Memphis - February 2022 by Contemporary Media

C A R A G R E E N S T E I N | 9 0 1 H E A LT H | C I V I L R I G H T S T O U R I S M | C E O S O F T H E Y E A R

MAGAZINE

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PLUS OUR

Readers’ Restaurant Poll

USA $4.99

DISPLAY UNTIL MARCH 10, 2022

PANTÁ’s AARON IVORY, KELLY ENGLISH, & DAVID QUARLES IV

VOL XLVI NO 1 0 | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

1/14/22 3:09 PM

Experience the Macan GTS.

Gossett Porsche 1875 Covington Pike Memphis, TN 38128 901-388-8989 https://www.gossett.porschedealer.com

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1/14/22 8:44 AM

M Y L A G O S M Y W AY

C AV I A R C O L L E C T I O N S

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1/14/22 3:10 PM

FEBRUARY EVENTS:

1st – Chamber 101: Learn about membership benefits and much more!

1st – SHRA (Southaven Human Resource Association) Meeting: Communication Strategies in a multigenerational workforce. 3rd – B2B PM: Join us after work to meet new people while enjoying light hors d’oeuvres and beverages. 16th – Quarterly Luncheon: Register online to attend one of our biggest events this quarter! 17th – Community Shred Day: Our friends at Iron Mountain will be in our parking lot from 10AM – 2PM for all your shredding needs. It is FREE and ANYONE is welcome! 17th – SYP & Social: Come out and meet the officers and other fellow 40 and under business professionals. Southaven Young Professionals create commerce through relationships.

Rachel O’Halloran Marketing/Member Services Manager

Debbie King Executive Director

Sierra Henley Director of First Impressions

25th – Coffee with a Member: Start your Friday off right by having a cup of joe with us and mingling with members.

MAY 4TH:

LEADERCAST “ THE ONE THING”

We are a site host for this phenomenal business conference. This year’s topic is “The 1 Thing”. Hear from 10 of the most influential and acclaimed leaders about their answer to the question – What is the one thing that makes a leader worth following? Enjoy early bird and group pricing on the chamber website NOW!

southavenchamber.com For more information about membership and events email info@southavenchamber.com or call (662) 342-6114. Open: Monday – Friday 9AM – 5PM

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1/14/22 3:13 PM

CARRIE ANDERSON

CATHLEEN BLACK

ROBIN FAUSER

HOLLY JAMES

GLOBAL RELOCATION DIRECTOR

JEFF BLAKENEY

MELANIE BLAKENEY

ASHLEY BONDS

MELODY BOURELL

KATIE NICHOLS COOK

KELLY ERB

GOLDA FRANKLAND

RIP HANEY

LITA HURSTON-REED

LAURENCE KENNER

ELIZABETH KUHLO

JAKE LAWHEAD

HUGH MALLORY

THOMAS MURPHREE

SHELDON ROSENGARTEN

MARCY MATHIS SEIDEL

ALTA SIMPSON

JIM SIMPSON

JIMMY REED

DAVID TESTER

♦ Agents of Exceptional Character ♦ Local Company. Global Connections. JERRY LUCIUS

DIANE BENSON MALKIN

JORDAN NICHOLS

BARBY PERLBERG

MYRA SHEDDAN

THOMAS SHEDDAN

MELONIE SAIN SIMPSON

ANGIE STREET

♦ Steady in Unsteady Times ♦ You’ll Profit from Our Experience

Find YOUR NEW HOME at www.Marx-Bensdorf.com

JENNY VERGOS

MINDY OKEON WAGERMAN

WARD WALTHAL

JOHN WEST

OWNER

5860 Ridgeway Center Parkway, Suite 100 Memphis, TN 38120 ♦ 901-682-1868

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1/11/22 1:29 PM

You know she’s w th it! THE SOUTH’S LEADER IN ESTATE JEWELRY AND DIAMOND SOLITAIRES.

LOCATED IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN NEW ALBANY AND THE SQUARE IN OXFORD 1.866.VANATKINS | WWW.VANATKINS.COM

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1/14/22 3:21 PM

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS

V O L X LV I N O 10 | F E B R UA R Y 2022

UP FRONT 10 12 14

I N T H E B E G I N N I N G ~ by a n n a t r av e r s e f o g l e C L A S S I C D I N I N G ~ by michael donahue S I P S ~ by b r u c e va n w y n g a r d e n

FEATURES 16 Top 10 New Restaurants

The city’s top new restaurants (since 2020) and the results of our annual Readers’ Restaurant Poll.

HABITATS

A Tale of Two Kitchens

Food and lifestyle influencer Cara Greenstein overhauled her new home while transforming her Downtown condo into a successful Airbnb. ~ by c h r i s m c c oy

901 HEALTH

At the Heart of It

Women’s heart issues are often misdiagnosed. The effects of Covid-19 now add another level of concern. ~ by a b i g a i l m o r i c i

TRAVEL

Beautiful Agitators

Bringing civil rights heritage to life in the Mississippi Delta. ~ by a l e x g r e e n e

ASK VANCE

J.C. Harbin

Our history expert solves local mysteries of who, what, when, where, why, and why not. ~ by va n c e l au d e r da l e

CITY DINING

LAST STAND

The city’s most extensive dining listings. My Visit from Martha Stewart

It’s not every day that such a celebrity drops by to sample your homemade corn wine. ~ by m i c h a e l d o n a h u e

SPECIAL SECTION 57

12 Memphis (ISSN 1622-820x) is published monthly for $18 per year by Contemporary Media, Inc., 65 Union Avenue, 2nd Floor, Memphis, TN 38103 © 2022. Telephone: 901-521-9000. For subscription info, please call 901-521-9000. Subscription customer service mailing address is Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101. All rights reserved. • Periodicals Postage Paid at Memphis, TN. Postmasters: send address changes to Memphis, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101.

CEOS OF THE YEAR

68 FEBRUARY 202 2 • MEMPHISMAGA ZINE.COM • 7

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Memphis

Memphis Magazine’s

THE 2021

FACE

THE CI T Y M AGAZI N E

ORIENTAL RUGS

General Excellence Grand Award Winner City and Regional Magazine Association 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014

CEO AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF anna traverse fogle EXECUTIVE EDITOR michael finger MANAGING EDITOR frank murtaugh SENIOR EDITORS samuel x. cicci, shara clark,

jon w. sparks

Spread love, not germs by having your rugs disinfected.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR abigail morici CONTRIBUTORS michael donahue,

alex greene, vance lauderdale, chris mccoy, toby sells, bruce vanwyngarden

4 EDITOR samuel x. cicci SENIOR EDITOR jon w. sparks

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE SINCE 1950

repairs reweaving handwash/cleaning appraisals sales disinfecting padding

color run restoration pet and other stain removals moth damage odor removal storage and much more

Call us for disinfecting and cleaning of your rugs. 3554 Park Ave., Memphis, TN • 901.327.5033 • taghavirugs.com • Like us on Facebook

CREATIVE DIRECTOR brian groppe ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR christopher myers GRAPHIC DESIGNER neil williams PHOTOGRAPHERS madi aldrich, justin fox burks,

samuel x. cicci, langdon clay, pablo correa, michael donahue, alex greene, abigail morici, john pickle, caleb sigler, pat kerr tigrett, bruce vanwyngarden

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE sloane patteson taylor ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES kelli dewitt, chip googe,

michelle musolf, hailey thomas

published by contemporary media, inc. memphis, tennessee 901-521-9000 p • 901-521-0129 f subscriptions: 901-521-9000

CONTROLLER lynn sparagowski CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER jeffrey a. goldberg CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER margie neal DIGITAL SERVICES DIRECTOR kristin pawlowski MARKETING COORDINATOR kalena mckinney ACCOUNTING AND CIRCULATION COORDINATOR mariah mccabe NEWSSTAND CONSULTANT joe luca SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR molly willmott

4 &7

PUBLISHER EMERITUS kenneth neill

february 2022

From our family to yours, thank you for shopping local. 4530 POPLAR AVE — MEMPHIS • 2130 W POPLAR AVE — COLLIERVILLE FLEETFEETMEMPHIS.COM @fleetfeetmemphs /fleetfeetmemphis

member: City and Regional Magazine Association member: Circulation Verification Council

8 • MEMPHISMAGA ZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 202 2

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Let Us Be Your Voice Of Memphis, for Memphis. From the community, for the community. Car Accidents ♦ Personal Injury ♦ Slip & Fall We don’t get paid until you get paid.

BL AC K H I STO RY MO N T H Please take time this month to acknowledge the great sacrifices of those who came before us and to keep striving for a better future.

Henry E. Reaves III Founder ♦ Attorney

901

♦

403

♦

7570

beyourvoice.com

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1/14/22 4:43 PM

I N

T H E

B E G I N N I N G | BY ANNA TR AVERSE FOGLE

Cabbage and Canals FACE OF

REPRODUCTIVE

MEDICINE

Amelia P. Bailey, M.D. William H. Kutteh, M.D., Ph.D. Raymond W. Ke, M.D. Paul R. Brezina, M.D.

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A HOUSE-SOLD NAME IN MEMPHIS! Alta Simpson, CRS

Since 1868 901.682.1868 | 901.484.6040 asimpson@m-brealtors.com

May I help you make your move?

’ve been gnawing on a theory about how scarcity calls on us to be creative — how the supply-chain challenges leaving grocery shelves fallow and nerves hollow also feed invention, and (stay with me here) how this is sort of like writing a sonnet. Perhaps you were asked to try your hand at crafting one of the 14-line poems in school once upon a time: Fit a complete, developed thought, or observation, or plea, into 14 lines of rhyming iambic pentameter. Make it beautiful, and thought-provoking, and memorable, AND make sure your shimmering verse adheres to the structure, so that the finished form will be perfectly contained within centuries of tradition. To meet the requirements, you must turn away from all sorts of ideas and words you might naturally grasp for; you’re painting (to confuse our metaphors) from a limited palette.

The global supply chain, so I’ve read, was teetering on the brink of chaos even before the pandemic, and now we all know what kind of state it’s in. Most of us rarely, if ever, stopped to consider container ships and the people who labor aboard them before last year. The supply chain has long been integral to our lives, but until recently, mostly invisible to us. Like the electricity in our homes, we only question how the process works once the walls are crackling and the smoke detectors start to blare. After several years when vastly more people have been spending vastly more of their money on stuf f — thanks in no small part to spending more time cooped up at home — we can’t always count on getting what we want, when we want it. We collectively have put more pressure on the supply chain than it could bear, resulting in … chaos. People who work on container ships have found themselves drifting at sea for weeks or months longer than they and their families had planned. We’ve all heard about, or experienced, couches or treadmills ordered many months ago still marked as “in transit.” And I probably don’t need to do more than whisper the words “Suez Canal” or “Ever Given” for you to remember that episode last year. (By the way, yes, the Ever Given debacle took place in March 2021, despite my perception that it was either five years or five weeks ago.) Back to how this applies to sonnets, or to creativity, or to … cooking. If you’re composing a sonnet and need to find words that rhyme, and that work within the meter — well, you can’t grasp at the first combination of letters that comes to mind. You’ll need,

instead, to consider the whole web of related words before settling on the one that fits the structure and the meaning; this contemplation may well reveal a choice that melds to your purpose more precisely. Not having the luxury to select virtually anything we could possibly desire (within credit card limit), at any time we desire it, can impel us to think more inventively. I haven’t written a sonnet in a long time, but I did make a cabbage frittata yesterday. Cabbage was the only green cooking vegetable in our crisper after a long week, and while ordinarily I might have reached for kale, or broccoli, you know what? Turns out there’s something to be said for thin spools of caramelized cabbage and onions, bound softly with egg and parmesan. Not my first choice, but all the component pieces fit together: a sonnet in a skillet. This month, we’re honoring local restaurants and the people whose creativity has sustained them during a few very rough years. The restaurant business is notoriously grueling in the best of times, and these have not, shall we say, been the best of times. And yet, our city has seen the births of more than a few innovative, vibe-setting restaurants during this same stretch of time. Instead of holding back and playing it safe, the local restaurant community has, in many cases (some of which you’ll read about in subsequent pages), gone bigger and bolder. Inspiration, if you (or I) needed a dose (and I often do), to see the potential in what we do have, rather than the dismay of what we don’t. Pretty simple, really, without all the sonnets and cabbages.

ILLUSTRATION BY NADIIA OBORSKA / DREAMSTIME

Memphis Magazine’s

THE 2021

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“You were my information center and inspiration to stay positive. Thank you.” DJ Grateful patient

When you’re admitted to the ICU with congestive heart failure and the beginnings of an autoimmune disease, you need more than comprehensive cardiac care. You need emergency solutions from expert cardiologists that speak directly to you and involve you in the conversation. Our innovative and individually focused treatment saved DJ’s life, but it was our Associates’ positive attitudes and compassion that kept his heart in the fight. At Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, we don’t just provide exceptional healthcare, we give every patient the comfort, support and care they deserve. Read DJ’s story of thanks at methodisthealth.org/thankyou.

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C L AS S I C

D I N I N G

Prime Rib at Mortimer’s This weekly special is one of several attractions at the East Memphis restaurant that’s celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. BY MICHAEL DONAHUE

Another sign, owner Christopher Jamieson adds, went something like: “Voted #1 Restaurant at Perkins and Renshaw.” The laid-back restaurant/pub with the Cheers vibe is celebrating its 40th anniversary. For about 20 of those years, Mortimer’s has served its succulent prime rib on Monday nights. That began when Jessie Webb was kitchen manager, says Sara Bell, Jamieson’s mother and another owner. Prime rib was a popular item at the old Knickerbocker, a restaurant on Poplar her dad, the late Vernon Bell, owned. “There was a prime rib station where the chef would cut it to order,” says Jamieson. The preparation remains the same. “We put olive oil on it, and then we actually smear a chicken base rub, like

a paste. We use a steak seasoning that we sprinkle all over it — salt, pepper, and granulated garlic are the main things. Then we cook it in the oven to rare to mid-rare.” The au jus that comes with it is made from a beef base and assorted seasonings. “It caught on,” says Bell. Although the restaurant posts on so cia l med ia these days, so much of what they ’ve done at Mortimer’s over the years is by word of mouth, she says. Bell’s father once owned The Little Tea Shop, the iconic Downtown restaurant. “He bought The Little Tea Shop from the two elderly sisters that had been running it,” she says. Around 1955, he opened the legendary Knickerbocker. “The decor of The Knickerbocker was very English,” Bell says. “That’s

left: Mark Esterman, Sara Bell, Evalina Edwards, Christopher Jamieson, and Ashley Jamieson. inset: A very typical Mortimer’s prime rib dining experience.

place her,” Bell says. A section near the bar pays tribute to the legendary Memphis band, Big Star. Bell’s brother, the late Chris Bell, was a singer/songwriter with the late Alex Chilton and lead guitarist in the band. The space includes photographs, Lamar Sorrento paintings, and a large “Big Star” neon sign given to Bell by the late Ardent Studios founder John Fry. Van Duren, who has been playing on Thursday nights at Mortimer’s for 10 years, is another staple. He and Chris Bell were in a band together in the ’70s. “He’s like family in that respect,” says Bell, “and he feels that connection with us.” Future plans for Mortimer’s include expanding the deck to provide more outdoor seating, but Bell says, “I don’t want to change anything, to be honest with you. Sometimes there’ll be a comment about making it more ‘trendy.’ And I’m thinking, that would be the kiss of death. If you start following the trends, you’re going to go down when it goes out. We try to make it comfortable and tavern-ish. That’s the feel we want.” And, Bell says, “People find comfort in something that reminds them of the past. And I think that sets us aside from all the new places that open up. Places like us are few and far between these days.” Mortimer’s is at 590 N. Perkins Rd.

