Mayo's-Mahalia Jackson

Mayo's Mahalia Jackson
2008 Jefferson St
Nashville, TN 37208

We discovered this place by a complete accident.  We were heading towards another destination, when I saw this place.  You couldn't miss the smoke coming out of the smoker.

The prices on the sign were cheap as well.  We were hungry, so we decided we had to try it.  

It was around 5:00pm, and they were out of many of their signature items.  I tried to get the gizzards and the shoulder sandwich, but he had already run out.  I settled on the leg quarter, when he said he thought he had one or two left, and the greens.  

Then my friend asked what was the best thing, and he said the rib sandwich (which was not on the menu).  He said it was the best on Jefferson St, and probably in Nashville, and that if we didn't like, he would give us whatever we wanted.  Therefore I had to change my order and add that sandwich.  

In the end, we ended up with a rib sandwich, which was huge.  There were two pieces of bread laying next to each other and the ribs spanned both slices.  We also had an order of okra, an order of mac n' cheese, two orders of greens.  We also had two leg quarter sandwiches.  This was too much food for two people, even though we finished it off.  And the best part was the price.  The total price for everything was on $12.50.  

The ribs were as good as he said.  They had clearly been smoking all day, as all the fat had been rendered into the meat.  The ribs had that beautiful pink smoked color and were fall off the bone.  The leg quarter sandwiches were also delicious and full of that smoked flavor.  The sides were all good, but not as awesome as the meat.  

We were unable to eat at the location, which is really just a food truck.  So, be prepared to take it somewhere else.  

Detroit One Coney Island Restaurant

Detroit One Coney Island Restaurant
3433 Woodward (near Mack)
Detroit, MI 48201

G is playing his last week with the DSO.  In order to entertain myself, I decided to take a walk and get some breakfast.  I saw this restaurant and thought I'd give it a try, since I saw that they served Breakfast.

They also deliver till 2am, and they are open always.  

It's really more of a diner than a restaurant.  

Their coffee was typical diner coffee.  

They have coneys and entrees.  I really wanted a sausage and biscuit.  They didn't have it on their menu, but both items separately were listed on the sides.  

The food was good.  It tasted exactly what I expected it to taste like.  It was made to order.  

My total bill was about $5.50.   

Gator Jake's Bar and Grill

Gator Jake's Bar and Grill
36863 Van Dyke Ave
Sterling Heights, MI 48312

This trip to the Detroit area, we stayed in Sterling Heights.  After reading some Yelp reviews, I decided to try out Gator Jake's Bar and Grill.  It had a lot of 5 star reviews.  Plus, I looked at the menu, and it was inexpensive.  

The theme is New Orleans.  The colors are the colors of Mardi Gras.  

It's a very open space with a huge wrap around bar with lots of televisions.  

I had a whiskey and water.  It was only $4 (it was not a super strong pour, though).  

I ordered the steak, which was only $9.99 and it came with a house salad.  

G's entree also came with a salad.  He ordered the tuna steak with broccoli and rice.  He liked his sides, but felt the tuna steak needed some extra spice.  

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I enjoyed my meal.  I had the steak cooked medium rare with green beans and cajun fries.  Everything was tasty.

This restaurant is also ahead technologically.  They take your order at the table on a tablet.  The tablet is connected to the POS (point of sale) system so the order went straight to the kitchen from the table.  When we paid, she scanned the card on the same tablet.  The credit card never left my sight.  I like that.  

Good food. Cheap prices.  Cheap drinks  Good service.

Belle Diner

Belle Diner
117 Union Ave
Memphis, TN 38103

Belle Diner is a relatively new restaurant in downtown Memphis.  It is in a space that was formerly occupied by Buckley's Steak Restaurant and later a Mexican restaurant, El Rio Loc.

Belle Diner has a small menu.  I like restaurants with smaller menus.  I hate when there is a book to read.  It makes the decisions difficult to make.  

The restaurant has been totally transformed.  No one would guess that it used to be a Mexican restaurant.  It looks like a very nice restaurant.  

They have a full bar with local beers on tap.  

They have a good dinner price point.  Entrees are $19, appetizers are $10, sides are $4, soups are $5, salads are $7, and desserts are $6.  

When I went for dinner, they gave us rolls and cornbread to start.  

G had the grilled ribeye steak on a bed of spinach topped with an onion ring.  They still have the steak, but I noticed that the menu is slightly different now.  

