Panda Express

Panda Express
585 North Germantown Parkway
901-751-1370

Panda Express is a chain that the monkeys (Satchel, 11, and Jiro, 9) visited on their month long roadtrip out west over the summer. They raved about it and have been dying to go to the one here and get the "Family Feast."

On Saturday, Satchel and I found ourselves waaaaaay out east at the Super Target finishing up a little school shopping, and decided to pop in to Panda Express for a late lunch. (Jiro was off having a super fun last weekend of summer with his best friends so we didn't feel guilty.)



I asked Satchel if it was like Subway where we just picked what we wanted on our rice or noodles, but he said no (and probably rolled his eyes).

Inside it's decorated pretty cute, if you think "sparse" is cute. (I do.) There were a number of seating options--tables, booths, tall counters, and even patio action.

It's an order at the counter type place, so I thought it might be more like Pei Wei. I took a minute to look at the menus hanging on the wall. Nope. Well, maybe a little, but the food is already cooked.




Satchel, who thought I was being slow, made it easy. "We are getting the bowls," he said. As we approached the counter, he said I could pick a base and then one dish to put on top, then he told the woman, "We'll have two bowl meals."

Yes, my baby ordered for me! I loved it.



I decided on fried brown rice with the Samarai surf and turf they were advertising on top. Satchel got chow mein noodles with Beijing beef on top, because that is what Warren ordered the first time they went and he loved it.

After completing our transaction, I decided that Panda Express is like a Chinese buffet with very strict rules.



Yes, Satchel carried the tray and even got my drink for me. (We both got waters since we had a soda at my mom's house earlier in the day.)

Here's my surf and turf. Hard to see the rice under there, but it definitely took up 3/4 of the bowl.



And here's Satchel's Beijing beef.



Overall it was pretty tasty. We even switched bowls for awhile.



Each bowl cost $5.59. There was a $1.00 upcharge for mine, I guess because of the shrimp. Our total was $13.31. (I saw no tip jar or tip line on the receipt.) Not bad, right? However, I do realize we probably could have gone to a real Chinese buffet for the same amount. But then we would have really stuffed ourselves.

We were both super full and neither of us could finish. My immediate thought was, "They must have put a lot of MSG in the food." But maybe the soda and Pancho's cheese dip snack we had an hour or so before at my mom's just ruined our appetites?

We went to wash our hands and I noted that there was not a changing table in the restroom. I did see highchairs in the dining area.

I can't see making a special trip to Cordova to eat here again, but it was TOTALLY worth going just to have Satchel show me the ropes.

Steak 'n Shake

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!

Genghis Grill

Genghis Grill
2362 North Germantown Parkway
584-0412

Last Friday, Satchel (8) and I had to go to Collierville to get his cast off. (He broke his arm jumping out of a tree two weeks earlier.) Since I let him choose a restaurant after getting it put on (Huey's), he wanted to choose a restaurant after getting it off. He naturally wanted to go back to Huey's, but I encouraged him to pick someplace different. His second choice was the Grand Buffet. Since what he likes most about the Grand Buffet is the Mongolian Grill, I told him about Genghis Grill.

From their website:

Genghis Grill-The Mongolian Stir Fry, is a build your own bowl, fast casual, Asian stir-fry concept. The atmosphere is colorful, lively, and a lot of fun! It's actually not a cuisine, but an INTERACTIVE style of exhibition cooking modeled after a centuries-old legend. According to this legend, 12th century Mongol warriors, led by the mighty warrior GENGHIS KHAN, heated their shields over open fires to grill food in the fields of battle!!

How could we resist that?

Jiro (6) had a sleepover, but Warren was able to meet us when he got off of work. Seven o'clock on a Friday probably wasn't the best time to go. We arrived to find a line out the door and were told it would be a 30 minute wait. (The picture above was taken after dinner.) Since Jiro, who is the antsier of my two monkeys, wasn't with us and Satchel & I had fortified ourselves with gas station sushi on the way out East, and Warren can go days without eating, we agreed to wait. We took a seat inside and perused the menu. I also took the opportunity to check out the restrooms, which were very nice and contained a changing table.

We ended up only waiting about ten minutes before being seated. Then our waiter, Ken, came over to literally walk us through the Genghis Grill process. (I really freaked him out when I took his picture.)