TOP PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL DONAHUE | INSET BY ASHLEY JAMIESON

ortimer’s longtime bartender/ manager Mark Esterman came up with the saying that used to hang on the restaurant’s marquee: “How many times have you driven by and not stopped in? Give us a try.”

what they patterned it after, with pewter and antiques. One room was called ‘The Tavern.’” Around 1980, her ex-husband opened Mortimer’s, which was Vernon Bell’s middle name. “My father was crucial to the operation in the beginning,” she says. “Because he was a businessman, he knew how to start something from the ground up.” Originally, seafood was the main emphasis at Mortimer’s. “Lunches were kind of secondary,” she says. “Then Jessie and I expanded the menu to have more lunch specials and fresh vegetables.” When her father sold The Little Tea Shop, they kept some of the dishes, including the “Lacey Special” and chicken salad and frozen fruit. Mortimer’s “filled a niche,” Bell says. “It was a place for other than 20-year-olds to go that was a casual pub-type atmosphere. It took off immediately. From day one, she says, the restaurant made a habit of knowing its customers. “If someone walks in the door, [Mark]’s got their drink ready.” When The Knickerbocker closed in 1987, some of its decor went to Mortimer’s, such as a suit of armor, lanterns, and the “Golf Room” with portraits of the winners of the FedEx St. Jude Classic and other Memphis tournaments. Esterman, who began working at Mortimer’s in the late 1980s, is one of the restaurant’s mainstays. “He’s like a little brother,” Bell says. “And he’s just always been so endearing to me. I can count on him no matter what.” Longtime cook Evalina Edwards, who also makes the rolls that are only served at lunch and the cornbread, is another mainstay. Edwards began cooking for Vernon Bell back in the 1950s at The Little Tea Shop until she moved to Mortimer’s. “It would take two people to re-

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A gathering of family and friends will always be the cornerstone of a Celebration of Life.

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MEMPHIS FUNERAL HOME The Most Trusted Name in Memphis. Since 1931.

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1/11/22 1:34 PM

S I P S

Above and Beyond

The Memphian Hotel’s Tiger and Peacock is a delight.

he only way for patrons to get to The Memphian Hotel’s Tiger and Peacock rooftop bar is via a special elevator just off the fabulously quirky lobby. But before heading upstairs, I suggest you spend a few minutes acclimating to your new environment. There’s a delightfully funky vibe to this place and you’ll want to immerse yourself slowly.

In one corner of the lobby sits a piano on an oriental rug beneath a large sign that reads “All Drama Must Remain On Stage.” Well, maybe … if you don’t count The Memphian’s decor, which is certainly dramatic, with its leopard-print chairs, inviting leather couches, and large hand-colored photos of Overton Square in its ’70s heyday. Above it all, near the reception desk, hangs a massive chandelier created with hundreds of multicolored fishing bobbers of various sizes. It may not catch fish, but it will catch your eye.

And the visual fun is just beginning. Trust me. Tiger and Peacock kicks it up several notches. In fact, I’m at a loss to summarize the kaleidoscopic colors, textures, sculptures, bizarre objects, stuffed animals, and glittery lights that abound in Tiger and Peacock. It’s not so much a style as it is a psychedelic statement. It’s as if Alice in Wonderland fell down the rabbit hole, met Jerry Garcia at the bottom, and they decided to form an interior design team. The look is insane. And insanely fabulous. You’ll take

pictures, I guarantee it. And so is the view from the But I’m here to have a cockbar, which is toward the setting tail, so, as difficult as it is, I turn sun and the Downtown Memphis my eyes from the f lamboyant skyline in the distance. Across the decor to the large and airy bar way, on the east side of the room, fronting the west side of the is an open-air deck that overlooks Playhouse on the Square, room, where I’m greeted by bartender (and food and Ballet Memphis, the beverage manager) It’s as if Alice in Second Line, and Dalton Case. the East End neighWonderland fell down “ W h a t ’ l l y o u the rabbit hole, met borhood beyond. I have,” he asks. wander out, scan the Jerry Garcia at the treetops, and make a “Give me your fabottom, and they vorite drink,” I reply. note to return when Case decides to decided to form an it’s not a brisk Januserve me the “High interior design team. ary evening. Horse,” a concoc- The look is insane. And It’s early, and I’m ahead of the night tion consisting of St. insanely fabulous. crowd, but my wife George Terroir Gin, triple sec orange liqueur, freshand I were here a few weeks ago and squeezed orange juice, simple we marveled at the Tiger and Peasyrup, and an orange peel. Uncock clientele. They were dressed surprisingly, it is orange in color. up, mostly young, very diverse. The “This is a drink that we’ll be ambiance was more of a nightclub featuring this spring,” Case says. than just a “bar.” Case says the night we were here “It’s light and refreshing and easy to drink.” was typical. “We get a really cool The High Horse starts sweet cross-section of Memphis people,” and fruity on the tongue but he says. “It’s a young, hip crowd, and develops a slight (and pleasing) they dress up when they come up orange-peel bitterness as it goes here. It feels like a fashion show some down. It is exactly as Case denights. We play swing-type music scribed it — refreshing and very and it’s just a great vibe. We also easy to drink, but you can tell get people from all over the counthis horse has a kick, so take it try, and even the world, since it’s a easy, cowboy. hotel. Everyone loves this place.” “I think the key to this drink is the fact that we hand-juice The Memphian Hotel’s Tiger and Peacock is located in our own oranges,” Case says, “so Overton Square. this is literally as fresh as a cocktail can be.”

Dalton Case with a ”High Horse.“

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

BY BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN

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1/13/22 5:42 PM

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1/14/22 8:48 AM

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BACKGROUND PHOTOGRAPH BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS; INSET PHOTOGRAPH BY WIRESTOCK / DREAMSTIME

1/19/22 11:54 AM

Spotlighting ten of the most exciting new establishments that have opened their doors to hungry Memphians in the past two years. BY SAMUEL X. CICCI AND MICHAEL DONAHUE

e devote an outsized portion of our lives to the pursuit of happiness in the form of good food. In the times during the pandemic when our worlds have gotten smaller, many of us have grounded ourselves with passionate and borderline-obsessive culinary quests. But then there are those who do it best, the professionals who make our local food scene fresh, dynamic, and never dull. Yes, some places have closed their doors, but we’ve seen plenty of folks try something new, too. If you feel a frisson of joy when a new dish is being whisked to your table, then you’re in luck. Memphis has always been known for deliciousness, but the sheer variety of quality eateries increases by the year. Last year, we took a break from our annual top-10 list to run a “Memphis A-Z” feature shouting out our favorite haunts (one establishment or local icon per letter). But now, we’re returning to the classics. This year, we’re including establishments that opened for the first time in 2020 or later, as well as a few restaurants that have recently reinvented themselves. We’re featuring new faces this year, as well as familiar friends trying out novel ideas. Kelly English guides us to Spain at Pantà with spirited tapas and cocktails just off Overton Square, while Downtown, Arturo Leighton and Sara Cai whip up batches of fresh noodles at Good Fortune Co. for some of the best ramen in the city. Memphis Chess Club offers a heck of a pizza slice while fine-tuning your mind, and Dory’s frequently changing tasting menus provide an experience quite unlike any other in town. Best of all, those are just a few of the tantalizing places waiting to serve you. For our Top 10 New Restaurants List — which complements but is separate from the Readers’ Restaurant Poll — our editorial team selected just a few of the places we think represent the best of our city’s culinary future. Whether you’re dining in or calling in a carryout order, every meal is an opportunity to pursue happiness through food. For more information, be sure to refer to our City Dining Listings on page 72 for schedules, locations, and contact information, and bon appétit! (Note: The Top 10 are presented alphabetically. We couldn’t possibly rank these — we recommend sampling every one.)

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Bala’s Bistro

ala Tounkara has been cooking in Memphis for almost two decades now. He struck out on his own a couple years ago in new digs on Elvis Presley Blvd. in Whitehaven. Tounkara brings fresh ﬂavors to local diners with dishes from his home in Mali and West Africa broadly. Tounkara initially operated in a small spot on Raines Road, but frequently thought about relocating to a bigger space where he could grow his business. So this past November, he closed that Raines location and moved into his new, much bigger space. That gave him the chance to rethink how he serves his customers. Now, instead of just à la carte items, Bala’s Bistro offers a hot bar that boasts all the best dishes like curry pepper chicken, jollof rice, and seafood okra stew — all available to order by the pound. The hot bar rotates depending on availability, but there’s always the chance to try something novel and exciting, like curry goat or tender braised lamb. Otherwise, stick with the spicy chicken yassa or maafe, the West African peanut stew. Whether people are familiar with West African cuisine or not, Tounkara is always happy to point them in the right direction. “Many people come in, and they’ve never had African food before,” says Tounkara. “If they’re hesitant, I’ll ask them about things they like and see what might be a good starting point for them.” Most of Tounkara’s meals come in vegan varieties, and he serves more traditional American options like hamburgers and barbecue for eaters not looking for an adventure. The bistro has recently expanded to include breakfast (think wafﬂes, pancakes, and omelettes — with a West African twist), and stay tuned for fun evenings planned, like DJ and karaoke nights. Bala’s Bistro presents a unique restaurant experience in Memphis and gives anyone a chance to sample food that will take them on a journey. Just be sure to get there before the rarer dishes run out! – Samuel X. Cicci

clockwise from top left: Chef Bala Tounkara has seen large crowds flock to his upgraded restaurant space; braised lamb served with yellow jollof rice, spinach, and a hibiscus slushie; West African dishes like seafood okra stew and maafe are available by the pound. 18 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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TOP PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMUEL X. CICCI / FOOD SPREAD BY CALEB SIGLER

1/19/22 11:54 AM

Dory

ou should know that Dory, which opened last March, will challenge your expectations from the moment you slide into a seat. Unlike at other restaurants, you won’t get a menu with a lot of options. Instead, the restaurant offers a limited number of choices, which rotate the first Wednesday of each month. And you won’t actually be handed a menu when you sit down. As Amanda Krog, co-owner with her husband, chef David Krog, said in a Memphis Flyer interview, “We’re not putting out the menu to the people before they come. They come in, sit down, they eat. We’ll honor dietary restrictions as long as we know in advance.” The six-course dinners are $95 each. An early menu included redfish with pea shoots, mirepoix, and saffron broth; pork belly with collard greens, pureed turnips, and foie gras powder; and a frozen custard with an almond lace cookie, roasted apple, caramel, and Amanda’s Nine Oat One Granola. They offer wine pairings, and a full bar that features its own “bar snacks menu.” Dory asks diners to trust them with the selections, and that trust is rewarded with six courses, including the amusebouche, the sorbet, and the mignardise (a bite-size dessert). On Tuesdays, the restaurant serves a $55 four-course dinner, which is prepared and created by the kitchen staff. The Tuesday dinner is “a completely different menu that the sous chef and the rest of our staff are writing on their own, with very little oversight from me,” David told the Flyer. “I want them to create a menu they’re proud of.” “The details are everything” at Dory, David said. “The wine list is constantly moving and the dishes are constantly evolving, the service is refining. Every little thing we’re doing every single day there is to try to be the best that we can possibly be.” Dory is planning a special belated grand-opening event the first week in March to celebrate the first-year anniversary. – Michael Donahue clockwise from top left: Take-home whole roasted chicken dinner for two; Dory owners Amanda and Chef David Krog; an almond tuile cookie covers apple, ice cream, caramel sauce, and granola; handmade cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY DORY

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1/19/22 11:54 AM

The Genre

hef/owner Lernard Chambers describes The Genre, which opened in August, as “a small urban bistro.” By that he means “just a small eatery. With a hookah, gourmet food, and good customer service.” The restaurant is “directly across from 201 Poplar” — the Shelby County Jail. Which is a plus, in Chambers’ view, because people feel safe going to the restaurant at night, what with the police all around. The “201 sauce” is their number-one chicken tender sauce, Chambers says. He describes it as a “sweet heat, kind of Cajun” sauce. He sauces his tenders “different ways,” Chambers says. “Fifteen different sauces we can sauce them in.” The “Golden” sauce is another popular one, he says. “Kind of like a sweet honey gold.” The menu also includes fried catfish. “We use 100 percent U.S. catfish. So, we get it fresh. We make sure the quality is good. Our preparation is quality preparation as far as the seasoning, the batter, the oil being fresh. “We also do a brunch menu. And our signature item on that is our fried catfish and grits.” As for desserts, Chambers says, “We constantly change them up. Right now we have fried Oreos, strawberry cake, cheesecake. We just keep changing them every couple of months.” Chambers calls the shots. “Pretty much me being the head chef creating the whole menu.” The Genre’s look is distinctive: Album covers as well as actual records are used as wall art. Chambers and his twin brother, Bernard, are veteran deejays. A range of music, including Lernard’s favorite R&B tunes, play in the background. Live music also is on tap at The Genre. – MD

above: An order of one-piece catfish breaded in seasoned cornmeal and golden fried, served with a side of fries (order it covered in the restaurant’s special ”201 sauce“). below: Two-piece chicken skewers served atop a bed of green beans. 20 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY THE GENRE

1/19/22 11:54 AM

Good Fortune Co.

he intense flavors and careful crafting of Good Fortune Co.’s madein-house noodles and dumplings have been wowing diners since the restaurant opened its doors on South Main last year. Downtown residents, young professionals, and families have flocked to the new Asian eatery for dinner, with a bright neon sign (“Send Noods,” it reads) and an enormous, Studio Ghibli-style mural by Ivy-Jade Edwards providing excellent photo ops. But the big draw is the meticulous culinary craftsmanship of owners Sara Cai and Arturo Leighton, who work closely with staff to produce their own handmade noodles and dumpling dishes. The two bet on themselves, leaving their jobs at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando to open a restaurant in Memphis, and that bold decision has paid off. Walk by on any given day, and the restaurant is likely to be packed with satisfied customers. The menu isn’t huge, but there always seems to be some delicious new style to try. The traditional big city ramen is a great place to start, while the recently added coco curry ramen pops — spicy and smooth at once, thanks to Thai basil, galangal, and the owners’ own coconut broth — pair well with a carafe of sake. But the hidden gem may be the GFC Wings appetizer, heaping clumps of crunchy goodness drizzled with sweet Sichuan honey butter. The attention and passion that go into each dish are palpable. “Noodles from scratch? That’s certainly a labor of love,” Leighton told Memphis when Good Fortune first opened. “We really care about the food we’re making and we’re going to put love into everything. We’re going to take the time to make sure everything is done right, and we’re so excited to be able to share that with people.” – SXC

clockwise from top: Popular Japanese fish-shaped taiyaki cake filled with cookies and cream soft-serve; GFC wings with a Sichuan honey butter sauce, sesame, and scallions; classic-style big city ramen with handmade noodles, fried chicken, and seasonal vegetables. PHOTOGRAPHS BY GOOD FORTUNE CO. / WINGS BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

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1/19/22 11:55 AM

Longshot

n a little over two years, Longshot has had two incarnations. The first, launched in late 2019, was a sausage-centric restaurant that served an international selection of bangers. But then Covid hit, executive chef David Todd found himself laid off, and the Arrive Hotel’s downstairs bar and restaurant went on ice. But not to fret. Todd returned to the long, narrow restaurant a few months later, this time with almost full control over the menu. He seized his chance to make Longshot his own. The revamped concept is so far removed from the restaurant’s initial limited run, it feels like a rebirth. Now, Todd’s specialties at the globally inspired gastropub delight diners, while the shuffleboard bar keeps them entertained. “We do have a lot of international influence,” Todd told Memphis, “but I like to say that it’s influenced by flavor. Anything I’ve encountered in my career that tastes good, I try to work it in somewhere.” Todd starts close to home, with catfish, which he bathes with a soy ginger glaze and serves atop rich and creamy charred carrot-coconut grits. The menu journeys to further-flung global tastes with the popular Korean fried chicken sandwich — the bird smothered with cheese corn and gochujang sauce for a spicy and slightly sweet kick. And the flash-fried coconut curry cauliflower makes for a tasty snack with its blend of Thai coconut milk, cilantro, cashews, and lime. But Todd’s creativity shines brightest with dishes like the tuna poke nachos, a freethinking amalgamation of multiple culinary cultures. He tosses the fish in white soy, regular soy sauce, and sesame oil, and adds a Napa cabbage and cilantro slaw alongside a few sauces. “You’re bouncing through a lot with this dish,” says Todd, “but I like things that, when you’re eating them, different sensations are coming across your palate.” No matter what arrives at the table, the exciting and varied dishes are what Longshot is all about. And everything tastes better with a side of shuffleboard. – SXC clockwise from top: Chef David Todd has created a menu in his own image at Longshot, utilizing influences from his many restaurant jobs in Memphis; soy ginger catfish served with charred carrot coconut grits; the ”KFC“ — Korean fried chicken sandwich.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

