A Gift of History

Yesterday, I received one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me. My mother had mentioned last week that she had a box in her workroom that she needed to give me; yesterday, when I was at her house, she reminded me to go upstairs and get the box out of her craft room. I did, and found this:


My present

Pretty, right? I was wildly curious. Knowing my mother, it could have been literally anything. Unable to help myself, I opened it immediately, peeled back the layers of tissue paper, and found...

... my grandmother’s recipes.

Not copies, mind you, or a compilation. These are the actual recipes that she had scribbled down on whatever was handy, or clipped from magazines or old cookbooks. This was bits of my childhood, the origins of my passion for cooking, wrapped up in a box. My love of cooking began in my grandmother’s kitchen. It was there that I made my first solo dish, French toast. It was there that I learned to make biscuits, spaghetti, fried chicken, all of the basics. It was there that I learned to equate food with love and family, as cooking brought me closer to my grandmother, and as the food we served brought the whole family together.

Doing my best not to get too emotional since we had guests, I closed up the box, pushed back the tears that were threatening, and closed up my treasure to have a closer look at home, in private.

At home, I found a lot of great recipes that brought back wonderful memories. But my favorites were those I recognized as being in my grandmother’s own handwriting.

My grandmother’s jam cake recipe

Jam cake has always been a holiday recipe for my family. Growing up, my mother’s family had very little; she and her four brothers and sisters might get one gift at Christmas. But my grandmother always made up for that by making the holidays special with food — more cookies, candies, cakes, and pies than you could imagine. I lost my grandmother over twenty years ago, but we still have jam cake for Thanksgiving or Christmas nearly every year.

Even more than the history, though, this recipe was special to me for another reason. One of the things I remember most about cooking with my grandmother is how frustrated I would get when I would ask her a question and get a vague answer. “How much milk?” “Oh, enough.” “How long do I cook it?” “Till it looks right.” It drove me nuts back then, but now I get it. And it makes me smile to read the instructions for the jam cake, which after a brief description of how to mix the ingredients reads simply “Bake — 350 — until done.”


My grandmother’s pickle recipe

With very few exceptions, I spent my summer days with my grandmother until I started high school. My grandmother had the most amazing green thumb, and her tiny yard produced an amazing array of flowers, four fruit trees, and a prolific garden. Every day we would pick vegetables from the garden, and when the cucumbers were ready, it was time to make pickles.

Pickle-making is still one of my strongest memories of summer. I remember the smell of the pickles before they were canned. I remember jumping up and down on the dining room floor to make the pressure cooker whistle in the kitchen. And most of all, I remember stealing the freshly cut cucumber slices out of the ice-cold brine, as often as I could without getting caught and risking my grandmother’s wrath. (She never once spanked me, but I truly believed it was an option.) I’ve never been good with plants like she was — I’ve actually killed cacti and aloe plants — so I don’t have a garden. But I plan on hitting the Farmer’s Market next weekend so I can try out her pickle recipe.


My grandmother’s macaroni salad recipe

I have to confess, macaroni salad was never one of my favorite things to eat. I’m not sure why, given my lifelong affair with mayonnaise, and considering that I make a somewhat similar recipe now. But I do remember helping to make it for all sorts of occasions. Mostly I remember taking it to our annual family reunion — always a loud raucous, fun time as we reconnected with my grandmother’s seven siblings, their children, and their grandchildren.

But that’s not why this recipe is my favorite of the bunch. I love it best not for the recipe itself, but for everything else about it. First, true to my grandmother’s style, there are no real directions, just a line separating the salad ingredients from the dressing ingredients. Even better, it contains one of my grandmother’s intricate, swirly doodles. Plus, the added bonus of what looks like the scores from a game of rummy between her, my mother, and my aunt. All scribbled on the back of an insert that came out of my grandmother’s Scrabble set, which brings back a whole other set of memories.

I need to thank my mother again. This little box was more than just recipes. It’s a piece of my family, and my history, that I can carry with me. It’s a piece of myself, very much connected to the experiences that made me the woman I am today. And more than that, it will be a part of my future, as I begin to use these recipes to cook for the people I love.

