High Point Pizza

Thanks to Courtney for this one!

High Point Pizza
477 High Point Terrace
(901) 452-3339

In the two and half years we've lived in Memphis, our family has tried dozens of restaurants in search of that one place with the perfect mix of good food, reasonable prices, and comfortable atmosphere. We haven't yet found it. What we have found is plenty of places that fall into what we call the "once is enough" category.

On Saturday we gave High Point Pizza a chance to be “our” place. High Point offers good non-chain pizza in an okay atmosphere, tucked away in a great neighborhood.

We came to High Point on Saturday after a brief discussion and little planning. I thumbed through my Entertainment Book for coupons, but nothing jumped out at me--plus there was a steady chant of "pizza, pizza" coming from the back seat. High Point has been on our short list for a few months and it seemed like a good day to try it.

High Point does a lot of take-out business, but has about eight tables inside and a patio area. As an added bonus on Saturday, the only TV in the place was tuned to the Memphis-UTEP game (which we were not getting at home because of evil Comcast's insistence on broadcasting some of the Tigers games on their own sports channel and not on ESPN).

The menu is fairly standard with pizzas in the $12 to $16 range (depending on size and toppings). If I did not have my kids I would have tried the Margarita pizza, which is my favorite of all pizzas, but I was already committed to "pizza with red circles" so we ordered a half pepperoni and half cheese. High Point also has salads, side orders (fried macaroni and cheese, cheesy bread) and one or two Italian dishes (stuffed shells) along with beer, iced tea and soda.

There were two people working – the cashier/waitress and the pizza maker. Our waitress handed us Styrofoam cups for the water and a number to put on our table. We sat down to watch the Memphis-UTEP game and to try to keep the kidlets entertained. We hadn't planned too well and were forced to use straws, water cups and saltines. There was a tabletop version of Ms. Pacman (my all time favorite video game) but I was out of quarters and didn't feel like breaking a twenty.

The staff and handful of customers were amiable and didn't blink at the kidlets. There were high chairs, but we opted to just let them sit in the chairs. It took about twenty minutes for the pizza to come out, which is pretty standard for a place making pizza from scratch. If you've never had High Point's pizza, they make a thin crust with a not-too sweet red sauce. Their personal touch is to slather the top of the pizza with garlic butter.

The waitress/cashier brought us out plates with the pizza – and I wasn't sure if I should leave a tip. I had dropped tip money in the jar on the counter, but I wasn't sure if I needed to tip again. (Does anyone know the protocol on this?)

Because we are in the middle of the long road of potty training, the bathroom was utilized twice. The single-unisex bathrooms were clean, but not fancy.

My one complaint – it was really loud. (Some sort of fan or cooling system was running.)

I've heard great things about this pizza joint – friends of mine who live in High Point Terrace swear by the place and lots of regulars stopped by for takeout orders. There was another couple eating in with a young boy and they seemed right at home. It is a good, serviceable pizza place, but the pizza wasn't quite good enough to make it “our” place.

Editor's note: I'd say tipping at the jar is sufficient in this case.

Pearl's Oyster House

Courtney Santo, in addition to being the mom to two adorable kidlets, is the editor of the LampLighter and recently started Kids in Memphis, a website for urban parents. It's full of reviews of kid-friendly city spots and comprehensive lists of free events and attractions in Memphis.

Pearl’s Oyster House
299 S Main St
522-9070

Pearl’s Oyster House is quickly emerging as a hot, hip lunch spot for urbanites in Memphis – how would it handle two toddlers for lunch on Saturday. I was a little nervous, but swayed by my husband’s yummy review of the oyster po’boy he’d had there earlier this month. Plus we were hosting my mother-in-law and I wanted to impress her with some Memphis good eats.

The restaurant gets good marks for easy parking and modern style. Too many of Memphis’ classic restaurants are clinging to that 1950s charm and worn atmosphere. Additionally, when we walked in, I noticed at least three other tables with children. The hostess cheerily greeted us and tried to get my son to give her a high-five. He is currently sporting a Mohawk and is irresistible to women between the ages of 19 and 25.

She set us up at a table for four with a highchair squeezed in between my husband and my mother-in-law (which was great because it removed any responsibility I might have in keeping him entertained). We also got a seat right next to the front window, which turned out to be a great trolley watching spot (entertaining for my four-year-old).

Our waitress popped right over and got our drink orders – bringing water in Styrofoam, lidded containers for the kidlets. There is a children’s menu with most of the classics – including fried shrimp. (I didn’t take notes, but I think the kids’ menu was $5.99). I was on the verge of ordering a kids meal to split when I saw that side dishes were only $2. The vegetable of the day was green beans with bacon, which seemed equal to French fries, so I went ahead and ordered a side of fries and a side of mac and cheese.

The adults got po’boys (oyster, catfish and half shrimp/half oyster). With sides of fries and hush puppies. Then we waited. To keep my four-year-old entertained, I produced a pen from my purse and told her it was okay to draw on the paper tablecloth. We took pictures with the camera. We talked about how much fun the Mud Island River Park was and listened to her say Mississippi over and over and over again.

Our waitress, sensing our distress offered to bring out the kids sides before the adult food. I nodded eagerly. She also took that moment to tell my husband that the kitchen was out of hushpuppies. Flummoxed, he ordered boiled potatoes.

The fries have a seasoned batter on them and at first I was worried the kidlets wouldn’t eat them, but they quickly devoured their respective portions. The mac and cheese was good, made from scratch and better than the mac and cheese at Central BBQ. I ate most of it.

The adult food arrived shortly and we ridiculed my husband for getting boiled potatoes, even though they came with a huge caldron of drawn butter. The sandwiches were excellent and huge. My fries were cold, but everything was still good.

It wasn’t a bargain – but it wasn’t a rip-off either. I think our check for three adults and two children was around $45. I was impressed by the service and friendly attitude of everyone toward the kidlets. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try Pearl’s for dinner, but it is a great place to go if you are downtown for lunch. And for Stacey – the bathrooms were easy to get to, nearly spotless and had changing tables.

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).