Bounty on Broad

Bounty on Broad
2519 Broad Avenue
410-8131

I've tried to go to Bounty a few times, but the Wed-Sat schedule made it a bit challenging. When I heard they were doing brunch on Sundays, it was ON. Despite a two day Halloween hangover, I brought the monkeys (Satchel, 12, and Jiro, 10) and Warren along.



Bounty is beautiful and a wonderful addition to my beloved Broad Avenue. I love the outside and the inside. We were seated downstairs near the kitchen. (I didn't make it upstairs!) At some point, in addition to the downstairs seating, there is going to be a butcher shop.



Our waiter, Tom, was super nice and pleasantly hipsterish. He brought menus and got everyone drinks. Jiro wanted lemonade, but settled for iced tea. Satchel wanted coffee like Warren and I, but settled for decaf. I kind of love that he thinks he's mature enough to drink coffee.



Since the bar was upstairs, Warren didn't realize he could have gotten a Bloody Mary until he saw the people next to us get one. Oh well.

The brunch food menu looked great.



Tom explained that everything is served family style. Then we had to have a discussion about what that actually meant to each of us. I broke it down and said, "It's like when we go eat Chinese food and everything comes on a big plate and we share." The monkeys do not like to share.

Tom made a few suggestions, which we took, and everyone placed their order.

For an appetizer, we had the avocado deviled eggs with house smoked bacon. Tom told us it was a whimsical take on "Green Eggs & Ham." It was a hit. Well it was a hit with the three of us who tried them! Jiro abstained.



We arrived right at 11am, when they opened, and by 11:30am, I'd say it was a full house. I saw children of all ages, and I have seen Bounty specifically say "children welcome" on their Facebook page. (The owners and the chef have young children!)

Soon the rest of the food arrived, and it all looked great. Jiro's choice was the cheese fries with country ham, scallion cream, and fried egg. (Somehow country ham is always involved in brunch!)



When he tried to grab some of the egg, the yoke spilled out and he exclaimed, "Mom! They forgot to cook the egg!" I calmly explained that it was supposed to be like that and it was ok. I probably should have had them fry it over hard, but the runny yoke is probably the only reason Jiro agreed to share with anyone, so that was a win.

Satchel chose the grilled hangar steak with brussels sprouts, mushrooms and balsamic reduction.



He really, really did not want to share, but was forced to. He could have easily eaten the whole thing.

I chose the catfish with arugula, artichokes and green tomato relish.



Satchel swiftly relocated all of the artichoke to his plate.

Warren went with the vegetable strata, which Tom explained had an English muffin as the base.



It was really yummy. Even Jiro had some of it.

But what really turned brunch into a party was dessert. Do not let Jiro's face fool you. He just wanted me to hurry up and take a picture so he could commence eating.



We tried two of the three dessert options--chocolate nirvana and banana bread. YUMMMMMMMMM.




On our way out, Jackson Kramer, the chef, poked his head out of the kitchen to say hello, which is always a nice touch.

Overall we were very impressed with Bounty. However, Bounty is not cheap. Our brunch rang in at $99 plus tip. (Credit cards only, in case any of you people still carry cash.) So, I will absolutely be back, but I will most likely leave the monkeys at home. Or maybe just bring one of them, as long as he promises to share.

Restaurant Iris

Restaurant Iris
2146 Monroe
901-590-2828

Let me preface this review with one thing. The beautiful mood lighting at Iris really limits what one can do with her sad iPhone 4, picture-wise.

Now, down to business.

A couple of weeks ago, the monkeys (Satchel, 11, and Jiro, 9) and I took my mom to Restaurant Iris for her 75th birthday. It was a pretty big deal as none of them had ever been before. My mom grew up in New Orleans so Iris is her kind of restaurant.



I really don't know who was more excited, Satchel or my mom. Satchel has always wanted to go to Iris. He's even gone so far as to recreate the building in Minecraft! Anyways, he actually said he was nervous as we walked up the steps!

We went on a Friday night, but we had a 5:30pm reservation. The monkeys are old enough to behave themselves (when they want to), but I'm sure most Iris diners don't want to see a kid anywhere near them on a Friday night.