Friday Night at the Drive-In

In the last several years, EAToo and I have gotten to where we rarely see movies out. In addition to the expense, I just don’t need the stress of trying to watch a movie while surrounded by people who don’t know how to behave themselves in public. (I think I gave up in 2002 when I took off work early to see Star Trek: Nemesis. I remember sitting in the theater, when I heard a cell phone ring. “Hey... not much... at the movie... Star Trek... well, it’s ok....”) So I kind of need it to be a pretty special experience if I’m going to see a movie with the unwashed masses.

On Friday night, we definitely had a special experience. We went, along with the whole family (the BFFs, and the “niece” and “nephew”), to the Summer Drive-In. As you can see, our double feature for the evening included WALL•E and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.


The box office at the Summer Drive-In

The first time I went there, with my parents, it was still the “Summer Twin”, with only two screens. It opened in the late ‘60s with one screen, and by 1985 had expanded to four screens, two of which had traditional speakers, and two of which worked with short-range FM broadcasts for sound. I think the first movie I saw there was Star Wars, but I definitely remember seeing Grease there, too. Later, as a teenager, I remember going there with friends to see Dirty Dancing (with the same aforementioned BFF — one of three times we saw it at the theater) and on a date, to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.


The concession stand

Things have changed a lot since then. Once one of two drive-ins in Memphis, the Summer is now the only drive-in left in all of West Tennessee. (According to driveinmovie.com, Tennessee is still one of the best states for drive-ins, although as of their writing, 14 of 15 operational drive-ins in the state were in Middle and East Tennessee.) Known as the “Summer Four” in its glory days, screen 2 was lost last year in a fire. Only its skeleton remains, and owner Malco has no plans to rebuild:


The former screen 2

But many things are still the same. (And not just the asphalt, which I’m pretty sure hasn’t been re-paved since the first time I was there, in the ‘70s.) The Summer still hosts rows and rows of families, sitting in their cars or outside them in lawn chairs with their picnic coolers. Parents still feel safe enough to let their kids (at least the bigger ones) run back and forth to the concession stand on their own. Intermission still brings the series of goofy nature pictures which has nothing to do with anything. And a lot of the kids still fall asleep before intermission (or “halftime”, as the princess called it when she woke up as we were packing up to leave, wondering how she had missed so much).


Our view of screen 1

All in all, it was a great, relaxing evening. We saw two good movies, and it was very comfortable and breezy, despite the Memphis summer heat. Sure, there were a few minor issues, all having to do with being around other people, some of whom were apparently not raised right. You know who you are — the people next to us who left your empty soda cans rolling around on the ground, for instance. Or the people next to us whose exhaust fumes we had to smell when they kept their engine running for twenty minutes. Or the people who didn’t know you were supposed to have your lights off the whole time. (Thank you, though, for finally turning off your parking lights after we asked.)

Despite the minor irritations, it was a night I wouldn’t trade for anything. Going to the drive-in is a quintessentially American experience, and a part of our history that is slipping away as more and more of these theaters close. Honestly, I’m not sure how the Summer Drive-In stays in business — they charge only $7 for a double feature, kids are free, and the concession stand can’t be all that profitable with everyone bringing their own food with them. I count myself lucky, not only that I can still enjoy the drive-in myself, but that the Summer Drive-In stayed open long enough to share that part of my childhood with the kids.

Summer Drive-In
5310 Summer Avenue
Memphis, TN 38122
901-767-4320

Nathan Fillion Is Everywhere!

Okay, maybe he’s not everywhere. (Although he should be.) But Nathan Fillion is a very busy boy.

The star of my beloved, gone-but-not-forgotten “Firefly” and one of my all-time favorite movies, Waitress, has got a lot going on this summer. Ain’t It Cool News reports that we can now view the teaser trailer for his summer internet series “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, which co-stars “How I Met Your Mother” comedic genius Neil Patrick Harris. More importantly, the series was created by Joss Whedon, creator of all things good and pure and holy. You know, like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. And “Angel”. And “Firefly”. (Not a sci-fi/fantasy fan? Joss also wrote a little movie you may have heard of called Toy Story.)

