Tag: vegan

Categories
Hungry Memphis

Guru’s City Vegan to Open in November

Daudi "Da Vegan Guru" McLean (Credit: Guru's City Vegan)

What do Cedric the Entertainer, Angela Simmons, and the Green Bay Packers all have in common? Maybe not much, but they’re all fans of the vegan cuisine whipped up by celebrity chef and restaurateur Daudi McLean.

Known as “Da Vegan Guru,” McLean is soon bringing his talents to Memphis with a new restaurant, Guru’s City Vegan. The full-service restaurant, to be located at 509 S. Highland, is slated to have a soft opening in November. City Vegan will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also have a juice and smoothie bar.

GVC Mac & Cheese (Credit: Guru’s City Vegan)

A former New York City firefighter and music producer, McLean switched to a vegan diet to lose weight and quickly pivoted to becoming a professional chef, having served celebrity clients for more than 30 years now. He owns several restaurants around the country, has catered for films and TV shows, and helped with a “Happy Living Thanksgiving” event for Nickelodeon. Guru’s City Vegan will be his first Memphis location.

Before November’s soft launch, McLean will treat Memphians at several pop-ups around the city, the first of which will take place at Grind City Brewery at 4 p.m. Saturday, October 16th. Plates will cost $15, with extra sides available for an additional $5. Diners can pick multiple courses per plate, including entrees such as city ribs, GVC fried chicken, and surf city shrimp; or mac & cheese, candied yams, black eyed peas, or grandma’s greens on the side.

Vegan golden beer-battered fried fish and shrimp. (Credit: Guru’s City Vegan)
Categories
Cover Feature News

Eat Your Veggies: 11 Great Vegetarian Dishes from Memphis Restaurants

CREDIT: Julia Baker

As any vegetarian or vegan will tell you, meat is not an essential ingredient in a hearty, satisfying meal. Around town, a multitude of options abound. From ramen and pizza to nachos and hot dogs, you can cure just about any craving with a veggie-packed dish. Here are a few of our staff favorites, procured from local restaurants.

Julia Baker

Vegetarian Crazy Noodle

Crazy Noodle, Miso Ramen or Vegetarian Crazy Noodle

Getting a pick-up order at The Crazy Noodle on Madison is a reminder of two matters: (1) There are things to do with noodles (er, udon) other than make spaghetti. And (2) Korean cuisine favors spicy dishes.

The popular Miso Ramen is a case in point. A soupy mix of spinach, tofu, onions, carrots, zucchini, cabbage, and the aforementioned udon stirred into a tangy bean paste broth, this dish awakens the palate and is hearty enough to be a complete meal.

Another good bet is the Vegetarian Crazy Noodle, with similar ingredients, including shiitake mushrooms and Korean radish and just the right amount of red pepper — not so much as to make you take breaks between bites but not so little as to escape your notice. The dishes range from $9.99 to $10.99, and service on the pick-up orders is quick and thoughtful. — Jackson Baker

2015 Madison, 272-0928

Roger Sapp

Portabella Mushroom Sandwich

Central BBQ, Portabella Mushroom Sandwich

You’re sitting at Central BBQ surrounded by meat, but you don’t want meat. Try the portabella mushroom “barbecue” sandwich. It’s a hefty sandwich with portabella instead of pork. A portabella already tastes a lot like meat, but the folks at Central add barbecue sauce, slaw, and other fixings and — voila! — you’ve got a faux barbecue sandwich.

The sandwich was born when they were “looking for a vegetarian item” to serve, says Roger Sapp, one of the owners. Fellow owner Craig Blondis suggested a grilled portabella mushroom. “We marinate it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar,” Sapp says. “Then we throw it on the grill and serve it like you would a barbecue.” They top it with smoked Gouda cheese and serve it on a bun. If you’re vegan, ask them to leave off the cheese.

Craig’s wife, Elizabeth Blondis, likes the portabella mushroom sandwich with Central BBQ’s mustard sauce. “It makes it not so sweet,” she says. “Just a little bit more savory.” — Michael Donahue

Multiple locations including 2249 Central, 272-9377

Shara Clark

RP Tracks, BBQ Tofu Nachos

RP Tracks, BBQ Tofu Nachos

Pre-COVID, my sister, who admittedly isn’t the most adventurous eater, tried tofu for the first time at RP Tracks — the BBQ Tofu Nachos, to be exact — and loved it. Crispy on the outside with a soft center and tossed in a sweet barbecue sauce, the tofu nuggets are layered underneath loads of lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, cheddar cheese, and black bean chili (be sure to request the bean chili rather than meat for the full-on vegetarian version). All that veggie goodness is piled high on a bed of tortilla chips and topped with a dollop of sour cream. It’s a generous, shareable helping for the price ($10) and a great starting point for the tofu-curious. Really, who doesn’t love a good nacho?

