Los Compadres

Ed. Note: Los Compadres moved down the street after losing their lease. The new address is 3295 Poplar Ave. I'm not sure if the food/service is the same!

See my original review from two and a half years ago here...

Los Compadres
2617 Poplar Avenue
901-458-5729

We went to Chickasaw Gardens to (not) feed the ducks on Sunday evening with our good friend, Vanessa, and her two monkeys (Tasha, 7 months, and Miles, 4). As it started getting dark and chilly, Vanessa asked if there was anywhere "fast" close by that we could all grab dinner. Warren and I consulted for a few minutes and decided on Los Compadres.

It had been awhile since our last visit since we've been venturing to various Mexican restaurants along Summer Avenue lately, but it was just as we remembered. We weren't surprised to see the patio and restaurant full--it is quite the favorite spot for Midtowners. (Even despite the semi-recent shooting.) Jiro immediately made a beeline for the box of Blow Pops by the register (just as he did during my last review). However rather than pouting when I said he could have one after dinner, he immediately went and sat down and got ready to make a happy plate.

There were lots of families in attendance and it seemed like almost everyone was drinking margaritas. (I'm sure the gorgeous weather had something to do with that.) I don't normally drink alcohol when we are out with the monkeys, but the margaritas were tempting me...and Vanessa. And Warren. We discussed getting a half pitcher, but I somehow missed the "half" part and ordered us a whole one. "We don't have to drink it all," we agreed. (Yeah, right!)

The monkeys were all hungry and amazingly well-behaved. After placing their orders, they set about eating chips, chatting, and watching soccer on TV. Jiro especially amazed me with his ability to sit still. (Anything for a lollipop!) He alternated between watching the TV and watching Tasha. Every so often he reached over and petted her. It was v. sweet. Miles and Satchel were leading a discussion about the fried ice cream they spotted on the menu. ("How do they fry it? Does it taste as good as it looks? Can we have some?") We told them they could have some if they made happy plates. Soon we had three monkeys single-mindedly prepared eat at all costs.

Jiro opted for the chicken nuggets after Warren read him the children's menu options. (I usually skip the nugget choice when I read them.) Satchel got the taco with rice & beans reluctantly after I told him cheese dip did not count as dinner. (Miles' order eluded me since I wasn't responsible for making it!) I impulsively ordered nachos and Warren, per usual, got the carnitas. (Vanessa got a burrito of some sort.)

Honestly the food portion of our meal is rather blurry thanks to the pitcher of margaritas! I have to say that I have probably never been so relaxed while out with my children. I was so relaxed in fact that I didn't even realize that it was taking forever for our food to come out. (Looking around the room it seemed most everyone had cleared out, but our waitress' section was packed. Packed full of people drinking margaritas!)

The food did arrive and we all scarfed it down. Jiro was rewarded with two Blow Pops and Satchel and Miles got their fried ice cream. Everyone was happy as can be.


The boys got their sugar fix and Warren and Vanessa chatted while Tasha and I made friends with the table next to us. We had a hilarious conversation in which the sweet man next to me insisted that Tasha looked just like Warren. (I think he thought I needed to know something.)

I can't say what our tab was because Vanessa generously offered to pay. (Normally I am able to stop her, but the margaritas slowed my reflexes.)


Tasha reached her cute/sweet/happy/mellow as can be limit so it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot and left with everyone (except Tasha) still feeling incredibly happy.

We were home for about 5 minutes before I started feeling sick. I would have blamed the margaritas, but Satchel woke up with a stomach ache the size of Texas the next morning. A call to Vanessa confirmed that she and Miles didn't feel so great either. So now I blame the margaritas and the fried ice cream! However, we had so much fun, I don't know that I'll let a stomach ache keep me from going back...and having a margarita.

Coletta's

Coletta’s Restaurant #1
1063 S. Parkway East
948-7652

I work downtown and could smell the BBQ smoking on the river last week, but I just couldn't convince myself to take the monkeys (Satchel, 7, and Jiro, 5) to BBQ Fest. But, when I got a hankering for some BBQ pizza (after reading an article on Memphis' BBQ originals in Friday's Commercial Appeal), I knew exactly where to go--Coletta's. I just had to convince Warren, the monkeys, and our friend Vanessa and her two monkeys to come with me.

It actually wasn't a hard sell.

First, Warren and I took three of the four monkeys to Overton Park to get their ya-yas out while Vanessa drove the remaining monkey, who is just 7 months old, around the block so she could get her nap on. Once the ya-yas were out and the nap was on, we split up again and headed south.

