{Go there}: Sweet Noshings.

We recently checked out the new candy store in Midtown, Sweet Noshings. Located on the south side of Madison in Overton Square, the store is locally owned - the owner helped us with popcorn samples.

They have tons of candy and are making even more orders. Prices were reasonable for a per pound place. You can see where the phrase "like a kid in a candy store" comes from. Had flashbacks to that candy store in the Oak Court Mall.

In addition to jars of candy, they have a selection of homemade treats, freshly made. There were dipped oreos and nutter-butters, as well as bark.

The real prize of the store is the popcorn. Made fresh in the store, the owner has created all sorts of flavor combinations.

Definitely check it out - would be a fun date adventure or an after school activity for kids.

In candy and popcorn,

{Go There}: The Growler Memphis.

Midtown Memphis is becoming such a hip spot for the beer scene. With Wiseacre open, discerning beer lovers can get their fresh, local brew fix at a number of neat locations - there's the old standby, Bosco's, there's Wiseacre, and now two growler spots have opened, featuring local craft beers like Memphis Made, High Cotton, and Wiseacre.

The first growler fill station is inside the Cash Saver on Madison - called the Madison Growler. It is a counter within a semi-sketch grocery store that has already established itself as a go-to spot for good priced beer with great variety. It is open 12-8 Mon - Sat. Madison Growler is less about atmosphere and more about utility.

The second growler fill station is The Growler Memphis, which is on Cooper right at the heart of Cooper-Young. This place has an extensive list of fresh tapped brew, which you can get as a pint, in a flight, or fill a growler. There's an area to sit and drink with friends (couches, a community table, high tops with bar stools).

We each got a pint as well as filling our growler - I got Goose Island 312 and Jake got a High Cotton IPA. Our growler was Memphis Made Fireside Ninja. 

 You can bring your own (clean) growler or buy one there. We have about 6 Bosco's growlers sitting around so we have been using that.

The staff at the Growler Memphis were really knowledgable and helpful. I can see this place doing really well and adding to the climate of Cooper Young and Midtown. Glad to have something like this in Memphis!

In discovering new places,

{Go There}: Wiseacre Brewing Company.

Broad Avenue has been going through a revitalization that makes me all kinds of happy. It is right by our house and has a lot of potential (not to mention Broadway Pizza - delicious). So finally we're seeing some fruit of the revitalization process - Five in One Social Club, Muddy's Bakeshop kitchen, and now Wiseacre Brewery.

Wiseacre Brewery opened Aug 30 so this weekend Jake and I started our Friday night by going over there to check out their tap room. You can check out a cool tour in the Memphis Flyer here.

The brewery at Wiseacre is pumping out kegs of beer for several Midtown restaurants - Chiwawa and Slider Inn both have it on tap according to their twitter feeds, among others. In addition, I've read they are canning their beer instead of bottling, so I imagine you'll see that on shelves soon.

Besides the brewery, there's the tap room, which is where we went. Wiseacre is down from 3 Angels Diner, across from Hollywood Feed, almost to the train tracks. The tap room is around in the back. There's a great deck that will surely be packed once it cools down. There was a huge parking lot and they had one food truck but I hope others catch on because I could see that being a really cool feature for the post-drinks crowd.

The tap room has no food (hence the food truck greatness) and is credit/debit card only - no cash. This works well because they have ipad registers right at the bar, making it super quick and easy. 

Friday they had two beers on tap, the Ananda, an India Pale Ale, and the Tiny Bomb, a pilsner. 

Here's the tap room - it has some communal tables, a side room, and some high tops:

It isn't super huge so I can imagine it will get packed at times.

There's a glass wall that allows you to see into the production facility - where the magic happens:

Overall it had a really cool vibe, the beer was good, and I am excited that something like this has come to Memphis - it felt very urban.

Another cool thing: the artwork was done by a White Station alum, Rachel Briggs! Go Spartans!!

With that, I suggest you go there.

Wiseacre Brewing Company
2783 Broad Avenue
Memphis, TN 38117

In all things Midtown,

{Go There}: Dino's Italian Grill.

I have been eating at Dino's in Midtown since before I could remember. Dino's has been around for 40 years and I have been eating their spaghetti for 27 of those years. And yet I realized I've never properly blogged about my favorite hole-in-the-wall Italian food.

