Dining With Monkeys

Tokyo Grill

2012-01-31T15:34:00.003-06:00

Tokyo Grill
4978 Park Avenue
901-761-7888

On Saturday we had two basketball games. When the second one ended it was after 2pm, and we were starved. Since we were in East Memphis, I suggested we try Tokyo Grill. It's one of those places that Warren will ask me about every time we pass, so I figured it was time to end the mystery.

The restaurant is located in a small strip mall. Inside it is cute. There's a very small sushi bar and about 8 tables. Judging from a quick Google search, it appears to be a chain.

Despite it being in the middle of the afternoon, there were several tables full of people when we arrived. I thought it might be take-out only or one of those order at the counter places, but we were shown to a table by a waitress.

The menu is pretty extensive and features sushi, udon, bento, donburi, katsu, fried rice, and pretty much anything else you might want. They even have sukiyaki.

Since the kids seemed overwhelmed by the choices, I directed them to the Hibachi Kids Meals. They love hibachi so it was an easy sell. The meals range from $3.95 (vegetable or chicken) to $6.95 ("seafood") and include fried rice and a fruit cup. Satchel (9), Jiro (7) and their friend, Will (11) all opted for the shrimp hibachi kids meal ($4.95). They all also wanted miso soup. Done!

Warren had a very easy time making up his mind, which is unusual. He decided on Katsu Don ($6.95), which is deep fried pork and egg over rice.

I knew I wanted sushi, but wasn't sure if I wanted to try a specialty roll or just go with the safe standbys. Warren pointed out that there was a picture by the door showing all of the specialty rolls, but I decided to go with the Three Roll Special ($8.95 w/soup).

The soup came out almost immediately. It was served in large plastic containers liked you'd typically get soup to go in.

I asked for clear soup instead of miso. It was good. It was a very large serving though. I almost felt too full to eat my sushi.

The kids' soup was pretty hot and before they could cool it down, their kids meals came out...in styrofoam clamshells. (That's when I looked at the other tables and realized that everything is pretty much served in to go containers.)

The kids seemed pleased and dug right in.

Will was a little more skilled with the chopsticks than Jiro.

Satchel scarfed his shrimp down immediately, and then started to pick at his fried rice. He didn't like the onions. (I usually order it without but forgot.) Jiro, meanwhile, was meticulously picking apart his shrimp even though the head and tails had been removed.

Warren's food came out next and he was very pleased. (Yes, that is a plastic bowl.)

He offered me a bite, but I passed. A few minutes later my sushi came out.

I went with the standard spicy tuna, spicy crawfish, and shrimp & avocado rolls. They weren't anything special, but they were very good, especially for the price.

Warren and I ate everything. Jiro only ate a few shrimp, and then gave most of his meal to Will, who had no trouble polishing off his. Satchel ate his soup and shrimp. We only had a few leftovers, but there was no need to ask for to go boxes since everything comes ready to go. I'm guessing this somehow saves them money, but I'm not a fan. (The only thing that wasn't in a to go container was Warren's tea. He actually had a ceramic cup for that.)

When our check came, I was shocked. $39 to feed five people at a Japanese restaurant is pretty amazing. With tip it was $46, but that's still less than $10 each. (We didn't get any soft drinks.) The kids constantly clamor for Japanese food, and as much as I love Sekisui, we can easily spend $75 or more when we go. I think we'll definitely consider Tokyo Grill again for a quick fix, especially for Saturday lunch. (Sekisui isn't open for lunch on Saturday.)

I visited the bathroom before we left. It was nice and clean. There's no changing table.

Payne's Bar-B-Que

2012-01-16T15:35:00.002-06:00

Payne's Bar-B-Que
1762 Lamar Avenue
901-272-1513

After Satchel's basketball game on Saturday, we decided to go to Payne's Bar-B-Que with some of his teammates and their dads. There was some discussion about whether Payne's was one of the best bbq places in town, and since I hadn't been there in twenty years, I thought it might be worth checking out.

We arrived at 12:30 and were the only ones there, which seemed odd. (Turns out we just beat the rush.) The kids sat at one table, and the adults sat at another. There were three wall heaters and despite being fairly empty, they made the place feel warm and cozy.

The menu is pretty basic, and you order at the counter. No matter how much you order, they do not write it down.

When I asked the monkeys what they wanted to eat, they surprised me by answering, "Ribs." I thought for sure I'd get off easy with hot dogs. I told them that they could share a half slab and they did not like that. Regardless, I only ordered one. Warren wanted a large chopped sandwich, and I went with a small chopped. I ordered a hot dog just in case.

Despite there being nine of us, the food came out really fast. Turns out all five of the kids wanted ribs. They looked pretty tasty.

As you can imagine, things got pretty messy at the kids' table.

Between the five kids, they had two half slabs and one full slab, five bags of chips, and five sodas. They didn't come close to finishing, but they did a good bit of eating.

At the adult table, we were doing our share of eating. Behold the large chopped sandwich.

As you can see, the slaw is very mustardy. The sauce, which we ordered medium, was very sweet. Warren said it reminded him of sweet and sour sauce at a Chinese restaurant. The meat was very tender though and overall it was quite good.

Stephen got the sliced sandwich and he said he really liked the meat, but after several bites he had to abandon the bun, slaw, and sauce.

Carlos, who was originally going to get bologna, went with the chopped sandwich and a hot dog. (I never got the hot dog I ordered, but I didn't care when I saw how much food there was.) The hot dogs are deep fried and pretty yum, even plain.

I ordered some beans too, which were good, but nothing special.

There were a lot of napkins that died in service to our lunch. The dads took care of getting the kids cleaned up in the restrooms, so I can't vouch for them.

Once we were done, we went back to the counter to pay. We each reminded the guy what we ordered and paid in cash. (They do not take credit cards.)

Overall I think we all enjoyed ourselves and thought the food was good. I'm not sure I'd put Payne's in my top five, but I would definitely go back. The service was great and the prices were more than fair. By the time we left the place was packed. It's definitely plenty of people's go to place.

Crazy Noodle

2012-01-09T13:58:00.004-06:00

Crazy Noodle
2015 Madison
272-0928

Last night we decided to go check out the new Crazy Noodle on Madison. It's in the spot previously occupied by Umai, next door to Kwik Check. They had their soft opening last week and people were already buzzing, so I figured we should check it out. We like noodles.

My understanding is that the owner of the Kwik Check now also owns Crazy Noodle. The inside hasn't been changed at all--at least not as far as I can tell. I think that's a smart move since Ken, the previous restauranteur, put a ton of work into the decor.

We arrived a little after six and there were just a couple of other tables. An asian woman was busy cooking in the open kitchen, her sous chef was busy talking to her, and the host/waiter (I presumed) was busy ringing up a ticket at the end of the bar. We all just stood around waiting to be noticed. A woman at the table nearest the bar finally said, "Go sit down. That's what they told us to do."

I replied, "Ok, thanks. I just want to make sure they see us."

Our conversation caused the sous chef to look up, so I waved a little and motioned that we were going into the dining room. All of the tables had two chairs at them which posed a small problem. Since the tables were fairly big, we just grabbed two chairs from another table and sat down.

There were no menus or silverware or napkins on the table, so we just sat and waited. A few minutes later the waiter came over and took our drink order. Personally, I think it's nice to have a menu before ordering a drink, but that's just me. I had a few moments to peruse the beer cooler while we stood by the front door, so I went ahead and ordered a New Castle. Everyone else got waters.

Our waiter brought out drinks and menus a few minutes later and we started figuring out what to order. The menu is fairly small, which I think is smart for a new restaurant. A lot of the dishes were unfamiliar sounding, so it was nice to have a photo next to each item.

It became clear pretty quickly that there wasn't anything especially kid-friendly. "I don't think I like any of this," Jiro (age 7) said. Since he hadn't had much to eat that afternoon, I didn't think he'd be able to skip dinner. I called the waiter over and asked if he would ask the chef if she would mind serving him some plain noodles or maybe some noodles with a mild sauce. He checked with her and quickly reported that it would be no problem.

Meanwhile, Warren declared that he was getting the Bi Bim Beef, which is what I had my eye on. So, I went with my back up--curry noodles. A lot of the dishes were pretty...uh...authentic? Lots of squid and other ingredients that most of us Memphians don't willingly order on a regular basis. I expected Warren to be more adventurous, but I have learned not to try and influence what he orders. Satchel (age 9) eventually decided on Beef Noodle Soup. There was some discussion of whether it was spicy and I remember the waiter saying that maybe we could use it to spice up Jiro's plain noodles. And that was that.

We'd heard that service was a little slow, so I went ahead and gave Jiro my notebook to draw in. Prior to that he was busying himself trying to hide my purse and sneak sips of my beer.

"What's so good about beer?" Satchel asked me.

"Uh...it makes me feel good," I said sheepishly before changing the subject.

Our waiter gave us lots of updates on when our food would be out, which was nice. The restaurant was getting progressively more crowded as we waited and I was glad that we came early. There definitely weren't any other families, and it seemed almost scenester-ish. I'm wondering if that was just due to friends and family of the owners/workers coming out to show their support.

Most of us were very patient, but Jiro was very hungry. And hyper. "It makes me hyper when I don't get to eat," he noted, stating the obvious.

Soon after our food came and everyone was happy. "This is actually on the house," the waiter said as he put Jiro's plate of noodles down. Jiro asked what the other stuff was and he said egg. That was all Jiro needed to hear before digging in.

Not the world's most exciting dinner, but he ate it all.

(Please excuse the horrid photos. It's really dark in the dining room.)

Satchel's beef noodle soup looked lovely.

He was a bit put off by all of the stuff so he asked Warren if he would eat some of it first. He obliged. "This is really bland," he noted. "Yeah, I thought so too," said Satchel. I guessed that maybe they went ahead and made it not spicy since it was for a kid, but later when the chef came out to check on us she seemed worried it was too spicy and said, "Next time tell them it is for a baby and I won't make it spicy."

Warren's Bi Bim Beef looked and tasted great. (Although I have to say that the Bi Bim Bop next door at Kwik Check is way better.)

My curry noodles were also good. When I remarked that they tasted like the curry Warren makes, he immediately wanted to switch with me. That was fine by me. Satchel also wanted some of the curry, so we had a definite case of musical plates going on.

Just so you know, Warren uses a mix when he makes Japanese curry. Either they use the same mix or they make it exactly like the mix. Warren liked it, as did Satchel, but the former didn't like paying to eat something he makes at home. He actually said that he should have ordered for everyone, which is a first. I look forward to taking him up on that.

Regardless, there was a LOT of happy slurping going on at the table. It was cute.

Eventually Satchel resorted to taking the noodles out of his soup and mixing them in leftover curry sauce.

While I think everything was pretty good, I would have liked the noodles to be warm. I think the idea is to mix them with the sauce and therefore warm them up, but it still made for plenty of cold bites.

Warren thought that a place named Crazy Noodle should offer more than one kind of noodle (and that they should be made in-house). HIS noodle restaurant would certainly do both. (And do it well, I'm sure.)

Who knows, maybe they did make the noodles. Maybe they will offer more varieties once they find their groove.

I have nothing against starting out slow.

Most of the noodle dishes are priced at $8.99. Our total bill was $38.75, which included two beers.

I hope to see Crazy Noodle grow and flourish. I'm happy to see the space being used, and happy to see that people are coming in already to support them.

However, next time I think we'll definitely just go to Kwik Check.

Ben & Jerry's

2011-12-31T11:48:00.000-06:00

Ben & Jerry's
5007 Black Road
767-3178

Earlier in the week, Jiro (7) and I were out east running errands. We thought it might be nice to get a treat. Both Muddy's and the Cosmic Coconut were closed for the holiday (!!) so we went over to Ben & Jerry's. I'm not sure why I've never actually been in, but can only guess it's because of the store's proximity to the two aforementioned places. Jiro has been several times with his movie buddies and assured me that it was a good choice.

There was a nice, older couple working behind the counter. I can only guess that they are the owners? Anyways, they were very friendly and chatty. Jiro and I tasted a few flavors before making our decisions. He went with a cup of the 7 Layer Coconut Something and I got a small cone of Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz. (I thought for sure Jiro would get a sprinkle cone or toppings, but he went for just ice cream. I had a taste and it was way sweet on its own.)

He saw a table with an over-sized checkers board on it and asked if we could play. I know he can kick my ass in chess, but I thought I might stand a chance at checkers. "Sure!" I said.

We had a lovely game, and I won by a hair. I was really impressed by the level of kid-friendliness going on in the store. In addition to checkers they had decks of cards, a foosball table, coloring stations, and so on. The bathrooms are clean and have changing tables too.

I definitely see why Ben & Jerry's is always crowded!

Jiro's only complaint was the wooden spoon they gave him to eat his ice cream with. I'm guessing it's a nod to being more eco-friendly, but I would like all restauranteurs everywhere to know that food does NOT taste good on wood. It just doesn't. (I also noticed that they used popsicle sticks for tasters. I think that's passable since it's just one bite.) Stick with a cone until they find a better alternative to the wooden spoons.

Billy Hardwick's All Star Lanes

2011-12-30T11:16:00.004-06:00

Billy Hardwick's All Star Lanes
1576 S. White Station
683-BOWL

The Greenberg Clan has been on a bit of a bowling streak. In the last month or so, we've had a couple of family bowling days out at the Cordova Lanes. On our last visit, my sister said we should try Billy Hardwick's next because they do Cosmic Bowling and "they have good food." (We haven't eaten at the Cordova Lanes.)

We couldn't keep the kids up late enough for Cosmic Bowling which starts at 9pm, so we opted to go for dinner. The menu is pretty basic--burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and so on. There isn't a specific seating area for food--there's a full bar where adults can eat, but no kids allowed. However, there are plenty of seats by the lanes.

Team Oster was the first to arrive, so we put in our order for Billy burgers all around. The woman said it would take about 15 minutes and it did.

I ordered four burgers, two fries to share, and some "homemade chicken noodle soup" for Warren. The monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) complained about having to share fries, but I held fast. Our total was $22, which isn't too bad, but included no drinks. I made the kids get water from the cooler, and I ordered a beer at the bar.

The burgers were big and juicy. Overall, I'd say they were pretty good. Would I make a special trip for one? No.

Jiro complained that his bun was slippery, but managed to polish his off without getting too grumpy.

Warren and I enjoyed our burgers and what fries we could get from the kids. Warren was sorely disappointed by the soup. He said in this case "homemade" meant pouring several cans of veggies into a pot. "I can taste the corn juice," he said.

My sister's family arrived soon after us and ordered a pizza. My brother-in-law insisted it is the best thing on the menu. They were kind enough to share. It was pretty good...for bowling alley pizza.

My other sister actually likened it to skating rink pizza, which she meant as a compliment.

After an hour of bowling, Satchel begged me to get him another hamburger and his very own fries. I complied. It took him awhile, but he did eventually polish it off. I thought it was cute that he put mustard on his fries. He has a serious sour tooth.

It's pretty clear that there isn't anything magical happening food wise at Billy Hardwicks, but family bowling is super fun. There's a Three Little Pigs next door. We may just eat there before bowling next time.

Pho Saigon

2011-12-19T10:11:00.005-06:00

Pho Saigon
2946 Poplar
458-1644

Nine times out of ten, if I asked Warren what he wants to eat for dinner, he will say, "Pho?" We've been to pretty much all of the Midtown Vietnamese places and tend to go through spurts. Like we had a Saigon Le phase, Pho Vietnam phase, and most recently a Shanghai phase. (Had Vietnamese Bistro not burned down, I'm sure we would have never left that phase!) About a month ago, just Warren and I were headed to see a friend's band on the Highland Strip and decided to stop at Pho Saigon on the way. We hadn't been there in ages, for no particular reason. They had an table topper promoting their bahn mi sandwiches, and we decided to get one to share. I typically don't like bahn mi, but theirs is SO good. They add barbequed pork and it makes all of the difference.

Since then, I have been getting them to go on a regular basis! (Just an FYI--they make you pay cash to get them to go--$3.99 each.)

A couple of Sundays ago we decided to take the monkeys (Satchel 9, and Jiro 7) for an early dinner before going downtown to see the San Jose Taiko drummers. Most Vietnamese places are closed on Sunday, so that is another plus for Pho Saigon. (Pho Vietnam is also open on Sunday.)

The monkeys don't get too stoked about Vietnamese food. They definitely prefer to bankrupt us at sushi restaurants. However, when I mentioned that Pho Saigon had bubble tea, they both perked up.

We ordered them each a bubble tea, iced coffee for ourselves, two bahn mi, a noodle bowl to share, rice, and an order of chicken wings. Since we'd worked the kids in the yard all day, we let them play their DSes at the table.

First out was the iced coffee. Do you notice anything wrong with this picture?

I stared at the glass for a few moments, and then commenced complaining to Warren. "Uh, wtf. Where is the rest of it?" I said. "I think the ice is supposed to melt," he replied, hopefully. "It's cold. It's not going to melt anytime soon," I grumpily retorted.

Now, I have a thing about Pho Saigon's pricing structure. Pretty much all of their drinks--coffees, bubble teas, soda water with a squeeze of lemon, all cost $3.50-$4. Considering the bahn mi costs $4, I think the drinks are a bit of a rip off. A $3.50 bubble tea makes sense, but a $4 draft soda water? A $4 half cup of coffee? No.

I told our waitress that I wasn't paying $4 for half a glass of coffee. She looked scared and went to get the owner. The owner lady came over and I tried not to sound too bitchy when I explained that the iced coffee was not what I expected. She was pretty cool about it, apologized, and said the girl who made it was new. Then she came out with a nice, full glass of iced coffee.

Let me say that while it tastes great, it is very concentrated. I definitely regretted my decision to have one at dinner (on a Sunday) when I was lying awake in bed at 2am.

The rest of our meal went off without a hitch. The bubble tea servings are very generous. Jiro got coconut.

Satchel got pineapple. His even had a little scoop of pineapple ice cream on top.

The bahn mi was yummy as always. I still have not managed to get either monkey to try it. I'm pretty sure Satchel would like a modified version since he loves pork, baguettes, and sour things.

Jiro snarfed down most of the chicken wings and a little rice. (He refused to take a serious picture.)

With the bahn mi appetizer, the combo noodle bowl was actually big enough for Warren, Satchel, and I to share. It's also an easy thing to deconstruct for picky eaters.

I don't know that the food at Pho Saigon is any better than the other Vietnamese restaurants that we frequent, but it is at least just as good. As I said, the bahn mi is exceptional, and I think the bubble tea is a bit better too. The service is fast and friendly-enough. I'd put the family that owns it in the same category as the Saigon Le folks--slow to warm up. If you come in all of the time I think they will eventually start to trust you and show some sweetness. If you want all sweetness all the time (and a Thai menu to boot), then Shanghai is your place.

I have yet to make it to the restrooms at Pho Saigon. I'd guess there isn't a changing table, but I'd say in general they are welcoming to children. That's pretty much a given at Asian restaurants.

Our total was over $40, but when you take into consideration that $16 of it was on drinks, then it isn't so bad. Or maybe it's worse! I don't care if you get a drink, but you have to try the bahn mi!

Also, beware, they sell Mentos for $1 at the register.

Shelby Forest General Store

2011-11-28T14:30:00.004-06:00

Shelby Forest General Store
7729 Benjestown Road
Millington, TN
876-5770

I've had the Shelby Forest General Store on my list of places to eat for years. Last Friday, after a nice hike in the forest, we finally got a chance to try the burgers.

Our hike lasted a little longer than we thought, and was a couple of miles further than we intended, so by the time we got to the store, we were hungry, thirsty, and tired. Although they have a fairly extensive menu, we'd all agreed we wanted burgers. I went to the counter to order while the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) tugged at my sleeve.

"Can we get a drink? Can we get chips? Can we get candy?" they clamored. "Yes!" I said, exasperated. The monkeys LOVE convenience stores. I headed over to the drinks to try and steer them towards a decent choice.

There really were no healthy choices (other than water), so I just tried to keep them from getting Mountain Dew. Despite harassing Satchel about it, he still managed to sneak one in! I went for a bottle of iced coffee, Warren got Cheerwine, and Jiro got Hawaiian Punch. I know, right? It gets worse.

Next, the monkeys raided the chip & candy aisles. (Warren wanted to raid the Frisbee golf wall!)

It seemed odd that after a lovely hike through nature we would choose to stuff our bodies with junk, but we did! (It did actually take Satchel three days to drink the Mountain Dew and over half of the Hot Fries are in the pantry.)

We did not, however, get a brownie or individually wrapped triangle of cheese. Both of those would have been good mid-hike.

I paid for everything ($33), including 4 burgers and 2 fries which were still cooking, and we went outside to eat at one of the picnic tables. It was such a nice day! And, happily, we came across two other families that we knew who were also dining outside.

