Last night I met up with a couple of foodie friends and we started our search for the perfect nachos in Memphis. (They got a jump start on me a few weeks ago, beginning with a plate they described as “glumpy mess” at Huey’s on Poplar at Erin Drive, but last night was my first time out).

We’d planned to go to Belmont, but one of the group had a coupon for Cozymel’s, so we went there. The nachos made a pretty picture, but they ended up with six thumbs down. First, a certain amount of goop is necessary for good nachos, and these were too dry. Plus, they were composed, and we want our nachos diggable. Further, they were on baked flour tortillas, not on corn tortillas.

I remember that R.P. Tracks used to have good nachos, so that’s on our list. And Belmont, which my friend Susie remembers served up a nice dish. We’re talking back in the day here, but we’re hoping both are still good. Where else should we go?

Here’s a slide show of a few pictures of Matt Brewton, a chef at The Savvy Gourmet in New Orleans, making a roux for a mighty tasty gumbo. The recipe is in today’s Food section and you can also find it online at commercialappeal.com. Click here to watch it:

SLIDESHOW: Gumbo

If there is a way to hinder technology, I know it. Not that I’m ever sure what I’m doing, of course, but I find a way to shut down a camera or a cellular connection like nobody’s business! Nothing’s lost, I’m glad to say–I have all the pictures, I have videos and I have notes upon notes from the Louisiana trip and will post tidbits over the next few days (I have to change software to use the pictures taken from the new camera).

Here’s a question, though, while we wait: Has anyone ever heard of boiling eggs in gumbo? I learned something new at every class I attended, ate fantastic food (La Provence, Cochon–although I had to keep running across the street to the Ugly Dog Saloon to watch the playoff Monday night–Ralph’s on the Park) in New Orleans and other places throughout the state. Details will come with photos–maybe I can get started after tonight’s wine tasting.

Yesterday morning started with a tour of a crawfish pond (I’ve got video of that but can’t edit it until I get back to Memphis), then we headed over to Vermilion Ville for a cooking demonstration with Mama Redell. What a charmer! She fed us crawfish first, since many of the writers on this tour with me have never been south, and told us how in the old days the yellow fat was separated and sold in containers at country stores. And THAT was what folks used to make their roux for an etouffee. No more, though–the department of health stopped that years ago, though the fat is still saved in homes.

While we feasted on crawfish etoufee Mama made earlier in the day, she cooked jambalaya, corn maquechoux and gumbo–and she did it the way she learned from her Maman, her grandmother. She didn’t make a roux for her gumbo, but instead browned a pan full of cut okra as her base. (They use these great spoons with flattened ends for scraping the fond from the pans to get the brown flavor in everything; I’ll be bringing some of those home.) Watching her, I picked up my first tip: To keep the okra from getting slimy, add a few tablespoons of vinegar.

I was reminded of a woman I met in a cooking class who told me she learns one thing in every class she goes to. But I learned two: When Mama browns meat, she doesn’t use oil (”I tease people. I tell them you can look at me and tell it’s not for health reasons. It’s for flavor.”). Instead, she puts water in the bottom of the pan, adds the meat, turns the heat up and when the water is gone, the meat has rendered its fat and that’s how she browns it.

More on Mama–her cooking classes are open to everyone–later. Right now it’s time to get going again. We roll to Avery Island in 30 minutes and I’ve got to get a move on. I’ll post later today and by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have my car parked and will be traveling in the van so I can post along the way.

My first official review of a restaurant appeared in The Commercial Appeal’s Playbook section in February 1988. It was about the short-lived Luau restaurant at the airport.

My last review, of Currents, appears today, a bit more than 20 years — and many great and not so great meals — later.

That’s a long time to write about and review restaurants in the same city, but it’s also a length of time that provides perspective on the region and its dining out habits and the cycles of growth and development in the restaurant community.

Twenty years ago, Memphis was largely a meat and potatoes town. While La Tourelle and Chez Philippe provided classic French cuisine, most Memphians in a celebratory mood dined on steak and lobster or Italian-American fare or variations on Creole food. Ethnic cuisine meant chop suey and egg foo young or enchiladas at Panchos. I used to write that the city could support eight fine-dining restaurants, and if a new one opened, an old one would close.

