EAT THE STREET: ’BURBS STYLE
Homestyle to exotic, Germantown Parkway satisfies culinary cravings
Germantown Parkway: Continue the culinary exploration from Cordova to Bartlett.
Last week, our Eat the Street series kicked off in Germantown proper as we began exploring the local restaurants along Germantown Parkway. (It’s actually Germantown Road until about the Wolf River.)
The traffic is horrendous, yes, indeedy, and paying the required attention to the cars all around you makes it hard to look behind all those big restaurants and big-box stores that dominate Germantown Parkway. But hidden back there, tucked in this strip center or that one, you’ll find more than 50 local restaurants serving burgers, barbecue, pizza and home cooking as well as more exotic fare. There are Middle Eastern places, Mexican joints and Asian restaurants of various origins. There’s an Ethiopian restaurant just off the corner on Dexter, a Brazilian grocery and kitchen, taco trucks and Arepas Deliciosas Colombian restaurant just north of Highway U.S. 64.
So let’s get continue our journey of culinary delights north of Macon Road on the second leg of our Eat the Street series — Germantown Parkway: Chains, Plantains and Automobiles.
iSushi (11 34 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-754- 0567) is located in a strip center next to the Malco and has consequently given its large selection of rolls a cinematic twist: They’re named Fast and Furious, Batman, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla, Harry Potter. You get it.
Humdinger’s (11 34 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-271-2912) is the home of piri piri chicken, but there’s more to this place than that, and the menu has grown over the years. Now you can order rainbow trout or amberjack, and you can still start with a bowl of Humdinger’s shrimp (known everywhere else as Bang Bang shrimp).
Pacific Fusion (1140 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-755-8955) is a big buffet. What else to say? Buffet. Big. Try it, or if you need to get out of Cordova for a while, if the heat is on, head to Bartlett and Eat Well Sushi & Grill (2965 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-388-8178). Buffet; lots o’ stuff.
Cordova Farmer’s Market ( 1150 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-417-8407) is the younger sister of Winchester Farmers Market. Here you can buy shrimp and fish, exotic produce, condiments you don’t even yet know exist, frozen dumplings for your own dim sum, and many varieties of rice.
Abner’s Famous Chicken Tenders (1100 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-754 - 1760) gets a nod because it started in Oxford and is a small chain, with just six locations around the South.
Sake (1250 N. Germantown Parkway; 901- 654-3053) is brand new, and here’s hoping it settles in. The red curry tasted as good as anything I’ve ordered in an exclusively Thai restaurant — and Sake is Asian fusion. Kirin on tap is nice, and so are the big screen TVs placed here and there; they make it easy to see the games (several are going), yet they’re somehow unobtrusive.
La Michoacana (1250 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-417-6385) offers the same great ice cream and paletas — Mexican popsicles — out here that it does at the popular Summer Avenue location.
Kooky Canuck (1250 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-800-2453) opened its second location a few months ago, and now you don’t have to drive Downtown if you’re ready to tackle a 12-pound burger. Or a 6-pound one. Just 4 pounds? Or maybe you just want a good burger and great hand-cut fries; that works, too.
Corky’s Ribs & BBQ (1740 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-737-1988) makes it easy for folks to get great barbecue, along with good tamales and that fantastic onion loaf, without having to leave the ’burbs. Interestingly, it’s one of just three places for barbecue on the whole street, even including the Germantown Road stretch south of Poplar.
Milano’s Pizza (1740 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-753-7017) has been around for a long time because they make a good pizza. It’s that simple. It’s been good since we were buying it in this mall or that one, and it’s still good today.
Ethiopian Restaurant & Coffee (8195 Dexter; 901-316-2930). If I have a favorite, this could be it. Then again, it might be second. But here’s the deal: This is the kind of restaurant that you just want to see succeed so much that you would go even if it wasn’t great — which it is. A family business (mother and daughter here), friendly, even gracious service, and something special. In this case it’s the coffee service. Forget your cup o’ joe on the go. Here raw beans are roasted in a small skillet, the smoke is waved over you, beans are ground and steeped in a clay pot. When it’s ready, coffee is poured, and incense is lit. Relax. The world can wait. (And the food? Spicy, hearty and insanely good.)