1/19/22 11:55 AM

Magnolia & May

outhern meets French at Magnolia & May. And sure, there are plenty of other international influences on the menu. But that’s no problem for Chip and Amanda Dunham, who used all their experience from time at the Grove Grill when they opened their own restaurant during the early days of the pandemic. The brasserie can accommodate diners looking for both casual and upscale options with a wide variety of fusion dishes. If you haven’t tried it yet, start with the buffalo broccoli appetizer. Breaded and deep-fried florets are tossed with buffalo sauce (and blue cheese or buttermilk) to create smooth and spicy vegetable magic. But the perfect synthesis of Memphis and cosmopolitan Europe is the Bluff City Fungi mushroom pasta. The first iteration of this dish, in a gnocchi style, was whipped up “almost like a mushroom beurre blanc,” according to Amanda. “Chip puts so much flavor in there with the mushrooms, and adds in so much more with the vegetables he uses. It’ll knock your socks off.” The restaurant boasts a very laid-back and casual atmosphere, with one wall composed of repurposed bourbon barrels. And the bar is a throwback to bygone Memphis, utilizing lane wood from the old Imperial Lanes bowling alley. The building itself is a tribute to the Dunham family legacy, with Chip moving the restaurant into his grandfather’s old law office on Mt. Moriah. So kick back and enjoy some great food — alongside cocktails infused with Disney magic: Moana’s margarita with frozen coconut and lime; the Queen Elsa with sparkling wine, cardamom, Peychaud's bitters, and elderflower; or Olaf’s peppermint hot chocolate. The Dunhams want Magnolia & May to be a relaxing place for Memphians to eat without breaking the bank. Chip told me soon after they opened, “It’s just about showing that chef-driven dishes and high-quality food can be affordable.” – SXC

clockwise from top: Owners Chip and Amanda Dunham opened Magnolia & May in the summer of 2020; the buffalo broccoli snack is one of the restaurant’s most popular appetizers; single- or double-patty cheeseburgers come with the Dunhams’ special sauce. PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

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1/19/22 11:55 AM

Memphis Chess Club

efore you get the check, you might have cause to say “checkmate” at the Memphis Chess Club. And even if you lose (or sit out the match), you can still leave caffeinated and well fed. At the club’s new Downtown digs, it’s chess paraphernalia all the way down: wooden chess sets, boards carved into every table, and shelves upon shelves of old strategy books and magazines chronicling the game’s history. Left Field Properties president and longtime club member Casey Hill knew the club needed a proper home, so he transformed the space at 195 Madison Ave. into a hub for chess lovers old and new. “The sign says Memphis Chess Club, but we want this to be a place for everybody,” says Hill, “regardless of whether you’re a grandmaster, or you’ve never picked up a chess piece before in your life. And if chess isn’t your thing, we have really good coffee and an outstanding menu.” The coffee is indeed excellent, with the club sourcing their own beans from around the world and brewing their own blends. The food menu includes açai bowls or loaded croissants for breakfast and sandwiches and salads for lunch. But the big draw? According to Hill, “Coffee in the morning goes with chess, and so does pizza in the evening, believe it or not. If you grew up playing chess at all, or going to any tournaments, there was always pizza around. It’s kind of synonymous with the game.” Each freshly baked pizza is named after a chess professional. The Polgár loads up with pesto, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and carrots, while the Fischer is stacked with pepperoni, bacon, and Italian sausage. Downstairs, there's another giant room ﬁlled with chess tables. It plays host to both beginner and advanced tournaments for club members and ﬁrst-timers. The club is welcoming to everybody, and there’s nowhere else like it in Memphis. — SXC

clockwise from top: The Polgár pizza is stacked with pesto, roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and carrots; chess sets are available to rent during the day for a small fee, while annual members have unlimited access to boards and pieces year-round. 24 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY SAMUEL X. CICCI / PIZZA COURTESY MEMPHIS CHESS CLUB

1/19/22 11:55 AM

Pantà

ook a trip to Spain with one of the hottest new restaurants in town. Thanks to lots of buzz online, via word of mouth, or even in the pages of this magazine, you’re probably familiar with Pantà by now. Chef Kelly English calls the restaurant, which opened last October, “one of the greatest joys of my professional life,” and that exuberance shines through with a radiant array of snacks and tapas alongside designer David Quarles IV’s bright, bold decor that bursts with vivid colors not out of place on a Gaudí canvas. “I just wanted to capture the culture of Catalonia,” says English. “They live and exist in the way that they naturally do.” In his old Restaurant Iris space, near Overton Square, English truly captures the essence of Catalonia with traditional dishes like patatas bravas — fried potatoes dressed in varying aiolis — or the sour and spicy peix cru bowl built around the freshest ﬁsh available on any given day. “Our menu will be fresh, it will be vibrant,” says English. “We’re going to have a lot of seafood. There will be a lot of vegetable-driven plates.” There’s also a bit of Memphis in everything that English cooks up. The bomba barceloneta, traditionally made with braised beef, is given a Bluff City touch with Payne’s BBQ. And each tapa is served atop ceramics from local potter Brit McDaniel’s Paper & Clay studio. On the drink side, beverage director Larin Culp curates a selection of Spanish wine; manager Aaron Ivory and bartending partner Morgan McKinney whip up unique cocktails like the Reposado tequila-based naked dragon. Extra-thirsty diners can enjoy an extensive gin and tonic program. Pantà can be whatever Memphis needs it to be: an early-evening glass of cava to kick off the night, a full sit-down dinner, or a late-night wind-down. — SXC

above: There are plenty of snacks, but pastry chef Inga Theeke serves up decadent desserts, like the tarta de Santiago, a flourless almond cake with honey and orange; all of the tapas at Pantà take inspiration from Catalonia, but some come with a Memphis twist from chef Kelly English. PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS

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1/19/22 11:55 AM

Salt | Soy

alt | Soy debuted last March with veteran chef Nick Scott as owner/sushi chef. The menu includes vegetarian and pork ramen bowls. Brad McCarley, the restaurant’s general manager, cures all the meat in-house. They ferment their own miso and kimchi. They don’t limit themselves to one cuisine. Scott said in a Memphis Flyer interview before the restaurant opened: “We’re not pigeonholing ourselves to only doing Japanese,” he said. “It will be Asian-inspired; pulling from all cultures and melding them together.” And, he said, “I’m also looking for some Pacific inspiration there. We may do some riffs on classic tiki drinks.” They’ve followed through on that vision. “We have incorporated some tiki aspects to the cocktail menu,” Scott says. “But it’s really become a seasonal change.” Salt | Soy began as a pop-up in 2018 in Downtown’s former Puck Food Hall. The idea was “sushi and seafood with ceviches and different types of crudos,” Scott told the Flyer. And “market-style fish and seafood by the pound.” The concept for the new location is “less of a market concept and more of an izakaya sushi concept. A Japanese drinking establishment, with Japanese tapas, serving small plates. People come in and have drinks and cocktails.” The restaurant’s makeover included repainting the interiors. Artist David Johnson enlivened some of the downstairs spaces with black-and-white paintings with pops of color that complement the restaurant’s color scheme. As for future plans for Salt | Soy, Scott says, “We’re talking about doing some crawfish boils on the patio when crawfish season opens up. We’re looking at lunch right now.” And, he says, “Trying to establish more of a late-night business upstairs with the bar.” – MD

clockwise from top: Owner Nick Scott teased Memphis with a variety of pop-ups around town before opening on Broad Ave.; kabocha and futsu squash with sweet potatoes and a pecan-pepita crumble; spicy chili crab udon tossed in miso butter, chili oil, and green onion. 26 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY SALT | SOY

1/19/22 11:55 AM

Southall Café

f breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then Southall Café in East Memphis must be a very important restaurant; it sure has some dang good early-morning eats. Owners Mark Pender and Mitchell Spurlock conceived a space where chefs would be free to pursue their most creative culinary ideas. Southall prides itself on constantly sourcing all of its ingredients from locals or Mid-South neighbors, trumpeting partnerships with sources like Bluff City Fungi, Grit Girl Grits, and Old World Farms that ensure diners get the freshest breakfast ingredients on their tables every morning. When I ﬁrst popped into Southall, former general manager Zachary Bryant described it as having a chef-driven menu, with regular items and specials alike both bearing the signature touch of each chef that passes through their doors. Fortunately, that still holds true. Some Latin-tinged classics remain from when Jesus Ramon had the reins, such as the breakfast tacos — three house-made tortillas stuffed with chorizo verde, eggs, sweet potatoes, crema, queso fresco, and cilantro. But new executive chef and L’École Culinaire graduate Tom Hughes — who joined the team last November, and has experience leading kitchens at Chickasaw Country Club and Southwind Country Club — has plenty of tricks up his sleeve as well. The tater tots have always been a sleeper hit at Southall, and Hughes kicks them up to the next level with his loaded brunch tots, topping the deep-fried potato bites with two eggs, house-smoked bacon, queso fresco, chives, guajillo salsa, and made-in-house chipotle aioli. Don’t miss his Southern eggs benedict either, with poached eggs, pulled pork, and hollandaise sauce atop a buttermilk biscuit and served alongside roasted garlic-citrus dressed greens. Southall is open every day for breakfast and lunch, and also boasts a full bar if you need a little more kick with your eggs. Stick with a traditional bloody Mary or mimosa, or get an espresso ﬁx with the spiked affogato. – SXC clockwise from top: Breakfast tacos with house-made masa tortillas and chorizo verde; bluff omelette with mushrooms; shrimp & grits with andouille sausage and Southall smoked ham; caramelized banana with peanut butter frosting pancake special. PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY SOUTHALL CAFÉ

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1/19/22 11:55 AM

Presenting the winners of the

BEST RESTAURANT

2022 Readers’ Restaurant Poll

Folk’s Folly Coastal Fish Company Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar

BEST NEW RESTAURANT Dory Salt | Soy Tiger & Peacock

We asked, and the people have spoken. Here are our readers' top restaurant picks for this year.

ur readers know a thing or two about restaurants. For more than 35 years now, we’ve been asking them to take part in our annual Readers’ Restaurant Poll, selecting their favorite spots ranging from Best Thai, to Best Steak, and even the best place to go people-watching. The result is a handy list that pinpoints the pulse of Memphis’ dining scene, highlighting plenty of popular and under-the-radar restaurants that locals adore. If there’s a beloved diner, dive, bakery, or bar, it’s sure to be on this list. It’s especially important that our readers recognize the institutions that mean so much to them. Since March 2020, the restaurant industry has been hit hard with Covid-19 restrictions, making it tough to stay profitable and keep workers safe. Many have either temporarily pivoted to something new or made permanent changes to their MOs. It’s all in the service of keeping us fed, so the least we can do is order a few meals and leave a generous tip. The following list — which is completely separate from our “Top 10 New Restaurants” feature — details the best places to dine, as chosen by you, our readers. To ensure the poll results were accurate, we installed online safeguards to ensure only one ballot per person, making this the definitive resource for Memphis restaurant-goers. We’ve named the top three restaurants in most categories, with the first-place winner in bold type. Ties are indicated when they occurred. A special designation ( ) — we’re calling them “Super Stars” — indicates first-place winners who received more than a third of the total votes cast in that category. Whether you’re new in town or a longtime resident, our 50+ categories offer up fantastic restaurants worthy of any palate. We also cover the best places to grab a drink, who has the best servers and overall service, which out-of-town spots are worth the drive, and include a remembrance of some old favorites that are no longer around. Unsure where to grab dinner next? Let your fellow readers help with the winners of our Readers’ Restaurant Poll. — Samuel Xavier Cicci

BEST CHEF

Kelly English Restaurant Iris/The Second Line/ Pantà/Fino’s on the Hill Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen/Hog & Hominy/ Catherine & Mary’s/Gray Canary/Bishop Erling Jensen, Erling Jensen the Restaurant First-place winners who received at least a third of the total votes in their category.

BEST ASIAN FUSION Mulan A-Tan Mosa Asian Bistro

BEST BAR

Tiger and Peacock Bardog Tavern Brookhaven Pub & Grill

BEST BARBECUE RIBS

Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous Central BBQ Corky’s

BEST BARBECUE SANDWICH Central BBQ Germantown Commissary Tops Bar-B-Q

BEST BEER SELECTION Flying Saucer Young Avenue Deli Lucchesi’s Beer Garden

BEST BREAKFAST

Brother Juniper’s Bryant’s Breakfast Sunrise Memphis

BEST BRUNCH

Owen Brennan’s Brother Juniper’s The Beauty Shop

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BEST BURGER Huey’s Top’s Bar-B-Q Belmont Grill

BEST CAJUN/CREOLE Owen Brennan’s The Second Line Bayou Bar & Grill

BEST CATEGORY WE LEFT OUT Best Bartender Best Ambiance Best Sommelier

BEST CHAIN RESTAURANT Houston’s Capital Grille Bonefish Grill

BEST CHINESE

Mulan Wang’s Mandarin House Formosa Chinese Restaurant

BEST COFFEEHOUSE (NON-CHAIN) Ugly Mug Coffee Café Eclectic Otherlands Coffee Bar

BEST CRAFT COCKTAILS Peabody Lobby Bar Alchemy Catherine & Mary’s

BEST DATE NIGHT

Flight Restaurant & Bar Erling Jensen the Restaurant Southern Social

BEST DELI

Elwood’s Shack Young Avenue Deli Fino’s from the Hill

BEST DESSERT SHOP Muddy’s Bake Shop Frost Bake Shop La Baguette

BEST DIVE BAR

Alex’s Tavern Earnestine & Hazel’s The Cove

BEST FOOD TRUCK

BEST OUTDOOR DINING

BEST FRIED CHICKEN

BEST PEOPLE-WATCHING

BEST FROZEN TREAT

BEST PIZZA

BEST HAPPY HOUR

BEST PLACE TO IMPRESS OUT-OF-TOWNERS

TacoNGanas Soi Number 9 Stickem El Mero Taco

Gus’s Fried Chicken Superlo Foods Jack Pirtle’s Jerry’s Sno Cones Mempops La Michoacana Alchemy Huey’s Brookhaven Pub

BEST INDIAN

India Palace Bombay House Golden India

BEST ITALIAN

Pete & Sam’s Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen Amerigo Italian Restaurant

BEST JAPANESE Sekisui Osaka Sakura

BEST KID FRIENDLY Huey’s Memphis Pizza Cafe Belly Acres

BEST LOCAL BREWERY

Wiseacre Brewing Company Ghost River Brewery & Tap Room Memphis Made Brewing Co.

BEST MEDITERRANEAN

Casablanca Restaurant Taziki’s Mediterranean Café Petra Cafe

BEST MEXICAN

Las Delicias Molly’s La Casita Las Tortugas Deli Mexicana

BEST STEAK

Coastal Fish Company Slider Inn The Second Line Railgarten Diner

Folk’s Folly Ruth’s Chris Steak House Buckley’s Restaurant

BEST TACO

Maciel’s Taco Shop TacoNGanas Babalu Tapas & Tacos

Peabody Lobby Bar Lafayette’s Music Room Flying Saucer

BEST TAKEOUT Huey’s Mulan Soul Fish Cafe

Memphis Pizza Cafe Aldo’s Pizza Pies Little Italy

BEST THAI

Bangkok Alley Pho Binh Thai Bistro

Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous Itta Bena Folk’s Folly

BEST VEGETARIAN/VEGAN

BEST PLACE TO WATCH THE GAME Huey’s Brookhaven Pub Young Avenue Deli

BEST VIETNAMESE

Pho Saigon Pho Binh Lotus Vietnamese Restaurant

BEST PLATE LUNCH

Cupboard Restaurant Patrick’s Soul Fish Cafe

BEST WINE LIST

BEST SEAFOOD (NON-FAST-FOOD) Coastal Fish Company The Half Shell Soul Fish Cafe

BEST SERVER

Calvin Bell - Rendezvous Scarlet McWhorter - Tsunami Ari Randle - Huey’s Josephine Chetter - Patrick’s

BEST SERVICE

Huey’s Folk’s Folly Houston’s Porch and Parlor Tsunami Southern Social

City Silo Table + Pantry Raw Girls Global Café

Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar Folk’s Folly Knifebird

BEST WINGS

Central BBQ The Wing Guru Crumpy’s Wings

RESTAURANT WE MISS THE MOST Anderton’s Pancho’s Erika’s German Restaurant

WORTH THE DRIVE

City Grocery (Oxford, MS) Como Steakhouse (Como, MS) Bozo’s Hot Pit Bar-B-Q (Mason, TN)

BEST SHARED PLATES

Babalu Tapas & Tacos Bounty on Broad Tsunami

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1/19/22 11:55 AM

H A B I TAT S

T A L E

O F

T W O

K I T C H E N S

Food and lifestyle influencer Cara Greenstein overhauled her new home while transforming her Downtown condo into a successful Airbnb. BY CHRIS McCOY

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PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS: DOWNTOWN CONDO BY MADI ALDRICH FOR KELLY GINN PHOTOGRAPHY; NEW HOME AND PORTRAIT BY JOHN PICKLE

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left: This kitchen in Cara Greenstein’s Downtown home served as her studio as she developed Caramelized, her food and lifestyle blog that has attracted thousands of followers since its founding in 2012.

