Welcome back to Table Talk, where Daily Memphian food and dining editor Jennifer Biggs sends the latest food news (along with a dash of this and that) to your inbox every Wednesday.

In January, everyone vows to lose a few pounds and get in shape, but I quit doing that years ago, mostly because I had a few years when I didn’t need to. Good times, glory days.

But like most everyone else, I ate too much during COVID and got too sedentary too, a double whammy. Now here I am, just weeks ahead of pool season, trying to drop 10 pounds when everyone else is trying to feed me.

Sure, I love food — but I can always say no to dessert. Except, it seems, when I’m trying to drop a few pounds. On Monday last week, I went to pasta night at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and was a plate of excellent seafood fettuccine enough?

Nope. Who’s going to say no to a trio of popcorn, vanilla and salted caramel gelato? Not me, and let’s be honest, ice cream is a weakness. But at least it was small and I was sharing, right? Yep, so we also ordered the chocolate sticky toffee pudding, one of my favorite desserts in town.

On Wednesday, it was dinner at Bounty and a Sicilian orange cake and spiced apple crisp to split. So whew! Enough is enough, time to stop, except … Friday: Chocolate cake and rice pudding at Uncle Goyo’s. Just a bite or two, of course. And sharing.

Then on Tuesday, I was at afternoon tea at the Woman’s Exchange and there were sweet scones, baklava, and another one of my favorite sweets in town: Petit fours from La Baguette. Did I say no? No!

What is wrong with me? I usually don’t even look at the dessert menu except for professional interest. Exceptions include the crème brûlée at River Oaks and the sticky toffee date cake at Acre (or Andrew Michael, though they’re very different).

My character flaw at least inspired me to wonder about your particular weakness when it comes to sweet stuff, so we have a poll. Click here to take it and and tell us what it is you can’t resist. It’s just for the fun of it. I’d do a giveaway except I’m looking out for you. Me, I’m the cautionary tale who needs to live on lettuce and water for a week and mitigate some damage done.

Yet temptation calls my name. It’s still Memphis Black Restaurant Week and there is some mighty fine food being served in 28 participating restaurants around town through Saturday. Have a listen to Sound Bites and hear Cynthia Daniels talk about how she started it and what else she has going on, which is always, believe me, something. 

Jasmine McCraven fills you in on what’s going on with MBRW, and we’ve also been visiting some of the restaurants and telling you about them. Bianca Phillips has been to Shroomlicious for takeout and tells us about the oyster mushroom wings available this week, and I went to Meals For You, where guess what? I didn’t eat dessert. But there was catfish and fried okra.

Shroomlicious owner Daishu McGriff makes one of her Black Restaurant Week specials, an impossible burger, on Monday March 7, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Uncle Goyo’s Mexican Restaurant opened in Thornwood in Germantown, and Chris Herrington offers a snapshot of the new place from Greg Diaz, who also owns the TacoNGanas food trucks around town. 

Enchiladas Verdes (top) features tender, shredded chicken, and Filete de Pescado en Costra de Cacahuate is a marinated red snapper filet divided and topped with chopped peanuts. (Chris Herrington/The Daily Memphian)

And before I get started here, let me just say I hope you kept up, because if not, you have a whole lot of reading to do: South Point Grocery opened softly (but not quietly, for there was whooping and weeping — happy tears — from Downtowners) last week and holds its grand opening March 10. 

South Point Grocery store on Wednesday, March 2, 2022. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

The Calvary Waffle Shop is back, open Wednesday through Friday, and that means tomato aspic and fish pudding are here too. This year it also means that our own Geoff Calkins will stand behind the pulpit in the Lenten Preaching Series, because hard as it is to believe, Geoff has something to say. (In other news, grass is green.) 

With Lent comes fish, and I gave you a list of five of my favorite restaurant dishes. I eat fish all the time (way more than dessert, I promise) and I’ll give you more through Lent. But this is a good start, and Jasmine tells you about the Friday fish fries held at some of the Catholic churches around town.

A former food truck favorite, Bain Barbecue & Bakery opened a few weeks ago on Cooper Street.  (Chris Herrington/The Daily Memphian)

Jordan Arellano introduces us to Ali Manning, a local food scientist who’s written the kids’ book “Can I Play With My Food?” Chris visited Bain Barbecue & Bakery in Cooper-Young to tell us about Texas-style kolaches. But speaking of that Midtown neighborhood, I’ll end on an unfortunate note about one of Bain’s neighbors-for-now:

I gave you the sad news that Sweet Grass is closing after a 12-year run. Here’s some advice, too. If you want a table for Easter brunch, which right now is the last meal planned at the restaurant, you better get on it. 

Have a great week, everyone. Get out your shorts and keep your coats and hats handy, because we have one of those crazy weather weeks coming. I’ll be back next week.

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