August 2012
 |
09/03/12Cochon Heritage BBQ: Bloody Mary Tailgate Party, Snout-to-Tail Cook-Off and Piglet SadieThe best thing for me about the pop-up restaurant at Sweet Grass Saturday night was making new friends. The photo above is the charming group at our table, but unlike a cruise, I had plenty in common with this group. First, we all have a unified love for Sweet Grass and the dishes Ryan Trimm spins out of his kitchen. On Saturday, Boston chefs Jamie Bissonnette and Will Gilsan joined Trimm for a Cochon Heritage BBQ pop-up dinner served family style. The tables were set with Elk Cove wines, Anchor Steam beer and carafes of gin and ginger cocktails, a fitting prelude to the dinner's parade of dishes that included cured sliced loin with lentils and salsa verde, Ethiopian braised mustard greens with berber spices, cavatelli pasta with BBQ sugo, and a Manhattan... |
 |
09/01/12Rooftop Party at the Peabody Kicks Off Heritage BBQI'm thinking it's the cumulative good vibe for this weekend’s Heritage BBQ that’s keeping the remnants of Hurricane Isaac in check. Or maybe it’s the holiday weekend’s full moon. Either way, Friday night’s kickoff party on the rooftop of the Peabody was upbeat and sociable with some of the city’s best bartender’s moving far beyond bourbon on the rocks. Tasting stations also offered lots of good eats from such stand-out restaurants as Las Tortugas, Interim, Trolley Stop Market, Grove Grill, Acre, Lunchbox Eats and the young chefs from L’ecole Culinaire. While all the plates were good, the ones I ate first and last were two of my favorite. First on my plate was this delicious mini-sandwich... |
 |
08/30/12Cochon Heritage BBQ and Elvis: Yes, There's a ConnectionTruth be told, Elvis liked bacon as much as he did peanut butter and banana sandwiches. His former cook Nancy Rooks says the King of Rock and Roll had a standing order for his first meal of the day, typically served in late afternoon: a pound of bacon fried extra crispy plus eggs, pancakes, toast and coffee. Brady Lowe, founder of Cochon Heritage BBQ, is sure to hear the bacon story today at 11 a.m. when he is a guest on Sirius XM Elvis Radio, located at Graceland. Lowe is stopping by Elvis Radio before the three-day Labor Day blowout of barbecue and bourbon, set to kick off Friday evening with a Mixologist Rooftop Soiree at the Peabody. (In addition to craft spirits, students at L’Ecole Culinaire are cooking a whole heritage pig!) Along with... |
 |
08/26/12Barbecue Champion Melissa Cookston Talks Triple D, Babyback Ribs and New RestaurantsMelissa Cookston, co-owner of the Memphis Barbecue Company in Horn Lake, Mississippi, is the only female barbecue grand champion in the world, an accomplishment sure to have caught the attention of Guy Fieri's producers when selecting restaurants for episodes of Triple D. See for yourself Monday, when Cookston's episode titled “Surf 'N Turk Jackpot” airs on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-In's and Dives at 9 p.m. A veteran competitor and this year's Memphis in May Grand Champion, Cookston and fellow pitmaster John David Wheeler opened Memphis Barbecue Company10 months ago. Last week, Cookston took time from her busy life to talk about filming, barbecue, and upcoming expansion plans for the restaurant. Memphis Stew:... Posted at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
 |
08/24/12Urban Farms Market Set To Close Next WeekIt was with heavy heart that I stopped by Urban Farms Market Friday afternoon to say goodbye. The market – a remarkable endeavor to bring fresh food to the under-served neighborhood of Binghampton – is closing until next spring. The market received its last produce deliveries from local farmers Friday and will sell its fruits, vegetables, and groceries through Thursday. Then it will shut down, re-group, and reopen in April or May, depending on crop availability, explained market manager Catherine Neal, pictured here along with Andrew Gross and Jane Mpayimana. The decision to close the market, located at the intersection of Sam Cooper and Tillman, came about in the past month or so when the Binghampton Development Corporation, which directs... |
 |
08/23/12Michelle Obama Hosts First Ever Kids State DinnerCheck out this video of Michelle Obama's first Kids State Dinner, which includes our very own Logan Guleff. Logan represented the state of Tennessee with his Tuna Schooners, a recipe he developed for the national competition to encourage healthier lunches for young people. That's Logan and his mom Kim in the second frame of the video. They look adorabale, don't you think? |
 |
08/22/12Try the Memphis at Aldo's Pizza PiesI’ve been looking forward to eating at Aldo’s Pizza Pies, which opened about two weeks ago on the first floor of the Barboro Flats building downtown. But I’m sorry to say, I was a disappointed in the pizza. The restaurant’s ambience and service, however, were excellent. We opted to sit outside for lunch, and when the sun took over, our server graciously shuffled another table into the shade. I thought her attitude was lovely. Now back to those pizzas, which have a thin, New York-style type of crust. We ordered three 12-inch specialty pies (you can also order 18-inch): The $15 Vodka Pie made with vodka cream sauce and mozzarella; the $17 Messa Luna made with poblano cream, fontina/trugole cheese, eggplant, roasted pepper, sundried tomato... Posted at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