Ken had a whole speech prepared which really wasn't necessary since we are intelligent people and had spent ten minutes with the menu, but we let him break it down for us. Basically you are given a bowl and let loose on a massive buffet of meats, veggies, seasonings, sauces, and starches. You can cram as much into your bowl as you want for $9.99 if you are an adult, and for $4.99 if you are a "future warrior" like Satchel. (You can fill up your bowl repeatedly for $12.99.)

If you don't feel confident in your ability to create a decent tasting bowlful, there are different recipes you can try.

We opted for the free for all. I was sad that Jiro wasn't with us because I would have enjoyed seeing what he decided to put in his bowl. However, I feel certain he would have gotten sticky in the selection process and forced me to take him to the bathroom to wash his hands multiple times. I didn't miss that.

I should also point out that if you have allergies, this is not the place for you. There was quite a bit of "cross pollination" happening on the buffet.

Satchel chose an assortment of nectarines, pineapples, tofu, baby corn, potatoes, and green beans.

At the end of the line, you tell the chef what starch you want: rice, fried rice, noodles, or tortillas. Then you have the choice of sitting down and having it delivered, or you can watch and pick it up yourself.

We opted to watch. It's definitely quite a show. The only bad thing about this, is that the floor near the cooking area is crazy sticky. Like stickier than a movie theater floor.

Warren noted that everyone who worked in the restaurant. He wasn't sure if it was a purposeful or unconscious attempt to make it appear as though there were actual Mongolians employed there.

I'd say it took about five minutes for them to cook everything, and we were all very happy with the end result. You could do a final dusting of sesame seeds and other crunchies at the bar.

Satchel was thrilled by the giant bowl he created. He couldn't actually finish, but he ate most of it.

I was happy with my bowl, but I think that following a recipe, at least mostly, might be the way to go. I don't know that the average person can really concoct something awesome. Warren came close, but he went a little overboard with the spices.

Ken, the coolest waiter ever (according to Satchel), was somehow able to convince us to order dessert. Satchel chose the Oreo pie, despite claiming to be freezing.

The side facing him was much more spectacular looking. Warren and I insisted on helping him eat this, and I have to say, it was YUM.

At the end of the meal, I had a chopstick cramp but was full and happy. Warren, despite eating his bowl and the rest of Satchel's, claimed to still be hungry still. Next time we'll let him get the bottomless bowl.

A final note--Genghis Grill is very busy, at least on weekends, and has a full bar. Several people were partaking of blue drinks and other fancy cocktails, but there were also plenty of families there. Still, this may be more of a weeknight kind of place for those dining with monkeys.

Oh, and they have a pretty nice patio.

Thai Bistro

Another beautiful installment from our super talented guest blogger, Sophorn....

Thai Bistro
1250 N Germantown Pkwy #105
(901) 755-6955


Thai Bistro was recommended to me by a loyal customer who happened to know that the owners are Cambodian. I had been on an unproductive search for a local Khmer cuisine restaurant to do a special celebration of my home country, so visiting Thai Bistro with our dinner group was the next best thing (without me cooking for 20 people). I mentioned then that Thai cuisine was actually rooted from Khmer cuisine, a type of cuisine my four-year-old, Atticus, craves quite often. See below to see what we tasted on our recent visit.


Tasted
~ Fried Wonton Appetizer served with sweet and sour sauce
~ Chicken Pad Thai
~ Pla- Dook with fried catfish, mixed vegetables, and homemade chili sauce.
~ Fried Ice Cream


Anytime I want to persuade Atticus to eat anything, I use the words “crispy, sweet, or sour,” so the fried wontons with the sweet and sour sauce were a great choice of appetizers as it hit every single key word.


We then ordered a spicy fish dish, Pla-Dook, to fulfill my cravings and Pad Thai, one of my husband’s favorite dishes, that he could share with Atticus. As you can tell from the photos below, limes are a very important finishing ingredient to the way we enjoy Asian food. Atticus almost had to squeeze drops for every bite.