There are plenty of other veggie-friendly dishes on the menu, but don’t sleep on the tofu version of Pedro’s Wings. Strips of fried tofu are covered in your choice of wing sauce, and believe me when I tell you, it’s surprisingly close to the real thing. They’ve even got vegan ranch to dip ’em in. — Shara Clark

3547 Walker, 327-1471

Matthew J. Harris

Golden India, Palak Paneer

Golden India, Palak Paneer

When I was a freshman in college, I made a short, unsuccessful stint of going vegetarian. Though I quickly gave in at the first hint of pulled pork at a football tailgate, the experience did cement my love for Indian cuisine and for one dish in particular: palak paneer.

The dish, also incorrectly referred to as green paneer depending on where you are in the U.S., is a spinach curry composed mainly of a mix of Indian cottage cheese, or paneer, and puréed spinach. The dish is then served over rice with a side of naan, creating a fairly light but filling meal.

In town, Golden India makes some of the best palak paneer. With mild, medium, and hot — and dear lord is it hot — their palak paneer can please just about any palate. My go-to meal is palak paneer, garlic naan, and a mango lassi. — Matthew J. Harris

2097 Madison, 728-5111

Samuel X. Cici

The Doghouzz, Beyond Memphis Dog

The Doghouzz, Beyond Memphis Dog

If it looks like a dog, feels like a dog, and tastes like a dog, then it’s probably a regular ol’ hot dog, right? Wrong.

The Doghouzz’s full menu can take any selection and swap out an all-beef frank for a Beyond Meat dog. It’s all the hot-diggity-dog goodness of a regular dog bundled up in a nice, vegan package. If you want to keep it quintessentially Bluff City, there’s no going wrong with the classic Memphis Dog. Packing in some staples of 901 dining, the Memphis Dog is slathered with barbecue sauce and smothered under a bed of coleslaw, for good measure. And to provide that last bit of extra kick, don’t get it without the serving of sliced jalapeños.

Perhaps the highest compliment, from this longtime carnivore, at least, is that I couldn’t tell I wasn’t munching on a “real” hot dog. The Doghouzz’s vegan twist on a long-standing fixture of American dinners, festivities, and events makes the “dog” more accessible than ever. — Samuel X. Cicci

1349 Autumn, 207-7770

Sweet Grass / Twitter

Sweet Grass, General Tso’s Cauliflower

Sweet Grass, General Tso’s Cauliflower

Food swaps aren’t fun. Zoodles for noodles? Okay, but c’mon. Tofurkey? I get it, but geez.

The General Tso’s Cauliflower ($12) at Sweet Grass ain’t that. I don’t order it because I can’t have or don’t want fried chicken. (I always want fried chicken, btw.) I order the cauliflower because it’s got-damned delicious.

The Sweet Grass General Tso’s is generously coated in tempura and fried, giving the dish a meaty heft that’s substantial under the knife. Then it’s bathed in that classic, orange-brown sauce. Sweet Grass didn’t go haute cuisine on this. The sauce is that sweet, sticky, tangy, slightly hot stuff you know and love.

Together, the tempura and the sauce tenderly hug it all in a flavor parka. Then the whole thing is snuggled down on a bed of coconut rice and tucked in with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Oh, and there’s cauliflower inside all of that. — Toby Sells

937 Cooper, 278-0278

Julie Ray

Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant, Yetsome Beyaynetu

Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant, Yetsome Beyaynetu

Open the doors to Abyssinia and you are transported to a friendly village in Africa. In this village, the porous injera bread made from teff, a mineral-rich, gluten-free whole grain high in protein, is abundantly stacked in poly bags for takeout.

Owner-operator Meseret “Missy” Abdi serves a visually tantalizing palette of color synonymous with George Hunt Memphis in May artwork — only with food. A menu item called Yetsome Beyaynetu overflows with split spicy red lentils, split yellow peas, collard greens, mixed vegetables, potato salad, and beet salad. It is beautiful and tasty with flavorful spices. Abdi says the menu item is vegan, too.

Dining in Ethiopia is characterized by the ritual of breaking injera and eating from the same plate. Bring friends and partake in this custom signifying the bonds of loyalty and friendship over melded flavors of exotic spices, sweet and savory vegetables, and curiously sour yet nutty injera bread. — Julie Ray

2600 Poplar, #115, 321-0082

Jesse Davis

Crisy Ginger Tofu

Soi Number 9, Crispy Ginger Tofu

Inside the unassuming takeout box is a lunch ready to launch my taste buds on a meatless, ginger-tinged journey to FlavorTown. I open the folded cardboard lid and steam escapes. I got my lunch delivered (GrubHub for the win) from Soi Number 9.

