Spindini, Memphis, TN

Spindini

MAP

Spindini is a relatively small Italian restaurant in downtown Memphis on Main Street just south of Talbot Street, just a few blocks south of the Orpheum Theater. I had not heard of it but had seen it several times as I passed by the last few weeks and wanted to try it.

I went there for dinner last night and it was essentially what I expected. It's set in a dark ambiance, which would work well for a date, but it's also a bar, so the music was fairly loud. Not overbearing, but a notch or two over what I would have preferred. As soon as I stepped in, I realized it wasn't going to be cheap, but I was expecting that to a degree.

All that said, what I got was great. I ordered a Caesar salad and the Pollo Parmigiana (Chicken Parm). It was very good, and I will definitely go back, it just isn't somewhere I could afford to go on a regular basis. The entree, salad, and soft drink total including tax was just shy of $35.00, not including the tip.

I did notice they have a buy one get one free Thursday pasta special, and if two people wanted to split that, it wouldn't be too pricey, but I was by myself, and the dark ambiance doesn't lend itself to two buddies going out for a casual dinner. All that said, I definitely recommend it if it's in your price range.

On a side note, the waitress was really nice and service was excellent. The pictures are a little dark because the flash on my camera apparently has quit working.

It's worth mentioning that they do have their own parking lot. A few places downtown don't.

Salsarita's Southaven, MS

Salsarita's

MAP

This past Wednesday I was off work sick but I had to run out and complete a quick errand to pick up a prescription and I stopped here for a quick bite to eat. I got a quesadilla combo, which comes with queso or quacamole, and a drink. I've been there several times before and it's always been good.

I've posted before about Moe's and even though I do like them, Salsarita's is better in my opinion, as the portions are bigger, yet it's about the same price. Moe's combo comes with a 2 ounce cup of queso and Salsarita's comes with a 4 ounce cup, the main entree is bigger, and as I said, it's about the same price. The total including tax at both places is around $12.00.

Billings Bald Butcher, Covington, TN

Billings Bald Butcher

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Billings is a buffet in Covington, TN on Highway 51 north of the Walmart. I had been there before 2 or 3 years ago and thought it was really good. I met a friend there this past Monday afternoon for lunch.

They also have a menu but I've never actually looked at it. It is comparable to most other buffets in price, but not in food quality. The food is fantastic, well above many other buffets I've been to. The price for two people was around $25.00 before tip, including two drinks.

This time I got meatloaf, pork loin, mashed potatoes, corn, macaroni and cheese, and a couple of corn nuggets. Everything was great.

Definitely try it if you're in the area.

Mike's Time Saver, Marathon Gas Station, Southaven, MS

Marathon Web Site

MAP

This is a Marathon gas station and they don't have an individual website. They are located at the corner of Church Road and Star Landing Road in Southaven, MS. I have been hearing for a while about their breakfast so I decided to try it this past Saturday morning.

I got a sausage biscuit and smoked sausage. I forgot that I don't really care for smoked sausage, but that said, it was good, and the sausage biscuit was good too. Prices were very reasonable. It was less than $5.00 for all of that plus a bottle of soda.

They have a wide variety of foods prepared each morning, so I took a picture of the cooking counter.

Obviously, it's not a "sit down" restaurant" but they do have a couple of tables. If you're wanting some good quick breakfast, it's a good choice.

Forest Hill Grill, Germantown, TN

Forest HIll Grill

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Forest Hill Grill is a bar and grill in Germantown at the corner of Forest Hill Irene and Poplar Pike. I have been there before a few years ago, but back then it was Belmont Grill. I don't know if it's the same owners or not now. I went there this past Saturday after a rehearsal with a friend who lives in the area on his suggestion.

I got a club sandwich and it was actually pretty good. The mayo they provided was in packets and didn't have much taste but the sandwich itself was good and was pretty big. I took part of it home for later, and when I put my own mayo on it, it was better. Those other things on the plate are fries. They are shaped differently that any other fries I've seen, but they were good. My friend got the burger and said it was good.

Prices are about average. My total with drink, before tip was about $12.00. I will definitely be back when I'm in the area. If you like bar and grill type restaurants, I also would recommend Belmont Grill in Memphis at Poplar and Mendenhall, and I will post a review of that as soon as I go there again. I've been there many times and it's great too.

Red Barn Cafe, Independence, MS

Red Barn

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Red Barn is a small cafe located at the corner of Independence Road and Highway 305 in Independence MS, which is a few miles east of Coldwater, MS. I've been there a number of times and went again this morning for breakfast.

I don't eat a lot of breakfast foods, and this morning I got a club sandwich. Standard fare, ham, lettuce, cheese, mayo, bacon, and it was really good. Prices are reasonable. With a side of onion rings, a drink, and tax it was about $11.00 before tip.

