Mama Gaia's Second Location in Ballet Memphis!

Mama Gaia, a locally owned, all-organic, vegetarian restaurant, opened its first location in Crosstown Concourse back in the spring, and they've already expanded to a second location! That new location just opened for business this past weekend inside the new Ballet Memphis studio in Overton Square. Lucky for me, both locations are in Midtown, so no matter where I am in the neighborhood, there's always a Mama Gaia nearby.

They had their VIP opening party last Thursday, and Susan and I dropped by. The new space is situated in a state-of-art ballet center with super-modern architecture. Love all the natural light!

One major thing sets this new Mama Gaia apart from the Crosstown Concourse location — booze! This location stays open later, and it's located in the heart of Midtown's Overton Square entertainment district, so they serve organic cocktails, beers, and wines. At the opening party, I ordered the Crosstown Cooler (named after Mama Gaia's original location). This has 360 brand organic vodka, fresh-pressed organic cucumber juice, fresh organic lime juice, organic agave, and locally grown organic mint.

Susan got the Allegro also made with organic 360 vodka and organic OJ, lemon juice, berry puree, and agave.

They had bite-size samples of some of their dishes, like spoons of my very favorite menu item — the Asia Tofu. This sesame-crusted tofu is served in either a pita or on a salad with a vegan white sauce and Asian slaw. So good!

And they had small samples of the Copia Bowl with quinoa and roasted veggies. YUM.

There was also a giant vat of their amazing hummus. I could seriously just bathe in this stuff. It's so good.

Of course, they had dessert! These Carrot Cake Balls are made with dates and coconut, so they're super good for you even though they taste like a decadent dessert.

The menu at the new Ballet Memphis location is slightly different. Besides the addition of cocktails, they also have a few new items, like the quinoa dippers, a few new pita pizzas, and the Asia Bowl (with the above-mentioned tofu in a bowl - Crosstown location only has this as a salad or sandwich). There are also a few more pita sandwich options in Crosstown than at Ballet Memphis. Also, Ballet Memphis has a grab-and-go section.

One of the most exciting things I learned at that party last Thursday is that Mama Gaia has now added vegan cheese in both locations! You can get their petitzzas (pita pizzas) with vegan or dairy cheese now. Previously, they were only available with dairy cheese. I had to give this a try! So Paul and I stopped by Mama Gaia's new Ballet Memphis location (because booze!) for dinner tonight. I got the Copia Petitzza with vegan cheese, oven-roasted eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and leeks with olive-basil sauce and fresh basil.

I'm such a bread-aholic, and Mama Gaia has the best pita in town. That soft, fluffy pita is topped with a rich basil sauce and a generous portion of roasted veggies. The vegan cheese was perfect. So glad to be able to have this pizza form! I also love that the pita pizzas are smaller, so you can eat the whole thing AND a side and feel just right.

I also ordered some Quinoa Dippers with Red Sauce & Vegan Dijonaise on the side. This is a new menu item at Ballet Memphis, and they were so fun to eat. I love anything that involves a dip. Wish they'd add this to the menu in Crosstown!

Most importantly though, I was able to enjoy a glass of red wine with my meal. Today was National Red Wine Day after all!

I love both Mama Gaia locations, and it makes my heart so happy to see a vegetarian/vegan restaurant thriving and expanding in Memphis so quickly!