Dining with Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen
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Writer Ellen Jordan
Photographer Justin Fox Burks
My August 30th experience with two chefs, a pig and no menu…
It is probably fairly rare to have a meal that alters the way you think about food. I've heard foodies recount mind-altering meals, but does it actually happen to non-foodies? Do everyday people even have access to cuisine that is so special? After having supper at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, I can safely answer that question with, "YES!" The restaurant is a paradox in the best of ways, serving food that is equally mind blowing to experts with refined palates and occasional fine diners alike. It is comfortable yet elegant in atmosphere, with food that is adventurously classic.
Another characteristic of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen is innovation. Owners, head chefs and lifelong friends Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman have incorporated a new idea into the Memphis restaurant scene. For more than a year, the restaurant has conducted No Menu Monday on the last Monday of each month. The idea is self-explanatory: diners are seated and served—no menu for the night… just good food.
"While we were living in Italy, one of our favorite cultural experiences was going to small, family-owned restaurants and simply sitting down and being fed," explains Ticer on his No Menu Monday blog. "It's quite common for smaller restaurants in Europe to have no menus. They wake up everyday, feel like eating whatever it is, and cook it for whoever comes in. It takes the decision making out of the equation of the dining experience, and transforms it into what it should have been the whole time: relaxing."
Both daunted and excited by the concept, I attended the August seating of No Menu Monday. I am not an adventurous eater, but I was determined to at least taste everything I was served. And my fall back plan was to drive through for yogurt on my way home. I did not, however, end up needing a back up plan.
Our meal began with a simple amuse-bouche: pickled okra and shrimp topped with micro basil, citrus juice and smoked paprika. Upon insanely fast consumption, the waiter announced the first of four courses. I was presented rabbit loin wrapped in four month cured pork belly atop grilled stone fruit and arugula, and topped with a pistachio relish. Before I even tasted the food, its aroma made my mouth water. The rabbit was smoky, rich and decadent, and the accompaniments on the plate finished the dish in the most perfect way. My first comment about the dish was that, had I read it as an option on a menu, I would've never ordered it—and what an experience I would've missed! After course one, I already understood the benefit of the No Menu Monday concept.
The waiter arrived to explain course number two, sharing that the chefs had been paid a visit by a friend who recently arrived back from a jaunt to Italy. This friend had brought some goodies to the chefs: an Italian herb virtually impossible to find in our area, nipitella, and truffles. Those ingredients were incorporated into our next course: nipitella and fresh corn tortellini with Parmesan fonduta and black truffles. The dish was beautiful. The corn and nipitella added a light freshness to the cheesy, creamy homemade tortellini, and everyone's plate was quickly cleaned.
The third course arrived and, as it had during the first course, an aroma of smoky pork encapsulated the table. The dish consisted of confit chicken thighs atop cannelloni beans, bacon, tomatoes and dehydrated black olives. Instead of duck fat, the chicken had been prepared in Newman Farm pork lard, and it couldn't have tasted any better. The dish was not, as one might assume, greasy. It was rich, homey and filling.
Unsure if I could eat anymore, the waiter surprised the table with our last course. He placed in front of us the most beautiful funnel cake I'd ever seen. Served on a cutting board and a piece of parchment paper, our individual funnel cakes were flurried with powdered sugar and topped with ice cream and caramel. Surprised by the creativity (a funnel cake!… really?), I was also curious about the relative tameness of the dish. I didn't know, until halfway through the dessert, that the ice cream and caramel were actually Bravo olive oil gelato and pork fat caramel. No matter, though. Pork fat caramel tastes delicious—like normal caramel, just slightly salty. And olive oil gelato is creamy, smooth and only barely sweet. It was the perfect ending to our meal.
After it was all said and done, or in this case experienced and eaten, I had a chance to ask the chefs about their inspiration for the night's courses. After hearing their explanation, I had to laugh. Hudman blogged the process, explaining, "Today is National Bacon Day."(Ahhh, no wonder we had so much pork!) As for the funnel cake? "We were talking about Memphis football and then started talking about the fair, and Stevie, our sous chef, brought up funnel cakes and it snowballed."
I couldn't initially wrap my brain around the idea that some people are that innately creative, but Ticer and Hudman have an instinct about food. Of the No Menu Monday idea, Ticer explains, "I think Mikey and myself have it somewhat figured out… Some of our fondest memories took place around a kitchen table. A majority of those times took place at our folks' house with family and friends. Ninety-nine percent of those dinners were prepared by mom and dad, who, 99 percent of the time, cooked whatever they felt like… You just arrived, conversed, ate, laughed, drank, laughed some more and went on your way."
As for Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen, it abounds with good food every day of the week— not just during No Menu Monday. Ticer and Hudman are classically trained in Italian cuisine, having studied in both culinary school and in Calabria, Italy, amongst other places in Europe.
The menu at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen changes around six times per year, and offerings often include some sort of risotto, polenta and pork. The proteins tend to transition with the seasons: more game in the fall; more hearty meats in the winter; and lighter seafoods during spring and summer. "But," notes Hudman, "there's always pork." And homemade pastas, too.
Shares Hudman, "I like to think of our food as a mix between Southern cuisine and Italian food—so much history and folklore in both styles; both are ‘grandma' cooking." And, he explains, "We believe in using local products and the whole product. That means we believe in respecting the animal or the vegetable by using all of it, not throwing anything away." Whether creatively preparing tongue or rolling out handmade raviolis, the chefs insert care and thought into each item that comes out of their kitchen. The goal? Hudman says, "We just want to feed you the best food that we can."
"Andy and Michael really try hard to capture what they experienced while living and training in Italy. Namely, they want a meal at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen to feel like one that you would have at home," shares manager Nick Talarico. "The restaurant is comfortable. It's inviting. The food is really fresh, [with] really familiar flavors, but done in really innovative ways. A meal at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen just feels like a real meal, with real company and real food. You don't have to play dress up to eat with us."
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