Sometimes I ponder whether Atticus’ taste for Asian food is just in his genes. He even loves the fish sauce we make for dipping that disgust some adults. As for the Pad Thai and most of the dishes at Thai Bistro, the flavors seem irresistible even to new palettes. Pad Thai is on the kid’s menu as the one noodle dish among the other popular options of fried rice and chicken fingers. What kid can resist noodles? I can attest to the fact noodles are fun for Atticus to slurp. You can see in the photo he’s going cross-eyed watching it go in his mouth.

Finally, the moment we’d all been waiting for, was the fried ice cream dessert that was so superb the first time we ate there. We enjoyed it just as much the second time.


///

Hours
Mon - Thur: 11-2:30, 5-9PM
Fri: 11-2:30, 5-10PM
Sat: 12-10PM
Sun: 12-9PM

Menu

Chang's Bubble Tea

Chang's Bubble Tea
8095 Macon Road (Cordova)
737-8839

When Warren was in California over Christmas, he told me about a bubble tea restaurant that his friend took him to. This reminded me that I had Chang's Bubble Tea on my list of places to go. We're big fans of the bubble tea at a few of our favorite Midtown Vietnamese restaurants, but I wanted the full experience. One Saturday afternoon, after visiting the Apple store, we drove down Germantown Road in search of Chang's. It was in a small strip mall located next to the Germantown Osaka that I had never actually located. Had I not been on "assignment," I would have probably hightailed it into Osaka for some sushi. However, I knew that Chang's also had a full menu, and that we should try it.

Once inside I was instantly in a good mood. The bright green walls, live plants, and other touches gave it a California smoothie bar feel and differentiated it from other local Asian hot spots. I asked Warren if it reminded him of the one in California and he got a goofy look on his face. "Uh, a little," he said. (The one he went to in California had waitresses who wore lingerie.)

There were several other people in the restaurant, but no one was sitting at the small bar in back. Since we were eating too, we grabbed a table near the bar. A waitress greeted us and since the menu was already on the table, left us to our own devices. There was only one menu, and it was quite extensive, so I stole another one off of a different table.

Before we could even begin to decide what to eat, the waitress brought out some complimentary edamame--a small bowl for each of us. Ding ding ding--major bonus points. (And yes, she was fully clothed.) The immediate food was great for the cranky monkeys we had with us. Satchel (7) and Jiro (5) had a friend spend the night and as is per usual with sleepovers, there was very little actual sleeping.

There were over 40 flavors of bubble tea so it was really hard to choose. You also have the option of a slush or smoothie consistency, mixing flavors, and adding tapioca or jelly. (Tapioca is more standard here.) Eventually Warren decided on a Green Tea Chai, the boys agreed to split a Chocolate Mocha, and I--despite all of the fun options--got my usual coconut.


I had a hard time getting the monkeys to give me input on what they might want to eat, so I just ordered their standard fried chicken wings. Warren opted for one of the $5.50 lunch specials--Veggie Lo Mein--that came with soup, rice, and eggroll. I got wooed by the Chef's Specials, specifically the Lychee Shrimp. It was listed as $9.99, but I figured it would be a big enough serving for another meal at home and that I could share the rice with the monkeys, so I went for it. Once our orders were in, we let the monkeys play their DSes and I let Warren talk my ear off about the kombucha he ordered. (It's a medicinal tea that you ferment yourself.) In fact he talked so much, I don't think he even noticed when I ate his hot & sour soup that he was ignoring on the table. (It was pretty good, nothing special.)

Every so often the monkeys would whine about the whereabouts of their bubble tea. There was a constant hum of blenders coming from the kitchen so I could only assure them that it would be soon. And eventually one by one our bubble teas arrived. We marveled at the machine that vacuum sealed the tops and took pleasure in choosing a large, colored straw of our choice and ramming it through the plastic. It was a very satisfying exercise.

Warren and I started debating whether or not bubble tea is actually healthy. I say no. It's no different from a milkshake in my mind. He sees it more like a vitamin packed smoothie. I noted that the main ingredient was most likely sugar. He responded, "Sugar makes your muscles work."

Soon our food arrived and we all stopped talking. Satchel ate two chicken wings and lots of rice from our plates...with his fingers. "Use your spoon," is the soundtrack to most of our dining experiences these days. (Sometimes we vary it with "Use your fork.") Jiro had to be prodded to eat even one wing. He simply wasn't interested in eating, as evidenced by his lack of concern for the bubble tea Satchel was no longer sharing with him.

