Gibson's Donuts

To contact us Click HERE
Gibson's Donuts
760 Mount Moriah Rd
(901) 682-8200




How have I never reviewed Gibson's? We've been plenty of times. Several years ago I took the monkeys (Satchel, 10 and Jiro, 8) to see how the donuts were made when I was doing a story for Memphis Parent, and we also did some serious tasting for another story for the Memphis Flyer. The Memphis Parent story has gone into the ether, but I do have Chip's pictures (see above) and the Flyer story is alive and well. Here's what I said in my Flyer story:

For those unpredictable donut cravings, head to Gibson's (760 Mt. Moriah, 682-8200), which never closes. Ever. (They also have the best sign.) The cooks come in at 10 p.m. and work until 8 or 10 the next morning — and more like noon on the weekends. That should give you an idea of how many donuts Gibson's sells. "We sell more than we can count," offers Melissa Wilbanks, a cashier. The busiest times are on weekend mornings when the under-5 crowd takes over and at 11 p.m. each night when the sale starts. Sale donuts go for $1.40 for a half-dozen rather than the usual 60 to 75 cents each.

In addition to serving expertly made donuts, Gibson's has a lot of personality. Owner Don DeWeese likes to keep his regulars on their toes by throwing doughnuts to them across the store with little warning. He'll also let you sneak a peek in the kitchen to see how the donuts are made if they aren't too busy. On your birthday, he'll even make you a Texas Donut that's the size of a cake.

Now, as I've said before, Donald's is our donut shop of choice, but with the addition of the maple bacon donuts at Gibson's, we seem to be finding ourselves there more and more.



Warren and Satchel love the bacon donuts. Jiro and I do not. I think they are waaaaaaaaaaay too sweet, but I am a fan of the red velvet. (I usually wipe the frosting off to keep the sweet down.) Jiro loves the chocolate with blue sprinkles. I'm thinking these are Memphis Tigers related?



We were at Gibson's this last Saturday around 1:00pm after playing soccer nearby. The service is always fast and friendly--maybe a little too fast. Be sure you know what you want! Usually there are several teenagers waiting to get you sugared up ASAP.

Drink choices include the standard milk, soda, and hot coffee. I really wanted iced coffee, and the girl said if I went next door to Subway for a cup of ice, she'd hook me up, but I just went with a Diet Coke.



Overall, I'd say Gibson's is a solid choice for donuts. However, I don't know that I'd want to really hang out there. The trash cans were overflowing and when Jiro and I went to the restrooms to wash up, they were horrific. Mostly the smell. But wow. As Richard Ransom would say, "Clean it up!" Or was that Andy Wise? Anyways, not all of those teens need to work the counter--let's get some of them cleaning up a bit!

And there is one other pitfall to eating in. You might find yourself staring at Gus's Fried Chicken and decide to go there next, which is exactly what we did. Oof.

p.s. Gibson's also has a merch case which includes one of our very favorite books, The Donut Chef.

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

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Andria reviewed Gus's Bartlett location six years ago, so I figured it was safe to talk about the "new" East Memphis spot.

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
730 S Mendenhall Rd.
(901) 767-2323

A friend's mom once said, "If you want to be thin, you have to give up fried chicken and donuts." Wiser words were never spoken, or ignored more often. Last Saturday we not only went to Gibson's for a post-soccer donut, we immediately followed it up with fried chicken at Gus's. (Staring at the building through Gibson's window made it hard to resist!)



The building is free standing (read: not in a strip mall like the Bartlett version) and even has a cute little patio.



There is not a lot of parking, but we managed to park two cars on the street without any problems. (Warren and I have to divide and conquer on soccer days.) I noticed the Gus's hearse parked near by. I assume it is for catering?



Warren was worried that there was going to be a long wait for a table, but we got a table right away. (The restaurant was about 95% full.) It typically takes awhile for the food to come out too, at least downtown & in Bartlett where we have dined in the past, but we were not so worried about that having already fortified ourselves with donuts.

The last time we went to Gus's downtown, it wasn't a hit with the monkeys (Satchel, 10, and Jiro, 8). They were too young to like anything spicy. Now, Satchel is a hot wing/spicy anything lover and when I mentioned they also sold fried pickles, we couldn't get to the restaurant fast enough.