On more than one occasion, I’ve snagged a mid-festival lunch from the familiar orange food truck, so a dish from Soi Number 9 is a little like having a mini-festival in my kitchen. In this year of no gatherings, well-prepared comfort food gives reason enough to celebrate.

Though the Thai street food vendors started with a food truck, they also operate a brick-and-mortar business inside the UT Health Science Center Food Hall. This is the first time I’ve tried the Crispy Ginger Tofu ($9.75), and it does not disappoint. The dish is made with seasoned tofu strips and stir-fried vegetables served with ginger soy, steamed jasmine rice, and cucumbers. The ginger gives the rice, in perfectly sticky clumps, a faint sweetness. The thinly sliced strips of tofu are light and crunchy. The fat slices of carrot may be the star of the show, though. Their crunch complements the crispy-on-the-outside, soft-inside tofu and the sticky rice.

For up-to-date information on the whereabouts of the food truck, check Soi Number 9’s social media pages. — Jesse Davis

920 Madison, 448-3443

Tamboli’s

Veggie Verdura Pizza

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza, Veggie Verdura Pizza

Tamboli’s has become one of our regular go-to takeout options in recent months. Locally owned (chef and owner Miles Tamboli is an alumni of the Flyer‘s 20>30 Class of 2018), the restaurant is located in the former Fuel space on Madison.

We’re particularly fond of Tamboli’s hand-made pizzas. There are actually three vegetarian options: a savory cheese; the Cacio e Pepe (herbed ricotta topped with fresh mozzarella, pecorino Romano, cracked black pepper, and white truffle oil); and our favorite, the Veggie Verdura. Here’s how the menu describes it: “Topped with our savory red sauce, olive oil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, red onions, Bluff City Fungi’s shiitake mushrooms, Kalamata olives, ricotta, and a drizzle of roasted red pepper aioli on 14″ artisan dough.” The menu neglects to mention that it’s “tasty as a mug,” even if you’re not a vegetarian. It’s $14.25, and worth it. — Bruce VanWyngarden

1761 Madison, 410-8866

Alex Greene

Global Café

Global Café, various dishes

With three counters sporting the cuisines of Syria, Sudan, and Venezuela, it makes sense that the Global Café’s vegetarian game is strong. If you’ve had tabbouleh elsewhere, you may expect a lot of bulgur wheat. But, as a Lebanese anthropologist once told me, tabbouleh is really all about the parsley, and that’s very much the case in the Syrian version here. A more authentic example of the dish would be hard to find. The hummus and falafel plate is also quite fresh, with a strong tahini flavor. Both are vegan.

The menu notes that the spinach pie is not vegan, as it’s brushed with egg, but old-school vegetarians can still enjoy that or the cheese pie alternative. Be aware, though, that these do not resemble the classic Greek spanakopita, which uses phyllo dough, but are more like stuffed bread rolls.

Finally, I sampled some Venezuelan potato and cheese empanadas, or small, fried dough pockets (which can also be ordered with black bean filling). These are remarkably airy, and the garlic sauce served on the side complements them well. — Alex Greene

1350 Concourse, Suite 157, 512-6890

Laura Jean Hocking

Pho Binh, Lemongrass Tofu

Pho Binh, Lemongrass Tofu

People from outside Memphis never believe you when you tell them we have really excellent Vietnamese food here. It goes beyond the preconception of Memphis as a barbecue and hot wing town. But there has been a thriving Vietnamese community in the Bluff City since at least the 1970s, and our cuisine has benefited enormously.

Before the pandemic, Pho Binh, the modest, family-run Vietnamese restaurant on Madison Avenue, functioned as Midtown’s lunchroom. You’d see suited bankers rubbing shoulders with vegan crust punks and Black moms at the crowded buffet. Their vegetarian offerings are always top-notch. Whether sautéed in a rich black bean sauce or stir-fried with green beans, nobody does tofu better than Pho Binh.

The queen of the Pho Binh menu is the lemongrass tofu. Everyone is equal when they’re sitting at a table, picking at the remains of their buffet plate, waiting for the kindly cook to bring out a fresh pile of the dusky tofu cubes. Then, as she returns to the kitchen with an empty chafing dish, the vultures descend. Forget Antifa agitators, if there’s a riot in Midtown, it will start over lemongrass tofu.