Warren's lunch looked very nice and healthy. It was a decent sized portion, not too big, not too small. I wished I'd ordered it. My lychee shrimp was surprisingly small considering the price tag and lack of side items. And, uh, it was SO SWEET. Why this surprised me I don't know. Lychees are one of my favorite fruits. I know how sweet they are. Also I don't know why the fact that they were canned disappointed me. It was February! Anyways, the shrimp was nice and crunchy and thanks to the container of hot sauce on the table, I was able to mask the sticky sweetness of the dish. I definitely will never order that again. Next time I'll go for something spicy from the get go, or ask the waitress for a suggestion. (Or I'll take my bubble tea next door to Osaka!)

We ended up staying for awhile, enjoying our food and tea, and even the atmosphere. We were having so much fun, we asked Satchel to take our picture. After 20 takes we found one I liked enough to post on the internet.

Satchel needed to go to the bathroom, so I accompanied him. It was passable, but not the best bathroom ever. Definitely no changing table--just a wobbly table from the restaurant. I'd definitely be scared to change a diaper on it.

As we were leaving, I asked the monkeys what they thought of the restaurant. "I love it," said Jiro, not looking up from his game.

Shogun

Shogun
2324 N. Germantown Pkwy
(901) 384-4122

On Jiro's birthday, I asked him where he wanted to eat dinner and he replied, "I'm not hungee, I want to go to Target." The monkeys (Satchel, 6, and Jiro, now 4) love nothing more than a trip to Target, and each had received quite a bit of cash in lieu of gifts for their birthdays.

"We're eating dinner before we go to Target," I said.

While Jiro pouted, I turned to Warren for advice. "Wanna try Shogun? It's near the Super Target."

My sister, Tracey, says Shogun is the best hibachi in town. She repeatedly pointed this out last year during Jiro's birthday dinner at Hibachi.

"Do they have 'buy one get one free' coupons like Nagasaki?" Warren asked.

"No, but I'm pretty sure they do a happy hour special."

"Okay," he said.

To be fair, the Nagasaki coupons are only for the weekends. This was a Tuesday night.

We rolled into the Shogun parking lot at exactly 5:30pm. "Is it open?" Warren asked looking around at the empty parking lot.

"It's supposed to be," I replied. I had called ahead to make sure. "Pull up so we can see the times on the door."

Sure enough, open at 5:30pm.

We exited the car and the monkeys immediately ran towards the door. They were quickly distracted by the nice pond out front full of koi fish and started frolicking. After a few minutes of this we were able to herd them into the restaurant. There was a rather large collection of vending machines in the foyer, but the monkeys paid it little attention. They had Target on their minds.

There was a nice bar area immediately inside the restaurant with several employees hanging about. We were ushered into the adjacent hibachi room by a nice Japanese woman. I was psyched to see that we were the only customers and hoped that we might get the table to ourselves. (I really do not like the whole sitting with strangers part of the hibachi experience.)

After being seated three to one side and one around the corner of the table, we quickly readjusted ourselves so that we were two and two. We began looking at the menus and settling in. "Do you want steak, chicken, or shrimp?" I asked.

"Steak!" Satchel enthusiastically replied.

"Do they have fish here?" Jiro asked.

"Yes, they have shrimp," I said not really answering his question.

"Oh, I don't want that," he said.

"What about steak?" I asked.

"I'm not hungee," he said.

"You have to eat something," I said. "What about sushi?"

"I want to go to Target," he said.

"I'm ordering you the shrimp," I said. After looking at the menu, and the many rules interspersed between the dishes, I learned that there was a "sitting fee" for the hibachi that was about equal to the price of a kids' meal. I had nothing to lose, only leftovers to gain.

I also noticed a section on the menu called "An Evening with Shogun" that was for people celebrating birthdays at Shogun. It included a song, a commemorative picture, and a special dessert. Warren and I joked about getting this, but decided against it due to the price tag.

The sushi menu looked really interesting and included rolls with oyster, lobster and scallops. Due to the lack of coupons and the relatively high Happy Hour pricing, I decided to get sushi another night.

