On the Tour Corky's a Memphis Classic

You might know that the BBQ tour t-shirt my Dad and I dreamed up finally got printed and so now I am on "The Tour" to be a Q king.

 I started at Corky's a Memphis icon of great Q. Robert Boyd told me about running the pit long ago and how the business has grown to more restaurants, cookbooks, stores and QVC. 

I mean these folks know BBQ and sell BBQ. 

 Now, I have had Corky's ribs many many times and I can tell you they are very good. They have a great smokey taste and just fall off the bone. I like them dry, of course - I am a Memphian! But the wet are pretty darn tasty too. I like the pulled pork it has a perfect BBQ flavor. The onion loaf, cheese plate and tamales are all good. I just noticed they are selling a cat fish so I ordered that even though I was on the tour the allure of something new could not be passed up. It came out hot and fried. I liked it but the sauce was just a bit too pickley for me. My Mom tried the turkey club also new to us and it looked good. 


 They just put up a new wall decoration and it really has brightened the place up. I loved the coke bottle cap detail.



 If you are from Memphis you have already tried Corky's if your from out of town and think QVC has given you the Corky's experience- try them anyway cause no one tells you about the toasty, buttery sourdough rolls almost the best part of eating there !  






I also got to meet the Pitmaster Mr. Robert Boyd!




 Love the BBQ,
 Logan








Corky's Ribs & BBQ

Taste The Love at Alcenia's

On a warm July afternoon what is better than Tasting the Love??? Nothing.. Alcenia's is tucked into the north end in a small little building. My Mom thought she had a Groupon for them but she got it wrong so there we were at lunch time. I have to say I was skeptical- I mean the place looked festive with all kinds of colors and chairs but it was a bit empty and I felt almost like I was in someones home. 

We ordered the food and it really took awhile to come out of the kitchen but when it did- Wow was it good. Everything was served on picnicware but the portions were pretty generous and after the first bite I was not complaining. The fried chicken was fresh fried for me and tender. It has some nice spices, The yams were sliced fresh and cooked with some karo syrup cinnamon in and butter. The black eyed peas, one of my favorites were spicy, fresh, flavorful and perfectly cooked. They had some little something in them I have not had before perhaps hominy or ... I just don't know. 

The chicken wings had

a karo syrup hot sauce with some nice herbs and hot peppers mixed in. They were not too hot or too vinegar. The lovely lady there said she hoped I tasted the Love and I did! So if you need a bit of love in your day go fill the place up. 

 Love the Cabbage Leaf, Logan



 

Tsunami

My birthday is in July, so you're probably wondering where a food blogger goes for his birthday celebration dinner, I went to Tsunami.

It's an older restaurant, so it has stood the tests of time. The decor is contemporary hip and still trendy. The menu is exciting and cool and changes a lot based on the seafood available.

I ordered an appetizer of wasabi deviled eggs. Tsunami took the humble deviled egg and made it an amazing dish topped with exotic Japanese rice seasoning.
I also ordered some fried calamari, which came with a chipotle dipping sauce which was quite tasty. I liked how Tsunami did not include any tentacles in the calamari. It may be in style to add them but I would rather not eat them.

For my main course I ordered the pan seared tuna with cajun shrimp, with a spicy sauce ,I can't remember what it was called but Chef Ben Smith made sure that it was fabulous!
The tuna was seared perfectly to a medium-rare, the sauce was a little spicy and a bubbly feta cheese and some olives in it. It was a little too spicy for me but the flavors were well worth the kick. It also had some jasmine rice which was nice to temper the heat.
My Grandma ordered the scallop dinner. It came with 4 scallops and a sweeter sauce. She thought maybe they used only one master sauce but nope, hers was different and paired well to make another nice dish. The scallops were cooked just to her specifications. She liked it. 

Mama had a flank steak with mashed potatoes some sauted mushrooms and a horseradish sauce. Mama just plain out Loved it.
Dad ordered a fillet 
with sauteed squash and mashed potatoes. He ate it really fast so he enjoyed it. 



Dessert was Grandma's choice and she chose giner donuts with a coconut ice cream. They were heavenly! Just light and cakey and crispy the ginger went well with the coconut too. All in all it was a great celebration dinner from a fantastic local chef. Chef Poseidon may have the best seafood in Memphis!

Love the cabbage Leaf,
Logan 

P.S Chef Ben Smith has taken the time to teach me how to cook seafood. He is a great mentor and has earned the name Chef Poseidon.