We chatted for a bit, and then they yelled, "Stacey!" so I went in for the food. I assumed there'd be a tray or something, but there wasn't. I sent Warren in for what I couldn't carry.

I liked that there was no styrofoam and that the napkins were doing double duty. The burgers totally did not disappoint. They were a good size, very juicy, and topped with fresh ingredients. Well the tomato was nice and red, the iceberg lettuce was a little sad. Isn't it always, though?

Warren got his with grilled onions.

Jiro got his with cheese.

Satchel stayed busy with the fries. We got one regular and one seasoned.

They were both hot & crispy. I don't know that I can choose which I liked best.

We had a lot of junk food leftover, but no burgers or fries. It was great to eat outside and to see friends. I definitely think we'll be back.

Oh, an added perk of eating outside it seeing a giant rooster roaming around!

We never tried the restrooms, so I can't vouch for their cleanliness. There is some quaint seating inside, on stools and in a separate dining room. The people are very friendly and accommodating. My only change would be to add a recycle bin outside. The trash was full of empty bottles.

Los Jarochos (Taco Trailer)

2011-11-15T11:10:00.005-06:00

Los Jarochos
Summer & Perkins, most evenings

Last week, I did a story on food trucks for the Commercial Appeal. A lot of research went into the story and we included a list of the 25 trucks that have been certified.

There were several comments on the story (and from my friends on Facebook) about us not listing the Twitter handles for the trucks. Well, I'm sorry to report that the vast majority of them are not using Twitter. @fuelfoodtruck and @bossman901 are the two exceptions. (If you haven't tried the Fuel food truck, you aren't living! I love it. Full post coming soon!)

We called them all, and there isn't any easy way to list where they all are or when they are there or how to find them. Until they get more organized, all anyone can do is drive around and look for them, or do their own reporting! In that vein, I introduce the Los Jarochos taco trailer. As you can see, it technically isn't a truck.

From what I've heard, they park at the corner of Summer & Perkins most evenings. There's an empty Walgreens there and they set up in the parking lot adjacent to Perkins. We went at about 6:30pm on Friday and there was a small group of people there. I asked a few of them if there was a menu, and since there wasn't, I asked what they had. "Tacos," was the answer. With the help of bystanders and the nice woman taking orders, I determined that they had shrimp, lengua, tripa, and carne asada, but no chicken. Jiro, full from our pre-dinner of paletas and elote at La Michoacana, opted out when he heard there was no chicken.

I ordered three tacos--one lengua, one tripa, and one carne asada. The woman thankfully asked if I wanted onions and cilantro on them, and I asked for Satchel's to be plain. They cost $1.75 each and took about 5 seconds to make.

Satchel was totally excited about standing in a dark parking lot and eating a warm tortilla filled with lengua.

Even though it looks pretty plain, it was packed with flavor.

Warren wanted his tacos to be anything but plain. He spent quite a good bit of time fancying them up at the toppings station. There were all sorts of things to add.

He opted to eat his in the car. He even gave me a few bites. (I was nervous about eating from a taco trailer the night before a big run.)

They were very tasty! We failed to get any napkins or drinks, but they had both.

We'll be back!

Mellow Mushroom (Germantown)

2011-10-17T20:27:00.000-05:00

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

2011-10-12T13:31:00.004-05:00

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

2011-10-06T20:19:00.005-05:00

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.

Stuffy's

2011-09-16T10:39:00.002-05:00

Stuffy's
786 Echles St.
308-2342

There's been a lot of internet chatter about Stuffy's, the "serious burger joint" over by the University of Memphis. Warren, the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) and I decided to check it out last Friday night after soccer practice. It's in the building that has been several other restaurants over on Echles. Their sign has a bit of a font issue--as in it is way too small to read--so it's a bit tricky to find unless you know exactly where it is.

We arrived around 8pm and there were just a few other tables. In the back, a young man was playing piano, and after awhile several of his friends (I presume) turned out to hear him play. But at no time would I say it was crowded.

We approached the ordering window and studied the menu. I appreciate it's simplicity. Basically at Stuffy's you need to decide if you want a single or double, what toppings (the usual lettuce, tomato, etc., fried mushrooms, fried onion, banana peppers, or jalapenos) you want, and what kind of mayonnaise (Old Bay w/dill, lemon cilantro, chipotle, bbq, hot wing with blue cheese, steak sauce, caper & dill, Italian, and horseradish). For a little extra you can get bacon, chili, or cole slaw on your burger.

I especially liked that the kids' meals were reasonably priced ($3.99) and included the option of carrots instead of fries. There was a choice of chicken tenders, wings, a burger, or a BLT. All meals come with a drink, so overall I'd say it's a pretty good deal. I ordered the monkeys each a basic burger and fries. They were drawn to the juice display on the counter, so we subbed a bottled juice for a fountain drink for an up charge. Satchel wanted some hot wing mayo on the side, which I thought was cute.

Warren and I also went with burger combos, or so we thought. Turns out only the special Taco Burger of the night came as a combo. We paid individually for the fries and drink add-ons. That was pretty dumb considering I just drank water. At least that's my explanation for our $28.14 bill.

Actually now that I look at the combo prices on the special, maybe it does add up. $8.25 for Warren's large, $7.25 for my small, and $3.99 each for the kids, plus the juice upcharge.

We got our drinks which proved a little challenging since several choices had pieces of paper taped over them with the word "out" on them. Then we went about picking a place to sit. Warren rejected a booth, or maybe it was just a table, near the wall because it looked dirty or greasy or something. Then I took the kids to the restroom to wash up since we'd just left soccer practice. Both the men's and the women's rooms were one toppers with no changing table, but only the men's was in service.

I'm going to give Stuffy's the benefit of the doubt here. With all of the internet buzz, maybe they've been slammed. Hopefully they'll be able to get everything working again soon.

Back at our table, there was a little table topper advertising Coke Zero, which Jiro referred to as "Healthy Coke." Then we had a little discussion about what actually constituted healthy. Both monkeys were thrilled when our food arrived, thus ending my lecture.

The burgers all arrive wrapped in foil.

Inside the foil is the good stuff. I ordered mine fairly standard with the addition of banana peppers and hot wing mayo. Also, supposedly it's the "Small Stuffy" though it didn't seem small at all.

Here's a close up of the hot wing mayo with blue cheese that Satchel got on the side. It wasn't especially spicy.

Warren immediately fell in love with his burger. He cooed about it's "bakery bun" and immediately started telling it that he liked it more than Huey's.

He had mushrooms and onions on his burger. Not sure on the mayo.

On to the kids. Despite being a part of the kid's meal, the burgers were nice and big. Satchel moaned that he didn't want cheese on his, but I explained that cheese comes standard issue (and stuffed inside the meat) at Stuffy's. Then he stopped complaining and went about adding ketchup-ed fries to his burger.

Jiro asked me to put ketchup on his, then he happily ate it until there was none left.

Satchel, who actually ate his fries, couldn't finish his last few bites.

We were kind of joking about the piano player when we first sat down and definitely got a few giggles when he started playing Billy Joel, but he was actually pretty good and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I was especially impressed when Satchel said, between bites, "That's Beethoven!"

Also at one point during our meal, the guy from the back came over to check on us and see how everything was, which I thought was a nice touch. We had no complaints, and no leftovers. I really did not want to eat all of my food because it was so much, but I couldn't stop myself because it was really good.

I still kind of like Burly's better, mostly due to the awesome Buffalo fries, but their heinous service and non-existent milkshakes--oh and a small fire--have kept me from going back. Stuffy's is actually right off of the bike path that leads down Southern, so we might someday make a trek over on our bikes. However, if we ever find ourselves hungry & in the University District, then it's definitely on.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

2011-09-12T15:01:00.003-05:00

Tropical Smoothie Cafe
2105 Union Avenue
791-9251

On a recent play date, Satchel (age 9) went to Tropical Smoothie Cafe with some friends. He really liked it and started craving it. It was annoying to Warren because he makes a smoothie every morning, offers it to the kids, and they usually both say no. (He has been known to throw in some weird stuff.) Satchel drank a strawberry and banana smoothie almost everyday of his life from age 2-5, though.

After making his signature "I must have it now" slurping noise, we finally gave in and went to see what the fuss was about.

When we went inside, I had a nice giggle about the tropical decor. They really want you to feel like you are on an island instead of Union Avenue. Satchel knew exactly what he wanted--a kid's meal with an American cheese and ham wrap, chips, and a Jetty Junior smoothie (strawberries and banana).

Instead of chips, he could have subbed fruit or a cookie. Also on the kid's menu is a flatbread sandwich (turkey, ham or grilled cheese), a cheese quesadilla, and cheese pizza. Not bad for $4.99. (You can skip the smoothie and get a soft drink for $3.99.) Jiro (age 7) opted for a cheese pizza, Sun chips, and a Chocolate Chimp smoothie (banana & chocolate). They also have a Banana Mania smoothie option (banana and non-fat yogurt) and Awesome Orange (orange, white chocolate and non-fat yogurt).

The menu at TSC is fairly extensive featuring soups, salads, sandwiches, and all day breakfast in addition to the smoothies (and coffee smoothies!). I was definitely overwhelmed by the choices. I wish I had come more prepared. I did a quick glance trying to find something healthy, but once Warren decided what he wanted--a Jamaican Jerk chicken wrap--I panicked. I blurted out that I wanted a Baja chicken flatbread.

Now that I've had time to peruse the menu I brought home with me, I would totally order differently next time. They have a pretty sweet Island combo which gives you a choice of any two of the following for $6.99: smoothie, half bistro sandwich, half gourmet salad, or cup of soup. The Paradise combo for $9.99 features a smoothie, chips or fruit, and your choice of a wrap, bistro sandwich, or salad.

Anyways, what we ordered was pretty tasty, and only $22 for the four of us. Satchel ate every bite of his food and every drop of his smoothie.

I liked that his sandwich came plain without having to ask.

Jiro's cheese pizza was nothing special, but he ate most of it along with his chips. He was too full for his smoothie despite it being chocolatey.

Warren's Jamaican jerk chicken wrap was actually quite good. He gave me a bite and half of his bag of chips, which was sweet. (The flatbreads come with chips, bistro sandwiches do not.)

My bistro sandwich tasted good, but it was a little heavy on the cheese and sauce.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I was also surprised to learn that there are five stores in Memphis. I will definitely keep it in mind for when the kids are starving and we don't have a lot of time. Since they open at 7am, I think it would also be a good alternative to morning donuts, which the monkeys are a tad addicted to.

I'm not a huge fan of chains, but this seems like a pretty good one. I'm assuming a local person owns the franchise, but I don't know for sure.

They used mostly paper products for food, but the smoothies do come in styrofoam.

None of us made it to the bathroom to do a changing table inspection.

Noodles Asian Bistro

2011-09-09T15:07:00.005-05:00

Noodles Asian Bistro
7850 Poplar Avenue, Suite 12
755-1117

After an afternoon of bowling in Cordova, we decided to eat dinner at a little Asian bistro by my mom's house in Germantown called Noodles. My mom had been a couple of times and reported that it was good. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to try a new Asian place!

It's in a strip mall, and fairly generic on the inside. It's basically a Pei-Wei type place. However, at dinner they have servers rather than letting you order at the counter. The service was nice, but a little slow. My mom thinks it goes quicker when you can order at the counter.

Before eating we made a bathroom run to wash the bowling alley off of our hands, and I noted that there was a changing table in the handicapped stall. I like this arrangement much better than having it near the communal sink. (My diaper changing days are over, but I remember what a nightmare it could be when dining out, so I look out for my readers with babies and toddlers!)

Back at the table, things were off to a bit of a rough start. The monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) were freezing because Noodles was blasting their air conditioning. (It was one of the first cool days we had outside which made it worse.) My mom offered Satchel her jacket, but it was just a rain slicker and offered little warmth.

Jiro had to go sit outside with his arms inside of his shirt.

The worst part about the plunging temperature was the fact that we ordered the monkeys each a bubble tea! If you've never had bubble tea, it isn't really tea at all. It's basically somewhere between a smoothie and a milkshake with large tapioca pearls, aka bubbles, inside.

Satchel basically said he was too cold to drink his, but Jiro soldiered on. My mom had never seen bubble tea before, so the boys tried explaining the tapioca bubbles to her. "They feel like a snail turd or an eyeball," Satchel explained. Surprisingly she still tried it. Then Jiro commented, "Next time get my tea without the gum."

We ordered Satchel some emergency egg drop soup once we determined that he could get it without the unusual add ons of scallions and chicken. It's hotness finally calmed him down and he told us, "The soup tastes like hot and sour soup but egg droppy," which I thought was hilarious.

Noodles did have a kids' menu which was pretty decent. For $4.95 you had a choice of brown or white rice, a drink, and an entree (Sweet & Sour Chicken, Chicken Lo Mein, Chicken Nuggets & Fries, Honey Seared Chicken, Broccoli Chicken, and Chicken Fried Rice). I hate to see the chicken nugget option, but I'm sure there are just as many parents who need it in order to survive the meal. Satchel wanted Sweet & Sour Chicken and Jiro opted for Lo Mein.

My mom, Warren, and I decided to split three entrees and ordered three appetizers. We were all way hungrier than we thought. We pounced on the appetizers as soon as they arrived.

The edamame was standard issue. Jiro ate almost all of it.

The fried tofu was a little more breaded that what you find in midtown, but we ate it up. The sauce and the sweet pepper and onion mixture on the side made it extra yummy.

The fried calamari was also more battered that I would have expected and had the same pepper and onion relish on the side. Despite the presence of jalapenos, it wasn't too spicy.

There was a bit of a wait between the appetizers and the entrees, but our waitress appeared every so often to let us know that she hadn't forgotten about us. Eventually everything came out together and we dug in.

Satchel's Sweet & Sour Chicken came out with lots and lots of onions. Thankfully, he didn't complain since they were easy to eat around. (Do any kids actually like onions?)

Jiro's Lo Mein was also a little sophisticated. It had mushrooms, carrots, onion, and a teeny tiny bit of chicken. He basically ate a few mouthful of noodles then picked out the chicken.

The dishes the adults chose to split weren't the best ever, but good enough. I think we all liked the Thai Mango Chicken the best. (You could get it with beef, shrimp, or tofu too. Had I known the chicken would be fried, I probably would have chosen a different option.)

The Wok-Charred Beef was pretty good, but would have been better with a little more kick. (We ordered everything mild since my mom has delicate taste buds.)

My second favorite was the Szechuan Street Noodles with fried tofu. We ordered it mild too, but they made it pretty fiery. My mom couldn't eat it, but Warren and I had no problem polishing it off.

We all ended the meal full and fairly happy with a good amount of leftovers. It took a good long while for us to get the check and then pay and get our card back. So long that my mom, who had her own car, decided to go ahead and leave! Our total came to $65 plus tip, which is definitely a bit high for dinner, but considering we had an extra adult, three appetizers, two bubble teas, and enough leftovers for another meal or two, I couldn't moan too much.

If we go back, and I'm not sure we will, I'd probably have the monkeys split a dish and go easy on the appetizers. Also going at lunch and ordering at the counter would reduce the tip from 20% to 10%. Since it is close to my mom's house, I might give it another try. The menu is pretty extensive and I feel sure I missed something fabulous.

Lee's Fresh Sushi

2011-09-03T16:58:00.005-05:00

Lee's Fresh Sushi
6646 Poplar
681-0111

One of our favorite places to go when we are in a hurry is Lee's Fresh Sushi, a.k.a. "Gas Station Sushi." Yes, sushi in a gas station. It was one of my go to's for a quick lunch, and ever since I introduced it to the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) it has been ON. (One of our favorite things to do is to sneak it into the movies, shhh!)

On Friday night after a Target run (the monkeys have been saving their money for Nerf guns) we did a quick drive through.

Since we go so often, the monkeys don't spend too much time perusing the shelves. They go right for their favorite--the crunchy shrimp tempura with eel sauce but without spicy sauce.

Last night a woman walked by, looked at the monkeys with sushi in hand, and asked amazed, "You eat that?" They grinned and looked at each other. I assured her that there weren't any vegetables involved other than a little seaweed. Basically this is the chicken nuggets of sushi rolls. (In their defense they do like quite a range of sushi. Satchel has been known to down three house rolls at Sekisui and beg for a fourth.)

I really like the shrimp tempura roll. I'm pretty sure it is their biggest seller. I'm often tempted to get one with spicy sauce for myself, but the monkeys rarely eat all of theirs, so I settle for their cast offs. I typically get the spicy tuna or the spicy crawfish.

Instead of avocado, which tends to brown, they use cucumbers in most of their rolls. They also have a special rice formula that keeps it from getting hard. They make sushi fresh all day, but they still have to be mindful of the fact that it can be refrigerated for several hours.

In addition to sushi they have edamame, seaweed salad, squid salad, dumplings, and egg rolls. We usually stick to sushi although I have tried the squid salad a couple of times.

Each sushi roll is about $6 and has 12 pieces--a very good deal. Even better, with every four you buy, the fifth is free. You also get a free Coke product with every two rolls you buy.

I've completely eliminated soft drinks from my diet so I tried to pass on the free drink, but the check out dude was insistent. "You can get a Dasani," he told me. While we debated, Jiro quickly ran and got a Diet Sprite. I relented. Honestly I was happy that was all Jiro tried to sneak in. Going to the gas station for dinner can backfire when the monkeys remember that the candy and chip aisles exist.

Once in the car, it is time to eat. There are chopsticks available, but we usually just use our fingers like they do in Japan. Likewise, we don't use any soy sauce. Smothering sushi in soy sauce and wasabi is very American and quite rude especially if done in front of the sushi chef. But I say if you are eating sushi from a gas station you can make up your own rules.

Don't forget the napkins!

Flip Burger Boutique (Birmingham)

2011-08-24T08:17:00.001-05:00

Flip Burger Boutique
220 Summit Blvd.
Birmingham, AL 35243
(205) 968-2000

On our way back to Memphis, we stopped in Birmingham for lunch. I was thrilled when Urbanspoon alerted me to the fact that there was a Flip Burger Boutique. It was on our list for Atlanta, but hadn't made it. It was located in the burbs in a very shwanky, Carriage Crossing type mall.

It had great outdoor seating overlooking the mountains, but we decided to sit inside.

The inside was very posh, but not stuck up. The staff was exceptionally friendly and the place felt very welcoming. We were seated in the middle at a family style table since most of the booths were full. The appeal of the booths is that there is a second, mirror image booth hanging from the ceiling.

I liked our table because I had a great view of the guy making shakes with liquid nitrogen and the guy in the kitchen dressing buns. Satchel liked the fact that he could see the mountains out of the window.

Jiro was sitting next to me and couldn't look at the shakes and not want one. I told him if he ate his lunch, I'd get him one. Our (cute & tattooed) waiter told us that there wasn't a kid's menu but that they would make a burger anyway they wanted. Good enough. I got them each a basic burger with ketchup and pickles and an order of fries to share. Warren and I had a much harder decision to make. There were several burgers we wanted to try. Eventually he settled on the country fried chicken burger and I got the grilled shrimp.

While we waited for our food we did some eavesdropping on the people next to us (they were engaged and lunching with family), took in the ceiling (it was covered in a very graphic pattern with hidden images) and attempted to answer questions such as "How many more miles to Memphis? How many more minutes? How many more seconds?"

Our food came out really quickly and looked fantastic.

Jiro's basic cheeseburger came with homemade pickles, which he rejected.

Their fries were hot & crispy and had ketchup and a smoky mayo for dipping.

Warren's burger was piled high with tasty curried pickles and seasoned with sriracha. Those are zuchini fries on the side.

My grilled shrimp burger was actually a patty. I don't know why this surprised me, but it was a happy surprise. Since they had the option of getting it with a lettuce wrap, I did. Once I figured out how to wrap it up, I was quite pleased with it. (Do places in Memphis do this? I know it was popular when the Atkins Diet took off.)

It was seasoned with Crytsal hot sauce and topped with a fried lemon. Genius! As a side, I got the candy cane beet salad, but as you can see they had golden beets that day. It was really good with the goat cheese and almonds. The Asian rice cracker mix was a little overkill, in my opinion.

The kids had no problem polishing off their burgers, but needed help with the fries. Warren and I were happy to oblige.

Then we were tasked with deciding which shakes to order. We decided to split two. Among our choices: Orangecreme, pineapple upside down cake, Cap'n Crunch, and Nutella with burnt marshmallows. (I've seen other seasonal menus featuring Krispy Kreme donut shakes and even fois gras shakes!) We went with the orangecreme and pineapple upside down.

They came over smoking from the nitrogen and we were instructed to wait for the smoke to clear.

I can safely say that they were among the best shakes I've ever had. Maybe the best. That pineapple was killer.

