More of Memphis

These last couple of weeks, as I've mentioned, I'm trying to make it to a few more places. Fitting in just few more spots will help make my time in Memphis complete.

Friday, I enjoyed lunch at the Bluff City Bayou---a place that does lunch only, and only on weekdays. My friend Worth had recommended it, and indeed, it did not disappoint. The soup alone, a crawfish artichoke bisque, was sublime.

Also this weekend, I made it to the Brooks museum. It's the oldest in Tennessee. No, it's no Kimbell, but it's a good museum. I didn't make it to the Andy Warhol print exhibit, the special exhibit showing right now, but I did put my name on the list to join in the docent-led tour for that exhibit that's happening this coming Thursday. If it turns out they don't have room, I hope to get by for that part of the exhibit next weekend.

I also recently tried Neely's BBQ. Neely's was started by some family members related to Jim Neely. Jim Neely opened Interstate BBQ. The two places are not at all the same. Neelys was not bad, but in all honestly, I've become quite the BBQ snob.




Memphis, if you don't know, is known for its BBQ. The first place I tried, barely over a year ago, was Interstate BBQ. And I can easily say, it's still the tops of the list. And actually, Interstate, although it has the least impressive decor, it towers above the rest in food. The best ribs I've eve had are served there. If I make it back to Memphis ever, no doubt, Interstate will be top of the list of places to visit.





If timing works out, I also want to make it to Gibson to see the guitar factory. During that visit, I plan to hit some of those shops on Beale Street to find a great print to represent Memphis and go in my office. I've seen a few during various walks down Beale, and I think now, it's time to go ahead and buy. (When I'm in Fort Worth in a couple of weeks, I hope to find a great cowtown print too.)

Also still left on my list is a visit out to Mud Island. My neighbors are interested in going, so perhaps they'll join me next weekend. But even if they don't, I'll head out to see it. Who knows, maybe after that, we'll head to Interstate for a last taste of the best ribs ever.


(And in the meantime, I'm trying to get over my haircut. It worked okay with the second attempt at styling yesterday, but today it's felt like a thorn in my side all day. I kinda feel like it's pirate day or something, as each time I pass a mirror, I grumble, "argh." Breath. It will grow. :-) )

Southern Hot Wing Festival

A couple of weekends ago, it was a beautiful Saturday, so I put the top down, and Howard and I headed downtown to check the Southern Hot Wing festival.



The festival was held on South Main---around the South Main Arts District. The cost was $1 or a can of food donated for admission; the festival was held to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.



About fifteen teams had entered, all trying for the honor of being named best wing. Each team had a spot set up--often with a team name and logo, team t-shirts, and lots of grills and fryers. (turns out, though, that no deep-fried wing has ever won best wing.)

As soon as Howard and I walked in, we saw my friends Hope and Rachel who I know from the gym; Hope's also got a dog who attends Dogs Rule (Lily, the bulldog). So we hung out there a while, chatted with a few folks, then walked around. Poor Howard, though. It was awfully tough as too many people had dropped chicken wing bones on the ground, and Howard really wanted those!

Here's Rachael, Hope, and me---and Howard. :-) (posting this---I sure am glad I got a haircut last week!)



It was a fun way to spend an hour or so on a gorgeous day. But Howard and I couldn't stay too long; we had a party to get too!

Mmmm Mmmm Good

The food, I must say, has been fabulous. Each day during work, we’ve been treated to a traditional Ugandan lunch, served at the ILI where we’re teaching. The dish served at each meal is Mootoki. It’s essentially green bananas, mushed and cooked inside of large banana leaves. It’s a little sweet, and it’s the basic starch staple in the diet here. I prefer mine with a local nut sauce, also served daily. At each lunch they also have served rice, beans, fried banana slices, potatoes (cooked in a variety of ways), and quite often pumpkin and sweet potatoes. Two different meats have been served each day—usually a beef dish in addition to either fish or chicken.

As for other food, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful variety. Monday night we went to Fang Fang and had delicious Chinese food. Unfortunately, when the waitress asked if we wanted our chicken dish mild, Mimi and I looked at each other and agreed medium would be good. We both figured that we both like spicy food, and suspected the waitress assumed we did not. I also figured that if something is served medium, there’s room for it to be hot and even extra hot. We were wrong—on both counts.