Sekisui (1884 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-309- 8800) offers up t he standards that you’ll find at the other locations around town: sushi, soups, salads, entrées from steaks to tuna. Want something different but close? There’s Osaka (2200 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-425-4901), a full-service Japanese restaurant featuring a sushi bar, hibachi and hearty noodle soups from the kitchen. Shogun Japanese Restaurant ( 2324 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-384-4122) has been around a long time, though not as long as Nagasaki on Summer. But it’s the same idea — basic hibachi food for a reasonable price.
Casbah (1890 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-433-9712) recently changed its name from Casablanca, but the menu is mostly the same. The excellent tea is still served, hot or cold, and the hummus is great, as are the moussaka, shawarma, kabobs — all of it, really.
Pyro’s Fire Fresh Pizza (2286 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-207-1198) is a local chain where you pick your own toppings to create your own pizza — or sandwich or salad. It’s fresh, there are menu standards if you’re not inspired to create your own, and the pizza crust is great — thin and crisp.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken (2965 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-373-9111) takes us into Bartlett. This is the same Gus’s you know and love, but love it enough to wait for it, because for whatever reason that I cannot begin to imagine, chicken isn’t cooked until ordered.
Arepas Deliciosas Colombian Restaurant (3108 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-409-3396) serves up mighty tasty grub. There are arepas, of course, but also big meat platters full of chicken, beef and sausages (for about $15) and a lovely salsa verde for dipping. Hours are odd; check in before you make a special trip.
Heading back south: Jim ‘N Nick’s (2359 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-3880998) is a regional chain, but as they employ such good practices to turn out delicious food, it makes our list. Here’s a tip: Order the Country Club, no longer on the menu but yours for the asking, and sit back and enjoy. Smoked turkey (Thanksgiving worthy), a big hunk of ham, thick bacon — oh, my. It’s a great sandwich, with Swiss and cheddar, mayo, lettuce and tomato. Try not to fill up on the little cheese biscuits while you wait, and, well, good luck to you.
Abbay’s (2345 N. Germantown Parkway, 901-384-7622) offers homestyle favorites by the plate or sides that feed up to 15. Country fried steak with gravy, fried catfish, mac and cheese, broccoli rice casserole — you know this stuff like you know your mama’s kitchen
Fox Ridge Pizza (1796 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-758-6500) surprisingly offers a similar, albeit smaller selection at lunch. When Lisa Rolin, who worked at Fox Ridge for about 25 years, bought it last year, she added plate lunches, a logical expansion of her catering business. Greens are great, mashed potatoes are from scratch, chicken and dressing is made there, and so on. Burgers are as good as ever, and, oh yeah — there’s the pizza. It’s not Chicago style, but it’s almost hearty enough to fool you. Heavy toppings, good stuff.
Kabob International (8050 Dexter; 901755-9385) features a large selection of gyros, including the Euro Gyro, which is just fun to say (“you-ro yee-ro”) and includes feta cheese, to boot. Dolmades are good, covered with a creamy lemon sauce, and on Wednesday and Friday, there is a small lunch buffet.
Bombay House (1727 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-755-4114) is the sole Indian restaurant along the parkway, but they do a good job. You can enjoy a lunch buffet and rest assured the turnover is keeping the food fresh, or you can order from the menu.
Brazil Flavor (8014 Club Center Drive; 901-746-9855) is also a favorite. Like the Ethiopian place, this is a small familyowned restaurant, the food is excellent, and the folks are nice. It’s a small grocery, and the kitchen opened about a month ago, first offering feijoada every other Friday and then adding other items. (Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil, a black bean stew made with greens, plantains and toasty fried corn meal).
Happy Hoagie (1425 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-309-8811) offers a simple menu of sandwiches, including a pretty good Reuben and nice falafel.
Fulin (1351 N. Germantown Parkway; 901-755-9131) is a small, low-atmosphere Chinese restaurant that offers Chinese-American basics but also has a small whiteboard of daily, more authentic fare such as stir-fried pea plant.
And let’s not forget L’Ecole Culinaire (1245 N. Germantown Parkway; 901754-7115). Sometimes dinners or tasting events are held there, cooking classes are held a few times every month, and best of all: Our future chefs are being trained there.