Porcellino's Craft Butcher

Ed. Note: I went back for breakfast with a friend, and while I still think dinner is more exciting, the Baby Dutch Pancakes are a must try!!

Porcellino's Craft Butcher
711 W Brookhaven Circle
(901) 762-6656



Let me start by saying that I went to Porcellino's for dinner in February with a friend and was blown away by the awesomeness. I am a huge fan of Andy & Michael and love, love, love Hog & Hominy and Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen.

The cocktail list at Porcellino's is top notch.



The menu itself features such delicacies as dumplings made with collard greens and pork belly.





And in addition to that, just when you think you can't eat any more, a cart comes by with delicious daily specials.



So, please keep all of that in mind when I say that when I took the monkeys (Satchel, 12, and Jiro, 10) to breakfast at Porcellino's over Spring Break it was a little blah.

We arrived at about 8:30am and it was pretty dead--maybe a table or two. I told the boys to look at the menu board and let me know what they wanted.



Jiro went with a croissant and the biscuit of the day which featured maple sausage, egg and cheese. Satchel, who was claiming not to be hungry, just wanted a plain biscuit. Our friend, Pavel, ordered a chocolate croissant. I am a big fan of bruleed grapefruit and granola & yogurt, but decided to get the pimento cheese gougeres. And coffee.



I placed the order and sent the boys to sit down. In terms of iced coffee I had a couple of options--a cold brew and something with nitrogen. Since I wanted to add milk, the waitress advised going with the cold brew.

Major thumbs up on the coffee.



Our total was $28.95 plus tip.

The boys took a seat in the window, which I don't blame them, but I requested that we move to a table.




We had a number and soon our food came out. That's when we realized we should have grabbed water and silverware from the nearby station.




Satchel's biscuit was nice & fluffy.



Jiro's was a little more exciting, but I was surprised by the teeny tiny sausage patty. We were in a butcher shop after all!



I have seen numerous people post pictures of their biscuits on Facebook with comments like "OMGYUM," but I'd say ho hum.

Chocolate croissant looked like what you'd expect. Pavel asked for a second one so it must have been good.



The gougeres were cheesy and nice. The kids wanted nothing to do with them.



So yeah. It was ok. I hear the lunch is equally unexciting. Maybe they really want to focus on the butcher shop during the day? Or maybe they need all day to prep for the awesome dinner items? That's cool, albeit a little disappointing for the Andy/Michael empire. You heard it here: dinner is where it is at.

Porcellino's is Project Green Fork certified.

Robata Ramen & Yakitori Bar

Robata Ramen & Yakitori Bar
2116 Madison
901-410-8290

First off, Robata is adorable.



The inside is very cozy and would be a great place to go on a date or even sit at the bar.



We were super excited about it opening, so I really have no idea why it took us so long to try it. Last week, on snow day #3, I thought it might be nice to get Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 12, and Jiro, 10) out of Warren's house. (I'd been going to work all week so I was not suffering from cabin fever.)

It smelled great and was packed. We were able to be seated right away though. Our waiter came right over and we ordered drinks--waters all around and happy hour sake for Warren. The water pitcher was a re-purposed St. Germaine bottle. (Robata is Project Green Fork certified, so I am guessing this is one of their extra steps.)



We studied the menu trying to make up our minds. I had even looked online before inviting the boys and I was still unsure. Jiro actually settled pretty quickly on a rice bowl with fried chicken -- kara-age don. I tried to talk Satchel into the build your own ramen bowl, but he resisted. He decided on the bbq pork don, which is a rice bowl with, you guessed it, bbq pork. Warren also opted for a rice dish--the takana yaki meshi. I decided to get a few appetizers to share. They were out of gyoza, so the waiter recommended shumai. I also ordered the Robata wings and the tuna poke.

The monkeys' rice bowls came out almost immediately and they dug right in.




A few minutes later, Warren's came out. He was surprised to see that it was more like fried rice than the kids' rice bowls.



Next up were the chicken wings.



