Movie & Pizza Company - Dinner & Trivia

WHERE WE WENT:   
Movie & Pizza Company
110 Harbor Town Square
Memphis, TN 38103



WHAT WE ORDERED:

 Sausage and Cheese Platter, Garlic Bread, Beef & Spinach Stuffed Shells, Yeungling,
Shiner Wild Hare

WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 7       
Menu - 6
Presentation - 5
Taste - 7
Price - 8
Service - 9
 Overall -7


Atmosphere - The space of the restaurant is typical of a restaurant in a strip mall, since it does not stand alone. It is one room where you can see everything the moment you walk in the door. The walls are a semi-obnoxious, not quite lime green that did not match our personal tastes, but some people may be a fan of. It has a nice focal point - a big screen TV that is mounted high directly behind the bar. The whole restaurant sort of gravitates toward it. The seating is a combination of booths and tables very few of which seem to match. The great part about it though is the wall decor. Mounted on the awful green walls you'll find framed photography, aluminum signs of beer logos and movie posters showcasing some of the greats like Pulp Fiction and The Godfather. Also, if that wasn't cool enough, there's a giant King Kong replica caged in the top corner.

Menu -  The menu contained a decent variety of pastas, sandwiches, pizza and a few salads. There were substantial vegetarian options. Where the menu loses the bulk of 
 its points is in ease of use and pure error. First off, there were three chalk special boards placed randomly throughout the restaurant each detailing different items. If you didn't look closely, you could miss one, like I did. When I saw it as we were leaving, it made me wish I had gotten something else. It would have greatly improved our experience if they had just had a sheet explaining the specials. They have a good selection of wine and beer, including many craft beers and local brews to the tri-state area. HOWEVER, they do not know how to categorize their beer. They have it divided into "Domestic" and "Imports." Only four of the beers listed in the import section were actually imported. They seem to use the two terms interchangeably with "cheap" and "cheaper."

Presentation -You don't expect fantastic presentation from a place like Movie & Pizza Company, but you do expect consistency. The beef & spinach shells were served in ceramic dish that had obvious wear, making it feel like a home-cooked dish. The sausage and cheese platter and the garlic bread were both served in red diner baskets with wax paper. The sausage and cheese platter had a lot of potential for interesting plating, or at least a plate.


Taste - The sausage and cheese platter was good. The sausage was crisp on the edges with a great texture and just the right amount of spice. The BBQ sauce served with it was an excellent addition to the taste, both sweet and smoky. It had the makings of a great dish if the cheese pairings had been a little more original than sharp cheddar and pepper jack cubes. The overabundance of crackers was also distracting. As for the shells, the sauce was delicious, just a little sweet. All 3 shells were overflowing with spinach and ricotta, HOWEVER there was a distinct lack of beef, just enough to say they held true to the name but not enough to contribute to the taste. It felt like eating florentine shells, which would have been delicious if that were the order. The garlic bread...well you can't really mess up garlic bread.

Price - The menu was well priced, especially considering the portion sizes. Beer and wine as reasonable, both draft, bottled, and pitchers. At the changing of seasons they have $2 "firesales" to get rid of their seasonal beer.

Service - Our waitress was attentive and friendly. She answered questions and gave suggestions enthusiastically. The only issue is that it took a long while to get our check.

Extras - Tuesday nights are movie nights, where they screen a classic up behind the bar.
Friday nights at 8:30 is free team trivia.
Check the website linked below for a schedule.

WOULD WE GO BACK? 
Yes. It's a great place to hang out. The food is good and the drinks are affordable.

Here's a link to their website: www.moviepizzacompany.com/‎

Little Italy - Mmmm mmmmm

WHERE WE WENT:   
Little Italy
1495 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN
38104



WHAT WE ORDERED:

Medium Cheese Pizza, Ham & Pepperoni Stromboli

WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 7       
Menu - 7
Presentation -5
Taste - 7
Price - 6
Service -8
 Overall -7

Atmosphere - The restaurant itself is pretty small, seating about 25 people. The walls have a warm orange tone that is cozy and evokes an Italian feel. The layout of the restaurant and the simple decor allow the restaurant to live up to its name. It feels like you could walk right off the streets of New York up to the counter of this little place.

Menu -  The menu is a board posted behind the counter and can be a little tough to read. They have a great variety of your typical New York-style favorites including stuffed pizzas, sandwiches, strombolis, desserts, pasta dishes etc. You can order pizza by the slice as well. The only thing lacking is alcoholic beverages.

Presentation - Little Italy deals primarily in take-out orders, so the presentation is virtually non-existent. Pizza boxes and styrofoam take-out boxes are the norm, but that is only to be expected from such a delicious hole-in-the-wall.

Taste -With Mike's family being originally from New Jersey, and having spent much time in NYC, he is pretty picky about his pizza. The pizza was overall very good. The sauce had excellent flavor and texture and you can tell the cheese was fresh. We're fans of thin crusted pizza, but the crust tonight was a little doughy. It needed to be crispier. Pizza should be able to stay straight (not flimsy) when held by its crust. The stromboli was excellent. There was just enough dough to hold everything together, but not too much so that it felt like that's all you were eating.

Price - The menu was reasonable, especially for somewhere so close to downtown. We've seen better. The best deal is the pizza by the slice. The slices are huge, in true New York fashion. Monday and Thursdays are "Pizza Nights". You can get a large cheese for $10 and a large 1 topping for $12.