The best way to get to know Cara Greenstein is through her blog Caramelized. That’s where she started writing about and photographing her culinary adventures in 2012. Eventually, Greenstein expanded into Instagram, where her sleek style, accessible recipes — and dogs Sawyer and Finn — have attracted a sizable audience. Greenstein discovered her love of the culinary arts early. “As a kid, I chose to watch the Food Network instead of Disney and Nickelodeon — I was that child,” she says.

“At age 10, I loved Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, and Bobby Flay. My mom always had dinner for our family every night, but she did not enjoy cooking, so I wouldn’t say I learned my love of cooking from her — but I did learn the value of a family having a meal together.” Greenstein says she was self-taught. “I loved watching the demos on the shows, and then when I had my bat mitzvah at age 13, I asked everyone to give me Williams Sonoma gift certificates so that I could actually have some

above: Greenstein’s new kitchen in East Memphis was designed by Ann Parker of Parker Design Studio. J.S. Miller Contracting expanded the space

to include the breakfast nook and a new window. Cambria Surfaces and Countertops of Memphis provided the quartz work surfaces.

equipment and gadgets I saw on these shows that my parents didn’t have. Because my mom’s like, ‘What more do you need than a pot and a cutting board?’” A Memphis native, Greenstein attended college at the University of Texas in Austin, where she majored in marketing and public relations. “You always take for granted where you grew up, right? And then you leave and you go to a new city. Austin was an incredible experience, especially as a college student where you’re

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H A B I TAT S

left: This fig and ricotta-yogurt breakfast tart is just one of the many recipes available on Caramelized. Greenstein says the townhome’s reclaimed wood kitchen table provided a great surface for food prep and photography. right: The Downtown home’s tiny lawn proved too small when Greenstein added a new dog to her family. Thus began the couple’s search for a new home.

trying to find your direction, and you’re in a big city with so much happening. … But I was watching Memphis in the rear-view mirror. At the time I was away — 2010 to 2014 — there was some good stuff happening here.” As graduation approached, she made a decision that might have been surprising four years earlier: returning to her hometown. “I definitely saw the potential here,” she says. “And knowing how much more would be happening in 10 years, I wanted to be part of that progress.” To be where the action was, she found an apartment Downtown, within walking distance to her job at the public relations firm of Doug Carpenter and Associates, and persuaded her boyfriend Alex Shindler, an Arkansan, to join her.

The two married three years later and moved into a brand-new townhouse, part of the new construction rising Downtown. “I was actually walking one day to work when I saw what became our townhome being built,” she says. “It was this super-interesting contemporary design Phil Woodard was doing on Tennessee Street, and I was so impressed.” She and Alex became homeowners at age 23, one of four original owners in the development that now boasts more than 30 dwellings. “It’s exciting to see a true neighborhood arise,” she says. “I knew the area well because of work, but it was really exciting to have that opportunity, and we made it a home over the years.”

Living Downtown, Growing up in Public

The townhouse became home base for Caramelized, Greenstein says, and her growing fan base watched as she developed her aesthetic. “I loved the open floor plan,” she says. “I loved the natural light. The design itself was pretty much dictated by the builder, but it is very contemporary — trendy, if you will. And for a rising food blogger, where so much of my life is in front of — or behind — a phone camera, capturing recipes and gatherings around the table, I was looking for something that could achieve that without trying, and I believe the townhouse does that. “I was very lucky to move into a new space,” she continues. “Essentially, we could dictate paint, colors,

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backsplash, et cetera, but Phil already had such a great vision for it, I didn’t have to do much at all.” A west-facing window floods the space with natural light, which not only creates a healthy living space, but is also essential for photography. “We chose a really nice quartz countertop, and I have a beautiful, reclaimed wood table,” she says. “That could serve as my contrasting surface, a backdrop for my dishes. I had that contrast in the space that I used every day, and because of how small it was, my kitchen table was honestly like a second countertop for prep.” The best way to describe Greenstein’s cooking is “accessible, but elegant.” On Caramelized, one can see her “elevating the everyday” with snacks like pigs in a blanket, which she serves for a holiday party in a wreath of fresh herbs. She created a chicken version of that great Memphis party staple, barbecue nachos. She calls her vegetarian succotash, which includes fresh corn, okra, and Vidalia onions, “summer in a bowl.” She retooled one of her favorite dishes, the Caprese salad, with halloumi, a firm, salty cheese from Greek cuisine. Purple potatoes give her pot roast a splash of color. Her pecan-encrusted catfish comes with a side dish of corn brulée, a more savory variation on the classic French dessert. She added a little bit of coffee to the grilled flank steak dry rub for tacos last summer, and her mac-and-cheese recipe is made luxurious with lobster and gnocchi. And when exploring cocktails, she gravitates toward margaritas, and created a jalapeño-infused gin rickey. “I definitely try to experiment, but the way I tend to cook is just very seasonally driven,” Greenstein says. “I like to shop with my eyes at the grocery store and take the produce and then build something around it. To me, presentation is very important because food styling and photography are part of why I love blogging. I kind of take that as my starting point and then think, ‘Okay, how can I build something that is flavorful, but easy?’ I’m not a professionally trained chef, but I enjoy learning different techniques.”

Time for Change

By March 2020, Cara and Alex had been in their townhouse for five years. Then, the pandemic hit. As the couple worked from home and couldn’t access many of Downtown’s amenities during the lockdowns, they began to reconsider their relationship with their first home. “I think the pandemic really made us, and everyone, reevaluate the definition of a home, the mean-

ing of it, and how multipurpose it truly needs to be in circumstances like that,” Greenstein says. “So, 1,300 square feet is fantastic, but when the livable part of it, excluding the bedrooms, is closer to 500 square feet, and you are doing everything from living, to working, to working out, to trying to mimic the restaurants I missed, and doing all of it in one little space, well …” Another factor affected her

below: Cara Greenstein and her dog Sawyer on the couch in their East Memphis abode.

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H A B I TAT S

above: The new kitchen’s central island includes a built-in microwave. Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery outfitted the expansive kitchen space. June Wren provided the home’s plants, which includes the island’s mood moss centerpiece. right: The new kitchen flows into the family room, which sports art and accents by Bella Vita, a rug by Kiser’s Floor Fashions, and a coffee table from Posh Lighting in Arlington.

decision. The Greensteins added a second dog to their family. “Sawyer is 70 pounds, and Finn is a mini version at 30 pounds and has twice as much energy,” she says. “Finn was our pandemic puppy. We were on one of our many hundreds of walks during the safer-at-home order, and we were talking about how it would be so great if Sawyer had a pal.” Dogs are happier with yards to play in, says Greenstein. “We have this adorable little grass patch in the front. It’s like the size of a living room carpet. That worked for the dogs some of the time, but we usually took them on walks, or to the nearby dog park. It was definitely cozy, but it honestly forced me to have a minimalist way of living, because there wasn’t as much room for storage or extra things.”

By the spring of 2021, it was clear they needed a new place. “Not having a yard is always a challenge of living in an urban area,” she says, “but it got to a point eventually where that, coupled with just feeling like the walls were closing in on us, we needed more room to breathe. So we started looking casually, passively at the market for most of 2020 — which, as you know, was a really crazy time to try and buy. It’s still a sellers’ market. Fortunately — miraculously — we came across an off-market opportunity that worked out. In April ’21, we signed a contract knowing that we would be moving, but we wouldn’t actually close until August, because of the seller’s process on their new home build. So because of that, we had this very rare window of time to actually plan before we moved.”

“Patience Is a Virtue”

Their new home in East Memphis is three times the size of the Downtown townhouse. Greenstein enlisted Ann Parker, an interior designer she had met through the annual ArtsMemphis fundraiser Art By Design. “She came to see the house when we were looking into buying it and helped us envision from the beginning how to create a space that worked for us, worked for my blog and business, and served as this studio for me to use and love every single day.” Greenstein’s studio is her kitchen. “We’re tackling one room at a time,” she says, “and because the kitchen was the priority, we went for it first.” It was Parker’s idea to knock down a wall between the kitchen and an anteroom to expand the available space and allow for a new

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window to be installed. “Natural light is a huge attribute that I value with my photography, but also, I just enjoy natural light! We weren’t getting a lot of it in the original floor plan.” The demolition almost doubled the available square footage, allowing for the installation of an island in the middle of the kitchen, complete with a built-in microwave. “And somehow we repurposed almost every single cabinet in the original kitchen!” But even with time to plan, creating a thoughtful new space in the chaotic conditions of the pandemic has not been easy. “I would say patience is a virtue,” says Greenstein. “The supply chain is not improving yet. We ordered our refrigerator and range six months ago, and they just arrived. So just recognizing that, planning, and waiting

are two very important elements. What Ann taught me through this process is that phasing is a beautiful thing. As you move into a new space and you live in it every day, plans might evolve, things might change. Having flexibility versus prescribing something from the get-go could lead to a really beautiful evolution.”

Old and New

G reenstein and her husband decided not to sell their Downtown townhome, and not just for sentimental reasons. “We wanted to hold onto it,” she says, “because knowing how much development is still underway Downtown, especially with Tom Lee Park and other South Main area developments, we didn’t want to give it up. So we’ve kept the townhouse and are

using it as an Airbnb very successfully, already.” Since their light-filled first home had featured in so many blog posts and Instagram stories, Greenstein decided to leave most of the furnishings when they moved east, making the Airbnb an extension of the Caramelized brand. But she admits returning to the place where she made so many memories is bittersweet. “There’s something about removing just the decorative items and the personal pieces from the house,” she says. “I walk in and it’s a beautiful space. I almost feel a distance from it, but in a good way.” Creating a new space for her family has been a positive experience, and has expanded both her definition of her work and her appreciation for her community.

“I’ve been fortunate through Caramelized to meet so many talented people in Memphis,” she says. “We’re such a unique community, where there’s so much collaboration. Caramelized is such a personal brand. It’s easy to just label it as a food blog, but over the years, it truly has become a reflection of my daily life and milestones — especially with Instagram, and the growth of that platform. Creating a new home has become a category of content alone. That makes so much sense to my following, and to the content I’m putting out there. Hosting and entertaining was a growing category that came out of food and recipe development. And now it’s growing further into the furniture selection and the design itself that makes hospitality even more fun.”

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At the Heart of It

Women’s heart issues are often misdiagnosed. The effects of Covid-19 now add another level of concern. BY ABIGAIL MORICI

ore than 840,000 people in the U.S. have died from Covid since the start of the pandemic, with that number still climbing daily, and now the virus ranks as the third-leading cause of death in the country. Cancer is second, and as for the number-one killer in the U.S., data point to heart disease. And that’s for men and women, despite the perception of heart disease as a “man’s disease.” In fact, heart disease has been the leading cause of death for both men and women in America since 1921, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the direct and indirect effects of Covid could prolong heart disease’s stay at the top spot for both sexes. “There could be some long-term issues from Covid, but we don’t know yet,” says Dr. Steven Gubin, president of Stern Cardiovascular. “We’ve seen some patients with Covid who’ve had arrhythmia and myocarditis, which people can have when the heart muscle becomes weak. “But I think the biggest thing about Covid is that a lot of people have ignored their health,” continues Gubin, who has been with Stern since 1991. “We were saying for a while we haven’t been seeing as many heart attacks, but that was because a lot of people were scared to go to the hospital because they were scared of getting Covid.” The same reasoning holds for missed doctor visits for managing or diagnosing chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol, all of which without proper treatment can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Women are often more afraid of breast cancer than of heart disease, but heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined.

PHOTOGR APH BY KIOSE A39 / DRE AMS T IME

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have severe outcomes. “We always say time is muscle,” Gubin says. “If you’re having a heart attack and get to the hospital within three to six hours of having symptoms, we can take you to the cath [catheterization] lab and open the artery and do something for you.” That was part of the initial appeal of his job as a cardiologist. “When people have cardiac issues, a lot of times they come on rapidly, and what I like about cardiology is that you can help these people. You can make a difference quickly. “But if you wait a day or two,” he warns, “you could already have some damage that is not reversible.” In turn, this leads to women having higher mortality and morbidity rates when it comes to heart disease.

The classic “elephant sitting on the chest” might not appear in women facing heart problems, but if a woman is walking and suddenly feels fatigued or nauseated, Dr. Gubin warns, that may be a symptom of heart disease.

espite this information, Gubin says, “If you ask women what they’re most afraid of, they’ll say breast cancer.” According to the CDC, only 56 percent of women recognize that heart disease is the number-one killer of women. He attributes this to the lack of heart health education geared towards women, in comparison to the abundance of breast health education, but physicians like Gubin, who serves as president of the Mid-South/West Tennessee chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA), are hoping to spread awareness about the seriousness of heart health as not being a “man’s disease” by “going red for women” and empowering women with education and awareness about heart disease. “In my family, my grandmother and her two sisters lived until their 80s and were very active, and their husbands lived until their 80s, 90s. The men didn’t have much heart disease, but all three of [the women] — my grandmother and her two sisters — had heart disease and I saw that growing up, and that made me interested This is especially concerning for women, considering in heart disease, too,” Gubin says. “So unlike most peothat women were less likely to seek treatment and be ple, I didn’t realize that heart disease was really thought treated for heart disease, even before the advent Covid. to be a man’s disease because when I was growing up I thought females had a lot of heart disease.” “If a husband has any type of problems, like indiBut not all those in healthcare are brought up with gestion or shortness of breath, the wife’s always like, this awareness, and so for this myth to be dispelled for ‘You need to go to the emergency room,’” Gubin says. “And in the past, when women would have indigestion patients, those in healthcare must also work towards or other symptoms, a lot of times the husband would confronting their own preconceptions — not only so they can better educate their patients but also so they say it’s just stress.” Because of thinking like this, as can improve their standard of care. Historically, womthe healthcare system catches up with Covid-induced delays, researchers fear that women en have been excluded from clinical “The most common symptom — especially women of color and lowresearch, which has been the basis for er-income women, who already are at treatment guidelines and programs, is chest discomfort, but women greater risk for cardiovascular disease and even prediction models, which a lot of times have more — will disproportionately shoulder have been based on male risk factors, atypical symptoms.” the burden of heart disease without neglecting how polycystic ovary syn— Dr. Steven Gubin proper intervention and prevention. drome, premature menopause, pre-ecPRESIDENT OF STERN “The most common symptom is lampsia, or preterm birth giving birth C A R D I O VA S C U L A R . pre-term can lead to a higher risk for chest discomfort, but women a lot of heart disease for women. times have more atypical symptoms and that’s why a lot of women will present to the emergency room much In 2018, Women’s Health Issues journal published later than a man,” Gubin says. “They may just have some data that showed women with heart attack symptoms neck, jaw, shoulder, or upper back discomfort and think were less likely to receive aspirin, be resuscitated, or it’s more muscular or skeletal, but that could possibly be transported to the hospital in ambulances using be a sign of heart issues. They might not have any chest lights and sirens than were men. Plus, only 40 percent of routine care includes a heart risk check, the Journal discomfort; they may just have shortness of breath or of the American College of Cardiology wrote in 2017. they may have an unusual amount of fatigue, some nausea, vomiting, or indigestion.” Women have also reported being told to lose weight Not recognizing these symptoms as being possible more often than having their cardiovascular disease symptoms for heart disease and delaying treatment can risk factors addressed, and 26 percent of women found

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the disease embarrassing, assuming risk is solely linked to weight. All in all, according to the AHA, heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year, and the number of these deaths has risen each year over the past decade. But 80 percent of cardiovascular disease can be prevented, according to the AHA. “I really started being interested in preventing people from having the initial event,” Gubin says. “And if people do have something happen to them, I’m very interested in doing everything possible to make sure they don’t have a secondary event.”

s a noninvasive cardiologist, Gubin spends most of his days overseeing diagnostic testing, reading cardiac ultrasounds, doing nuclear studies, performing stress tests, and the like, so he recognizes that the first step in prevention is recognizing the patient’s personal risks for heart disease. “Women do develop heart disease about 10 years later in life than men because they’re somewhat protected until they go through menopause,” he says. “We think that estrogen may have a protective effect, and when

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their estrogen levels go down once they go through menopause, their risk of heart disease goes up.” Family history can also predict the likelihood of heart disease. “If a male in your family had heart disease at less than 55, or a female at less than 65, then that’s considered a definite risk factor,” Gubin says. He also adds that women who have diabetes are more likely to develop heart disease than men with diabetes. “And if a woman was pregnant and developed high blood pressure or diabetes during their pregnancy,” he continues, “these conditions have been shown to make you have a high risk for developing heart disease later in life.” Stress, depression, smoking, inactivity, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus can also increase the risk of heart disease for both men and women. “The most prevalent place of heart disease is here in the Mid-South because of our diet, obesity rates, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension,” Gubin says. “The

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Some risk factors for heart disease are nonmodifiable, but checking in with your doctor, being active, and eating healthy are just a few ways to be proactive about your heart health. PHOTOGR APH BY LISA F. YOUNG / DRE AMS T IME

1/18/22 8:05 PM

most common heart disease is coronary heart disease,” he adds, which is associated with the aforementioned risks in the Mid-South. “We always talk about what we call nonmodifiable risk factors — for instance, you can’t change your family history,” Gubin continues. “And then there are modifiable risk factors that you can take care of. If you’re a smoker, it’s never too late to quit. You should exercise regularly. It’s nice to maybe do some light weights and resistance training. Have a healthy diet, with more whole grains, a variety of fruits and vegetables, and avoid lots of salt. Manage stress. It’s nice to get seven to nine hours of sleep a night. If you’re a woman, you shouldn’t have more than one drink a day. If you’re a man, you shouldn’t have more than two. Take your medications.” But Gubin’s best advice, he says, is “Be proactive. If you’re not feeling well, don’t blow it off.”

