Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen
Crostini – Olive Tapanade
Scallops – Mushroom, Pears, Meyer Lemon, Green Garlic, Dashi
AM Breakfast – 63 Degree Poached Egg, Pork Belly, Polenta, AM Pork Rinds
Panzanella – Crab, Crème Fraiche, Asparagus, Brown Butter, Egg Yolk
Mafalde – Duck, Macadamia Nut Pesto, Fennel, Vermouth, Ricotta Salata
Potato Gnocchi – Lentils, Newman Farm Pork, Kale
Agnolotti – Morel, Peas, Black Truffle, Tarragon, Lemon
Bucatini – Short Rib Ragu, Taleggio, Serrano, Shiitake, Panna Gratta
Quail – Almond, Masa, Broccoli Rabe, Walnuts, Hominy, Sumac Agrodolce, Red Onion Reduction
Maw Maw’s Ravioli – Maw Maw’s Gravy
AM Cannoli – Caputo Brother’s Ricotta, Vanilla, Raspberry Sauce, Chocolate
Chocolate Sticky Toffee Pudding – Brown Butter Pecan Powder, Salt Caramel Gelato
Maple Tart – Fudge, Meringue, Caramel, Popcorn Crumble
Budino – Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Toffee
Popcorn Gelato – Cracker Jack Caramel Sauce
Arguably Memphis’ most celebrated restaurant, a Beard Award Semi-Finalist having now spawned a more casual sibling and whole animal butchery shop with an attached café across the street, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen was selected for dinner on Saturday night long before tickets to Game 3 of the Memphis vs. Golden State series were put on sale, and having originally considered rescheduling the meal to avoid feeling rushed it was with good fortune that the decision was made to dine as planned as an absolutely stunning four-course meal was completed in just over one hundred minutes, a quick drive putting me in my 200-level seat just seconds before opening tip.
Truly a story of local boys done well, Chefs Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer citing their grandmothers and the city of Memphis as inspirations behind upscale yet rustic Italian cooking honed in kitchens ranging from home to Calabria, a meal at Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen walks the fine line between family and formality, the décor minimalist with service that is exceedingly attentive without being overbearing – our time constraints not just navigated, but pacing that was absolutely perfect as food was delivered at timely intervals with thorough descriptions of techniques and ingredients never for lack.
Changing the menu up daily, occasionally sometimes during the course of service depending on availability of seasonal ingredients and meats butchered at the duo’s Porcellino’s Craft Butcher, it was with antipasti that the meal began and with several new items focusing on spring vegetables both the sashimi-style scallops and tangy Panzanella were exceptionally light and vibrant, the signature “AM Breakfast” obviously far less so given the heft of its ingredients, though certainly no less delicious with a smoky-smooth leftover sauce more than justifying the use of fresh baked bread to wipe the bowl clean.
Proud to produce each and every pasta in-house round two featured a trio of options deemed ‘lighter’ by our server, and as much as one might have expected the Mafalde laced with confit duck to tickle my fancy this elegant flavor splashed with Vermouth only scratched the surface of what the kitchen is truly capable of, both the pillowy potato dumplings in vegetal pork ragu and the brilliant Agnolotti teaming with earth and aromatics plus light citrus proving even more inspired with the later amongst the best plates seen during an eight day stay in the state of Tennessee.
Interested in the secondi, but unable to resist more pasta, course three featured two-more plates of noodles alongside a pan seared quail dressed up with broccoli rabe, blistered hominy, nuts, and two sauces that acted to accentuate the mild gaminess of the bird, and as good as the other pastas were these heavier options were no less delicious, the hollow bucatini al dente beneath rich ragu while the signature ravioli was rich with meat and aged cheese, the ‘family secret’ gravy smoky and complex with mild acidity and only a hint of sweetness, undoubtedly the result of time, love, and many years of tweaking.
Never one to forgo the sweets, particularly from a menu on which nearly everything sounded exemplary, it was in a quintet that the meal would end and with popcorn gelato topped in cracker-jack caramel proving a perfect savory-meets-sweet transition a recommendation as to which dessert was “best” would be a fool’s endeavor as each was entirely different and none less than exemplary, the fried cannoli shell with whipped mascarpone undoubtedly the lightest of the group while the maple tart and chocolate budino were creamy and decadent, the ‘toffee pudding’ streaked in cocoa falling somewhere in between with a dense sponge not unlike the figgy English version but flavors much closely approximating those of a Snickers Bar, the creamy gelato slowly melting into a puddle of sweet saltiness quickly sopped up by the crumbled meringue-like powder.