As all of this menu investigation was going on, Satchel was coloring and Jiro was patiently waiting for dinner to end. The waitress, meanwhile, brought in another family with two small boys, one of whom was having a birthday, and seated them at our table. Luckily there were enough seats that I still had a one empty seat barrier between myself and the dad. Warren was all smiles and exchanged pleasantries with the family--something I am not hardwired to do.

I was staying relatively calm until the waitress quickly returned with two more people. She motioned for us to move back to our original seats so that the couple could sit between us and the other family. I gave her my best death stare for 30 seconds and then reluctantly complied.

Soon the couple and the other family were best friends, exchanging stories of their adventures with sake. The couple was older, probably in their sixties, but it soon became apparent that they were on a date, most likely a blind date resulting from their participation on an internet site. The woman was rail thin and had huge "blonde" hair carefully hairsprayed in place a la Dolly Parton.

I could feel Warren sending me "It's okay, stay calm" vibes, but the only thing that made me feel better was repeating "I HATE TRACEY I HATE TRACEY I HATE TRACEY" in my head.

Before you start thinking I am a horrible no good person, I would just like to say in defense of myself that everyone has their issues and mine is personal space. I don't like sharing mine with strangers. If you sit next to me in a movie, I will get up and move. If you sit next to me on an airplane, I will go to my happy place and try to pretend that you do not exist. Sorry, that's just how I roll.

Okay, so we put in our orders. I got a beer to calm my nerves, Warren got sake, Satch asked for water, and the birthday boy requested Sprite. Dinner-wise it was steak for Satch, shrimp for Jiro, steak & shrimp for Warren and I. (The early bird special required that we get two meats.) Most of the other people at the table seemed to be getting steak & shrimp too. Everyone had to say how they wanted theirs cooked. When the Big Haired Lady ordered hers rare like I did, I stopped hating on her. Instead I started judging her date for ordering his steak well-done. (A major faux pas in my book.) No one ever asked what kind of soup we wanted, which worried me.

The kids' drinks came out with umbrellas in them which was nice. And we all got clear soup, which was not. I requested two bowls of miso soup instead, which didn't appear to be a problem, but was sure to appear on the check as an extra charge. Satchel, who was starved, slurped up my clear soup while he waited for his miso. Jiro patiently waited for his and then ate every drop.

Our hibachi chef came over while we worked on our salads and introduced himself. He was actually Japanese, which is a rarity these days. He made some Thomas the Train chit chat and let us all know that he had a young son at home. He then got a HUGE bowl of butter and started the festivities. He made a volcano out of onion rings, asked if it was anyone's birthday, which it obviously was, and then yelled "BIRTHDAY VOLCANO!" as he set the onions on fire. The flames were huge and everyone ducked. I looked at the empty seat to my right and said (to myself) Thank God the Big Haired Lady and her head full-o-flammable substances went to the John, otherwise there would have been trouble.

The chef worked at lightening speed and we soon had plates full of noodles, mushrooms, and veggies. He had some veggies leftover, because Jiro refused to allow any on his plate, and he asked if anyone wanted them. "ME! ME!" said Satchel.

Next came the fried rice, which Satchel quickly declared the most delicious ever. He looked right at the chef and said, "This is better than my daddy's!"

Warren laughed and took it in stride. The chef turned to him, winked, and said, "Mustard sauce."

Meanwhile Jiro agreed to eat the egg out of his fried rice. (At Nagasaki you get a choice of white rice or fried rice. Jiro likes the white rice.) I forced him to eat one piece of broccoli and one carrot. When he was done, he said, "I'm tired," and acted like he was going to take a little nap right there at the table.

When the steak was ready, Satchel's plate was nearly licked clean. He held it up and anxiously waited for the chef to hook him up.

My steak and shrimp were both overcooked, but I kept my complaints to myself since Satchel was having such a great time eating everything in sight. He only took one small break to tell me to look at the other boys trying to use chopsticks. "Isn't that funny?" he said as if everyone got lots of practice at home like he did.

Jiro got a little antsy waiting for everyone to finish, but not so antsy that it was disruptive. Once the fortune cookies came, he focused. Normally I love reading the kids' fortunes, but it was my own that held my attention. "This year your highest priority will be your family." I had been struggling with a big decision, and I had already made up my mind, but hadn't said anything out loud. Yet. Oh, but the cookie knew!

