Mellow Mushroom (Germantown)

Mellow Mushroom
9155 Hwy 72 #26
(901) 907-0243

Last Sunday, we went to the Mellow Mushroom for Warren's birthday. We'd never managed to eat there despite being fans of the Mellow Mushrooms in Nashville and Chattanooga. Since most of my extended family lives in Germantown, it seemed like a good pick for family dinner.



They had a great patio, but it was full, so our party of eleven went inside with hopes of getting a table. Amazingly enough, it was no problem. There was a group of 40 (!) ahead of us and they too had no trouble getting seated together. How awesome is that?

It was a little wild when we sat down since the kids all sat together, but we directed them to the kids' menu activities. Everyone but Satchel (age 9) complied.



When I noticed that the walls were covered in mushroom pictures, I requested some blank paper, hoping to keep the kids occupied a little longer.



Jiro (age 7) worked on his picture the whole time we were there.



At first I thought our waitress was going to be a bit flighty because we didn't have enough menus and my brother-in-law was grousing about her not knowing what IPAs were on tap, but she was actually really awesome and on top of things despite being pretty damn busy.

Ordering was a bit challenging since everyone wanted something different, but we eventually worked it out so that most of the adults and children with adult appetites ordered 10 inch pizzas. I was going to get the monkeys the kids' meal French bread pizza, but the waitress told me it was tiny. So, I ended up getting them a 14 inch pizza to split. By the time we all ordered we realized we probably ordered too much, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Our waitress said it would take about 20-30 minutes for the food to come out, so we all settled in. The guys watched various football games on various TVs suspended from the ceilings, the kids continued to color, and the rest of us chatted and watched the guys in the kitchen.



Next time we celebrate a birthday there, we'll call ahead for the marquis. This time, we just called Warren "Randy" instead.



Those of us who ordered salads got them fairly quickly. "Randy" and I split a spinach salad with bacon. It was delish.



My mom had the Greek salad.



My nephew got some hot wings, which we all got a taste of. They had a nice spice.



Once we finished our appetizers it seemed like the pizza came out soon after. The restaurant was so lively and we had so many people in our party, things never seemed to drag.

The monkeys' pizza was way more than they needed, but that just meant that we had lots of leftovers.



Satchel was mad that he didn't get a French bread pizza. "You always order me stuff that I don't want!" he complained like a teenager.



When I explained that the pizza in front of him was all he was getting, he got over himself. Soon he and Jiro were declaring it delicious.



Satchel's pizza mutilation skills are unsurpassed.

My niece did actually get a kids' meal and I think it would have been enough food for the older monkeys.



It came with a choice of fruit or veggies, which was cool.

Back at the adult end of the table, something odd was happening. Everyone was happy! Everyone liked their food! That NEVER happens. I'm thinking of it as "Randy's Birthday Miracle Dinner."

My Kosmic Karma pizza was the shizz.



I loved the extra sprinkled parmesan on the crust. It made the crust extra enticing. Eating the crust did make it hard to eat additional slices of pizza though because it's filling. None of the adults made it through more than half of their pizzas.

Randy loved his mushroom and steak pizza with lotsa caramelized onions.



My nephew gave his BBQ chicken pizza the thumbs up. I tried convincing him that hot wing pizza was the way to go, but he didn't want to hear it.



My older sister and her husband each got a sandwich and they looked very hearty and tasty.



At the end of the meal, our waitress brought our checks out in a very timely fashion and I'm pretty sure they were all right. Despite totally over-ordering, our total was very reasonable. By the time we packed up all of the leftovers it was clear that we had several more meals worth of food.

Since things were going so well, I decided to check out the restrooms. They were large, clean, and equipped with a changing table.

I don't know why the Mellow Mushroom decided to open in the 'burbs, but clearly the suburbanites love them. I don't know how soon we'll make the trek again, but should we ever pass by when hungry it'll be hard not to stop.



p.s. I couldn't resist snapping a couple extra pics in the parking lot.





