Hattie B's

Hattie B's
596 Cooper
901-424-5900

Good news: Peak Hattie's has ended. That means you can go pretty much anytime and not wait in line. However, Jiro (age 14) wanted to go for his birthday at the end of April, so we had to brave it. (On a Saturday afternoon, no less.)



I've actually taken both monkeys to the Hattie B's in Nashville but neither remembers. (I've also taken them to Prince's in Nashville, but that was a looong time ago so I didn't expect them to remember that either. I made Jiro read that review while we waited in line. It was fun to see his reaction.)

Anyway, Jiro and Satchel would eat chicken every day if I let them so, Hattie B's just a few blocks from our house was an absolute must try.



I asked Jiro to time how long we were in line for the record, and it ended up being about 25 minutes. It really wasn't too bad. We knew a couple of people in line (Hi, Mark & Kelly!), and once we got inside we set about examining the menu offerings to pass the time.




By then I was pretty much just eying the beer selection (lots of local options), but I did hone in on the chicken eventually. Satchel (age 16) was at work, but had requested that we bring something home for him, so I decided to get the large white plate (medium) which seemed like a pretty great deal. Jiro immediately settled on the wings (mild) but asked if he could have an extra one as well. I figured between the two of us, we'd save enough for Satchel. Jiro got the fries on the side and the greens (!!). He actually said, "I should probably get a vegetable, huh?" Just for variety, I got a side of black eyed peas and a side of pimento mac and cheese. With my Tiny Bomb and a lemonade for Jiro, our total was $35.22.



We took a seat on the patio along the railing. It was quite lovely, and also fairly amusing to watch people drive by and scope out the line (which definitely was definitely growing).

The food came out before I could finish my beer, about ten to fifteen minutes. It looked great. Mine was clearly more than I would ever eat, and maybe my first experience with a breast wing quarter.



The sides were good, but nothing spectacular.



I was a little jealous of Jiro's wings. And fries.

He shared.

I couldn't tell a big difference between the medium and the mild, and definitely think I could handle the hot. All of the chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Many paper towels were needed.

The underlying bread, once soaked with sauce and grease, is really fantastic. (If I was the boss at Hattie's, I'd offer a big salad with hot chicken tenders and croutons made from sauce soaked bread.)

Speaking of, I do want to try the tenders, and I suppose I could get some to go and meet up with a bunch of kale, but maybe that's silly. I also want to try the sandwich. I'll happily go back and eat chicken, drink beer, and sit on the patio.

Jiro has already been back with his school buddies.

Satchel liked his leftovers, but says he'd just get everything plain. WHATEVER, KID.



I really like the mix of people at Hattie's. It's a good reflection of our city's demographics. You don't see that everywhere and it was nice to see at Hattie's. That's right, Nashville hot chicken is bringing Memphians together!

Go see for yourself.

Soul Fish (Midtown)

Soul Fish Cafe
862 S Cooper St.
(901) 725-0722

Thanks to a vegetarian friend, I have rediscovered Soul Fish of late. I know that sounds weird since they specialize in catfish, but they have a great veggie plate. I am in love with the fried okras. (I also know that it is just okra, but I like saying okras.)

When they fixed it up and added an amazing patio, well I just couldn't be happier.

I seriously forced Jiro to walk over with me last week for dinner. Satchel refused to leave his room. This is my life.

This is actually Jiro being funny. Once we got there he was delightful.



We sat on the patio, and I had a delicious pint of Lucid Kolsch (something I can't do when I go for lunch).



Jiro got us an order of fried pickles to snack on. Whoa, I had no idea how good they were.



Then we both had a hard time deciding what else to get. For whatever reason, I strayed from my usual veggie plate with the okras, broccoli and mashed potatoes and ordered a salad. Just as weird, Jiro went with chicken tacos.



I enjoyed my beer, the breeze and Jiro's company while we waited on our food. It was a perfect night to sit outside. We saw several of our CY neighbors doing the same.

My salad was just fine, but I missed my okras.



Jiro questioned whether Soul Fish knew what a taco is, since he was clearly given two burritos. (I made him get broccoli since we pounded down the pickles.)



We got some chicken wings and mashed potatoes to take home to Satchel, because we are nice. (Had the waitress told me they came with fries, I would have passed on the taters.) Both Jiro and I had a wing when we got back to the apartment, you know, just to make sure they were good. They were. Jiro lamented not ordering them for himself. And Satchel has asked me to go back and get him more at least twice in the last week.

And I returned just two days later to get my okras.

I think you can count on seeing some or all of us there quite a bit.

(FYI--the new inside is quite nice too. I'm told that it is nearly identical to the one out east.)

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.

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

Andria reviewed Gus's Bartlett location six years ago, so I figured it was safe to talk about the "new" East Memphis spot.