Service - All of the pizzas are made to order, so it took a few minutes to get our food, but it was worth it. Since its a small place, there's only a few people who work there. The people are friendly, but not over-talkative. 

WOULD WE GO BACK? 
Yes. We really like this place. It's the closest thing to real New York we've been able to find since we've been in Tennessee. 

El Porton - Lunch for Two

WHERE WE WENT:   
El Porton Mexican Restaurant   
65 S. Highland Street
Memphis, TN 38119



WHAT WE ORDERED:

Small Cheese Dip, Fish Tacos, 
Rice & Beans, Beef Burrito, 
Beef Enchilada


WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 5       
Menu - 7
Presentation - 4
Taste - 5
Price - 9
Service - 7
 Overall - 6

Atmosphere - The restaurant had plenty of open space and the seating wasn't at all crowded. There was some authentic looking decor, but all of it looked cheap. The lighting was nice, not too dark or bright. There was a lack of color that is typical of Mexican restaurants and way too much blank space on the walls. The whole space was generally disinteresting. There some elements that were in disrepair and there was also some serious dust.

Menu -  The menu had a wide variety including non-Mexican and vegetarian options. It had appealing visual representations of many dishes and was well laid out. Personal pet peeve, we hate when there is a long list of almost-exactly-the-same, numbered combinations

Presentation - The fish tacos were a very pretty dish. The square plate contrasted with round smaller bowls really nicely. The pico de gallo was bright and colorful. The burrito and enchilada combo was sloppily plated and drowned in sauce which created a monochromatic blob on most of the plate. The beans and rice differed in color only slightly and were sloshed on side-by-side with almost no distinguishable boundaries.

Taste - The cheese dip was somewhat bland and kinda watery, but you can't really mess up cheese dip too badly. The salsa was some of the best we've had. It had a good, thick consistency and the perfect spiciness. It had a significant kick, but not to much that it negated the taste. The fish was rubbery and overcooked, but the pico de gallo had an excellent taste. The tacos were served with a chipotle sauce that was delicious by itself, but did not blend well with the other flavors of the dish. The beef in the enchilada and burritos was tasteless, completely devoid of seasoning. Luckily the enchilada sauce was delicious and made it edibile. 

Price - Everything on the menu was reasonably priced and portions were satisfying, but not too large.

Service - Our service was speedy, attentive, and efficient, but not particularly friendly.  

WOULD WE GO BACK? 
 No. There are so many other options for Mexican. We wouldn't want to waste our time when we could try something new.

 Here's a link to their website: www.elportonmexicanrestaurants.com

Bangkok Alley - Date Night

WHERE WE WENT:   
Bangkok Alley 
121 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN
38103



WHAT WE ORDERED:

-Snow White Roll (Shrimp, Spicy Mayo, Tempura Flakes, Topped w/Crab, Scallions)
-Explosion Roll (Spicy Crawfish, Avocado, Topped w/ Spicy Tuna, Spicy Mayo, Chef's Spicy Sauce)
-Island Roll (Crab, Shrimp Tempura, Topped w/ Tuna, Avocado, Spicy Mayo)
-Crab Rangoon

WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 8       
Menu -7
Presentation - 10
Taste - 7
Price - 7
Service - 9
 Overall - 7


Atmosphere -Bangkok Alley was small, but not cramped. The dark colors and simple decor fit nicely with the idea of it being a lounge. The overall feel felt classy yet comfortable, not at all stiff. The dim lighting definitely added to the lounge vibe, but could have been lightened up a little for the sake of reading the menu. The music did not match the restaurant theme at all and was distractingly loud.

Menu - The menu was composed of multiple parts: the traditional Thai menu and the sushi menu. The sushi section was extensive. It included traditional rolls such as the California Roll & Spicy Tuna Roll as well as unique creations bearing locally inspired names such as the Collierville Roll, Grizzlies Roll, Southaven Roll, and Memphis Roll. The traditional section of the menu contained a large variety of dishes including stir frys, fried rice, and traditional dishes like pad thai. The menu was multiple pages long and not particularly aesthetically pleasing. Variety is good, but this was just too much. It took forever to read through the menu. We like choices, but 15 appetizer choices is a little overkill.

Presentation - The presentation of the sushi was beautiful. All three rolls came on the same plate, arranged in a circle with the ginger and wasabi in the middle. The colors of all three rolls were gorgeous and the toppings had a marbled pattern so that each individual piece looked unique. The plate came decorated with extra sauce around the edges as well. 


Taste - As far as the crab rangoon, we have definitely had better. There was very little crab filling in the middle of each piece. The ratio to the shell was not good and the shells were somewhat burnt. We liked two of the three rolls. The Snow White Roll and the Island Roll were both very good, but the Island Roll could have used a little more crunch. The Explosion Roll was pretty, but the special sauce on top turned us off of it.

Price -The price point of this restaurant is comparable to other restaurants of its kind and pretty good for a place in the heart of downtown. the traditional sushi rolls are especially reasonable.

Service - Our waitress Penny was friendly and attentive. She acquainted us with the menu and made suggestions. She was wonderful except that she checked up on us a little too frequently and was a little irritating.

WOULD WE GO BACK? 
Yes. The location is great. We would love to try different sushi rolls. The price is reasonable and the atmosphere is great for a dinner with friends or a girls night out, if you can ignore the music.

Here's a link to their website: http://bangkokalley.com/