For all of today, select local Memphis restaurants will be donating a percentage of their proceeds to the organization. It’s great to see most restaurants donating 25% back, but there are even a select few donating 50% back! I bet many of you will be going out to eat before the big Grizzlies game tonight any way, so why not go to a restaurant that is also giving back to the community?

There are quite a few great options when looking at participating restaurants, including Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, Stone Soup Cafe, Alchemy, Beauty Shop, Cafe Eclectic, Cafe Society, Memphis Pizza Cafe, RP Tracks, and Central BBQ. A complete list of participating can be found on their website.

Friends for Life is a great organization and deserve your support. They help people affected by HIV/AIDS live well. They provide food, housing, education, support services, and more to people in our community living with HIV/AIDS. They also provide prevention services, including free and confidential HIV testing, to our entire region.

Mudbugs in March 2013

Mudbugs in March was last month, and thankfully hit on the one beautiful day we had. It was a great time, and I ate a ridiculous amount of crawfish. If you didn’t get to check this one out, try one of these upcoming crawfish events:

Sunday Funday on Cheffie’s Patio: April 7 (1-5pm)

• $15 All You Can Eat Crawfish, Kid’s 12 and Under Eat Free
• Live Music

Crawfish Festival at The Green Beetle: April 7 (1-7pm)

• Cost Unknown
• Live Music

Overton Square Crawfish Festival: April 13 (noon-6pm)

• Free admission, Crawfish available for purchase
• Live music, featuring The Mighty Soul Brass Band, The Memphis Dawls, Dead Soldiers, and Lightnin Malcom and Stud
• Artist’s Market

Crawfish Boil at Swanky’s: April 20 (1pm-til), Swanky’s East Memphis

• $18 All You Can Eat Crawfish
• Live Music, More info TBA

Heads n Tails Beer and Crawfish Festival: April 20 (Time TBA), Snowden Grove Amphitheatre

• $40 for All You Can Eat Crawfish and 100 different types of beer samples

Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival: April 21 (11:30am-6pm), Riverside Drive

• Free admission, Crawfish available for purchase
• Live music, featuring The Bayou Boys, Freeworld, and Marcella’s Lovers.
• Kid’s Area

Crawfish Boil at Cajun Catfish Company: Every Tuesday (5pm-til)

• Cost Unknown

Crawfish Boil at Newby’s: Every Wednesday (6pm-til)

• $15 All You Can Eat Crawfish, or $7.50 per tray

Crawfish Boil at Half Shell: Every Wednesday (5pm-til)

• Free All You Can Eat Crawfish (as long as you’re drinking)
• Live Music

If you know of any more events, please leave them in the comments. I want to make this an ongoing list!

Mudbugs in March 2013

Oh, Southern Living. The Southern woman’s Bible, and a great guide to cuisine, travel, and decorating in The South. The Hart of Dixie episode about the magazine that premiered last night could not have come at a better time.

Southern Living is currently hosting an online poll to determine which Southern city should be named the tastiest. Currently, Memphis has climbed the ranks to 1st place! However, we are neck and neck with Durham, NC. As Memphians, you KNOW we can’t let Duke beat us. It’s a fact.

Voters can log on once a day per email address to cast their opinions, and I highly encourage all of you to do so. We all know what a great assortment of restaurants Memphis has, and now is your time to show it. Vote people!

In honor of this poll, Bosocs will be hosting the last Voting Party on February 28th, from 5pm to 7pm. Door prizes will also be announced throughout the event. Stop by on your way home to celebrate.

Also, did I mention, go vote for Memphis? Just in case I forgot.

While my two year run has been wonderful, I have had many life changes since the beginning and have decided to change the format of my blog. I can no longer, in good faith, write unbiased about Memphis restaurants.

However, I am now excited to take a different angle in Memphis Foodie World and promote local foodie events to you all. I am keeping my eyes and ears peeled. If there is a local foodie event happening in Memphis, I want to share it with you. There are so many fun events happening in the city, and I want all of you awesome folks to have full access to them. Also, if you hear of anything, please let me know! I am only one person, and there are many of you.

Stayed tuned for more, and, as always, I welcome feedback.