Tsunami

At's A Pizza - on Union

The Memphis Flyer did a food review of a new Pizza place in the old Petra Cafe on Union. Since Pizza is a great food and fun to blog about I convinced my Dad to go. Since Dad likes Pizza it was easy.


The place is nice, a bit simple but it is just starting out so I did not expect a ton of personality yet. It is not a chain so there is no packaged decor just a good guy who wants to own a business and make pizza.

We ordered the toasted ravioli with meat sauce and they were ok. Not a hand made fresh product more of a frozen food fried. I still liked them and we ate them all. 

The pizza was good. Well, it was not great because I  ordered green olives and they were really generous so it was just too salty, that was my fault. The olives were nice. I don't think I will put fresh basil on a pizza again unless I make it! The sausage part had a bit of an odd taste not bad but not great either. The crust was handmade and it was perfectly baked. The sauce was not sweet and the cheese was well, cheesy. 

I think we will give it another go. It was not awesome gotta have it. But a man with a dream deserves a shot at my business and I really think it will get to be a great restaurant. 

Love the Cabbage leaf,
Logan

July + Memphis= Jerry's Sno Cones

Jerry's Sno-Cones, an awesome Memphis treasure, is tucked away down some random street off Summer Ave. 

This place is a dive, painted pink and green with a polar bear and a line around the block that looks permanent. WAIT! Don't be discouraged by that line, it goes fast.

I don't love sweets, I really don't even eat them, but add a hot Memphis day and icy sno-cone sounds wonderful.

I ordered a watermelon supreme - it was just ok. The ice cream (soft serve) is layered in the cup. The soft serve is good. You know normal sno-cones are all crystally, well, Jerry's are actual snow with an outstanding texture. The watermelon flavor was just ok. My Mom had wedding cake and OMG was it good. I had sno-cone envy. Same sno and same food coloring which was red and a bit shocking. The flavor was unique and unbelievable. 

Jerry's has managed to take a mundane food like a sno-cone and elevate it too extreme heights. I really thought it was impossible to take a sno-cone too.  

Now here is where I NEED you! There are no descriptions on some of those flavors, so YOU have to post me descriptions! I need to know what Ninja Turtle, Elvis, Napoleon Dynamite, toxic, and Spiderman are...come on people help a boy out!

Love the Cabbage Leaf,

Logan

Jerry's Sno Cone

Babalu a new view!

Overton Square is a trendy happening place. New, fun, exciting and pricey restaurants are popping up all over.
I just went to Babalu. It is a Mexican fusion place on the square. It looks kind of retro and feels open and fresh.
I got to try the guacamole - it is the house specialty and is made table side. I think that that is really awesome, just as cool as watching the hibachi steak guys, well, almost. They use fresh avocado, salt, lime juice, sun dried tomato paste, onions and salt and pepper. It can be as chunky or creamy as you like. For me chunky is better. I like a bit more pow in my guac but it was good.


The family shared some small plates. I picked the calamari. I asked for some of the wasabi mayo on the side. The squid was fresh and crispy. It was ok, good but not great.  I also tried the lamb taco. It was like a lamb gyro, the meat was pulled and the blue corn tortilla was the best part of the dish. It complimented the lamb in a surprising way. My Dad chose steak on a stick, it sounds like my Dad would love. Steak on a stick what could be manlier? The portion was small, and it had a sweet reduction on it and some potato hash on the side. Dad said he would not get it again.

Babalu is a cool place to go but I would go with friends and when you are not starving!

Love the cabbage, Leaf
Logan

https://www.facebook.com/babalumemphis
http://babalutacos.com/

Babalu Tacos & Tapas

Chomp...Chomp...Chomp...Mmmm Burgers!

Where?! Off the Hoof in Arlington TN. It is worth the drive. Even some time traveling Civil War Guys were there enjoying the food.
The menu is devoted to Burgers. They don't just have regular burgers they serve some weird ones too, like Ostrich burgers, Buffalo burgers, and Kobe burger. I had the sliders with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickle. The batter dipped fries were wonderful. They tasted like real, not processed. I really liked them.
Our waiter was happy and friendly. He was helpful and he got our order right. If your a kid they have a cool surprise for you.
My suggestions are to open a restaurant in Midtown and sorry to say this the name doesn't fit. Try something more like Burgers Inc. I thought the hoof meant BBQ and my Dad thought of Horses!

Love the Cabbage, Leaf
\

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Off-the-Hoof-Burgers/100796566629754?ref=ts&sk=wall