I told Randy that I ordered some of these stick people stickers for his car for his birthday but that they hadn't arrived yet. He actually believed me.

Swanky's

I'm not exactly sure when Swanky's second location opened, but it's been over five years since Steph & Chip reviewed the original location in Germantown.

Swankys Taco Shop (East)
4770 Poplar Ave Ste 102
(901) 730-0763

On Friday night after soccer practice and the Wayne Edge opening at David Lusk, we went to Swanky's for dinner. Swanky's it totally the kind of place we seek when we're out of town, but when in town we usually seek out more authentic Mexican food. I guess because we know where to get it.



Having only been to the Germantown location, and not anytime recently, we were expecting to build our own burritos "Subway style." However, it became very clear that this Swanky's was like a traditional restaurant with table service. That was fine by me.

It was approaching 8pm, so I was a tad nervous about having the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) in tow, since Swanky's has a bar and has been known to have live music. The patio was pretty crowded, but inside was rather calm and I saw a few other kids sprinkled throughout the restaurant. We took a seat and began figuring out what to order.



Our waitress came right over, and the first thing we all said was, "It's freezing!" They were totally blasting the AC, but the waitress said that it was either freeze or burn up. We all agreed we'd rather freeze. We put in our drink order--waters all around--and asked for chips, salsa, and cheese dip. And Warren found out what exactly a burrito bowl is.

I liked that drinks came in reusable cups like at Central BBQ. I'm assuming the tops were added for the kids, but maybe not.



Jiro didn't like the dip's visible "green and red things" and I found it a little bland and drippy, but we ate all of it regardless. I liked that the chips had some seasoning. The smoky salsa was so-so.



There is a charge for chips and salsa unless you order from the grill, which I did. (It was a toss up between fish tacos and shrimp tacos. I went with the latter and asked for them in hard shells.)

Warren and Jiro opted for the "Build Your Own." The cute little menus made it a very appealing option.



The kids menu is very well priced--everything is $4 or $5 and includes black beans, rice, and a small drink. Satchel wanted taquitos, which weren't a kid option, so I got him the appetizer version. Our waitress was really sweet and patient. While we waited for our food Warren showed us fun movie trailers on YouTube. Anyone know if Black Lodge has "Fantastic Planet"?



We also enjoyed the music which ranged from hipster to eighties, watchin Shrek on one of the three TVs at the bar, and discussing the boys' upcoming reports on dinosaurs.

Our food came out before any of us could complain, so that was good.

Jiro loved his taco stand, and asked if he got to keep it before furiously inspecting his chicken taco for errant pieces of lettuce.



After I pulled off a couple of specks of green, he agreed to eat it. He declared it delicious, but had no interest in his rice or beans. Since he had also eshewed the cheese dip I knew he was going to be hungry as soon as we got home. He actually asked if he could go to Taco Bell on the way home if he ate all of his dinner!

I was glad Satchel went with a non-kids meal since he has been voracious lately.



He was able to eat 5 or 6 of his taquitos, which he said were delicious and Jiro's rice. Satch actually had a hair in his taquito, but got less worked up about it than Jiro did over the speck of lettuce. Warren and I ate the remaining two taquitos, which were good, but nothing special.

Warren's burrito was beautiful. He filled it with pork, guacamole, rice, pico, and a bunch of other stuff. I was really impressed that he ate all of it (minus the one bite he gave me).




My shrimp tacos were really good, and I too liked the presentation.



Next to the rice were some thinly sliced veggies that had a nice flavor. I had no problem polishing everything off.

Our total bill was $38 plus tip, so less than $10 each--not bad. My tacos were $12 so I could definitely order something less expensive next time. I definitely think there will be a next time. The food was fresh and tasty, and the service was fast and friendly. I think going during the day and sitting on the patio would be extra nice.