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
730 S Mendenhall Rd.
(901) 767-2323

A friend's mom once said, "If you want to be thin, you have to give up fried chicken and donuts." Wiser words were never spoken, or ignored more often. Last Saturday we not only went to Gibson's for a post-soccer donut, we immediately followed it up with fried chicken at Gus's. (Staring at the building through Gibson's window made it hard to resist!)



The building is free standing (read: not in a strip mall like the Bartlett version) and even has a cute little patio.



There is not a lot of parking, but we managed to park two cars on the street without any problems. (Warren and I have to divide and conquer on soccer days.) I noticed the Gus's hearse parked near by. I assume it is for catering?



Warren was worried that there was going to be a long wait for a table, but we got a table right away. (The restaurant was about 95% full.) It typically takes awhile for the food to come out too, at least downtown & in Bartlett where we have dined in the past, but we were not so worried about that having already fortified ourselves with donuts.

The last time we went to Gus's downtown, it wasn't a hit with the monkeys (Satchel, 10, and Jiro, 8). They were too young to like anything spicy. Now, Satchel is a hot wing/spicy anything lover and when I mentioned they also sold fried pickles, we couldn't get to the restaurant fast enough.

I haven't been downtown recently enough to know if the menu is the same (it seems quite different from Bartlett based on Andria's review) and I haven't been out to Collierville's location, but it seems pretty basic. My understanding is that downtown, East Memphis, and Collierville are all owned by the same people so I would guess they all share this menu.




Look closely. They have 40 oz beers on the menu!

Our server was awesome and came over right away for drink orders. We went with waters all around since we came in with high amounts sugar already coursing through our veins. We went ahead and ordered the fried pickles so Satchel would stop licking his lips and making slurpy noises. There was some discussion about whether the order of pickles would be big enough to share, but thankfully the waiter said, "Let's start with one and see how you do." It was plenty big to share. Satchel wasted no time stuffing his face.



For our meals, we ordered "light" which was good since the food came out really fast. Satchel, of course, had an order of three wings.



Due to the earlier donuts and pickles, he only ate one. But as you can see, he comes from the Warren Oster school of cleaning chicken to the bone. (Jiro comes from the Stacey Greenberg school of eating as much as you can without looking greedy.) We could have ordered him just one wing, but that seemed silly.



We ordered Jiro the two drummy kids meal with fries which also landed him a free soft drink. Sneaky.



Jiro only took one bite before declaring his chicken too spicy. I was surprised since I didn't think mine was very spicy. I took a bite and his was actually much spicier than mine. So he just ate the french fries, which suited him just fine.

I had a 2 piece white meat snack with a side of fries. It was yum.



Warren had a 2 piece dark meat snack with a side of collard greens. He was very happy.



Our bill came to $28.41 (plus tip) and we had a styrofoam box of chicken, fries, and white bread to take home for later. Gus's is definitely rocking out on the styrofoam.

All in all it was a great lunch, which is bad, because now I will have to field requests for fried chicken on a regular basis.

By the time we got home, both Warren and I were regretting the gluttony and retired to the bedroom for a nap. The kids seemed fine. The leftovers were gone by morning.

The Grille/Home Style Taco Shack

The Grille
3035 Lamar Avenue
744-7458

I'm on the Southern Tastes panel for the Commercial Appeal. Every week we get asked a question and our answers are printed in the paper. This week they asked us which street in Memphis is the tastiest. Not surprisingly a lot of us answered Summer Avenue.

Last night, Warren and I decided to try a couple of places on Lamar. We really want Lamar to be the home of hidden jewels like Summer, but it always falls short. Everything is fried, greasy, or otherwise unhealthy.

We had high hopes for The Grille, which grills everything--namely chicken.




It looks a little like a sno cone stand. I thought we'd have to order outside and get it to go, but there is a little room inside with chairs and a counter. However, it did seem like it was more for waiting than for eating.



There was actually a children's book on the counter, so the monkeys (Jiro, 8 and Satchel, 10) kept busy.

Ordering was a bit of a clusterf*ck since I am always trying to figure out THE best thing on the menu and Warren is naturally indecisive. He kept asking what I was getting, but I didn't know, and it made it hard for him to make up his mind. Thankfully the kids knew exactly what they wanted. Chicken on a stick with fries for Jiro and hot wings for Satchel. Warren ultimately got a stick/wing combo with okra and I ordered the catfish. Only they were out of catfish. So I just ordered grilled corn.

Here's a peek at the menu, which is posted on the wall.



While we waited on the food, I did a little snooping. I love the scene out back:



I also checked out the restroom, which was small but clean. And despite assuming this was a cash only place, they do take cards.

Now, for the food. We didn't actually eat it until we got home, and we had a small detour, which I will tell you about in a second, so the fries required a little crisping up in the toaster oven. Also the corn, which I envisioned as grilled and delicious, was half an ear, probably previously frozen, and boiled. I didn't even take a picture of it.

The chicken is clearly the star at The Grille. Each chicken on a stick is an entire boneless breast.



The wings are full wings.



Here's the stick/wing combo. (It came with fries, so Satchel's wings actually had Warren's okra order for those of you with close reading skills.)



