Category: Downtown Dining Discoveries

A couple of weeks ago I posted how much I enjoyed the Nawabi Ghosh, the spicy Indian beef, from the refrigerated to-go case from City Market.

Tonight I got it again and found a way to make it even better. I got a bag of all-natural cinnamon sugar pita chips to go with it.

May not sound like a match, but it was. Flavors were just about perfect together.

Celebrated birthdays tonight at Silly Goose, Blind Bear, and Flying Saucer. A Downtown night at its finest.

If you’re Downtown for lunch, you have plenty of ways to get your veggies. Little Tea Shop and Blue Plate Cafe are two favorites.

But what if you can’t make it Downtown before dinner? The Blind Bear speakeasy is the place to go. They have individual veggies and sides for $2, or plates of 4 veggies and sides for $6.

Tonight I went up there to play poker. Poker buddies Ellen and Bobby both got the mac & cheese with white cheese and blackeyed peas. That seemed like a winner so I went with it. As you can see, it came with a generous hunk of cornbread.

Came in 4th in poker. Home now, but if you want something different (Ellen: “I’m so glad to be eating something that’s not bar food!”), the Bear is your place.

(Edit: Kinda looks like Batman is lurking behind those peas doesn’t it?)

If you’ve never checked out the pre-packaged meals in City Market’s refrigerated case, you’re missing out. Owners Sunny and Hamida are from India, and lately they’ve been packaging more of their native dishes to-go. I love Indian food, and since Amber Palace closed in 2005 I’ve had no way to get it without driving a car. Therefore, I’m thrilled to have the chance to take home food from City Market.

Last night about 10:45, I was at the Saucer drinking my usual Dos Equis Lager. I checked Foursquare. “Bleh,” I thought. “No one is out tonight. Instead of going to another bar, I think I’ll call it an early night and conserve energy for tomorrow.” Remembering that City Market is open until 11:30 Friday and Saturday nights, I stopped in as I walked home.

Looking over their selection, I decided on the Green Chicken Masala pictured above. At $6.99, it was cheaper than I’d pay for that same entree in an actual restaurant. I dumped it on a plate and after two and a half minutes in the microwave, it was delicious.

If you’re not into Indian food, don’t worry, the market has plenty of pre-packaged American dishes too. Also, if you’re a vegetarian, try the vegetable korma. If you’re Downtown at lunchtime, they have hot Indian specials several weekdays that you can eat there or take back to your home or office.

I got out about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. I knew it would not be a short evening out, and that there would be beer all the way through it. So, I needed to get a good meal in me first, something that would stick to my ribs. I found it at the Brass Door, trying their Shepherd’s Pie for the first time. The photo above really doesn’t do it justice, because all you can see are the cheesy whipped potatoes that sit atop the dish. Under the potatoes are a stew of beef, lamb, potatoes and carrots. Traditional Irish dish, quite tasty and exactly what I needed.

When I ordered, the bartender told me the Sammie of the Day and the Hot Pot of the Day. “The chef is still deciding on the slider,” he told me. I ordered the Shepherd’s Pie, and a couple of minutes later Chef Scott in the kitchen said to me, “Paul, if you want the slider of the day instead, I can whip something up for you.” I assured him I really wanted the Shepherd’s Pie, but that is typical of the service at the Brass Door – they make sure every customer gets what they want and walks out satisfied.

Just woke up. I need to look through my files and see if I have enough news to do a “Sunday update” post. I think I do, so check back.

Tonight I went to the Saucer for happy hour. Then I went to poker at the Blind Bear, where Bobby called my A7 with AJ hearts. By the turn I had two pair, Aces and Sevens. So what happens? Bobby hits his heart to win the hand on the river. Afterward, back to the Saucer for a couple more beers, then it was time to weigh food options.

I decided to make a build-your-own sandwich at Huey’s – and what a build-your-own sandwich it was! I ordered the Texas Toast burger, served medium. I dissected it for this photo, and you can see the jalapenos lying atop pepper jack cheese along with grilled onion on Texas Toast, waiting to be placed atop the meat patty, cooked medium. And although I’ve been into the black bean burger lately, not tonight. That right there is 100% dead cow. I got a side of chili (65 cents extra) to top it. I also paid an additional 40 cents for onion rings instead of fries, and I got ranch for dipping because ketchup sucks. Granted, some people would disagree. Ketchup is the Nuh-Uh Girl’s second favorite topping, after any topping that’s free. “Whaaaaaat? You’re not going to eat that? Can I have it? :-)”

Walking home with drunkass to-go food from Huey’s is one of the perks of living Downtown. So what are you waiting for? Get down here!!!

