Memphis Eats: Downtown Dining Week

Since we left Memphis, they have started an annual Downtown Dining Week. 

Its pretty cool.  All the good downtown restaurants feature three course meals for $20.10 (I think this year because its 2010).  Monday night, Sarah, Josh, Brian, and I ate at Itta Bena that I've mentioned in an earlier post.  Cool atmosphere, delicious food, right on Beale Street above BB King's.  Its a good place to eat if you're visiting Memphis.  I had the shrimp and grits which were pretty good.  Brian had the ribeye which he thought was good but a little small.  We started out with the She Crab Soup which was delicious.  We all had the brownie with ice cream for dessert and it was yummy.

On Thursday, Jennifer and I had a girls night at Hunt Phelan.  Hunt Phelan is a restored 1828 antebellum mansion at the end of Beale Street.  It has a really nice restaurant, an inn, and apartments.  It is a kind of hidden little gem in downtown Memphis, and makes a nice date night.  When its not Downtown Dining Week, they usually have coupons on Restaurant.com so you can still get a pretty good deal.  Anyway Jenn and I started out with the salad, then she had the shrimp and grits and I had the short ribs.  Jenn said the shrimp and grits were yummy.  The short ribs were AMAZING.  The waiter said that the slow cook them all day.  It was like a super flavorful pot roast that melted in your mouth.  So, so tender.  I want to go back and have it again.  For dessert, I had the chocolate toffee tart and Jenn had the white chocolate bread pudding.  Both were good, but I liked her bread pudding the best! 

Tonight we're heading to Chez Phillipe with Summer, Clark, Josh, and Sarah for dinner so can't wait to see how that is.  So far Downtown Dining Week has turned out to be great deals and delicious food.  Can't wait until next year!

The Last Few Weeks

I have been slacking on the blogging lately, but here's a catchup. Weekend before last, Chad and Emily came into town for a visit from Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Chad is Brian's friend from college and roommate during dental school. While Brian was in dental school in Memphis, Chad was in law school so they were roommates along with JJ. Chad married Emily right at the end of living in Memphis, so Emily and I have gotten to hang out more since we moved from Memphis than we did when we lived here in dental school! They are sooo much fun and we had a great weekend. We had a yummy dinner at Itta Bena, which is a restaurant above BB Kings on Beale Street. It has a great atmosphere and delicious food. Its kind of hidden up a stairway behind BB Kings and I don't think it even has a sign or anything. The inside is filled with old black and white photos and the windows look out to Beale Street. On Saturday, we headed to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy snuggies because it was FREEZING and we were going to the UT Memphis game that night at 7. Best purchase ever! We went to the game and were nice and warm. The only (almost) Snuggie disaster occured when Emily and I went to the restroom and she had her Snuggie hanging over the bathroom door. Someone walked along and GRABBED her Snuggie!! Luckily a fellow Snuggie enthusiast was in line waiting for a stall and yelled at the girl "Drop that snuggie! Its not yours!" She saved the day and Emily's Snuggie and all was well in Snuggieland. Here are some pics from the game...although it wasn't much of a game because Tennessee stomped on Memphis.