I've also had their burger and their fried fish. Everything I've gotten has been good and everything anyone that's been with me has gotten has been good also.

They are open more hours than most small places like this in the area. They are open 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM most days. I believe they are closed on Sunday but I can't find the hours listed on their Facebook page.

Bonus review!

This picture is from a few months ago before I started my blog. I went there one morning in November and got the cheeseburger. As stated before, it was really good too.

Colton's Steakhouse, Olive Branch, MS

Colton's

MAP

Colton's is a chain restaurant. Originally, I thought they were a local chain, but apparently they have 30 or so locations in several states. I went to the location in Olive Branch, MS this past Thursday and I had been to the location in Bartlett, TN a few years ago. The Olive Branch location is just south of 302 off of Old Goodman in the corridor to the west of the intersection.

It was really good. I don't go out for steak much but I do like it. Their prices are about average for a mid-scale chain restaurant. I had a coupon and for two people, the bill was around $50 I believe (the other person actually paid) but we both got sirloin and shrimp and a drink. The coupon was for a free appetizer, which was a fried onion and it was really good too.

I'll definitely keep it on my list of places to go when I want a steak.

Abe's Grill, Corinth, MS

Abe's Grill

MAP

Abe's is a small "hole in the wall" diner on Highway 72 in Corinth, MS a few blocks east of Highway 45. I went there for the first time a few months ago on the recommendation of a coworker and it was great. They open early, and are only open Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch. Even though the web site says 5:00 AM, they actually open at 4:00 now according to the menu. They are a small diner with a few seats at the counter.

You can order breakfast until about 10:30 and lunch any time they are open. I went there again this past Friday early in the morning and got a cheeseburger and fries. Last time, I got a cheeseburger, fries, and a hot dog, and a corn dog and all of it was great.

Their prices are great. I don't actually remember what it was the other day, but the first time I went there for a double cheeseburger, fries, hot dog, corn dog, and drink, it was only around $15.00. That was a LOT of food for $15.00.

You have to pay attention or you'll miss it. It's in a shack right off the highway, and even though it's not close to me, it's worth the drive every now and then. I have a friend that's from Corinth and even though when I was younger I had been there many times, I had never stopped at Abe's even though I had seen it several times. I definitely wish I had known about it sooner.

Mish-mash of various places I've already posted about

I didn't want to list each one of these separately as they are all places I have already posted about previously, so here is a combo post of a few recent meals

The Neighborhood Grill in Olive Branch on Old 78. This is the country fried steak and eggs breakfast plate and it was really good (I can't say enough about this place). I know I've said almost every place I've been is good, but this place is exceptional.

The Neighborhood Grill

The Country Skillet in Southaven on Stateline Road. I went there Saturday morning after work with my coworkers. This is the cheeseburger with onion rings. It was good as always, but I got a few odd looks from my coworkers for ordering a burger for breakfast.

The Country Skillet

The Dirty Crow in Memphis, on Kentucky Street at Crump. This is a patty melt on jalapeno crusted bread, and man, it was good. I went this time on a Sunday night, and I expected it to be more crowded and "bar like" than the other times I'd been there, but it wasn't really. There were more people there than the other times I've been and it was a little louder ambiance, but otherwise, it was mostly just people eating dinner. 

The Dirty Crow

This is Moe's in Olive Branch on Goodman, next to the Xfinity store. I haven't posted about it before, but I've been there many times. They are a chain Southwest/Mexican style restaurant and are actually pretty good for this type of fast food. This is a chicken quesadilla, or as they call it, the John Coctostan (all of their items are named after movies or movie quotes). I also got a side order of queso which is good too. If you are in the mood for Mexican/Southwest food that is a little better quality than the typical fast food Mexican places, try Moe's. They have numerous locations, so I'm sure you can find one near you.

Moe's

Two Vegan Sistas, Memphis, TN

Two Vegan Sistas

MAP

Two Vegas Sistas is a small vegan cafe on Summer Avenue, basically at Summer and Elmore, across the street from the Highway Patrol station. If you happen to look it up on Google maps, it may give you the wrong location. For some reason, it sometimes shows it near Summer and Holmes, but that is incorrect, and according to the owner, they have never been near Holmes Road. They have been in their currently location for about 4-5 years.

First, let me say, I'm not vegan so I don't know too much about vegan food. I wanted to try this place ever since I saw a funny advertisement for it last year, but haven't been able to make it over that way recently. I finally got there tonight and it was really good.

Before going, I asked for opinions on Facebook and got mostly good reviews, but one person said the menu didn't look that great.

This is the high protein burger, made from lentils, sunflower seeds, oats, bell peppers, onions, celery, and other spices, and comes on a wheat bun with tomato, ketchup, and mustard. I also got a side of green beans. Both items were great. For dessert, I got a cookies and cream cheesecake. Everything was fantastic!