Also out this summer is DC Comics’ new animated Wonder Woman DVD, which you can read about here. In addition to Nathan Fillion providing the voice of Steve Trevor, this project boasts the lovely Keri Russell as Princess Diana. Considering these two were magic together in Waitress, I’m really looking forward to this as well. (Did I mention what a great movie Waitress is? Seriously — rent it, buy it, borrow it, Netflix it — whatever you have to do not to miss out on it.)

In addition to these projects, my beloved “Captain Tightpants” also has a part in the upcoming romantic comedy Chilled in Miami with Harry Connick, Jr. and Renée Zellweger. He also has a television show in development, called “Repo Brothers”, but there’s not a lot of information out there yet about that.

Like I said, he’s not quite everywhere, just yet. But at this rate, hopefully he will be soon.

In memoriam: George Carlin (1937 – 2008)

George Carlin died yesterday.

That seems so wrong to say, on so many levels. But there you have it — a legend, arguably the greatest stand up comedian ever, is gone as the result of heart failure at age 71.

I have so many memories of watching George Carlin on television and in movies. In the ‘70s, I watched him on “Saturday Night Live,” even though I was way too young to completely understand his material. In the ‘80s, I watched many of his HBO specials, and of course remember him as Rufus in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, as well as its sequel. In the ‘90s, I loved his short-lived “The George Carlin Show” on Fox, and more recently I adored his performances in Kevin Smith’s movies, especially Dogma. I still have my copy of his comedy book, Brain Droppings.

I couldn’t have explained it properly as a child, but I know now that I always loved George Carlin’s work because he shared my love of language and writing. Sure, he was very much known for his riff on the “Seven Dirty Words” (written long enough ago that you can actually use a couple of them with regularity on broadcast television today). But his use of profanity and his disdain of politeness never limited his ability to express himself. His work was genius, completely aside from his use of “inappropriate” language.

Some of his bits that stick in my mind include his questioning of why we “park on driveways but drive on parkways,” his rant about how spoiled we must be as a country to have eating disorders while so much of the world is starving for lack of food, and of course the perennial favorite “A Place for My Stuff.” I’ll never forget the line on his sitcom about how his character, New York cabbie George Grady, was so enraged when “Star Trek” was cancelled that his angry letter to the network was “still etched into the bar.”

But it was always the little observations that really got to me, and his gift for wordplay. “Pacifism is a nice idea, but it can get you killed.” “Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.” “As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything.” “The planet is fine. The people are...” — well, I can’t really repeat that one here. He did occasionally use profanity, you know.

George Carlin had no patience for sentimentality. He would probably be irritated at all of the people eulogizing him — if for no other reason than he’s not around to hear it — but he will be missed. He was an inspiration, and the world is a far less interesting place without him in it.

TV News: (Blank) to Air Updated “Match Game”?

I was a huge game show fan as a child, and the original “Match Game” was one of my favorites. I remember watching it every morning at my grandmother’s house; I’d watch the “P.M.” edition at home, too, if my father was busy enough reading the newspaper to let me have control of the television. I even watched it on a nearly daily basis when Game Show Network began airing reruns of it in the late ‘90s.

As game shows go, Match Game wasn’t exactly “Jeopardy!” Heck, not even “Wheel of Fortune,” really, in terms of intellectual value. But it was always a blast. Host Gene Rayburn would ask contestants a question that included a “blank” — some were mundane and obvious, like a bonus question of “filthy _____”, while many were intended as opportunities for naughty answers. The fun came as contestants attempted to match answers with celebrity panelists. It was far less about the contestants and how much they won, and far more about the banter amongst panelists, which most notably included Brett Somers, Richard Dawson, and Charles Nelson Reilly.

Now we have news that Robert Smigel (writer for “Saturday Night Live” and sometimes collaborator of Adam Sandler) has created a “revival” Match Game for TBS, using the sets from the late ‘70s version of the show. Celebrities on the panel for the first taping, last Thursday, included Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Niecy Nash (of “Reno 911”) and “Kids in the Hall” comedian Scott Thompson. (Interesting side note via IMdB — comedian Carrot Top’s real name is also Scott Thompson. I find that strange and somewhat disturbing.)