That’s no longer the case. However we define fine dining or white-tablecloth restaurants, by food or atmosphere or price, such establishments proliferate from Downtown Memphis out to Collierville. And ethnic cuisine? There’s the area where the real change has occurred. An influx of immigrants from Southeast Asia and the sub-continent brought our town and region Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian and Indian restaurants, while Chinese restaurants have greatly improved. The succeeding influx of Hispanic transplants brought family-owned places, especially in northeast and southeast Memphis, where the authentic food resembles what a real family would have on the table at dinner.

It’s been gratifying to witness these changes in the local dining scene and to participate and write about them. I couldn’t begin to count or even remember the numerous times I’ve taken a bite of some new dish or been introduced to a new concept, whether humble or refined, from the Pie Lady all the way to Erling Jensen, and thought, “Wow, yes, this is what good eating is all about.”

It’s been good, it’s been bad, and it’s been ugly. In 20 years I’ve had a death threat from a restaurant owner — serious enough that the CA provided security for me for a short while (the budget was better then); a letter from an attorney barring me from entering his client’s establishment; a waiter who illustrated what a lamb shank is by raising one foot, pulling up his trouser leg and pointing to his shin. I’ve had waiters sing to me, kneel by the table, and even pull up a chair, sit down and tell me their life story. I’ve had waiters argue that I pronounced the names of ingredients wrong, that I didn’t know how wine needed to be served, that I didn’t understand the relative doneness of steaks, that I was ordering the wrong dish. I’ve written reviews so glowing that the restaurant couldn’t deal with the increase in customers and had to close, and I’ve written — very rarely — reviews so negative that the result was the same.

And, inevitably, I’ve come to some conclusions about dining out and the restaurant business.

1. Most restaurants are woefully undercapitalized when they open. Chances are you won’t make a profit for three or even five years; be prepared for hard times.

2. Most problems with service are the result of improper training. When waiters flub the basic or finer points of taking orders, serving food and wine and clearing the table, it’s usually because they haven’t been told how to act. It’s management’s responsibility. On the other hand, when your waiter says, “Hi, guys, my name is Steve,” he has been told to do that.

3. The spirit that prevails in the kitchen influences the dining room. Chefs, owners and managers who concentrate on their jobs, watch the details, handle their staffs respectfully and enjoy what they’re doing help create an amenable atmosphere that spreads through the restaurant. I’ve seen restaurants ruined by chefs who wanted to spend more time in the dining room shmoozing with patrons than in the kitchen taking care of business.

4. Restaurants are growing more expensive, yet so many of these fine dining or white tablecloth establishments offer variations of the same menus and similar dishes. What’s in it for the diner plunking down $35 for an entree?

5. As awareness of wine has grown in the region, restaurant wine lists have expanded beyond the roster of usual suspects. Excellent examples are the all-Italian list at Bari and the eclectic, helpful list at Circa.

I love eating in restaurants — current favorites are Cafe 1912, Bari, Saigon Le, Umai, and the bar at Interim — but I’ll admit that I — and that means “we” — won’t mind staying at home for awhile. In our house, the ambience, the service and the food are always terrific. Plus there are dogs and cats.

I’ll conclude this look back at 20 years with a retrospective on some restaurants I reviewed (a few several times) that meant a lot to me but that closed during my tenure as restaurant reviewer at The CA. I will always miss these places:

La Tourelle; Wally Joe; KoTo; Restaurant Raji; Mick’s (no kidding); Aubergine; Bistro 122; Puck’s; Midtown; Hemmings; 25 Belvedere; Ben’s.

A friend and I had a very nice lunch at Circa today. You’ll remember that John Bragg’s restaurant closed for lunch back in the fall (dinner was not affected) and recently reopened. That’s a boon for downtowners.

We started with the appetizer of crawfish beignets, lightly breaded and very crisp on the outside yet almost creamy inside with a sort of deviled crawfish mixture; these came with a sprightly remoulade sauce ($7). They would make a great bar snack with an ice-cold martini.

I ordered the fish of the day, a perfectly grilled talapia filet served with a light and mild-mannered lemon-butter sauce. Also on the plate were a scoop of dense mashed potatoes and a couple of asparagus spears and baby carrots ($14); simple fare but delicious. My friend’s crab-cake sandwich featured two or three smallish and full-flavored crabcakes; the plate was dominated by the restaurant’s excellent house-made potato chips ($10).

A glass of the refreshing Loimer “Lois” Gruner Veltliner 2006 from Austria ($9) and an espresso ($3) rounded out a satisfying lunch.

