia Farm Chef Box for two. It includes local veggies, including Bluff City Fungi mushrooms, and a mustard cream sauce. The box comes with a recipe card and a YouTube video link with preparation instructions. Wine pairings can be added, or you can order a cocktail box, which features Maker’s Mark whiskey and includes a recipe card and video link with directions to make an old fashioned and a blueberry basil smash. Price: $44 for the dinner box and $50 for the cocktail box if it’s ordered with the dinner box. The price is $55 for the cocktail box if it’s ordered separately.

Sweet Grass at 937 Cooper Street (901 278-0278) is featuring a Valentine’s Day Prime Rib Dinner for Two that includes a winter cobb salad, loaded baked potatoes, horseradish cream, Boursin- and pistachio-stuffed piquillo peppers with black garlic honey, artisan rolls with whipped butter, chocolate-covered strawberries, and a bottle of wine. Price: $99 plus tax or $79 plus tax without wine.

Sunrise Memphis at 670 Jefferson Avenue (901-552-3168 ) is doing Valentine’s Day breakfasts: brioche bread with cheesecake frosting and a chocolate drizzle, topped with a chocolate-covered strawberry, for $14; and a Southern Surf and Turf Benedict: pan-fried country ham with fried oysters on an open-faced biscuit, topped with champagne hollandaise and scallions, for $15. Sunrise also will offer “breakfast in bed” delivery via Chow Now online at sunrise901.com. Sunrise recommends ordering early in the day because delivery orders between 10 a.m. and noon are sometimes severely delayed.

Cocozza American Italian at 145 S. Main Street patio (901 523-0523 to order), is offering a That’s Amore Valentine’s Dinner take-out special that includes an aperitivo: a Sicilian Spritzer, house-made of arancello, prosecco and pellegrino; a salad: roasted pepper Caprese with Buffalo mozzarella, re-roasted sweet peppers, basil, olive oil, and balsamic glaze, or a Caesar with romaine, parmesan, croutons, and creamy garlic dressing; pasta: Seafood Cannelloni, which are delicate crepes filled with shrimp, lobster, and crab and baked in a sherry cream sauce with parmesan, or a vodka rigatoni: lightly spiced tomato vodka cream. Entree is a choice of a six-ounce filet mignon Barolo, with red wine reduction, cremini mushrooms, and roasted potato wedges; Herb Crusted Salmon with roasted Brussels sprouts, champagne citrus butter, and balsamic drizzle; or Chicken Cocozza: chicken cutlets sautéed with artichokes, peas, prosciutto, and basil Alfredo. Desserts are a chocolate raspberry torte or a Grande Marnier Creme Caramel. Price: $75 per person plus tax and to-go fee, which includes a cocktail.

Cocozza also is offering the Lady & the Tramp Package, which includes a red-and-white checkered linen tablecloth, a red glass globe candle, and a Cocozza Valentine’s Spotify playlist code. Price: $20. Ask about to-go Wine & Bubbles specials. The take-outs will be available for curbside pick-up at the time you specify on February 14th. Unless they’re sold out, orders may be placed up to 2 p.m. on February 14th.

Categories
News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Standing Brooms, Kind Strangers, and an MLGW Valentine

Swept up

The entire internet was swept away (don’t judge me) by a viral tweet that had folks all over standing their brooms upright. The tweet said that NASA claimed a day last week was the only day of the year brooms would stand on their own because of gravitational pull.

Our very own editor, Bruce VanWyngarden, got in on the miracle, uh, I mean action.

Posted to Instagram by
Bruce VanWyngarden

Kind Strangers

Reddit user u/trillsuave posted that one of his elderly co-workers rides his bike to work every day. But he had a wreck last week, messed up his bike, and needed a replacement.

Within a day, the co-worker was able to secure his friend a new ride, thanks to the folks on the Memphis subreddit. Thanks for the kindness, kind strangers.

CA on Valentine’s

The Commercial Appeal got downright funny (well, punny funny) on Valentine’s Day last week. They posted a series of shareable e-cards, made especially for the Bluff City.

“Let’s grit and grind,” reads one. “Like Peabody Ave., the road to true love was never smooth,” reads another. But here’s my fave.

Posted to commercialappeal.com

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Itta Bena Valentine’s Day Dinner

For Valentine’s, me and my sweetie decided to check out Itta Bena, which was offering a four-course prix fixe ($79) menu created by Chef Kevin Quinnell.

To start, a shrimp cocktail, but due to my nut and fish allergy, I was presented with a cheese plate instead. There were two crisp pieces of bread, sharp cheddar cheese, what tasted like Swiss cheese, and also a blue cheese crumble. A delicious honey mustard type of vinaigrette accompanied everything.

