Zen is a pretty restaurant in the Thornwood complex on South Germantown Road, the food is good and the menu is large but not overwhelming.

Earlier this month, Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite announced that a location of the burger joint was coming to his town.

Tickets are available for the June 4 event at Memphis Zoo. And the May 25 dinner at Dory in East Memphis will feature French wines from Michael Corso Selections.

The Bartlett Station Farmers Market is back for the 2021 season with a new, more visible home at the A. Keith McDonald Pavilion, located at W.J. Freeman Park, 2629 Bartlett Blvd.

Hope Church’s kitchen ministry has had a bustling takeout business for years. During COVID, it’s grown as folks have taken advantage of curbside delivery and now, the Hope Shoppe has reopened for limited hours.

Every eligible restaurant should seize the opportunity of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund while it lasts. The only downsides are having to fill out an application and track the used funds.

The Austin-based taco restaurant will open at the end of June in Williamsburg Village Shopping Center on Mendenhall.

Another Memphis in May is in the books, and here’s the roundup (with a recipe you need in your life). Also, LBOE is closing and Greys Fine Cheese and Entertaining is open.

Greys Fine Cheese and Entertaining is a welcome addition to East Memphis that will bring in cheese lovers from all around the area.

Chef Sobie Johnson of Flying Sobie’s Gourmet Kitchen will provide the food at the second Ghost River location.

Steph Cook is at Rawk’n Grub Side Stage, back inside a gas station, this one in Olive Branch. 

LBOE on Madison will end its seven-year run next month, and a small local chain will open in its space.

It’s Texas meets Memphis on a Midtown corner wedged between Sam Cooper Boulevard and Broad. And Bain BBQ has plans for a permanent establishment.

To be a Memphis in May barbecue judge, you have to go to class and get certified. But there’s more to judging than just having a certificate; you need to be dedicated.

Mixon is a celebrity pit master who has written cookbooks and been on numerous television shows, including the TLC reality show BBQ Pitmasters. He left Saturday night, as did the first place winners of the ribs and shoulder division, with a check for $10,500. In addition, he received $24,000 as the grand champion.

Before they left, barges stuck on either side of the Hernando DeSoto Bridge received a delivery of Rendezvous ribs to see them on their way.

The faces of barbecue include Don and Carolyn McLemore, owners of Big Bob Gibson’s restaurant and the matriarch and patriarch of the most winning team at Memphis in May.

There was a little bit of smoke on the river early on Wednesday, but plenty more to come. The 2021 Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest was about to begin.