Vanessa, the 7 month old monkey, and I (the girls) were the first to arrive. It was 6:30 on a Saturday night and the parking lot was packed with cars. "Uh-oh," we said in unison. I decided to go in and make sure that we could get a table for seven. Inside there were plenty of empty tables, so I went back to the car and gave Vanessa the thumbs up.

The three of us stood around the foyer for a bit waiting for a hostess to seat us, but eventually a few guys from the kitchen explained that we could just seat ourselves. So we set about looking for two tables to push together, then we spotted a huge 8-top in what must be the "Elvis room." (He was a big BBQ pizza fan.) Vanessa started adjusting the lighting (it was a bit dark) and I went in search of a high chair. At this point an employee took some interest in us and wheeled out a nice high chair for us to use.

However, we planned to turn the highchair upside down and place the car seat in it, so I had to refuse the nice woman's gesture. I had noticed some regular high chairs in another part of the restaurant, next to a well-lit 8-top, so we relocated before Warren and the boys showed up.


There were several tables of people eating--many with children--but not nearly as many as the parking lot let on. (I can only guess that employees park in the same lot?) Since we knew we wanted pizza, Vanessa and I decided to go ahead and order to reduce the wait time. (We were concerned about the older monkeys' ability to stay calm in each other's presence.)

There wasn't an actual kids' menu, but it was a "pizza" place, so it wasn't really necessary. We ordered a small cheese pizza for the kids as well as an antipasto platter (with olives, salami, cheese, and peppers) to sate them upon arrival. Then we ordered a large, family sized BBQ pizza for the adults and three Italian salads. I almost ordered more food, but decided to let Warren make the call when he arrived.

The boys showed up just as we put our order in. We directed them to sit down and I passed out pens for them to draw on the back of their menus. This was amazingly successful. And, much to our delight, the appetizers came just a few minutes later. As soon as Miles saw the antipasto plate he exclaimed, "There it is! I've been smelling cheese since I got here."


We definitely had some loud moments, a water spill, and general squirminess, but for the most part we did not draw attention ourselves. As the evening progressed, more and more people came in and it was loud enough that no one paid much attention to what was going on beyond their table.

It took probably 20-30 minutes for the pizzas to arrive, which is to be expected when they are making them to order. It was definitely worth the wait, though. The boys were very pleased with the cheese pizza, and the adults were blown away by the size of the BBQ pizza. The family size said 3-6 people. Because they really pack on the BBQ, it is hard to eat more than one or two pieces. It could easily feed six, and is probably a bit much for just three.

Satchel was curious about the BBQ pizza, but didn't want to try any. Miles did and seemed to enjoy it. It was tangy and not at all spicy, so it's perfectly fine for adventurous kids. (Satchel eventually ate a piece of the leftovers and loved it.)

The busy-ness of the evening crowd caused our server to be a bit M.I.A. but not so much so that it was a problem. By the end of the meal there was a kitchen guy subbing for our waitress. Our total bill was $49, but we had half of each pizza left over to take home. Had we ordered a little smarter, we could have probably gotten out of there for a bit less.

And yes, we'll be back!

Overall:
Ambiance: very old-school, authentic. Conducive to loud and squirmy.
Service: okay. They tend to think people have been there before and know the routine. Plan to be patient if ordering pizza, especially on a busy night.
Kid-friendliness: good. Lots of families there, kid-friendly food. No special amenities beyond high chairs. (Bathroom has a counter that could double as a diaper changing area as long as the baby isn't too mobile.)
Eco-friendliness: unsure (No styrofoam that I saw--all dinnerware was reusable and pizza boxes were cardboard.)

Yang's Deli

Yang's Deli
4985 Summer Avenue
682-5309

Team Oster likes to drive up and down Summer Avenue in pursuit of groceries, car parts, hardware, and food. Yang's is one of those places that we've passed a million times. And each time Warren says, "Have you ever eaten there?" which really means, "Wanna eat there?" I always look in the window and report that the place is empty, which is my code for "Let's go somewhere else."

On Saturday I was in a rather conciliatory mood so when Warren asked if I'd ever eaten at Yang's, I said, "We can go if you want." He drove past and I looked in the window. Again it looked empty, but then I spotted a man reading his newspaper. "There's someone there," I said. That was all Warren needed to hear.

The kids (Satchel, 6, and Jiro, 5), who had not even eaten breakfast, were claiming they weren't hungry because our next stop was Target. (They needed to buy a birthday present for their friend. However, they each had birthday money of their own saved up and were already plotting their purchases.) I started listing some menu items for them, "They have hamburgers, chicken tenders, sandwiches, Chinese food..." Satchel looked at me and pointed at the chips lining the counter. "I'll have two bags of Doritos," he said. "I'll have Cheetos," Jiro added. I quickly disabused them of this idea. "You need to eat something else," I stressed. Eventually they agreed to split an order of chicken wings. I told them to get their chips and sit down.