To be honest, I was a little worried about the new version when I first read about it on AICN. The ‘70s Match Game worked because television was a completely different culture back then — this was a time when only three networks existed, married couples were just beginning to be shown sharing the same bed, and lingerie was advertised on mannequins and not models. Most of the funny came from celebrities and contestants coming up with naughty answers while trying not to be too blunt about it. I had to wonder whether that same vibe could be recreated in today’s society, where thanks to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, you can say pretty much anything, even on basic cable. (Not that I’m complaining. I still love “South Park”.)

And apparently, my concerns were warranted, if the “eyewitness report” that has been added to the AICN item is any indication. There may still be hope — apparently a few of the celebrities’ answers were genuinely funny. But I don’t think I’ll watch for very long if it turns into an exercise of celebrities being dirty just for the sake of being dirty. The original Match Game may not have required its contestants to be particularly smart, but it worked because of the smart comedy. If the revival version can’t develop that, I’ll just stick to the GSN reruns.

AFI’s 10 Top 10

Tonight was the first night that EAToo and I had alone together at home after a particularly traumatic weekend. Although we should have occupied ourselves watching some of the mess on our overcrowded DVR, we instead allowed ourselves to be distracted by the three-hour presentation of the American Film Institute’s 10 Top 10 — the AFI’s list of the ten best movies in ten different genres.

Obviously, there will be disagreement and discussion regarding any such list, which is part of the point — pop culture unites us, but touches each of us so individually that there will always be strong and diverse opinions. That said, I couldn’t believe some of the movies that were left out of the “10 Top 10”, many of which are included in the also-interesting list of 500 nominees that AFI members had to choose from.

Many of the movies that I felt were unduly dismissed were, admittedly, newer classics. For instance, in the “Animation” category, I couldn’t possibly argue with the inclusion of Bambi or Cinderella, or newer Pixar favorites like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. However, on the nominee ballot but left off the top ten was South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. I know it’s not a traditional choice, but I hate that they didn’t recognize any adult animation at all in the top ten.

“Fantasy” was the most disappointing portion of the show for me. I completely agree with giving props to classics like The Wizard of Oz. But being made after the year 2000 shouldn’t somehow disqualify newer classics like the Harry Potter movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Spiderman 2. Most of all, I don’t see how you can have a top ten list of fantasy movies without The Princess Bride, which is just one of the best movies, ever, of any genre.

I’ll let the “Sci-Fi” list go, so as not to geek out completely. But I can’t ignore the obvious omissions in the “Mystery” category. Again, some of the most obvious omissions (despite being complete works of genius) are newer films, such as L. A. Confidential and Memento. Heck, The Sixth Sense wasn’t even one of the possible nominees.

I really believe the “Courtroom Dramas” top ten should have included A Time to Kill — if only because it took such an honest look at the racial problems that still plague the South. But I couldn’t possibly argue with the top two movies on that part of the list: Twelve Angry Men at number 2, and the obvious To Kill a Mockingbird at number 1.

“Romantic Comedies” provided the single biggest disappointment for me. Say Anything is not only one of my favorite movies, but is one of the first movies that defined my generation. I don’t think there were many girls my age who didn’t fall in love with John Cusack (and Lloyd Dobler) watching that movie. On the other hand, after looking at the nomination list, this category also provided me with one of my happiest moments of the evening — the realization that Pretty Woman had been nominated, but hadn’t made it to the top ten. I mean, seriously? She was a hooker. Not romantic.

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the ultimate 10 Top 10 list, I’d suggest going to AFI’s website and checking out this and their other lists (free registration required). If nothing else, maybe it will inspire you, as it did me, to re-watch some old favorites. First up for me is going to be The Philadelphia Story, which is going on my Netflix queue as soon as possible.

“Office” rumor: Rashida Jones to head spinoff?

This is the best news I’ve heard about the proposed spinoff of “The Office.” Even if it’s not official news yet.