Yowza! This stuff was HOT. But wonderfully flavorful. The shredded green beans, though, were fabulous on all levels. If you’re ever in Kampala, go to Fang Fang (the one in the office building, not the one outside of the city), and have the shredded green beans. Yum-mie.

Tuesday I had the best Indian food I’ve every had at Haandi. Oh my goodness—it was fabulous! This restaurant is also in an office building, situated on the second floor, which gives you a nice view (as was Fang Fang). We had Naan, of course, and tandoori chicken, but the best was our spinach dish and the seasoned and steamed fish. Incredible flavors that were perfectly married.

Wednesday we took the taxi out to Krua Thai. This, again, was delicious. The restaurant is set in a under a huge thatched roof. It is set high on a hill, providing an incredible view of the areas below and other hillsides. Here, I had my first Pad Thai (I know, I know—you cannot believe I’ve never had Pad Thai before), and we had the green curry with chicken. Both were wonderful.

On Thursday, we were both tired, and we’d spent a lot of time in the room working on preparing the last day’s class. (Our students wanted to be taught about minute recording, so I had to teach myself that night. I did, and they said it was exactly the kind of information they needed.) Anyway, we simply walked down to the Speke Hotel for a couple of beers and a pizza at Pizzeria Mammammia. (that’s how they spell it.)

I was skeptical—suspecting simply something that was trying to pass as pizza—but it was actually wonderful. We ordered one pizza with completely different halves. For me, I went with the traditional Margherita. Mimi, on the other hand, got, okay, get this, tuna. If you’re crinkling your nose right about now, yes, that’s what I did too. She loved it, though, so that’s what was important. I didn’t have to eat it, after all.

Friday night, tonight, we walked down to the Kampala Serena hotel and had a couple of drinks in their swanky bar (although it looked a little like World Market1 had exploded in there. Nice, but not the authentic feel like I’ve found at other places) and shared a few appetizers for dinner. After a very long week of teaching and preparing, we were both tired. Dinner was good, though. We had an eggplant dish and another with tomatoes and mozzarella. A nice laid-back evening for out last night here.

And so, I can easily say that the dining experiences have all been wonderful. The variety of cuisine is wonderful, and each is done just as it should be.

Okra and Sunflowers

But of course, I went back to the Farmers' Market Saturday morning. This seems to be a routine that'd be nice to get in to.

This time, though, Howard came with me. No, the city of Memphis doesn't allow dogs at the market, but the downtown vet clinic offers courtesy pet sitting there. How great is that! So on a Saturday morning, Howard got to go for a ride (his first in the Beetle), meet new people, see other dogs, and I got to get more veggies!

And indeed--I picked up more okra! And yesterday, I finally tried it grilled. After all, I was grilling my fresh corn and squash, so it seemed like the right time to try the okra. It was fabulous! It wasn't at all slimy, and it had a great grilled/roasted flavor that I've not had with okra before.

How did I do it? Wash the okra, then simply skewer it using two skewers. Essentially, use two skewers for as many pieces as will fit (but with a little space between each piece), creating a sort of ladder---the okra will be the rungs of the ladder. Doing it this way makes it easier to turn. Brush with a little olive oil, lightly dust with a little salt (I use freshly ground sea salt), then grill! I guess it was on for about eight or nine minutes on each side. Oh---when eating, though, don't eat the very end---it's tough.

What else did I get? This week, I splurged for the fifteen dollar flowers. I asked her to focus on lots of sunflowers with some red flowers thrown in. I love 'em!







Photos here, of course, show the flowers, but they also give you a few more views of the inside of the house. Many folks have asked more about how things look now that I'm all settled in. Well, there ya go! :-) And yes, as the first pic shows, there's Howard, keeping a watch on the front yard.

To Market, To Market

Memphis Farmers Market---my destination this Saturday morning. The market features local farmers who come to downtown South Arts district Saturdays from May through October. What a great place!

They had all the local crops---including flowers! I bought a beautiful bouquet for only $5---I hadn't brought enough cash to splurge for the huge $15 bouquet (and load up on produce). Yes, I also bought lots of fresh produce.

And I must say, I was more impressed with this market than the one that used to be in Fort Worth. In Fort Worth, it seemed too many people resold produce, and I never was certain it was grown locally. When I go to a farmers market, I want to actually support the local farmers. And I want to know the food is FRESH. Here, the local farmers are all from the Midsouth (not the same as South Central U.S.); that's what this area is called---the Midsouth. And although most of the farmers were from Tennessee, a few came over from Arkansas or up from Mississippi.