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T R I P

Graball Landing: Emmett Till’s body may have been removed from the river at this site. opposite page: The Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi. 42 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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BEAUTIFUL AGITATORS Bringing civil rights heritage to life in the Mississippi Delta. BY ALEX GREENE

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” — M a rcel P roust, R E M E M B R A N C E

TH I N G S P A S T

uilt in 1903, the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, is a thing of beauty. Freshly renovated in recent years, it’s a prime example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style, marked by “the broad low arch over the main entrance, round arches on the upper windows, and the pyramidal-roofed towers,” as its listing on the National Register of Historic Places reads. The clock tower, polished wood interiors, and austere legal chambers would be gems in any architectural tour of the South. Indeed, it’s a regular destination for visitors drawn to the region in search of the “Most Southern Place on Earth.” That’s the title for an ongoing series of conferences run by The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the annual “Most Southern Place on Earth” conferences are workshops for schoolteachers, helping them develop creative ways to teach the humanities. Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center, says visits to the Tallahatchie County Courthouse “galvanize these educators.” But these conference-goers, who flock to the Delta from across the nation, aren’t just curious about architecture. They come by the busload to see where, in 1955, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant were tried for the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PABLO CORREA; INSET PHOTOGRAPH BY LANGDON CLAY

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above: Inside the Tallahatchie County Courthouse. right: The Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, Mississippi. below: Dr. Rolando Herts, executive director of The Delta Center for Culture & Learning.

That trial itself didn’t turn the Delta’s racial order upside down, of course. The all-white jury acquitted Milam and Bryant of the young African American’s murder in less than an hour. But the unprecedented media attention and the outrage over the verdict helped kickstart the modern Civil Rights Movement. And, as Herts sees it, the educators’ palpable sense of seeing — and feeling — where history reached a tipping point has been stirring.

“Who is American? Who is considered American now and who has been considered American in the past? Who has had the right to speak and present themselves as American? The Delta is a microcosm of that conversation.” — Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center Visiting Sumner, he says, “got them to see how powerful Emmett Till’s story is, in terms of being the spark that lit the fuse of the modern Civil Rights Movement. The Emmett Till case really was a lightning rod for so many people. Not just nationally but in the Mississippi Delta. And the NEH workshop, which started in 2009 or ’10, before I was here, spent a good deal of time discussing that. So you’re taking people to the places where history happened and then having conversations about it. It’s really immersing them.” 44 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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uch immersion represents a different sort of travel, a reexamination of the purpose of tourism: More than simply to take a pleasant break, one travels to seek new perspectives, to become a more conscious citizen. The term “civil rights tourism” has caught on as a convenient shorthand for this way of seeing the world, especially in the Mississippi Delta, where so much of the struggle for civil rights has played out. As Herts notes, this mix of travel and history is not confined to a few conference-goers. “We’re seeing an uptick in interest in civil rights heritage tourism, based on what happened in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the various police brutality situations,” he says. “We’ve always been responsive to that, but seeing that uptick makes it even more of a priority.” None have prioritized it more than The Delta Center for Culture and Learning. Established at Delta State in 2009 by Dr. Luther Brown, it has been a driving force in reimagining Mississippi tourism ever since, partly through collaboration with other like-minded entities. Beyond its work with the NEH, The Delta Center is home to the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA), linking it in common cause with 54 other National Heritage Areas throughout the country. With Herts as its executive director, the MDNHA has spearheaded several projects that bring history to life for travelers and local residents alike, and that’s recently earned it national recognition. Last July, the National Park Service (NPS) named the MDNHA to its African American Civil Rights Network, “a unique preservation program that brings together both tangible and intangible resources to tell a more complete narrative of the Civil Rights Movement in America,” according to NPS Deputy Director Shawn Benge. That’s partly due to MDNHA’s Civil Rights Heritage Archive, launched recently in collaboration with the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Park Campaign. Such efforts reveal the Center’s commitment to telling the larger stories of the Delta’s culture and heritage, beyond a few discrete markers or plaques. And, perhaps surprisingly to some, that’s very much in line with one of the most progressive, imaginative forces in historical tourism today, the National Park Service. “It kind of comes down to a conversation that the National Park Service is spearheading,” says Herts. “Who is American? Who is considered American now and who has been considered American in the past? Who has had the right to speak and present themselves as American? The Delta is a microcosm of that conversation. Who is a true Mississippi Deltan? Who is the voice of the authentic Mississippi Delta community? How do we define community?”

ational Heritage Areas are independent, but operate via partnerships between the National Park Service, states, and local communities, through which the NPS supports local and state efforts to preserve natural resources and promote tourism. Information on all National Heritage Areas — including the MDNHA, the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, and the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area — is listed on the NPS website, and all three offer NPS passport stamps for travelers. All told, these areas are forging a new and lively vision of what tourism can PHOTOGRAPHS BY LANGDON CLAY

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be. And the Mississippi Delta is at the heart of that movement. “This April, during National Park Week, we’re planning to host the Alliance of National Heritage Areas Spring Meeting, which will bring most if not all of the heritage areas from all over the country here for a week,” says Herts. “We’re engaging multiple audiences, certainly. It’s not just the students at Delta State or at other universities and colleges here in the Delta. There are various constituencies. It’s multi-layered. It’s rich.” Indeed, between the MDNHA and other projects initiated by The Delta Center, broad swaths of Mississippi history and culture are being recognized, to the benefit of visitors and locals alike. Naturally, the blues figure heavily in local history (see “Return to the Roots,” in our February 2021 issue), and the Center both administers the International

A Mississippi Freedom Trail marker in Mound Bayou.

The remarkable life of a fearless Mississippi human rights activist

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Delta Blues Project and hosts a permanent exhibit honoring regional musicians. “The exhibit is called ‘A Cast of Blues,’” says Herts. “It is not owned by The Delta Center, but it was given to Delta State by artist Sharon McConnell and placed by The Delta Center because of the blues heritage development work that we do. And it was by virtue of my predecessor, Dr. Luther Brown, that the exhibit came here. It features casts of the faces of blues men and women who have some connection to the Delta, either through the music or they were born here or they lived here. They’re life casts of their faces, and these are the originals; there are copies of them at Chess Records in Chicago. And in our ‘Spirit of the Blues’ project, a number of African-American musicians and speakers got a chance to express themselves. That is something that has not really been done in that fashion, with regard to the blues tourism realm and its creation of blues spaces. The traditional approach has been more extractive.” The musical heritage of the Delta, in turn, draws visitors into related topics. “There are a number of blues tourists that come and then PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MDMNA

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discover other histories here,” says Herts. “They say, ‘Oh my god, I didn’t know about this other aspect. I came here for the blues and now I’m getting something else.’ So they also learn about the Delta Chinese, the Delta Lebanese, the Delta Italians — all these immigrant groups. The food, the pottery, the river, agriculture, expressions of faith. Various things that have shaped life, history, and present-day conditions in the Delta.” Nonetheless, the civil rights heritage work done by MDNHA and The Delta Center is a special point of pride, so much so that Herts recently published an article in the Mississippi Free Press titled “‘Get on Board, Little Children’: Civil Rights Heritage Is Mississippi’s Next Tourism Movement.” The examples of their work in this area are too numerous to list fully. In some cases, The Delta Center has worked with the Mississippi Freedom Trail, placing a series of informational plaques

The Unita Blackwell Freedom Trail marker in Mayersville, Mississippi.

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throughout the state that note significant civil rights sites. Similar collaborations have also impacted more local projects. “We funded the civil rights walk in Greenwood several years ago,” Herts notes, by way of example. “And Clarksdale has recently done an African-American heritage guide, focused on civil rights. We didn’t fund that project, but we have supported some things that are in there. Here at Delta State, last October, there was a screening of a civil rights documentary, Voices From the Sit-In, based on oral histories from Delta State graduates who participated in the sit-ins in 1969 here. It’s a little-known story. The film’s premiere event was extremely well attended here at the Bologna Performing Arts Center.” Such events are not limited to well-traveled burgs like Greenwood, Clarksdale, or Cleveland. Take the little town of Shaw, just down Highway 61 from Delta State, with less than 2,000 people. In 1970, Andrew and Mary Lou Hawkins, along with 20 other Black residents, brought a class-action suit against the town’s municipal government for skewing services like sewage lines and paved roads to white-only neighborhoods, winning the case PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MDMNA

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A reading of the play Beautiful Agitators at the Grammy Museum Mississippi.

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“The Delta Jewels are church mothers from the Mississippi Delta featured in Alysia Burton Steele’s book, Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom [Center Street Books]. She interviewed and photographed over 50 church mothers here in the Mississippi Delta.” — Dr. Rolando Herts

on appeal the next year. Thirty-eight years later, the Delta Center-sponsored Shaw Civil Rights Project commemorated the activism with a play, Wade Th rough the Waters, staged at the local elementary school. In 2020, the town received the Preserver of Mississippi Culture award from the Mississippi Humanities Council for their efforts. Closer to home, The Delta Center organized a reading of the play Beautiful Agitators, about Clarksdale beauty shop owner and civil rights activist Vera Mae Pigee, at the Grammy Museum in Cleveland, then brought in visiting NEH educators to attend along with community members. “So the event blended those groups together,” says Herts. “You had teachers from all over the country coming in and interacting with locals. And we had a conversation after the reading about the current state of voting rights in the Delta and nationwide. It was a real-time conversation, creating a safe space for our residents and for our teachers, to ask questions, express their frustrations with the current state of things, drawing the connecPHOTOGRAPH COURTESY MDMNA

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Delta Jewels Annyce P. Campbell with daughters and A.B. Steele at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. tions between what they’re experiencing now and what happened in the past. And seeing if progress has been made. So creating spaces for those kinds of conversation to happen: That is what a university is about, and certainly what a National Heritage Area is about.”

ndeed, for Herts, connecting events of the past with current issues and struggles is very much the point of such heritage tourism. His great hope is that it will empower local communities. And since he left his native Arkansas for higher education, that’s been his passion. After writing his doctoral dissertation in part about the MDNHA, he returned to the Delta with a Ph.D. in planning and public policy, determined to put his knowledge to work closer to home, building regional development through greater community engagement. But Herts’ focus on bringing it all back home is more than geographical. The goal of such tourism, in his eyes, is relating past struggles with current-day dilemmas. Celebrating local unsung heroes is one way to do that. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY SMITHSONIAN

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Presents

Awards Breakfast Presented by eBiz Solutions and ProTech

Tuesday, March 1, at 7:30 a.m. At Memphis Botanic Garden, Hardin Hall 750 Cherry Road, Memphis, TN 38117

Join Inside Memphis Business as we celebrate the annual CEO of the Year award winners. Memphis is home to executives and leaders who possess tremendous talent, constantly striving to better their companies, organizations, and communities to become the best they can be. Our winners in 2022 are setting the standards for success in fields as diverse as hospitality, sanitation, economics, and nonprofits.

Join us Tuesday, March 1, 2022 as we honor:

Kevin Dean of Momentum Nonproﬁt Partners

Beverly Robertson of the Greater Memphis Chamber

Lauren McHugh Robinson of Huey’s

W. Troy Watson Patrick Lawler of ServiceMaster of Youth Villages Facilities Maintenance The presenting sponsors of CEO of the Year are eBiz Solutions and ProTech. Tickets are available for purchase for $25 per person and include breakfast. Tables of 10 are available for $200, a savings of 20 percent. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. and the program will begin promptly at 8 a.m.

Purchase your tickets today at bit.ly/ceo2022

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“One of my first projects when I came in was the Delta Jewels Oral Partnership. The Delta Jewels are church mothers from the Mississippi Delta featured in Alysia Burton Steele’s book, Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom [Center Street Books]. She interviewed and photographed over 50 church mothers here in the Mississippi Delta. These women lived through sharecropping, the Civil Rights Movement, the Jim Crow era, all of that stuff. And they’ve survived to tell about it. They’ve had children, educated their children, and gone on to get their own education in some cases. These are very inspiring stories. Myrlie Evers, Medgar Evers’ widow, is one of the church mothers.”

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“The exhibit is called ‘A Cast of Blues.’ It is not owned by The Delta Center, but it was given to Delta State by artist Sharon McConnell and placed by The Delta Center because of the blues heritage development work that we do. It features casts of the faces of blues men and women who have some connection to the Delta, either through the music or they were born here or they lived here.” — Dr. Rolando Herts

A Swedish tour group at the ”Cast of Blues“ exhibit with the DSU Fighting Okra cutout. What followed was a series of gatherings across the state, celebrating these Delta Jewels. During Women’s History Month in 2016, The Delta Center went so far as to take one of the Jewels, 92-year-old Annyce P. Campbell of Mound Bayou, to Washington, D.C., with two of her daughters, for a tour of the White House and a ceremony at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. “So that was a way that we created an interpretive program that filled a need for a community,” Herts says. “It’s empowered voices to be heard or shared — voices that may not have been heard or shared otherwise. Stories PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY DELTA CENTER

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of survival, of tenacity, of dignity, coming from an African-American population that’s not steeped in stereotypes. These are church mothers, women who are highly respected in their communities. If you think about the Civil Rights Movement, it was very much dominated by male figures. So here are women who lived through that era, and, in their own way, participated in the movement by little things they did that still mattered.” Most importantly, perhaps, was the event staged in Mound Bayou itself that included 30 of the Delta Jewels, very much in their element at a local church, celebrated by over 300 people. “It was a very powerful event,” says Herts, “and we ended up winning a National

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Parks Service Centennial Award for this, for engaging the next generation of parkgoers: young people, the elderly, people from all races and backgrounds. So that was another seed that was planted, regarding civil rights heritage development. “And now, here we are in 2022, in the aftermath of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, and all that. We’re seeing now that people don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. People want to come to places like the Delta as a touchstone, making the connections between the past and the present. We have to be very thoughtful about the civil rights heritage work that we’re doing, ensuring that it’s not only accurate, but speaks to this younger generation that’s coming up. They’re really asking the ‘So what?’ questions. “When I was coming up in school,” he concludes, “you had to read certain things because the teacher told you so. Now that’s just not good enough. The question is, ‘How does this apply to my life now? How can I use this? Because if I can’t use it, I’m not going to.’”

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Biz901

2022

ILLUSTRATION BY NUTHAWUT SOMSUK / DREAMSTIME

or a decade, INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS has celebrated CEOs of the Year, recognizing visionaries and executives who go above and beyond to elevate both their companies and their community. Historically, we have selected four winners based on company size, and honored them at a sponsored awards breakfast where each CEO would speak.

Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced a rethink. With a live event out of the question, it afforded us an opportunity to revise our format and try something new. And at the time, there was no better choice than to honor all the major Memphis-area hospital CEOs for their sterling work combating the largest public health crisis in years. While last year’s virtual panel was a resounding success, we are pleased to announce that we are able to once again host our annual awards breakfast at the Memphis Botanic Garden on March 1st. But view it as a fresh start instead of a return to the old format. Throughout our nomination and selection process, we received plenty of outstanding candidates and top quality executives who didn’t neatly fit into our former categorization by employee count. Instead, we took the opportunity to reconsider our process again. This year, we are featuring five total CEOs who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and overcome the serious challenges facing their diverse industries. Kevin Dean at Momentum Nonprofit Partners stepped up as an industry focal point when nonprofits needed someone to turn to. Beverly Robertson at the Greater Memphis Chamber continues her effortless campaign to create economic prosperity for everyone in Memphis. Lauren McHugh Robinson at Huey’s adapted early and made sure that every single one of her employees had a job throughout the pandemic. Troy Watson at ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance took on more jobs than ever before, making sure that his clients could return to a clean and sanitized workspace without fear of illness. And Patrick Lawler at Youth Villages made sure his team of 3,000+ helped a record number of kids during tough times. All of our 2022 CEO of the Year winners have done an exceptional job, and we hope to see you at 7:30 a.m. on March 1st to hear from them and to celebrate all they’ve done for Memphis. Those interested can buy tickets at bit.ly/ceo2022. In the meantime, enjoy our winners’ stories in the profiles featured on the following pages. After all, their success is Memphis’ success.

CEO s OF THE YEAR

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/ CEOS OF THE YEAR

Beverly Robertson CEO, Greater Memphis Chamber BY TOBY SELLS

he relentless pursuit of prosperity for all.” It’s a heroic statement for a heroic endeavor. But that is exactly how Beverly Robertson, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, defines the work of her group. When she first helmed the Chamber three years ago, she asked the agency’s 35 employees for their definitions of the group’s work and jokes that she got 35 different answers. After those interviews, she polished that definition into something simple and easy to remember, noting that brief statement is “the anchor for everything we do.” Memphis native Robertson and her husband, Howard, created TrusT Marketing, but she took a hiatus from her company in 1997 to lead the National Civil Rights Museum, a position she held until 2014. There, she led a $43 million fundraising effort to pay for massive renovations at the museum, making it an internationally known destination. Chamber members tapped Robertson to lead the organization in October 2018. The move came after the shooting death of then-Chamber CEO Phil Trenary in September of that year. She took the reins in January 2019. “In addition to her extensive experience at the helm of an internationally recognized nonprofit organization, Beverly’s leadership

long-term without engaging the voices of the community.” Maybe the most visible example of this engagement is the Chamber’s “From Protest to Progress” plan, launched in February 2021. The first seed of the plan was planted at a community meeting in summer 2020, ten days after Memphis’ first protest of the public killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Government, clergy, activists, and business leaders convened for what was described then as a “powerful listening session” that had “never been done before.” The plan is ongoing and pledges to “align activists’ concerns with business goals to create a more economically inclusive Memphis.” The effort isn’t window dressing. Companies are looking for cities with diverse marketplaces and with a diverse workforce, Robertson says. “We have got to understand that some of the assets that we’ve never sold before, we’ve got to put them front and center now because those are the attractors of these new business opportunities.” experience in both corporate America and Those opportunities lie in a marketplace small business make her a perfect fit for the orwith “fierce competition out there,” she says, ganization,” Richard W. Smith, regional presand Memphis has to get more competitive. ident of the Americas at FedEx Express and But, as the old business adage goes, “if you then-Chamber chairman, said at the time. “She can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” That’s understands the needs of our membership and where a new Chamber program steps in. our community and we believe she is the right Launched in September 2021, the Center for person at the right time to continEconomic Competitiveness meaue the work that we’ve started. “Our city has sures the city’s economic perforOur city has tremendous momen- tremendous mance against peer cities (like tum and I expect under Beverly’s Nashville, New Orleans, and St. momentum and I watch, the Chamber will continLouis) on 40 indicators. ue to be a strong voice of positive expect under Beverly’s “This is Memphis vs. Errrychange in our community.” body,” says Ted Townsend, the watch, the Chamber While only one of her years Chamber’s chief economic deleading the Chamber has been will continue to be velopment officer. “At the end free of the pandemic, Covid has a strong voice of of the day, we want to be able not slowed Robertson’s work to- positive change in our to say ‘scoreboard’ to our comward that aim of “prosperity for petitors. To do that, we have to all.” That work has included, of community.” keep score.” course, helping to land Ford Mo- — Richard W. Smith As CEOs go, Robertson is in a tor Co.’s $5.6 billion truck manutruly unique position. She leads facturing facility in West Tennessee. But for her group, of course, and does what’s right Robertson, it’s not just about the big fish. It’s for the Chamber’s members. Those members, prosperity for all, not some. And inclusivity though, are all leaders, too, all of them brimwas one of her first jobs for the Chamber. ming with passion and ideas. “The Chamber typically operated as a two“It is extremely challenging because — for legged stool, and those legs involved business as many members as we have — I feel like all and government,” Robertson says. “But if we of those are my bosses,” Robertson says. “I are to drive sustainable change in Memphis, have to listen respectfully. I have to allow their Tennessee, we need to have a three-legged voices to be heard. I have to look at the data. stool and that other leg is the community. Then, I have to make a decision that I believe There are few things that will be sustainable is in the best interest of business.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY GREATER MEMPHIS CHAMBER

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Kevin Dean

CEO, Momentum Nonprofit Partners BY J O N W. S PA R K S

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on Baptist Memorial Hospital campuses.

hen K ev in Dea n graduated from the University of Memphis 19 years ago, he started working at the nonprofit Volunteer Memphis. He would later serve as director of development at Hope House and then was executive director of Literacy Mid-South, both nonprofits.

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/ CEOS OF THE YEAR

And then he decided he wanted to work nonprofits more meaningful as organizations for all the nonprofit organizations. He took a and as members of the community. “We’re tryjob as interim head of the Alliance for Noning to get them involved, help them professionprofit Excellence, an organization that was a ally develop their staff, develop themselves, resource to the region’s nonprofits. build up the plans that they need, but also “The plan was that I would create a strateconvening people and giving the nonprofit gic plan in a partnership with the board and sector a voice and a place at the table,” he says. go back to my consulting practice,” he says. “I The test came two years ago when Covid-19 came in and saw so much potential that I deshowed up. “When the pandemic happened, cided to stay.” everyone started looking to us just by deAnd with a willing board, he shook things fault for information about what to do,” he up. The organization changed its name to Mosays. “I was literally fielding about a hundred mentum Nonprofit Partners, moved its officemails an hour.” es, increased the number of its employees, and Dean says Momentum didn’t have the andoubled its annual budget. swers but knew how to find and share them. It took some persuasion on Dean’s part, but It started a virtual Covid-19 information seshe is nothing if not persistent. sion to provide data and discuss what others “It’s a structure problem for nonprofit assowere doing around the country. It did a needs ciations all over the country,” he says. “Tradiassessment that was sent to the funders and tionally they had rested on this consultancy brought them together around collaboramodel that wasn’t really sustainable and also tive funding. wasn’t necessarily what nonprofits needed.” What emerged was the Mid-South Covid-19 He was determined that Momentum be Regional Response Fund, with grants adminthe nonprofit resource center that would give istered by the Community Foundation of nonprofits what they needed to Greater Memphis in partnership thrive, and the effort needed to “When the pandemic with the City of Memphis, Shelby be funded by the foundations, happened, everyone County Government, United Way which, he says, were not as acof the Mid-South, and Momentive in funding as they should started looking to tum Nonprofit Partners/Midhave been. us just by default for South Philanthropy Network. “My argument to the foundaThe needs were many. Noninformation about tions was that we’d make their profits often do in-person serinvestment better,” Dean says. what to do.” vices, so distributing masks “We’d make funding stronger, — Kevin Dean and other PPE gear became imand we could do it for a fraction portant. Small nonprofits were of the cost than some national consultant. We having trouble getting PPP loans, so Dean would bring everyone together and create a wanted to make things happen. “I don’t stronger nonprofit sector, which would only have a fi nance background,” he says, “but benefit everybody involved.” I knew I could send this information on. I The pitch worked. “We’re now able to be rewas connecting them to banks that I knew sponsive and pivot very quickly to the needs would respond.” of the nonprofit instead of building out proMuch of the effort was making sure the grams that we can then charge for to keep smaller nonprofits didn’t get lost in the flurourselves open,” he says. “I’m much more inry of activities and efforts. And Dean feels it’s terested in helping nonprofits succeed than been a success. “It’s been a horrible two years,” I am creating new streams of revenue based he says, “but this is when we as an organizaon things that aren’t being asked for. We have tion really figured ourselves out and who we the benefit in Memphis of having funders that absolutely needed to be.” understand how important this organization And as if dealing with pandemic chaos is, and we have this great opportunity to serve wasn’t enough, Dean decided he also wantas the model.” ed to get a doctorate. So, he did. He earned it Dean wanted to make it easier for nonprofin Organizational Leadership and Learning its — which are often tight on funds — to join from Vanderbilt University in 2021. “I love Momentum. So, he made membership free. learning about things. I love studying lead“We also do a free capacity assessment — a ership,” he says. He admits the timing was list of recommendations to make the nonprofa little bad, but he made the most of it. “It its stronger. Whether that’s better board govserved me really well during the pandemic ernance or better legal compliance or better when I was learning. A lot of the research fundraising, it’ll tell them exactly what they I was able to do for a lot of this work was need. Then we can build a plan around that, around nonprofits. I got to do deeper dives whether through us or somebody else.” into stuff that I thought I already knew, but I In a larger sense, Dean is striving to make got to really look at a lot of research.”

W. Troy Watson President & CEO,

ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

roy Watson has always been a go-getter. That rang true when he played football as a wide receiver, it rang true when he first got into the sanitation business with a few friends, and it’s especially applicable now in his role as president and CEO of ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance, the largest Black-owned business in Memphis. And while the Covid-19 pandemic has thrust businesses like his onto the main stage over the past couple of years, Watson has always had a knack for keeping workspaces clean and safe for employees all over Memphis and beyond.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY TROY WATSON

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Watson founded ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance in 2005 alongside partners André Coleman, Laurence Plummer Sr., and the late Vincent B. Lee. The group brought decades of sanitation experience to the business, and quickly went about building the company up to become one of the largest players in town. “We’ve just been blessed to be able to get into a good situation,” says Watson, “and to have people that believe in us. That’s what really helps you grow at first.” The business operates as a franchise of ServiceMaster — it bears the corporate name but is run autonomously — and provides specialty janitorial cleaning, commercial project cleaning, and facilities management. Only a limited number of available licenses are available per region, and they can only be obtained if someone decides to sell or retire. Watson was able to secure one from another business owner who planned to retire. But he sees a key difference in the way their business operates as opposed to other franchises. “A lot of people in this position will wait for people to come to them,” he explains. “We don’t operate that way. We started out immediately going into the mainstream, passing out cards, telling our story, making sure our name was out there and we could organically grow relationships.” That approach has paid dividends for Watson and company, who have grown ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance into an entity that oversees hundreds of employees and has a presence in 14 states. “Typically we could run anywhere from 700 to 1,000 employees overall,” he says. “It depends on seasonal work, but on average I’d say we usually have around 600 local employees.” And keeping that labor force intact has been one of the most important tasks for Watson over the past couple of years. The onset of Covid-19, along with newer strains like Omicron, meant that there would be an increased demand for cleaning and sanitation. ServiceMaster Facilities Maintenance scaled up its business to meet increased demand from big clients like FedEx, International Paper, and local schools, while simultaneously taking on new clients. “We got into a lot more sanitizing and disinfecting with our current customers because they’ve had buildings shut down,” he says. “But there were still a lot of employees who had to go into an office, which meant that we kept working as well.” Empty office buildings meant there were more opportunities to perform deep-cleaning procedures, something Watson says companies usually only commission on a monthly

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/ CEOS OF THE YEAR

ILLUSTRATION BY JOZEF MICIC / DREAMSTIME

or even quarterly basis. And in a time where it’s becoming tough to find available workers, Watson has deftly balanced all the demands he faces. “We don’t want to let down anybody that we have a contract with,” he says. “We need to make sure we don’t stretch ourselves too thin, and there’s also the possibility that people can get sick and we wouldn’t have enough workers. But it’s important to remember we’re all working towards the same goal. It’s important to have compassion and empathy during these tough times.” So far, that hasn’t been much of an issue. Watson says that most of his employees have been able to remain healthy, despite working in a higher-risk environment. The ServiceMaster parent company keeps all of its franchisees up to date on the latest CDC regulations and guidelines, and Watson and his team in turn make sure that their employees know all of the proper health and safety protocols. And as long as Covid “It’s important to is around, there will always be an remember we’re all increased demand working towards fo r bu si ne s s e s the same goal. It’s like Watson’s. “As long as this important to have thing continues to compassion and mutate and grow, empathy during these we’ll have to be in the business of retough times.” cruiting, training, — W. Troy Watson and making sure we stay on top of what’s going on,” he says. “Because we can’t afford to get sick. A lot of my employees are on the front lines of this too and are ready to combat it on a daily basis. So we do as much as we can to keep our people healthy, and I hope others understand what we go through to keep them safe, keep them healthy. Because at the end of the day, our number-one goal isn’t money, it’s value. We really value what we do, and we know our customers count on us for that.”

Lauren McHugh Robinson President & CEO, Huey’s BY SAMUEL X. CICCI

aving marked 50 years in operation in 2020, Huey’s, the über-popular group of restaurants, has woven itself into the fabric of Memphis’ landscape, and for locals is as second-nature as big cultural staples like Elvis and barbecue. And if you ask, everyone has a favorite Huey burger. Even president and CEO Lauren McHugh Robinson. “I’d have to say my favorite item is the Smokey Melt Burger,” she laughs. But that easy familiarity is a key component of the restaurant’s appeal, for both diners and workers alike. Robinson, for her part, knows Huey’s better than almost anyone, having learned the ropes in both kitchen and serving roles before moving up to executive positions. And one ethos that she’s learned from her experience is that at Huey’s, everyone is part of the family. That kind of thinking, according to Robinson, has helped make Huey’s such a big part of the city’s identity. “I think any person, of any age or demographic, feels comfortable at Hueys,” says Robinson. “We have something to offer everyone no matter what kind of food they like or what background they’re from. It goes back to our culture, and something my dad [Huey’s co-founder Thomas Boggs] always said: Give back to the community. Don’t take the customers for granted, and if you really care about the community you’re in, then the

community will want to reciprocate and be in your restaurants.” The Huey’s community is quite large now, comprising nine current locations in Memphis and Mississippi. And while running a restaurant is hard enough in the best of times, the Covid-19 pandemic provided a whole new set of challenges. But even when the chips were down, Robinson didn’t forget about the family, the employees, that she was responsible for. “We had to make some financial decisions very early on, when we realized that this would be the way of life for the foreseeable future,” says Robinson. “We started thinking about what layoffs might look like, and it literally gave me an upset stomach.” The restaurant had been fiscally conservative under Robinson’s stewardship, and savings had been set aside for a new Olive Branch location. Instead, Huey’s put that on hold and leadership decided that money would be used to continue paying employees. “People depend on us for these jobs, and they have families,” says Robinson. “So we decided to ride this out. Luckily, our take-out business did really well and we were able to break even while doing this.” To date, Huey’s has made exactly zero layoffs since the pandemic began. That, frankly, is a staggering statistic, especially in an industry that has seen so much business simply vanish. Robinson’s commitment to creating a family culture isn’t just lip service. A quick scan of the Huey’s website reveals articles and news bulletins featuring employees marking ten, 20, or sometimes even 30 years with the compa-

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY HUEY'S

Biz901

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ny. That doesn’t just happen on its own and is something worth celebrating in an industry with high turnover. “They’re the backbone of everything we do,” says Robinson. “We always want to celebrate their tenures with us, and my sister [marketing coordinator Samantha Dean] always tries to make everyone feel special on an anniversary.” The institution’s continued prosperity owes itself to some quick thinking by Huey’s leadership. While many places were slow to embrace change, Robinson acted fast to make sure she and her employees were as prepared as they could be for a roller coaster couple of years. A group of seven, which she calls her Covid team, has continued to pull long sessions at nights and on weekends to keep up with the latest pandemic developments. For Robinson, making quick and informed decisions was a better option than staying reactive. “Early on, we looked at how we could streamline things like takeout,” she says. “We looked at places like Chick-fil-A and other businesses that had effective strategies. We knew if we moved quickly, we’d be able to better handle this.” All the planning has paid off, with the restaurant actually seeing improved sales over even pre-pandemic conditions. Robinson says that their numbers, in a remarkable turnaround, were up about 19 percent over 2019. That’s most“We’re staying ly thanks to all informed and up the work put in to creating a better to speed about takeout and deeverything that’s livery experience. “Those numbers going on, and I are taking into know the team can account that we face anything that haven’t opened up all our tables at comes our way.” our restaurants,” — Lauren McHugh Robinson she says. “We’re pleased to see that our takeout business is much stronger than it was pre-Covid, and continues to be. Before, it was about 15 percent, but now it’s closer to 30.” Adaptability has kept the Huey’s family strong, with the restaurants overseeing almost 300 full-time employees, and a little over 500 in total. Robinson still plans to open an Olive Branch location, but that’s been tentatively pushed back to October of this year. Many challenges likely lie ahead, but Robinson is optimistic. “It’s so fluid right now,” she says, “but we’re staying informed and up to speed about everything that’s going on, and I know the team can face anything that comes our way.”