I paid the bill as Warren packed up our leftovers. I'm sure that if Jiro knew that he could have bought twenty Ben 10 action figures or twenty Bakugans or ten Star Wars Transformers for the price of dinner he would have been pissed!

We made a bathroom run and an obligatory bouncy ball purchase on our way out. In the parking lot Jiro asked me if Target was closed (or so I thought). When I said no and he started crying, I wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. After some soothing, I ascertained that what he actually wanted to know was if Target was CLOSE.

"Yes, it is very close," I assured him.

"Yay!" he said as he skipped to the car.

Logan's Roadhouse

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new guest blogger! Courtney! She is best known as the editor of the (most awesome) Cooper-Young neighborhood newspaper, The Lamplighter. Let's give her a warm, dwm welcome!

Logan’s Roadhouse
2710 N. Germantown Pkwy
901-381-5254

For the last few months, my eyes have been drawn to the eye-catching sign hung outside the Logan’s Roadhouse next to Wolfchase. “12.99 Dinner for Two. Children’s Meals $2.” A quick confession, the Santo family is cheap (my husband would prefer I use the term frugal). This was a deal I wanted to try – a deal so good I might order two children’s meals instead of forcing my two and four year old to share. It is good only on Mondays and Tuesdays and I engineered a Memorial Day trip to the mall around suppertime.

“We could eat at the steakhouse,” I say casually as the kids play hide and seek in the racks of clothing at JC Penny. “They are supposed to have that deal.”

From deep in the racks of jeans I hear my youngest say, “French fries, nuggets.” This is followed by my daughter saying, “and chips, I want chips.”

After a long explanation about why I won’t allow a dinner of chips and French fries, we all agree to try the steakhouse. We pull in and realize it is pretty crowded, but this is a place with a giant tin bucket of peanuts in the middle of the waiting area. We get one of those fancy pagers and pull up a slice of bench next to a friendly older couple. The hostess, who is busy complaining that “they have the worst regulars ever” has told me 20-25 minutes, and having eaten out enough to know that’s what they always say, figure it will be 10-15 minutes.

I quickly realize that my two year old has no idea that you can’t eat peanut shells and after I finger-swipe a nasty bit of half eaten shell from my son’s mouth, I spend the next 15 minutes cracking peanuts and feeding them to the kids. That and the electronic jukebox keeps them pretty entertained – it helps that this is a place where they throw the peanut shells on the floor, so the level of good behavior expected is low.

Sooner than later we get seated and Brandy, our very efficient waitress shows up to take our drink orders. My husband is dying of thirst because he ate like 8,000 peanuts and he is happy his coke arrives quickly. We look over the $12.99 menu for two – basically you get your choice of one of the “Real American Road House Meals” and two sides. I look no further than the word “sirloin” while my husband hems and haws trying to decide between the fried catfish, grilled meatloaf and chopped sirloin steak. Once he finally decides on the grilled meatloaf, he has to pick two sides from a list of 14. We’re a pretty starchy group and I pick the mashed potatoes and French fries, while he goes with French fries and onion petals. Our daughter has decided on the Mac and Cheese, which is what she always gets and I’ve decided not to order a meal for my son, figuring he’ll just eat my French fries.

Brandy returns to take our order and at the last minute I decide to order the chicken strips kids meal for my son. It is only $2. The kids menu is pretty much what you’d expect – Chicken Tenders, Hot Dog, Hamburger, Grilled Cheese, Mac and Cheese, and Steak Tips. Each comes with fries and a drink. We didn’t substitute anything for the fries, but Brandy seemed confident that it could be done (say if Stacey wanted to pick the grilled veggie side instead).

In addition to the bucket of peanuts at our table, we also were given a basket of freshly baked rolls, which were good. The best table rolls I’ve ever had are at a place called the Golden Corral, which I think only exists in Virginia. So far I’m impressed with Logans. I thought we’d have to wait longer for rolls and to place our order because the place is packed. Lots of people around us seem to be waiting on their food and they were all there way ahead of us. But just minutes after the two or three tables around us get served, out comes our food.

