You’d think it wouldn’t have taken me three months to get to Pontotoc Lounge, the new jazz lounge on South Main in the former Cafe Pontotoc space. It’s only about 7 blocks from where I live, and it was opened by Daniel Masters (Silly Goose/Civil Pour) who I have known for 14 years. I’m a creature of habit, though, and it took me a while to break out of my regular rotation. Finally, Holly’s post last week made me realize I needed to get down there and try this place for myself.
I got there about 4:30, not long after opening, and was the first one there. This is the kind of place I like – classy and elegant, but not pretentious. Soft jazz was playing on the speakers and they have live jazz later in the evenings on some days.
They have PBR in 16 ounce cans for $3. I got one with my early dinner, although on a future visit I want to come back and let bartender Cady make me one of Pontotoc’s specialty cocktails. The thing about Daniel’s bars is, he spends quite a bit of time in New York studying the latest cocktail trends, and he brings what he learned back to Memphis and trains his staff. You can always count on getting a good drink at one of his places.
As for what to eat, the Mississippi Pot Roast Holly blogged about looked amazing, but I wasn’t hungry enough. Therefore, I decided to order two appetizers: The Trout Deviled Eggs and the Alligator Fritters.
The trout deviled eggs were delicious – I have loved deviled eggs since I was a child – and I thought getting four of them for $6 was a very good value. The alligator fritters were different from other places I have had alligator in that their consistency was more like that of crab cakes. They came with remoulade sauce and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
Service was excellent. I bet this place has a great vibe later in the evening when more people are gathered. I will be back.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: I may take a couple of days off from this blog. I have a technical interview Friday morning with a company I would really love to work for, and I want to spend lots of time preparing. So, if it’s a few days before I’m back with a new post, please forgive me.