Instead of an entree, I chose to order 5 sides.  One was the broccoli casserole and mornay sauce.  This was too good to be true.  With the sauce, it was no longer healthy I'm sure, but it was more than delicious.  

I also had the cheese grits, the spinach, and the fried okra.  I love the fried okra.  They fry the whole thing.  

And for my 5th side, I had the mac n' cheese.  It was sinfully delicious.  I got to try a ton of different items by ordering sides.  The mac n' cheese and the broccoli casserole are the best.  

The restaurant space is huge.  It's basically double what you see when you walk in.  

Apparently, they have a good happy hour with cheap house wines, house liquors, and domestic beers.  I also discovered that they have a brunch which sounds good, with mimosa buckets.  I have to find out what that is.  

On my second visit, I went with a Yelp event.  

I tried all 4 drink specials.  I started with the Southern Fashioned, which was their take on the Old fashioned.

The Scarlett O'hara was some type of cranberry drink.  The strawberry sparkle is basically champagne with strawberries.  

I also had the cheap fireball shot.  I like this cinnamon whiskey.  

I got to try the mac n'cheese again, which is still amazing.  I also got to try the greens for the firs time.  They are perfect.  There is plenty of meat cooked with them.  

I also got to try the cheese grits again.  They are still good.  

They also have blackened green tomatoes.  It's like fried green tomatoes but without the fried batter.  They're really good.  

I also still love that fried okra.  

My Birthday

My Birthday

After going to Nashville and having the hot chicken, I remembered that my mom used to make something that she called red hot and black chicken.

Instead of having a cake this year, I decided I wanted dinner.  (Now, I actually had 2 cakes from friends anyway).  My dad made the chicken.  It is basically cut up chicken breast that is battered in a flour, black pepper, and cayenne pepper mix.  It was as good as I remembered.  For the sides, we had tater tots and greens.

My dad chose a bottle of Moscato to pair with the chicken.  He decided the sweet wine would pair nicely with the spicy chicken.  It was an interesting combination.

My coworker bought me this too good to be true tres leches cake.  The cake was so moist.  The frosting was good without being too sugary sweet.  Then it was topped with fresh fruit.  

I love birthday celebrations, but more importantly, I love my friends and family.  

Loveless Cafe

Loveless Cafe
8400 Tennessee 100
Nashville, TN 37221

I first visited this cafe about 10 years ago.  I had been thinking about it and wanted to return to it.  G and I decided to meet here for dinner one Friday night.  It's about halfway between his residence and Knoxville and mine in Memphis.  I got there, and it was about a 45 minute wait, which was fortunate, because he was 45 minutes late.  

The cafe started in 1951 with the Loveless family basically selling fried chicken and biscuits out of their house.  

They have a BBQ pit, so they obviously smoke their own meat.  

It used to also be a motel.  However, the motel quit operative about 20 years ago.  The old motel parts are used for retail.  You can buy plenty of souvenirs, some edible and some wearable.  

They start you off with biscuits and their famous jams.  The biscuits were great.  They also serve breakfast all day.  I had to restrain myself from eating too many before my meal.  

They have some drinks.  I had a whiskey and water.  One friend ordered a shot of moonshine.  It came in a cute mason jar cup.  He said it was "strong."  

I love combination plates, so that's what I got.  With as much food as I got, it was worth the price.  I think it was the most expensive item on the menu at $17.55.  The Southern Sampler Platter comes with your choice of three meats (Fried Chicken, Catfish, Country Ham, Meatloaf or Pork Barbeque) and two sides.  I chose the fried chicken, because that was one of their original items.  I also got the country ham, because it is proclaimed on their neon sign outside.  And finally, I got the pork barbecue since I saw the BBQ pit outside.  All the meat was just plain perfect.  The pork was on a cornbread pancake.  

I also got to choose two sides.  They have tons of choices.  I ended up getting the greens and the mac n' cheese.  Both were good and typically country.  I would have liked to try the fried okra, but I already had too much food.  

For my meat, I did't choose the meatloaf, because I knew G would order it.  he did, and it was good.  It was covered with a tangy tomato sauce.  He got the vegetable of the day, which was squash.  It was surprisingly good, too.  I wasn't tempted by it when I heard it was the special, but I was jealous when I tasted it.  

They have desserts, but there's no way someone could eat anyway after eating here! 

The other intriguing thing on their menu is their family style supper for groups of 4 or more.  It's all you can eat for $17.55 a person.  The table has to agree upon two meats and three veggies.  It also includes a regular drink.  

It is so good that it would be worth a three hour drive.  Seriously.

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