For the appetizer I went with the grilled lamb chop lollipops with a red bell pepper jelly and balsamic reduction. The lamb was soft and juicy and the jelly sweet but overall spicy. The balsamic reduction was a nice counterbalance to the spiciness of the jelly.

I ordered the cornbread stuffed quail for the entree. It was roasted boneless quail, Andouille cornbread stuffing, rice pilaf, and a beet and Cabernet butter emulsion. The quail was tender, the rice pilaf was creamy and smooth and the cornbread was very hearty.

Finally, dessert! I picked the chocolate cake with a rose colored white chocolate ganache center. You could smell the chocolate when the dessert was put in front of you. Other highlights: the crunchy exterior and the gooey and molten center. 

Categories
Music Music Blog

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist

Here’s a rock and roll playlist to heat things up on Valentine’s day. Nothing says romance like loud guitars and leather jackets right? Right. 

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (2)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (3)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (4)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (5)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (6)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (7)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (8)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (9)

Frantic Romantic Valentine’s Day Playlist (10)

Categories
Music Music Blog

Weekend Roundup Part Five

Mavis Staples

By now you should know the drill. Here are our picks of the best concerts this weekend.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13TH:

Mavis Staples, 8:00 p.m. at Germantown Performing Arts Center, $27.50 and up.

Weekend Roundup Part Five

Zoo Girls, David Kurtz, Tony Manard, 8:00 p.m. at Otherlands, $7.00.

Chickasaw Mound, Period Bombs, Snow White, 9:00 p.m. at the Lamplighter.

Graham Winchester and Richard James, 10:00 p.m. at Bar DKDC, $5.00.

Jarekus Singleton, 10:00 p.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room.

Weekend Roundup Part Five (2)

 
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14TH:

Susan Marshall and Friends, 11:00 a.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room.

Den of Strings, Shannon McNally, 5:00 p.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room. 

Lonely Valentine, 7:00 p.m. at Otherlands, $7.00.

Spaceface, Dirty Streets, Young Buffalo, 9:00 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Cafe, $7.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Five (6)

Whitney Morgan and the 78’s, 9:00 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Cafe (Small Room), $15.00

Cedric Burnside Project, 9:00 p.m. at the Young Avenue Deli, $10.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Five (5)

Broken Hearted Boys, 10:00 p.m. at the Lamplighter.

Marcella and her Lovers, 10:00 p.m. at Bar DKDC.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15TH:

The Settlers, 5:00 p.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room.

Murder By Death, Rocky Votolato, 7:00 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Cafe, $13.00

Weekend Roundup Part Five (5)

Jeff Jensen, 7:30 p.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room. 

Weekend Roundup Part Five (6)

Hudson Falcons, Dressed for the Occasion, 9:00 p.m. at the P&H, $5.00.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Date Night

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

It’s date night. Whether you’ve been together for who-knows-how-many years or at the start of something wonderful, you’ve still got to eat. For this special dining guide, we pondered the idea of a date. It’s about togetherness, first and foremost — a shared experience that can enhance whatever other factors come into play.

Justin Fox Burks

True Romance

Romance, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. A couple who met and bonded while slurping down an orange slush at Wiles-Smith drugstore might be more “stimulated” by BLTs served on a Formica counter than sipping a robust Chianti in the darkest corner of Le Chardonnay or savoring the finest, freshest dishes at Encore or Chez Philippe. Such is the nature of sensual memory, love, and romance. But who among us — no matter how humbly inclined — could turn down the opportunity to be a prince or princess for a night? Who could refuse an evening in paradise?

Cielo (the Spanish word for “heaven”) is truly the best of both worlds. Its gorgeous Victorian exterior cloaks the decadently modern interiors like chocolate covers jelly. It’s a place where earthy delights such as mashed potatoes are made heavenly with brie and the humble pork chop is ennobled with fragrant coriander. Exciting contradictions abound in this funky little corner of the sky where the last is made first, the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and innovation is synonymous with tradition. Everything on the menu is angel food.

There’s another, more literary way to consider the “romantic.” The word has always implied a longing for nature and the simple pleasures of bygone days. So what could be more romantic than hailing a horse-drawn carriage on Beale Street and telling the coachman, “To The Inn at Hunt Phelan, James, and make it snappy”? Who wouldn’t feel like Cinderella and Prince Charming climbing down from their coach beneath Hunt Phelan’s majestic columns? Who can resist holding hands in the garden? Whose sensual self wouldn’t be revealed in the presence of quail roasted with pine nuts, currants, and cassis or a beef filet topped with a smoked-mushroom bordelaise? This too is something akin to heaven. — Chris Davis

Cielo, 679 Adams (524-1886)

The Inn at Hunt Phelan, 533 Beale (525-8225)


Double Date

Justin Fox Burks

Di Anne Price serenading diners at Cielo

Want to stretch your dating dollars and make a good impression too? Try the inventive menus at book stores and antique malls for an intelligent new twist to double dating.