Circa, 119 S. Main at Gayoso, opens for lunch at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. Call 522-1488 or visit circamemphis.com.

Rack of lamb is a staple in fine-dining (or even not so fine-dining) restaurants throughout the land, and Memphis and the surrounding region are no different. It’s a tempting dish. Tender, earthy, slightly gamy-tasting medium-rare lamb, often roasted with an herb or nut crust, artfully arranged on the plate makes for a great presentation and a great flavor experience — for meat-eaters, of course. I am a devotee of rack of lamb and have consumed the dish many times in my 20-year career reviewing restaurants for The Commercial Appeal. (That’s correct, 20 years last month!)

Noticing, when dining at Currents last week. that rack of lamb was listed on that menu for $39, I started to wonder how that price compares with prices for other versions of the dish in local restaurants. Online research revealed a surprising range of prices, though we have to remember that some restaurants serve three chops from the rack and some serve four, that some restaurants serve “double” portions, that is with two bones instead of one, and that some restaurants opt for smaller racks to keep prices down. So remember, when you contemplate this roster, that many variations affect the prices.

Marciano Restaurant …….. $22
Grove Grill …….. $22.95
Ciao Bella Italian Grill …….. $27.95
Circa by John Bragg …….. $29
Napa Cafe …….. $29
Jarrett’s …….. $29.95
Erling Jensen …….. $32
Mesquite Chop House …….. $34
The Tower Room …….. $34.95
River Oaks …….. $35
Madidi (in Clarksdale, Miss.) …….. $35
Folk’s Folly …….. $35.95
Currents …….. $39
Stella …….. $42

Most kitchens try to dress up rack of lamb in ways that amount to signature trappings. Marciano offers the most straightforward: roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables in a Marsala sauce. At Madidi, it’s roasted red pepper corn cakes and nicoise olives in herbed olive oil. River Oaks accompanies its rack of lamb with truffle spoon bread, “herb-shocked” — my quotation marks — roasted mirepoix and sauce bordelaise. The double rack of lamb at Currents comes with marinated eggplant carpaccio — doesn’t that just mean thinly sliced eggplant? — chanterelle mushrooms, baby carrots, fondant potatoes and elderberry sauce. And at Circa, the rack of lamb is sorghum-cured and served with a sweet potato-shiitake flan and a cranberry-rosemary jus.

On the other hand, at Folk’s Folly, the Grand Central of A La Carte, you get mint sauce.

So, readers, as in all things in life, for good or ill, for richer or poorer — you pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

Image of rack of lamb from bordbia.ie.

I was clearing off some shelves at The CA yesterday, going through loads of books that have been sitting there for years, and I came upon a large-format paperback volume called “Memphis Menus,” second edition, published by Sunbelt Inc. of Memphis in 1983. Think about that: What were the important or popular restaurants in the Bluff City 25 years ago? The page or pages devoted to each restaurant include a menu, and looking at the dishes available then and the prices charged for them is a hoot.

Here’s are the restaurants listed in the second edition of “Memphis Menus.” Are you ready to drop a tear for some of these names? Others, truly, we’ve been happy to live without.

Alfred’s.
Anthony’s.
The Baron.
The Blue Goose Cafe.
Bradford House.
Captain Bilbo’s.
The Carriage House.
The Country Squire.
Dearmont’s Banquet Resort.
Ducks & Company.
East End Grill.
Four Flames.
Gaslight Dinner Theatre.
Giovanni’s.
Grisanti’s.
Guale’s.
Hastings Place.
Huey’s.
Hungry Fisherman.
Jefferson Square.
Jimmy Tin’s Port Shanghai.
Jim’s Place East.
J.P. Seafield’s.
Justine’s.
La Tourelle.
The Loft.
Midway Cafe.
Molly’s La Casita.
Number One Beale Street.
Bombay Bicycle Club.
TGI Friday’s.
Public Eye.
Paulette’s.
Palm Court.
Wink Martindale’s.
Red Apple Restaurant.
River Terrace.
Spike & Rail.
Steak & Ale.
The Steakyard.
Swiss Manor.
Traditions.
Vieux Chalet.
Willie Moffatt’s.
Windows on the River.
Yesterday’s.