What makes it so great? The texture is perfection: firm, but not rubbery; a little juicy, but not soggy. The uniform tofu blocks are heavily tossed with Pho Binh’s secret lemongrass concoction and fried. Serve over sticky white rice, and that’s it. No sauce or additional ingredients required. Perfection itself. It’s even better as takeout, because you don’t have to fight for it. — Chris McCoy

1615 Madison, 276-0006

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Crosstown’s No Meat Meet-Ups: for Vegans and Veg-Curious

Bianca Phillips has been organizing vegan events in Memphis since 2004. Phillips says that, for her, it started as a moral issue rather than one of diet.

“I consider myself an ethical vegan, so vegan for the animals,” she says. “[We] don’t want to contribute to factory farming.

“When I went vegan in 2004, I wanted to meet other vegans. I put flyers around town, old-school flyers. Like, ‘We’re going to have an animal rights meeting!’ and people came.” At the time, the focus of the group was to spread animal rights information and not to focus on the health benefits of veganism.

Bianca Phillips

No meat, no problem — Crosstown Arts hosts vegan potluck meet-ups.

“We’d organize mostly PETA protests, and PETA would send us materials and we’d go out to KFC or somewhere. … We did circus protests, vegan leafleting, dressed in full plant costumes that we made ourselves,” she says with a laugh.

“[At the time] it was called Memphis Area Animal Rights Activists, and shortly after we started, I met a guy named Vaughan Dewar, and he was interested in starting a vegan meet-up group to be more focused on the food aspects of veganism and not quite as much the protest side of things,” Phillips says.

“He joined our animal rights group, but on the side, he founded another group called Food Awareness, and he would put together these super-researched presentations and go to churches and other places to deliver these talks about the benefits of a plant-based diet.

“At some point, we merged our groups together and started doing less of the protest stuff and became more focused on vegan meet-ups. So we would get together once a month at different restaurants around town and eat vegan food together,” she says, citing popular spots for vegans and non-vegans alike, like Pho Binh, which is famous for its lemongrass tofu.

Roughly 16 years later, the vegan movement in Memphis is stronger than ever. “Just in the past two years, with the whole plant-based movement, it’s much more socially acceptable to be vegan or ‘plant-based,'” she says. “I used to feel like I knew, or knew of, all the vegans in Memphis, but not anymore.”

It does feel like there are significantly more options for vegans in Memphis now than there were in the past. With the rise of local establishments like Imagine Vegan Cafe and the Raw Girls food truck, the city is embracing veganism more than ever.

Last year, when the cafe at Crosstown Arts transitioned from a full-service lunch and dinner menu to a smaller menu of pastries and coffee, Chris Miner, co-founder of Crosstown Arts, wanted to make sure the space was kept active.

That’s when he approached Phillips about organizing a monthly vegan potluck in the cafe space. Miner was familiar with Phillips’ history of organizing vegan food and drink events and thought that would be a perfect fit for Crosstown Arts.

The No Meat Meet-Up Vegan Potlucks launched last September, with about 30 attendees at the inaugural event. Since then, the attendance has gone up each month, with attendees bringing a rich variety of vegan dishes to each gathering. While it’s not required that those who attend bring a dish, it is, of course, encouraged so there’s enough food to go around.

Some of the dishes people have brought to past potlucks include tater tot casserole, Bhel Puri, vegan pizza, and desserts. It’s a great way for even non-vegans, who may be intimidated by the perceived confines of a vegan diet, to sample a number of different vegan food options at once.

For vegans who want to gather with like-minded people, or non-vegans who are curious about plant-based diets, the No Meat Meet-Up Vegan Potlucks are an opportunity to meet, mingle, and sample different kinds of foods.

Crosstown Arts will host the next No Meat Meet-Up Vegan Potluck on Sunday, February 16th.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Sanctadiet

CREDIT: Oleksandra Naumenko | Dreamstime.com

Are we all about cauliflower now? Because I thought we were still doing avocados? Or is there a shortage? I know almonds are out because they treat the earth like a frat boy treats a public bathroom, but are we still doing nuts and seeds at all?

I know we’re about “bombs” right now. All those sped-up recipe videos on my Facebook feed are for cheesy garlic lasagna bombs, cheesy meatball garlic bombs, and deep-fried cheesy garlic chicken broccoli Crock-Pot bacon bombs. Is that a reflection of the current political climate?

Oleksandra Naumenko | Dreamstime.com

Pink champagne cupcakes are apparently the new macarons. Or maybe the new cronut. Is that because we have a gazillionaire in the White House? Will cotton balls dipped in fruit juice be the next mini-tacos to celebrate a former model as First Lady? Will we bring back chicken Kiev to celebrate our Russian comrades?