I had a buy one entree get one free coupon. The owner rang me up for a "plate" which is the entree, side, and dessert for $15.00 and my friend got exactly the same thing, so it should have been around $33.00 including tax before tip. After the coupon, the total was about $13.00 each, not including a drink as I actually got water, so it saved us a few bucks each. It seemed reasonable to me, even though I don't know much about vegan food prices.

Even though I'm not normally vegan, I will definitely be back.

Fiesta Grill, Southaven, MS

Fiesta Grill

MAP

Fiesta Grill is a Mexican restaurant on the west side of Airways just north of Goodman (behind Krystal basically). I've been there several times just not recently. I went there this past Saturday night with a friend from church. This was my weekend off but I volunteered for a few hours of overtime late Saturday night and went to eat early in the evening first.

This is the Pollo Adobe, which at most Mexican places is strips of chicken, but at Fiesta Grill it was a grilled chicken breast patty. It was very good. My friend got chicken fajitas and she said hers was very good also.

Prices are about average. I had a coupon for buy one entree get one half price, and all together with two drinks, a large cheese dip, and tax, including the coupon, before tip it was about $35.00.

Media Outlet, Memphis, TN

Media Outlet

MAP

Ok, here's my first entry that isn't food related. I went to this store today based on something a friend posted just to see what it was about and was impressed by their selection.

Media Outlet sells used media, consisting of CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games. The post my friend made was a copy of one of their flyers which stated that they had DVDs for $3.00, including complete seasons from television. I was skeptical, but went there anyway on my way to meet a friend for dinner tonight, and to my pleasant surprise, the flyer was true!

There were a few more recent movies priced at $5.00, but for the most part, everything was priced at $3.00 or less. I actually bought 5 movies for a total of $13.00 and would have bought several more, but I was in somewhat of a time crunch and had to leave to meet my friend.

My guess would be that this is some individual that bought out the inventory of a rental store or some online place, as they seemed to have multiple copies of many of the movies, a few of items seemed to be in non-original factory rental boxes, and I even saw one item in a rental box that had the name Blockbuster inside the cover, but to me that doesn't matter. They have a great selection, several rooms full of tables of boxes of movies.

The only possible thing someone might consider negative (this wasn't negative to me, but I thought it worth mentioning) is, they movies aren't really in any specific order. There are a few racks with TV shows only, and a few tables with boxes labeled as TV shows, but otherwise, they seemed to be somewhat random, as I saw multiple copies of the same movie in various locations throughout the store, and I wasn't able to find all the movies in a couple of series I wanted.

For example, I was going to buy the Bourne and Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but they did not have all of either, and I considered buying the 24 television series, but they only had seasons 2-5, at least as far as I could find. This is just a personal thing; I don't like having part of a movie set but not having all of it. When I have more time, I'm going to go back and see if I can find the others I didn't have time to look for today..

Also, I asked the cashier if they guaranteed the movies to play and he said no, but he then stated that if you get a movie that doesn't play, you can bring it back and exchange it or if they don't have another copy of the same movie, they will refund your money. That's semantics, but either way, you're ok if you happen to get a movie that won't play. So far, all of the movies I bought today work fine.

Wise Guys Pizza, Horn Lake, MS

Wise Guys Pizza

MAP

I've posted previously about Wise Guys. It's a small privately owned pizza shop in Horn Lake, MS on Highway 51, just south of the Horn Lake fire department, a block or so north of Church Road.

I went there for dinner on March 2, and this time, I got a chili dog and and a Pepper Jack Bites appetizer, and it was fantastic. I don't remember how much I paid, but it was average for a pizza joint.

High Point Pizza, Memphis, TN

High Point Pizza

MAP

High Point Pizza is a small pizza cafe in the High Point district of Memphis near Summer and Highland, just south of Summer Avenue on High Point Terrace. I met a friend there this past week on March 2 for lunch and it was really good.

This is the Cuban sandwich, which came with a bag of chips. I forgot what my friend got, but he said it was really good too. Prices are about average. Before tax, my bill was about $13.00 including a drink. Definitely recommended.

Clancy's Catfish and Barebecue Cafe, Red Banks, MS

Clancy's

MAP

Clancy's is a small BBQ restaurant on Highway 178 in Red Banks, MS. I went there for lunch yesterday and got a cheeseburger, and it was really good. My friend got a brisket sandwich and said it was really good also. The burger only came with a few onion rings, which sort of surprised me, but they were very good.

We went around 1:00 PM, and there was nobody else on there, which was also surprising, but I suspect we missed the lunch crowd and they probably get busy again for dinner.

Prices are about average. For a double cheeseburger and onion rings, and drink, before tip, my total was about $12.00.