Our total bill was $59.95 plus tip, which is definitely way more than we'd typically spend on lunch. But it was totally worth it as a treat. If we lived in Birmingham I think Flip would have to be a special occasion place. (Or a sneak over without the kids place.)

A final note, the bathroom was just as shwank as the rest of the place, but had no changing table. A lady who was in there with me commented, "That's the craziest sink I've ever seen." Our dentist has the same sink, so I wasn't as impressed as she was. I did, however, take a picture of the placard on the door.

Boobies! I won't tell you the conversation Warren and I had after seeing this, but let's just say it's a good thing he didn't design the matching placard for the men's room.

When we were about ten miles away, I realized there was a Lululemon store in the mall just across from the restaurant. I was so sad (and relieved--at least for my wallet) that I didn't get to pop in. (I googled Lululemon to see where else they have stores and saw an article saying they were opening in East Memphis in June above Ben & Jerry's by the Paradiso. Is this true? I've driven by since and it doesn't look like anything is there.)

Still, I'm thinking of reasons to go back to Birmingham...hmmm...maybe a I could do a race there? Too hilly?

Ikea Food Market (Atlanta)

2011-08-23T08:16:00.000-05:00

IKEA
441 16th Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30363
(404) 745-4532

We didn't get to do much sight seeing while in Atlanta, but we did make a quick trip to Ikea on Saturday night. It was close to dinner time, so we told the kids that they could get a quick bite before we checked them into the kids play area. When I noticed that the food market was having a special "Kids Eat Free" promotion that didn't even require the parents to buy anything, well, even better.

I showed the monkeys the sign and told them to pick an option. I thought for sure Satchel would want meatballs, but they both went with the standard chicken nuggets, fries, and milk.

We had to go through a standard cafeteria style line, and as you can see, the monkeys were a tad jacked up.

I took note of a few other interesting items that diners could choose from. Crayfish, cheese, and crackers? I think there was even some salmon hiding behind it.

Everyone knows that Ikea is crazy family-friendly, so this shouldn't have surprised me.

I think stopping in the Food Market first made me lose a bit of my sparkly-eyed fondness for Ikea. Picadilly has better offerings.

But I did enjoy watching my boys carry their trays around. Look at that concentration!

And well, you can't beat free. (Or, do you get what you pay for?)

The monkeys happily ate their dinners and I took in the other family-friendly touches in the restaurant. Lord knows, I would have appreciated this type of play area when they were smaller.

We didn't make it to the restroom, but I'm sure there was a family one with a changing table. The little things certainly do add up.

The kids spent 40 minutes in the play area while we shopped, then joined us for our final run and check out. There Satchel tried to convince me to let him get a second dinner of meatballs, but the food market had already closed.

I think we spent two hours total there shopping, eating, waiting to check out, etc., and by the end of it, I wasn't sure I ever wanted to come back. While it is a (huge?) step above Wal-Mart and Sam's, shopping there still had an overwhelming/exhausting feel to it. I suppose if we lived closer to one and knew our way around better, it would help. But if we lived closer to one, then I imagine everyone we knew would have all of the same stuff, right?

Bhojanic (Atlanta)

2011-08-22T08:14:00.000-05:00

Bhojanic
1363 Clairmont Rd
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 633-9233

Warren didn't do as well in the Kendo tournament as he had hoped, so to cheer him up, I found Atlanta's best Indian restaurant--Bhojanic. It looked super swank both inside and out, but it was crawling with families. At least at 6pm on a Friday.

We got a table and drinks right away. I told the kids to leave their DSs in the car, so they occupied themselves with their coloring sheets.

Again, we found ourselves perusing a pretty impressive kids' menu.

Still, we weren't exactly sure what anything was. Ditto for the main menu. Thankfully our waitress was very sweet and forth coming about what was what and gave us plenty of time to figure out what we wanted. As we discussed our options, I noted that they had Chicken 65. This is one of our favorite dishes at Maharaja, and as soon as Satchel heard us mention it, he insisted on ordering it. I read the description aloud: "Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and green chilies. A non-fried version of the original!"

Non-fried? No, thanks. (Screw healthy choice!) However, Satchel was insistent. Jiro, on the other hand, didn't seem to want anything. We decided to let them split the Chicken 65 and a rice bowl, which was basically just jasmine rice.

Warren was waffling between an Indian burrito and a platter, so I offered to get the burrito, better known as a Kathi Roll. I went with the homemade layered flat bread rolled with fried egg, Chicken Tikka, Mint Chutney, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and onions, which is served with Raita and Papdam. Warren got the Thalis--or platter--with his choice of meat and veg, plus a side of pickles. The waitress also talked us both into getting a Chai tea.

While we waited for our food we chit chatted and reviewed the Kendo tournament's ups and downs. The restaurant continued to fill up, both with families and hipsters. Our food came out fairly quickly and Warren was in heaven. Behold the Thalis.

I was happy that he was happy. His meat choice was goat and it was spicy and delicious just like we had in Cameroon oh so long ago. And I gotta say, those Indians make a mean burrito.

The bread was amazing. I loved the thin fried egg layered on the inside. And the cucumber dip was fab. Does anyone in Memphis make something like this? If so, I'm in.

Initially Satchel was saddened by the look of the Chicken 65 because it was tandoori-ed, but once he tasted it, he was cool. Jiro was very emphatically refusing to even try it, but we I offered to give him a candy bar for dessert if he ate it and that worked.

That green dip was to die for. It was minty and sweet, not spicy. YUM.

The rice bowl didn't look like much, but the monkeys are huge fans of rice. They even liked the peas.

Also, I should add that they served everything with delicious chapati rather than naan.

We ate every single bite and were ready for the check when our waitress came over to apologize for the long wait on the chai. I had actually forgotten we ordered it! It arrived a few minutes later and ended up being a nice dessert. Once we sweetened it up, the kids wanted it for their own.

Somehow our total bill was only $42.00 plus tip, which seemed like a bargain. If we lived in Atlanta, Bhojanic would definitely be on our regular circuit. They even have a market next door. We didn't get to check it out because we were in a rush to meet up with a friend, but I can only imagine the treasures within. Also, on our way out I noted that the bar had some pretty delicious sounding drinks--ginger margarita, anyone? I can see how it might become a super hipster hang out after 9 when the kids are in bed.

Doc Chey's Noodle House (Atlanta)

2011-08-20T21:15:00.002-05:00

Doc Chey's Noodle House
1556 N Decatur Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
(404) 378-8188

Last week we went to Atlanta to watch Warren compete in a Kendo tournament. It was held at Emory University, which is massive and beautiful. After Warren's pre-tournament meeting on Thursday night we went to the nearby Doc Chey's Noodle House. There are three of them in Georgia and one in Asheville, so it's chain-ish, I suppose. It kind of reminded me of Pei Wei but less corporate. As you can see it is pretty casual and has a nice patio.

It was fairly crowded when we arrived, and although it looked like one of those places where you order at the counter, a hostess sat us at the far end of a large family-style table. The kids (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) were given coloring sheets, but they ignored them in favor of trading pokemon.

Warren was busy coordinating the next day's practice and competition with his teammates on the phone. I decided to tackle the ordering. First up, a most impressive kids menu.

Satchel opted for the fried rice with chicken and Jiro chose lo mein with no carrots, double broccoli, and chicken. I was thrilled neither went with the chicken nuggets. They both also wanted miso soup. I didn't notice that they got a free drink until later--when I ordered them milks--so I started them off with water. Warren in an all time speed record, decided on udon plus a side salad. I went with a szechuan stir fry, and then immediately was sad that I didn't notice the bi bim bop special on the board.

The soup and salad came out right away. The kids did not like the addition of sesame seeds to their miso soup. I made an attempt to fish them out, but it was futile.

Jiro also discovered that they added soba noodles. He ate a few bites, but didn't seem to like the change from what he usually thinks of as miso soup. (Sekisui is his reference point.)

Warren's side salad was nothing fancy, but he liked it.

Once our salad was done, the rest of our food quickly arrived. Doc definitely does not skimp on portions. Behold the udon.

My beautiful Szechuan stir fry with tofu and brown rice. (Which was not at all spicy--must be what the Sriracha was for. They also had furikake on the table.)

The kids' meals came in the same size bowl as Warren's udon, but was a slightly smaller serving.

Satchel was not very happy with his fried rice, not because it tasted bad, but because he really wanted Jiro's noodles. Jiro shared with him a bit, but he was actually interested in eating it himself, which is unusual. He held out a piece of broccoli and said, "Here Mommy, try the broccoli. It's juicy and delicious."

Yes, Jiro.

While we ate, we enjoyed looking at the various animals painted on the walls. We soon realized that they represented the Chinese zodiac. We then wracked our brains trying to remember who was what.

Eventually Warren took pity on Satchel and switched bowls with him for awhile. Despite all of our sharing and eating, we still had a ton of food left over. I was super happy to see that instead o styrofoam they used old school paper cartons.

Even though Jiro is a monkey (according to the Chinese zodiac too) I had him pose with a rooster. He's got a rooster in his name--Jiro Oster, get it?)

Our total bill was $39.58 plus tip. Not bad considering we had sake, salad, and two soups.

Now for the funny part--the next day I took the monkeys back for lunch. (Warren ate at the competition with his teammates.) We NEVER go to the same restaurant two days in a row, especially on vacation, but Satchel would not shut up about the "delicious broccoli. He actually gave me his best puppy dog eyes and asked, "Don't you want us to eat healthy?"

Then the clencher--he made the "slurpy noise." The slurpy noise indicates that he thinks something is delicious and he is craving it and won't stop with the sluroy noise until he eats it. I caved.

We soon discovered that at lunch time, you order at the counter. It was no problem since the kids knew what they wanted and we beat the lunch rush. I planned to get the bi bim bop special I overlooked the night before, but it had been replaced with another one of my favorite dishes--Thai beef salad--so I ordered that. Our lunch total came to $24.08, plus a few bucks thrown in the tip jar.

We filled up our drinks at the soda fountain and had a seat. We were given a card to hang on our table and were told they would bring our food out when it was ready. In the two seconds we had to wait, I snapped a picture of the monkeys with the awesome condiments, sriracha and furikake.

A nice waitress brought our food over and as you can see, Satchel was very happy.

Soon his bowl was too.

Jiro only picked at his, so Satchel ended up having lots of leftovers to get him through our next two days in Atlanta. Thankfully we had a fridge and a microwave in our hotel room!

Oh, my Thai beef salad? YUM. It was actually spicy without me adding anything, and the noodles, peppers and cabbage were a nice touch. I ate every bite.

Before we left, I made a quick trip to the restroom. It was a one top. Clean and replete with a changing table.

Despite it's semi-chainyness, I think overall Doc Chey's is very kid and budget friendly. The food is good and the service is great.

Imagine Vegan Cafe

2011-07-31T11:16:00.006-05:00

Imagine Vegan Cafe
2156 Young Avenue
654-3455

A couple of weeks ago, Warren and I took the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) to Tsunami for a special dinner. When we were done, Warren surprised me by saying that he wanted to walk around the corner to check out Imagine Vegan Cafe. One of his co-workers had been raving about it. He was shocked when I told him that I wasn't really interested in going because I heard it was Vegan "junk food" made from pre-packaged frozen fake meat. After dragging him to "hippie" restaurants across the country on our road trip, he just could understand why I wouldn't be excited about a hippie restaurant in Memphis. He argued that even vegans like "comfort food" and that by serving things like burgers and chicken nuggets made from non-animal products, Imagine might get people to imagine themselves as vegans. I argued that I'd be more likely to go vegan if there was a restaurant that served yummy vegetable dishes.

On Friday we decided to go and see who was right.

Since the menu lists everything as though it were made of meat, I wanted to skip the part where we told the kids it was fake meat to see if they'd notice. However, as we stood outside reading the menu, Warren immediately blurted out that nothing really had meat in it. We were standing outside reading the menu because there was a hand written sign that said, "Order at the counter." A week earlier we went to Chipotle for the first time and without having studied the menu prior to approaching the counter, found ourselves in a bit of a mad rush to decide what to eat.

The menu at Imagine is extensive, and it's hot here in Memphis, so after a few minutes we went inside despite not knowing what to order. It was early--about 5:30--so the restaurant wasn't busy. The guy at the bar gave us menus and said we could take as long as we wanted to decide. So we sat down and studied a bit longer.

I pretty quickly determined that I would have the taco, and decided to take in the ambiance. The inside of the restaurant is welcoming in a college dorm kind of way. It's clear that the owners didn't come in with a lot of cash, so they spruced it up as best they could. In the back, there were a few sofas where some kids were lounging and later where a woman was cuddling a baby. I know that the restaurant was opened by a couple with several children, including a newborn, so I could only guess this was them. The area reminded me a bit of the back room of Mothersville where us new mamas would seek refuge during the day. I totally admire and understand why a family would want to open a business that allowed them to be with their children.

By the time my reverie was done, everyone had made up their minds. I was sent to order at the "counter."

The counter is actually a bar, and where you order is on the far back side by the register. It seemed a bit odd to me, and I could imagine that it would pose quite a clusterfuck should the restaurant ever get super busy. Regardless, I put our order in, paid $32.95, and rejoined the boys at the table. The bartender/cashier brought us over some water and silverware. The kids seemed pretty tired from a day of swimming, so most of our pre-meal conversation went like this, "Don't put your head on the table," "Sit up," etc.

I had ordered a appetizer of dogs-n-blankets, but what came out first was Jiro's kid's meal of chicken nuggets and French fries. I thought it was cute that they served it on a Blue's Clues plate. Jiro, however, was very concerned that there was no ketchup.

I let Jiro get fries as his side, since we were in unfamiliar territory, but I was happy that there were other options, including veggies like broccoli, spinach, green beans, and a side salad.

A waitress soon brought out Satchel's gumbo, and we asked for some ketchup.

Satchel's commentary while eating his gumbo was hilarious. "Look, it's an actual piece of meat," he said while holding up a piece of fake sausage. "Rice? Is this rice? I thought it was random white stuff," he said as he tentatively put some on his tongue. "It feels like pus--in a solid," he remarked. When I asked if he actually liked the gumbo he said, "It's totally spicy but good." Despite this conversation, Warren and I both tasted the gumbo. It had a nice flavor and was definitely too spicy for Satch. And I had to agree that the rice wasn't the best.

Next, the dogs-n-blankets came out. The monkeys, who clearly didn't love their dinners, and Warren, who hadn't gotten his yet, pounced on them.

Everyone seemed to enjoy these, although they were exactly what we'd make at home, albeit with real hot dogs. They were simply wrapped in a crescent roll and baked.

Next, Warren got his Vegan Memphis sandwich--their take on BBQ. He had asked for spinach instead of baked beans--a good call as the spinach actually looked fresh and tasty.

Warren was impressed by the texture of the fake meat and forced me to taste it. Not bad.

By the time everyone was about half way through with their meals, my taco came out. Ordinarily I would be highly annoyed that our food was so staggered, but since I wasn't super hungry or super excited about eating I didn't complain (too much). However, I had pretty much decided by this point that the family who opened the restaurant had very little restaurant experience going in. I also imagined some conversations they must have had around their dinner table at home that led to them thinking that opening an all vegan restaurant would be a good idea.

Finally, my taco arrived.

As you can see, it was technically a burrito. The menu listing never actually said if it came with meat or beans inside--"Extra-large taco topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and served with rice and black beans"--so I had to peek.

Still unsure, I cut it in half, passed half to Warren, and took a bite. There were definitely beans and some sort of ground "meat." It tasted fine. It was nothing special. It reminded me of "Taco Night" at my mom's house. I was however very impressed with the sour cream. It could fool anyone, I think. As for my side of rice and beans, well, Satchel said the beans looked like black jelly beans and then went on to compare them to the droppings a character in one of his video game leaves. I didn't think that they were canned at the time, but later that evening when I wanted to die, I could only assume that they were both canned and not rinsed. Thankfully I had only eaten a few bites and I immediately threw away the leftovers.

Had it not been for Warren, we would have had a near full bowl of gumbo, the majority of Jiro's nuggets, and several dogs-n-blankets to take home as well. (We received a compostible to go box and Warren asked if they were a Project Green Fork restaurant, but I didn't think they were. A quick hop over to the PGF website and I confirmed they are not.)

I wanted to be pleasantly surprised by Imagine, but I wasn't. I know several vegans who absolutely love it, so hopefully that will be enough to keep them going. Warren was still defending them when we left, but I can't imagine he'll want to go back anytime soon. He liked his sandwich, but there's nothing stopping him from eating real BBQ.

Overall it seems like a very child-friendly place run by a very friendly and hard-working family. I'm sure they've quickly learned that running a restaurant is a lot harder than it seems. I wish them luck.

And I would point out that we actually have two Vegan restaurants--the other is the Cosmic Coconut, which I absolutely LOVE. They have expanded their food offerings now, too.

Noshville (Nashville)

2011-07-25T16:31:00.004-05:00

Noshville
1918 Broadway
Nashville, TN
615.329.6674 (NOSH)

I'd seen my friends on Facebook happily checking into Noshville and praising its food, but I'd never really looked into it. As we made our way back to Memphis from two and a half weeks on the road, we knew we would have lunch in Nashville and Warren said, "I don't want to eat anymore hippie food." Since we already hit the trendy new burger place on our way north, I decided we should give Noshville a try. "A New York deli in Nashville? Why would I want to eat there?" was Warren's response when I mentioned it. As I scrambled to find somewhere else, he seemed even more insulted. "Why are you looking for another restaurant? I thought we were going to Noshville!" he cried.

If I learned anything in two and a half weeks on the road it was not to upset the driver.

There are actually four Noshvilles in Nashville, and I didn't know if there was one that was better than the others, so I blindly led us to the Midtown location. We live in Midtown Memphis, so I assumed/hoped Midtown Nashville would be just as happening.

Inside, it was really cute. (Although the lighting did not agree with my camera.) There was a deli case stocked full of treats, meats and cheeses. Sodas were lined up all around.

There was a cool old school diner vibe. I loved the look of the booths and bars and stools.

It was sort of between normal lunch and dinner hours, so it was a tad slow. Our waitress brought over menus and, since they were quite extensive, I asked if we could have a few minutes. As she walked away I wondered if the staff was required to dress like they were Jewish (and living in 1950s Brooklyn) or if Noshville just attracted homely Jewish-looking people looking to wait tables. (To be fair to our waitress she only appeared to be TRYING to look homely.)

Anyway!

Since the kids' menus were coloring sheets, they immediately started coloring and offered little in the way of what they wanted to eat. Actually Satchel had requested we lunch somewhere that served hot dogs, so he was somewhat covered.

Jiro eventually agreed to eat a grilled cheese, which he hardly ever actually eats, but I went with it. Meanwhile, Warren had gone to the restroom and had come back reporting that there was a pickle bar on the way. When our waitress came back, I told her we still weren't ready, that we'd been in the car all day, and that I was sorry. Oh and could we have some pickles? She quickly brought over a giant sampler.

Warren was totally in love with Noshville now. He declared he was going "full Jew" and getting a liverwurst sandwich. I pointed out the half sandwich, half soup option to Warren and we both decided to go with that so we could have some matzoh ball soup. Now that we had decided our waitress was no where in sight.

She did eventually find her way back to us, we placed our order, and then a few minutes later she introduced us to our new waiter. I thought I must have really insulted her or something, but it was just a shift change.

The kids' drinks came in little plastic "kids club" cups. Apparently the kids club members get free griddle cakes on weekends with the purchase of a drink. (Adult purchase necessary.)

Some online comments I read indicated that Noshville breakfast is pretty popular so I like that kids can eat free.

Our soup came out right away and it looked delicious.

Warren agreed to share with Satchel, but after he accidentally spilled some, Warren rescinded his offer. (In Satchel's defense, the bowl was between him and Warren and they both really wanted it all to themselves.) Satchel sat there looking super sad until I could stand it no longer. I sent my soup over for him to eat.

A few minutes later, Jiro, finally looking up from his coloring sheet, said, "I want soup!" By now it was clear that we were probably going to need another bowl. I instructed Satchel to share with Jiro and asked our waiter for another bowl.

Before we could get through the third bowl, the rest of our food came out. I don't think I'd ever actually seen Liverwurst before.

Warren tried really hard to get me to taste it but I flatly refused. Besides, I had a roast beef sandwich to polish off.

I was really glad that we weren't on our first date because the combination of Liverwurst, red onion, and pickles surely made for some funky breath.

On to the kids' meals. Satchel's hot dog was, uh, very well endowed and came with smiley fries.

Jiro's grilled cheese looked buttery and delicious. He ate a few bites before starting role playing with the smiley fries.

Soon both Satchel and Jiro were obsessed with the smiley fries. Satchel, who plagued me with the game "Would you rather" for our entire trip, asked, "Would you rather have your eyes eaten or your mouth?" I can only assume that I was to pretend to either be a smiley faced fry or imagine some monster eating part of my head. "Neither!" I replied.