The most curious thing, or maybe not since everything is grilled, is that the sauce comes on the side. When we ordered there wasn't any real concern over whether we wanted hot, mild, honey, etc. We all just got the same sauce, which I'm afraid is probably from a bottle. (If it isn't, then imagine what bottled sauce typically tastes like and then you'll have an idea of what they serve.)

Anyways, the chicken is tasty. Not sure it's tasty enough to warrant another trip to The Grille, but it wasn't a wasted trip. Our total was $23.00. There is a tip jar for the cooks, and apparently they have a second location in Collierville.

Ok, so...as we were driving home down Lamar we spotted another interesting looking place called the Home Style Taco Shack. Since I hadn't actually ordered a meal at The Grille I convinced Warren to make a U-turn for a taco.



Seriously awesome, right? The door is for employees only. You do stand at this window and they send the food out of the little drop box like at the pharmacist. Hilarious.

There are two old style booths on the sidewalk for waiting/outdoor dining. They looked ripped straight from an old McDonald's. There were people in them so I didn't want to be too rude and take a picture.

The family waited in the car while I perused the menu.



Don't ask me why, but I ordered fish tacos. They said they were grilled! I was intrigued. I was told I could get the combo with fries, but when I said I didn't want fries she said I could have spinach rice and beans. Spinach rice? Ok, I'll try it.

I waited. And waited. And waited. And regretted this pit stop. Then, my food, which is made to order, was ready. The lady gave me a free Big K soda for my trouble, which was nice.

Intrigued I popped open my styro clamshell in the car.



Satchel, who was now starving in the backseat, lunged at me and said, "Can I have your beans?"

I guess they smelled good to him. And clearly spinach rice is actually Spanish rice. I took another photo of the tacos unwrapped but it is blurry. They basically consisted of a corn tortilla, fried cod patty (formerly frozen) and some slaw. They were ok. They were not grilled though as advertised. And they were not catfish, which is what I was told when ordering.

Warren was all, "Why on earth would you order fish tacos?"

I know, right?

So there you have it. The latest installment of adventures on Lamar Avenue. Kind of a fail.

Lambert's Cafe (Sikeston, MO)

Lambert's Cafe
2305 E Malone Ave Map.57a80d9
Sikeston, MO 63801
(573) 471-4261

On our way back from St. Louis (in July!) we decided to stop at Lambert's Cafe. I'd been with my soccer team while in college, but for whatever reason, Warren and the boys had never had the chance to have a roll thrown at them. Since it was a Tuesday, we figured it would be safe to go to this most touristy of stops.



Lambert's is HUGE. It was clearly built for crowds. There's a humongous waiting area, enormous patio, and gargantuan arcade.




So if you had to wait it wouldn't be the worst thing ever. We, however, didn't have to wait. Well, Warren and the boys did have to wait for me to go to the ladies room because they won't seat you unless everyone in your party is ready, but I only took a minute or two.

The restaurant was pretty bustling. As soon as we sat down, we started figuring out the menu. It was about two seconds before we were offered some "pass around" fried okra. (They also pass around black eyed peas.) It was three seconds before Satchel caught a roll.




The throwed rolls were a huge hit with the kids. And they were damn tasty too.

There is a rule at Lambert's: no sharing! So we all had to order something. There is a kids menu, excuse me, a Little Scotty menu.



All drinks are served in 64 oz mugs. (Don't tell Mayor Bloomberg.) We just had water.



Lambert's is a country place. They say "Y'all" a lot. The servers wear suspenders and bow ties. When they play the "Macarena" on the sound system, the employees sing along.

The food comes out crazy fast, and chances are you are full of rolls and "pass arounds" by the time it gets there. Warren astutely noted, "This is how people get obese." Satchel then added, "But it's delicious."

Luckily we came hungry.

Not surprisingly, the portions are immense. Behold Satchel's chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes, and green beans.



My meal was similar but I went with chicken tenders. (I don't remember why.)



Warren and had sausage and sauerkraut, greens and cucumber salad.



Jiro, true to form, had a cheeseburger and french fries. I did add on some green beans.



None of us came close to finishing our food. Here are a few more of Satchel's observations (he is Lambert's #1 fan now):

"The green beans are like Gigi's, but better."

"The music is one of the reasons it's good here."

"I'm going to get hired here when I'm older."

"I need to practice baseball."

"I wish I had a barf chute so I could keep eating."

Warren noted that there were all types of customers at Lambert's. Those of all ages and creeds. He was particularly fascinated by the punker kids and the old ladies with mustaches.

I tried really hard to get a picture of our roll guy but he was in constant motion.



We left full and happy. Overall it was a really fun meal--gluttonous and wasteful, but fun. I'm not sure how one could get out of there not stuffed with the freebies and no sharing rule.

It was also not cheap. It was about $50 for the four of us. Plus, it should be noted that it is really hard to drive home when you are completely stuffed.

I am sure that the kids will want to go back.