Central BBQ

Central BBQ
2249 Central Ave.
272-9377

Team Oster has been frequenting Central BBQ lately, due in part to the proliferation of their cups that we have in our house. (Central BBQ has been generously donating reusable cups to Rock-n-Romp since last year.) I drink iced coffee out of one every morning, and the subliminal marketing is working! Not to mention the fact that my co-workers have been ordering in CBBQ at least once a week since the new year began.

After the last Rock-n-Romp, it was cold and dark and raining, but we had to have some BBQ! It is not unusual to see a line of people spilling out the door and around the building at Central BBQ. Depending on our hunger level this can be a deterrent (even though they are quite speedy). Thankfully the rain had kept the major rush away and we were able to walk right in and order.

Normally I will get the BBQ nachos, because that's how I roll, but in an attempt to not be a total glutton, I ordered the Chef Salad with BBQ like my co-workers had been doing. It comes in a pretty red sundried tomato and basil tortilla salad bowl and is topped with shredded colby jack cheese, tomatoes, and pepperoncini peppers.

Warren told me he wanted a pork plate with greens and beans. Satchel was given a his choice from the kids' menu which includes Grilled Cheese, Hot Dog, Jr. BBQ, Chicken, and Mac N' Cheese. (It comes with one side and a drink. All for $4.25.) He opted for a Jr. BBQ. (That's my boy!) They offer a pretty good selection of sides, including greens and green beans, but Satchel knows that they also serve French fries. Of course he wanted French fries. I didn't deny him, because I planned to snatch a few.

Jiro was not given his choice of kid items. Why? Because he chose a hot dog last time, which I considered a total waste. However, on our last visit he also ate a couple of wings from the six piece chicken wing appetizer Satchel ordered, so I simply told him he was getting chicken wings. "And fries!" he said. The wings are more expensive--$7.99--and don't come with a side or a drink, but they do come naked and my kids love them so that's enough justification for me. (And of course, I get to eat one or two since neither of my kids can eat six.) Hey CBBQ--how about adding wings to the kids menu? (Note to self: I bet if I asked real nice they'd probably offer 2-3 as a substitute.)

Once I had everyone's order memorized, I sent Warren and the boys to secure a table. When the guy asked what kind of dressing I wanted with my salad, I said, "Nacho cheese!" Feeling embarrassed, I said, "Light Ranch?" When he told me they didn't have any light dressings I should have gone back to the nacho cheese plea, but instead I said, "Bleu Cheese." (Only now that I am reviewing their website for accuracy do I see that they have a House Dressing which is a blend of Caesar and Hot Spice. That sounds good should I resist the siren song of nacho cheese on my next visit.)

While I was waiting for the guy to run my card (our total was $32), a man next to me came in to get a "to go" order. Turns out it was an old high school friend I hadn't seen since, uh, high school? In true Memphis fashion, he lives just a few blocks away, has kids near the ages of my kids, etc.

Once we were done chatting, I went to the table to set my purse down and to see what everyone wanted to drink. Jiro offered to come with me--he loves a self-serve soda fountain. Satchel wanted water, so Jiro got the drink that came with his kid's meal. As we walked to the soda fountain, I noticed a few other tables with kids. At 7:00pm on a Saturday there were mostly singletons and hipsters, but the families fit right in. I was especially impressed by two little girls happily eating some mac & cheese. (My kids have had a taste of the fake stuff and don't appreciate the real stuff.)

By the time Jiro and I got all the drinks, the forks, and the BBQ sauces, our food was ready. Warren moaned that I got him the wrong thing. His use of the term "plate" signifies two sides in his mind. The real meaning of "plate" is that the BBQ comes on a plate, not a bun. Apparently we had this same exact misunderstanding on our last visit. I offered to get him a bun, but he waved me off and started eating.

I was glad that there was a nice buzz of conversation in the restaurant to mask the absolute silence--with intermittent chewing sounds--at our table. The fries disappeared first, of course, but I was happy to see Satchel eat his entire BBQ sammy. Warren also had no trouble making a happy plate. Jiro could only get through two wings, which was fine--all the more for us, as usual. My salad was great. I will definitely get it again. I liked the mixture of lettuce, BBQ, cheese, peppers, and BBQ sauce. Lots of different textures and flavors. I didn't use the Bleu Cheese until I got down to the edible salad bowl. (I'm definitely asking for nacho cheese next time!)

When all was said and done, we had a few wings left over and a roll, I think. We asked for a small "to go" box, which is NOT made of styrofoam, but is compostable thanks to CBBQ's commitment to the environment and Project Green Fork certification.

They say the fastest way to the heart is through the stomach. CBBQ has definitely won me over with their food, no question there, but it is their commitment to the environment and to homegrown events like Rock-n-Romp that has made me fall in love with them.