At Midtown’s Palladio International Antique Market on Central Avenue, the atmosphere at Café De France is charming and romantic. If the fresh flowers and indoor fountain don’t win her over, wait until she smothers her crisp bread with pesto butter or tries a sparkling French berry limonadae.

The salad and sandwich menu, served Tuesday through Saturday, is equally appealing: smoked chicken with melted goat cheese, chopped dates, and toasted almonds; baked brie with honey, spinach, and Fuji apple slices; or pork loin with mango horseradish mayo and manchego cheese.

While lunch is a little pricey (about $25 for two), the entertainment is free. The mall offers dozens of booths selling collectibles and European antiques, or for more eclectic junking, walk across the street to Gary’s.

Feeling literary in East Memphis? Try Davis-Kidd, where the store’s knowledgeable staff can recommend a local author or a national bestseller. But before claiming the upholstered rocking chairs in the cooking section, find a table at Brontë bistro for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Breakfast starts at 8 a.m., with recipes from celebrity chefs like “Paula Deen’s Perfect Scrambled Egg Platter” or “Tyler Florence’s Yogurt Berry Parfait.” Lunch service begins at 11 a.m., and it’s hard to get past the appetizers. The asiago cheese and artichoke dip is served piping hot with warm pita chips, a satisfying complement to the restaurant’s tomato bleu-cheese soup, made fresh every day.

Sandwiches and entrées priced under $10 fill out the dinner menu, offering deliciously updated versions of wraps, reubens, crab cakes, and pastas. — Pamela Denney

Café De France, 169 Central (725-2212)

Brontë at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 387 Perkins Ext. (374-0881)


Meet for Drinks

Justin Fox Burks

Lobster Benedict for Sunday brunch at Caf 1912

Have you had your eye on that certain someone and finally found the courage to ask him or her out? If dinner seems too much too soon at this point, meet for cocktails. It’s a strategy that’s paved the way for many relationships.

To help you out, we talked to some of the best bartenders from around the city and asked them what drinks can best kick-start a night.

The consensus was that it’s hard to go wrong with wine. Everyone has his or her own personal favorite, but Lana of The Poplar Lounge says that Little Penguin Shiraz is perfect for date night.

Dan from The Hi-Tone, however, cautions that wine can be very hit-or-miss, depending on the quality of what an establishment stocks. His preference? “We have a drink that always leads to a good time, but it’s not particularly the most appetizing-sounding thing,” he says. “We call it ‘Grease Lightning.'” “Grease Lightning” contains equal parts tequila and Red Bull served shaken and strained into a glass. “It sounds crazy,” Dan acknowledges, “but it’s good. Trust me.”

Not that the Hi-Tone is the only establishment with a unique homebrew, of course. Anita, mistress of The Stage Stop, wouldn’t give away her secret recipe but did tantalize with a teaser: “It’s a mix of four top-shelf white liquors and a tropical-juice blend that’s topped with beer and served on ice in 44-ounce pitchers,” she says. Anita didn’t give the concoction a name, so let’s call it the “Stage Stopper.”

Martinis are always solid standbys. The specialists at Swig recommend either a “Flirtini” (vodka, champagne, and pineapple juice) or the house recipe “Strawberry Seduction,” which tastes just like it sounds. Mike, a bartender for two years at Gill’s, says that you can’t go wrong with a classic Cosmopolitan, though he adds that a good whiskey and Coke will always warm you up in the winter. Café Soul‘s Melvin Daniel suggests a turn toward the exotic with a pomegranate or mango martini. “They are both delicious. I can put it no other way,” he says.

The folks at The Buccaneer swear up and down on their “Malibu Madras,” a mix of cranberry juice, orange juice, and rum stirred into a highball glass. Memphis staple Alfred’s echoes Gill’s thumbs-up on the Cosmopolitan, but they insist that their “Walk-Me-Down” — rum, gin, tequila, sour mix, and Sprite served over ice — takes the cake. — Zac Hill

The Poplar Lounge, 2586 Poplar (324-1233)

The Hi-Tone Café, 1913 Poplar (278-TONE)

The Stage Stop, 2951 Cela (382-1577)

Swig, 100 Peabody Place (522-8515)

Gill’s, 551 S. Highland (458-2787)

Café Soul, 492 S. Main (859-0557)

The Buccaneer, 1368 Monroe (278-0909)

Alfred’s, 197 Beale (525-3711)


Sweets for Your Sweetie

Justin Fox Burks

Tyler Florence’s Yogurt Berry Parfait at Bront

Here at the Flyer, we cherish our public-service role. It is in that spirit that we doggedly scoured the city in search of restaurants that wouldn’t look askance at you, gentle consumer, for wanting only dessert on your date.