I ordered my steak medium rare and it came out rare – but I didn’t send it back because I actually like it rare. But they checked to make sure I was happy and offered to re-cook it. I liked the pepper and salt seasonings on the steak – it was much simpler than the horror spice mix Outback uses. The fries were okay, a little limp and the mashed potatoes were delicious

My husband seemed to like the grilled meatloaf okay, he ate it all and the onion petal came with dipping sauce, which was nice. My daughter’s mac and cheese looked delicious and it was not Kraft (unlike at Boscos). She ate most everything, which is impressive, since she also filled up on peanuts and rolls. My son’s chicken tenders looked like classic Sysco fare, but he enjoyed them and his fries.

Brandy kept our drinks filled and gave us a second basket of rolls. She also didn’t mind a mid-meal decision to get Sprite instead of water for one of the kidlets. Our check came promptly – and was the real treat of the evening. Less than $25 with tip.

In summary, I would recommend Logan’s to meat lovers, anyone looking for a good deal, and folks who don’t mind a basic kid’s meal menu).

Ace's Chicago Pizza (Closed)

I tried getting a pizza, but it seems Ace's has closed. Try Jimmy's if you want Chicago style pizza.

Andria is also known as Secret Agent Mom

Ace’s Chicago Pizza
1134 N. Germantown Pkwy
756-7223

“Yeah, turn here … wait a minute … no, this isn’t right. It’s the plaza with Schnuck’s, not Kroger. I think it’s the next one …”

And so began another trip to Ace’s Chicago Pizza, an unassuming family-owned joint tucked into the maze of strip malls that line Germantown Parkway. We usually take I-40 to Appling Road (you know, by THE CHURCH) and cut over on Cordova Club Road which takes us directly to the correct mass of pink brick and avoids G’town Speedway entirely, but on this occasion, we’d been kayaking at Shelby Farms and were coming from an unfamiliar direction, hence our parking lot detour. But we soon got our bearings (“Over there, by the Malco! And the vacuum store!”) and made a beeline for the buffet.

We now interrupt this review for a little back story: Ace’s Chicago Pizza was founded in Paris, Tennessee by, you guessed it, Ace. Ace had lived in Chicago and was impressed by the gourmet quality of Windy City pizzas. He brought the deep-dish, sauce-on-top style back to Paris, and added the necessary personal touches like homemade sausage ground specifically to his personal recipe. How do I know all this? Well, I’d like to credit my crack investigative journalism skills, but the truth is, Ace’s sister (and co-proprietor of the Cordova location) and I both got called to jury duty on the same day, and we had a particularly nosy judge conducting the voir dir e process. The timing was incredibly fortuitous, because not a week before, Jeff and I had been complaining about the lack of high-quality pizza in Memphis. As I was sitting in the courtroom, 5 months pregnant and silently begging the judge to let me go home and/or pee, I took thorough mental note of the restaurant. We made our first visit as soon as we figured out if Germantown Road and Germantown Parkway were the same thing.

For years (well, two), a trip to Ace’s meant we hit the speed dial on my cell phone as soon as we crossed East Parkway and pre-ordered a Chicago-style pizza, knowing that the 40-minute cook time would nearly have passed by the time we got to the restaurant. Jeff and I are huge fans of the Chicago pie, having both spent our formative college years at Giordano’s, Carmen’s, and Lou Malnati’s, so it’s hard to describe the looks of bliss and nostalgia as we took our first bites. Real meat! Doughy-yet-flaky crust! Non-canned sauce! We did a sausage/pepperoni split, but we each aggressively infringed on the other’s territory. The pizza could have easily fed three or maybe even four not-that-hungry people, but we took the whole thing down ourselves. And up until a few months ago, every trip to Ace’s followed pretty much the same formula, although sometimes Jeff would finish up with an Italian beef sandwich of Chicago-style hot dog for dessert.