I haven't been downtown recently enough to know if the menu is the same (it seems quite different from Bartlett based on Andria's review) and I haven't been out to Collierville's location, but it seems pretty basic. My understanding is that downtown, East Memphis, and Collierville are all owned by the same people so I would guess they all share this menu.




Look closely. They have 40 oz beers on the menu!

Our server was awesome and came over right away for drink orders. We went with waters all around since we came in with high amounts sugar already coursing through our veins. We went ahead and ordered the fried pickles so Satchel would stop licking his lips and making slurpy noises. There was some discussion about whether the order of pickles would be big enough to share, but thankfully the waiter said, "Let's start with one and see how you do." It was plenty big to share. Satchel wasted no time stuffing his face.



For our meals, we ordered "light" which was good since the food came out really fast. Satchel, of course, had an order of three wings.



Due to the earlier donuts and pickles, he only ate one. But as you can see, he comes from the Warren Oster school of cleaning chicken to the bone. (Jiro comes from the Stacey Greenberg school of eating as much as you can without looking greedy.) We could have ordered him just one wing, but that seemed silly.



We ordered Jiro the two drummy kids meal with fries which also landed him a free soft drink. Sneaky.



Jiro only took one bite before declaring his chicken too spicy. I was surprised since I didn't think mine was very spicy. I took a bite and his was actually much spicier than mine. So he just ate the french fries, which suited him just fine.

I had a 2 piece white meat snack with a side of fries. It was yum.



Warren had a 2 piece dark meat snack with a side of collard greens. He was very happy.



Our bill came to $28.41 (plus tip) and we had a styrofoam box of chicken, fries, and white bread to take home for later. Gus's is definitely rocking out on the styrofoam.

All in all it was a great lunch, which is bad, because now I will have to field requests for fried chicken on a regular basis.

By the time we got home, both Warren and I were regretting the gluttony and retired to the bedroom for a nap. The kids seemed fine. The leftovers were gone by morning.

Rock'n Dough Pizza Co.

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Rock'n Dough Pizza Co.



If you are a fan of the pizza at the Trolley Stop Market (and who isn't?) then this is the food truck for you. Jeremy Denno, the mastermind behind the pizza at the Trolley Stop has taken his show on the road. He has a trailer fully outfitted with a wood fired brick oven and it cranks out the pizzas we have come to love at the Trolley Stop. He sets up out back of the restaurant after hours and he can be found at the downtown farmer's market. We had the pleasure of hanging out with him yesterday at the Whitton Farms Fall Festival.

Seriously, how cool is it that this oven is in a truck?!



The food truck is a family affair. Here's Jeremy expediting the orders..



Here's Jeremy's brother, inside, making a pizza.



Here's Jeremy's lovely wife, Amanda, out front taking orders.



At one point his mom was helping out too, but I didn't get her picture. Here's the menu from the day:



Basically, Jeremy makes sure that there's always cheese and pepperoni ready, and then he makes different topping combinations throughout the day. I never managed to see a wrap, but I can't imagine ever ordering anything but pizza because it is the best pizza ever.




Jiro (age 8) had a slice of pepperoni, naturally, and Warren and I went for the pineapple, chicken, and jalapeno that just came out of the oven. So, so good.



I love that everything is served on cardboard and that there is no styrofoam. Woot! And I always appreciate it when there is a seltzer among the drink choices.



Jeremy was also making fried apple fritters yesterday.



Jiro stuffed his face while waiting on a tractor ride to hide baby pumpkins.



Now that the farmer's market downtown is ending, Rock'n Dough Pizza Co. may be out and about more often, so keep a look out. Jeremy is also very interested in doing private parties too. Oh, he also has an oven that he rents out to people who want to make their own pizzas. How fun would that be?

You can follow the Rock'n Dough Pizza Co on Facebook and read more of their story here.

I really want one of their cool t-shirts.

My friend, Jamie, snapped a pic of me snooping...so here's a bonus behind the scenes look at Dining with Monkeys. Thanks, Jamie!

E's 24 Hour Cafe

To contact us Click HERE
E's 24 Hour Cafe
4287 Summer Ave.
767-8397

On Sunday, we decided to go out for breakfast at noon, which I guess technically makes it brunch. Warren suggested the Waffle House based on the fact that the last time we tried to eat breakfast on a Sunday we ended up there out of necessity. (Necessity means we didn't want to wait at any of the busy places we passed, or the places we wanted to go were closed.) The kids loved Waffle House mostly because by the time we arrived, they were starving.