Although previous reports stated that it wouldn’t exactly be a spinoff, with no established characters moving over, now it appears that the lovely and talented Rashida Jones (daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton) will head up the new office — which makes sense, considering Jones’ character, Karen Fillipelli, was last seen managing the “Utica” branch of Dunder Mifflin.

Sounds like a great idea to me. I always liked both Jones and her character, and thought she did a great job with what was always doomed to be a short-term role as the “spoiler” in the show’s main romantic storyline. I hope the rumor is true, so that both Jones and her character have a second chance at Dunder Mifflin.

What do you call a “Battlestar Galactica” fan?

Sorry, no punchline. I seriously need to know. For example, I know for a fact that I’m a Trekkie. (For the record, I hate “Trekker”. It’s pompous, and I fully accept that I’m an obsessed fangirl, so why sugarcoat it? Heck, search Trekker in Wikipedia and see what happens.) I also know that I am a Browncoat... you fans of “Firefly” know what I’m talking about. But I need to know what to call myself now. I’m apparently pretty far gone with “Battlestar Galactica”, too, because I’m considering buying this:



I’m also thinking about the entire series of Colonial Fleet propaganda posters as well.

At least I have the “mid-season” finale of BSG to keep me occupied while I make up my mind. It airs tomorrow night on SciFi — read all about it (spoilers included!) here. If it lives up to all the hype, it promises to be a game-changer worthy of “Lost”, with plenty to keep fans talking. Which will be great, since it looks like the last half-season won’t air until 2009.

TV News: “Veronica Mars” reunion on “Heroes”

With the writers’ strike over and the rumored Screen Actors Guild strike looking unlikely, I’m finally letting myself get excited about the upcoming fall television season.

And here’s the most exciting news so far: “Heroes” has apparently signed Francis Capra (Weevil from “Veronica Mars”) for the new season, reuniting him with his Veronica co-star Kristen Bell. (Check out the full story here.) It doesn’t make up for the fact that Veronica Mars was cancelled years too early, but I’ll take it.

Now if Heroes can just make room for Jason Dohring now that “Moonlight” is cancelled….

Fuse TV: It’s like MTV, except with videos!

At our house, summer is the time we look at television that we might not ordinarily watch during the regular season. Not like “American Gladiators” or “So You Think You Can Dance” — I do have some pride — but often we pick up interesting basic cable stuff that we might not ordinarily watch, or things like Jeopardy.

So far this year, we’ve been filling up a lot of time with Fuse TV. I discovered it a few weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, when I first stumbled across a show called “Loaded”. “Loaded” offers a thirty-minute block of music videos from a single artist. I happened upon it toward the end of a Fall Out Boy block. We have since DVR’d and watched blocks from Stone Temple Pilots, Foo Fighters, Weezer, and others.

Other shows on Fuse include “Video Yearbook”, a compilation of videos from a specific year, and a daily “No. 1 Countdown”, which rotates daily amongst rock, alternative, hip-hop, or “viewer’s choice.” All of these shows, including Loaded, appear to be different compilations each time you watch — we’ve recorded a few episodes of Loaded twice to check, and were rewarded with a different mixture of videos from Weezer and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

It’s not all music videos, of course. They play movies in the evenings, although these “Full Volume Flicks” are often guilty pleasures. (But how could you not love Empire Records?) There is also the occasional unfortunate reality show or “documentary”. But if you’re a member of the original MTV generation (who remembers when Video Killed the Radio Star), it’s refreshing to actually be able to see music videos regularly. Or even have them on in the background while you’re doing other things, like writing.

Sure, part of it is nostalgia. I’m old enough that I remember having a three-hour-a-day MTV habit as a teenager in the ‘80s. I’m old enough that I’ve watched both MTV and M2 turn from all-music-all-the-time rock fests into crappy reality channels. I’m old enough that I remember feeling old when I started to enjoy VH1 more than MTV, only to have it follow in its younger sibling’s footsteps.