So many questions I have about food right now. Like how many recipes for Crock-Pot roast made with peperoncini and Ranch dressing mix do you really need? And when did we start wrapping everything in pizza dough or refrigerated rolls? I mean, I love a stuffed whomp biscuit as much as the next girl, but salted caramel chocolate cake stuffed in crescent rolls and deep fried is a bit much. Who am I kidding? I’d eat the ass outta that low-flying duck.

But about this cauliflower thing. You’re supposed to make pizza crust out of it because it’s healthy. I don’t think anyone would argue cauliflower is healthy. Anything that tastes like a packing peanut is going to be healthy, but by the time you crumble the cauliflower, mix it with cheese, top it with sauce, more cheese, pepperoni, and sausage, I don’t think you get to call it healthy anymore.

My best healthy eating hack has to do with portion control. Simply scoop out the food that falls into your bra for quick midday snacks. I also highly advocate what I like to call the “Sanctadiet.” I can’t say enough about how telling all your friends you don’t eat rice due to unethical harvesting practices, or that you’re not eating GMO foods because your yoga friend told you GMOs caused perimenopausal women’s bones to turn to the consistency of cornmeal will totally change your life and the lives of those who have to listen to you. The Sanctadiet starts working the minute you feel a sense of superiority because you had a spinach smoothie for breakfast when you know Karen had granola loaded with sugar, because she told you over double soy latte caramel half-caff grandes.

It’s really important when startin​g a Sanctadiet that you tell a​ll your friends. I mean, you don’t want to, like, preach. They know what’s best for their bodies, even though you know that chemicals will literally kill you. So when Pam says she ate half an extra-large Meatzilla stuffed-crust pizza last night, it’s important to tell her that you respect her decision (even though all that salt, sodium, preservatives, and salt will make you bloated and sluggish and unable to stay awake through your mindfulness sessions), and that you totally admire the way she can stay functional with all those chemicals running around her system. It’s not your thing, sure, but you totally understand a cheat day. And when she says she was starving because she’d just run 14 miles for a charity event, make sure you tell her you admire her for running, when it’s so horrible for your knees.

The Sanctadiet doesn’t work if your adrenaline doesn’t get going while waiting for her to shut her piehole so you can tell her what Dr. Oz says about chia seeds. Also, you get to tell her about how your college roommate posted that thing about how there are a ton of charities that are totally bogus, but you’re sure she’s totally vetted that one to make sure that a celebrity endorses it so you know it’s legit — even though charity begins at home and that charity she did the run for was to raise money to treat kids who lost limbs in bomb attacks in Syria. But whatever! What’s best for me isn’t always best for you, Pam!

I have found that we can wipe out the damage unhealthy eating does to us as long as we put the picture of the unhealthy food on Instagram and use a ton of hashtags. Posting a heavily filtered picture of your triple-decker cheeseburger (that you totally bought as a joke) with a string of hashtags — such as: #tripledecker #gonnadothis #cantbelieveiorderedthis #getinmybelly #blessed — lets your followers know that you’re in on the joke, and, honestly, t​hat burns calories. Eating trans fats ironically doesn’t count as an unhealthy habit.

I’m trying to add more green stuff to my diet, because I honestly love green stuff. But washing vegetables is hard work, y’all! #thestruggleisreal

Susan Wilson also writes for yeahandanotherthing.com and likethedew.com. She and her husband, Chuck, have lived here long enough to know that Midtown does not start at Highland.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

A Visit to Zaka Bowl

Earlier this week, Bianca and I were invited to check out Zaka Bowl. 

Zaka Bowl is a build-your-own veggie bowl restaurant that is 100% vegan. There are no appetizers or desserts. 

The design, from the decor to the logo is spare, without frills — a visual nod to the menu with its emphasis on whole foods. 

But don’t equate this with boring or flavorless. Guests can choose such veggies as smoked portabella, an excellent roasted tofu, mustard herb cauliflower, lemon-garlic broccoli, and sesame eggplant to build on a base of either zucchini noodles, quinoa, wild rice, or spinach. Garnishes include charred corn, roasted beets, edamame, pineapple pico, and rosemary carrots. All this topped by sauces — creamy avocado, green tea vinaigrette, coconut curry, sriracha bbq, sesame soy vinaigrette, and Zaka sauce (a spicy mayo).