Enter: The Monkey. Once a walking, squawking, occasionally eating child became involved in our dining endeavors, 45-minute pre-planning was no longer an option. It was at this point that we noticed the small yellow sign in Ace’s window: Lunch Buffet 11am-2pm. With minimal expectations as to the quality of heat-lamped pizza, we stumbled in one afternoon and discovered one of the best deals in Memphis eats. And now we rejoin our review, already in progress …

Considering that we’re on at least our third Ace’s Buffet Punch Card, this must have been our fifth mid-day visit over the last few months, which doesn’t seem like that much until you consider that we live 30 minutes away and both work full-time. I used to be a little disappointed in the spartan gray-on-slightly-lighter-gray décor of Ace’s, but now that I have a toddler in tow (and often under-toe), I appreciate that everything in the place can be wiped clean and that there aren’t elaborate decorations for her to pull down. On this visit, the Sunday afternoon crowd was pretty typical – maybe three other couples or families spaced throughout the restaurant. (I’ve only seen it crowded on weekend evenings, either before or after a movie.) We stepped up to the counter, ordered our drinks and got our buffet card punched three times (kids under 3 are technically free, but because Jeff eats about 3 adults’ worth of pizza, I feel more ethical if we pay the extra $2.99 for the children’s portion). And then we grabbed our Styrofoam cups, paper plates and plastic utensils and got to work.

First, The Monkey’s plate: three warm breadsticks, one slice of cheese pizza (regular crust – there’s no deep-dish on the buffet), a package of crackers, a few rigatoni noodles from the salad bar that disguise the fact that I foraged out every black olive I could find in the pasta.

My first plate: two slices of sausage, two breadsticks … and no meatballs, because they were down to the last one and that’s not bound to be the tastiest.

Jeff’s first plate: um, probably at least three slices of pepperoni, a breadstick, and that sad last meatball.

We sat down at our usual table, one removed from the buffet (and out of arm’s reach from the large display of straws, utensils and sweeteners) and dug in. The Monkey was so busy with her breadsticks that she barely had time to bug me for my orange soda. I finished my pizza in record time and kept eyeing the buffet, waiting for more meatballs to appear. I suppose that the meatballs are intended to be eaten on top of the spaghetti that sits in the bin next to them, but I never find buffet pasta to be very appealing and the meatballs more than stand up on their own. I went up for one more piece of pizza and tried to express a quiet mournfulness over the empty meatball area. This would never happen on a weekday, when Mr. and Mrs. Ace are at the helm and the ZWWIP ZWWIP ZWWIP of aerating dough can be heard throughout the lunch hours. (We went to Ace’s so often after Jeff broke his wrist that Mrs. Ace closely followed the progress of his recuperation from cast-hood through physical therapy and still asks how it’s feeling.) But on weekends, they take some well deserved time off and leave a group of sweet but not quite as speedy teenagers in charge. I grabbed another breadstick, per The Monkey’s command, and went back to the table. As soon as he saw another pepperoni pie hit the line, Jeff got up for another round, and came back with more pizza and three piping hot meatballs. Dang it! My stomach’s valuable meatball space had been infringed upon by the not-entirely-necessary third slice of pizza, but I went back up anyway. I returned with two meatballs and yet another breadstick for my carbivore daughter, who was now tagging along with whichever parent was traveling to the buffet.

I had now reached the critical point that occurs during all trips to Ace’s buffet: do I get one more piece of regular pizza or switch over to the dessert pizza? Because it’s important not to be overfull when eating dessert, but you clearly can’t go back to the normal slices once you’ve had the cinnamon-swirl. I decided to exercise something resembling restraint and went right to dessert. The Monkey was now picking through the pasta and surgically removing the olive slices without touching any other food product. I think Jeff was on his third plate, all of which looked pretty much the same. I finished my dessert just as The Monkey remembered how much she loves the bathroom at Ace’s. She’s a nostalgic girl, and once she’s been in a public bathroom, she feels the need to revisit it on every possible occasion. So we tromped off to the women’s room, which is a large, one-user space. I’ve lamented the lack of a changing table on several past trips, but now that we’re in potty training mode, I was grateful for the folding chair that gave me someplace non-threatening to wait while The Monkey took care of business. (For the diaper crowd, the floor is clean enough to throw a portable mat down.)

One of the things I love best about a buffet is that you’re all pre-paid and ready to go when the toddler tolerance level starts to max out, which happened right about the time The Monkey realized that there weren’t any more plates to take to the garbage. So we made a hasty exit, followed by a leisurely walk through the strip mall (it’s very important to turn right toward the bike store and not left toward the ice cream store, although if you have a kid who knows what dollar stores are, you’re screwed either way) and then headed back toward midtown, silently plotting our next quest to Cordova.