I have two small complaints--I didn't like the way the servers were busy cleaning up at 8:30pm. I realize they were probably ready to go home, but it made me feel weird and rushed. Second, there is no changing table in the bathroom. I think that from now on if a restaurant has a kids menu and highchairs then I am going to expect them to have a changing table. Swanky's has a huge handicapped stall that could easily fit one.

Stone Soup Cafe

Stone Soup Cafe
993 S. Cooper
922-5314

On Sunday, Warren, Satchel (age 9) and I went to breakfast at Stone Soup Cafe, the new breakfast/lunch place in Cooper-Young. (Jiro, age 7, was on a school camping trip.)



By the time we got there it was almost noon, but no matter, they serve breakfast until 3pm!



The place was fairly bustling when we arrived and I wondered if we'd made a mistake going somewhere new & exciting for breakfast on a Sunday. We waited on a giant square cushion in the foyer, which was both awesome and awkward. We could see all the happy people eating, but we really couldn't get in a good position to talk to each other. We grabbed some menus and started reviewing our breakfast options. About 5-10 minutes later we were asked if we wanted to sit outside. We declined, and in a few more minutes were shown to a table.

The sun was blaring in, and the shutters could not stop it, but I was prepared.



I actually asked Satchel to switch seats with me since it wouldn't be so much in his face, him being several inches shorter than me. He did not want to switch and soon it became a THING.



Suddenly we were dining with Mr. Crankypants. He had spent the night out, so I started quizzing him about what he'd eaten that day--donuts, followed by Mountain Dew and candy that he bought at the corner store. Can you say sugar crash? All of this was coinciding with the fact that our waitress was completely ignoring us. Sure, she had a full house, but she walked right past us several times without making eye contact, saying hello, or even acknowledging our existence.

The hostess, who I also believe is one of the owners, noticed that we were orphaned and came over to take our drink orders. Then a few minutes later, she came over to tell us that the kitchen was backed up by 20-30 minutes. Considering Satchel's condition I asked Warren if he wanted to leave. He said no. So, we hunkered down and hoped that at some point our waitress would actually come take our order.

Thankfully she did. By that time Satchel no longer wanted breakfast, he wanted gumbo. And bacon. I was too hungry to decide and made a last second decision to get the gut bomb--a grit bowl with cheese and sausage. I was seriously considering a yogurt parfait, but that seemed lame on a Sunday. Warren ordered a spinach omelet.

While we waited, Satchel kept putting his head on the table, trying to rest. We wouldn't let him, so he tried leaning down in his chair and resting his head on the back. Again we told him to sit up. This was just making him crankier. At one point he hid under the table.



We tried ignoring him. We tried cheering him up. We tried everything. It was clear that he needed food. Our waitress was still MIA so I got the hostesses' attention and asked if Satchel could have his gumbo, since I was assuming it was already cooked. She could see that he was in a state and quickly rushed into the kitchen.

By the time she came out with the gumbo and homemade bread, Satchel was in tears. It was pretty awful. He pulled it together and our food came out just a few minutes later.

The gumbo was very tasty.



The gut bomb was not, but it wasn't anything a little hot sauce couldn't fix. (The sausage had good flavor but the grits were very bland.)



Warren gave the spinach and feta omelet with homemade bread the thumbs up.



It was amazing how quickly the mood at our table improved once we all got some food in us. By the end of the meal everyone was smiling. Then the hostess told us we could have a free dessert! We let Satchel pick and he went with the lemon ice box pie.



It was gone in about two seconds flat.

By the time the check came, I was feeling sympathetic toward rather than annoyed by our waitress. (I was seriously wondering what I had done to make her hate me for a while there.) The restaurant is new, and obviously has a few kinks to work out (i.e. hiring a busser or two). Ultimately, I think it's going to end up being a solid, go to kind of restaurant. The atmosphere is very friendly, the location is great, and the prices are very reasonable.

We never made it to the restrooms so I can't vouch for a changing table, but the giant cushion in the foyer would do in a pinch, provided you have a cushion protector. There were several kids there when we went, and there's great outdoor seating options when the weather is nice.