Satchel, our resident chicken wing fiend turned his nose up at them because of the sesame seeds. The rest of us ate them and thought they were just ok.

The tuna poke had a nice presentation--the women next to us even asked me what it was.



There was actually quite a bit of tuna packed in the martini glass. Overall, again, I thought it was just ok. I didn't like the sauce and it was generally bland.

The waiter came to check on us and I let him know we were still waiting on the shumai. It eventually came out and the monkeys and I each grabbed one and took a big bite.



Unfortunately the inside was cold and they were not at all appetizing. I let the waiter know and he got us a new order that came out hot. They tasted much better! But now knowing they are a pre-ordered frozen item, I doubt I'll get them again. I can probably buy them myself at the Asian market.

So, we were all done eating and I was unsatisfied. I felt like we ordered all wrong. I mean they don't call it a ramen and yakitori bar for nothing! So I ordered a customized ramen with pork and tofu for everyone to share.



Soon the table was filled with happy slurping sounds and cries of, "Why didn't we get ramen in the first place!?"



We'll be back. And we'll start with the ramen.

Warren wants to go on a weekend so he can try the Japanese curry.

Buon Cibo (Hernando, MS)

Buon Cibo
Highland Court Shopping Center 
2631 McIngvale Road
Hernando, MS 662.469.9481

I've been obsessed with Buon Cibo since May. Since it is in Hernando, I have to keep my obsession in check. 

On Saturday, I finally had a chance to drag Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 11, and Jiro, 9) to Mississippi for lunch. The drive from Midtown took about 20-25 minutes and was quite pleasant. It gave us a chance to talk about what's been going on at school, that time Warren got his wisdom teeth removed, and that time the monkeys went to a birthday party at Chuck. E. Cheese.

Buon Cibo is in a nondescript strip mall just off the expressway.



It's an order at the counter type place, and the menu is on the wall nice & big (and a little slanted). The other walls are filled with Lamar Sorrento paintings so it has a bit of a Memphis feel to it.



As you may or may not be able to see, they have a pretty decent selection of sandwiches, salads, soups, and pizzas. (On Tuesday and Thursday they serve burgers at lunch--which have been given the Best Memphis Burger seal of approval, and the weekend dinner menu offers some fancier entrees.)

I was worried that the choices would be overwhelming, but everyone was hungry and decided what they wanted in record time. Not surprisingly, everyone ordered pizza, which comes in one size. (The exception being the kids pizza which is slightly smaller and only available in cheese and pepperoni.) Satchel also wanted a bowl of soup, and I invited Warren to share a salad with me.

The kids meal options are pretty impressive, and a good size pizza with a side of chips or fruit is only $4.50. Kid drinks are $1.00.

The monkeys got drinks, Warren and I did not. Our total was $38.70 plus tip.



We filled up our cups and took a seat in a nearby booth. "How will they know where we are?" Warren asked. I explained that the cashier took my name and that they would walk around with the food and call out my name until they found us.

At the table, Satchel added lemon to his drink, which I assumed was Coke, but he said it was Dr. Pepper. Ew? He likes to add lemon to pretty much everything.



Jiro decided to drink his drink in an unusual fashion as well.



Both monkeys were starved and a little jacked up. When Satchel attempted to loosen the top on the red pepper flakes so that it would fall out on someone's food, I had to call Uncle. On my previous visits the servcie had been pretty fast, but it was lagging a bit. I decided to go ask for the soup, salad, and fruit if possible. The girl was very pleasant and offered to bring them right over.

The large Ceasar salad was plenty for two.



The coconut chicken noodle soup was a hit. Warren was already plotting how to recreate it at home.



I thought the fruit looked good, and even included fresh pineapple, but neither monkey had much interest. (I never told them chips were an option.)



The pizzas came out soon after and both monkeys were thrilled. "It looks delicious" Satchel exclaimed right away.



Jiro took one bite of his pepperoni and said, "Try this!"



I swear he polished it off in about three minutes.



Satchel, who ordered a regular old cheese pizza, continued with the accolades,"This is totally worth the drive. They need to open one in Memphis."