Dino's Grill is on McLean right by Cafe Eclectic, Snowden School, and the mini-mart where we like to stop for snacks to counteract our walks around the neighborhood. What you need to know about Dino's is that this is not fancy Italian. Rather it is what you might expect someone's Italian grandmother to cook at their house for dinner. The decor is World War II themed (and has been the same since I started going there) because the owner Rudy's father (Dino, who started the restaurant), was a war vet. The place isn't exactly clean or kept up, but that is part of the charm. The same people have worked there for forever.

Dino's has beer but not wine so you can bring your own bottle. So we started off our Italian feast with a little Italian wine, courtesy of my dad. 

When it came time to order, we got a toasted ravioli appetizer (they hand make their raviolis and the toasted raviolis have a spinach stuffing) and then I got the chicken alfredo pasta. Know this - their portion sizes are huge. You will have leftovers. I love the chicken alfredo because the grilled chicken on top is so delicious.

Jake got the tamales-three-way. It is a serious dinner with a lot of food.

A lot of times if I am not too hungry, I order a child's portion of spaghetti and even that is a lot of food - an expert tip for you.

And dessert. We had to get dessert. I had never actually tried their tiramisu and I read recently that it is made in house and is wonderful. So we got it and it was. I can't stop thinking about how light and fluffy it was. Everyone agreed.

Another great thing about Dino's is that it is pretty decently priced, especially for the amount of food. They have a lot of great options on their menu. They also do breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays and an all you can eat spaghetti deal on Thursdays.

So next time you're craving comfort food and you're in Midtown, definitely give Dino's a shot.

In pasta and dessert,

{Go There}: Chiwawa, Take Two.

A few weeks ago, Jake and I accidently attended Chiwawa's opening day as a restaurant. We were in Overton Square, saw people there, and decided to check it out. The result was disappointing - chaotic service, missing menu items, splinters from tables, and mixed messages on what came with the dishes.

This past week some of my friends wanted to try out Chiwawa. I decided it had been long enough that I was interested in seeing if they did in fact get their act together. I had seen on twitter that some people were enjoying it and there was less negative buzz. So off we went on a Wednesday night to check it out again.

I sat inside this time (since we were in the middle of winter-in-April) and right away noticed a difference. When I walked in, I was promptly greeted and told to go to the other side of the restaurant to be seated. The bouncer-looking man that was seating people was friendly, funny, and efficient. I got a table quickly, though if I had come 10 minutes later there would have been a line out the door. That's one thing I'll say - Chiwawa seems to be doing great business. It was very crowded from about 6:30 all the way until we left at 8pm.

I also noticed that they got updated menus that reflected their new taco deal. Tacos are $3-4 for one fancy taco but you can get 3 for $9 (a deal if you choose all $4 tacos but not if you choose three $3 ones..). They also took their fun adult sno-cones and paletas off the menu - I'm imaging that they will be back for summer.

We ended up having to wait for our third friend, who was stuck in a meeting that ran over. It turned out to be the perfect excuse to try the chips and dip. We got the queso blanco. It is a little expensive ($7) but you get a lot of dip and chips - unlike some places where you run out of one before the other. The cheese dip was also very unique and delicious - not just something from a jar at the store.

I did notice that as it got more crowded, it got a lot louder. I'm going to totally sound like my mom saying this (hi, mom) but there are a lot of hard surfaces in the design and it isn't conducive to conversation. We were basically shouting at our table by the end of the conversation.

Our waitress was very much on top of things, knew what she was doing, was patient when our friend was late, and was very helpful. A huge change from the clown show that was our waiting experience before. One odd thing - we got a pitcher of margaritas for us all to share so we had, at times, empty glasses but weren't done with them because there was clearly more in the pitcher. This girl that was most likely bussing tables kept coming around and trying to take our empty glass, at one point grabbing it off the table before I said I needed it still. She came no lie about 4 times. I guess they must have been low on glassware that night because she seemed desperate. It was awkward.

Now to the food. Last time I got the juan-tons. I didn't like them because they were too small so the ton-to-filling ratio was off. I saw that they went from 5 juan-tons to 3 so I'm hoping that they are bigger? I should have gotten them to see. Sarah got the three taco deal (she said she liked the chicken the best), AJ got the chiwawa dog (hot dog wrapped in bacon with avocado and salsa topping), and I went the healthy route and got the papas fritas and the elote sides. Really those were the two things I wanted to see if I would like so I just went for it.