Then Warren and I stared at the vast menu and tried to figure out what we wanted to eat. (Frankly I didn't want anything, but I was humoring Warren.) "I guess I'll try a gyro," I said uncharacteristically. I never order the gyro--not even at Elliot's where it is supposed to be awesome. (I think that's what I was imagining when I ordered it.)

Warren was leaning towards Chinese food, which I thought was smart since they had several signs saying they specialized in "Chinese food and sandwich since 1983." He finally decided on General Tso's chicken, which came with fried rice and an egg roll. By now I was wondering if a gyro counted as a sandwich and if I had ordered the right thing. There was a table of guys nearby and I tried to see what they were eating, but their food was hidden in their little red baskets.

I ordered four waters and waited patiently for the nice pregnant woman behind the counter to ring me up. When she presented me with four gigantic styrofoam cups full of water, Warren pointed out that I was being charged .25 for each cup. Our final bill came to $21 and I found myself in one of those "Should I tip?" situations when my credit card receipt came with a line for the tip. It looked like there was one guy cooking and that he was also in charge of delivering the food, so I added a three dollar tip.

We joined the boys at the table and I resisted the urge to list the dozen other places on Summer Avenue where I would rather blow $24. The boys were just about done with their chips and each was covered in fake cheese powder. I did my best to clean them off before they started wiping orange funk all over their shirts. Meanwhile Warren said, "I think this place has an identity crisis." I looked up and he directed my attention to the antlers and bass fish mounted on the wall next to the Christmas lights. "They have highchairs though," he added, trying to remain positive.

Due to there only being one guy doing all of the cooking, we had plenty of time to take in the ambiance. The most noticeable aspect of the dining room was the small TV mounted to the ceiling. After ten minutes or so it dawned on me that it was tuned to QVC or some other advertising channel. It was very loud and very annoying.

Jiro needed to freshen up, so I escorted him to the restroom area. It was painted Pepto Bismol pink. Despite this, and the general dilapidated state of the restaurant, it still appeared clean-ish.

A few minutes after we sat back down, our food arrived piping hot.


One look at my gyro and I knew that I had made a mistake. The meat was sliced very thin and looked very processed. "Uh-oh," I said. Thankfully Warren did not get mad. He offered to share his with me, and then eventually eat mine. His chicken was okay--nothing spectacular. The fried rice was just rice and very boring. The egg roll was okay. Jiro declared his chicken wings "nasty" without even tasting them, but Satchel ate the one he agreed to eat when I let him get the Doritos. I tried one and they were fine. I glanced around for hot sauce, but didn't see any, so I just ate it plain.

Eventually the kids were begging for quarters for the gum machine and most of the food on our table was gone. (The order of fries proving to be the most popular item.) While we were there people continued to filter in. I kept trying to see what everyone was eating, convinced that Yang's must have some secret treasure hidden among the hundreds of menu items.

Maybe it's the muffaletta?

I won't be back to find out.

After all of the comments, Warren and I couldn't resist driving through for a muffaletta on our way home from the movies. It is definitely worth going back for--and I liked the drive-thru experience much more than dining in. Now we just feel silly for ordering Chinese food!

Beignet Cafe

Beignet Cafe
124 G.E. Patterson Ave.
527-0272

Team Oster (that's us) planned to get up early and plant our garden Saturday morning. When we awoke to rain, I figured we sleep in, but Warren got up at 8:00 a.m. and the kids were up shortly after. So I dragged myself out of bed and we all went down to the Memphis Farmer's Market for the first time this year. Jiro (age 5) ate a donut and a bag of granola and Satchel (age 7) ate half a baguette at the MFM. Warren and I didn't eat anything, so we decided to check out the new, nearby Beignet Cafe.


The recent Flyer mentioned that the new owner, Norma Crow, spent a year and a half gutting and redoing the building that once housed Harry's. I never saw it before, but the finished product is really amazing. The outside of the cafe is extremely inviting with its turquoise accents, small patio, greenery, and decorative lights. It is definitely a place that would be hard to pass up, whether on foot or in a car.

Looking around the area I was pretty surprised to see how bustling it suddenly appeared. The combination of new condos, a couple of other new businesses, and the Arcade/American Apparel corner anchors made the block seem very vibrant despite it being the most gloomy of days. In fact, the area was so crowded it took us awhile to find a place to park.

The inside of the cafe was equally charming and had a distinctive New Orleans French Quarter kind of feel. Low lighting, colorful art on the walls, and numerous seating options (comfy arm chairs, cafe tables, a window counter, and a bar next to the coffee station) made it very inviting. There was a decent crowd of people inside, including a few with children.

