DWJ #2

DWJ #2
2156 Young Avenue
901-207-6204

I've had DWJ on my go to list for about two years. It's out in Southwind or some place far away, but supposedly has private karaoke rooms like in that movie with Bill Murray. Anyways, DWJ#2 opened up in the old Greencork space in Cooper-Young last Monday (9/12). On Wednesday, I told the monkeys (Satchel, 14 and Jiro, 12) that we were going to walk down for dinner. "How far is it?" Jiro whined. "Is it on Cooper?" asked Satchel.

We made it the three blocks without too much trauma, but you'd be surprised how hard it is for three people, two of them teenagers (ish), to share a sidewalk.



On our way there, I got a text from Warren about dropping off the kids' bag, so I ended up inviting him to join us.



Inside the restaurant was very nice and full of Cooper-Youngians. There weren't any karaoke rooms that I could see. I guess Mulan kinda has a corner on that market in Cooper-Young. (Literally! Ha!)

We tackled the menu while we waited on Warren.




I asked the waitress for help decoding, but she said it was her first day. So, she sent out the manager. Or maybe the chef? Anyways, he wasn't too much help either, but he did make some suggestions. I asked about cooking at the table, and he said it was for three or more and sort of guided us towards letting the kitchen do the cooking. That was fine by me.

"Mom, you need to up your Korean game," Satchel advised.

When the waitress came back, I ordered a couple of appetizers since Warren still hadn't made it. I decided on the Goonmandu, which is a tofu based dumpling, and the Kimbap, which is a Korean version of sushi. Each was $10.

Warren finally arrived and it became clear that we had a celebrity in our midst. Or that Warren had a jump on his Halloween costume.





When we finally stopped laughing, we put in the rest of our order. And laughed some more.

Then came the apps. The dumplings were really good. They tasted more meaty than tofu-y.



The monkeys were a little spooked by the green onions, so Warren and I ate most of them.

The Kimbap was also quite delicious. (I had seen it on someone else's table, otherwise I might never have ordered it.)



The monkeys liked it too, but both poked out the pickled daikon and cucumber.

We had a lively conversation about bullying at school and in general all enjoyed each other's company while we waited for the rest of the food. It was weird! But obviously good weird.

Honestly, I was pretty much full at this point. But I took one for the team and kept eating!

My Dolsot Bibimbap ($11.00) was super pretty.



It was lacking a little umami, or something. I don't usually get it with tofu, so maybe that was it? I needed to add a lot of hot sauce and I wished the egg wasn't all the way cooked when it came out. It was good, but not as good as Kwik Check.

Warren got the Donkatsu ($12.00), which is close to his standard pork tonkatsu that he always orders at Japanese restaurants. He also got a .50 side of kimchi.



He liked it and had to keep Satchel from stealing most of it. I thought Satchel's Daeji Bulgogi ($14.00) was the best. It was spicy and full of flavor.



Jiro's Chadolbaki ($14.00) was a bit of a zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, but perfect for someone who doesn't like spice, I suppose.



When we were all done, the waitress brought our check and a little present for each of us. Awww...



Inside there was some candy and a little charm. We told the monkeys to save them for their girlfriends. (They don't have girlfriends. So, you know, it was hilarious.)



Our total was $78.11 plus tip, which was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than I set out to spend on dinner on a Wednesday night. But, we did order waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much food. Next time, we keep ourselves in check.

Crazy Noodle

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.

Asiana Garden

Asiana Garden
5992 Mount Moriah Rd
795-6147

Asiana Garden has been open for about twenty years. I remember going with my dad and again with my friend's parents when I was in college. I have no idea why it took me so long to go back! It's just one of those places that we always drive by, say we should go to, but then never do.

Warren and I were trying to think of a good restaurant to go to before seeing The Last Airbender last Thursday with the monkeys (Satchel, 8, and Jiro, 6), and it finally seemed like the perfect time to go to Asiana Garden. 1. It isn't too far from the Paradiso and 2. We like to eat Asian food all the time, but especially before movies featuring Asia, anime, etc. The monkeys only cared about the movie and begged to skip dinner.