Other than Memphis, Miami and Virginia Beach were the only other two Southern cities to have 2 or more restaurants on the list. Another win for the Memphis restaurant scene! Also, another reason for you to vote for Memphis as Southern Living’s Tastiest Southern Town (intentional plug).

Check out The Commercial Appeal’s brief write up and Memphis Business Journal’s story about the news.

National Pie Day is officially on Wednesday, January 23rd, and Muddy’s is celebrating it with the ultimate throw down. As a very enthusiastic pie lover, Gordon just couldn’t let this opportunity fall to the wayside. As she exclaims in an email, “[Pie is] my favorite food in the entire world. My favorite pie is… ALL THE PIE.”

From 2pm-6pm, Muddy’s will be giving away slices of six different kinds of their homemade pies, for all visitors to try. In case you didn’t understand that last sentence, I said that Muddy’s will be giving away FREE PIE to EVERYONE who comes through their doors. In addition, they will have a drawing for a free year membership to Muddy’s Pie of the Month Club and will also have small a huge assortment of mini pies available for sale.

I urge you all to go to this event, try some pie, and take home as many mini-pies as possible. Muddy’s does everything in their power to give back to the community and serve their customers, so we all want to make sure they are just as supported in return.

For more information on Muddy’s celebration, visit their blog or I Love Memphis’ write-up about the event.

Photo Credit to Muddy’s Bake Shop

Oh, Southern Living. The Southern woman’s Bible, and a great guide to cuisine, travel, and decorating in The South. The Hart of Dixie episode about the magazine that premiered last night could not have come at a better time.

Southern Living is currently hosting an online poll to determine which Southern city should be named the tastiest. Currently, Memphis is in 3rd place, and even more awesome, ahead of New Orleans.

Voters can log on once a day to cast their opinions, and I highly encourage all of you to do so. We all know what a great assortment of restaurants Memphis has, and now is your time to show it. Vote people!

In honor of this poll, Hog and Hominy is hosting a Get Out The Vote Party tomorrow night (January 17th) from 4pm-7pm. Pizza and snacks will be provided, along with “The MEM Cocktail”, a signature drink designed especially for this poll. With Prichards Tennessee Bourbon, Maurin Quina, lemon juice and house orange bitters, it is something you won’t want to miss out on. Door prizes will also be announce throughout the event. Stop by on your way home to celebrate.

Also, did I mention, go vote for Memphis? Just in case I forgot.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 37,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 9 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

As most of you know, I love Memphis. I mean, I really love Memphis. One of the few things I love as much as my hometown is eating. These two passions, alongside a class project initiative, are the two reasons I began this blog to being with. I wanted to show exactly what a great culinary scene thrives in Memphis.

As you may have noticed, I have not been writing much lately for this blog, and I have been reviewing restaurants even less. This is not to say I haven’t been trying new places and eating as much. I most definitely have been.

However, for some time now, I have been contemplating this future of this blog. As much as I would love to continue with the format I have had though promoting local restaurants, several conflicts of interest have come about. I have taken on a more prominent role in the Memphis restaurant community through my work, and I love every bit of it. I have a leadership role at a major local restaurant and have started some marketing efforts for the Memphis Restaurant Association. I am excited about taking on new projects and new roles to further promote the local Memphis restaurant community. However, in good conscious, I cannot write positively about some restaurants in Memphis, while also commenting on my not-so-happy experiences as well, when my job is to be a liaison among Memphis restaurants and promote them all. Not to mention, it is not possible for my opinion to continue to be unbiased for every situation.

However, I still want to do what I can to keep this project going. I love it, and I stand behind what it stands for. Therefore, I am opening up for suggestions on what you all think I should do. Is it possible to change the format of this blog, but still keep its core values? What should I write about? Should I focus on local foodie events, only write about positive experiences at local establishments, or keep everyone up-to-date with local foodie news? Do you have other suggestions? I am really open to anything.

Let me know what you guys think.

Love,

Shannon

It’s Sunday, November 4th, from 4pm-7pm. Rain or shine. Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 at the gate. This includes lots of yummy food, Ghost River Beer, and wine.