I forgot to take pictures, but most menu items are pictured here.

Overton Park Pizze Stone (Closed)

Overton Park Pizze Stone
1545 Overton Park
725-7806

I've reviewed Overton Park Pizze Stone before, but now that they are offering a Kids' Night with a "Make Your Own Pizza" bar, I had to do another write up. First off, let me say that I think it's a great idea. My kids (Satchel, 7, and Jiro, 5) LOVE making their own pizza. They love doing it at home and they love doing it at Lou's. However, at Lou's you have to have a reservation and it's only offered once a month. At Overton Park Pizze Stone, it's every Sunday. And Wednesday. Or maybe just Sunday.

I don't live in the Evergreen neighborhood, but I get their emails, which is where I first heard about the Kids' Night. At first it was just Sunday, but then they added Wednesday. So I took the monkeys on a Wednesday. (December 30th, to be exact.) When we walked in (around 6), there weren't any kids and I didn't see a "Make Your Own Pizza" bar. I asked the waitress about it and she said, "Oh it's only on Sundays." I explained that the last email I saw said Sunday and Wednesday and she said that they had tried one Wednesday (the one before Christmas Eve) and didn't have a good turnout.

Needless to say, we were disappointed. However, I pointed the monkeys' attention to the kids' menu and asked them what kind of pizza they wanted. While they were still deciding between cheese and pepperoni, a man, presumably the manager, came over and apologized for the mix up. I told him that it was fine, but that they ought to give it more than a week, or at least stop changing their minds. He apologized again, and I set about figuring out what I should order. It was at this point that I realized I shouldn't have given the kids the choice of their own mini pizzas and instead ordered a larger one for us to share, but I didn't want to further disappoint them.

They both decided on pepperoni and I decided on some sort of turkey wrap with provolone. (I didn't grab a menu and it isn't posted online, so I can't tell you what else was in the wrap. The fact that I can't remember should tell you something. Maybe I got a salad too?) I put our order in with our very sweet waitress and attempted to engage the monkeys in conversation. Maybe I let them each have a notebook. I can't remember! A few minutes later, the man(ager) came out and informed us that the kids could go ahead and make their own pizzas.

Yay!

At the table next to us they laid out a large marble board, sauce, cheese, and pepperonis. Each monkey was given a ball of dough to roll out and brief instruction on how to do it. I sat beside them and watched as they both every efficiently and effectively created their own mini pepperoni pizza. I'll admit that it seemed a tad anti-climactic. There were only a few other customers in the restaurant and it was very quiet and dark; not at all festive. Everyone was very polite and talkative and encouraging of the monkeys, but it was just a little weird. (In my opinion anyway. The monkeys seemed oblivious to any weirdness.)

Actually, the man(ager) was pretty excited about the whole situation and mentioned that he couldn't wait for his kid (who is apparently still in utero) to participate. I smiled and politely mentioned that it might be a while.


Since he was feeling chatty, I asked the man(ager) how they did it on Sundays, to get a feel for whether we were experiencing the true Kids' Night. He said that they set up two or three stations around the restaurant and that they let the kids use whatever toppings they want. He also mentioned that on the previous Sunday they had about 5 families. So I could imagine it being a bit more fun and exciting on Sunday.

However, I still feel like the inside of the restaurant has a fine dining feel to it, which I guess is fine, but doesn't mesh with the casual menu or the restaurant's seeming desire to cater to families. (They also heavily advertise family sized to go meals.) It just feels stuffy to me. Maybe it's the fact that the inside doesn't really seemed changed from what it was before? (It was previously two different fine dining restaurants.) Like they didn't make it fit their personal aesthetic or vibe (or whatever). Maybe I'm just being too picky?

It took about twenty minutes for the pizzas to cook, and the monkeys were antsy with excitement, and hunger, I presume. We didn't have any bread or crackers to tide us over, nor did we order any appetizers. I think I did actually have a salad (spinach, maybe?), but the kids were not interested in sharing with me.

When the pizzas did come out, both Satchel and Jiro were very excited. I couldn't tell which was which, but they knew exactly which one they had made. (Pepperoni placement, maybe?) I'll admit that their pizzas looked alot better than my wrap, which was actually served cold, instead of hot, much to my dismay. (Why do they have a cold sandwich on the dinner menu?) Luckily, I had my wits about me. "Who's is the best?" I asked. They looked at each other and then back at me. "Want me to judge?" I asked. They both nodded, and handed over a slice of their pizzas.

Oh yeah.