At Cheesecake Corner, former steelworker Kevin Matthews has elevated the art of the cheesecake to unprecedented heights. The pastry case holds cheesecake creations including brandy, lemon fudge, peach pecan, and “Red Velvet,” among many, many others. The typical slice is good for sharing. The downtown shop is open until midnight on weekends.

The Crepe Maker‘s “Triple Treat” is your basic crepe with Nutella (need I say more?), bananas, strawberries, and whipped cream. The “Bad Girl” (for boys too) features the delicate duo dulce de leche and Grand Marnier, along with cinnamon, powdered sugar, and strawberries. Crepe Maker is open till 9 p.m. weeknights and 10 p.m. weekends.

If you’re caught out east well after dark with a sweet tooth, the Silver Spoon has a tasty cobbler that’s even tastier topped with ice cream. Plus, the place is a favorite of North Memphis rapper Yo Gotti. Open late with DJ and entertainment.

Paulette’s offers one of the best dessert menus in the city. Do not allow yourself to become indecisive. Get the K-Pie. Better known as the “Kahlua Mocha Parfait,” this monument to sweetness features a pecan-coconut crust and a shot of Kahlua. Not exactly your goin’-steady ice-cream soda. If you’re not ready for that kind of commitment, though, Paulette’s serves crème brûlée, key-lime pie, and their own classic crepes. Paulette’s is open until 9 p.m. on weeknights and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. — Preston Lauterbach

Cheesecake Corner, 113 East G.E. Patterson (525-CAKE)

Crepe Maker, Avenue at Carriage Crossing, 4630 Merchants Way Circle #731,

Collierville (861-1981); 175 Peabody Place (522-1290)

Silver Spoon, 6063 Mt. Moriah (365-6881)

Paulette’s, 2110 Madison (726-5128)


Cheap Date

Justin Fox Burks

Martinis at Swig

Madison Avenue may elicit visions of well-coifed, high-fashion types in New York, but here in Memphis, Madison Avenue offers a plethora of venues for the ultimate cheap date. The P&H Café, the Lamplighter Lounge, and Yosemite Sam’s all offer full menus, beer on tap, and entertainment at a reasonable price.

At The P&H Café, you can enjoy a game of pool or darts, live music, free wi-fi, and the best bathroom graffiti in town. The menu offers a variety of items ranging from spaghetti to a feta-and-caper-stuffed burger. If your date is in need of a sugar rush, go for the Bunny Cream — a deep-fried honey bun topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.

A little farther east on Madison is The Lamplighter Lounge. It’s intimate and … smoky. Belly up to the bar for a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) on tap and a deliciously greasy “Shirley” burger. (If Shirley’s not there to put a little extra love in the sauce, ask if tamales are in season.) The regulars can usually help out in terms of lively conversation. At the very least, they can assist you with The New York Times crossword puzzle.

On the corner of Madison and Cooper is Yosemite Sam’s, once known for its eye-catching turquoise exterior. Go straight for a stiff drink and the karaoke menu. Even if you think you are not the karaoke type, chances are you will change your mind after an hour or two. The crowd is very accepting of the tone-deaf. Once you have a few songs under your belt, a Varmit burger will hit the spot. — Stacey Greenberg

The P&H Café, 1532 Madison (726-0906)

The Lamplighter Lounge, 1702 Madison (726-1101)

Yosemite Sam’s, 2126 Madison (726-6138)


Dutch Treat

Justin Fox Burks

Cobbler at Silver Spoon

How does a meat-eating dad cope with a teenage daughter becoming a vegan? In our household, he goes Dutch, bringing his own entrées to the dinner table from two family-owned restaurants tucked in East Memphis strip malls.

From New Chang Ying on Park Avenue, the dinner contribution is a quart of wonton soup made fresh to order in one of Danny Liu’s well-seasoned woks. At $2.45, the soup is delicious and affordable. A simple stock seasoned with green onions, shredded Chinese cabbage, and a little salt and pepper is the warm and soothing backdrop for 10 plump wontons filled with ground pork, a touch of sugar, and three sauces: soy, soy mushroom, and oyster.

