10/23/2023
Our True South Food Tour continues... Day 1 Stop 2.... Magnolia and May () restaurant in Memphis. (Reminder on our rating scale. 1-chose not to eat, 5-good, 10-or****ic)
The menu was full of great choices. We both had a High Cotton IPA (Bruce - 7, Paula -9). We started with Grilled Oysters Tunica, topped with greens and pecorino cheese. They were awesome, especially if you love greens like I do. The greens flavor was a bit stronger than the oysters, but they were still very good. (Bruce-5, Paula-7). It was $1 for a Deviled Egg so we figured how can you go wrong. It was a deviled egg. (We both gave it a 5). First we shared the Red Trout with crab, hollandaise and FGT (no that does not mean Good Trout...it's Fried Green Tomato!). This was devine! The fish was light, delicate, cooked with the skin on, topped with just the right amount of lump crab and a drizzle of hollandaise. There were 2 nice slices of FGT in the array. This dish could have been heavy and overly rich, but Magnolia and May's dish was beautifully balanced...light and flavorful. Really wonderful. (Bruce-8, Paula-9). Then we shared the Low Country Shrimp and Grits. This was rich, comforting and delicious! The grits were creamy, the Tasso ham was rich salty. The shrimp were large and perfectly cooked. The whole dish was topped with fresh green onions which gave a light lift to this rich dish. I thought the only way to improve it was to provide a spoon to get all the gravy, but Bruce and the waitress agreed you just need to "mash" the grits into the gravy and then a fork works fine. (Bruce 8.5, Paula-8). That was a wow dish for sure. We got take out Banana Pudding for Bruce's breakfast (not my thing I'm afraid). Let you know later, but it looked like a homemade vanilla wafer on top, so I have high expectations! The atmosphere was fun. The music was great. Tables were live edge cypress "cookies", there was light fixture made from oyster shells and another made with hand blown glass, and a wall paneled with bourbon barrel slats. Overall we both gave the dining experience an 8. We are trying to save room on the scale, but it's getting tough.