Since the kids' meals had little to no nutritional value, I ordered them a side of the vegetable of the day. It was a limp selection of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot. Boo.

We couldn't even convince Warren to eat them.

All in all, I'd say it was good. If we lived in Nashville, I'm pretty sure we'd want to try the breakfast and desserts and surely the kids would clamor for more soup. At the very least, I'd go back for dinner and have a He'brew.

Finally, I'd like to note that styrofoam is widely used, but on the plus side, there is a changing table in the women's restroom.

Sunspot (Knoxville)

2011-07-22T14:55:00.004-05:00

Sunspot
1909 Cumberland Avenue
Knoxville, TN
865-637-GOOD(4663)

We did a lot of eating on our road trip! I'm ready to get back to Memphis food, but I figured a little info on our Knoxville stop might prove useful to some Memphis friends. When we left Blacksburg, Virginia we knew that we'd stop in Knoxville for lunch--a late lunch. I turned to Urbanspoon in the hopes of finding a nice place to stop. Using the "Most popular" and "Talk of the town" features I came across Sunspot. It was on a major thoroughfare near UT and it's tagline "Where tie-dyes and neckties unite" intrigued me. A quick scan of the menu and website and I was sold.

"Sunspot caters to vegetarians and carnivores with with a unique and multicultural blend of Southwestern, Caribbean and Latin American cuisines."

It was 4:30pm on a Thursday when we rolled in, so I guess it was more of an early dinner than a late lunch. There seemed to be college kids eating and working there. There were a few tables, but it was far from crowded. There was a bar and a second dining room so I imagine it gets pretty crowded when school is in session.

I had to immediately go to the restroom, of which there were several, but I noted that the one I chose had a changing table. That made me feel even better about our choice. Clearly children were welcomed, or at the very least expected.

When I got back to the table, the waitress was taking drink orders. I was there in time to stop Jiro's (age 7) de facto Sprite order, but when he asked, "Do you have any cheese dip?" I let him proceed. (I love that he isn't afraid to talk to adults and order what he likes.)

The waitress had already brought us a basket of chips and green salsa, so the cheese dip was a nice addition.

Jiro was bummed to learn that the dip was actually spinach con queso. When the waitress returned he asked her if they had any "normal" cheese dip. (They did not.) Three out of the four of us enjoyed the dip and the haikus on the table (each table had a different theme or gimmick) while we decided what to order.

As you can see from my photos, a sunspot was definitely present throughout the meal. (However, I'm pretty sure the name is referencing the Knoxville sunsphere.)

There wasn't a kid's menu, so we had to do some research to figure out what the monkeys might eat. Once our order was in, we tried to keep everyone calm. Jiro wanted to draw, but I had no pen in my purse. The paper I had offered him soon turned into a paper airplane. Luckily the food came out fairly quickly.

I ordered the Sunspot’s celestial tofu salad with mixed greens tossed with corn salsa, mandarin oranges, mango jalapeño vinaigrette, goat cheese, spiced peanuts, and blackened tofu. I was thrilled with both it's looks and taste. I was even a little sad that I had agreed to share it with Warren.

Warren's Orion’s belt sandwich was made with their blackened tofu qnd topped with hummus and sprouts. He got a side of broccoli rather than fries.

He liked the sandwich, but thought it was a little bland. Luckily Jiro's tofu corn dogs (a special that day) came with two fancy dipping sauces (spicy mustard and Sriracha BBQ sauce). Once he fixed it up, I was happy to have my half.

When ordering the tofu dish for Jiro, I imagined hot dogs made of tofu, but it was actually fried tofu on a stick.

Cute idea, but the execution was a bit of a mess. The sticks were just skewers and could not hold the tofu up. Jiro tried in vain to eat these, but ended up with a lap full of tofu. And for whatever reason, he didn't seem too into the homemade chips. They were a little on the soggy/greasy side.

Satchel wanted a burger, but we convinced him to get soup as a side rather than fries. It was a shrimp curry that was a little spicy but good. He ate the shrimp and broth while downing a huge glass of water.

Warren and I ended up helping Satchel polish off his burger. (Eating vegetarian sometimes leaves us hungry!) It was grilled and very YUM. Again we took advantage of Jiro's fancy dipping sauces.

There were a few candy machines by the door that the kids were bugging us about, so I made them eat some of Warren's broccoli to earn a quarter each. (Luckily, we didn't discover the foosball table until after we paid and were on our way out.)

Our bill came to $49, and that was with waters all around. Satchel said he definitely wants to go back.

Gillie's (Blacksburg, VA)

2011-07-19T13:34:00.004-05:00

Gillie's
153 College Ave
Blacksburg, VA
(540) 961-2703

On our way back to Memphis from Massachusetts, we stopped in Blacksburg, Virginia to visit one of my oldest and dearest friends, Hope. She's from Memphis, but has made Blacksburg her home. While we were in town she took great care of us. On our last night I told her I wanted to eat at one of the hippie joints in town. Without blinking, she led us to Gillie's (which I failed to snap a photo of from the outside). It's pretty much an institution. From the website:

Back in 1974, Jan Gillie opened Gillie's, serving only ice cream, but within a year Gillie's became one of the first places in Blacksburg to serve soup and bread. Ranae Gillie joined the business in the 1980's, the menu grew, and these days, Gillies offers inspired vegetarian and seafood cuisine with a wide variety of choices.

The monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) really wanted to go back to the Cellar where we had some really great pizza the night before, but they know better than to think I'm going to condone eating at the same place twice in two days. (I do make the rare exception!) When told that they couldn't go to the Cellar, they merely requested that we go somewhere with wifi.

Hope, a self-described hillbilly, has no wifi at her house. Since we'd dragged the monkeys through a blueberry orchard, up a mountain, and through a waterfall that day, I was okay with them tuning out during dinner so we could have some adult conversation. Alas, there was no wifi, but they managed to find other things to do on their iPods.

Once they were settled, our first order of business was getting a cold beer. I went for a Brooklyn Lager.

Warren totally one-upped me by getting a tall boy PBR!

Refreshed, we were able to tackle the menu. While Hope & Warren thought only of themselves, I focused on the monkeys. The kids menu was actually quite nice.

Once I saw that they had pizza, I thought my job was done. Sadly, the waiter soon informed us that the pizza had been 86'd. Dang! Oh well, it gave me an excuse to try and make the monkeys order something more exciting. I failed. Satchel went with the closest thing to pizza--a quesadilla filled with black olives and artichokes, his favorite. Jiro basically followed suit with a grilled cheese. As you can see in the picture it comes with tomato and sprouts, but he definitely did not want those. Undeterred, I tacked on a third dish for them--A kid sized portion of rice & veggies with tofu and a side of veggies.

Once they had decided, the rest of us quickly put in our order. Our adventurous day had left us all starved. We smartly decided to start with the pacos, which is Gillie's version of nachos. It's tortilla chips topped with vegetarian chili, melted cheddar, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, black olives, Jalapenos, sour cream, Guacamole and salsa. And it was YUM.

The generous portion coupled with our beers made us wonder if we'd even be able to eat our dinners. No worries, we were.

Warren went with a light choice--buckwheat soba noodles tossed in a soy-sesame dressing over organic spring mix topped with marinated shiitake mushrooms and sprouts.

Hope had the south meets southwest--pan-fried catfish over goat cheese grits and baby arugula, accompanied with chive oil and chipotle butter. So pretty!

I had the build your own stir fry with tempeh and Thai sauce.

It was pretty good, but I wondered if they had given me tofu by accident because it didn't look or taste like tempeh.

The kids' meals were equally pretty and hearty. Not surprisingly the rice, tofu, and veggies was their favorite. Satchel was thrilled that they had long grain Indian rice--another one of his favorites.

One standout at Gillie's is the service. Our waiter was great and our food came out quickly. When Jiro started losing it near the end of the meal, our waiter kept things light and told us he could arrange for Jiro to wash some dishes. Believe me, had we not been ready to crash ourselves, we might have taken him up on it! I appreciated his sense of humor.

I was also very glad to see that they are anti-styrofoam at Gillie's. Our to go box was a biopack.

If you are ever in town, give Gillie's a try. I hear that their lunch is pretty awesome too.

The Lady Killigrew Cafe (Montague, MA)

2011-07-11T07:21:00.000-05:00

The Lady Killigrew Cafe

442 Greenfield Road

Montague, Massachusetts

413-367-9666

Whenever our friend Vanessa would introduce us to anyone and tell them that we were visiting from Memphis, they almost always asked, "Have you taken them to the Book Mill yet?" The Book Mill is a cute little used bookstore in an old mill in the cute little town of Montague. It connects to the Lady Killigrew Cafe and sits atop a hill overlooking a babbling river.

I'm pretty sure that the Lady Killigrew could serve turds and still do a bustling business due to its location alone, but it has a lovely menu. You can almost see it here.

It's pretty simple--bagels, a few things that are intrinsically delicious, and hearty sandwiches. You order at a counter in a pretty small area, so our group of 8 simply didn't fit. Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) looked at the menu briefly and left me in charge of ordering. It was pretty stressful considering Jiro's order of a grilled nutella sandwich made his half-brother, Miles, want one as well. He's a picky eater like Jiro, but his moms try to get him to at least eat some protein in every meal. They eventually agreed on a grilled nutella and peanut butter sandwich for him and the crisis was averted.

Warren almost ordered the soba noodles, but then decided on a tomato sandwich. I told him I thought that sounded boring so he reluctantly switched to a summer sausage sandwich. (Vanessa and I discovered that we both had a knack for ruining our loved one's dining experiences by influencing their orders.) Satchel was in one of his "I'm starving and nothing will satisfy me" moods. I convinced him to eat a turkey sandwich only to discover that they wouldn't amend the special to make it plain for him. They did allow me to get him a ham and apple sandwich minus the apple. Since the only choice of a side was a salad, I also ordered a cheese and bread plate. I knew right away that I wanted a warm brown rice salad, so at least that was easy.

Once the order is in, you get your drinks, silverware, napkins, and a table card for them to find you when the food is ready. Warren, Liz, and the kids had saved a table outside since the inside was packed.

By the time I made it to the table, I was a little stressed out. Ordering had not been easy and the feeling of holding others up didn't help. Finally when I tried to get some cups for waters the dude behind the counter insisted there were already cups out. He did eventually see that I was right about them being out, but it was a bit much having to argue about it.

I ended up snapping at Warren when I got to the table because he wasn't totally excited and thankful for the surprise ice coffee I ordered for him. I apologized and explained why I was grumpy, and we moved on. Vanessa walked the kids down to the river to keep them occupied while we waited for our food. They had wanted to go in the bookstore, but for whatever reason I thought they should wait until after we ate.

It took the food quite some time to come out, but luckily by the time it was ready, we were able to move inside to the big table with the nice view and sound of rushing water.

The food was simple, but delicious. This seemed to be the trend at most places we ate in Massachusetts.

Once we ate, we were all in a much better mood.

Then it was off to the bookstore for some treasures.

And finally a little dip in the river.

It ended up being a lovely day.

Now that we know the system at Lady Killigrew's, I think our next visit will be smoother. I'd recommend reading the menu outside where it isn't crowded and then looking at books until your order is ready. (You'll need someone to hold a table.) And I'd definitely bring swimming suits and plan to make an afternoon, if not a day of it.

Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream (Easthampton, MA)

2011-07-10T18:50:00.007-05:00

Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream
34 Cottage Street
Easthampton, Massachusetts
413-529-2929

From almost the first minute that we arrived in Massachusetts our friend Vanessa was raving about Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream. It took us a few days to get there, which is probably good, since I wanted to go every single day after that.

Mt. Tom's is named after the nearby mountain, and is in the heart of Easthampton. Not only do they sell fresh, homemade ice cream, they sell candy too. Vanessa told me about the dark chocolate with almond and sea salt and I couldn't wait to taste it.

It was so, so good. I wanted to marry it. There were many awesome sounding flavors though, and Warren & Satchel had a hard time choosing.

Ultimately, Warren had to go with Maple Bacon and Satchel simply can't pass up anything coconut.

Jiro, my littlest monkey, nearly got himself disowned when he opted to get candy rather than ice cream.

His crazy half brother followed suit. They seemed happy, so I let it go, but dang.

Mt. Tom's sells ice cream by the pint, and it's actually just a dollar more than a large cup. For that reason alone, I'd have my freezer bustin' if we lived nearby. Actually, on our last night in town, Vanessa, Jiro and I made a late night Mt. Tom's run and totally stocked up. I tasted several more flavors on that trip and they were all awesome. I had to go back to the dark chocolate with almond and sea salt though.

Jiro finally tried the ice cream--coconut almond fudge--and admitted it was better than candy.

We can also highly recommend the burnt sugar and peanut butter banana. Yum.

Mt. Tom's, I love you. Won't you be mine?

La Casita Azteca (Easthampton, MA)

2011-07-10T11:55:00.003-05:00

La Casita Azteca
58 Cottage Street
Easthampton, MA

(413) 203-5050

After our hike up Mt. Tom, we were in need of food. Liz & Vanessa's friends suggested we try La Casita Azteca. They said it wasn't the best Mexican food in town, but it had great outdoor seating, which would be good for both the kids and our dog.

I loved it from the minute we saw it.

Even Satchel was impressed. "This is nice," he said. We had some disagreement about where to sit, but eventually settled on one of the picnic tables in as much shade as possible. The service was fairly laidback so it took awhile to get menus, drinks, etc.

We were able to secure Juaritos for the kids and drinks for ourselves. After a quick trip inside to use the restroom, I noticed that most people were drinking sangria. I couldn't resist trying one myself. I went for the mango.

Once we all had a drink, we put our orders in. There was a pretty decent kids' menu which had what the kids wanted--taquitos, rice, and beans. By default they came with lettuce and salsa so I had to do some adjusting, which later proved problematic. As for the adults, we had a hard time deciding for ourselves since the menu was a bit different from what you'd normally see. Liz was especially perplexed and was never quite happy with her order. I think we were all just hungry. Chips and salsa don't come free, so we ordered some to keep everyone calm.

The salsa was pretty unusual, and definitely not the best I'd ever had, but we ate it because we were hungry. The kids played tic tac toe and drew pictures.

When they tired of that we played many rousing rounds of 20 Questions. Satchel had us all stumped with his person, who ended up being "the boy who saw Mommy's butt at the beach." Yes, a poor child happened to see me changing near the car. Butt humor is hilarious to the 6-9 year old set.

The food came out pretty quickly and everyone dug in. Liz soon realized that the soup she got was almost exactly like the salsa, which was kind of funny. The kids' taquitos weren't fried as usual, but they were hungry enough not to care.

My crunchy tacos ended up looking more like the taquitos I thought the kids were getting.

Warren said he burrito was pretty good. I think he was bummed it didn't come with rice and beans though.

Our total bill was $76, which was a bit more than $10 a person--a tad more than we'd normally pay for Mexican. If I lived nearby, I think I'd go by for a drink and maybe some guacamole because the patio is so awesome, but I don't know about a full meal.

The Green Bean (Northampton, MA)

2011-07-09T20:15:00.007-05:00

The Green Bean

241 Main Street
Northampton, MA
(413) 584-2326

On our first day in Northampton we decided it would be fun to walk along the Mill River, then get lunch downtown. Warren and I had our monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) and our friend Vanessa had her two (Miles, 7, and Tasha, 2). It's never a good idea to go to a restaurant when the adults are outnumbered by children, but we did. Thankfully, The Green Bean is incredibly kid-friendly and our waitress had the patience of a saint.

It was about 1:00 on a Saturday and the restaurant was pretty busy. We were able to get a large table in the back conveniently located next to the restrooms and a shelf of books and other toys.

While the adults tackled the menu, the monkeys tackled each other. Once we got them to stop touching, other chaos ensued. Miles immediately started putting salt in Jiro's water. When I stopped him, he dipped puzzle pieces in his water, and even the wooden drill he had acquired on his way in. I took a deep breath and let Vanessa calm him down.

Jiro, who had seen some of the drink selection on the way in immediately requested some "pink milk." This started a trend and soon he, Satchel, and Tasha were all happily sipping on pink milk.

I went for a GuS (Grown Up Soda) since they are a rarity in Memphis. I loved that it was served in a mason jar.

Meanwhile Warren had some very sophisticated tea.

As for food, the menu had so many tasty sounding dishes that I had a hard time deciding. There was a nice mix of omnivore and vegetarian items. Vanessa said that their tempeh dishes were really good, and several tofu dishes sounded appealing too. Ultimately, Warren went with the Green Bean Lunch which offers a choice of tofu or tempeh with brown rice and greens. I decided on the Bi Bim Bean which was a vegetarian version of one of my favorite Korean dishes. Satchel was starving and was convinced that they wouldn't have anything that he liked. He goes from one extreme to the other--he either insists on ordering two meals or refuses to order anything. With a little coaxing, and some time for the pink milk to settle, he agreed to try the Green Eggs and Sausage. The three other monkeys were selecting from the Silly Goose menu.

Tasha announced that she wanted a pancake and Miles and Jiro followed suit. Vanessa pointed out that a little protein might be good so we added in a side of bacon.

Once our orders were in, Vanessa started reading a book to Tasha at her request. Soon both Satchel and Miles were captivated.

Jiro and I made a trip to the restroom, which was awesome. Exhibit one: A nice area for changing a diaper.

Exhibit two: A nice sturdy step stool for washing hands.

Back at the table the Dora book was losing its appeal. Vanessa asked the kids if they wanted to play the "Three things" game. She explained that one person said three things and then another person made up a story including the three things. She told Warren and I how when they originally came up with the game Miles told a story that involved Vanessa being partially crushed. Well, as you can imagine every story from then on involved Vanessa being partially crushed. It was both hilarious and alarming.

Thankfully the food came and we all got to focus on something else. The Bi Bim Bean was both beautiful and delicious. The Korean version usually comes out sizzling with a raw egg--you stir it up and it cooks in the bowl. This version had two fried eggs on top.

Look how pretty Warren's dish is. So simple, yet so delicious. Honestly, I could go vegetarian/vegan if Memphis had restaurants that served dishes like this.

I decided that tempeh is my new favorite food after taking just one bite. Vanessa got the tempeh reuben and said it was fantastic. I'm not a fan of sauerkraut so I didn't take her up on her offer to try it.

Jiro was quite happy with his pancake and bacon.

I even got a smile and a thumbs up from Satchel.

I don't think any of us left any food on our plates! We kept everyone calm long enough to get the check, and then I paid up front. I noticed that they left off all of our drinks, surely the result of the hostess taking a partial drink order after Jiro started the pink milk brigade. I informed the cashier who quickly made the correction. Our total was $65, which was less than $10 each. Not bad. I left the waitress a fat tip for her extreme patience and went outside to meet the others. If we lived in Northampton, The Green Bean would surely be one of our regular haunts.

Corbin's BBQ N Grill (Gettysburg, PA)

2011-07-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Corbin's BBQ N Grill
885 Taneytown Rd
Gettysburg, PA
(717) 334-3771

As we drove through Gettysburg--yes it is that big--we passed this place a couple of times. After four hours of taking about war and guns, I insisted we get some lunch. It was about 3pm.

There was no one there when we arrived, but moments later a whole horde of people showed up as if they were following us. I think the screened in porch and the promise of ice cream was appealing to just about everyone who drive by.

Their credit card machine was down and we didn't have tons of cash on us, so we tried to control ourselves. The boys each got a burger, Warren strangely opted for a BBQ sandwich, and even stranger, I went for a cup of gumbo. We also got an order of fries to split and two milkshakes.

Our total was about $30, which is pretty standard for us. We all made a quick stop in the restroom to freshen up then grabbed a booth on the porch. Our milkshakes were ready almost immediately and they totally hit the spot.

Not long after, everything else was ready. The burgers were generous and tasty. The fries were crisp and delicious. Jiro went ahead and declared the meal the best of our trip.

Warren reported that the BBQ sandwich wasn't as good as one you'd get in Memphis, but that it wasn't too shabby.

The gumbo was also pretty decent. It had rice, sausage and small shrimp. Maybe even some chicken? It had a nice kick to it.

After a few spoonfuls, I could see that Satchel was eying my lunch. He offered to trade me his hamburger and I took him up on it.

We didn't leave a single crumb on the table and I really wanted to get another round of fries and maybe another shake, but I couldn't convince Warren to let me spend his last ten dollars.

Alejandro's Mexican Grill (Roanoke, VA)

2011-07-01T20:23:00.003-05:00

Alejandro's Mexican Grill

127 Campbell Avenue

Roanoke, Virginia

(540) 400-7053

Before hitting the Blue Ridge Parkway, we stopped in Roanoke for lunch. I texted a friend who lives in nearby Blacksburg and she directed us to the center of town where there were loads of restaurants to choose from. We parked the car and walked around until we found a place where we wanted to stop. Alejandro's won because it was busy (which we took as a good sign) and because Warren and I love Mexican food.

