With an important birthday coming up, picking a menu for the party takes care and attention; Fancy’s Fish House is open; you can eat for $10 at New Asia.

Festival season is coming into full bloom and this year it begins with a flurry of beer fests.

It was an eventful week in Memphis, with van Gogh at Graceland, an anniversary at Hampline and sushi at Do, which closed almost 10 years ago.

Fresh-cut French fries and even better, fresh onion rings, make even a plain burger special; the sides matter.

St Patrick’s Day returns full-on to Celtic Crossing; Dō Sushi returns for a popup next week; sad news about a Downtown restaurant and good news for East Memphis beer lovers.

Desserts have been everywhere lately, and they’ve been hard to resist.

Memphis weekend features Catalan food, a stroll through the tractors and combines at the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show, and a tribute to Father Nicholas Vieron at the Memphis Restaurant Association banquet.

Sweet Grass makes Wednesdays fun with corn dogs and half-price bottles of wine, Beale Street Brewing’s new beer and catching up with Gus’s Wendy McCrory.

Cristina McCarter has opened Feast & Graze on S. Main, and The Daily Memphian is giving away one of her charcuterie boxes for Valentine’s Day.

Southern food talk brings back memories, the Liars’ Lunch group finds its chicken tenders, Sunrise is coming to East Memphis, Gus’s is in Germantown and Whataburger is nixed for Collierville.

Sure, it would be nice to be on a beach and enjoying the surf and the sand, but if COVID is keeping you from escaping the cold weather, there’s always soup. Soup will never let you down.

Grocery store shelves are bare, produce departments are all but empty early in the day, and whose fault is it? Yes, it’s COVID.

Blue Plate Café to close after the death of its owner, Memphis Pizza Café goes to shorter hours due to staffing issues and we’re trying Kind January instead of Dry January. 

With hopes for a better 2022, we look to new places and a return to dining reviews; catch up on food stories you missed over the busy holidays. 

José Andrés was in my kitchen, via Zoom, and I forgot to tell you about it (but now I am). McEwen’s is open, a Guinness record is coming to Memphis, and so is a Hy-Vee grocery.

Pralines, milk punch and Frank Grisanti’s tiramisu recipe all delivered this week; Melissa Cookston’s Southaven BBQ store has opened; McEwen’s opens next week. Why, Merry Christmas!

Like Santa’s list, the annual baking checklist has to be checked twice and the result is usually the same: Scratch. Too much trouble, not enough time. But this year, a few new things make the cut.

When you talk to a 90-year-old about one story, chances are good you’ll get to hear another one or two, and what a privilege that is.

It’s Thanksgiving and if you’re not ready, you’re not alone. The best of plans often go awry, but hey, there’s always New Asia, right?

If you can’t bear going to the grocery and cleaning the house, you can always go out to eat on Thanksgiving instead. Why not?

Hog and Hominy served its first meals at a soft opening on Tuesday and we were there to try it; Pantà is open and we were there, too. Pancho’s is still serving in West Memphis, for now, and Sweet Grass has an apple pie you gotta try.

Pantà opens this week, Hog & Hominy reopens next week, and it looks like the Pancho’s era has come to an end.

Reny Alfonso cooks for his first whiskey tasting at Celtic Crossing next week, then the Irish pub takes on Cider Fest two days later; FedExForum shows off food lineup for the season.

Memphis Food & Wine Festival, Brewfest and Brunchfest are this weekend, Downtown Dining Week is set for Nov. 1-7, and Big Bad Breakfast brings its bad self to East Memphis.