When I made the reservation, I noted it was my mom's birthday, so they had our table covered with streamers and prepared a special menu. My mom was touched.



The kids were also impressed with the napkins, folded like fleur-de-lis.



Jiro's first question was, "Which fork?" Then, "How long is this going to take?" So, yes, he was a little less on cloud 9 than the rest of us, but he kept a smile on his face.

Tackling the menu was a bit rough. For me, because everything sounded good. For the kids, because they didn't know what anything was. "What's confit?" "What's moulard?" I did my best to answer their questions until our lovely waitress could break it down for us.

Once we ordered, they brought out a basket of fresh French bread that was a major hit.

Then out came the amuse bouche. (That was a fun concept to explain to the monkeys!) Official definition: a single, bite-sized hors d'œuvre. In this case a crostini with cream and blood orange caviar.



Satchel very bravely popped his in his mouth and quickly said, "That is delicious!" Jiro was very apprehensive, but tasted the teeny tiniest bit before giving it to me.

Admittedly we ordered way too many appetizers, and they all came out at once, along with the first course of Satchel's three course fixed prix meal. He just had to know what moulard was!



The rest of us noshed away on Rod Bailey’s raviolo with brown butter and mushrooms (YUM); a salad of brussels sprouts with Allen Benton’s bacon and sherry; and the lobster “knuckle sandwich” with tarragon and tomatoes.

Jiro declared these the best brussels sprouts he'd ever had. I'm sure the bacon helped.



I am a big fan of the lobster knuckle sandwich.



Jiro described it as "Kind of good."

My mom and I were really enjoying the monkeys' reactions. It was a hoot. The raviolo did not make it into a photo but it was stellar. The waitress alerted us to the fact that dipping bread in the sauce is a little slice of heaven.

Satchel polished off his moulard no problem. He said, "I'm spoiled now so the things I eat the next couple of days won't be good." Ha!

Jiro kept staring at the brussels sprout plate. "That appetizer was so good. I only like the brussels sprouts here," he said.

We easily could have, and probably should have, stopped eating then, but we still had entrees!

Out came the steak knives, and Satchel instructed us all to get our elbows off of the table. (Or maybe just me.)

The entrees at Iris are huge. Knowing this, I opted to split the “surf and turf ” of new york strip stuffed with fried oysters and blue cheese with Jiro. They brought it out on two plates and you'd never know it was half a serving! Jiro, of course, wasn't into the oysters or blue cheese, but he tore right through his steak!



My mom had the short ribs, which is what goes into the raviolo. She was quite pleased. They did not photograph well, but they were delicious.

Satchel's second course was a huge ribeye.



His ribeye was definitely bigger than his stomach!

I think it's fair to say we were all beyond stuffed and happy, but there was no way we were skipping dessert! In fact Jiro asked every minute or so, "Where is dessert menu?" It was cute. My mom was trying to pass on dessert, but I insisted she split something with me so she could at least blow out a candle!

We had the cheesecake, which wasn't like any other cheesecake I've ever had--it was so light and the crust was awesome. It was like a little pie. Of course, they made it look very festive for my mom.



Satchel's dessert was a pound cake, but not at all what you think of when someone says pound cake. It was almost like a molten lava brownie.



This is Satchel reporting, "This is literally the best dessert ever."



Jiro, who had been a very good sport all evening, was now 100% happy. He ordered cookies and ice cream--three flavors of homemade ice cream and four different cookies!



Before the last plate was cleared away, Satchel was aksing if we could come back to Iris on his birthday.

It really was a lovely meal. They made my mom feel super special, the service was great, and the monkeys couldn't have been cuter. I think I will totally suprise them with a quick appetizer and dessert dinner soon.

The Inn at Hunt Phelan

The Inn at Hunt Phelan
533 Beale St,
525-8225‎

On Mother's Day I had two requests: 1) Having brunch at Hunt Phelan and 2) seeing Star Trek. I made my requests a little late, so we ended up with a 2:30pm reservation. (Brunch normally runs from 11am-3pm.) This actually ended up being perfect since we (Team Oster plus my mom, my sister, and my neice) practically had the place to ourselves.