Inside, we discovered that the menu was extensive and covered an entire wall. There was a line and by the time it was our turn to order, I was a little stressed. I do much better at new places when there is a menu I can look at while I sit down and stall with drink and cheese dip orders. To add insult to injury, Warren and the boys darted off to save a table so I was on my own. Warren and Satchel had agreed to split an order of carnitas before leaving, but Jiro wasn't giving me any clues as to what he wanted to eat. He was very clear on the fact that he wanted an orange Juarito at least. I did the best I could and went on my way.

I quickly discovered that the thing Alejandro's is known for is their extensive serve yourself salsa bar. It's free with any order, so while Warren took the boys to wash up, I grabbed as many little samplers as I could carry. I thought I might convince the kids that the ranchy tasting dip was cheese dip, but they were not fooled. Our food came out fairly quickly so we didn't need to do a second raid on the salsa bar, but I'm bummed we didn't try more.

The carnitas was plenty for Satchel and Warren to split. Satchel is all about the rice and beans these days, and quickly slurped these down.

When I can't figure out something exciting to get, I usually default to a standard burrito. Turned out it wasn't anything super exciting, but it was big, fresh and tasty. I only managed to eat half of it.

Poor Jiro ended up with a last minute panic order of a cheese quesadilla that wasn't even worth taking a picture of. I should have just gotten him a crunchy taco, but wasn't able to remember that he liked them when I was ordering. It didn't seem to matter though. After downing the Juarito, he wasn't hungry. I got it wrapped up to go, but he never ever showed any interest in eating it.

All in all I'd say it was a fine place to stop. It was fairly cheap, fast, and friendly enough. There are three of them in the area, so even if you don't make it downtown, you might get to try it out. If you do go downtown, there are plenty of shops and an outdoor farmer's/artist market nearby.

Burger Up (Nashville)

2011-06-28T08:10:00.001-05:00

Burger Up
1203 Paris Avenue
Nashville, TN
(615) 279-3767

I first noticed Burger Up on our last visit to Las Paletas, the Popsicle Mecca in Nashville. It was pretty packed then, but since we arrived in town around 1pm on a Wednesday, there wasn't a line around the corner. However, it was still bustling. Luckily, we were able to get a table on the patio right away. (The main dining room had large community tables, a few regular tables, and a large bar.)

Although there didn't seem to be too many kids in the restaurant, the waitress didn't blink when she saw the monkeys. When she seated us, she gave each monkey a book to read, which I thought was a nice touch.

As the kids read, Warren and I tackled the menu. Burger Up supports local farmers. It's stated at the bottom of the menu and there are a few farm references preceding ingredients on the menu.

There didn't appear to be a kids' menu, so we opted to let the monkeys split a Triple L Classic, which is their basic burger. Warren seemed torn, but he went with a turkey burger. I really wanted to try the veggie burger, which is made with quinoa and black beans. When the waiter came to take our order, Jiro immediately ordered pickle chips much to Satchel's delight. Warren and I approved of his executive decision and at Satchel's request I asked what the soup of the day was. I forget what it was, but it didn't appeal to him so we went ahead with our order. As a last minute add on, I upgraded my standard fries to truffle fries.

By now the boys were bored with their books, so I took a peek. That's when I noticed that the books were also doubling as kids' menus. A small menu was taped inside. D'oh!

Five bucks seemed like a decent amount for a kids' meal, but it also seemed as though it was geared towards monkeys a little younger, or at least with smaller appetites, so I was glad we ordered from the regular menu.

The pickle chips came out a few minutes later and both Satchel and Jiro were surprised to learn that they weren't pickled flavored potato chips. However, once they tried them Jiro declared that they were "the best stuff ever made of pickles."

As I looked around the patio, I was struck by the hipster scene. I felt like there were probably well known Nashvillians (?) in our midst, but not being locals we had no way of knowing. Even the waiters and waitresses seemed like they might be musicians earning a living between records.

Once the pickle chips were polished off it was just a matter of seconds before our burgers came out. We had several waiters come out together so that the four of us all got our burgers at exactly the same time. I thought that was a great touch and I was pleased to see that the monkeys' burger was pre-split. Each monkey also appeared to get a full order of fries.

Warren, totally against Team Oster etiquette, started eating before I could take a picture. Thankfully, his burger was not marred.

My veggie burger came out looking quite fetching, though I was a tad bummed to see that it was probably deep fried.

Jiro dug right in and declared his burger fantastic. Satchel attacked his fries and didn't stop until they were gone. He had no interest in the house made ketchup, which was good, but definitely tasted different than the standard Heinz.

The fries were really good, but different. Warren hypothesized that they were boiled before they were fried. They were super crispy on the outside and almost mashed potato-y on the inside. Also we had a difficult time distinguishing between the regular fries and my truffle fries.

Jiro barely touched his fries and Satchel barely touched his burger, but both seemed full. Warren and I made happy plates, but neither of us was blown away by our burgers. They were definitely made well and had quality ingredients, but they lacked any real punch. Flavor wise everything was just a tad blah.

On our way out, I happened to notice the specials board and had we noticed it earlier or thought to ask our waiter about specials we might have tried the Cuban burger with prosciutto and the summer burger with fried green tomato--both of which sounded very tasty. I'm giving our waiter the benefit of the doubt here. We may have started asking questions and ordering appetizers before he had a chance to do his usual run down of specials.

While we waited for the check, Satchel and I made a bathroom run. It was a one top that was very clean and nice. There was fancy spray and lotion but no changing table.

The dessert menu was tempting--Olive & Sinclair dark chocolate brownie, Bravo gelato, and a Krispy Kreme donut pudding, but we had our hearts set on paletas next door.

Our total bill was $42 plus tip, which was a tad more than we'd normally spend on lunch, but we don't mind paying extra for locally sourced ingredients.

BrickTop's (Nashville)

2011-05-31T12:47:00.003-05:00

Steph was in Nashville for Memorial Day weekend and filed this report. Thanks, Steph!

BrickTop’s
3000 West End Ave
Nashville, TN

BrickTop’s is famous in our family for two reasons: For one, they have an amazing veggie burger on the menu. But most importantly, it was the place where Connor wrote his name for the first time. I still have that corner of the children’s menu with the shaky “Connor” scrawled on it, tucked away in the baby book for safekeeping.

For some reason, we haven’t been back since that historic Chockley event. I’m guessing it’s because the place is pretty pricy. It reminds me a lot of Houston’s restaurant, only without the Stepford wait staff. According to their website, there are only four BrickTop’s locations (in Nashville, Charlotte, Naples and Atlanta), with three more “Coming Soon!” So yes it’s a chain, but it’s a small one! I still get points for that, right?

We went on a recent Sunday afternoon, and felt horribly under-dressed in the midst of the elegant décor and tables of post-church diners in their Sunday best. We were not treated as heathens by the staff, however, so that was good. We were offered a brunch menu (served Saturdays and Sundays, 10-3), in addition to the regular lunch menu, but no one ordered from it. We did drool over the selection of brunch cocktails, including the French 75, which has recently been added to my own person drink menu. And it took a lot of self-control for me to not suggest the homemade donut appetizer to my kids. With three dipping sauces! I was not surprised to find this same dish offered again on the dessert menu. That’s the problem with donuts. (And with PopTarts. Just sayin’- if you can eat it for dessert, it’s not a real breakfast!)

Two people at the table ordered the veggie burger, and they both could only eat half- partly because it’s massive, and partly because the fries are fantastic and it would be a crime to leave any uneaten, so they probably filled up a little on those. One person ordered the Ahi tuna burger, and to be honest I didn’t hear a lot of feedback. It got eaten, so that’s a good sign. Another diner ordered the fish tacos, were were said to be good. Again- the only thing left on that plate was some rice, so I’m guessing they were good tacos.

Chip ordered one of the day’s specials, a flatbread with smoked salmon, dill, capers and onions. It was HUGE. And it was gooooood. I got to sneak more than one bite. I ordered the Ahi tuna salad with mango and avocado, and it was delicious. The tuna was very high quality, and melted like butter in my mouth. I particularly liked that it wasn’t crusted in sesame seeds. For some reason, restaurants consider that a requirement of seared tuna salads, but I don’t think it’s always necessary. The dressing was great as well.

The children also had a great dining experience. I’ve already mentioned that the fries were awesome, right? That’s usually enough to earn high praise from my kids, ages five and almost-eight. It takes a little more than that to get a good review from me, however, and BrickTop’s (mostly) delivered. Here were the kids' entrée choices:

Corn Dog
Chicken Tenders
Mac and Cheese
Grilled Chicken
Fried Shrimp
Grilled Salmon
Grilled Mahi

I know, right? Mahi mahi? Who puts that on a kids’ menu? I was really pleased with these options, particularly since Chloe, my five-year-old, has recently developed a love for salmon. It was a good-sized portion- she couldn’t quite finish it. I was more than happy to help her with that, especially since she had stolen a couple of pieces of my tuna. Connor, of course, ordered the chicken tenders. They were really good, possibly breaded in-house rather than thrown directly from the freezer into the fryer.

The kids’ menu was a bit problematic when it came to the choice of side items: French fries or noodles. Now, I wasn’t actually going to order vegetables for my kids or anything (the horror!), but it would have been nice to see them as an option. They also got their choice of milk or apple juice with the meal, which I wish I had noticed before letting them order Sprite. Finally, for dessert they had a choice of vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, or animal crackers. They both chose chocolate ice cream, natch. And they both left very happy.

The bill for eight people for lunch was around $115 (food and soft drinks only), which as I’ve said is probably why we don’t eat there more often. We didn’t have an opportunity to check out the bathrooms, but if they are at all in keeping with the rest of the building’s atmosphere then I’m sure they are very nice and well-equipped. I would suggest BrickTop’s if you are in Nashville with money to spend looking for an interesting kids' menu and a terrific veggie burger.

Cheffie's

2011-05-26T14:02:00.001-05:00

Cheffie's
483 High Point Terrace
343.0488

I never went to the original Cheffie's, but there was so much buzz about Jennifer Chandler (a friend of mine) re-opening along the Shelby Farms Greenline in the High Point Terrace Shopping Center, Warren and I went for lunch on the third day that they were open.

From the sign, you might get the idea that Cheffie's is a small cafe tucked inside a bicycle shop, but it takes up the same amount of space, if not more with the patio, as the bike shop. The inside is absolutely gorgeous and reminds me of well-to-do, beach-y towns like Ventura, California. (That's a compliment.)

On day 3, Warren and I found the place packed and had to wait in line almost 15 minutes before getting to be "the chefs." Actually, there were several things on the pre-made menu that we wanted to try, so we didn't bother cheffing it up. (We picked our bread, but that was about it.)

Due to the large crowd, we ended up sitting at one of the community tables. At first, I really didn't like it. I'm the type of person who will move if a stranger sits next to me in a movie theater. BUT, the two little ladies next to us were really sweet and we left feeling like we'd made two new friends.

Since we were impressed with the food--we tried two sandwiches and a salad--I couldn't wait to come back with the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7). In my mind, we'd hit Cheffie's after a family bike ride on the Greenline. In reality, I took them for dinner one night when Warren was out of town. I felt guilty for not riding my bike, but it seemed that most of the crowd gathered was bike-less.

Crowd may be a misnomer--there were several other people dining, mostly on the gorgeous patio--but it wasn't crowded per se. I was happy to several families, including many moms of babies and toddlers enjoying a glass of wine and some conversation.

When it came time to order, we had a man with his small child behind us and they appeared to be a bit huffy. Rather than just letting them skip, I rushed the monkeys to decide on something from the kids' menu--which I think is pretty sweet. They had a choice of a PB&J, a small salad, a grilled cheese, or 1/2 of a ham or roast beef sandwich. They both opted for a grilled cheese despite my attempts to get them to branch out a little. I went with the Tuscan Chicken sandwich since it was my favorite at my previous lunch. (I really liked the Santa Fe salad too, but I'd had a salad for lunch that day.)

I thought I might at least convince Satchel to add something "exciting" like artichokes to his grilled cheese, but he wasn't interested. He did however ask if he could have a side of egg salad. Having never known him to try egg salad, I obliged.

The real excitement for the monkeys came when it was time to select sides and a drink. Satchel seemed to be wavering, so the "helpful" cashier pointed out that they had just gotten a soda fountain. I politely told her that I was trying to avoid having that as a choice and she quickly zipped her lip. (Note: originally there was no soda fountain, but loyal patrons soon demanded one!)

With all of us getting chips and a drink, our grand total came to $30. Usually the four of us can eat for $30, so that was a tad higher than normal, but again, I am on board with paying a tad more for locally-owned, fresh, and eco-friendly. Cheffie's is all of these things.

Once I paid, we had a couple of trays to carry over. Jiro offered to help, and I think that's the main reason we ended up sitting inside. (The tray was a tad heavy for us to journey out to the patio.)

The monkeys, who were hungry, wasted no time digging in.

Jiro declared his meal both "awesome" and "delicious."

Satchel was also a fan of his grilled cheese. He ate all of it, a few bites of his egg salad, half of his drink, and none of his chips. He has a classic case of his eyes being bigger than his stomach--another reason dining out has become more expensive.

My Tuscan Chicken sandwich was almost as good as I remembered it. I don't know if they didn't leave it in the panini press long enough or if the ciabatta bread is harder to work with, but the inside was a little cold rather than yummy and melty like I remembered.

See? Melty. Yes, I pretty much take a picture of everything I eat! Anyways, hot or cold, it tasted good. And I thoroughly enjoyed my grapefruit Izze and pita chips.

Our dinner time conversation centered on Bon Jovi. The kids had been practicing a Bon Jovi song for the end of the year show at school and I happened to mention that they were playing at the FedEx Forum that night. Jiro REALLY wanted to go. It was hilarious. I came up with several reasons why we couldn't go--expensive tickets, late night sets, mostly adult crowd--but Jiro did not care. He wanted to go!

"Is the guy with the red hair going to be there?" he asked. "Uhhh..." I really had no idea who that might be. "Is it going to be like in the video where there are lots of people screaming and dancing?" he asked. "Uhhh...." I wasn't exactly sure how answering this question would affect his desire to go. "Yes," I said. "Aw, man!" he complained.

Hilarious.

Anyways, looking back on our meal, we certainly could have skipped the fancy drinks and shared chips, or skipped a gratuitous side of egg salad and had a more economical meal. But we were on a roll. "Who wants gelato?" I asked.

Silence.

Finally, "I'm too full for gelato," said Satchel. I looked at Jiro. "Can I get one for later?" he asked. Wow. Those were some filling grilled cheese sandwiches! I decided to let them think about it for a second. "Does anyone need to go to the bathroom?" I asked. They both shook their heads no, so I instructed them to sit tight while I made a quick visit.

The bathrooms are on the bike side of the building and they are lovely. I confirmed that there was a changing table, which was good since there was a large contingent from the diaper crowd seated in the restaurant. While I was washing up, a little girl, maybe 4, came out of a stall and was desperately trying to wash her hands. "Will you lift me up?" she asked.

Now, normally I wouldn't pick up someone else's kid, but I did because I appreciated the fact that this independent little girl not only went to the bathroom alone, but she WANTED to wash her hands, and even asked a stranger (very politely) to help her. I never met a monkey like that before! However, note to Cheffie's, how about a sturdy step stool in the bathroom?

Back at the table, the monkeys decided that they would "look" at the gelato.

The cashier afforded us several tastes and after a few moments of consideration, we got a Mexican vanilla and a mint chocolate chip to share on the patio. I ordered smalls, but she grabbed large cups and started filling them. When I tried to stop her she said she was giving me a small serving in a large cup. I wasn't sure why, but I could only assume she had a good reason. (Maybe it's easier for kids to eat that way?) Our two scoops added another $7 to our dinner total.

The gelato was very tasty, and it was a lovely evening to sit in the patio. All that I was missing was Warren, and maybe a glass of wine. If we lived in the neighborhood, I am sure that we'd be frequent visitors to Cheffie's. I've heard rumors that there are plans for more stores, so keep an eye out. I'd personally love to have their salad bar downtown where I work.

Also, I should add that Cheffie's is Project Green Fork certified. They offer recycling, but it isn't clear what can be recycled and what can't. I think there's a common belief that the plastic gelato cups and spoons can be recycled, but I don't think this is the case. Some signage would be helpful.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

2011-05-19T14:39:00.000-05:00

Ed. Note: Friend, burger lover, and Go With Family blogger, Liz, braved the opening night crowds with her 7 and 3 year old monkeys to bring us this report of Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Thanks, Liz!

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
1315 Ridgeway
680-5386

Last summer, our family made an epic drive from Memphis to New Hampshire in a bare two-and-a-half days. On this tight schedule, we had to set aside our usual scruples against nasty fast food. There was no time for exploring Road Food’s recommendations or exploring byways on our own. Nonetheless, we did our best to hit restaurants that would at least serve food we liked. It’s not that we never eat at burger joints, by the way. When we’re in the Midwest, we carry a map of all the Culvers locations so we can enjoy an exquisite butterburger and frozen custard combo. I guess we’re just particular.

So there we were, heading north through Virginia on I-81, suddenly desperately hungry but reluctant to visit McDonaldland. When we saw an unfamiliar red-and-white checked sign on the highway sign alerting us to the next exit’s dining options, we decided to chance it. We thought maybe it was one of those rare local places that make it onto those signs. And we believed that for a while--the food was that tasty--until we realized that Five Guys was a huge DC-area phenomenon, with the area’s highest Zagat ratings for burgers and a plan for expansion that, unbeknownst to us, included Memphis, TN.

The first thing you see when you walk into a Five Guys is the peanuts. Great big open boxes of peanuts in their shells. A sign on door warns diners with nut allergies that the place is basically aerosolized with peanuts. Even the fries are cooked in peanut oil. But if you’re safe around peanuts, dive in. They’re fresh-tasting and will get you through the almost inevitable wait. When we (me, husband Josh, 7 year-old monkey Gus, and 3 1/2 year old monkey Solly) arrived at around 6 on opening night at its new Ridgeway location, there was a line out the door. It was longer when we left. The vibe was festive and crowded, but even with the crush, a smiling server stopped by the table a couple of times to ask if we needed anything.

Fortunately, you can order online. I signed up while we waited and placed our whole order from my phone. (There’s even a mobile app -- Android only, as of now -- for Five Guys fans.) Though it took longer than the site predicted once I’d finished ordering, I’ll chalk that up to opening day. In every other way, the place was running smoothly. It was clean and bright, and Gus recognized the trademark red and white decor the moment we entered.

Whether you order online or in person, you’ll find that the menu sticks to what they do well: burgers, available with cheese and/or bacon, hot dogs and fries. Within that simple framework, though, there’s surprising flexibility. (Their website claims that “There are over 250,000 possible ways to order a burger at Five Guys.”) The online ordering setup offers a crazy selection of toppings (mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 Steak Sauce, bar-b-q sauce and hot sauce), in three levels of intensity (regular, lite, or extra). “All the Way” is ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions and grilled mushrooms.

According to their website, the burger itself is made from never-frozen, freshly-ground beef. Grilled so there’s a deep mahogany crust, it has a toothsome nubbly texture and robust beef flavor, and it’s served on a nice seeded bun. I had mine with cheese (they only offer American), plus mushrooms and onions, which could’ve been more deeply browned, but still tasted good. Mine came as a double. I’m not sure whether this was a mistake or that’s just what they do, but I wasn’t complaining. We got two orders of fries, one each in plain and Cajun. One regular size order would’ve fed four of us just fine. They were good, but not as crispy as I remembered them being in Virginia. Gus had bacon on his Little Cheeseburger. After all those nice shelled peanuts and fries, it was too much food. Solly couldn’t finish his, either, but what else is new?

Five Guys accommodates trailing vegetarians, in a way, though the only non-burger options other than hot dogs is grilled cheese or a veggie sandwich with or without cheese on a bun. My husband Josh, who doesn’t eat red meat, said, “If you’re a vegetarian, don’t ever go to this restaurant. It’s not a place for vegetarians,” not because his vegetable and cheese sandwich was poorly executed, but because it’s essentially toppings on a bun.

I was thrilled that the big soda selection included soda water and tap water, so we didn’t have to order bottled. They also had root beer, lemonade and Sprite Zero, which I didn’t even know existed. There’s a water fountain, too.

The tab was $33.54 including tax. Not as cheap as the McDonald’s across the parking lot, but a good deal for a family dinner that actually tasted like food. Five Guys is at 1315 Ridgeway Rd., near the corner of Primacy Parkway. It’s open from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Burly's Burgers, Fries & Shakes

2011-05-13T14:41:00.000-05:00

Burly's Burgers, Fries & Shakes
662 Madison Avenue
521-9200

There was a lot of buzz about Burly's Burgers, Fries & Shakes when it opened, so I had to check it out. After a successful lunch with co-workers, I enticed Warren, the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7), and the monkeys' friend, Kai, to go for dinner last Saturday night.