Sadly, a late frost killed all of the Tennessee peach crop. But one farmer (I'm sure one of the ones from Mississippi) brought fresh peaches from Alabama, where the crop wasn't harmed. Yummy! The ones I bought today had been picked within the last two days. Now those are fresh peaches!

What else did I get? Fresh lima beans, okra, squash, and of course, tomatoes! Lunch today was a bowl of fresh lima beans. Wow---they were fabulous! There's nothing quite like beans or peas that haven't been dried or frozen. (and they cook so quickly!)

Okra? Most of you reading this are from the south, so you're familiar with that veggie, yes? I got so tickled when my colleague from Wisconsin said she'd never heard of it! Of course, a lot of people have only ever had it fried; they've just never had it cooked well! I too grew up thinking okra was always slimy if it wasn't fried, and I was not impressed. But thanks to those great cooks I worked with at the court, I learned a little more about how to prepare this tasty treat.

I wash the okra, slice it---in about 1/2 inch pieces---and saute it. How? Well, I heat a little olive oil in the pan, add the okra, and cook. Stir it often, and after about ten minutes, I add salt (freshly ground sea salt) over the top and squeeze a lime over it all. Then I cook it a little more. Often I've found that the bottom of the pan gets quite brown, but it's okay. It'll wash. Just keep cooking, stirring every so often, until there's no more slime when you toss some pieces around. Good stuff!

I also saw a recipe recently for grilled okra. Hmmmmm. Maybe I'll give that a try.

The market also has a local vet clinic that offers free pet sitting while you shop. No doubt, that's for those downtowners who walk their dog and stop by, but I might get Howard out one weekend. He'd love meeting new folks!

The market also have live music. Today was a bluegrass sort of band---what fun!

Another problem with the Fort Worth market was that it was ten miles to get there. Now that I live in this great area of Midtown, the market's only three miles away. I have a feeling that through October, heading to the market will become a regular affair. And what better way to eat more healthy AND support local farmers!

Anyway, I was back to the house early, took Howard out for a walk, then spent a little time chatting with my neighbor before I tackled more research. I need to get my summer project in a better state to show progress on it next week. I'll be hitting the books a lot tomorrow too.

Fresh summer produce. Thank you, Memphis Farmers Market.

Encore!

Shrimp and Gruyere Cheesecake. Okay, I was a little skeptical too, but it's fabulous!

I went to Encore yesterday for a cooking class. Encore is an upscale restaurant located in downtown Memphis. There's access from the street, near 2nd & Peabody, and there's access from inside of The Peabody Place.

The Peabody Place is like a downtown mall---shops, restaurants, a movie theatre, and even a putt-putt course.

Reading the Memphis Flyer when I first arrived, I was looking for fun things to do. (The Flyer is a weekly free newspaper with all the "happenings" listed as well as some very interestig editorials. Currently, the big news is who's running for mayor of Memphis.) And from the Flyer, I learned that Encore is hosting summer cooking classes. This week, the topic was brunch.

Granted, I was a bit disappointed because it was not hands-on. Instead, we watched Chef Jose prepare the dishes, but even better, we got to sample all of those dishes. (Naturally, each serving was smaller than a full serving---we tried so much!) We started with a fresh baked croissant and bloody mary. The bloody mary was perfectly spiced. I really should remember to get some horseradish for the house!

As we enjoyed the croissants, we watched Chef Jose make the above-mentioned shrimp and Gruyere cheesecake. It was fantastic! No, no---it wasn't sweet like a traditional cheesecake; no sugar at all went in the recipe. It was more like a quiche, but with more cheese and less egg. He served that with a tomato fondue and spring salad. Ahh---and a great bloody mary. And even better about the cheesecake is that you make it ahead of time, meaning lots less work the morning you're preparing brunch for guests or many family members. (He served the cheesecake with a mimosa. And yes, it was the best mimosa I'd ever had. They used fresh squeezed orange juice with a touch of pulp---from blood red oranges!)

Next, Chef Jose prepared french toast with, get this, green tomato marmalade. Indeed, Chef Jose is from France, and his cuisine style is said to blend French and Southern cooking. And again, it was great! This was served with small Bellini made with white peach puree.

