Breakfastaholics

Ok, so I'm going to admit something bad.  I enjoy a good imbibing every so often and while I believe there's nothing wrong with that, even basing your food choice around alcohol is considered apropos (think wine pairing.)  I guess it could be a little out of the ordinary when the meal is at 830 in the morning, but in my defense, someone else started it.  And also in my defense, Bryant's has really good food...

So remember that blog I did a while back, for the Cerebal Palsy fundraiser?  Well, the mister, a friend and myself came across a person who said they had a friend who added a substance to their coffee every morning.  While hilarious to envision, our curiosity was genuinely peaked.  The Rum Chatta smells a bit like coffee and looks like creamer, so it was inevitable as to what we were going to do...especially with the forehand knowledge that it functions so nicely as a substitute for cafe au lait.  Of course we made sure that we were still sober...we had just enough to change the color and taste of the coffee.  As someone mentioned, put some sugar in the cip and it's just like a regular cup o' joe...as long as you don't have 10 cups.

But the food...the Rum Chatta was just an excuse to get to the restaurant...the food was great!  Every morning on my way to work, I turn south at the intersection of Summer and Graham.  In the years that I've driven that route, I've never noticed Bryant's.  Located at 3965 Summer Ave, the restaurant is located approximately 50 feet from the intersection.  I suppose I'm focused on coming in and working like a maniac for 8 hours a day.  Or maybe not.  Either way, I was stunned that it took so long for me to get here. 

We entered fairly early, literally beating the crowd.  By the time that we placed our order, the line was along the counter and wrapped back around to the other end of the restaurant.  If that's any indication of the quality and desirability of the food, by the time we finished, that continuing line was wrapped out of the restaurant and down the side of the building...before 10 am...

There is quite an extensive menu to choose from and they sell lunch in addition to the breakfast for which they are famous.  It was difficult for me to decide, because everything looked so delicious, but I quickly settled on the Breakfast Special:

Yes, this breakfast was special!

The Breakfast Special consisted of homemade biscuits, two eggs in any style you like (#teamscrambled), grits, gravy, hashbrowns and your choice of meat.  I chose the hickory smoked bacon, cooked extra crispy.  The only regret that I expressed was that I did not get any cheese in my eggs, but that wasn't a legitimate complaint because they were still great.  The only downside that I could see is that this establishment is not very large, so most patrons have to come in, eat and leave to make room for the next wave of customers.  And trust me, they were certainly coming in waves.  So if you're tired of the chain breakfast, scoot on over to Bryant's for some hometown, made-from-scratch goodness.  To be warned, unless you're with me, they only serve decaf and regular coffee.

This is only a test...

I'm already wondering how many people are gonna comment on this one...but I just wanted you to stay tuned...  I have a series of blogs coming out about some of the insightful dinners that the mister and I just concluded.  We've been meeting with friends for food, laughs and pre-engagement counseling.  There have been 5 dinners total (4 of which I'll blog about) but mostly to let you know I've been absent from the blog for just a little bit...we've been busy :)

Mambo Italiano

So this year, we attended our 3rd annual Memphis Italian Festival together...I think the organization is on #22, but we haven't known about it for that long.  Anyhoo, the festival is set up much like the Memphis BBQ Festival...you have to know someone to get into the tents where all of the fun, festivities, and food are being served.  If you don't know someone, there are vendors at the festival where you can purchase food, and just the smell of the motherland is enough to make it worth the trip.  Not my motherland, but you get the point...I love Italian food more than any other cuisine on the planet and I have the hip spread to testify to my love of bread, pasta, and olive oil...

So we were guests of Da Friends, a group which I've found over the years makes the most wonderful spinach.  I can't give away the secrets, but it's incredible.  Even before I was really big into spinach, I loved theirs.  There is always a full array of food and I absolutely ate myself uncomfortable the two nights that we participated.  Food, fun, and friends are the reason that I look forward to this event every year.  And the wine and alcohol.  That's a must for any large gathering of strangers... On the menu, or rather what made it onto my plate, was spicy chicken wings, grilled spinach with parmesan cheese, pasta with meat sauce, and bread with olive oil and garlic.  On the second night, we were served Jello shots as dessert.  Fun times all around.



Sorry for the bone...my mouth beat my camera for the first shot...



On the second night we attended the festival, we met this guy who just started talking to us when we sat down at the table.  I really like people like that.  He turned out to be quite an interesting character.  After much laughter with him and his wife, I discovered that this guy likes to play with his food.  And by play with his food, I mean that he's a culinary artist.  I was amazed at the work that he does...and more amazingly, it's a hobby that he's developed through natural talent.  This "guy" is named Patrick Forseth, he manages a successful chain grocery store in Memphis, and he's pretty awesome all around.  He did a watermelon that was in our tent and unfortunately, I was unable to snag a picture of it before it got chopped to pieces in order to feed the masses.  But the premise of the watermelon was that it was sculpted to match the posters that advertised for the festival.  You know how artists can tattoo or airbrush a picture onto a canvas or arm?  Yeah, he does that with food...



Yes, this is a real life work of art in the side of a fruit.  I personally just know how to make it smaller and easily digestable.




This is a pumpkin that Patrick made for his store at Halloween.  Like, really.  And the "patty" is chocolate cake...yes.

  So, Patrick does these things for various events, weddings, or just so that you can have bragging rights for the coolest fruit centerpiece out of all of your friends.  He said that I could tell folks about his awesomeness, so if you're interested in having something created for your next shindig, contact him at pforseth01@gmail.com for ideas and pricing.  Email him...you know you want to.  It's getting hot and everyone needs a fantabulous hunk of watermelon to show off...