The Hi-Tone Café: Don’t Let the Darkness Fool You!

Famous chef and fellow New Yorker Anthony Bourdain once said “Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life.” With that in mind on a windy Sunday afternoon Holly, Melissa and I ventured into the depths of Midtown Memphis and found a darkened brunch place heavy on character and in Melissa’s case….. salt.

Regularly a local late night hotspot known for rounds of beer and live music the Hi-Tone will probably be the only eating joint that we attend that would have couches, a ping pong table and writing on the bathroom wall. Whereas Osaka last week featured a very clean atmosphere which exemplified the Japanese setting, the Hi-Tone brought a much more gritty element into the room which I thought worked. The lights weren’t really working (on purpose of course), but I thought the atmosphere was different and fun. My two compatriots disagreed with me. They felt that the place was a little too gloomy for their tastes. We will just agree to disagree.

Before I go further into this entry I must add that we had two guest judges this week. I met John through the social and business networking group MPACT Memphis (which you should definitely check out) and he brought along his friend Andonia who is an artist and came to Memphis through the vast hills of Iowa. She lives in the midtown neighborhood so this was not her first time at the Hi-Tone. She and John were describing their previous night of drunken escapades at the very establishment that I am now reviewing!

Speaking of being hung over…I must thank Melissa for even getting me to brunch on time as the previous night we went down to the bustling college town known as Oxford, MS to watch LSU demolish Ole Miss. To say that I had a few drinks would be the understatement of the century so during the meal I sipped on freshly squeezed Orange Juice rather then something more elaborate like a Bloody Mary (of which John strongly endorses).

The service was good although I felt somewhat bad for the waiter as it looked like he might have also doubled as the bartender from the night before. I felt the French toast was a little dry (the cheese grits were amazing though!). Holly enjoyed her fresh blueberrys and felt that the vegetarian pancakes were sweet, but not overly sweet. Andonia ate earlier so she appreciated a well-made large $4 dollar Mimosa. John had a typical breakfast, but added the element of fried Asparagas which I never had even heard of before as a brunch dish.

Melissa is a proud southern woman who has had country breakfasts before. Biscuits and Gravy are usually up her ally, but in this case she made a mistake of ordering them from the Hi-Tone. It was WAY to salty for her tastes. On the bright side she did enjoy her side dish and her diet coke.

All in all from this reporters eyes the Hi-Tone is a fun, inexpensive, unique place to go with a good group of friends. It is mostly comfort food, but here in the heart of Memphis isn’t that all you really need?


FOOD CHOICES
Holly had: Blueberry Pancakes, A side order of sausage, A side order of cheese grits, Water

Melissa had: Biscuits and Gravy, A side order of sausage, Diet Coke

Drew had: French Toast, A side order of sausage, A side order of cheese grits, Orange Juice

John had: Breakfast plate, biscuits, eggs, fried asparagus, Bloody Mary

Andonia had: Mimosa




GRADES
Atmosphere:
M: 3 D: 4.5 H: 3 J:5 A: 5

Service:
M: 5 D: 4.5 H:5 J:5 A:5
Affordability:

M: 5 D: 5 H: 5 J:5 A:5
Selection:

M: 4 D: 4 H: 4 J:5 A:5
Food:

M: 2.5 D: 3.5 H: 4 J:5 A:5
Drinks:

M: N/A D: 5 H:5 J:5 A:5

Overall Score: 4.6/5

Links we highly suggest that you check out!

High Tone Café’ http://www.hitonememphis.com/ : 1913 Poplar Ave Memphis, TN 38104

Andonia Giannakouros (Artist)
http://web.mac.com/andonia.giannakouros

MPACT Memphis: www.mpactmemphis.org

Osaka: Great on a Good or a Bad Day

Well first of all, I won’t claim to be a culinary expert. I mean I didn’t know what capers were until this weekend. However, I do love to eat, so I believe I can guide you in the right direction to good food.

Osaka is one of my “had a bad day” restaurants. It’s also one of my “had a good day” restaurants. Well, actually let’s just say I’ll eat there anytime!