My two sides were both ridiculously good. The side of elote comes with 1/2 an ear but the elote appetizer comes with two 1/2 ears. The elote is Mexican street corn, which is corn on the cob with a mayonnaise based coating, cheese, and some serious spices. The corn was so spicy but so good. My pappas fritas were also amazing. Hand cut fries topped with a crumbly white cheese, served with what I tried to determine was maybe a siracha-ketchup dipping sauce (it was a spicy goodness, that's what it was).

I didn't get an exterior shot last time I was there so I also took one of those - you can see that they took an old building that was falling apart and made it into a cool, modern space. There's a huge patio, a giant bar, and a big space downstairs for seating as well.

Other thoughts: all prices include tax, which makes this a very easy place to get food, eat fast, and leave cash on the table if you're getting lunch. Also this one is a strange side note - the next day I was wearing the rain jacket I had worn to Chiwawa the night before and I kept smelling this weird odor and I realized my rain jacket smelled like food - and then I smelled my clothes from the night before and they smelled like food too. So be aware - if you sit inside I guess there isn't good ventilation because my jacket smelled so funky.

I'm so glad I went back to see the polished product as opposed to the opening day chaos of Chiwawa. I think this will be a Midtown hot spot and help progress the Overton Square revitalization. Next Saturday (4/13), when Overton Square has their annual Crawfish Festival, Chiwawa is going to have live music more towards 6pm at the end of the festival so once you're done sucking heads out of little crustaceans, move on down the street and get yourself a taco or dog.

In Midtown being Memphis,

{Go there}: Chiwawa.

For months now Midtown has been teased by rumors of a new hip spot in town - a taco and hot dog bar that was finally going to take over the old Chicago Pizza building that had sat ruined and empty for as long as I could remember. There was lots of buzz building up around the restaurant - articles in the Memphis Flyer and Memphis Business Journal most recently.

So on Friday when it was decidedly patio weather and Jake and I ventured out for lunch, fate stepped in and allowed us to try out this new restaurant - Chiwawa. See, we were going to go to Bosco's but the patio was full so we decided to walk down to another place... maybe Memphis Pizza Cafe or Bayou? But on the way down we noticed a welcoming sign - people on the patio at Chiwawa! And so we decided to give it a go.

First off, we figured out pretty quickly that we had stumbled upon their opening day. And that was important to remember as we went through the lunch. The patio tables were clearly freshly assembled, with wood shavings still on the table, no staining of the table, and needing a sanding in a major way. Seeing as their benches are finished, stained, and sealed, I can imagine that they probably just hadn't gotten there yet.

The menu is really well designed. It is visually pleasing and also represents the brand well- totally hipster cool. The type of food is decidedly eclectic. The chef, Crash of Revival Food Truck fame, definitely put his mark on the offerings, with tacos featuring toppings like pineapple and hot dogs with avocado.

I was very excited to try the elote, which is a mexican street corn that we make at home and love. I ordered that and the Juan Tons, which are a wonton purse with chicken and cream cheese served with a sauce to dip on the plate. Jake went with the Chiwawa Dog, which is an all-beef hot dog wrapped in bacon.

It is worth mentioning at this point that by the time we had ordered we had three different people acting as our waiter. It made for quite the confusion and it did take some time to get our order. We also were told that the taco order came with two tacos but the table next to us was told the taco order was one taco. For $4, that is either a great deal for two tacos or a bad deal for one.

When our food finally came out, we were told that they were out of the corn and that it would be taken off our bill. Totally understandable but they didn't ask if I wanted anything else - I had ordered the Juan tons since I got the corn and by itself it wasn't enough food. I should have asked for a menu and just ordered something because I left hungry.

The Juan Tons:

The Chiwawa Dog:

The food was ridiculously good. Jake loved his dog and my Juan tons, though not much food, were really tasty. I am excited to go back and try other things. A table next to us got the guac and cheese dip and both looked good. One of the things that looked fun were the alcoholic sno-cones and paletas.

Service continued to be majorly a miss throughout the meal. A table two down from us actually waited an hour for their food, one person at their table got his food but no one else, and finally they had to go back to work so they had to leave. It took us a good 30 minutes to get our check and pay (partly because they never took off the corn so we had to get them to fix the bill).

With that being said, like I stated it was their first day. I firmly believe that they will learn from their hiccups and get their system down. Their food is good, the space is fun, Overton Square is hopping, based on the crowds at Local/Boscos lately there is a demand, and once they get their beer license they will have a healthy nightlife.

We'll be going back, but we might give them a few weeks to figure everything out!