Warren's second suggestion was Denny's.

I'm not sure why he was craving grease, but I decided to work with him. The monkeys (Satchel, 10 and Jiro, 8), who were listening, started chanting "Hashbrowns! Hashbrowns! Hashbrowns!"

"What about E's 24 Hour Cafe?" I suggested. We noticed it on our trip to Bucanas, and since learned that it is replacing all of the CK's in town. Satchel is a serious CK's fan, so it seemed like a good bet.

Now, despite initiating the whole greasy breakfast conversation, Warren now worried that E's would not be up to par. "E’s will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and aim for a higher-end feel than many of its 24-hour competitors." I quoted him from the Business Journal article I read. He relented, and off we went.



E's is right next to the Peanut Shoppe and Baskin Robbins, so there was immediate discussion of what we'd have for dessert. However, when we walked in, there were several pies and cakes on display along the counter and all discussion turned to eating pie for breakfast.



Satchel was all, "It smells SO good in here!" There was a picture of the country fried steak dinner with hashbrowns and a salad on the napkin holder and he pointed and said, "I want that." I have never known him to eat country fried steak, but I said ok. Warren verified that he actually wanted a salad and he said yes.

Jiro looked at me and said, "I want pie, hash browns, and a waffle." I was eventually able to talk him out of pie in exchange for bacon. The waitress was helpful with his a la carte wants and steered him toward a meal deal that covered everything, which was appreciated.

Warren and I were the ones having trouble ordering. The menu was pretty standard, and my usual order at CK's is a patty melt. Warren decided he was getting the patty melt. I didn't feel like eating anything breakfasty, and tried to steer Warren towards E's steak burger, but he couldn't be swayed. I decided to get it even after the waitress warned me of his hugeness. I figured Warren would eat any leftovers.

Our very helpful waitress also helped end the age old mystery: "What's the difference between chicken fried steak and country fried steak?" Answer: "Nothing."

While we waited for our food, Satchel said, "This place is so yummy. I'm satisfied just smelling it."



We took in the surroundings as we waited. See that lady behind Satchel in the striped sweater? She was very dramatically walking in and out of the store, crying. On her third pass, she finally ended the mystery of her unhappiness, "I worked 80 hours and y'all only paid me for 72," she sobbed. Then our waitress, who I now assumed was the manager, swiftly ushered her in the back to work out the problem.

We had also been viewing YouTube videos during our wait--specifically the Walking Dead rendition of the Office Space printer killing scene. It helped us notice that 1) the music was really loud in E's and 2) the man sitting behind us could very well be a zombie.

From where I was sitting I could see everything being cooked/prepared. I hoped the waitress who made Satchel's salad washed her hands.



Surprisingly, Satchel did not remove the onions or the tomatoes. He just slathered on the ranch dressing and started eating.

I saw the cook walk over to the grill with a stack of frozen meat patties and start cooking. Soon, the rest of our food came out. Satchel declared his "The best steak ever." (Man, it's nice to take hungry kids out to eat! See him clutching his fork in the background? He was saying, "Hurry up!")



Jiro followed up with "Best hashbrowns ever."



I thought his waffle looked a little flat, but he did not complain.



Warren's patty melt was what you'd expect.



I hadn't even snapped a picture of my steakburger before Warren was shoving half of his patty melt my way, all the while talking about doing halfsies.




The burger was definitely huge (1/2 pound) and very tasty. The menu said it came on a sourdough bun, but Warren disputed this based on its sweetness. I don't know if the burger is winning any awards, but the fact that it's available 24/7 certainly bodes well. My fries were cold and very disappointing, however that didn't stop the kids from eating most of them.



As Jiro ate, he said he wished there was Hashbrown challenge, because he could totally win it. Then he asked me, "What would you want your house to be made out of if you lived in Candyland?"

"Does my house need to be sturdy or am I going to snack on it?" I clarified before answering.

"Either," he said.

"Chocolate, duh," I said.

"Mine would be made of donuts and hashbrowns," he replied.

"Hashbrowns aren't candy," I said.

"OK then that's what I'd want my house to be made of if I lived in Goodland," he said.

When we were all done, I asked Jiro if he wanted to go wash his hands because I wanted to check out the restrooms. I'm pretty sure this space is new, so the restrooms were nice and clean, but there was no changing table. Jiro said, "It's all clean and doesn't smell like crap like all of the other bathrooms."