As you can see, Burly's is heavily lacking in curb appeal. I'll go ahead and credit nearby neighbor, The Trolley Stop Market, for making most of us feel "safe" checking it out.

You can enter from the front or the back, but either way, it's kinda sketchy. Actually the back is sketchiest as it requires walking up a flight of steps. The interior is nice enough--nothing special. The stark decor in combination with the bold red and black color scheme leads me to believe that Burly doesn't have a woman in his life to add that much appreciated "woman's touch."

When we arrived around 6:30pm, there were a few other tables, but it was far from bustling. Since they cook everything to order, that was just fine with me. I had three hungry monkeys in tow and I was concerned about a long wait. Even though Burly's looks as though it's a place where you'd order at the counter, get your own drink and napkins, and sit down and wait for a number to be called, it offers table service. Our waitress came over to give us menus and take our drink order. Since the name of the restaurant is Burly's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, naturally we were interested in trying the shakes.

"We're out of ice cream," the waitress said.

"You're kidding," I said. They were out of ice cream three days earlier when I came to lunch with my co-workers. The explanation given was that they were open 24/7 during Music Fest weekend and ran out. I was willing to accept that explanation on Wednesday, but not Saturday.

"How hard is it to go to the store and buy ice cream?" I asked.

"I think the Blue Bell delivery is a bit sporadic," the waitress replied.

They have Blue Bell signs everywhere, so I imagine they feel the need to serve Blue Bell, but come on. If one out of your three main menu items is not available, it makes you look really, really bad. I've seen Ben Vaughn stocking up at Piggly Wiggly. Surely, Burly could make a Sam's run.

*deep breath*

The fact that we'd hit Jerry's Sno Cones earlier in the day allowed me to get over not having a shake with dinner. I went ahead and let the monkeys order sodas, figuring they'd get combos, when I discovered at my previous lunch that ordering hamburgers and fries separately doesn't yield a larger serving of fries. It just costs more and doesn't include a drink.

By the time our waitress came back with our respective sodas, we were ready to order. Burly's offers a kid's combo, so I asked how big the burgers were. When the waitress said they were on the small side, I went ahead and let the monkeys order full size burgers. They've been on a serious eating kick lately. Kai insisted he only wanted fries and wasn't hungry, but I convinced him to get a kid's burger just in case. Once our order was in, we commenced with the waiting.

The monkeys were pretty jacked up from a day of activity and just generally being together, so giving them sodas and then asking them to sit still for thirty minutes was pretty torturous. They were playing a verbal version of TF2 (Team Fortress 2) which was pretty intense as you can see from the pictures.

Every so often they would pause and Jiro would ask, "Where's my hamburger?" I assured him it was cooking--we could smell them. Then Kai, whose dad is a chef, would optimistically add, "Well, at least we know it's fresh."

While we waited, the waitress did her best to avoid us. I saw her check on every other table, escape to the back to wash cups, etc. Taking a cue from another patron, I went up to the soda fountain and got refills for the table. (I switched the monkeys to water.) I saw a man I believed to be Burly come out to chat with another table, then disappear outside. I also saw a girl come in who appeared to be making deliveries. I even saw the man I believe to be the main hamburger maker, come out and hang by the counter for awhile.

I felt guilty for bringing three hungry kids, knowing there might be a long wait. I should know better by now.

Eventually our food did come out--our order was 100% correct much to my surprise and delight. We couldn't wait to dig in.

I had the Farm Burger (with bacon and a fried egg) at lunch and loved it, but I wanted to try the Blue Bacon (with blue cheese and bacon) with a side of Buffalo fries. (I think the most exciting thing at Burly's is the variety of flavors for the fries.) It looked and tasted great. Burly burgers are total Home Burgers, which I consider a good thing. The bacon was crispy and cooked to perfection. I want to eat Buffalo fries until I explode, leaving just a puddle of hot sauce behind.

Warren ordered the Burly Texas burger (with salsa, chili, jalapeno, and cheese on Texas toast) with regular fries. It was so freaking spicy. I have no idea how he ate the whole thing.

Jiro got a regular Burly Burger with regular fries and ate every single bite.

Satchel ordered the Bacon Bacon burger minus the lettuce and ate all but just a few bites. He got the garlic parmesan fries with the garlic parmesan on the side. He really liked those too, but was crazy jealous of my Buffalo fries. I did agree to exchange a few with him, though, because he is my baby and I love him.

Kai's burger was really tiny, and he was glad to have it. The wait definitely increased his appetite. He also had Buffalo fries and loved them.

What none of us loved about the fries was the fact that we had so few of them. Due to our hunger, I didn't count them while we were there, but looking at the pics, it seems that they give you maybe 15. The "healthy choices" part of me is really quite pleased with this. Once you eat the whole burger and the 15 fries, you are pretty darn full. I can't even imagine the pain that a milkshake would bring, should they ever restock the ice cream. But, I think there should be more. Especially if you don't get the combo, and you order separately. (Maybe my lunch order was a snafu. I haven't done a just order fries test.)

All in all, I'd say the food is worth the wait, but I wish the service was better. I really wish they'd move to an order at the counter and sit down model. Once our waitress brought the food, she had to go back for napkins, ketchup, etc. I don't know, maybe they could just already have those items on the table.

Burly's does deliver, and that might be the way to go assuming you plan about an hour ahead. I was told that they do the sauce on the side when you get fries to go, so it may or may not be as good as having them in the restaurant.

Burgers range from $6.50 to $8.50 and combos, which include fries and a drink, range from $8.50 to $10.75. (If you want flavored fries with the combo, add another $.50.) Warren thinks it's over priced and would rather get a Big Red burger at the Trolley Stop. I don't think I'm going to crave the burgers as much as I will the fries. OMG, the fries! I hope they get their act together and stay in business. There's definitely a lot of potential here.

As a side note--Jiro and I checked out the bathrooms. No changing table, but clean enough.

Cosmic Coconut

2011-05-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

Cosmic Coconut
5101 Sanderlin
729-7134

On Saturday, while running errands, I couldn't resist popping into Cosmic Coconut for a look see. The monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) were with me, but I could only convince one of them to come in for a treat. (Don't ask.)

Located in the same shopping center as Muddy's, the Cosmic Coconut is too cute for words. Once inside, I felt like I was in Ventura, California rather than East Memphis. Whoever the designer was did a fantastic job.

I loved the giant chalk board wall with the menu lovingly written out in colorful chalk.

It was seriously hard to decide on what to get. Everything sounded fresh and delicious. Every time I read a description to Jiro, he said, "I want that!" Eventually he decided on a Mango Mama smoothie with mangos, strawberries, and coconut. I decided to try and get in a serving or two of vegetables, so I moved on to the juice menu. As I read them out, Jiro and I were both reminded of one of our favorite books--Garlic Onion Beet Spinach Mango Carrot Grapefruit Juice. That was not on the menu, but now I'm dreaming of the book's author coming to town (she lives in Nashville) and doing a signing there. I'm sure they could add the juice to the menu for a day...hmmm.

Ok back to the review. I had a hard time deciding, but eventually ordered the Go Green juice with cucumber, celery, apple, ginger, chard, and lemon. Once that decision was made, we had to decide on the size. I tried to steer Jiro towards a small since he rarely ever finishes drinks of any sort, but he insisted on medium. I too went with medium.

When the gal told me our order was $14, I had to do a double take. It seemed a tad pricey, but like with Fuel Cafe, I am ok with paying a little extra for high quality ingredients at places that go out of their way to be earth friendly. (Yes, Cosmic Coconut is Project Green Fork certified!)

I mean, here's something you don't see everyday in Memphis:

In addition to juices and smoothies, the Cosmic Coconut has a bazillion teas and coffees to choose from as well as berry bowls and steel cut oats. You could start the day with a killer breakfast.

While we waited for our drinks, we looked around and chatted with people. Everyone who worked there seemed super friendly and chatty. I really liked the decor, especially the specially sized table for kids with books to read!

All of the tables were different and they had mismatched chairs and fresh flowers. Cosmic Coconut is totally the kind of place where you just want to hang out all day. It made me long for maternity leaves gone by when I had hours to hang out and chat with an adorable baby in my lap.

Smitten by all the thoughtful details already, the merch sealed the deal. I was in love. It was really hard not to add a "Save Uranus" t-shirt to our order. (If they had a kid's size I would have been all over it.)

When we got our drinks, Jiro could hardly wait to get a taste, His first word was, "Yummy!" He gave me a sip, and he was right. It was incredibly yummy.

I had a taste of mine, and while it wasn't as sweet as a smoothie, it was still pretty darn delicious. I offered Jiro a taste and he said it was good, but I could tell he was just being polite. At his age, I wouldn't have gone near a mango smoothie much less chard juice, so I wasn't going to hassle him!

When we saw Warren later and shared our rave reviews he seemed a little hurt. He makes smoothies every morning, but we all decline to share with him. (In my defense I drank one every morning for about 8 years.) I'm hoping to get him in the Cosmic Coconut and get him inspired to branch out with some new flavor combinations!

Right now the store has pretty limited hours, but I have a feeling it will be one of those places worth making a special trip.

Fuel Cafe

2011-05-07T23:02:00.002-05:00

Fuel Cafe
1761 Madison
725-9025

A few weeks ago at the Food Truck Fare downtown, the Fuel truck was by far the most popular. A lot of people associate tacos with food trucks, so I think Fuel deciding to offer vegan and bison tacos was a smart move. I waited about 30 minutes, but eventually gave up on securing any tacos on my 1 hour lunch break. I follow Fuel on Facebook and when I saw that they were adding the tacos to their menu for Cinco de Mayo, I called Warren and insisted we go for dinner.

I really love the Fuel space. It actually used to be a gas station, but most of us remember it as a restaurant--namely Petra or Hattley's Garage. The inside is a little small, but the patio is nice and airy. Unfortunately the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) thought it was too cold to sit outside.

We picked a nice table in the kitchen side of the restaurant and immediately became the center of our waiter's attention. He first asked what we'd like to drink and Jiro asked for a Juarito, which he associates with tacos. When the waiter said they didn't have any, Jiro tried to order a Coke. They didn't have any of that either. (YES!) Then Jiro tried a different approach. "What drinks do you have?" The awesome waiter then invited Jiro to go with him to the cooler/refrigerator behind the kitchen counter to inspect the drinks. Of course, Satchel followed along. They soon returned with all natural sodas--orange for Jiro and black cherry for Satchel.

Is there any other restaurant in Memphis that doesn't sell Coke and Pepsi products? Seriously, this is huge.

I'd been to Fuel a couple of times when they first opened, and I knew that they were Project Green Fork certified, but somewhere along the way I missed the memo that they serve all all-natural products. Yep, even the ketchup.

We were off to a very good start. The waiter told us about the awesome taco specials and I ordered the vegan version, Warren the bison. I decided to let the monkeys split a bison burger since it was $13. I asked the waiter if he could cut it and put it on two plates and he said that was fine. Then he asked which side the monkeys wanted--chips, salad, or fries. "Chips!" Jiro said. "Salad!" Satchel said. I explained that they needed to pick one side because they were sharing. Then I explained it again. Finally, I just ordered fries on their behalf. (I didn't want to not humor Satchel's desire for salad, but Fuel is known for their hand cut fries.)

Later, when I was on my way back (from the super cute) ladies room, our awesome waiter took me aside and said, "I can get them each the side they want." I assured him it was fine for them to split fries and then he looked at me, smiled, and said, "You want the fries don't you?" Ding, ding, ding!

Back at the table we chatted and patiently waited for our food, which we could see Eric cooking just a few feet away, and greeted some friends of ours from our old Tucker-Jefferson 'hood who also came in to try the tacos. It wasn't long until our awesome waiter brought us our food.

Behold the vegan tacos.

My understanding is that the base is made from their standard vegan burger and topped with vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, avocado, lettuce, and salsa. The shell is an organic corn tortilla from Whole Foods. On the side we had a lime slaw, rice & beans. The cost was $10 and it was YUM. I ate every single bite. I almost felt like I could be a vegan when I was done!

Warren thoroughly enjoyed his bison tacos. When I asked if he wanted to trade bites, he said no. I was secretly happy because I didn't want to share my deliciousness at all.

Meanwhile, the monkeys, who are going through a ravenous stage, devoured their dinners. I thought it was cute that Jiro ate his burger first, and then his fries, and Satchel did the total opposite.

The burger wasn't as massive as I assumed it would be weighing in at $13, but it seemed filling enough and there was a hearty serving of fries. I also felt fine forking over a few extra dollars for top quality meat, bread, cheese, and toppings.

I think we were all full, but not stuffed, and quite happy with our meal and our awesome waiter. Our total bill was about $40, which is definitely on the high end for a casual dinner, but again, Fuel is doing something that few--if any--other restaurants in Memphis are doing and I feel good supporting their efforts.

I'm bummed that the tacos won't be on the regular menu, but I'm thrilled that the Fuel truck will soon be selling them all over town. Keep an eye out!

Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana

2011-04-25T08:58:00.001-05:00

Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana
1215 S Germantown Rd
(901) 751-1200

I had a dry spell and didn't get out to Las Tortugas for over a year. To make up for it, I've been several times in the past few months. I have no idea how I survived so long without going to what is hands down the best, freshest, most exciting Mexican restaurant in town. Likewise, I don't understand how I have not one, but two, reviews here, and neither contain photos. What?

Let's make the third time the charm.

A few weeks ago, I took the monkeys and met up with my mom and niece for dinner on a Wednesday night. I really prefer going at lunch so I can see Senor Dreamy, but seeing his dad, Pepe, is *almost* just as nice.

I had been for lunch just the week before and Senor Dreamy let me try all sorts of new dishes, so I knew immediately what I wanted to get--the chicken tacos with mole verde. (The mole verde is made with pumpkin seeds and is to die for.)

Unfortunately, that had been a special and it wasn't on the menu that day. No worries, I knew what I wanted next--the Newman Farms berkshire pork tacos. Dreamy had served them to me with the meat still on the bone and it was beyond delicious.

It's a mainstay on the menu, but it comes in already pulled from the bone and in taco form, as we soon discovered. No worries, it is still fantastic.

I love that Dreamy & Pepe are using locally sourced meats now. I ordered the pork tacos for Satchel, and the Neola Farms brisket ones for myself. Oh. my. yum.

Jiro just wanted corn (elote) and fried cheese. Unfortunately, Pepe said he was out of cheese and that if we wanted fried cheese we had to come early. I thought I might convince Jiro to eat a few tacos, but he was happy just eating corn.

You can find elote several places now, but none of it compares to Las Tortugas. It's perfection.

Satchel and I polished off all of the tacos and the accompanying chips and dips and he still wanted more food. I didn't think there was anyway he could possibly eat another order of ($13) tacos, but he was insistent. This time I asked Pepe to leave off the spicy sauce, which he was happy to do. (He doesn't like changing ingredients or adding, but leaving off is fine.)

Again, I tried to interest Jiro in a taco or two, but he just wanted an orange Juarito and some spicy prepackaged Mexican chips. My mom treated him since it was clear we were going to be there a bit longer while Satchel stuffed his face.

"There's no way you can finish," I said.

"Yes, I can. Wanna bet?"

"Ok."

"If I finish, I don't have to take a bath."

"Deal."

Well it took a long time--Jiro and my niece were released to play outside on the sidewalk--but he did it. He ate every bite. The tacos are just so good! I don't even want to tell you what we spent on dinner, but it was worth every penny. I think the casual atmosphere makes people forget just how fancy, fresh, and complex the food is. I don't mind paying for perfection.

I've been back again, without the kids, for lunch, and tried the filet mignon tacos. They basically melt in your mouth. It's crazy.

And I love, love the black bean tostadas.

If there is any tamale of any kind on the menu, just order it. Trust me.

And even though it does bring the price up even more, no meal is complete without an agua fresca. I love the lime and the mango. But also--the tea--oh my god, the tea. Don't leave without drinking some iced tea. (And I also highly recommend getting one to go and adding a little splash of bourbon!)

Finally, if Pepe is there, always ask if there are any popsicles or special treats for dessert. The last time I asked, I got a huge hunk of frozen watermelon on a stick.

The Pizza Shack

2011-04-23T18:51:00.000-05:00

The Pizza Shack
4523 Summer Avenue
(901) 680-7900

In March, I did a story on eating challenges for the Flyer. My research led me to the Pizza Shack, which is tucked away in the Lowe's parking lot on Perkins & Summer. (It really is a bizarre location and I feel like they are cheating to say they are on Summer Avenue!)

I'd tried eating there when they first opened, but the night we went it was super crowded, so we left. (It's pretty small inside.) However, when I interviewed the owner for the story, I got a couple of pizzas to go and really liked them. The hot wing pizza was really good, and their crust totally reminds me of my old college favorite, Pierotti's. (Oh, Pierotti's, I miss you!)

So a few weeks ago, the monkeys and I went with my mom and niece for dinner on a Wednesday night.

I don't know if you ever went into the pizza place that was there before the Pizza Shack, but I promise you, the interior is now 1000x better. They really made it look nice and it feels like a real restaurant now rather than someone's shed.

When we went in, there were just a few people there, so we grabbed a table and perused the menu. Everyone was super hungry and a little cranky, so deciding fast was of the utmost importance. (I'd thought of ordering ahead, but we weren't familiar enough with the menu.) I really wanted the hot wing pizza again, but it's way too spicy for this crowd. Jiro knew for sure he wanted pepperoni pizza, so that was a go since my mom and I didn't really care. My niece is really into BBQ pizza, but I thought two pizzas would be a bit much for us since they are rather large. Satchel also liked the idea of BBQ, so I convinced them to share a BBQ chicken sub. I also wanted to try an oven toasted salad, just because I'd never heard of such a thing.

Once we were all set on what we wanted, I noticed that there really weren't any waitresses or anything. The owner's wife (and co-owner, I presume) was sitting by the register, so I got her attention and asked if I should order at the counter. She nodded, and off I went. They have daily specials-usually announced on their Facebook page. On the day we were there, it was a one topping large for $9.99. (An almost $5 savings.) Coupled with Satch & Sutton sharing a sub, and my insisting everyone drink water, our total bill came to $24, which is pretty awesome for 5 people.

Once the order was in and I told them we were dining in, they brought waters over to the table. I let the kids play their iPods and DSes to ward off the cranky. I had no idea how long it might take to get the food out.

My mom and I chatted while the kids played, and in no time at all, our food arrived. The pizza was big & beautiful. (Not as big & beautiful as the Trolley Stop, but it wasn't bad for an East Memphis gal.)

Jiro loved it.

Oh and I'll say that I was glad to see they had cute, reusable plates instead of styrofoam. And real silverware. If they nixed the styro cups they'd be on the right road to meet Project Green Fork requirements.

The BBQ chicken sub looked very tasty too. (I ordered Satchel's half without onions.)

Once we figured out a way for Satchel to pick it up, he ate it right up.

My mom and I each had a couple of slices of the pizza, and I tried getting her to help me with the salad, but she was too full. It wasn't as exciting as I'd imagined, but it was good. How can you go wring with bacon and melted cheese?

In the end, we had 2 slices of pizza and half of a salad to take home to Warren, so the $24 stretched to six people.

While we ate, the owner came over and checked on us and we chatted a bit about their pizza challenges. I definitely don't think eating an entire large Shack Attack with 6lbs. of meat and toppings is in my future, but I am curious to try A BITE OR TWO of the en fuego. It's not big, it's just crazy hot. I can't imagine it would be a good idea to eat too much of it though.

Spicy pizza might lure Warren in, but he isn't a big fan of the crust. I imagine a day will come that we are in Lowe's, and we are hungry, and I convince everyone to eat a hot wing pizza. So yes, we'll be back.

Jiro and I checked out the restroom on our way out--perfectly clean, just small. Changing a diaper would be tricky.

Rancho Grande

2011-04-15T15:00:00.001-05:00

Rancho Grande
5359 Winchester Road
547-7885

We're pretty versed in the Mexican fare available in Midtown and along Summer Avenue and Macon Road. After noticing the ads for Rancho Grande in the Flyer, we decided to head over to Winchester and check it out. (I have a feeling there are all sorts of treasures over there.)

It's been open about 8 months, but clearly getting a real sign is not high on the "to do" list. Judging from the picture it looks like there used to be a Mexican restaurant there before, but I'm not for sure. (I'm also not sure, but I think this might have been a Pizza Hut way back when I grew up in Fox Meadows.)

From what I can tell, there are one or two other Rancho Grandes in Mississippi--Southaven and Olive Branch.