I got the Itta Bena, which features buffalo chicken--my absolute favorite! It's so freaking good.



Warren got the Biloxi which features ham and pineapple--his absolute favorite. It also had pickled red onions and jalapeno.



We all really liked the crust at Buon Cibo and those first couple of pieces that are still piping hot when you eat them are the best.

Warren was the only person not to finish his food, which was fine, because I got to eat it later. We got a cute little box to go.



We all hit the restroom before leaving. I can report that there is a changing table in the handicapped stall in the women's room.

The only complaint I heard was that the napkins were too thin and fell apart.

Buon Cibo is closed on Sunday & Monday so plan ahead! They are also Project Green Fork certified (woot!).

Next Door

Next Door
937 South Cooper
901-278-0278

On Easter Sunday, Warren and I dragged to very cranky monkeys (Satchel, 10 and Jiro, 8) out to brunch. Since it was Easter and we had no reservations, we were a little afraid we'd end up at Denny's, but thankfully Next Door had room for us.



The monkeys wanted to sit at the bar, but I said no. I'm sure everyone at the bar was relieved by this decision. We picked a table right by the window. There were no other kids in the restaurant, although there were plenty at Sweet Grass. Next Door is more of a casual bar atmosphere, but there's no reason why children can't brunch there.



Jiro, who will be a bar regular someday I'm sure, asked, "What good drinks do they have?" On my previous visit with friends, I had tried several yummy cocktails, but Jiro was hoping more for a Fanta, Juarito, or Root Beer. He had to settle for a Sprite. The rest of us went with water.

Once the monkeys saw the menu, they perked up a bit. Jiro is always happy to eat a burger, but started off with, "I don't want anything." Then finally, "Ok, I'll have a burger." Satchel was all, "Ooh what's that shrimp thing?"



We decided to get several things to share. First up was the charcuterie plate. I thought the charcuterie and cheese plate was one thing, but they are separate. Satchel was intrigued. Jiro was completely disinterested.



Warren and I were thrilled. I ate at a pretty crazy place in New Orleans, called Root, and this was a reminder of the wild things I tried there. I really liked the sausage and pork rind with the jellies. The pate was a bit much for me. Warren seemed to like everything, and Satchel was pretty adventurous with his tasting. He took teeny tiny bites, but at least he tasted!

While we waited on our main dishes, Jiro kept us all deranged with his noisy straw sounds, bubbles, and generally disruptive behavior. I finally took his straw away, and he would have probably had a fit if the waiter hadn't simultaneously brought him a fresh drink with a new straw. We all ended up laughing over that. The food soon arrived and we busied ourselves eating it.

The burger normally comes with pimento cheese on top, but Jiro would have none of that. I requested it on the side.



The burger was very juicy and delicious, but quite messy. The dripping was a turn off to Jiro, so Satchel ate a quarter of it and Warren and I split the rest, with the yummy pimento cheese back on top where it belonged.

Our $5 side order of fries was insanely large.



They are cooked in duck fat, but we didn't tell the monkeys. I thought they'd snarf them down, but the largeness of the individual fries didn't appeal.

Satchel wasn't too happy with the shrimp and grits, due to their fanciness. I thought they were pretty tasty, but i doubt I'd get them again.



By far the most popular dish we tried was the chicken and waffles with bourbon maple syrup. (YUM!)



It was a very hearty serving and we ate every bite of it.

Our total bill was $68.83 before tip, which wasn't too bad considering brunch is a special occasion for us and we had quite a few leftovers. Had Warren and I hit the cocktails, we could have easily gone over $100.

Warren and I will definitely be back for the pimento cheese burger and chicken & waffles. And cocktails! I also want to try the fried green tomato BLT. I may take Satchel from time to time to taste the charcuterie.

Next Door is Project Green Fork certified.

We did not visit the restrooms. I am sure they are lovely, but I'd be surprised to see a changing table.

After our meal, we went to see the cats next door at the House of Mews. The monkeys loved that.