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/ CEOS OF THE YEAR

Patrick Lawler CEO, Youth Villages

BY ABIGAIL MORICI

he role of a CEO, says Patrick Lawler of Youth Villages, is to prepare your organization for the future: “That’s my favorite quote about being a CEO. That’s my role — to provide direction for the organization, to make sure that we have the contingencies in place to measure the performance of our staff and our models, that we have the necessary resources and people in place to meet our goals.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY YOUTH VILLAGES

Preparing for the future is always an uncertain endeavor, and when a pandemic strikes, even more variables are thrown into the equation. But under the leadership of Lawler, Youth Villages navigated the unknown by relying on its ability to improve and adapt to the growing needs of the community. Founded in 1986, Youth Villages works with children and youth who have serious emotional, mental, and behavioral problems, through community-based interventions and residential treatment programs. “When we started, we had nine employees and a budget of

$150,000,” Lawler says. Now, the organization serves 32,000 youths in 94 locations in 23 states. “Last year, we had tremendous growth during the pandemic. We’ve grown about 25 percent.” That growth was mostly in their community-based programs, like Intercept, an intensive in-home parenting intervention, where a specialist works with the caregiver and the child to address issues impacting the stability of the family and potential success of the child. “When it came to the pandemic, we were fortunate because a few years before the pandemic we basically moved to all of our field staff having a mobile device — a laptop computer. We had all the remote systems already in place for when people couldn’t come into the office,” Lawler says. “You can talk to a family every day through a computer screen, which I know is not the best way to communicate, but when you went out to visit a family, you’d only go three times a week, but now you can communicate every day. “A lot of community-based programs didn’t accept children, especially during the early months of the pandemic,” Lawler continues, “and we accepted even more children than we had before. Our staff weren’t traveling as much and could use that time to work with

more children.” As Covid-related restrictions have loosened, Youth Villages has continued to do some of their work remotely to be able to serve more young people. “We actually found our outcomes have improved since Covid.” As for Youth Villages’ residential work, Lawler says that, too, has persisted even in the midst of a pandemic. “We had just opened Bill’s Place [a residential campus in Bartlett] a few months before the pandemic,” he says. “And so we had a lot of extra space and a lot of empty rooms and empty areas for young people, so we were able to continue to accept young people when many residential facilities not only quit taking in young people, some of them closed altogether.” About a year into the pandemic, Youth Villages also opened the Bower Activity Center, which raised morale for the children who couldn’t leave the campus due to Covid restrictions. The center includes a culinary classroom, “We try to learn from dance and yoga the young people that studio, boulderwall, workout did well what we did ing room, drum therright, and the young apy room, theater people who did not do room, art room, covered outdoor well, what we missed, basketba l l and picnic pavilions, a what other services salon, counseling should that young rooms, and denperson have been tal and optometry treatment rooms. provided.” Because of all — Patrick Lawler this growth, the nonprofit garnered $343 million in revenue last year, which led to raises for frontline staff and an increase in starting salaries. “We know the value and the importance of our frontline staff, and so we put most of that money in our frontline staff salaries,” Lawler says. “We think about our staff as much as we think about the young people.” To Lawler, much of Youth Villages’ success is owed to the dedication of the 2,000 community workers and 1,300 residential workers. As such, in 2020 when Lawler received the national Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, considered the Nobel Prize for service, he says, “I received

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03 2018

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Biz901

/ CEOS OF THE YEAR

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that award because of what our staff do.” “We are constantly focusing on improvement,” Lawler adds. “We are constantly collecting data, analyzing it, and trying to learn from it. We try to learn from the young people that did well what we did right, and the young people who did not do well, what we missed, what other services should that young person have been provided. We really are very passionate about making sure that we are measuring the right information and making the necessary changes throughout the way.” In fact, in the beginning years of Youth Villages, research concluded that the organization had a 50 percent success rate, so by

There are many ways to help kids who stutter...

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1994, they shifted perspective to the belief that if a child is best raised by their family and the community, that family and community also need intervention to ensure a child’s success — success being defined as whether, after a year out of the program, the child is still stable with their family and in their community and is in school or working. “Young people are a reflection of the people they’re living with,” Lawler says. “When we started with families, we started seeing our outcomes improve drastically.” Today, the organization boasts an 88 percent success rate. Going forward, Lawler hopes that Youth Villages can expand its community-based services to work more with higher-risk young people and young adults involved in the juvenile justice system. He also hopes to direct some of that energy toward the growing epidemic of gun violence in Memphis. “My commitment to this work is no different than when I started 42 years ago,” Lawler says.

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CONGRATULATIONS TO LAUREN McHUGH ROBINSON

FOR BEING NAMED INSIDE MEMPHIS BUSINESS’

CEO OF THE YEAR Your optimism, integrity, guidance and determination have inspired us to persevere despite the many obstacles we have faced during the pandemic. We are so proud to have you as our leader!

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VA N C E

J.C. Harbin

Our history expert solves local mysteries: who, what, when, where, why, and why not. Well, sometimes. BY VANCE L AUDERDALE

DEAR VANCE: What happened to Harbin’s Swimming Pool, a popular attraction in Whitehaven in the 1940s?

— S.R., MEMPHIS.

DEAR S.R.: I think it’s interesting that you mainly remem-

ber the swimming pool, because that was just a small part of the sprawling establishment that J.C. Harbin operated at the corner of Raines and Highway 51 South for most of his life. First of all, I have to confess that if Harbin had a first and middle name, I never learned them. He made the news a lot, as you’re about to find out, and yet every single article — even his obituary — referred to him only by his initials. I haven’t visited his actual gravesite — it’s on my “to-do” list — but I bet it says J.C. as well. It doesn’t matter, really, because everyone in Whitehaven (and most of Memphis, too) knew J.C. Harbin. Born in 1895 outside the tiny community of Days, Mississippi (now just a crossing in DeSoto County), Harbin made his way to Memphis in the early 1900s. I presume his parents brought him along with them when they moved here for some reason, but don’t know where they lived or where he went to school. He first made the news here in 1919, when The Commercial Appeal reported that he paid $10 to purchase three acres of land on Raines Road. He opened a small dairy farm there, and started to supply milk to local cafes and restaurants. According to newspaper ads, J.C. Harbin’s Dairy offered both pasteurized and clarified milk that, he claimed, was “Safest To Use.” His customers apparently thought so, because his business boomed, and within a few years he had expanded his property to 48 acres, and

began to open it up for all sorts of recreational purposes. In 1925, Harbin’s Place (as it was then called) became the scene of the annual Newsboys Picnic, “where 100 lusty-lunged purveyors of the world’s current events held sway for the entire day,” enjoying games, races, and “country-style chicken.” These were the kids who stood on the street corners yelling, “Read all about it — get your paper here!” Surely you’ve seen them in movies. In 1926, the winner of many of the races that year was somebody well-known to Memphians of a certain age: “Twenty prizes were distributed to the victors of the various contests, with Tony Cassata, otherwise known as ‘Monk,’ having the distinction of carrying off the rewards of the day.” Lots of readers remember Monk — I’ve written about him before — but it came as a surprise that he had already earned that distinctive nickname when he was a boy. The following year, Harbin added the attraction you remember, S.R. — what the newspapers described as “the gigantic swimming pool.” Soon to follow was a barbecue restaurant and a row of handsome tourist cottages, which Harbin is proudly showing off on the old postcard you see here. Not only did they offer travelers “fine food, Beautyrest mattresses, swimming pool, baths, and steam & gas heat,” I noticed each building contained a built-in garage — a rather nice touch, if you ask me. Harbin’s wife, Emma, helped run the place, but I wonder how many visitors realized that the woman behind the barbecue counter was a rather famous aviatrix known as the “Dixie Eagle”? Newspaper clippings from the early 1930s reveal that Emma Harbin was one of the first women in the country to attend flying school and earn a commercial pilot’s license. “She soon became one of the best-known women stunt fliers in the South,” reported the CA, “with her repertoire of single, double, and triple spins, balloon bursting, ribbon cutting, and dizzy aeronautical feats.” What’s more, “she received widespread publicity when she took up deaf people

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY VANCE LAUDERDALE

AS K

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who believed flying would aid their hearing.” But what’s this about balloon bursting? Well, to showcase her aeronautical skills, in 1931 she took part in a show at the old Memphis Municipal Airport, where people released three small balloons, and “each flier would then dive at them and burst all three with their propellers within two minutes.” The winner would receive a “new flying helmet and a season pass to Harbin’s Pool.” Not much of a prize, if you ask me, if Emma Harbin was the winner. She became so well-known that she contributed a regular aviation column to The Commercial Appeal, talking about upcoming events and advances in airplane design. She also competed in other, rather bizarre stunts around town — many of them designed to promote her own establishment, I suppose. For example, in 1928, she competed in a contest “in an attempt to break the world’s record of 50 hours for tank swimming.” This sounds dreadful to me. The rules stipulated that “the contestant must remain in six feet or more of water all the time, and is not permitted to touch the sides of the pool. The swimmer can take nourishment at any time,” but nobody mentions how anyone was supposed to go to the bathroom — while treading water for more than two days! Look, I know you want to know if she broke that world’s record, but I could turn up no other mention of this peculiar event. This was very frustrating, because I’d like to find out more about the “Dixie Eagle,” but I ran into the all-too-common sexism of the day: Even the newspapers she worked for began to refer to her as “Mrs. J.C. Harbin,” which drives historians crazy, because searches for her name mainly turn up stories about her husband. For that matter, despite all her

Newspaper clippings from the early 1930s reveal that Emma Harbin was one of the first women in the country to attend flying school and earn a commercial pilot’s license. “She soon became one of the best-known women stunt fliers in the South,” reported the CA, “with her repertoire of single, double, and triple spins, balloon bursting, ribbon cutting, and dizzy aeronautical feats.” own accomplishments, the only photo I found was a grainy image on microfilm, too small and fuzzy to share with you here. So, let’s get back to Harbin’s Place, where the “Dixie Eagle” apparently lost interest in serving barbecue lunches to newsboys, left her husband and Memphis behind, and eventually remarried. J.C. continued to run his establishment, which became the scene of all sorts of unusual events that you wouldn’t normally associate with a dairy. That was his main business, you may remember. One year, Harbin hosted the Tri-State Championship Motorcycle Races. According to news accounts, this event pitted “outstanding riders from throughout the territory,” and a special highlight was the appearance of “two Indian motorcycles to be entered by the Memphis Motorcycle Company.” Indian

was a big-name American brand, you see, competing in those days with Harley-Davidson. Anybody driving down Highway 51 could turn onto Raines and find swimming, ice cream, barbecue, company picnics, tourist cottages, and motorcycle races. Even so, Hardin couldn’t compete with an entrepreneur by the name of Kemmons Wilson. When Holiday Inns opened here in the early 1950s, with their spacious, clean rooms and modern restaurants, travelers tended to drive past Harbin’s tiny cottages. Even the pool lost its allure when places closer to Memphis opened and expanded (and even added sand “beaches”) such as Clearpool and Rainbow Lake. Harbin decided to start over, with a bold new venture. In 1955, at age 60, he shut down everything except the barbecue joint, cleared the property, and opened a modern new shopping center called — what do you think? — Harbin Center. The half-million-dollar complex, located across the street from Whitehaven Plaza, quickly became a success, luring such tenants as a By-Ryt grocery, Gridiron restaurant, beauty salon, laundromat, and a dozen other businesses. Although this doesn’t seem very innovative today, a Memphis Press-Scimitar article praised the shopping center’s modern features, such as “ample off-street parking spaces in front of the stores, and a large f lood-lighted parking lot on the south side of the supermarket.” My goodness, that man stayed busy. Over his long lifetime he became president of the Tourist Cottage Operators of Tennessee, opened a trailer/RV park, served as an official with the Masons and Shriners (he was Master of the Whitehaven Lodge), took an active role in Whitehaven United Methodist Church, and was involved in many civic ventures in Whitehaven. He finally closed his barbecue restaurant, but kept active with his shopping center until his death in 1985, at the age of 90. The Commercial Appeal eulogized him as a “resort pioneer” but that doesn’t really convey the many accomplishments of J.C. Harbin, or his life with the famous “Dixie Eagle,” does it?

above: An old postcard shows Harbin’s Place as it looked in the 1930s. opposite: Harbin’s Dairy occupied a modern art-deco facility.

Got a question for Vance?

EMAIL: askvance@memphismagazine.com MAIL: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101 ONLINE: memphismagazine.com/ ask-vance

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SCENE DINING 2022

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Mulan Asian Bistro mulanbistro.net Mulan Asian Bistro has been rated No. 1 in Memphis for over 5 years and is the only Chinese restaurant serving authentic Szechuan Cuisine! Now serving you from three locations: Midtown, East Memphis, and Collierville/ Germantown area. Let us cater your family gathering, wedding or anniversary party. Pictured here, Charcoal Roasted Peking Duck. We deliver up to 10 miles! Located at 2149 Young Ave. in Memphis, 901.347.3965; 4698 Spottswood Ave. in Memphis, 901.609.8680 and 2059 Houston Levee in Collierville, 901.850.5288. Order online at www. mulanbistro.net!

SCENE DINING 2022

Molly’s La Casita 2006 Madison Ave • 901.726.1873 • mollyslacasita.com Molly’s La Casita is the oldest Mexican restaurant in Memphis. Molly’s has been voted one of the Best Mexican restaurants and Best Margarita for 39 years. The fun menu includes enchiladas, fajitas, burritos, vegetarian meals, sandwiches, shrimp tacos, grilled red snapper tacos and a pleasing children’s menu. Save room for dessert and be sure not to miss out on our World Famous Molly’s Margaritas! Open Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Happy hour is 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; and Margarita Monday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Rendezvous

52 South Second Street • 901.523.2746 • 888.HOGSFLY • hogsfly.com

The Vergos family has been cooking up food in a downtown Memphis alley since 1948. The pork ribs are legendary, as are the waiters and the vintage Memphis décor. Winner of numerous awards in Southern Living and other publications, the menu offers barbecued ribs, pork shoulder, beef brisket, cheese plates, barbecue nachos, Greek salads, local beers and wine. We ship our ribs overnight, too! Call about private parties for lunch and dinner. Check out our new catering menu online today!

Venice Kitchen venice-kitchen.com Venice Kitchen has now been serving East Memphis for over 16 years creating a welcoming experience blending traditional with modern, providing friendly service where we get to know our guest and serve the community. Our goal is helping our guest escape the day-to-day while eating delicious food served with a smile. In addition to our award-winning pizzas, eclectic pastas, Cajun, and classic American favorites, we are known for our full-service bar serving impressive hand-crafted cocktails, and an extensive variety of wines in a timeless casual comfortable environment.

To advertise in the August 2022 Scene Dining please contact Margie Neal at: 901.521.9000 or margie@memphismagazine.com.