 |
08/20/12Watch Party Tonight for Rizzo's Debut on Diners, Drive-In's and DivesDon’t believe the Food Network channel guide for tonight’s lineup for Diners, Drive-In's and Dives. Chef Michael Patrick and Rizzo's Diner will be featured at 9 p.m. with host Guy Fieri sampling Patrick’s lobster pronto pups and his excellent chorizo sausage meatloaf with green-tomato gravy. The mix-ups with the television listings began last Monday when Rizzo's was promoted, but the episode did not air. Tonight’s listing gets it wrong again, describing South of Beale’s popcorn and duck fried rice instead of the dishes from Rizzo's. Oh well. No reason not to party, right? “Our episode is definitely on tonight,” Patrick said, clearly enthused. “We’re shutting down Rizzo's at 8... |
 |
08/16/12Anthony Bourdain's "Guts and Glory" Tickets Go On Sale FridayHere’s the official rap: Tickets go on sale Friday morning at 10 a.m. for Anthony Bourdain's Guts and Glory tour, which is coming to the Orpheum on November 2. Now here’s the insider buzz: You can buy your tickets right now by going to Ticketmaster and entering the not-so-secret code: TONY. Or you can call 800-745-3000, and you’ll probably need the same password. Tickets range in price from $45 to $55, according to the press release from Innovation Arts & Entertainment. The press release also explains the tour like this: “Bourdain will spend the evening sharing candid, often hysterical insights about his life’s work and travels, including an open question and answer session with the audience.” For more information on... |
 |
08/15/12Happy Birthday Julia Child: Now "Bring on the Roasted Potatoes"When I was young and trying to impress people with my meager cooking skills, I always made Julia Child's chocolate mousse. It was a real show stopper, especially when I finished the rich and delicious dessert with freshly whipped cream. I've been thinking about that mousse all morning in a small personal homage to Child, who would have been 100 years old today. I did a little internet searching for the recipe, and found this excellent tutorial for the mousse on a blog by David Lebovitz called Living the Sweet Life in Paris. You should give it a try. I also came across this charming video remix on Child by John D. Boswell at PBS Digital Studios. Even if you skip the mousse, take a few minutes to watch this video. (Click here!) I think Child would love it as much... Posted at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments: 5 |
 |
08/11/12Delta's Terminal at LaGuardia Offers Lots of New Food Options Plus iPad MenusTime to spread a little love for Delta: The revamped food court in Delta’s Terminal D at LaGuardia Airport has iPad menus with fancy food. This may seem insignificant, unless you’ve ever spent time hanging out in this terrible terminal with no plugs for recharging and nothing to eat but stale trail mix. The iPads, installed three weeks ago, are in the Bisoux restaurant explained by team leader Mike Khorosh as French country cooking. That’s Mike in the photo explaining how customers can use the iPads to scroll through the selections, tap in their orders and swipe credit cards to pay for their food. Later, I found myself worrying about all the servers the iPads probably replaced, but scrolling through the iPad was fun, like an updated menu... |
 |
08/06/12Memphis Street Cafe Featured Tonight on Diners, Drive-ins and DivesHernando, Mississippi, may feel small and sleepy, but this burgeoning foodie destination is well worth the short drive from Memphis. If you don’t believe me, check out Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host Guy Fieri, who visited Hernando earlier this year to cook with Chef Chris Lee at Memphis Street Café. The episode airs tonight at 9 p.m. on the Food Network. During his visit, Fieri sampled the restaurant’s Reuben and chicken salad, but he filmed the café’s banana foster, a scrumptious stand-out dessert made with banana nut bread French toast and homemade ginger and vanilla bean ice cream. Desserts change regularly at this simple but excellent American café, located in a renovated basement eatery off Hernando’s historic town square.... Posted at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments: 4 |
 |
08/01/12Young Memphis Whiz Kid Logan Guleff Wins Trip to White HouseA quinoa and tuna salad in red pepper boats is sending 9-year-old Memphis chef Logan Guleff to the White House for the first ever “Kids State Dinner” hosted by first lady Michelle Obama. The dinner on August 20, which is actually lunch, is Logan's prize for being the Tennessee winner of Obama's Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, a cooking competition for youngsters nationwide. His "Tuna Schooners" is one of 54 winning recipes selected from more than 1,200 participants who created nutritious lunchtime meals using each of the four food groups. Already, his recipe has been created by White House chefs and will be included in an online cookbook at Epicurious.com, co-sponsors of the contest along with the Departments of Agriculture and... |