“We also put a little chopped vegetables in the wontons, and there’s no greasy chicken broth,” Liu explains. “We make our broth with water.”

About a mile away on Getwell Road, another local family is cooking the most authentic chicken wings this side of Buffalo. Ching’s jumbo party wings offer just that — a hearty mix of drummies and two-prongers seasoned any of nine different ways: honey hot (our favorite), honey gold, original seasoned, lemon pepper, dry hot, mild hot, regular hot, extra hot, and suicide.

Along with the wings, orders are dressed with sliced carrots and celery and (no kidding) a croissant. “One day we ran out of rolls so we brought croissants, and everybody liked it,” explains owner Josh Williams, juggling phone orders and walk-ins on a busy Thursday night.

Not that waiting is a problem at Ching’s, the nickname of Williams’ grandmother, Shirley Wilson. These folks are serious Memphis Tiger fans, and they have the memorabilia to prove it and keep their patrons occupied while they wait for their orders. Jerseys, posters, and more than 100 framed photos cover the restaurant walls. Coach Cal is a customer, and yes, he has a regular order. “Original seasoned,” Williams says. “He likes his wings dry, no sauce.” — Pamela Denney

New Chang Ying, 3992 Park (324-8080)

Ching’s Hot Wings, 1264 Getwell (743-5545)


Dining In


Shirley serves her burger at The Lamplighter Lounge

Date night doesn’t always mean going out. Sometimes the most romantic setting is right in your own dining room. Just ask Kristi Witt.

With 20 years of professional cooking under her belt, Witt is something of a food goddess. Typical catering jobs have her preparing meals for as many as 75 people, but she also has been hired to make dinner just for two.

Witt has worked in food service since she was 21 years old. That’s when she moved to Memphis from Arkansas, first working for Fascinating Foods and then for Karen Carrier after Carrier started Another Roadside Attraction. About 10 years ago, Witt decided to go out on her own, making food her business.

“Sometimes people think I have 20 employees and three delivery vans, but it’s really just me,” Witt explains. However, she has a network of friends who are also food-service professionals, which she “recruits” for jobs that require more than one woman.

Although she has dined out on Valentine’s Day many times, she now prefers her own dining room for a romantic dinner.

“My husband and I really try to make every day special,” Witt says. “If I have to work on Valentine’s Day, we wouldn’t feel like we missed our chance for a romantic evening. You miss your chance if you wait for Valentine’s Day to come around.”

Because both Witt and her husband enjoy cooking she isn’t sure yet who’ll be wearing the chef’s hat that night. But she knows what’s cooking if she gets to choose the menu.

“Mushroom risotto. I would definitely make mushroom risotto. That’s the ultimate comfort food for me. And because it’s a special occasion, I would add truffles to the risotto. We would have arugula salad with roasted beets, toasted walnuts, and blue cheese and a nice piece of fish — probably tuna. It’s my husband’s favorite fish.”

And for dessert? “A couple of pieces of really nice dark chocolate — the kind that’s good for your heart,” she says with a laugh. To complement the chocolate: Rosa Regale, a very affordable red sparkling wine with a hint of raspberries and rose. — Simone Wilson

Kristi Witt, kristi@warnerwitt.com


The Morning After


Justin Fox Burks

Wonton soup at New Chang Ying

Sometimes it’s tough to get away for a night on the town. Family obligations, children’s sleepovers, etc. can keep you home, hoping against hope to find some humor on Saturday Night Live. But all is not lost. There’s another day left in the weekend, another chance to act like grownups out on the town.

And that’s where Sunday brunch at Café 1912 comes in handy. It’s sophisticated and comforting all at once. When you walk in, you’re greeted by the smoky aroma wafting from Chef Tony Barnes’ small, open kitchen. The warm yellow walls and the intimate seating make you feel as though you’ve found an oasis of civilization, a little piece of Europe in Midtown.

I suggest starting brunch the civilized way, with a Mimosa, though some folks prefer the Bellini (peach nectar and champagne). The menu offers such delicacies as Lobster Benedict, crepes, and other luscious fare, but the pièce de résistance is the Irish Breakfast. I know, I know, this is a Continental/French kind of place, but Café 1912 does Irish right, with eggs, sausage and bacon, garlic potatoes, sliced Roma tomatoes, and brown-sugar baked beans piled high on a crockery plate. Savor and enjoy. Have another Mimosa. Follow it up with a crème brûlée, and you’re ready for an afternoon nap. And what could be more grownup than that? — Bruce VanWyngarden

Café 1912, 243 S. Cooper (722-2700)