The signature barbecue oyster appetizer at Four Flames cost $2.50. At Bradford House, a truly fine and lamentably short-lived restaurant, the scallops mousseline cost $5, while “Sole Veronique” was $11. The “Pompano en papillote” at Justine’s was $12.95. “Oysters 2+2+2″ at Bombay Bicycle Club — the best bar in the history of Memphis, yes, but way past time to get over that — cost $4.75. “Osso Buco” at Palm Court: $11.75. Grisanti’s veal cutlets Bolognese: $12. And Vieux Chalet! What a great, crazy little bistro that was! And in a weird location in an old house off Summer Avenue.

So, anyway, perhaps this roster of old names — very few of these restaurants are still open — will tug at a heart-string or conjure memories of long-ago meals in what seems like a more innocent, and certainly less expensive, time.

This response from “Tina” showed up at the end of the post I did on oatmeal a few weeks ago:

“I don’t know where to post this since the ‘Feedback and Questions’ part gives me an error and ‘not found’ message when I click on it. But I need some help from area lovers of fine restaurants.

“A special celebration is coming up in May for me and I am looking for a nice restaurant where my husband and I can go for a really nice dinner. Someplace nice, without kids, great food and service, and (obviously)not a ‘chain’ place. I was thinking Italian maybe, with cannoli on the menu - hard to find. But I am open to anything. Someplace other than the typical steak and potato as I have done it too many times. Something with good wine/scotch and where we can get a nice meal with 3-5 courses. We haven’t been to any really fine dining places, and that is what we are looking for but it is so hard to know what is going to be worth the money. Basically, some place we can make reservations on a Saturday night a few weeks in advance to ensure not waiting forever.

“Sorry…don’t know where to post this but since F.K. started this string and he knows the fine dining establishments, I am going to the top.

“Thanks for any help, and feel free to move this post to the appropriate area.”

Tina doesn’t say how much she and her husband want to spend on this celebratory occasion, so let’s consider that matter open to debate or interpretation or of no account. The requirements are simple: a really nice three-to-five-course meal at a restaurant for grown-ups with a good wine list (and scotch) and great service. On Saturday.

My immediate reaction is to say Erling Jensen or Chez Philippe. Expensive? Yes. Superb in all the aspects of fine dining that Tina is looking for? Also yes. If a Friday night were manageable, Erling Jensen has its wine tasting dinner, four courses and five glasses of wine for $75. That’s $150 for two people plus tax and tip. Other than that, Erling Jensen is a la carte, with soups, salads and appetizers ranging from $8 to $19 and entrees from $29 to $42.

Chez Philippe is only prix fixe, three courses for $68 or five courses for $75; wine is additional.

Menus and wine lists are available at peabodymemphis.com and ejensen.com.

For Italian, I would recommend Bari, though cannoli do not appear among dessert options. It has the advantage of being less expensive than Erling Jensen and Chez Philippe and of fielding an excellent list of Italian wines. The menu is available at barimemphis.com.

Many other possibilities exist, of course, and I bet that readers and posters to the “Whining&Dining” blog will be more than willing to weigh in and give Tina their advice. So go ahead.

Frequent blogger Carole H just returned from a trip to Orlando, where she ate at Emeril’s Tchoup Chop and reports back that it was a visual and culinary delight. Pictured here is a coconut creme brulee with tuile cookie and strawberry/whipped cream garnish and bourbon pecan pie with house made vanilla bean ice cream.

Here’s what she has to say about it: “It is the most visually beautiful restaurant I’ve ever eaten at in my life.  The food was exquisite & the service was near perfect.  They don’t do a lot of lunch business & we were the only ones in there for awhile around noon.  I think there were five different people bringing us things & clearing our table.  They all wear Hawaiian type shirts & dark pants & there is an open chef’s table by the kitchen.  The ceilings are very tall & there is a pool in the middle that becomes a fountain as the water spills over the end.”

We had shrimp chips w/an Asian peanut sauce dip & scallop ceviche, which were complimentary appetizers.  The menu changes daily.  I had kalua pork loco moco w/an omelet instead of a fried egg & it was served on top of fried rice.  My friend had mahi mahi that she said was the best she ever ate (she has lived all over the country, incl. San Francisco).  It had fried lotus root chips on top - not much taste but nice crunch.  There was a mushroom sauce around it & it was perfectly cooked.  She also had a green salad.  Our entrees were $18/$19 & wine was $9/glass. ”

Have you had a good meal lately you want to share with us? Send a picture to me at biggs@commercialappeal.com and if it’s the right resolution and so on, I’ll post it.