Oh my. Mississippi state senator Ted Mayhall (R-Southaven) and two other senators have introduced a bill to prohibit certain restaurants from serving people who are obese. No joke.

Now as far as I know, it’s legal to sell cigarettes to people who have lung cancer and alcohol to alcoholics, as long as they’re of age. Has this guy flipped or what? To be fair, I’ve read that even he doesn’t believe the bill will pass and he’s just introducing it to call attention to the state’s high obesity rate. But come on–is this the kind of attention he wants??

Despite a report in The Memphis Flyer, this East Memphis restaurant is not closing. Not just yet.

Because of a contractual obligation, Wally Joe will remain open until at least the end of the year, serving dinner Monday through Saturday.

Read more about it in Friday’s Memphis Playbook.

Associated Press story just appeared announcing that KFC is switching out its partially hydrogenated soybean oil… maybe the beginning of a trend?

Wendy’s has done it, McDonald’s has not, according to the report.

Non-sequiter: Read a funny recipe in a new book “Good Grits” for bacon ice cream… yum!

Wally Joe is the new executive chef at the Brooks’ Brushmark Restaurant. No, he’s not closing his East Memphis restaurant, but will oversee the lunch program at the museum’s signature dining room, as well as planning special events.

This sounds like a great partnership… details to come.

You know what they say about cooking? One minute you’re in, the next, you’re out…

Bonus points for anyone (yes, there is a blogging derby, with prizes eventually, and yes, I’m keeping track…) who knows what show I’m paying tribute to with that catchphrase…

OK, well it’s not quite that dramatic, but here’s an update on what’s cooking — or, who is cooking — in kitchens around Memphis:

Penny McCraw leaving the Brushmark at the Memphis Brooks Museum to take the lead role in the kitchen and work with the owners at McEwen’s on Monroe… McCraw had previously worked with owner Mac Edwards at the defunct Ciao Baby in the late 1990s… they plan to collaborate on new menu items, including the introduction of some more entrees in the $20 range… this is exciting news after the departure of Michael Patrick, who left to work for Jimmy Ishii at the coming-soon Delta Kitchen on Beale… (formerly Elvis Presley’s)…

Gary Hawkins is leaving Lolo’s Table soon to go work at a restaurant in Jackson, Miss. Hawkins had also worked at McEwen’s…

Chris Dollar is no longer at La Tourelle… Cafe 1912’s chef will be filling the clogs at both La Tourelle and Cafe 1912… (possible burnout alert, this kind of commitment is sure to stretch the chef too thin… and is not fair to diners at either spots…)

Any other chess pieces moving around to different kitchens? Please report… (and, here’s a hint on the show mentioned above… it stars the adorable supermodel married to Seal…)

The queen of Southern cuisine is coming to this year’s Mid-South Fair!

This is a huge deal, as Ms. Paula has blown up big ever since she started spicing up the Food Network with “Paula’s Home Cooking”… Comparisons to Martha Stewart are inevitable, as Deen recently helped launch a magazine with her fingerprints all over it. But let’s not forget that she starred with adorable Orlando Bloom in “Elizabethtown” last summer.

Paula’s good people!

Look for my story in tomorrow’s Commercial Appeal.

Jim-n-Nick’s is coming to Memphis. This Birmingham, Alabama-based BBQ chain has locations throughout the South. Waiting to hear back on the details and will fill in the blanks ASAP.

A new fresh-Mex concept — Costa Vida — will debut in August, in the spot on Poplar where Fuego was supposed to go in, and also in Cordova, on Germantown Parkway. To check the menu: costavida.net. First one opened in Utah in 2003.

Saw a new steakhouse in Collierville: Grill 901, west of Byhalia on Poplar. From the same folks who have Fino Villa, Sopranos in Southaven and several La Hacienda restaurants, with an Indian restaurant in the works. Yes, the Taj Mahal is coming to Memphis!! Check out their lineup at pakmex.com

What else is new? Coming soon?

UPDATE… just heard the former owners of Cafe Samovar are now cooking at the Cottage Antique Mall on Summer, in the space that was once Cafe Eden.

Also, check the comments for more new developments. So many restaurants, not enough hours in the day, space in the tummy.