Finally, Chef Jose made a fresh fruit salad. He plated a thin slice of seedless watermelon topped with fresh appricot, strawberries, blueberries, all lightly tossed with a little honey and grand marnier. He topped all of that with a light dollop of fresh whipped cream. Wonderful!



Even though it wasn't hands on, was it worth it? Will I go back? Well, I wouldn't go each week, but I hope to go back at the end of August for the Appetizer class. I learned a lot of little tricks to cooking, I learned some fabulous new recipes (and got to taste them), and in all, it was a fun experience. Still, I will keep my eye out for something more "hands on."

More of Midtown

Other than pizza, I've ventured out to a few more places too in these last couple of weeks. It's fun, finding the new places. Sure, they have Outback, Chili's, On the Border, and the like. And although when you're hungry and tired, and you're just not in the mood to find a good place, a chain restaurant is a good stand-by. But for regular enjoyable dining, I like the nonchain places. Besides, I like trying places that are new to me. And it;s even better if they are unique to Midtown, Memphis, Tennessee, or at least the Midsouth.

For the first couple of days, I stopped unpacking long enough to make and eat a PBJ and enjoy a cold glass of milk, but a few times for dinner I ventured out around Midtown. One of those nights, I was tired, and not a lot was open (it was July 4), so Pei Wei fit the bill. Sure, it's a chain, but the benefit of a chain is the quality is pretty consistent. And for Chinese, it's some of the better. But I really wanted to find some Japanese food!

Sekisui in Midtown is the place about four blocks away that serves sushi. And I was so happy, because it was actually good sushi! See, there was one place near my house in Fort Worth that served sushi, and sadly, it just wasn't very good. Silly me---I kept trying it, and no, it never improved. Of course, when you live in the heart of Memphis, there's got to be a decent sushi place within a mile or two. And there is!

At Sekisui, the fish was fresh---a KEY for good sushi. And a good thing to me was that the rolls were rather small---meaning you could easily eat a piece in one bite. (I hate trying to stuff a too-big roll into my mouth or biting through the seaweed wrap, only to have everything fall apart.) The presentation wasn't the best, but still, I went because I was craving sushi---not because I wanted to be wowed with a pretty plate. :-) Oh! Also, I sat at the bar and enjoyed a sake sampler. See, I never know what kind of sake to order, and the last time I relied on the waitress, ick! It tasted like dirty feet. But now I know that for a sweet sake, Nigori's pretty good. And for a nice crisp one, Ginjo isn't bad at all.

Once I got more unpacking done---meaning I could actually cook dinner at home---I spent a few lunches getting out to see some local restaurants. I had lunch at Hueys in Midtown (Blues, Brews, & Burgers), a fun place with very yummy sandwiches. I hope to go back to the Midtown Hueys soon for the Sunday evening live music. I also tried an English pub type place, but still, I just don't care for English-style fish n' chips. Give me good ol' corn-meal battered nuggets of catfish! :-) Oh, and one day I had a sandwich at at Bogie's Deli in Overton Square. Great sandwich!

Still on the list? India Palace---the Indian restaurant just around the corner from my house. seriously. I bet I could easily walk there.

As for shopping? Well, Schnuck's is the grocery store. And that place has made use of each inch it could. Of course, when you're a store in Midtown, space is a prime, and you must make the best possible use of it. It's easy to tell that Schnuck's used to have a lot more open space, but with the neighborhood, they're carrying better meats and a wider selection as well as more specialty items---meeting the needs of an eclectic clientele, which includes a lot of young professionals.

Other places for groceries? There's a Kroger not too far, and I visited there one Monday afternoon. But a couple of people already have told me not to shop there at night. Alrighty. There's also a Piggly Wiggly (haven't seen one of them in ages!) pretty close, but I haven't been there either. I have a feeling for regular stuff, it'll be the Kroger nearer to campus for me and Schnuck's for near to the house. Although, we also have a Fresh Market, which I'm quite anxious to visit. I suspect it's closest in similarity to a Central Market. :-)

Other shopping? We're plenty residential, so there's your basic drug stores all around---Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Ike's seem most prominent. I cannot find a nearby CVS, so hopefully transferring prescriptions will go easily.

And we even have a Home Depot in the neighborhood. I call it the Baby Depot; it, like other places in Midtown, is a bit smaller than your typical Home Depot. And sure, it's nice to have a familiar place nearby that carries all the stuff you'd expect to find there. But it's sad to think that some local hardware store no doubt went out of business shortly after the Depot went up. Sigh.