The innkeeper & chef, Stephen Hassinger, has two children who go to school with the monkeys (Satchel, 7, and Jiro, 5), and believe it or not, he cooks lunch for the whole school every day! (Yes, he's our Lunch Daddy.)

When we walked in, Stephen greeted us at the door and I told him how excited the monkeys were to finally eat at "Mr. Steve's restaurant." Of course the monkeys, pretending to be shy, were hiding behind Warren looking rather sheepish. "Their excitement is palpable," Stephen joked.

There were several happy families finishing up their meals and making their way out, so I definitely did not feel weird about bringing a troupe of monkeys to such a nice restaurant. (Unfortunately, it was a very cloudy and rainy day which kept us from getting to explore the lovely gardens in back or even sitting on the patio.)

We were seated in the main dining room and with just a few minor tweaks, got everyone next to who they wanted to be next to.


Satchel immediately started reading the menu. "I want eggs. And hashbrowns. And bacon!" he said. His cousin similarly started listing her demands. Jiro, who was exhausted from a sleepover the night before, put his head in my lap and said he didn't want anything. (Normally this would alarm me, but I knew he just needed some coaxing.)

Our very peppy waitress came over and introduced herself as Kathleen, but quickly added that if we didn't like the service, her name was Bernard. She was great and quickly got everyone's drink orders. The kids had either apple or orange juice, and the adults decided to live it up with one of the many $9 specialty beverages listed on the menu. I had my first ever Mint Julep, my sister had one too, my mom had a Bellini, and Warren had a Sazerac.

Next we had the great food debate. Everything sounded so enticing, I was glad that we had a big group. We all planned to taste each other's. In honor of my big day, I decided to order my first ever shrimp and grits (an appetizer) and the smothered beef brisket. (Although looking back I'm not sure how I passed up the crawfish omelet!) My mom ordered a pan roasted seabass, my sister the grits and grellades, and Warren the roasted red pepper, spinach, and smoked gouda quiche. Kathleen suggested breakfast samplers for the kids, which was great. Jiro insisted he only wanted eggs, and my niece also wanted a bagel with cream cheese.

One could easily spend a fortune on brunch--and we willingly did, but with a little planning and cooperation from the monkeys involved, you could have a lovely meal for a reasonable amount. (A la carte menu items for the kids are in the $2.50-$3.50 range. Appetizers range in price from $9-$14. Entrees are $15-$24.)

We had a lovely time chatting as we sipped our drinks and the monkeys were very well behaved. The food came out quickly and soon everyone was happily eating. The shrimp and grits was my favorite. I can't believe I waited so long to try it! (Although other versions I've had since, pale in comparison.) Overall, everyone seemed quite happy with their food. We all traded bites and there was hardly a crumb left when we were done.

The kids did get a little restless towards the end of the meal, so we sent them outside for just a bit between cloud bursts. My mom, who plans imaginary weddings as a hobby, went too and was thrilled to finally get a peek into the backyard.

Once we were paid up, Kathleen humored us and snapped a few photos in front of the fireplace. The only snafu we experienced was the toilet in the lady's room that was, uh, clogged, and dangerously close to overflowing. Despite that minor detail, we had a fabulous time and definitely plan to go back on a sunnier day.

(The Hunt Phelan also offers dinner Wednesday-Saturday 5-11pm and has ten beautiful guest rooms. It's also a great place to have a drink before heading downtown.)

Umai (Closed)

Umai
2015 Madison
405-4241

Umai is not a kids' restaurant. However, Ken Lumpkin, the chef/owner, has an eight-year-old son (who can sometimes be found helping out), and will not look at you in fear should you decide to bring your kid(s) to his restaurant. (He's even specifically invited a whole bunch of kids to his restaurant before!)

Located on Madison just east of Overton Square, Umai is a delightful, cozy restaurant unlike any other in Memphis. Specializing in French/Japanese fusion, it is one of a kind. The interior features an open kitchen with a long bar and a few adjacent tables, a small dining room, and a lovely patio. Umai recently started serving wine and is the only place I know of that has Miki Moto beer on tap.

