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Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only.
When I order calamari, I expect deep-fried rings on a plate with spicy marinara on the side.
 The Chinese barbecue lamb skewers on a plate from MingXia Dumpling. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)
But calamari, or squid, can also be skewered, which I learned at MingXia Dumpling last Wednesday, April 29, when I went to try the new Chinese restaurant.
Before I go on, I want to talk about the restaurant’s Chinese barbecue lamb skewers, which are dry-rubbed with a tasty spice blend and charcoal-grilled. I could have eaten 10 more.
Even before Shuxia Guo opened MingXia, she sold meat skewers and baozi buns out of her home, and two of her longtime customers who happened to be at the restaurant last week recommended I try them.
 The squid Chinese barbecue skewer from MingXia Dumpling is seasoned and topped with a garnish. (Sophia Surrett/The Daily Memphian)
And then Guo and employee Carson Fu urged me to try the squid skewer.
I normally would have said no to a skewered sea creature, but as The Daily Memphian’s new food reporter, I know there are times I’ll need to get out of my culinary comfort zone.
This was one of them.
Fu reassured me that it wasn’t as scary as it looks, and it reminded me of when fish is prepared with its head and eyes intact.
I tried the squid’s tentacles first, as they were at the top of the skewer. The squid was seasoned with the same spices as the lamb skewers, which I appreciated. The texture ... I did not.
The tentacles were chewy and a little tough, and the suckers added a roughness. But I ate a few bites, and I liked it more than I thought I would.
Still, I will probably stick to deep-fried calamari.
If you want to read more about Guo’s story, including her path from the northernmost part of China to Memphis, check out “Cordova dumpling restaurant has roots in icy Northern China.”
And if you find yourself at 1014 N. Germantown Parkway, try the lamb skewers.
This week on Memphis’ food scene
For those wanting a kickback and a coffee, Memphians can head over to Second Helpings Cafe at The Front Porch on Walnut Grove Road. The interfaith gathering space opened in November, but I reported on its official ribbon-cutting earlier this week.
Ghost River Brewing Co. will soon have just one location — its original. The brewery’s location on Beale Street is closing tomorrow, May 7. But owners Bob and Tori Keskey have made improvements to the South Main space and are focusing on that location.
 Ribs cook over an open fire pit as Memphis in May’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest holds a behind-the scenes event. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
The Memphis in May International Festival this week gave us a sneak peek into its new live-fire cooking contest, which will be part of the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Al Frugoni, social media influencer and Argentine pitmaster, will be the host of the competition.
In this week’s Recipe Exchange, Jennifer Chandler got the recipe for Babalu’s guacamole, as well as two tricks for picking out avocados.
John Klyce talked to two University of Memphis researchers about a project to collect microbes around peaches. The hope is to figure out which microbes cause diseases in peaches and stop them before they start.
 Kat’s Sourdough and Juice Bar makes bagels by hand every single day. (Gracie Driver/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Gracie Driver brought us this week’s $15 deal, the bagel and lox from Kat’s Sourdough and Juice Bar. Driver called the fresh daily handmade bagels “the best” in the area, and I might just have to mosey on over there myself to try them.
And one more piece of news from me: My weekly Food Files column has news on the Flame Ramen/Bloom Bakery and Cafe shared space, the Oakland TacoNGanas, Brain Food restaurant Downtown and Playa Bowls in Collierville.
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