There's rumor of a Target going in too. Naturally, many residents around here wouldn't like that. Then again, how convenient. It's that rock and hard place. Having a Target near is nice, but you don't want people to lose their homes for it to be built. After all, the big box strip centers built in the 'burbs go on empty land. There's no empty land in Midtown. And part of deciding to move here was with the full knowledge that a Target wouldn't be convenient. And I was fine with that. But if it goes in, is it progress? Or is it just sad?

There are many other places I'm anxious to get around to trying and visiting. The Cooper-Young area looks so very cool. It reminds me a lot of the buildings where Hattie's is located in Dallas in Oak Cliff. Totally redone area with great restaurants and little shops. And Overton Square still has a few places that I'll explore.

Gosh, I haven't even been here three weeks! I have fifty or so to meet lots more of Midtown and Memphis.

But right now, I'm off to do something I'd always wanted to do in Fort Worth but just, for whatever reason, never did: take a cooking class! When I next post, I'll be schooled in making brunch and a fab bloody mary. Cheers!

Pizza, Anyone?

First update--I'm typing this in my living room! WooHoo! And that, if you didn't know, means that I found my wireless router. Not just that, but I also found my copper sassy shoes AND my Aggie shorts! And so, as far as I can tell, nothing was lost in the move. Fabuloso!

Ahhh, second update--indeed, ALL of my floors are finally clean. It took quite a long time, as for this first time I moved most all furniture to really wash the wood floors. Okay, so the floors aren't refinished or varnished, but oh my it's amazing what cleaning these floors did! Of course, now that the floors are all clean, it sure is easier to notice fluffy puffs of Sophie hair on the floor!

And final update--I made it by Target today to use the coupon I had for there. (When you list your house for sale, you get lots of coupons in the mail.) My kitchen here really needed some COLOR, and the brick red throw rugs I picked up today are perfect! A colorful dishtowel hanging up, and the kitchen finally came to life. Yes, it still needs some sort of print on the wall, but it's at least cheery and brighter in there now.

So, back to the topic--Pizza! A totally new city means finding new places for some favorite things. And good pizza? Not so easy to find.

See, I'm a New York style pizza gal--thin but flavorful crust, with that dusting of cornmeal on the bottom, used for the brick over. I'm not talking a cracker-type crust. But I'm not talking deep dish. Chi-town can keep its deep dish. And the sauce needs to be full of fresh flavor too--and thick. The kind of sauce where maybe you can even see the herbs in it. And fresh ingredients, well, that's a given. Finally, if you can find all of that PLUS it be at a place with those extra special toppings---sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, and the like, then you've got a home run.

My first try was Memphis Pizza Cafe. The nearest one is located in Overton Square---the intersection of Madison and Cooper---one major street south of me and about three streets east. The pizza was good, and better than most, but the crust was crackery. Not what I was looking for.

Another place I tried was Exline's. The crust was not great, but at least it wasn't crackery. But get this: I ordered pepperoni and green olives. They put WHOLE green olives on this pizza! Huh? Oh well. It wasn't the kind of pizza I'm going to crave anyway.

Then there's Boscos. I happened upon Boscos through googling "Memphis pizza" on the web. And this one looked promising! Okay, actually, for other reasons. Yes, Boscos claimed to have great pizza, but it also called itself "the restaurant for beer lovers." And it's a brewery. And it brews an IPA! The verdict? Well, the pizza's far from great. Once again, it's a crackery crust. The beer? I'll make a separate entry on that one.

And so today, I took a drive to get the lay of the land. I started at the loop (I-240 & I-40 work together to essentially encircle the city) in downtown, and took it around the south part of town. I ventured off down 385---a highway toward Collierville, a Memphis suburb. At the end of 385, right in Collierville, I came back up Poplar---the same street that's the main cross street of my street. (Poplar runs from downtown out through a couple of different suburbs.) I saw a Target, so I pulled on in the parking lot to look for those throw rugs my kitchen needed.

And what else did I find in that lot? Johnny Brusco's New York Style Pizza. Hmmmm. It claimed to be New York style. Would it really be?

It was! Of course, it was about twenty miles out of town. But that's probably a good thing. See, now, when I'm craving pizza, I need to ask myself if it's really worth a twenty-mile drive to have good pizza, and I further need to remind myself that if it's not good pizza, why waste the calories? But at least if it's worth the drive, then I know where to find a good one. :-)