My mom, sister, and I are making a pilgrimage to Memphis in October. Does anyone have advice on good restaurants?
We’d prefer something where we can spend fifteen dollars or less per person for dinner, but we will consider more expensive places if they are a must-visit. I believe we’ll be staying in South Memphis, but will have a car. For lunches and breakfasts, any location is fine, as we’ll be
travelling around a bit during the days.
Any other general advice on visiting Memphis welcome too.
I know it is very touristy but I have to recomend Elvis Presley’s restaurant on Beale street. Not so much for the food but for a band that plays there called THE DEMPSEYS. I went last August and had a blast! The Dempseys put on a wild rockabilly show. They are truly entertainers. We didn’t find much in the way of “Good food” in Memphis but I must recomend that you try fried pickles if you never have. Good stuff!
This isn’t going to help much since I was there 14 years ago and can’t remember the name of the place but it was a real institution in town because of their Monte Cristo sandwich, which was deep fried. Holy cat crap, was it awesome!
The Rendezvous is good. The atmosphere is very cool but there is usually a wait to get in, so make reservations.
Other places to eat whilst in our fair city:
The Blue Moon - Carribbean, kind of pricey, but if you go for lunch you can eat a lot cheaper and still enjoy it. It’s off Poplar Avenue in Chickasaw Oaks Shopping Center.
The Blue Monkey - a very good pizza place in the heart of Midtown. Very original stuff. I like the Alfredo pizza. Madison Avenue.
The Green Beetle - downtown. Everybody knows where it is. You can get really good fried chicken and a 40 oz. for under $5.
For more barbeque, try Corky’s on Poplar or Chuck’s on Getwell. Then again, there are hundreds of barbeque places in Memphis, so take your pick. I don’t like Leonard’s, but that’s just me.
You have to go to the Rendevous. The reason people say it’s overrated is because it is somewhat inconsistent. Usually the ribs are vey good, but sometimes you go there and they are simply sublime. If you expect them to be sublime, 4 out of 5 times you’ll be disappointed, but even on the frequent “off” nights they’re still about the best ribs is town, and the atmosphere is great. There is frequently a wait. It’s never too terribly long, but it’s good to have interesting company. Corky’s is also good. I’ve never had Chuck’s, but I’ve heard good things.
Another place that’s good is the Blue Plate Diner. It’s a typical southern greasy spoon but if you like that stuff it’s fantastic. IIRC, you get free biscuits with sawmill gravy.
I moved away from Memphis nearly 6 years ago after having lived there for 9 months, but I still miss the restaurants.
Does anyone have comments on these restaurants?
They seem to serve what I imagine the term “southern food” means.
Barksdale Cafe
Buntyn
Ellen’s Soul Food Restaurant
These two were both recommended and looked interesting:
Automatic Slim’s
Obleo’s Dog House and Chinese Food (cool name!)
The following are listed as great hamburger joints How do they compare to each other? Is any better than the others?
Elliott’s
Huey’s
Back Yard Burgers (is this a chain? - it sounds like it from the description)
Huey’s, IIRC, is in the mold of TGI Firday’s & Bennigan’s. Maybe a little nicer, but that type of atmosphere. I’d recommend something a little more authentic if you’re on a vacation. Backyard is a fantastic fast food burger place; whenever I visit my folks (who still live there) I make sure to sneak off to Backyard at least once. But again, it’s fast food.
Once place that’s very good is the Cupboard which is somewhere downtown. It’s a very good southern place; you know, green beans with ham in them, corn pudding, etc. (BTW, definitely get the corn pudding.)
However overrated the BBQ may be, it is still some of the best you will ever have. Charlie Vergo knows what he is doing and you’ll most likely agree.
Be sure to try the other BBQ joints as well. The Memphis institution of using a dry rub on the 'cue is one of the great boons to mankind, just ask Stoid. And please be sure to always eat some of your ribs without any sauce on them in order to appreciate what you are tasting before you smother it. You will be sampling an artform and nothing less.
For a hint of what you will encounter take a gander at the ribs recipe at the top of the recipe archive in my sig line. Click on the other link to see what results are obtained from using a dry rub.
Hit all of the places Cliffy mentioned. That is a good laundry list of some of the most venerable BBQ institutions in the Memphis area. Your appreciation of BBQ will never be the same, as most will be entirely unacceptable once you have sampled the nectar of the Gods. Thanks Cliffy!
I have never eaten a meal in Memphis, but expert eaters Jane and Michael Stern (in their book Roadfood) have written that Buntyn’s is their very favorite number one lunch place in the country. In my experience, the Sterns rarely steer you wrong…I’ve hit maybe one dud in probably thirty tries.
Definitely go to the Rendezvous. There’s usually a wait for a table, but once seated, their pretty fast.
If you’re in Memphis on the weekend, be sure to go by Beale Street. On Friday and Saturday evenings, they have a lot of street performers. Some of them are really incredible.
You can also see the ducks march at the Peabody Hotel. It’s a touristy thing so get there early.
First night posting and I can already give an expert opinion. My favorite place to eat here is The Blue Monkey, Midtown on Madison. They have a great patio and the weather is nice this week. Or at least today. The Cupboard is good too, and Buntyn is great but they have really odd hours. Downtown…well, anything is good Downtown! We just opened a new Mall, and I’ve heard Jillian’s is good there, but I haven’t been yet.
Wherever you go, you must have barbeque. Best bet there is Rendevous or Corky’s. And slip into BB’s just to say you been to BB’s.
Barksdale’s is just a tiny little diner that I worked at for a few weeks as a kid. It wasn’t that great then, but maybe it’s improved in the past 15 years or so.
And yes, Backyard Burgers is a chain, but they have really good burgers and sammiches and cobblers.
*side note: a neat little touristy attraction…the Crystal Shrine Grotto. It’s a strange cave in the middle of Memorial Park cemetary. Also Elmwood Cemetary. Okay, I’m a Cemetary freak, but they are creepy as well as educational! Have fun!