But it’s more than that. After all these years, I still love new music — especially alternative and modern rock. So it’s nice to have a place where I can both keep up with new music and rediscover old favorites from the ‘90s and ‘00s. And it’s somehow comforting to know that while change is inevitable, there’s still a place where a nerd like me can just enjoy the music without all of the other distractions.

A Very Happy Anniversary

I really have been trying to be a better blogger, posting more regularly. But this was a rough week at work, combined with two baseball games, and visiting with out-of-town family. Oh, yeah… and there was the matter of our anniversary.

On Thursday, EAToo and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. (Happy anniversary! Love you!) Just saying that out loud makes me feel much older than I am, and makes me have to keep repeating to myself that I just got married very young. So, how to celebrate — and cheer me up? Food, of course.

When we started making plans, EAToo mentioned hopefully that the traditional 15th anniversary gift is “crystal”. After I patiently explained that this did not mean that I would be amenable to celebrating our anniversary with small, square hamburgers, we talked more about where we should go to dinner.

I made several suggestions, from which he chose Restaurant Iris. (He is ultimately responsible for choosing where to take me on Valentine’s Day and our anniversary each year. And for killing spiders. And changing lightbulbs I can’t reach. I’m pretty sure that was all in the wedding vows.) He made reservations for Friday night — Thursday was a baseball game — and we were off.

I simply cannot think of enough good things to say about Restaurant Iris. Owner and chef Kelly English, a transplant from New Orleans, opened his restaurant on Monroe Avenue in the space formerly occupied by Memphis culinary institution La Tourelle, which closed last summer just after celebrating its 30th anniversary. Chef English had a lot to live up to, and definitely rises to the occasion.

The evening began with an amuse-bouche of crab, in a homemade mayonnaise with horseradish, on a small crostini. It was just beautiful. If you have never had homemade mayonnaise, I can’t possibly explain it to you — with apologies to Elvis Costello (or perhaps one of my favorite movies), it’s like dancing about architecture. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself.

Things got more difficult after that, since the only bad thing about our trip to Restaurant Iris was having to choose what to order. Both EAToo and I are somewhat indecisive by nature, and it didn’t sound like there were any bad options on the menu. After much deliberation and negotiation (I even offered to try the oysters three ways if EAToo wanted), he finally chose the fried Boudin, a pork and rabbit sausage with caramelized onion and ravigote. The bit I tried was delicious, thoughts of fluffy bunnies notwithstanding.

I chose the Brussels sprouts salad, a warm salad with chunks of bacon in a sherry vinaigrette. I know Brussels sprouts aren’t for everyone, but they have been one of my favorite vegetables since I was a very little girl (surprisingly, not nearly the strangest thing about me). These were the best I have ever had, beautifully sautéed and tender, and the bacon and tangy dressing provided the perfect counterpart to the slight sweetness of the sprouts. I am going to have a difficult time passing them up next time in order to try something else.

Next up was entrées. Again, too many choices. Shrimp and grits always sounds good to me, and the grilled bass over lobster mashed potatoes sounded excellent as well. The server had kindly warned us that the amberjack was a more “fragrant” fish than the bass, and might not be to everyone’s liking. Undaunted — actually even more eager — after this description, EAToo chose the jack (amberjack the night we went), with ratatouille and bordelaise sauce. He was not disappointed.

I ultimately went with the scallops. They were grilled to perfection, and plated with house-made potato gnocchi in a vodka cream sauce, topped with a bit of fennel and citrus salad. “Good” doesn’t even begin to cover it. I have not had good kitchen luck with scallops, although my homemade gnocchi are passable. But these — well, I can say unequivocally that Chef English is simply a genius. I have never had gnocchi so light and perfect before, and by this time I was totally jealous of his kitchen skills. Again, I fear having a difficult time trying any other entrée the next time we go.

By the time we ordered dessert, I was toying with the idea of passing on it altogether, or at least sharing. Right up until the server described the bread pudding. One of my stranger food quirks is that I don’t like raisins in my bread pudding. (I also drink my tea completely unsweetened. I swear I really am from around here, I promise.) When the server mentioned that there were no raisins (his preference as well), I had to have it. And all to myself. It turned out to be one of those desserts that I get way too involved with, like crème brulée, the other option I had considered. I could have spent the rest of the evening with that brown butter caramel sauce. EAToo chose the molten chocolate cake, despite being mildly disappointed that it was paired with berries stewed in wine, rather than the blood orange sorbet he had read about on the website. He quite enjoyed it, and I’m pretty sure the promise of the blood orange sorbet will help me tempt him back another time.