The monkeys (Satchel, 7, and Jiro, 5) are big fans of Umai because they know Ken and his son, Kai. Satchel recently went to Umai with Kai (and his mom) on Kai's birthday and came home raving about the unagi hand rolls. In fact, he talked about them so much, Warren attempted to ease his craving by making some at home. This calmed him down a bit, but when I finally announced that we could eat dinner at Umai, he was overjoyed and immediately started licking his lips.

We went on a Thursday evening around 6:30pm. Warren was busy working in the garage/future "man cave," so I braved the (fine) dining with monkeys on my own. I was a little concerned about what Jiro was going to eat, so I broke one of my rules and let him bring his DSi in the event that he ended up with no food to keep him busy. Satchel was so excited about eating at Umai, he didn't even ask if he could bring his, which is unheard of. (They always ask and I always say no. Well, almost always.)

We walked in, greeted Ken, and took a seat in the small dining room. I noticed that Ken had recently installed a wine cooler and wine rack, and noted that it was a nice touch. There were a couple of other tables already seated. While I perused the menu, Satchel repeatedly told me that he wanted three unagi hand rolls and a crunchy crab roll.

The sushi at Umai is pretty sophisticated and the menu didn't actually list either of the two items Satchel wanted, nor something simple that Jiro might like. I turned to the regular menu and got distracted by tantalizing items that I wanted to eat. When the waitress came over, I asked her if Ken could do a repeat performance from Kai's birthday and make some unagi hand rolls and a crunchy crab roll. This didn't seem to be a problem at all. Then I ordered a spicy tuna roll and a my favorite roll with tuna, red pepper, and green apple as well as the Spicy Tuna Poke and a Romaine Salad with fresh fruit and a tomato lime, ginger vinaigrette. I planned to eat half of everything and take the rest to Warren. (Looking back, I should have ordered a grilled beef hanger steak with creamed potatoes or something else as a back up for Jiro.)

Satchel sat absolutely still with his hands in his lap and literally counted the seconds until his food arrived. Since Ken makes everything to order, we had a bit of a wait, but not too long. Every few minutes, Satchel would ask, "Where's my unagi hand rolls?"

The waitress brought out a few amuse bouches--complimentary appetite whetters. They were small spoonfuls of some savory stew. I found it quite yummy, but Satchel was hesitant. I picked out the beef bits and mushrooms for him and he liked those just fine. Jiro refused to even try his, so Satchel and I split it.

Next came my salad, which neither monkey had any interest in, but which I found quite pleasing--both visually and gastronomically. The fresh fruit was grapefruit and oranges, which I love. It was so pretty that I wanted to take a picture, but I soon realized that I didn't have my camera. (Doh!)

Next came the Spicy Tuna Poke, which also had a small salad. Satchel was getting impatient. "Where are my unagi hand rolls?" he asked me pleadingly. "They're coming," I assured him. Jiro was happily off in DSi-land. The poke was great, but definitely too spicy for the monkeys. It came with some fried crispies (some kind of bread or wonton wrapper) that Satchel sullenly munched on while waiting for his beloved unagi hand rolls.

When the sushi finally arrived, Satchel's eyes lit up. The unagi hand rolls contained two plump strips of unagi, thinly sliced avocado, and sushi rice rolled up in nori cone. I watched as Satchel popped each one into his mouth in one big bite and chewed with a big grin on his face. They were literally gone in less than a minute!

"What am I going to eat?" Jiro asked sadly. I pointed him to the crab roll, which is usually his favorite at other sushi places, but he didn't like something about the way it looked. (I think the real crab versus the crab stick threw him off!) Satchel too decided he did not want the crab roll. "Fine, more for me and Daddy!" I replied.

Exercising great restraint, I asked the waitress to box up all of the leftovers, and we paid our check without incident. It was probably the best I have ever seen the monkeys behave in public. It was weird! Too bad Umai is a bit pricey, barring us from more frequent visits. (Hint: Sunday brunch might be a more affordable way to give Umai a try. And, you can get Umai sushi to go at Miss Cordelia's!)

On the way home, I stopped at Sonic where Jiro and Satchel both pigged out. (Warren also requested a chocolate malt to go with his leftovers.)