Best of Memphis - Brunch at Cafe Pontotoc

I have a new favorite meal. The problem? It's only available on Saturdays and Sundays!!! Ok, I've mentioned it before but we're not big brunch eaters. Between going to church on Sunday mornings and the various things that come up on Saturday morning, we typically overlook this particular meal. Cafe Pontotoc has made me a convert. Their brunch hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 11-3 giving us plenty of time and options so we don't miss out on this incredible meal. Not to mention that food. It is amazing.

Now for the details. When you sit down they give you a basket with mini biscuits and blueberry muffins. You guys. I can't even begin to explain how heavenly these blueberry muffins are!! I could literally eat an entire basket of them by myself (and I might one day because you can order a whole basket of them!) They're served warm and the flavor is seriously divine.

After devouring the biscuits and muffins, it's time for the main course. My favorite dish is the Crawcake Benedict. I mean, just look at that picture! The poached eggs are cooked perfectly and they sit on top of a crawcake which is just a crabcake made with crawfish instead. All on an English muffin and covered in hollandaise sauce. So amazing. I literally think about this meal daily.

Between the food and the atmosphere, Cafe Pontotoc has been our go-to spot for a mid-day meal on the weekends. I highly suggest you go there too.

Brunch at Bleu

I'll be honest, we're not big brunch people. Typically, on Sunday, we head to church and then have a long leisurely lunch with Jeremy's family. That leaves very little time for brunching. Well, I have a feeling this is all going to change. Bleu, the restaurant across from the FedEx Forum, launched their brand new brunch menu this weekend and it is, in one word, amazing.

Not only is the food incredible (I'll get into more of that in a minute), but their hours are super convenient for those of us who have plans on our Sunday mornings, or for those non-morning types of people. Their brunch goes from 11 am until 4 pm!! 4 pm. That's pretty awesome, if you ask me.

In addition to their hours being crazy convenient, their menu is stellar. We had the opportunity to try it, and I can't decide on a favorite dish! Luckily, the brunch is served as small plates, so you can order a bunch and split them all with your friends dining with you. It's pretty much a perfect scenario.

I can't stop thinking about their Chicken & Waffles, which was so unlike anyyy chicken and waffles I've ever had. It wasn't too sweet or too savory, it was the perfect blend of the two. I also very much enjoyed their Oscar Style Eggs Benedict. Eggs Benedict is probably one of my favorite breakfast dishes so I have very high standards. This particular dish doesn't have the ham that normally comes with Eggs Benedict, there's a crab cake instead! Probably, though, the dish I'm most anxious to eat again is the Breakfast Nachos. Yep. Let me say that again. Breakfast Nachos....Brilliant!!!!

They also had Hazelnut French Toast, Shrimp & Grits, and Lox. I hope you guys have the chance to go there for brunch! You won't be disappointed. I'm serious.

LYFE Kitchen

There's a new healthy restaurant in town and I couldn't be happier! We finalllllly had the chance to try the new LYFE Kitchen and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Even though LYFE Kitchen is a chain, this is unlike anything we have in town. It's fast casual dining, meaning you order at the counter and then they bring the food to your table, anddddd it's probably the healthiest menu I have ever seen. I mean, they don't even have soda. Instead, they have amazingly delicious flavored water... I recommend the cucumber mint.

Probably one of my favorite things was the herb wall when you walk in. Seriously, I want this in my house!!

I had the Buffalo Chicken Wrap and Jeremy had the Farmhouse Burger and we both gave them a thumbs up. This will definitely be a place we go to again when we're in that part of town.

Another awesome part? They're planning to open a LYFE Kitchen downtown!!! I bet we will be regulars.

Must Eat Memphis - Jerry's Sno Cones

All you have to do is mention Jerry's Sno Cones and my mouth starts to water. Jerry's is a Memphis staple and the best treat for a hot day... or a rainy day... or pretty much any day. People wait in crazy long lines for this refreshing sno cone made supreme. That means, with ice cream. Yes, it sounds strange, but trust me, it. is. amazing.

There are so so sooo many flavors and over the years I've been able to try several different ones! I think my favorite is still the Wedding Cake, made supreme, of course. Memphians, what is your favorite flavor? 

Recently, we drove out to Jerry's and we did something we have never done before. Jeremy ordered a burger from Jerry's. We have only ever ordered sno cones but I have a feeling there will be more burgers ordered in the future. Jeremy cannot stop talking about how good it was! Have you ever ordered food from Jerry's?