In addition to exquisite food, the service and atmosphere at Iris were perfect as well. I can’t think of anything I would change about our experience there. As I may have mentioned, EAToo is a big eater (partially my fault for introducing him to good Southern food in the first place), and he often worries too much about the price-to-amount-of-food ratio at nicer restaurants. Fortunately, three courses each at Iris was plenty of food for both of us — in fact, I could have stopped about halfway through my bread pudding. Didn’t, mind you. But could have.

For those who do want to try more than three courses, Restaurant Iris offers a five-course “dégustation” menu. It sounded lovely, but honestly, I can’t imagine that sort of sensory overload.

I left Restaurant Iris immensely pleased and excited to return (hopefully soon, and possibly for brunch). I’m not above making up another special occasion to do so — I just know I don’t want to wait for our next anniversary.


Restaurant Iris
2146 Monroe Avenue
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 590-2828

Seven Deadly Sins

Well, okay… three of them, anyway.

Last night it just happened that the nephew was spending the night at a friend’s house, and his sister, the princess, threw a fit to go spend the night with her grandmother. As the BFFs suddenly found themselves temporarily childless (a rare occurrence), we set out to have a night of grown up fun (an even more rare occurrence).

What to do? Being us, the obvious answer was “eat.” So we headed down south to Tunica. Our destination? Harrah’s Casino (formerly The Grand), where the Paula Deen Buffet had opened a couple of weeks ago.

I enjoy watching Paula Deen on television. People have told my mother that Paula reminds them of her, although I really don’t see it. Although my mother is absolutely Southern and a wonderful cook, and enjoys the slot machines like Paula apparently does, so I guess the similarities are there. And at my mom’s, everyone tends to congregate in the kitchen while she cooks, which is one of the things I like about “Paula’s Home Cooking” — she invites you into her own home.

Paula’s Buffet in Tunica is, in fact, a large-scale model of her home, divided into areas modeled after Paula’s dining room, porch, etc. (I assume Paula’s home doesn’t have an actual gift shop, but you never know.) And the food is exactly what you’d expect from watching her shows and reading her cookbooks, with a few surprises along the way.

Now, I’m not normally a big fan of buffets. I can’t exactly explain why, except that I tend to think the food suffers from not getting a lot of attention from those preparing it. (There’s also my tendency to not like being in close proximity to a bunch of people I don’t know, but that’s just a personal thing.) And if Paula’s buffet does suffer at all, it is from the fact that it is, by definition, more institutional than a traditional restaurant. (That’s not a criticism — any restaurant meant to serve over 500 people at a time is, by definition, not going to involve any single plate of food getting hands-on attention from a chef.) But as buffets go, Paula’s is top-notch. She had her kitchen manager come out from Savannah to instruct the staff (and had the buffet’s kitchen manager come to Savannah for training), and the level of attention shows.

There are five basic areas to the Buffet. Granny Paul’s Garden is the salad bar. Most of the ingredients there were what you’d expect on a salad bar, although everything was fresh and of great quality. Some of Paula’s specialty salads were interesting, including a marinated asparagus salad, mushroom and tomato salad, and a Vidalia onion slaw. The seafood gumbo was excellent.

Next up is Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House. Here, I was a little disappointed. I tried the crab legs, knowing full well that it was going to be a lot of work for a little food. Unfortunately, there were no crackers in sight, so they ended up being a lot of work for a little food and messy hands. The fried shrimp were also a bit disappointing, being a little bit tough and slightly greasy. (EAToo noted that the fried potatoes and catfish were a bit greasy, too.) The peel ‘em and eat ‘em shrimp, however, were absolutely wonderful. The oysters and frog legs both looked good, as such things go, but I can’t make any personal recommendations, as neither is exactly my cup of tea.