There are two featured bowls, and the owner says he’s thinking about creating more. I went with the Zaka Zen with the broccoli, tofu, eggplants, carrots, beets, and pico. I thought it sounded perfect for the recently cooled weather, and it was. Earthy with dashes of sweet from the pico and the beets, and totally filling. Try as I might, I couldn’t quite finish the bowl. 

Bianca went the build your own route and chose quinoa, tofu, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, carrots, and jicama slaw with the Zaka sauce. She also got a mango pineapple lemonade — very tart and very fresh!

I have to say I’m sold on this concept — to eat well and simply with no loss of taste. 

Bowls top out at $11. 

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Film Review: PlantPure Nation

If you’ve seen one vegan propaganda film, you’ve seen them all.

Or at least that’s what I thought during the first 15 minutes or so of PlantPure Nation, a documentary on the benefits of a plant-based diet, as the film detailed the history of Dr. T. Colin Campbell, one of the leading voices advocating for the health benefits of veganism.

Those introductory minutes of PlantPure Nation were basically a rehashing of the lauded 2011 vegan documentary Forks Over Knives. While I know that Campbell’s influence and background are Vegan 101, I had to step back and understand that PlantPure Nation isn’t a film for vegans like me.

It’s a film for omnivores living on a standard American diet of french fries, cheeseburgers, and 4-a.m. beef burritos from Taco Bell. And those folks probably don’t know the history of Campbell, a biochemist who grew up on a dairy farm, went plant-based in mid-life, and later went on to lead one of the most influential studies on the relationship between nutrition and cancer.

Conducted in China, the 20-year study has been hailed by The New York Times as “the Grand Prix of epidemiology,” and Campbell’s book The China Study is a best seller. In a nutshell, Campbell and his team found that a plant-based diet can reverse certain cancers, diabetes, heart disease, and other ailments.

Dr. T. Colin Campbell and his son Nelson.

Once PlantPure Nation takes you through all that important history stuff, we meet Campbell’s son Nelson, who is determined to persuade the Kentucky state legislature to adopt a program to help low-income people access vegan meals. But that ain’t gonna fly in the land of meat and taters, and the proposal is quickly shot down by Big Ag lobbyists.

So Nelson goes D.I.Y. and heads to Mebane, North Carolina, which he calls “land of barbecue” (clearly, he hasn’t visited Memphis), to test his plant-based nutrition program on its residents.

Sixteen people sign up for the first PlantPure Jumpstart program, a 10-day vegan challenge in which Nelson and his wife prepare heat-and-eat lunches and dinners made without meats, eggs, dairy, or oil. (Oil is vegan, but Nelson is pushing an oil-free diet to help people reverse serious health problems).

The group — a diverse mix that includes a politician, a journalist, and a cattle farmer — starts and ends the program with biometric testing. One woman’s cholesterol count drops from 176 to 139 in only 10 days, and by the end, everyone tests healthier.

“I actually feel good. I sleep well. I’m not bloated feeling,” says the cattle rancher after 10 days on the vegan diet. It’s an impressive testimonial from a man who raises cows for slaughter.

One middle-aged participant, Tommy Privette, had been living with Type 2 diabetes since he was 23, and he also suffered from hypertension. After four months of veganism, he’d lost 40 pounds and managed to drop five of his seven daily medications.

PlantPure Nation touches briefly on the environmental impact of the meat and dairy industries’ relationship to global warming and deforestation, but I was a little disappointed that it didn’t address factory farming’s animal cruelty issues.

Still, the film is a powerful testament to the dramatic impact a vegan diet can have on one’s health. And, though I’m an ethical vegan rather than one who focuses on the health impact of plant-based diets, I have to take a step back and understand that some people are drawn into this crazy vegan lifestyle to better their health. Regardless of how they get here, animals’ lives will still be spared either way.

PlantPure Nation screens one night only on Wednesday, September 30th at 7:30 p.m. at the Malco Paradiso (584 S. Mendenhall). Tickets will be sold at the box office, but seating is limited so an RSVP is required. Call 901-590-2754 to reserve a seat. There’s a pre-party with vegetarian food samples from 6:30 to 7 p.m. at Whole Foods.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Memphis wins acclaim for its craft candy.

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Willy Wonka once wondered, “Where is fancy bred? In the heart or in the head?”

Or, he might well have asked, in the mouth? Here in Memphis, we know the answer to that question. Lately, the Bluff City has started winning awards and considerable acclaim for its craft candy scene — which, five years ago, was limited to a single boutique chocolatier.

“I love caramel, and I love making people happy,” Shotwell Candy Co. founder Jerrod Smith confesses.

Shotwell, which opened its online store in November 2012, recently won a Southern Living 2015 Food Award for “Best Sweets.”