Inside, the place is huge. There's an enormous dining room and bar when you first come in, and an open kitchen and game room to the right. The decor is awesome. There are all sorts of things adorning the walls from flamenco dancers to Frida Kahlo.

Despite it being a Friday night, and this place clearly having enough space for a crowd, we were among just a handful of diners. (They had beer on the menu, but not margaritas. I've found that when there are no margaritas on the menu, there aren't many gringos in the restaurant.) We grabbed a booth in the main dining area and perused the menu, which was in both English and Spanish.

Among the offerings, we saw Menudo, which we took as a sign of authenticity. Our waitress brought out homemade chips, which were nice and warm, as well as a selection of salsas--both very good signs. I went ahead and ordered cheese dip for the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) as well as our drinks.

There were all sorts of things on the menu that I had never heard of and trying to decide on just one was hard. I ultimately went for the Tamales Rancheros (rather than other option--Tamales Gringos) and a shrimp tostada. Warren knew right away that he wanted a whole fish. The kids have become pretty standard taco eaters, and when not eating tacos, Satchel is happy to just eat rice and beans.

There was a bit of a language barrier with the waitress, but we got our order in and patiently waited for the food to arrive. As I mentioned, there were plenty of things on the walls to look at, some people watching, and soccer on a big screen TV.

Satchel and Jiro occupied themselves thumb-wrestling once we grew tired of trying to find a funny Pizza Hut video on YouTube.

Once the food came out, we all dug right in. My tamale was fried, which made it nice and crisp--a totally new texture in terms of all of the other tamales I've eaten. It was burrito sized and buried under a nice heap of shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, and crumbled cotija cheese. It was quite tasty.

I was also very happy with my shrimp ceviche tostada.

Warren was thrilled with his fish. Whole tilapia is a standard order for him at Mexican restaurants, but he thought this was above average. He liked that the fin was waving at him, and the fries on the side were a nice touch. "Fish and chips!" he exclaimed.

The monkeys' dinners didn't get photographed, so they must not have been too exciting. I know Jiro finished his whole taco and commented on the fact that it has two corn tortillas. "They gave me two taco buns," he said.

Once we were all done with dinner, we couldn't resist getting a dessert (although Warren said he could eat another fish). I described the Nieve frita--Corn Flake coated fried ice cream--and our choice was a no-brainer.

"It's gooder than cereal," declared Jiro. (Satchel still claimed his rice was the best dish of the evening. He doesn't have much of a sweet tooth.)

When we were all done, the monkeys went with me to pay at the counter, because they could see it was lined with candy for sale. Most of it was candy they weren't familiar with, so their interest eventually waned. They attempted to get me to buy them a Hot Wheel off of a wall dispenser, but we finished with Hot Wheels many years ago.

Our total bill was $31.40, which seemed incredibly reasonable. On our way out, I noticed a sign that said kids eat free on Saturdays (off of the kids' menu) and if you bring a church bulletin, you can get 10% off on Sunday.

We made a bathroom run on our way out. They are located in the back of the game room side. Nothing special, but clean--no changing table that I noticed. The location could be potentially dangerous if you have a 6-9 year old who will beg you for quarters.

We'll be back--maybe on a Saturday night. I'd like to try their burritos, which they advertise as the best, and the botanos. And I'm pretty sure the original La Michoacana isn't too far away.

Chava's Mexican Restaurant (St. Louis)

2011-04-07T09:29:00.001-05:00

Ed note: One final St. Louis installment from Steph. The next time you go to St. Louis don't tell me you didn't know where to eat!

Chava's Mexican Restaurant
925 Geyer Ave
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 241-5503

On our last two trips to St. Louis, we have eaten at Chava's in the Soulard neighborhood, just a couple of miles south of our hotel in the heart of downtown. Last year, we went on a glorious weekend day in early spring. There was a wait for a table, and there were lots of people eating outside on the patio. There was a really great atmosphere, and we couldn't wait to return on this trip. This time we went on a Sunday night. It wasn't as crowded, but everything was as good as we remembered.

The menu has what you would expect from a Mexican restaurant- build-a-burrito, enchiladas, tostadas, tacos, tortas, etc. However, the food is anything but run-of-the-mill Tex Mex. The flavors are wonderful and the portions are huge, and at no time did we think that they were just taking the same three ingredients and putting them in different combinations on different plates. (**cough**ElPorton**cough**)

The chips were hot and the salsa fresh and spicy. We all dug in happily as we checked out the menu. Connor, who refuses to even eat cheese quesadillas these days, noticed no kids menu and vowed to just eat cheese dip. Fine with me- I had an apple back at the hotel to give him after the meal. The cheese dip was fairly standard, but good.

Surprisingly, Chloe just wanted their plain cheese nachos from the appetizer menu. There is really no way to mess up that particular item, so I'm happy to report that her meal was great too. I ordered the tortilla soup combo, with a bowl of chicken tortilla soup for me and a beef taco for Chloe. The soup was excellent, although it was really more like a hearty enchilada soup than a brothy tortilla soup. Chloe's taco was good- the beef was very well-seasoned.

Chip ordered a grilled chicken salad, which was about the biggest salad I've ever seen. It was topped with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cheese, and jalapeno bacon. Anything with creative bacon is good to me! He and I both had a margarita (well, I wasn't driving, so I might have had two), which was excellent- definitely some fresh lime juice in there rather than an overly-sweet margarita mix. I noticed that their frozen/flavored margaritas were hand-blended with real fruit, but I wasn't in the mode for something that heavy. I think next time I'll have to try one (or two), especially considering there are choices like cherry, mango, and raspberry.

I can't remember how much we spent, but I do remember it was in line with all the other meals-with-a-drink we had while we were in St. Louis- somewhere around $50. I imagine Chava's will remain a constant on our family trips to St. Louis- interesting neighborhood, great atmosphere, good food, and family-friendly. I recommend it highly, especially if you are staying downtown and looking for something nearby.

Ted Drewes (St. Louis)

2011-04-04T12:57:00.000-05:00

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard
4224 S Grand Blvd
St Louis, MO 63111
(314) 352-7376

I was told that if we went to St. Louis without visiting Ted Drewes then we had wasted 5 hours in the car. After our dinner at Schlafly Bottleworks, we headed over for dessert.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it soon became clear that it was a stand-in-line-outside-and-get-your-custard-to-go situation. (I could tell by the huge line of people!) It was way bigger than say Jerry's Sno Cones, and from the street I would have guessed you could go in, but there is no seating anywhere. Getting it to go wasn't a problem since it was already a little late and were ready to head back to the hotel.

Despite having only one flavor of custard, there is quite an extensive menu. I was at a loss as to what to order. The kids pointed to pictures on taped to the window and said, "I want that!" The very nice and patient gal at the window gave me the whole spiel and even gave us a sample taste.

Since I waited so long to write this up, I don't remember what exactly the boys got. Jiro's was like a sundae and Satchel's was like a strawberry shortcake. They were bothe very happy with their order.

I got a concrete--aka a milkshake--to share with Warren. Our total bill was about $12. We were in and out in about ten minutes, despite the crowd and not knowing what to get, which was impressive.

I thought the custard was good, but I don't know that Ted Drewes has to be a regular stop for us. Maybe I'll sing a different tune when it's hotter? My first job ever was working at Old Tyme Frozen Custard on Mt. Moriah. We made custard in several flavors and did some pretty amazing things with it. Not sure Ted Drewes was more exciting than the concoctions I used to come up with when I got bored on the job! But really, I might still be inclined to seek out a gelato or a froyo instead. (I didn't actually see any froyo places in St. Louis though. Maybe Ted Drewes is keeping that trend at bay in St. Louis?) However, I'm certainly glad we visited and know what all the fuss is about.

Schlafly Bottleworks (St. Louis)

2011-03-28T16:13:00.000-05:00

Schlafly Bottleworks
7260 Southwest Avenue
St Louis, MO 63143
(314) 241-2337

After visiting the Magic House and hanging out in Forrest park for a while, we headed over to Schlafly Bottleworks to have dinner with some Memphis friends who were also in town for Spring Break.

As you can see, it is a very large place. Inside is the actual brewery, a bar, a large family-friendly dining area, and a store with lots of merch.

The weather was still chilly, so their amazing patio/beer garden was not open. I imagine it's the place to be when it's warm.

Schlafly's is THE local brewery in St. Louis, and it is what Chuck Skypeck modeled Bosco's after locally. It is pretty impressive inside, and I can definitely see how Bosco's grew from it. (If you've ever been to the Ghost River Brewery downtown, just imagine Bosco's being attached to it and you get a fairly close approximation of Bottleworks.)

The coolest thing about the Bottleworks is that they offer tours of the brewery about every hour. We unfortunately planned our visit for a Sunday, and arrived just after the last tour.

Once our friends arrived, we quickly and easily secured a table for seven--three adults and four wild monkeys (Satchel, 9, Jiro, 6, E, 7, and S, 5). There were several other families in attendance and since the dining room was well lit and separate from the bar area, I wasn't worried about disturbing any of the serious drinkers. However, I was interested in having a drink.

Warren and I, after consulting with the waiter, got a sampler. (The waiter told us it was equal to a pint and a half, which we considered a reasonably amount of alcohol to consume with food over a two hour period and still be able to drive our children safely back to the hotel.)

Our friend was not a fan of beer, so she went with a refreshing cocktail instead.

Warren started with the darkest beer and worked his way down. I did just the opposite.

The kids had been given menus to color and were pretty happily doing so, until our friend whipped out her kids' iPods. So naturally, we followed suit. I think it was probably the right move since we were outnumbered and interested in having an adult conversation. (I do normally have a no iPod/DS rule unless we are in for a long wait.)

When it came time to ordering food, I was torn between salads. I planned to do a half soup/half salad combo, but the waiter recommended the Sesame Tuna Salad ($11
Black sesame seed encrusted tuna medallions--seared, served rare--on top of our spring mix with sesame-roasted cashews and creamy sesame dressing.) which wasn't a half soup/half salad contender. But, I'd had a mini beer already and was feeling as though I should take his advice. My friend followed suit. It was a lovely salad, though I wasn't a fan of the creamy dressing.

Warren inexplicably went with the Veggie Chicken Enchiladas ($12 Match vegetarian chicken & cheese enchiladas with black beans, green chili sauce & rice blend). I failed to get a photo, but he seemed to enjoy them.

Schlafly's uses a number of local purveyors and has a pretty fantastic menu. Had I not been focused on my friend and drinking, I might have paid a little better attention to what we ordered. I probably would have ordered more too! (Hello Farmer's platter, bison nachos, and Bottleworks bacon sandwich!)

They didn't technically have a kids' menu but they did offer a kid’s version of their bison burger ($6, 4 oz. w/ Jack cheese on bun served with applesauce) and half size pizzas.

Three of the four monkeys went with the burger. For Jiro I asked if I could sub the applesauce for one of their other amazing sides--Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Sautéed Vegetables, Billy Goat Chips, Rice Blend, Smoked Gouda Gratin, Three-Grain Blend, Pan-Fried Corn, Slaw, Creamy Potato Salad and Grilled Asparagus--and was given the go ahead. I opted to get him the pan fried corn and my friend went ahead and ordered a side of grilled asparagus for the kids to share. Satchel asked for a pepperoni and artichoke pizza. It was awesome to have vegetables among our choices.

When the kids' food arrived, they all very agreeably stopped playing their games and got down to eating. They all pretty much polished everything off too. The corn and the asparagus were a big hit and the burgers must have been yummy because I never even got a bite. Satchel did save me a slice of his pizza and it was world's better than the kid's pizza Jiro got on our last trip to Bosco's.

Our bill came to $61.50, which is more than we usually spend, but totally reasonable considering both Warren and I had the beer sampler ($6.75 each). I coudl have easily dropped another $50-$100 in the merch store buying t-shirts and growlers of beer to bring home, but I controlled myself.

On our next visit to St. Louis, I definitely want to go back and try a few more things. And if it's nice, I definitely want to sit outside! Schlafly's has a second location near the City Museum downtown, but I'm not sure if the atmosphere is as family friendly.

And a quick note on the bathrooms--they may be the coolest bathrooms we've ever come across. They're large, clean, and eco-friendly. The toilets even have a special flusher for #1 and #2 which conserves water.

That's right--good food and educational!

Crown Candy Kitchen (St. Louis)

2011-03-24T08:28:00.000-05:00

Crown Candy Kitchen
1401 Saint Louis Ave
St Louis, MO 63106
(314) 621-9650

We first heard of Crown Candy Kitchen on Man vs. Food. We were not interested in doing any crazy milkshake challenge, but we liked the idea of going to a local institution. It was a short drive from the hotel in a part of town that is seemingly deserted (Old North St. Louis). Crown Candy--and maybe a bank--seemed to be the only place in business.

We arrived just before noon on Sunday, and were able to get the last booth available. (It's a seat yourself kind of place, and by the time we had our menus there was a line out of the door.)

Satchel (age 8), who was still exhausted from our two trips to the City Museum the day before, was barely keeping it together. "I feel like my legs could disintegrate," he noted.

When you walk in, the first thing you'll notice is candy. They weren't kidding about that.

I was able to convince Jiro (age 6) that he could have some candy AFTER lunch. (When I realized how pricey it was, I was later able to convince him to get a treat elsewhere.)

Behind the candy is the soda fountain, and old timey booths make up the rest of the space which was built in 1913. It was very Wiles-Smith minus the pharmacy. The walls were lined with clippings and cartoons, and everything felt very homey. I especially liked the mini juke boxes on the table. (They were just for decoration, but the song titles provided a good chuckle.)

The menu was pretty limited--sandwiches and shakes for the most part. I was hoping for a good burger, but went with what they had. Turkey club for me, Reuben for Warren, Ham & Cheese for Satchel, and Grilled Cheese for Jiro. They all came with chips and a pickle. Warren also got a chocolate malt and Jiro asked for a cherry shake. (Satchel was under the impression he'd be able to eat a sundae after finishing his lunch.)

Our waitress, Breanna, was very nice and got our orders in right away. The shakes came out very fast and again reminded me of Wiles Smith, due to their enormity.

I had planned on only having a sip, as did Satchel, but it was clear that this was going to be a team effort.

Jiro repeatedly rubbed his tummy and said, "So good."

As we sipped, we easily understood why the food won in the Man vs. food episode. Five malts would kill you.

While we waited for the food, Satchel asked us a million questions about Daylight Savings time. (We "sprang forward" the night before.) Needless to say, it made me feel stupid and gave me a headache. Or maybe that was the milkshake.

Speaking of the shakes--they pretty much ruined our appetites. By the time the food arrived, I don't think any of us was hungry, but we did our best.

The sandwiches, like the shakes are massive. They're grilled, which makes them really yummy (and fattening).

If we were smart, or had agreeable children, we would have let them share a sandwich. Likewise, Warren and I could have easily shared. In the end, the kids ate their chips and a few bites of sandwich. I forced myself to eat half of mine.

Turns out, Warren ended up with a BLT instead of a Reuben. It took me awhile to get Breanna's attention, but once I did she happily sent it back for a replacement. Unfortunately, the replacement came about twenty minutes later. Suddenly our quick bite to eat was turning into an ordeal. I had to eventually let the kids play on their iPods just to pass the time.

Warren's additional wait time did give him the advantage of working up a bit of appetite. He polished off his entire sandwich, much to my amazement.

Once he was finally done, I wasn't sure if Breanna was going to bring us a check, or if I should pay at the counter. Again, it took me awhile to get her attention, but once I did, we managed to settle up fairly quickly. Our bill was $29 plus tip, which was reasonable. (We could have easily spent half that if we shared.)

I'm glad we went and experienced Crown Candy Kitchen. I'm not sure we'll venture back though unless we're craving giant milkshakes...or a little girl made of chocolate.

A final note--I did visit the bathroom, which was a one seater. Clean, but definitely no room for changing a diaper.

Pho Grand (St. Louis)

2011-03-22T14:25:00.000-05:00

Pho Grand
3195 S Grand Blvd
St Louis, MO 63118-1022
(314) 664-7435

During our Spring Break weekend in St. Louis, I was determined to eat somewhere awesome. A couple of friends recommended Pho Grand, which considering our love of Vietnamese food, was a pretty easy sell. We headed over on Saturday night, between our morning and late night visits to the City Museum.

It was a short drive from our downtown hotel and I was also excited to see a new part of town. South Grand had a lot of Asian restaurants up and down the street, including our very own Sekisui. I would have happily eaten at Sekisui were I not on the lookout for somewhere "new."

We arrived around 7:30pm and could see people waiting outside for a table. When we went in to add our name to the list, we were given a buzzer and sent upstairs. There we found several other people waiting and became somewhat concerned that we might be in for a long wait. The monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) only cared about getting back to the City Museum as soon as possible. They could care less about eating!

I kept the monkeys entertained by playing hand slap with them, which was fun. Several of the people around us--mostly couples--had drinks. I can only guess there was a bar downstairs and that they knew the drill. If we were smart, we would have asked for a menu to review, or at least looked online. When we were buzzed for a table fifteen minutes later, we soon found ourselves staring at a long and unfamiliar menu.

The restaurant was on the fancy side--I'd say it was closest to our beloved Vietnamese Bistro, which recently burned down. There were no other families dining, and I could see the look of fear on people's faces when we walked through the small dining room to our table.

I asked our waiter to recommend some dishes since we were at a loss. Jiro had already announced he wasn't eating and Satchel had decided on our standard noodles with eggrolls and pork. The food came out very quickly and looked great.

I especially liked the Cari Ga--chicken curry with rice.

Warren was a fan of the Tom Sautee--shrimp with garlic and onions.

I liked everything except the calamari that was mixed in with the shrimp. It had a chalky texture, which I attributed to the large cut.

The Bun Bi Cha Gio looked like we expected:

Satchel definitely enjoyed eating the pork off the top and slurping the noodles. (Yes, he has a bad habit of eating with his fingers!)

He also pointed out that one piece of pork looked like a dragon.

Warren and I ended up helping him finish off the noodles and egg rolls. Jiro agreed to have a small portion of rice and a few noodles, which he painstakingly tried to eat with chop sticks.

I'm pretty sure the waiter suggested "safe" dishes for us. If we go back, I'll try something more exciting like the lotus root salad.

Our bill was a very reasonable $30 plus tip.

Another selling point of Pho Grand is the gelateria next door--Gelateria Del Leone. We popped in for a little dessert and coffee before heading back to the museum.

Las Delicias (East)

2011-03-18T16:34:00.001-05:00

Las Delicias Mexican Bar and Grill
4002 Park Avenue
458-9264

It's been nearly four years since we took the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) to the original Las Delicias. Although my review was fairly positive, I can only attribute our lack of a return visit to our methodical and time consuming sampling of every Mexican restaurant on Summer Avenue and Macon Road.

When the East Memphis location opened up a while back, there was renewed buzz, so I went for lunch one day. It was good, but I didn't consider it anything special after having tried so many other Mexican restaurants in town. Over the summer, I did buy the chips and salsa and guacamole from the stands at the Cooper-Young Farmer's Market and Memphis Farmer's Market, and enjoyed them very much. (I do think the thick, greasy-ish chips are a bit of an acquired taste.)

Finally, a few weeks ago, we decided to check it out with the monkeys. It was always Friday night when we tried to go, and it was always busy. The idea of actually standing in a line to get in did not appeal to me.

Two weeks ago, we headed over again on a Friday, but at 6:00pm. It was clearly before the rush, and we had our choice of tables. We sat down at a large table in the center of the restaurant. It was round and had little flaps that folded down to make it square. I immediately started trying to fold down the flaps because the table was way too large for four people, despite having only four chairs. The chairs are extremely large too. In general, I'd say that the furniture is ridiculous. Before the space was Las Delicias, it was Wang's Chinese Restaurant. (Right?) Clearly the furniture was leftover from that, but even at a Chinese restaurant, I'd think it was too large and ridiculous.

Since they weren't busy yet, we asked to move to a smaller table by the window. The table was smaller, but the chairs were still on the large side.

We were immediately given chips and salsa, which got our minds off of the furniture. I ordered a round of waters, cheese dip for the kids, and a frozen margarita for myself. (My back was killing me and I needed it!)

I noticed lots of people starting to filter in, and I can only assume it threw our waitress for a loop. She brought the kids' waters in styro cups with tops, but with no straws. It took me a good 5 minutes to get her attention and ask for straws. (Satchel just took his top off, but due to their size, I wanted them to keep the lids on.)

Soon my margarita came and it was perfect, minus the coffee stirrers I was supposed to drink it through.

Enough complaining about straws. On to the food. I'd been craving tortilla soup, so I ordered a bowl of that. Jiro wanted tacos, so I got him two chicken tacos minus the cilantro and onion with the addition of cheese. (I'm pretty sure the menu has a listing for gringo style tacos. That's basically what he wanted, I suppose.) Satchel, claiming not to be hungry, said he only wanted beans and rice. I knew that Las Delicias had the charro beans, which he liked elsewhere, so I ordered him those. Warren has been on a burrito kick, so he went with a pork one.