Now you may be thinking that this is pretty sneaky of me, but how was I going to handle choosing a winner? I'll tell you. Both pizzas were pretty identical, but Satchel had a bit more sauce, which I prefer. (If it were me, I would have put on way more sauce than either of them combined.) However, there was no way I was going to declare the 7 year old the winner, with the 5 year old in the running. When the asked who's was best, I simply said, "They're both really, really good, but I'm going to have to go with Jiro's." Now as I said it, I gave Satchel a wink. Being 7, he is cool with keeping the peace.

Once we finished all of our food, the very polite waitress came back and showed us the dessert menu. Since the boys had behaved so well, I offered to let them split an order of sorbet. Oops, they were out of sorbet. There was then a disagreement on what they should split now, so we ordered blueberry cheesecake for Satchel and something chocolate-y for Jiro. (Why can't I remember that either?)

The desserts ended up being HUGE, especially the cheesecake. But man, that cheesecake was SO freaking good. I asked if it was made in house and the waitress told me that all of the desserts were indeed made in-house. The super-yum desserts ended our meal on a very high note and we all left very full and happy.

I feel obligated to tell you that after eating 3/4 of a mini pizza and 1/2 of a giant piece of cheesecake, Satchel had a major stomach ache all night and ended up puking blueberries the next morning. I didn't get sick, so I'm not saying it was food poisoning or anything, just that you shouldn't necessarily take my decision to let a very skinny 7 year old gorge on pizza + cheesecake to heart!

FYI Chris Davis has a more favorable opinion

Elliott's

Elliott's (there is some dispute over whether it is one t or two on the end) has been reviewed here before, but it's been awhile, and Richard's kids' didn't actually eat anything except French fries, so I thought I'd give it another go.

Elliott's
16 South 2nd Street
525-4895

After Team Oster's downtown photo shoot a couple of weeks ago, I gave Chip, our friend and photographer (who was working for free), the option of having lunch on me anywhere he wanted. He chose Elliott's.

Elliott's is a favorite lunch spot of ours for several reasons. It's a no-frills, fast & cheap place to eat with the added benefit of incredibly tasty food. It's also owned by an awesome guy named Helario Reyna, who you may know as "Harry" from the Madison Kwik Chek. I like Harry because he clips my articles and tapes them to his wall and always smiles and says hi when I come in. Chip likes Harry because he (is really cool and) gives him free goodies not on the menu, like crab rangoon and baklava. He even burns CDs for Chip!

I thought Elliott's was a great place to take the monkeys (Satchel, 7, and Jiro, 5) because they love hamburgers and dress your own baked potato bars. (They also needed to be disabused of the notion that Danver's is the best restaurant on earth.) Warren has eaten at Elliott's numerous times (a group of us used to go every Monday) and is a fan of the gyro. I love the Santa Fe, a spicy chicken wrap. It was a win-win (win-win-win).

We arrived around 12:30, which is usually a very busy time for Elliott's, but with the Christmas holiday looming large, we lucked out and were able to walk right up and place our order. Everything is basically a la carte, and there's no kids' menu, so I just ordered everything everyone wanted without putting much thought into it.

The burgers and potatoes came right out, so I tended to the monkeys' needs while Chip and Warren secured us a table. Satchel and Jiro attacked the salad bar and instructed me to pile their potatoes with butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon bits. (Oh to have the metabolism of a monkey!) By the time I had their potatoes in order, and their hamburgers dressed with ketchup and pickles, everyone else's food was ready. As we headed to the table to join Chip and Warren, I noticed some double takes--and a few smiles--from the other patrons. You don't see monkeys in Elliott's too often. It's a very business-y type crowd for the most part.

Photos by Chip Chockley

I was barely half-way through with my sandwich when the monkeys were ready for another round of toppings. Plus, Satchel wanted water. I ended up donating the rest of my sandwich to Warren, who had no problem polishing off his gyro, while I ran back and forth from the table to the counter to the salad bar and back again. (There is a guy, Boo, who will refill your drink, and who only works for tips. He came by during the latter part of the meal and saved me from getting up yet again.)

Once back at the table, it occurred to me that the kids would never be able to polish off a whole potato and a whole burger each. (The burgers are pretty hearty.) I then realized that I could have saved about $8 by letting them share one of each. But I didn't let it get me down. Instead I offered to eat half of Satchel's burger, and Jiro's too.

Soon Harry came out with a plate of baklava and a plate of crab rangoon to complete our grub fest. (In the end, we had to get a to go bag. There was just too much food.)

Having come hungry and having been waited on by their very own waitress (me), the monkeys stayed seated and fit in just fine with the usual crowd. They liked watching the courtroom drama on the TV hanging from the ceiling and laughing at the old caricatures on the walls. They were really quite delightful. It made me definitely want to bring them back again. Maybe for breakfast. I've always wanted to try Elliott's breakfast.