Inside, we had the choice of sitting at a regular table, or at a table with a small grill in the middle where we could cook our own dinner. We of course chose the latter. The nice waitress brought waters and menus right over. I noticed a wall of photos and went to look at them before ordering. Back at the table, I reported that the dumplings looked really good. We also agreed to get the spicy Korean pork to cook at the table, and I couldn't resist the Bi Bim Bop. I asked our waitress if the spicy pork would be too spicy for the kids and she said yes, and recommended the Korean beef instead. Once we had ordered everything, I asked if we had ordered enough and she suggested maybe getting one more dish. So we added the spicy pork back on! (Tip: don't ever ask the waitress, who might also be the owner, if she thinks you've ordered enough food!)

The waitress soon rolled it a cart full of food. The spicy pork and Korean beef came with a multitude of sides including rice, spicy pickles, kim chi, shaved daikon, squid, miso paste, and romaine lettuce leaves each on their own plate. It was immediately clear that we'd come to the right place! (Most meals at home involve multiple small plates and dishes.) The monkeys tore into the rice and would occasionally agree to taste something Warren held out to them on a fork. (The squid and shaved daikon were approved by the monkeys.)


While the meat cooked, we feasted on the items in the little bowls, and on the super hot dumplings. They had pork and cabbage inside and came with a soy and chili dipping sauce. Satchel ate one and Jiro ate half of one.


My Bi Bim Bop also came out nice and fast. I liked the addition of seaweed on top. My favorite part is the crispy bits of rice that cook onto the bottom of the bowl. (This comes out super hot, you pour spicy sauce on top, and then mix everything together.)


Every so often the waitress or another young waiter would come over and check on the meat. When they cut it with scissors, we knew we were getting close to chow time.


Warren liked making little Asian tacos with the accoutrements. Our waitress instructed us to eat the meat on the lettuce. "It's tastier that way," she said.


Satchel and Jiro both loved the food and getting to see it cook. Satchel was freezing, as usual, and the warmth of the grill warmed him up. It was sunken in the table so there was no danger of getting burned, but a few years ago when the monkeys were a bit wilder, I probably would have opted for a regular table. (They can cook the meat in the kitchen and bring it out.) They also offer a portable grill option. I didn't see that, so I don't know if it would be safer or more dangerous.

There were a lot of families dining when we were there. Most notable was the fact that the customers were from many different cultures. We saw hispanics, Asians, and Indians. I'd say that's a pretty good sign of the quality of the food and service.


Satchel pointed out that there wasn't a single candy/gum/toy machine by the front door. I consider that a plus. A quick trip to the bathroom revealed it to be very nice, but no changing table. Our multiple leftovers were put into two styrofoam boxes.

Our total was $52, which was definitely more than we had planned on spending, but again, we over-ordered. We could have easily skipped the Bi Bim Bop and the dumplings and still had plenty to eat.

Kwik Check

Kwik Check
2013 Madison Ave
274-9293

Sunday evening we decided to take the monkeys (Satchel, 7, and Jiro, 5) to see Alice in Wonderland at Studio on the Square. We didn't have much time to squeeze in dinner, so I started running through the nearby restaurants in my mind to figure out which one might be fast enough for us to eat dinner in less than a hour. I had a hankering for Bosco's and I think they could have had us in and out pretty quick, but Warren balked.

So I suggested Kwik Check. "Is there even anywhere to sit?" Warren balked again. I explained that they had recently absorbed the Petra Cafe and that I thought they probably added seating. (I didn't know for sure, but figured the pre-existing counter would be just fine.) Warren loves Kwik Check, so he had a hard time saying no. He did wonder what we'd feed the monkeys, as did I, but I assured him I'd find something for them to eat. Kwik Check would also have the added bonus of selling candy, which we planned to sneak into the movie. (Shhh!)


We arrived to find the store completely remodeled. Ok, not completely, but gone is the bulk of the convenience store. There's beer, chips, drinks, and cigs and that's about it. Everything else is seating. I can only assume they brought in the tables from Petra. There were only a few other people in the store, so I felt pretty good about our chances of making the opening credits.

Now the hurdle with eating at a convenience store with monkeys is the aforementioned drinks and chips. I don't fight this. I just let them get what they want. They of course pick crap, but man, it sure does make them happy! While the monkeys giddily ran through the store picking out Cheetos, Pringles, Hawaiian Punch, and Coke (!!), Warren and I examined the new menu. It took about 2 seconds for me to decide on Bi Bim Bop (my favorite from Petra) and Warren needed .5 seconds to decide on a gyro, which is what he always always orders.