You know, I hate it when I forget to do a food post for an entire week. Last Monday I played the 7:30 poker game at the Silly Goose. I got knocked out about 9. Normally I head back to the Saucer after poker is over, but a Tiger basketball game had just let out and I didn’t feel like dealing with the huge crowd over there. So, I decided to order some to-go food from the Goose and call it a night.

I ordered the nachos ($8).  In the world of nachos, there are two main types – those covered with melted solid cheese, and those covered with liquid cheese. Huey’s is pretty much the standard bearer for the melted solid cheese Downtown. It can be fun (but messy) to pull them apart. The Goose, on the other hand, uses the liquid cheese. It’s not that nacho cheese crap you find at the ballpark, either. It appears to be cheese made in house, with just a little spice. The nachos are also topped with ground beef, tomatoes, and jalapenos.

Were they better than Huey’s? Can’t really say, it’s apples and oranges. If you like liquid cheese, you’d probably rate the Goose higher. Melted cheese lovers would prefer Huey’s. Me, I like them both – it’s whichever I’m in the mood for on a particular day.

One thing – the Goose has lost Michael Bean to the Blind Bear as kitchen manager since I had these nachos. Could that make a difference? Not at all. At the time my nachos came out, Bean was still at the poker table, annoying everyone with his completely random raises and all-in moves. So someone else was preparing my food. Whoever made my nachos is most likely still in the Goose’s kitchen.

Last post from the road. About to make a beeline back to Memphis, hoping to beat the heavy rain that is predicted for this afternoon.

One of the nice things about the place where I work is that we get Christmas Eve off as well as Christmas Day. Since Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday this year, I got Friday, December 23 as the effective holiday – a rare day Downtown during work week lunchtime. I knew I had to find something good to eat.

I wandered up to Court Square and The Barking Lot, hoping to find a food truck, but none were out. “Well, now what?” I thought. Then it occurred to me: “What about Rizzo’s Diner?” The diner on G.E. Patterson has been open two months, but I had not yet made a visit, which is a shame considering my friend and former neighbor Michael “Rizzo” Patrick is executive chef and operating partner. Since it was a nice day, I decided to skip the trolley and make the trek to South Main on foot.

My server Steven, also a friend and a current neighbor, showed me to my table and read off the specials. I decided to go with the Chef’s Blue Plate Special of the day. It was chorizo-stuffed cabbage, with rice and tomatoes. There were five side items available and I got to pick three of them: I went with the garlic mashed potatoes, steamed spinach, and squash casserole. (The two other choices were steamed snow peas and cheese grits.)

My food was out fairly quickly, under 10 minutes I would guess. So, this is a place you can go for lunch and expect to get back to the office fairly quickly. I was about to dig in, then I realized… I FORGOT to order the item on the menu that I’d most wanted to try! Folks have raved about Michael Patrick’s cheeseburger soup. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t started with it. I called Steven over and put in an order. The Chef kept my main course warm in the kitchen for me, and the soup was out in minutes.

The name pretty much says it all. It’s a bowl of soup that tastes like a cheeseburger. I detected a touch of Rotel, I believe. Quite tasty. I polished off my soup and then it was on to the main course:

Really good. I think the spinach was my favorite of the three vegetables, but it’s a hard call because all three were delicious. I liked dipping the garlic mashed potatoes in the sauce that covered the entree. The spiciness of the chorizo was a good contrast to the taste of the cabbage. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable lunch.

The Blue Plate Special changes from one day to the next, but if you “Like” the diner on Facebook you’ll be informed what’s on the menu. The meat-and-three is true to the diner concept, but once you taste it, you know this is no ordinary meat-and-three… rather, one prepared by the hand of an experienced chef. Rizzo’s is open Tuesday-Sunday for lunch, and Monday-Saturday for dinner and Sunday for brunch. I encourage everyone Downtown to get in there and eat some good food and support our friend Michael.

(Disclosure: When the check came, it appeared that the Blue Plate Special had been comped. That was a nice surprise that I wasn’t expecting. However, I want to stress that the special was worth every penny of its $10 menu price.)

I asked my mother what she wanted for Christmas, and among other things she said, “Something like a box of candy from Walgreens would be nice.”

Walgreens? I can do better than that.

I just made a trip to The Peanut Shop, a little store on the Main Street Mall between Madison and Monroe. They have a huge selection of nuts, candy and popcorn, all freshly made. “How’s mother?” they asked. They remembered that I’d been in to buy Christmas candy for her in previous years.

“She’s fine,” I replied. “I’m here to buy some candy to take to her. She won’t open it until the 25th, so I need something that will stay fresh.”