The next food station is based on The Lady and Sons, Paula’s home-cooking restaurant in Savannah. I didn’t stop there, as the line was a bit long. But I am assured by the BFF and EAToo that the cheesy meatloaf was really good, and that the chicken pot pie is to die for. EAToo also very much enjoyed the lima beans —something he just doesn’t get at home. Ever. So I was glad that he enjoyed them without me having to deal with them.

For my part, I skipped on to Captain Michael’s Smokehouse, named for Paula’s husband. There I tried the wet ribs (they had dry, too, but they just didn’t look as good). They were really good, with an excellent smoke flavor in the meat, which was, appropriately, falling off the bone. The Smokehouse section also had some Polish sausage and a brisket. I skipped these, largely because the brisket looked a bit overdone to me (and since I like my steak well-done, that’s saying something). However, the Smokehouse section also boasted some excellent cheese grits, and, inexplicably, some really, really good crab cakes, made fresh on a griddle at the bar. Go figure.

Before I get to the desserts, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the bread station. Two types of bread are available there — hoe cakes and garlic cheese biscuits. The garlic cheese biscuits ranged from sublime to overdone and a bit too hard, depending on which batch you got. If you got one of the nice, fresh, soft ones, they were wonderful. The highlight, though, was definitely the hoe cakes. These fried corn cakes, which resemble pancakes a bit, were absolutely perfect specimens. Butter and syrup are available, but I don’t know why you would need to add anything at all.

Of course, we saved the best for last — although I kind of wish we had gone to Little Jack’s corner for dessert first. And last. And in the middle. There were only about a dozen things I wanted to try: hand dipped ice cream (including sundaes and banana splits), cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, puddings, and even large jars of “penny” candies. I held myself back, however… limiting myself to only three choices. The black forest cake was wonderfully light, which made me feel like I had plenty of room for a small bit of really excellent bread pudding and part of a lovely (and oversized) chocolate truffle. Alas, I did not notice the crème brulée until it was too late. I’ll catch that and the gooey butter cake the next time.

Paula’s Buffet is a bit pricey on the weekends, at $25 per person. However, the quality and quantity of the food were definitely worth it. If you’d like to pay a bit less, the weeknight cost is about $18, and breakfast is only $9. We arrived at about 8:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, and there was about an hour wait — which probably would have happened at most restaurants in the Wolfchase area (where we live), so that was no big deal. At least we had plenty to keep us occupied in the meantime.

So, back to those deadly sins. Obviously, gluttony was the order of the evening. (EAToo does tend to take “all you can eat” as a personal challenge.) It could have been worse, though, since we did enough walking around the casino before and after eating to take the edge off a bit. Ultimately, I don’t figure the occasional splurge really hurts — and I don’t remember the last time I ate that much, so it’s probably ok.

But you can’t go to a casino without doing a little bit of gambling… at least, I can’t. Hence the greed. Now, my father is a blackjack dealer, and I am well aware that casinos don’t make payroll for a couple of thousand people by handing out money to everyone who walks in. But it’s still fun to try, with just that little bit of hope that you’ll be the one to get something for nothing. So we tried out our luck (on a very small scale) on slots and video poker. Having tested my luck, I am reassured that it is still nonexistent.

Which brings me to that last one, envy. The BFFs had better luck than us. Well, at least they managed to play a lot longer on a lot less money, one of them turning $10 into $60 (and back into none) before dinner, and the other playing for the better part of an hour on $2.50 at a nickel slot machine. EAToo tried a similar machine — and even playing 20 lines at a time couldn’t hit anything. I don’t mean he didn’t win big. He didn’t win anything. At all. I was a bit jealous, sure, but on the other hand, my lack of luck was no big surprise, so it wasn’t too upsetting.

All in all, we had a great time. The drive down and back alone is fun if you have good company, on top of a great meal and time to just hang out and play without having to be anywhere at a specific time or put anyone to bed.

And the people watching at casinos is fascinating, too. But I’ll save my rant about how I’m worried that some people can’t afford mirrors for another time. “Tacky” is a deadly sin, too, right?