To get the monkeys excited, I steered them towards the nearby grab-n-go cooler that had drinks. Warren followed us and immediately started grousing about the fact that they were selling canned Cokes for $1.75. I wasn't too bothered because I didn't plan to let anyone buy a Coke. However, I was a little disappointed by the other drink offerings. There were three kinds of orange juice, a small aluminum container of grape juice, and white milk. (Usually fancy coffee cafes have Izzes or Martinellis or something a bit unusual.) Warren suggested that we order the boys some hot chocolate, but I didn't see hot chocolate on the menu board above the register. Satchel decided on the small can of grape juice and Jiro got a bottle of orange juice which he promptly dropped on the floor. (Thankfully it did not break.)

I had assumed that the menu would be breakfast centric because of the beignet lure, but I was wrong. There were bagels, muffins, fruit, sausage, bacon, and a few other breakfast items, but no real breakfast combo or anything meal-like that you might find at Cafe Eclectic or Republic Coffee. There were quite a few tasty sounding sandwiches (i.e. salmon BLT), interesting salads (i.e. congealed cranberry) and unusual sides (i.e. macaroni and cheese balls), but they didn't seem appropriate choices for 10 a.m. Warren got a latte, I got an iced latte, and we decided to share one order of New Orleans style beignets. (They also offer European style beignets.)

I paid while Warren took the boys to find a seat in the back. There was a large, flat screen TV mounted on the wall and a four top of people nearby. As I walked towards the table, the man's voice at the adjacent table was booming. I suggested we find a seat up front. There were several empty tables that upon closer inspection needed bussing, so we ended up grabbing a table right by the register and another flat screen TV. (Warren also objected to the presence of TVs, which I had to agree with.)

We then noticed that there was an upstairs seating area, but we didn't see any stairs, so we just stay put. The people around us were chatting, reading the paper, and generally enjoying themselves. The cafe did not seem like it had just opened, but rather like it had been in the neighborhood for years and already had an established set of regulars.

However, we soon discovered that they were still working out a few kinks. The lackluster service was a bit disappointing. After about ten minutes, a woman came over and said, "Oh are you two waiting on these coffees?" as though they'd been sitting at the counter for quite awhile. (Maybe we should have waited for them? The check out guy gave me a number in a metal holder to put on the table so I took that as my cue to sit down.)

Before I could even put sugar in my coffee, Jiro asked me to escort him to the restroom. We ventured off and quickly found it tucked behind the main serving area adjacent to the large kitchen. Jiro said, "Why did they put the bathroom so close to where they make the food?" which just cracked me up. I was happy to see that the one top restroom had a stool for me to sit and wait on. It was plenty roomy but did not include a changing table. I also noted that the sink was rather high and that a small stepping stool would be a nice touch for the younger patrons. I realize that the Beignet Cafe is not catering to children, but I think that it would be nice to be accommodating to them. My thoughts were further solidified when Jiro and I bummed into my fellow Flyer writer, Chris, and his family, which includes two girls about Satchel's age.

Back at the table Warren was grumbling again. "We've been here about twenty minutes and I've seen at least twenty people get their beignets before us." He had a point. The line that was once streaming from the counter was gone. I picked up our number and went to inquire about our beignets. A woman who appeared to be Ms. Crow, sifted through the order tickets and finally said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened, but I'll have them right out."

Thankfully the monkeys weren't starving and were entertaining themselves with pens and paper. Satchel was going through the Sponge Bob characters and Jiro was practicing drawing stars. Warren continued his morning of discontent by pointing out that his coffee, which came in a paper cup, was going to be cold by the time the beignets arrived. From there we launched into a discussion about including some sort of rating system into my DWM reviews.

The beignets arrived, piping hot, a few minutes later. Jiro declared them too hot to eat, which was good since there were only three, so Warren, Satchel, and I proceeded without him. They were very authentic and delicious. In the unofficial contest to see who could make the biggest mess, I placed first with Satchel a close second. Then we packed up our paper, pens, and recyclables, and headed back into the rain.

I definitely want to go back for lunch, with or without the monkeys. Beignet Cafe has a lot going for it and is a great asset to the vibrant South Main district.

Overall:
Ambiance: good (minus the TVs, I'd say perfect)
Service: needs improvement (but not bad for the first week of operation!)
Kid-friendliness: needs improvement (i.e. adding hot chocolate to the menu and a stepping stool in the restroom)
Eco-friendliness: unsure (I didn't see any styrofoam which was good, but there also wasn't any recycling. Plus drinks and food were all served in disposable rather than reusable containers, like plates and mugs.)