I scanned the sandwiches but didn't see anything the kids would like, and there was no burger option, so I went with the beef shish kebabs. I assumed it would be big enough for them to split and hoped it would come with rice. (I could have confirmed that, but what fun would that be?) I also lingered at the grab and go cooler for a minute. There were some fruit cups, but I figured the kids would be hard pressed to eat melon between bites of chips. I couldn't resist getting some pork dumplings though.

I'm not sure what the standard process is for paying when you eat in the store, so I just went to the check out with the various extras we picked up and told the guy what we ordered at the deli counter. This seemed to be acceptable. He did ask if I wanted to heat up the dumplings. I said sure and he then pointed me back to the deli counter. However, Warren pointed out a microwave near our table, so I just used that.

While waiting for the food, the monkeys decided that they desperately needed Tic-Tacs for the movie. I told them to pick out their flavor, set them on the table, and that I would give them money once they made a happy plate. Meanwhile, Warren and I started on the dumplings, which were really good despite being re-heated. After a few bites, I glanced over at the monkeys and noticed how incredibly dirty their hands were. (We'd been on a bike ride and in the yard prior to dinner.)

"I've got bad news for you," I said to them. Their faces dropped. "What?" they asked. "You're going to have to wash your hands." [Insert whining here.] Seriously, washing hands and all other basic hygiene are such a major inconvenience to these two. I marched them over to where I assumed the bathrooms were and was pleased to see that there was a sink outside the doors so that we did not have to enter the restroom. (Although I did half-heartedly ask if anyone needed to use the bathroom. I'm just going to assume that they are standard convenience store quality bathrooms. If you know otherwise, please leave a comment.

While washing, I noticed that there's actually a little tiny patio out back. There were two people sitting out there who did not appear to be employees, but they didn't appear to be customers either. They just seemed to be hanging out, and possibly smoking. Frankly, it looked like fun.

Once the monkeys' hands were clean we headed back to the table. Warren informed me that the woman came over and told him that next time we should order dumplings from her and she'll bring them out hot. Ah, yes, that makes better sense than what I did.

About two seconds later our food came out. My Bi Bim Bop was still sizzling and the woman warned me that my bowl was hot. Similarly, they monkeys' shish kebabs came out on a sizzling platter and she warned them of its hotness. The shish kebab meat was not on a stick like I had imagined, rather it was served on top of white rice. This was perfect. Both monkeys were eager to dig in. The plate was a little closer to Satchel so he got the first bite. I directed Warren to push the plate closer to Jiro just as Jiro was going in for his first bite, which resulted in Jiro burning his finger on the sizzling platter. (The woman had brought two small plates for the kids to use, but they didn't wait for me to divvy up the food.)

Jiro immediately burst into tears and cried, "Daddy burned me!" I tried to assess the situation and calm him down before everyone in the place came over. I asked Jiro if he wanted to run cold water on his fingers and he said yes, so we went back to the sink. The guy behind the counter came over to see the damage and suggested putting Vaseline on the burn. (I think "burn" is an overstatement really as I didn't actually see a mark.)

The Vaseline seemed to appease Jiro and we went back to the table. Luckily Satchel hadn't eaten all of their food and I was able to separate it onto plates for them. Warren was halfway through his gyro and was greedily eying my Bi Bim Bop. I can't blame him. It is a very eye catching dish. It's also totally delicious. I think minus the kim chi sauce (or whatever the red stuff is) and the onion, I could get the monkeys to eat it. I would however, not let them near it until the bowl cooled off. I ate most of it and left a few good spoonfuls for Warren. The monkeys did a great job on their dinner and only left a few spoonfuls for Warren too.

The woman behind the counter came to check on Jiro and make sure he was okay, which was nice, and I assured her that he wasn't permanently damaged in any way and that we had thoroughly enjoyed our food.

Since we had ended up getting quite a bit of assistance during our meal, Warren asked if we should leave a tip. I said sure, and we did (about 10%), but I wish I actually knew what the tipping rule is in this situation. (Anyone know?)

I gave the monkeys money to pay for the Tic-Tacs. Warren and I laughed about how they act so shy sometimes. The actual going to the register and handing money to the cashier was very hard for them, but they managed to complete the transaction thanks to the cashier's outgoing and helpful demeanor.

When everyone was done, we still had twenty minutes before the movie started. Warren suggested we go to Rite Aid and get a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar, which I thought was a great idea.