Upon my last visit to Memphis I stayed a bit closer to mid town. This opened me up to many more dining out possibilities. I spent two nights exploring this area a bit.
The first night I settled on eating at Chiwawa upon recommendation of a friend. Chiwawa specializes in American and Mexican street food.
The evening was nice so I settled on a table on the outdoor patio.
I decided to start with a local beer.
They had a 3 taco special that night. I settled on the delicious taco del sol, flavorful carne asada, and the not so exciting aftershroom delight. The shroom taco could have used something more…not sure what.
A couple of nights later I decided to head back down to another part of midtown. On the way I came across this used records store. It caught my eye because it shares a name with one of my favorite terrible movies (and also mentioned in a great Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem).
I found parking spot in the Cooper-Young neighborhood and walked around.
The first thing that greeted me was this cool decor of an overpass.
This area has nice bike lanes and racks.
On the way to dinner I passed by the interesting House of Mews. The House of Mews is a sanctuary that houses cats until they can find a permanent home. There are mucho kitties in this place.
Upon recommendation from a friend I decided to eat dinner at Sweet Grass. Sweet Grass is a southern bistro with a farm to table flare. There were many local ingredients on the menu. Next door is their sister restaurant called Next Door that provides a more casual dining experience. I chose to eat at the more formal restaurant.
For the main dish I settled on the medium plate chuck roast over the mushroom barley risotto. The meat easily fell apart and was full of great flavor. I really like what the risotto added to the dish. There was just the right amount of savory gravy.
As a side dish I was intrigued by the butternut squash goat cheese flan. It arrived on its own plate with a look of a lumpy yellowish flan. It was a good choice, The flavors were amazing.
I wish I would have saved room for a dessert but I was full. I walked around the area a bit more after dinner and noticed many more places to dine and drink at. If I end up in Memphis again I will definitely return.