In the beginning, Smith worked out of his home kitchen, cooking candies late at night. Today, Shotwell operates out of a commercial kitchen, hand-making about 300 boxes of caramels each day. They have lately branched out into trail mix and toffee.

What sets Shotwell apart are the high quality of its ingredients and the scientific exactitude of its process. When devising a recipe for his caramels, he experimented with a dozen different varieties of butter — French, Amish, American, organic — which varied based on fat and salt content.

Which did he end up choosing? Well, that’s a trade secret, of course.

“When you put heat and sugar together, you get these amazing flavors,” Smith observes. “Combine that with my innate nerdiness and my desire to figure things out, and you get a business pretty quick.”

How does it taste? In a word: excellent. The Hand-Crushed Espresso Caramels ($9.75) are my favorite — the perfect marriage of salty and crunchy, gooey and sweet. And the Tennessee Toffees are not far behind. You can find Shotwell candies in about 90 stores across the Southeast, including (locally) Porcellino’s, Whole Foods, and City & State.

They say that invention is 93 percent perspiration, 6 percent electricity, 4 percent evaporation, and 2 percent butterscotch ripple. It’s a proprietary formula, one with which chef Phillip Ashley Rix is intimately familiar.

“I want to create things that no one has begun to imagine,” Rix, owner of Phillip Ashley Chocolates, says. “I’m like Willy Wonka. I want to put the whole world in a stick of bubble gum.”

Like Jerrod Smith, Rix is an autodidact. He never took a class on how to make ganache; he taught himself. Yet somehow, he has started turning out some of the tastiest — and most visually shocking — chocolates in the country.

Shocking enough to win acclaim from publications like Forbes and USA Today, not to mention celebrities like Tom Brokaw and Morgan Freeman. Have you ever tasted a truffle flavored with fig jam, goat cheese, and port wine?

“What Kate Spade did for handbags,” Rix says, “what Louboutin did for women’s shoes … that’s what I wanna do for chocolate.”

Rix’s latest venture is vegan chocolate, and it started with a celebrity encounter. Last month, Rix was catering an event at Pearl River Resort in Mississippi, and he was asked to bring a gift bag for country music legend Tim McGraw, who would be performing.

There was just one catch. McGraw is vegan. So Rix began experimenting, and before long he had cooked up a dairy-free truffle flavored with spicy Mexican sipping chocolate.

These confections must be seen to be believed. High-gloss hemispheres that have been painted with dancing flames, each is a little work of art. And they taste as good as they look, with a smooth, chocolaty crème and a satisfying, spicy finish. Rix says they are the first in a vegan series that will include bourbon and lavender vanilla.

Justin Fox Burks

Of course, you can’t write about craft candy in Memphis without covering Dinstuhl’s Fine Candies. Family-owned since 1902, they were making cashew brittle when Smith and Rix were twinkles in their fathers’ eyes. More recently, they’ve been acclaimed by People magazine and Cooking with Paula Deen, who judged Dinstuhl’s fudge “The Best in America.”

Not too shabby. President Rebecca Dinstuhl says her company’s consistent, high quality comes from having had five generations of Dinstuhl’s in the kitchen.

“It makes us cautious with our recipes,” she confides. “We’ve got people who have been customers for 70 years, so we want to make sure it tastes as good as it did when our great-grandfather made it.”

You can taste the difference in confections like the Peanut Butter Square. Impossibly rich and creamy, it’s as though Alice Waters cooked up a Reese’s buttercup.

For summer, Dinstuhl’s is rolling out a line of chocolate-dipped fruits, including raspberries, blackberries, pineapples, and grapes. They’re actually pretty marvelous. Before being enrobed in chocolate, they are rolled in a sugar fondant, which means that instead of a gooey filling, there’s actually a little raspberry in there.

And so a good deed shines in a weary world.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Sneak Peek at Lafayette’s Music Room

When I received an email invite to Monday night’s soft opening of Lafayette’s Music Room, I immediately searched the web for a menu. I’m vegan, and I wanted to see if there were options before committing to a reservation.

But the website for Overton Square’s newest (and, perhaps, oldest since it’s based on the 1970s music venue of the same name) concert hall is still a bare-bones placeholder site. No menu. But I responded back to the invite asking about vegan options and was informed there were none on the menu, but they could make something vegan.

On Monday night, my partner Paul and I were seated at a table on Lafayette’s second floor indoor balcony, which overlooks the stage and tables below. A gypsy jazz band was playing, and nearly every table in the joint was full. And the crowd even spilled out onto tables on both levels of the outdoor balcony. The music from the band (and later from the sound system when the band was taking a break) was a little too loud for making conversation, but Paul and I typically spend most meals looking at our individual cell phones anyway. It’s 2014. Who talks to each other anymore, anyway?