Osaka is fairly typical looking for a Japanese restaurant. I do like that they give you a choice between hibachi and regular seating. Everyone should have the hibachi experience at least once, but for normal occasions, I prefer a regular table in which I can enjoy good conversation. Drew remarked that it needed a fountain only to be informed that he passed the fountain on his way into the restaurant. I’m sure he was just distracted by his two beautiful dining companions, so who can blame him?

Service is always great. I’ve actually taught two of the employees, so rest assured that they are not only efficient, but they are also well-educated. I’m a big fan of waiters who are present but who do not hover, and Osaka’s waiters always accomplish this.

Entrees can get a bit pricey, some as high as $20 per plate, but with some creative ordering, you can get a really good deal. I’m fond of ordering the fried rice and sushi. It’s plenty of food for two people well under $30. Their early bird special is a great deal and gives you a good variety of food. You MUST try the fried rice. I discovered the mustard sauce when I ordered steak one time, and now I ask for it whenever I order anything. I’d pretty much eat anything with their mustard sauce.

The selection is great, so rest assured that you will have plenty of items to try with your mustard sauce. I have been eating there for several years now and never gotten bored of the selection. Their sushi menu is extensive. They offer a few fried versions of sushi that are absolutely amazing.

Holly had: Rainbow Roll, Caterpillar Roll, Seaweed Salad
Melissa had: Chicken Fried Rice, Tornado Roll
Drew had: Chicken Fried Rice, Dragon Roll

Atmosphere:
M: 3 D: 3 H: 2
Service:
M: 4 D: 3.5 H: 4
Affordability:
M: 5 D: 5 H: 4.5
Selection:
M: 5 D: 5 H: 5
Food:
M: 5 D: 2.5 H: 3
Drinks:
n/a

Overall Score: 4 out of 5

Osaka Japanese Cuisine: 7164 Hacks Cross, Olive Branch, MS

And so it begins:

Hello out there, internet!

Let me be the first to officially welcome you to our new project: 3 Points to the Plate. This blog is composed by three very different, yet equally awesome Memphians. We do have a few things in common however. 1: We're all relatively new to Memphis. Melissa grew up in Olive Branch, Drew is from the Big Apple, and I (Holly) have lived all over the South, but just moved to Memphis last Fall. and 2: Each of us loves to explore new out of the way places to eat. For the most part, we're still getting to know each other, and what better way to do that than by sharing our experiences with the general Memphis public? Genius, right? We thought so too.

And so, our Sunday brunch club has started! We take turns picking a place each week, and for the sake of honestly I should tell you that we've been to some great and some not so great destinations so far. Drew and I drank Mimosas and ate way too much Irish pub food at the Celtic Crossing a few Sundays ago (we may just have to go back there for an official review one week), and the three of us enjoyed the atmosphere and beautiful weather at Sweet Grass last weekend (although we all agreed the food and selection left much to be desired). However, it was on that sun-drenched patio where we laid out our ground rules:

1. We'll try to visit places that are exclusive to the Memphis area. The big, national chains are just not as interesting as the other quirky offerings in this city in our opinion. This rule may be bent from time to time, but that's what rules were meant for, right?

2. We'll have a rating system. Each of us will score our weekly destination from 1-5 (1=awful 5=amazing) in 6 categories: Atmosphere, Service, Affordability, Selection, Food, and (my favorite) Drinks. At the end of each post, you'll have an overall score from us with which to base your future dining decisions. This will have to be flexible at each restaurant we go to, of course, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

3. Depending on whose pick it is each week, you will be hearing from each of us on a rolling basis. Spoiler alert: This week is Melissa's turn! In the meantime, if you'd like to find us other places on the web, you can click the links to the right, and we'd always love to hear your feedback (and places you think we should check out) in the comments or by email at 3pointstotheplate@gmail.com.

4. It won't just be restaurant reviews! I'm an "out of the box" type of girl, so our fourth rule is basically: There are no rules! You're likely to see recipes from Melissa and me here from time to time, and while Drew is currently the master of the frozen dinner, he wants to learn to cook, so you just may see those adventures here as well. You never know what else we'll get ourselves into, but be sure that if any of us find something fun and exciting in the Memphis area, we'll be sharing it with you ASAP. The suspense is killing you I know!

Thank you so much for checking us out. We're excited about the coming weeks, and hope you'll come back to see all we have in store. Until then, take it easy!