The trick to avoid lines? Go when it's raining. Just don't forget to bring an umbrella.



Here's the post I wrote about my first visit to Jerry's!

Eating in Memphis - La Michoacana

A few weeks ago, Jeremy and I found ourselves out on Summer and wanted a sweet treat. We finnalllllly were able to try La Michoacana paletas. After years of hearing about and seeing pictures of these treats, the opportunity presented itself to give them a try ourselves. Um. Why did we wait so long???

There were about a million different flavors in the freezer making it incredibly difficult to choose, however, at the same time making me realllly look forward to going back and trying more. This time around, Jeremy ordered the cherry and I had the mint chocolate chip. The ice cream is creamy and the flavors did not taste artificial at all (like some ice cream treats can). You can even see the fresh cherries and pieces of chocolate!

If you've never been, you should go, especially with summer right around the corner. If you have been there, what do you recommend?? When I posted a picture to Instagram, I had several people telling me their favorites!! What should we try on our next visit? (which will absolutely been in the near future)

  

Love Pop Soda Shop

I love living in the South Main Arts District of Downtown Memphis. There's a plethora of restaurants and bars within walking distance as well as the FedEx Forum and the Orpheum. Now, we have a new player in our neighborhood. A place that is unlike anywhere else in all of Memphis: Love Pop Soda Shop.

The concept is really pretty simple, but it's completely brilliant. You don't need to order a meal, it's family friendly, and it's definitely a fun time.

Love Pop Soda Shop has hundreds of unique flavored sodas for you to choose from. When we stopped in a few weekends ago, we each chose a bottle that looked good to us and they gave us some ice so we could sip on our pop strolling around South Main and enjoy the sun. You can also build your own six packs and I've heard they have ice cream so you can make floats.

See what I mean? Brilliant.

Eating in Memphis: Belly Acres

The ever-growing Overton Square has another new restaurant... Belly Acres. Its atmosphere is just as cute as the name and it has a menu just as delicious as it sounds!

If you haven't been yet, I highly recommend it. There are burger places popping up all over Memphis lately, but this one is (so far) one of my favorites. I particularly liked the Build Your Own section of the menu where you have a plethora of meets, breads, cheeses, etc, to create your own amazing burger.

They boast that they are "Citified Farm Fresh" which essentially means they bring the farm to the city with fresh quality ingredients and adorable decor. I particularly like the bright yellow crop duster coming out of the building!

Belly Acres is an extremely kid friendly restaurant, so bring the whole family! They serve their kid's meals in frisbees that you can take home and there's a tractor when you walk in that the little ones can climb on. Even though we don't have any children, this is still a place I know Jeremy and I will frequent often. At Belly Acres you know you'll always have a delicious meal you will without a doubt enjoy.

PS. If you follow me on Instagram, Belly Acres is where this #whereinmemphis picture was taken!

Eating in Memphis: Schweinehaus

Before I get into the meat of the post (pun intended), I just wanted to mention that you might have noticed it's been a little quiet around here lately. I took a somewhat spontaneous blog vacation and I think it was definitely needed. Sometimes you have to just unplug and step back for a little bit. In my time away I had a TON of good ideas and blog posts that you guys will be seeing in the next few weeks! Pretty excited to be back.

Ok, now let's talk about German food. This weekend, Jeremy and I finally were able to go over to Overton Square to try the (relatively) new restaurant, Schweinehaus.

According to their website, the two brothers who opened this restaurant strive to "provide an atmosphere that feels like Germany in Midtown Memphis without all the dinosaurs." They definitely delivered... we didn't see one dinosaur! Between the community tables and the German flags, the atmosphere is on point. The only thing missing was a man in lederhosen.

The menu is full of German dishes that I had never heard of but all sounded extremely delicious. I ordered the Müll Spatzel which is a German egg noodle with vegetables and sage butter. Simple but delicious. Jeremy ordered the Jagerschnitzel which was pork schnitzel, hunter sauce, mashed potatos, and braised red cabbage. The restaurant was a slightly dark so my pictures didn't turn out too good. SO instead of sharing some dark, unappetizing pictures, you should just go to Schweinehaus as soon as you can to experience the dishes yourself. 

I could probably count the number of times I've had German food on one hand so this probably isn't a place I'll be frequenting weekly. I will say, though, that this is a great restaurant to go to with a group of friends. The large community tables and array of items on the menu make this place an ideal hangout spot.