“That’s not a problem,” they assured me. “We wrap all of our products tight so that they stay fresh until opened. We have holiday tins you can partition into 3, 4, or 5 ways, so you can buy her a selection of different candy and nuts.” I went with the 4-way divider and asked for chocolate cashews, chocolate stars, chocolate pecans, and butter toffee chocolate pecans. They weighed the candy, placed it in the tin, and expertly wrapped it. Here’s the finished product:

They gave me my choice of a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” card to include with the tin. I chose “Merry Christmas.” Then they rang it up. Only $23, not bad for freshly made candy in a holiday tin. “You tell mama we said hello,” they said as they handed me my change.

They are SUCH nice people and always take wonderful care of me. If you need to buy Christmas candy, please consider buying from the Peanut Shop instead of a retail chain. In addition to chocolate and nuts, they have a wide selection of wrapped candy that would make excellent stocking stuffers for children. I promise you won’t be disappointed if you go in.

Saturday I had an hour to kill before the pet parade, so I stopped in The Brass Door for a PBR or two. I didn’t have enough time to eat, but I heard there was a new menu and asked if I could see a copy.

Bartender Ashley pointed out the new items for me. There was one in particular she raved about. “The Tam O’Shanter is so good,” she said. “It’s ham and turkey, topped with bacon, a tomato, Swiss cheese and Mornay sauce. We serve it open-faced on our Brioche bread.” I had to admit I had no idea what Mornay sauce was. “It’s similar to the sauce on Eggs Benedict,” Ashley explained (more on Mornay sauce here). It sounded really tasty. I love a good open-faced sandwich.

Sunday I started with mimosas at the Majestic, followed by beer at the Flying Saucer. Around 4 I started to get hungry, and decided the time was right to give the Tam O’Shanter a try. I walked up to the Brass Door and put in my order. This is what came out:

Oh man, was this ever good. The creamy, fluffy Mornay sauce really brought out the flavor of the meats, and worked well with the Swiss. The sandwich was served with a side of the Brass Door’s fries, which may be the best fries Downtown.

Normally I don’t post pics of half-eaten food, but this time I’m going to make an exception, so you can see what’s underneath the sauce.

As you can see, they just piled on the ham and the bacon, and there’s turkey under there somewhere too. For $9.50 this sandwich will fill you up. The Tam O’Shanter will probably join the Fish & Chips as my go-to items when I eat at the Brass Door. Definitely worth a try next time you stop in.

Yesterday evening after the Downtown pet parade, I was hungry. I was going to go back to Brass Door, where I’d been earlier in the day, and try one of their new menu items. They had been bought out by Corey B. Trotz for a private party, though, so I headed south to Beale Street for some Creole food at Johnny G’s.

As usual, I sat at the bar, and before I even got a menu I saw that one change had taken place since I’d last been in: PBR had been added to the draft beers! I ordered a 32 oz. PBR and took a look at the menu.

I was tempted to order their signature item, the Drunken Chicken, but since Johnny G’s is a relatively new restaurant, I hadn’t made it through the entire menu yet. So I was determined to try new and different things. I hadn’t yet had their jambalaya, so I ordered it. I wanted something else on the side, and after searching the menu I settled on a bowl of “Bucket House Greens.”

Oh my God… those GREENS!!! They were amazing! Just the right amount of meat to add flavor, and just the right amount of black pepper to spice things up. I was so glad I ordered a bowl of them, instead of the smaller cup. Honestly, if the bowl had been twice the size it was, I think I still would have finished all my greens. One of the best vegetables I have ever had Downtown.

As for the jambalaya, it was pretty good – it’s just that it was overshadowed by the awesomeness of the greens. The jambalaya was midly spicy, as compared to the set-your-mouth-on-fire spice of the jambalaya at Court House Deli. They have bottles of hot sauce, so you can season your jambalaya to taste at Johnny G’s if you want to turn up the heat.

If you have not yet been to Johnny G’s Creole Kitchen, I have now been enough times that I can make a recommendation for your first meal there: Get the Drunken Chicken and a bowl of Bucket House Greens. The Drunken Chicken is available three different ways – over rice, atop nachos, or on a sandwich. Choose whichever preparation suits you; all are good. As for the greens, get a bowl, not a cup. If you get the smaller portion, you will regret it once you taste those greens. It will cost you between $12 and $14 before tax and tip, depending on how you get your chicken. For Beale Street, that is quite a bargain.

All right, it’s a little after 9 on Sunday morning. Time to watch more Beavis and Butt-head videos on my Kindle Fire until 11 AM rolls around… then it’ll be time for mimosas at the Majestic. Lately I’ve been joining a few friends at the Goose after brunch, but today I’m not feeling it… will either be at the Saucer when it opens at 12, or possibly I’ll walk down to the Brass Door to try the new menu. If I make it to the Door, expect another food post soon.