We ordered beers — me a Wiseacre Ananda IPA and Paul a Bud Light — which arrived at the table quickly despite the large crowd. When I informed our server that I was vegan, he retrieved someone from the kitchen who said he’d be more than happy to throw together a wood-fired vegetable pizza without cheese. Cheese-free pizzas really allow the crust to shine, and thankfully, this was some fantastic crust. Chewy and soft and crispy all at the same time.

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The only pizzas on the limited soft opening menu were a Cajun Crawfish Pizza, a Buffalo Chicken Pizza, and a Shrimp & Andouille Pizza. But the kitchen staff just combined some of the veggies from each for my vegan version.

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Paul and I also split a Lafayette’s Salad — bibb lettuce, roasted tomatoes, crispy wonton strips, and citrus vinaigrette. This typically comes with feta, but I asked for that on the side so Paul could have it all. The roasted tomatoes paired well with the citrus dressing, and that bibb lettuce was so tender. And nothing beats a salad with fried stuff on top.

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Paul had the Amberjack with Corn Maque Choux and Pickled Okra. I didn’t get a picture, but he said the fish was delicious, and it reminded him of chicken, whatever that means. It was served in a cast iron skillet atop the creamy corn.

And for dessert, Paul had the Chess Pie. Again, not vegan, so I didn’t photograph it or try it, but Paul really enjoyed it. He secretly loves dining out with me because he doesn’t have to share his food.

Overall, the atmosphere was light and fun. Although the music was a bit loud for dining, Lafayette’s is primarily a music venue, so I think that’s okay. It’ll be fun to see what acts they book in the coming months.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Guilt-Free Pastries: “Good, Real Food”

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

A little more than a decade ago, Brandon Thomas dropped from 300 pounds to 175. More recently, he returned home to Memphis after college to take care of his father, who is on dialysis due to diabetes. And even while he was so personally involved in health issues, he never imagined he’d launch the health-conscious Guilt-Free Pastries.

Thomas discovered he’s allergic to gluten in August and began experimenting with gluten-free recipes. As Thomas walked through a market with a cart full of avocados, someone got curious and asked why, eventually requesting an impromptu order of avocado brownies.

The request opened Thomas’ mind to the possibility of selling to friends and family on occasion, and then another customer materialized.

Justin Fox Burks

Brandon Thomas’ guilt-free treats

“He was like, ‘What’s your company name? Where’s the storefront?’ I was like, ‘You’re my second customer, man. I don’t know. … Everything’s guilt-free. They’re pastries,'” Thomas recalls. “He was like, ‘That’s a great name.’ I was like, ‘Okay. Guilt-Free Pastries it is.'”

Thomas soon found a market for his products at Miss Cordelia’s Grocery, Stone Soup Café, Phillip Ashley Chocolates, and even a few gyms.

The brownies, $29 for one dozen, are his staple product, though he’s since expanded to caramel and vegan versions of the brownie, as well as several cookie options: cinnamon banana, white chocolate chip, and vegan avocado.

Thomas uses coconut flour instead of bleached flour, avoids hydrogenated oil, substitutes avocado for butter, and sources local eggs, honey, and vanilla extract.

Some of the recipes took experimenting. “When I made that first batch of brownies, it was not the prettiest picture. I had to throw them away,” Thomas says.

Starting with $500, he’s shown an acumen out of the kitchen as well, winning a Start Co. speed-pitch contest, connecting with mentors and securing a grant.

The advice he gets? Set higher price points.

“Right now organic foods are priced for a certain demographic. I don’t want that to be the case. I want everyone to be able to eat good, real food,” Thomas says.

Though he eventually wants his own store, for now Thomas still accepts orders via email for a single cookie or brownie and will deliver for free.

guiltfreepastries@gmail.com; 326-8482

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Bastet’s Vegan Lunch Delivery

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Memphis ‘cue just got a meat-free facelift with this scrumptious personal pan-sized vegan pizza. Tender morsels of fried mock meat are coated in a tangy barbecue sauce and accompanied by sliced carrots, spinach, and vegan cheddar atop a homemade crust.

Bastet Ank Re, formerly of Deju Vu Creole & Vegetarian Restaurant, has launched Healthy Meals on Wheels, a new vegan lunch delivery division of her catering company, OC Vegan Foods. The BBQ pizza is just one of many delicious noontime options. Every Friday is vegan pizza day, but other days of the week have a rotating menu.