Must Eat Memphis: Oshi

Ever since the red signs went up, I have wanted to try Oshi Burger Bar, the new joint on Main Street. Essentially, Oshi is a slightly upscale burger bar with an Asian twist and it definitely lives up to all the hype it's been getting lately.

Jeremy and I stopped in this weekend for dinner and it did not disappoint. Between the atmosphere and the food, I thinkkkkk I have a new restaurant to add to my favorite places to eat downtown.

I ordered the Siam I Am burger which is a turkey burger with chili aioli, pickled veggies, crushed avocado and cilantro. (pictured above)

Jeremy tried the 50/50 which is a ground chuck and ground bacon patty with onion jam, cheddar, ballpark mustard, and house made pickles. (pictured below)

We shared an order of the Kimchi, Bacon, and Beer Cheese Skinny Fries and they were amazing. The fries live up to their name, skinny, and I loved it! The small, crunchier fries are always my favorite and these were delicious!

Even though we didn't try them this trip, Oshi also serves milkshakes (with the option to add alcohol to them). I absolutely foresee us stopping in here late at night for some milkshakes and fries.

So, have you tried Oshi yet?

 

Taste of Fall with Seasons 52

Last week, Jeremy and I had the opportunity to try the new Autumn menu at Seasons 52. Um. It was amazing. Even though it still feels like summer outside, eating these hearty warm dishes made it actually feel like Fall.

Let me back up a second. For those who might not know, Seasons 52 (which has locations all over the country) has a special menu that changes with the seasons. They use fresh, seasonal ingredients that pair together perfectly.

For our (super huge) meal, we were able to try a little bit of everything on their new Fall menu. Here's what we had:

Flatbread
Trio of Roasted Mushrooms
garlic confit, spinach, green onions, goat cheese, truffle oil

Appetizers
Butternut Squash Soup

Organic Baby Spinach & Caramelized Pear Salad

Entrees
Roasted Manchester Farms Quail
mushroom risotto stuffing, leaf spinach, bacon, balsamic demi-glace

Caramelized Grilled Sea Scallops
butternut squash risotto, brocclini, lemon butter

Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon

Autumn Vegetables
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts
crispy bacon, garlic, Parmesan crust

Roasted Harvest Squashes
spiced maple-mint glaze

Dessert
Seasons 52 Signature Mini Indulgences
 



Yeah. Amazing.

My favorite dishes were the Butternut Squash Soup (which I didn't even know I liked) and the Scallops (which I probably would have never ordered on my own). Something else that was really good that I was surprised about was the Quail. I mean, to be honest, I don't think I had ever eaten quail, but I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it was.

I highly suggest Seasons 52 for a seasonal meal that will definitely not disappoint.

So, which dish do you want to try?

This meal was complimentary, however, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Must Eat Memphis: The Little Tea Shop

The Little Tea shop is one of those places that I have always wanted to try. I mean, not only had I heard amazing things about the food, but the sign is also absolutely adorable. As a Downtowner, I'm pretty disappointment in myself that I had waited this long!

Since they're only open until 2 pm and closed on Saturdays and Sundays, it's a great place for lunch. Especially if you happen to work downtown (which gives me no excuse for not getting here sooner haha I work downtown!).

Jeremy met me for lunch one day and we finnnnalllly were able to give this place a try! We were not disappointed. It definitely lived up to expectations.

The food is Southern cuisine with things like meatloaf and cornbread on the menu. When we sat down there was a sheet of paper and a pencil at each of our seats. These were the menus! To order, you circle what you want and give it to the waitress. I actually kind of liked this method. Since I have a relatively short (and strict) lunch break, this was a good way to speed things a long a little bit. When we ordered, we were given a basket of hot corn sticks. Oh my YUM! These were amazing.

Jeremy ordered the Meatloaf. He's pretty particular about Meatloaf, but this one passed the test! I ordered the Lacy Special which is chicken breast between corn sticks topped with gravy. Yes. It was as good as it sounds! This food is definitely filling and definitely delicious. When the plate was placed in front of me Jeremy said there was no way I'd be able to eat all of it. I proved him wrong.

This is definitely a place we will be meeting for lunch more often in the future. I'm calling it now, in the winter when it's cold outside, I'll be craving these corn sticks... and gravy.... and mashed potatoes. 


So, have any of you ever been? Do you have any other must eat lunch spots for us to try?