Rumors, Rumblings and Straight up Food Gossip

Whew...I just got in from a weekend of carnivorous activities. (And boy my mouth is tired!) This past weekend I was privy to spend some time with one of West Tennessee's newest barbecue cooking teams 'The Red Eye Cookers'. Located in Brownsville Tennessee, the Cookers make a dynamic spread of slow smoking pork, beef and chicken. FITBB will have details in the near future on how you can get these folks at your next event.

Now onto the news....Construction continues on 'Five Guys Burgers and Fries ' in the Columns region of North Jackson. Five Guys has over 1,000 locations nationwide with the two closest in Memphis and Nashville. Rumor has it that it should be opening in the next few months.

A friend who use to live in Korea and has advised me that Jackson's 'Fujiyama' Japanese Restaurant is now serving authentic Korean dishes. Patrons can now order  'Bulgogi', grilled Korean barbecue meat or chicken and 'Bibimbap', a Korean rice dish of vegetables, beef and red chili paste. This may be one of the few chances that Jacksonians get to taste Korean cuisine. Better go try it...

Jackson continues to become home to another Chinese based restaurant 'Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet' has now opened in the Stonebrook Place Shopping Center. It is rumored that they are part of a chain connected to a 'Hibachi Grill and Supreme Buffet' in Nashville Tennessee. If this is true, reviews surrounding the Nashville location give it a 'thumbs up' and note that it looks 'like a casino'. (Wow, more word on this as I plan to try them out sometime this week.)

This comes on the heals of the news that Jackson will also become home to national chain Mongolian style restaurant 'Genghis Grill'. Genghis is known for their casual atmosphere where customers choose their ingredients and watch the cooks prepare their meal 'exhibition' style. I have eaten at the one in Memphis and it is very good. While not necessarily 'authentic' it is a definite healthy choice versus the traditional msg laden Chinese buffet.

Some of my close friends and I have a theory. There appears to be many 'cursed' locations throughout Jackson and West Tennessee where some really good food has been served throughout the years. But for whatever reason, the 'cursed' location will not allow restaurants to stay in business for more than six months or so. Jackson has several of these locations: Behind Krystal on Parkway, Across from Hamilton Hills on Carriage House and across from McDonald's on the 45 Bypass. (Wow, were gettin local!)

At the last location, there appears to be an attempt to break the curse once again. In a location that has previously served Chinese, Sushi and Japanese steak, it looks like the owner's of 'Lilly's Southern Restaurant' are putting up yet another 'southern-style' restaurant. (I do believe before it's all said and done that Jackson Tennessee will be the home of two types of restaurants: Chinese Buffets and Southern style cooking. Just my two-cents...)

And...other events in the region coming up include Memphis in May (and I'm not barking about the over publicized BBQ contest, I'm talking about Filipino Chef Claude Tayag who will be featured at the Peabody. For those that remember, Tayag was featured on Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations'. )

That is all for this week....

Remember, make eating an adventure!