In eating local,

{Go there}: Local on the Square.

I've loved all of these new(ish) places opening up in Downtown and Midtown Memphis. I really feel like it is part of Memphis really coming into its own and finding its identity as a city. Recently I was naming off places people could go eat that were fun downtown and my brother said he had never been to any of them - and I realized it is because most opened within the past four years while he's been at college. It is a fun time to be a Memphian.

Speaking of fun times, the investment in Midtown, specifically in Overton Square, is very exciting, especially for us Midtowners. One of our favorite bars, Local, had been working for some time on opening up in Overton Square and it finally opened a few weeks ago. It seems to be doing very well - this is the first time we have gone because it was so crowded (and I had waiting).

We decided to check out Local on the Square at happy hour while visiting with some friends in from out of town. The realty company restored the building (formerly occupied by Yosemite Sam's) and it is beautiful inside now. There are two levels and lots of different seating arrangements - tables, bars, chairs, depending on what you're there for. They revamped their menu a bit as well and I can't wait to try some of their new items.

While we were there we got our favorite, the bar fries. These are their shoestring fries covered in blue cheese, bacon, and scallions. Definitely a must if you're getting appetizers.

I have heard that they are still having some growing pains (long waits, slow service) but I'm hoping that with time that will get ironed out because I'm excited to have another hang out in Midtown - I'm not always up for driving (and parking) downtown and Bosco's gets crowded fast on Fridays at 5.

In Midtown being Memphis,

{Memphis}: Cooper Young Festival 2012

It is no secret that I love Memphis. And I love Midtown. And then there's my love of arts and crafts. So when all of these things collide, you get the Cooper Young Festival. Located in one of Midtown's trendiest neighborhoods, Cooper Young Festival is full of hundreds of booths selling art, jewelry, handmade crafts, and more. In addition, there are civic engagement booths, lots of food (and beer!), games for kids, and local musicians. It is a happening place to be and I never miss it!

This year Brie and I went to Cooper Young together (parking at her house makes the festival a little easier, not gonna lie). It was a beautiful day and I snapped some pictures of my favorite booths to share.

The first booth we fell in love with was furniture, frames, and decor made from reclaimed wood. I loved this table below:

And this cooler stand was just so precious.

The booth was from two guys together, Chris of Antebellums and his friend.

The next booth had fun typography prints and artwork. This booth was run by sisters Kristen and Lindsey Archer. Lindsey did all the typography prints and has an etsy site. Kristen did the photography.

After that we stopped by one of my favorite booths from last year, Andrea Manard. For my birthday last year Brie got me a little block print of three owls from her and so it was fun to see her back and check out her new stuff. Andrea uses a lot of maps in her work, which I love. Here's her etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/andreamanard# . I love the sailboat in the bottom left and also a map of Tennessee in the shape of Tennessee she had.

After that we found another favorite from last year, Painted by Holly. Holly does watercolors and portraits and sells her work as originals, prints, notecards, magnets, and bookmarks. Last year I got a print of her Beale Street watercolor and this year Brie and I both fell in love with Holly's collages. Brie got the Midtown collage and I got both the Midtown collage and a UT collage:

We browsed and walked around a lot more and mostly just enjoyed the pretty day and catching up with each other. When I got back home Brie texted me that she snuck back and got me a birthday present so I went back over to check it out - turns out she was sneaky and noticed I loved this Andrea Manard piece below while we were at that booth and so she went back and got it!

I love it so much - love the map, love the quote, love the colors. What a thoughtful friend.

Once I got my art home it was time to hang it up and enjoy my little slice of Memphis.


Just for fun, here's my CYF post from 2011: http://www.makinitinmemphis.com/2011/09/cooper-young-festival.html


In art, friends, and fun,

{Go there}: Bogie's Delicatessen.

One of my favorite Midtown lunch spots is Bogie's Deli. Located over in Overton Square, Bogie's Deli has charm and that laid back Midtown feel. I love sitting out on the porch with my pasta salad and my guy, soaking in the day.

Bogie's is in an old Victorian home so it has the charm of someone's house but the efficiency and tastiness of a deli. Their menu ranges from sandwiches to soups to award-winning cakes. Personally, I always get the turkey breast deluxe (half) and a side pasta salad. Jake likes to change things up and tries something different each time.

Next time you're in Midtown and wanting some lunch fare, stop by Bogie's - right behind Bosco's by Studio on the Square. You'll love it.

In lunch spots and lunch dates,