To pass the time while we waited for the food, the monkeys engaged us in conversation about Justin Bieber's new haircut, which I thought was hilarious. They also noticed when Simon (from American Idol) made an appearance on the TV behind me. And no dinner conversation would be complete without a thorough discussion of what they want for their upcoming birthdays.

The food came out fairly quickly. My soup was smoky and spicy. The chips they put in were already a tad on the mushy side which kind of made it less than awesome. Satchel wanted a taste, but it was too spicy for him. I ate about half, passed it to Warren and then ordered some guacamole.

There's no question that the guacamole is the star of the menu. However, I don't think they do anything special beyond using fresh ingredients. I'm pretty sure that Warren could replicate it at home.

Jiro was very happy with his tacos, which came out looking more like tostadas. He ate them in their entirety which is rare for him. (Apparently he ate them quick since I seem to have no photo!)

Warren was happy with his burrito but didn't think it was anything special. "I don't get the hype," he said. "It's good, but there are better places with better atmosphere."

Satchel ate all of his rice, which came out looking quite fancy.

The proliferation of cilantro on top of his charro beans marred them in his eyes. Warren tried some mountain top removal which got him to eat some, but most of them came home with us. (I have to add that the small to go cup we were given for the beans was a bit kersplunkleflunkel and the beans dripped everywhere, which really sucked.)

When we got our ticket, which was $29.85, I explained to Warren that people like Las Delicias because it's good enough and it's cheap, plain and simple. ($30 is pretty standard for our meals, but I don't usually order alcohol, so $30 with alcohol is pretty cheap in my opinion.)

By the time we left, the place was mobbed. I think Las Delicias has done a great job catering to their clientele. The East location is decidedly more gringo-fied than the original. Also participating in local farmer's markets is commendable. I'm not sure we'll be rushing back to the restaurant anytime soon, but I plan to continue my love affair with their chips, salsa, and guacamole as soon as the market season begins.

YoLo Midtown

2011-03-16T11:48:00.000-05:00

YoLo Midtown
6 S. Cooper
343-0438

Jiro (age 6) and I went to the new YoLo Midtown last night in what we anticipate to be the first of many visits.

The Midtown store, located next to Lenny's where the old convenience store used to be on the corner of Madison and Cooper, has everything we've grown to love at the Erin store...and more. In addition to multiple frozen yogurt flavors and numerous local toppings, the Midtown store also offers house-made, all natural gelato and freshly baked yummies from the now in-house Lady Bugg Bakery.

The inside is set up pretty much like the other stores where you choose your flavor, add your toppings, and then weigh at the register.

Adjacent to the register are the baked goods and gelato selections. (Gelato is not self-serve.) A few of their current gelato flavors include: Mint Chocolate, Nutella, Mascarpone, Tiramisu, Pistachio, Strawberry, and Roasted Almond. (Yum!)

A few bakery offerings include: Vegan Muffins, Hello Dollies, cupcakes in various flavors (changes daily), Lemon Tarts, Lady Fingers, and fresh cookies, baked daily. (Um, double yum!)

The interior features the bright colors and clean lines of the other stores and already feels like its been a part of Midtown forever. YoLo did an amazing job tailoring the store to Midtowners' tastes. Case in point--the addition of a variety of coffee selections from Millington-based McCarter's coffee. And that's not all--they plan to add a patio as well.

For our inaugural visit, we stuck to the basics--frozen yogurt and our favorite toppings.

Jiro, who has been properly instructed in the best way to enjoy self-serve yogurt, allowed me to dispense the yogurt for him, and then said, "I'm only going to get two toppings. Maybe three." He carefully inspected his choices and added M&Ms, one Thin Mint cookie, and a few Reese's Pieces. He offered me a taste, and they perfectly complimented his selection of half peanut butter, half cookies & cream yogurt.

I went for a mixture of espresso (my fave) and white chocolate mousse. I added a teeny bit of candy bar and lots of delicious looking blackberries.

We took a seat and enjoyed our yogurt with several other Midtowners who wasted no time packing the store.

I should also mention that the new store is also Project Green Fork certified. That means recycling, earth-friendly containers, non-toxic cleaners, and energy-efficient practices.

(PGF is having a gelato flavor naming contest too!)

The new store is just the tip of the iceberg for YoLo. They are also unveiling their mobile airstream which will be available for private parties and other events. (Once City Council passes the new food truck ordinance, you will see it in public venues as well!) Look for the YoLo mobile at the upcoming Levitt Shell season and at future Rock-n-Romps!

Seriously, could YoLo be more awesome??

Why yes, they can.

If you visit the store today between 3-4pm, you can take part in the official ribbon cutting and sample some gelato for free!

La Michoacana

2011-03-10T21:26:00.002-06:00

La Michoacana
4109 Summer Avenue
phone number not found

I noticed La Michoacana on one of our many drives down Summer Avenue a few weeks ago. It's in the same strip as El Palmar (near Graham). Since it's set back from the road a bit I just assumed it was a Mexican restaurant. In fact, I thought Caminos de Michoacan had opened a second location.

Then a friend of mine emailed me and said she heard that it was a paleteria, which is a popsicle store. My regular readers know that I am a serious fan of paletas, so this news totally excited me. In fact I found the news too good to be true and prepared myself for a let down. I assumed they would be mass produced rather than made in house, but I decided to get the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) and check it out just to be sure.

Much to our delight--and surprise--we walked in to find hundreds of house made paletas in every flavor imaginable!

They are actually made at the store's second location on Winchester, but they are definitely made in Memphis and shipped over in batches. La Michoacana also features homemade ice cream, agua frescas, and a few other things. The girl seemed to really want to sell us on the ice cream, but we had popsicles on the brain! There was no listing of flavors, so we had to rely on her memory and ability to translate the flavors into English. Here are a few that she remembered: Oreo, rice, cocoa, prune, tamarind, strawberry, kiwi, grape, guava, and cantaloupe.

Jiro wanted the cocoa and Satchel requested rice.

I kept looking at the popsicles and finally found what I had been searching for--pineapple chili. Score!

I paid up ($1.95 each) and we went to sit at a booth and enjoy our dinner. (We agreed to have vegetables for dessert.) My pineapple chili wasn't as elegant as the one I had at the Meltdown in New Orleans, but it was good enough--just a bit on the chunky side.

Jiro gave me a bite of his and it was quite tasty.

However, we all agreed that Satchel's was the best. (I think the flavor is technically arroz con leche which is a type of rice pudding.)

As you can see here, Satchel soon felt like we were taking advantage of his generosity. "You took a bite this big!" he croaked at Jiro.

Since it was 7:30pm on a coldish Thursday night, there weren't very many customers. The girl came over to wipe off the tables behind us and chatted with us a bit. She said they had been open about a month and that they definitely had some pretty busy days. Since the bulk of the customers were hispanic, she was curious to know how we'd heard of it.

After we chatted for awhile, Satchel asked if he could have some elote. The menu board advertised it as corn on the cob, but when he got his it was in a cup. It didn't matter, we are fans of the corn mixed with cream, lime, cheese, and chili pepper anyway it is served.

Since we were making another transaction, Jiro and I decided we should probably try another popsicle. This time he went with the Oreo.

I continued to quiz the girl about the flavors and was thrilled when she said, "Coffee." Sold!

The coffee was really, really good. Again, not as fancy as the popsicles at the Meltdown or Las Paletas in Nashville, but perfectly delicious.

"I want to work here," Satchel announced. "I could wipe tables and sweep the floor."

"Why do you want to work here?" I asked.

"To make money," he said (with a "DUH!" tone of voice).

"I want to make popsicles here," Jiro added.

"Why?" I asked.

"So I can eat them!" he announced excitedly.

Satchel was taking his time enjoying his corn and refused to give me and Jiro more than just a bite. Jiro asked extra nice if he could have one too. So, I went up and made our third transaction in fifteen minutes. The girl laughed and said, "Next time you come, you can pay when you leave."

As Jiro worked on his corn there was much talk of having a birthday party there--the monkeys highest compliment.

I think that once the temperatures start to creep up there's going to be a line down the sidewalk here like you see at Jerry's. (There's plenty of seating inside, a water fountain, and restrooms--so it's three up on Jerry's there. Oh, and air conditioning--that's four!)

Check it out and tell me if you find a good flavor we missed. I'm also curious to hear how the ice cream tastes. The girl kept saying it was made with cheese.

In addition to elote, they also sell nachos and chicharrones preparados, which were described as pork rinds with cabbage, cheese, avocado, and salsa.

Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken

2011-03-07T17:04:00.000-06:00

Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken
3633 Millbranch Road
332-2367

A couple of weekends ago, Warren, Jiro (age 6) and I headed over to Uncle Lou's to take the Monster Burger challenge for a Flyer story I was working on about food challenges. Of all the ones I found in town, the Monster Burger challenge seemed the most do-able. From the website:

The burger is made up of 1/3-pound of beef (three patties), stacked between five pieces of cheese and served on a Kaiser bun...the Monster Burger Challenge...challenges customers to eat two of the burgers in eight minutes.

Even Jiro was excited about trying the "Monster Truck" burger. He felt pretty sure he could win the challenge, no problem.

Sadly, when we arrived, we were told that they were no longer doing the challenge. No one knew exactly when they stopped or why. (I can only assume after two appearances on Food Network they no longer needed the gimmick to get people in.)

So we re-grouped and assumed this was a blessing in disguise.

We were there at about 11:00am on Sunday and were pleased to find that it wasn't at all crowded. We were greeted at the door and directed to a wall of pictures to help us figure out our order.

I decided to get us a Monster Burger combo with fries and a drink, and a couple orders of wings--plain for Jiro and Sweet Spicy Love for me and W. (Other menu options included a whole deep fried Cajun chicken, smoked sausage, fried bologna, and shrimp.)

I had heard that the food is made to order and can take awhile, but we were served in just a few minutes. I barely had time to examine the Wall of Fame and the map with pushpins from all of their visitors.

Some nice young men brought our food over and we happily dug in. The Monster Burger was indeed a monster. We offered Jiro the first bite, but there was no way he could get his mouth over it.

So the first bite went to Warren.

It's really much larger than it appears.

I took a few bites and then Warren went back to work on it. I eventually stopped him and told him he would probably regret eating the whole thing. Once he threw in the towel, I turned it into a regular one patty burger and let Jiro eat the rest.

However, Jiro was quite happy to eat chicken wings and fries.

As was I. The Sweet Spicy Love sauce rules. It's the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. There's no fire to put out--you can keep eating, and the sauce is great for dipping fries.

The wings were exceptional. Truly. There were no leftovers.

Jiro, who had sticky fingers from the chicken, requested that I take him to wash his hands. Not one to miss an opportunity to check out the facilities, I happily agreed. The bathrooms were fine. Not necessarily a first choice spot for changing a diaper, but perfectly functional for standard operations.

The only thing we were missing were some of Uncle Lou's honey dipped biscuits. Jiro pointed this out as we headed back to the table. "Can we come back for breakfast and have biscuits?" he asked.

I had asked for a biscuit when I originally ordered, but it got left off the ticket. I went up to the window and asked to buy one, but they just gave me a box of three for free. Score!

We were pretty full, so I took one bite--they were a bit sweet for me--and saved them until breakfast the next day when Jiro and big brother, Satchel, devoured them.

Uncle Lou's is a pretty no frills kind of place. Unfortunately it isn't near anything that I regularly visit, so it does require a pretty significant special trip. I'd definitely say it's worth trying out, especially if you are a fan of chicken wings and/or burgers.

They offer free refills on drinks, free wifi, and have quite an extensive line of merch. (I really wish I would have bought a bottle of Sweet Spicy Love sauce!) There's also a gumball machine and a tattoo machine, so bring quarters for the monkeys.

Sharon's Chocolates & Bread Cafe

2011-02-28T20:05:00.000-06:00

Sharon's Chocolates & Bread Cafe
2881 Poplar
324-4422

I spotted the sign for Sharon's Chocolates and Bread Cafe weeks ago and was intrigued. I immediately Googled the name, but found nothing. That's pretty much still the story today, although the Flyer did give them a mention in print and on the Hungry Memphis blog.

The monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) and I tried to go for breakfast a few Saturdays ago, but we were too early. (They don't technically serve breakfast, but I thought we could get some bread or a croissant.) Once we figured out their actual hours (11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday), we popped in for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon when the monkeys were out of school.

Sharon's is located in the Chickasaw Crossing shopping center near the main library where Grisanti's used to be. (Still is?) The shopping center has had a facelift and looks nice from the outside. Inside Sharon's it feels a little stark and cold. I'll attribute it to being newly opened and not being too busy when we were there. (A lot of people were coming in to peek around, but we were the only patrons.)

You order at the counter, where there are several displays. Since we got there a little late (1:30ish), there wasn't a lot of selection, but Satchel pointed to the bbq chicken pizza rolls and said, "I want one of those." I really wanted to try the pizza, as did Jiro, so we asked for that. I had heard it was authentic New York style, so I assumed we could order slices, but it turns out it's authentic Sicilian style, so we ordered a 1/2. (The other choice is a whole.) Our drink options consisted of soda from a nearby cooler or coffee from a carafe. I instructed Jiro to get a Diet Coke for us to split and the woman at the counter gave me three cups.

We sat down at a table by the window and Satchel asked me to get his coat out of the car. I was told that they have to keep the cafe cold because of the chocolate. Speaking of, neither monkey noticed that there was an entire case of delicious chocolates just a few feet away! Had other people been eating near us, I'm sure that they would have clued in. Since we'd had Maggie Moo's before coming, I didn't point out the sweet treats, although I will have to make another trip to do just that.

After a few minutes our pizza and pizza rolls came out. (The pizza was made fresh; the pizza rolls reheated.)

Satchel immediately honed in on the fact that the pizza rolls had red onions. He picked them out and ate with a little pout on his face.

Then he accidentally spilled his portion of Diet Coke all over the place. (Earlier that day, he spilled my coffee!) A nice woman came over and had it all cleaned up before we even really realized what happened.

Meanwhile, Jiro was very thoroughly enjoying his pizza.

I eagerly bit into my piece of pizza and was quite pleased. "It's delicious!" Jiro said. "And greasy!" he added while scrambling to wipe his fingers off. Seeing that Satchel wasn't going to be able to remove enough onions to enjoy his selection, I encouraged him to try a piece of pizza. "I'm not hungry," he said. Since he didn't want his own ice cream at Maggie Moo's previously I was inclined to believe him.

In the end, Jiro ate one piece of pizza, Satchel ate next to nothing, and I had my piece of pizza and both of Satchel's rejected pizza rolls. So much for healthy choices!

We packed up our leftover pizza and headed home.

I'm a little worried about Sharon's. It reminds me of La Baguette--bakery, sweets, lunch items--but something is missing. Soup and salad maybe? There needs to be something to round out the menu and make the offerings seem more like a meal. Some more exciting drink offerings would help make it feel more like a cafe too.

I hope that after a few weeks Sharon's will find it's groove.

Maggie Moo's

2011-02-25T11:18:00.001-06:00

Maggie Moo's Ice Cream and Treatery
125 South Main Street
522-1912

Last week the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6) and I were downtown for the International Folk Alliance conference. We parked on one end of Main Street and walked to the other. We took the trolley back, and Jiro requested that we stop at Maggie Moo's for ice cream. We hadn't had lunch yet, but there was no talking him out of it. He'd recently visited with friends and wanted me to experience the magic.

Maggie Moo's used to be in Peabody Place, and we'd been several times. We even had a tour of the kitchen and learned how to make ice cream for a story I did for Memphis Parent. (Maggie's is a national chain, but this franchise is locally-owned and operated.)

The new location on Main Street is way better and the store seems new and exciting again. Plus it has on-street seating for people watching! With the Folk Alliance Conference in town, there were plenty of interesting people to see.

Despite our earlier visits, I somehow failed to realize that Maggie's did the whole mixing in of toppings on the cold stone. Jiro set me straight.

Although Jiro was the only one ordering ice cream, I figured I'd get a few bites, so I helped him decide on Peanut Butter Galaxy.

He requested it in a waffle cup, which I'd never seen before.

It looked great, and he was very happy. I sent him and Satchel out for a chair while I paid. It was a whopping $6.42! I was now happier than ever that Satchel decided not to order one. Yikes. That's about what the three of us would pay together at Baskin Robbins. It's slightly more than YoLo too. However, it did end up being enough for all three of us to share, and I'm pretty sure if you get a plain scoop in a regular cup it's way cheaper.

Based on the location alone, I'm sure we'll be back.

Maggie Moo's is having their grand opening tomorrow, Saturday, February 26th from 1-5pm. There will be special pricing, balloons, face painting, and a visit from Maggie Moo herself.

Steak 'n Shake

2011-02-13T12:35:00.003-06:00

Steak 'n Shake
8477 US Highway 64
380-5880

After spending the bulk of our day at the Wolfchase Galleria, we found ourselves dazed and confused--and hungry--at 3:15pm. I tried my best to rally Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 8, Jiro 6) for a trip to Las Tortugas, but Warren complained it was too far away and that we'd have to deal with a ton of traffic. (He's just jealous of Senor Dreamy!) So, my next suggestion was Steak 'n Shake, solely because it was close and it reminds me of my own childhood. I told the monkeys about how I used to walk to the one near the JCC when I was little and they were amazed. "You mean they had Steak 'n Shakes all the way when you were little?" Satchel said. Then after thinking for a minute, he added, "Was that before it became a chain?" I don't know why, but that cracked me up.

When we arrived, I expected it to be dead since it was the middle of the afternoon, but it was packed and we came in with a rush. A man who stopped to hold the door open on his way out remarked, "Is there a church bus in the parking lot?"

The inside is cute, but retro/diner vibe made me wish I was at In-N-Out Burger instead. Or just in California!

After just a short wait, we were shown to a booth. The kids were given hats, crayons (2) and activity sheets.

A quick scan of the table revealed why the restaurant was packed:

"Well what do you know?" I said. "Kids eat free all weekend." Looking at the fine print you can see each adult must spend $8. Warren and I looked at the menu and tried to crunch some numbers. It seemed like most meals were in the $4 and $5 range, so we weren't sure if we could spend $16 between us. There was a brief discussion about adding shakes to our orders, and some glancing around to see if the kids' meals were dinky. Eventually we just decided to let the kids order off of the regular menu. Satchel wanted sliders, Jiro wanted a regular steakburger, and Warren went with a hot dog. I toyed with ordering a salad, but they looked kind of boring so I went with a Chipotle chicken sandwich. I knew I was going to eat fries--I love their skinny fries--and mooch off of someone's milkshake, so the healthy choices were just for show at this point.

After ordering, we discussed our Pokemon adventures, and waited patiently. Jiro eventually turned to his iPod for entertainment and I worked on his activity sheet. Once the milkshakes arrived, we perked up a bit.

Jiro got a kid sized cookies and cream and Warren got a chocolate.

(Don't you love the far away look in Warren's eyes?)

Jiro complained that his milkshake was small after seeing Warren's, but he eventually got over it. (And even with help from me and Satchel, half of it still went uneaten.)

Warren's shake was way better anyway. Can't go wrong with classic chocolate. He was nice enough to share and Satchel was nice enough to stop talking about Pokemon for five seconds so that he could enjoy a sip and we could have some quiet!

Looking around the restaurant, a lot of kids had cardboard cruisers. The monkeys weren't interested, but I appreciated the kid-friendly touch. (The menu said they were available by request.)

Our food came out fairly quickly and looked fine. Not exciting, but fine. Seeing the portion sizes, I was glad we let the kids order off of the regular menu. The meals were big enough to get full without having leftovers.

Satchel's sliders look big in this picture, but he noted, "Cool, they are small like Krystal burgers."

Jiro's single steakburger was about the size of a regular hamburger at McDonald's.

Warren and I were both alarmed by the color of his relish, but he ate it without any complaints.

My chicken sandwich was fine, but a little on the dry side. (I pulled off the cheese and bacon for Satchel to add to one of his sliders.)

While I waited for Satchel to finish up, I went on a bathroom run. There was no changing table that I saw and it was a bit of a mess from the previous crowd. When I returned to the table, I got the check and went to pay. Our total was $25, which was pretty standard for the four of us at lunch. I kind of regretted not doing the kids eat free deal, but oh well.

On the way out, Satchel, who had found two quarters at the mall, let Jiro have one so he could get a piece of gum. (Satchel got himself a piece of gum at the beginning of the meal and told Jiro he could have one after if he behaved!)

We left full and happy. The service was fast and friendly. The food was decent and not too expensive. However, I don't think we'll need to make any special trips to Cordova to eat here again anytime soon. The traffic getting back to midtown was insane!