That cracked me up. We have seen some scummy bathrooms, especially during breakfast.

The waitress brought our check, and I had a momentary worry that it would be cash only like CK's, but I turned around and saw the credit cards symbols on the door. Our total was $30.58 plus tax. Not super cheap, but less than $10 each. Wait, maybe that is super cheap.

The CK's on Union by the Medical Center is already an E's. Our waitress said next up is the Park store. Soon all 13 CK's will be E's. Based on their flagship store, I'd say it's a definite upgrade. However, you still get that greasy on the skids kind of 24 Hour Cafe experience.

Sakura (East Memphis)

To contact us Click HERE
Sakura
4840 Poplar
572-1002

On Saturday, Jiro (age 8) had one word for us, "Sushi." He'd been sick all week and barely able to eat anything, so we readily agreed. Warren needed to run some errands out east, so I had the genius idea to check out the new Sakura in East Memphis. Sakura used to be one of our favorites when the monkeys were younger and we were more frequent visitors to Germantown. (That location is around the corner from my mom's house.) However, I was surprised to see that it has been seven years since my original review!

The new location is on Poplar between Perkins and Mendenhall. It is set back off the street a bit in a small strip behind a liquor store.



We arrived around 7:00pm and it was pretty busy, thus parking was a little crazytown. Inside, we had to wait for about fifteen minutes to get a table. The restaurant looks very much like it's original in Germantown. Warren said he liked that they weren't "trying to look all Asian>" He was referring the very flashy Osaka near Highland.

They have the signature bowl of candy in the front. Parents of toddlers, consider yourselves warned.



When we were seated, Warren liked that there was a table full of "real Asians" nearby. You can also see the sushi bar in this picture. Off camera to the right is a full bar so you can enjoy any beverage you like with dinner. (There were quite a few dressed up ladies and people on dates in the bar, but we also saw several families.)



Ok, let's talk about the food. Jiro wanted his standard crunhy crab roll, but was 100% convinced that it would be different and he wouldn't like it. They didn't technically have the same roll as Sekisui, but there was something similar. However, after perusing the kids' menu, I convinced him that getting the crab tempura with a side of seaweed was the way to go.



Warren wanted donburi, so I was tasked with selecting sushi that I could actually eat by myself. The rolls at Sakura are very large. I must have spent ten minutes reading through the choices, but everything started to sound the same. I texted Chip, who has meticulously photographed all of the rolls over the last few years, and got a few suggestions. Still, I couldn't decide. In the end I just went with a basic spicy tuna, spicy crawfish, and a tuna salad.

The first thing to come out was my tuna salad. Since it was from the sushi bar, i was expecting something a little more exciting. I am not a fan of mincing the tuna. It was ok. I gave most of it to Warren.



The next thing to arrive was some oshinko, or assorted Japanese pickles.



I know, horrible photo. There were cucumber, daikon, and eggplant. Warren gave it a thumbs up.

We had a bit of a lull while we waited on the rest of the food. Jiro was super hungry, but managed to hold it together. I blamed the table next to us. They ordered so much food! I really wanted to go sit with them! I think the funnest thing at Sakura is watching all of the beautiful sushi rolls go by on platters. They really do it up.

You totally would not know that from my order! I just ordered basic rolls. I promise everything else is beautiful!



They were not exciting, but they were good. I noticed that there were no small bowls for soy sauce on the table, but it was fine since I don't dip.

Warren's donburi bowl is also not pretty, but he found it very tasty. Underneath the egg is a bowl of rice with slice pork tonkatsu. (Warren said he'd order it without the egg next time.)



The star of the meal, was Jiro's kids' meal. What a bargain.



He was very happy with his sushi burrito.



All in all, we were very satisfied and the service was fine. Our bill was about $48 which is on the low end for us at a Japanese restaurant. I don't know that the prices are any lower than other restaurants. It's probably 99% due to the fact that Satchel (age 10) was not with us. He usually racks up $15-$20 on his own at Sekisui.

Jiro and I made a run to the restrooms to wash our hands. I can vouch for the ladies room. It was very clean and fancy. I was surprised that there was not a changing table though, since it is new. Mothers of infants, consider yourself warned!

p.s. On Sunday night, we had take out from Sekisui Midtown. Jiro still needed his sushi fix and Satchel was mad he missed out!