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The Memphis Dining Guide

FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR—Serves steaks and seafood, along with such specialties as bison ribeye and Muscovy duck, all matched with appropriate wines. 39 S. Main. 521-8005. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ FLYING FISH—Serves up fried and grilled versions of shrimp, crab, oysters, fish tacos, and catfish; also chicken and burgers. 105 S. emphis magazine offers this curated restaurant listing as a service Second. 522-8228. L, D, X, $-$$ to our readers. Broken down alphabetically by neighborhoods, this directory does GOOD FORTUNE CO.—Authentic handcrafted noodles, not list every restaurant in town. It does, however, include the magazine’s “Top 50” choices ramen, and dumplings. 361 S. Main. 561-306-4711. of must-try restaurants in Memphis, a group that is updated every August. Establishments L, D, $-$$ THE GENRE—Burgers, tenders, catfish, and plenty of open less than a year are not eligible for “Top 50” but are noted as “New.” This guide also vegan options made to order at this music-themed restauincludes a representative sampling of other Bluff City eating establishments. No fast-food rant/lounge. 200 Poplar, Suite 105. 410-8169. B, L, D, $-$$ facilities or cafeterias are listed. Restaurants are included regardless of whether they advertise THE GRAY CANARY—The sixth restaurant from chefs in Memphis magazine; those that operate in multiple locations are listed under the neighborhood Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, offering small plates and entrees cooked on an open flame. Oysters, octopus, and of their original location. This guide is updated regularly, but we recommend that you call hearty steaks are among the menu options at this eatery in Old ahead to check on hours, prices, or other details. Suggestions from readers are welcome; please Dominick Distillery. Closed Mon. 301 S. Front. 466-6324. D, WB, X, contact Samuel X. Cicci at scicci@contemporary-media.com. MRA, $-$$$ GRECIAN GOURMET TAVERNA—Serves traditional favorites like and several Northern Italian specialties. 149 Union, The Peabody. spanakopita, pastitso, moussaka, and hand-rolled dolmathes, as well DOWNTOWN 529-4199. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$$ as lamb sliders and pita nachos. Closed Mon. 412 S. Main. 249-6626. 117 PRIME—Restaurateurs Craig Blondis and Roger Sapp team CAROLINA WATERSHED—This indoor/outdoor eatery, set around L, D, X, $ up with Chef Ryan Trimm to recreate the traditional American silos, features reimagined down-home classics, including fried green GUS’S WORLD FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN—Serves steakhouse. Serving oysters on the half shell and a variety of surf tomatoes with smoked catfish, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, chicken with signature spicy batter, along with homemade and turf options. 117 Union. 433-9851. L, D, WB, X, $-$$$ burgers, and more. Closed Mon.-Thurs. 141 E. Carolina. 321-5553. L, beans, slaw, and pies. 310 S. Front. 527-4877; 215 S. Center St. ALDO’S PIZZA PIES—Serving gourmet pizzas — D, WB, $-$$ (Collierville). 853-6005; 2965 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 373including Mr. T Rex — salads, and more. Also 30 beers, CATHERINE & MARY’S—A variety of pastas, grilled 9111; 730 S. Mendenhall. 767-2323; 505 Highway 70 W., Mason, TN. bottled or on tap. 100 S. Main. 577-7743; 752 S. Cooper. quail, pâté, razor clams, and monkfish are among the 901-294-2028. L, D, X, MRA, $ 725-7437. L, D, X, $-$$ dishes served at this Italian restaurant in the Chisca. 272 S. HAPPY MEXICAN—Serves quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, THE ARCADE—Possibly Memphis’ oldest cafe. Main. 254-8600. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ vegetable and seafood dishes, and more. 385 S. Second. 529-9991; Specialties include sweet potato pancakes, a fried peaCHEF TAM’S UNDERGROUND 6080 Primacy Pkwy. 683-0000; 7935 DINING SYMBOLS nut butter and banana sandwich, and breakfast served CAFE—Serves Southern staples with a Winchester. 751-5353. L, D, X, $ all day. 540 S. Main. 526-5757. B, L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, MRA, $ Cajun twist. Menu items include totchoes, HU. ROOF—Rooftop cocktail bar with B — breakfast AUTOMATIC SLIM’S—Longtime Downtown favorite specializes jerk wings, fried chicken, and “muddy” superb city views serves toasts with a in contemporary American cuisine emphasizing local ingredients; L — lunch mac and cheese. Closed Sun. and Mon. 668 variety of toppings including beef tartare also extensive martini list. 83 S. Second. 525-7948. L, D, WB, X, D — dinner Union Ave. 207-6182. L, D, $ with cured egg, cognac, and capers or riced MRA, $-$$$ CHEZ PHILIPPE—Classical/ SB — Sunday brunch cauliflower with yellow curry, currants, and BACKLOT SANDWICH SHOP—Big sandwiches, contemporary French cuisine WB — weekend brunch almonds. Also salads, fish tacos, and boiled breakfast bowls, and build-your-own-biscuits for presented in a luxurious atmopeanut hummus. 79 Madison. 333-1229. D, $ X— wheelchair accessible breakfast, lunch, and an early supper. 265 S. Front St. sphere with a seasonal menu focused on HUSTLE & DOUGH BAKERY & MRA — member, Memphis 509-8612. B, L, D, $ local/regional cuisine. The crown jewel of CAFE—Flaky, baked breakfast goodness Restaurant Association BARDOG TAVERN—Classic American grill with Italian The Peabody for 35 years. Afternoon tea every day with fresh pastries, sandwiches, influence, Bardog offers pasta specialties such as Grandma’s NJ $ — under $15 per person without served Wed.-Sat., 1-3:30 p.m. (reservations and more at Arrive Hotel. 477 S. Main St., Meatballs, as well as salads, sliders, sandwiches, and daily spedrinks or desserts required). Closed Sun.-Tues. The Peabody, 701-7577. B, L, X, $ cials. 73 Monroe. 275-8752. B (Mon.-Fri.), L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ 149 Union. 529-4188. D, X, MRA, $$$$ $$ — under $25 ITTA BENA—Southern and CajunBEDROCK EATS & SWEETS—Memphis’ only Paleo-centric CIMAS—It’s breakfast tacos, $$$ — $26-$50 American cuisine served here, conveniently restaurant, offering such dishes as pot roast, waffles, enchiladas, shrimp and grits, chilaquiles located above B.B. King’s Blues Club on $$$$ — over $50 chicken salad, omelets, and more. Closed for dinner Sun. 327 S. verdes, and plenty of other Beale St.; specialties are duck and waffles Main. 409-6433. B, L, D, X, $-$$ Southern and Latin-American twists at the and shrimp and grits, along with steaks, chops, seafood, and pasta. BELLE TAVERN—Serving elevated bar food, including a Hyatt Centric. 33 Beale St. 444-3232. B, L, D, $-$$$ 145 Beale St. 578-3031. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ butcher board with a variety of meats and cheeses, as well as THE CLOVER CLUB—Southern fusion and internationKING & UNION BAR GROCERY—Classic Southern favorites daily specials. 117 Barboro Alley. 249-6580. L (Sun.), D, MRA, $ ally-inspired small plates at Hotel Indigo. including catfish plate, pimento cheese, po-boys, chicken & waffles. BEN YAY’S GUMBO SHOP—Spiritual successor to DejaVu, 22 N. B.B. King. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with cocktails served with flair offering fresh and authentic Creole staples. 51 S. Main St., 779COZY CORNER—Serving up ribs, pork sandwiches, and favorite Memphis beers. Locally made confections available in the 4125. L, D, X, $-$$ chicken, spaghetti, and more; also homemade banana grocery. 185 Union Ave. 523-8500. B, L, D, $-$$ BISHOP—Ticer and Hudman’s newest venture at the Central pudding. Closed Mon. 745 N. Parkway and Manassas. KOOKY CANUCK—Offers prime rib, catfish, and burgers, including Station Hotel features upscale dishes in a French brasserie style. 527-9158. L, D, $ the 4-lb. “Kookamonga”; also late-night menu. 87 S. Second. 578545 S. Main St., 524-5247. L, D, X, $$-$$$ CURFEW—An elevated sports bar/American tavern concept 9800; 1250 N. Germantown Pkwy. 1-800-2453 L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ BLEU—This eclectic restaurant features American food with by Top Chef contestant Fabio Viviani at the Canopy Memphis LITTLE BETTIE—New Haven-style pizzas and snacks from global influences and local ingredients. Among the specialties are Downtown hotel. 164 Union Ave. B, L, D, X, $-$$ the Andrew-Michael team at Wiseacre’s Downtown location. a 14-oz. bone-in rib-eye and several seafood dishes. 221 S. Third, EVELYN & OLIVE—Jamaican/Southern fusion cuisine includes 398 S. B.B. King Blvd. 334-9411. L, D, $-$$ in the Westin Memphis Beale St. Hotel. 334-5950. B, L, D, WB, X, such dishes as Kingston stew fish, Rasta Pasta, and jerk rib-eye. THE LITTLE TEA SHOP—Downtown institution serves MRA, $$-$$$ Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun.-Mon. 630 Madison. up Southern comfort cooking, including meatloaf and such BLUEFIN RESTAURANT & SUSHI LOUNGE—Serves 748-5422. L, D, X, $ veggies as turnip greens, yams, okra, and tomatoes. Closed Japanese fusion cuisine featuring seafood and steak, with FAM—Casual Asian restaurant serves sushi rice bowls, noodle bowls, Sat.-Sun. 69 Monroe. 525-6000, L, X, $ seasonally changing menu; also a sushi bar. 135 S. Main. 528-1010. sushi rolls, and spring rolls. Closed Sun. 149 Madison; 521 S. Highland. LOCAL—Entrees with a focus on locally sourced products include L, D, X, $-$$ 701-6666. L, D, X, $ lobster mac-and-cheese and rib-eye patty melt; menu differs by locaBRASS DOOR IRISH PUB—Irish and New-American cuisine FELICIA SUZANNE’S—Southern cuisine with low-countion. 95 S. Main. 473-9573; 2126 Madison. 725-1845. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ includes such entrees as fish and chips, burgers, shepherd’s pie, try, Creole, and Delta influences, using regional fresh seaLOFLIN YARD—Beer garden and restaurant serves vegetarian fare all-day Irish breakfast, and more. 152 Madison. 572-1813. L, D, food, local beef, and locally grown foods. Entrees include and smoked-meat dishes, including beef brisket and pork tenderloin, SB, $-$$ shrimp and grits. Closed Sun. and Mon. A Downtown staple at cooked on a custom-made grill. Closed Mon.-Tues. 7 W. Carolina. BY THE BREWERY—Breakfast and lunch café, with a Brinkley Plaza, 80 Monroe, Suite L1. 523-0877. L (Fri. only), D, X, MRA, 249-3046. L (Sat. and Sun.), D, MRA, $-$$ focus on Southern-style biscuits, salads, and soups. 496 $$-$$$ LONGSHOT—Chef David Todd has something for everyone Tennessee St. 310-4341. B, L, $ FERRARO’S PIZZERIA & PUB—Rigatoni and tortellini are with a wide variety of international fusion dishes, and a side CAFE KEOUGH—European-style cafe serving quiche, paninis, among the pasta entrees here, along with pizzas (whole or by the of shuffleboard. 477 S. Main. D, $-$$ salads, and more. 12 S. Main. 509-2469. B, L, D, X, $ slice) with a variety of toppings. 111 Jackson. 522-2033. L, D, X, $ THE LOOKOUT AT THE PYRAMID—Serves seafood and Southern CAPRICCIO GRILL ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE—Offers prime FISHBOWL AT THE PYRAMID—Burgers, fish dishes, sandfare, including cornmeal-fried oysters, sweet tea brined chicken, and steaks, fresh seafood (lobster tails, grouper, mahi mahi), pasta, wiches, and more served in a unique “underwater” setting. Bass Pro, elk chops. 1 Bass Pro Dr. 620-4600/291-8200. L, D, X, $-$$$ 1 Bass Pro Drive, 291-8000. B, L, D, X, $-$$

A Curated Guide to Eating Out

We celebrate our city’s community table and the people who grow, cook, and eat the best Memphis food at M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M / F O O D 72 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2

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(This guide, compiled by our editors, includes editorial picks and advertisers.)

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LUCY’S—Hu. Hotel’s downstairs diner serves up breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Start your day with a Hu. breakfast burrito, or Lucy’s Burger for a late night bite 3 S. Main. 333-1200. B, L, D, X, $-$$ LUNA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE—Serving a limited menu of breakfast and lunch items. Dinner entrees include citrus glaze salmon and Cajun stuffed chicken. 179 Madison (Hotel Napoleon). 526-0002. B, D (Mon.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ MACIEL’S—Entrees include tortas, fried taco plates, quesadillas, chorizo and pastor soft tacos, salads, and more. Downtown closed Sun. 45 S. Main. 526-0037, X, MRA, $ THE MAJESTIC GRILLE, DBA COCOZZA—It’s red sauce, all the time in the Majestic Grille space on Main. Variety of Italian dishes for curbside and takeout orders. 145 S. Main. 522-8555. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ McEWEN’S—Southern/American cuisine with international flavors; specialties include steak and seafood, sweet potato-crusted catfish with macaroni and cheese, and more. Closed Sun., Monroe location. 120 Monroe. Temporarily closed for renovations. 527-7085; 1110 Van Buren (Oxford). 662-234-7003. L, D, SB (Oxford only), X, MRA, $$-$$$ MESQUITE CHOP HOUSE—The focus here is on steaks, including prime fillet, rib-eyes, and prime-aged New York strip; also, some seafood options. 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-890-2467; 88 Union. 527-5337; 3165 Forest Hill-Irene (Germantown). 249-5661. D, SB (Germantown), X, $$-$$$ MOLLIE FONTAINE LOUNGE—Specializes in tapas (small plates) featuring global cuisine. Closed Sun.-Tues. 679 Adams Ave. 524-1886. D, X, MRA, $ MOMMA’S ROADHOUSE—This diner and dive at Highway 55 serves up hot and crispy fried chicken wings, among other solid bar food options. 855 Kentucky. 207-5111. L, D, MRA, $ THE NINE THAI & SUSHI—Serving authentic Thai dishes, including curries, as well as a variety of sushi rolls. Closed for lunch Sat. and Sun. 121 Union. 208-8347. L, D, X, $-$$ THE PARAMOUNT—Fried green tomato and crab beignet small plates to grilled lamb loin, cowboy ribeye, and an extensive cocktail list. Closed Sun/Mon. 265 S. Front. 4108169. D, $-$$$$ PAULETTE’S—Presents fine dining with a Continental flair, including such entrees as filet Paulette with butter cream sauce and crabmeat and spinach crepes; also changing daily specials and great views. River Inn. 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3300. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PEARL’S OYSTER HOUSE—Downtown eatery serving seafood, including oysters, crawfish, and stuffed butterfly shrimp, as well as beef, chicken, and pasta dishes. 299 S. Main. 522-9070; 8106 Cordova Center Dr. (Cordova). 425-4797. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ PONTOTOC LOUNGE—Upscale restaurant and jazz bar serves such starters as alligator filet fritters; entrees include Mississippi pot roast with jalapeño cornbread and tagliatelle with braised beef. 314 S. Main. 207-7576. D, X, $-$$ RAW GIRLS—Raw and hot plant-based food alongside cold-pressed juices made from seasonal, locally grown sources. Closed Sun. 150 Peabody Pl., Suite 118. 207-5463. B, L, D, $-$$ REGINA’S—New Orleans-inspired eatery offering po’boys, Cajun nachos topped with crawfish tails, catfish platters, oysters, and more. Closed Mon. 60 N. Main. 730-0384. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$ RENDEZVOUS, CHARLES VERGOS’—Menu items include barbecued ribs, cheese plates, skillet shrimp, red beans and rice, and Greek salads. Closed Sun.-Mon. 52 S. Second. 523-2746. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, X, $-$$ RIZZO’S DINER—Chorizo meatloaf, lobster pronto puff, and lamb belly tacos are menu items at this upscale diner. Michael Patrick is among the city’s best chefs. 492 S. Main. 304-6985. L (Fri.-Sat.), D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ SABOR CARIBE—Serving up “Caribbean flavors” with dishes from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Closed Sunday. 662 Madison. 949-8100. L, D, X, $ SAGE—Restaurant and lounge features daily lunch specials and tapas with such dishes as braised short ribs, teriyaki pulled pork, and the Sage burger made with Angus beef, avocado mash, fried egg, and flash-fried sage. 94 S. Main. 672-7902. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SILLY GOOSE LOUNGE—Gourmet, wood-fired pizzas and hand-crafted cocktails at this Downtown restaurant and lounge. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 111. 435-6915. L, D, X, $ SLEEP OUT LOUIE’S—Oyster bar with such specialties as chargrilled Roquefort oysters and gulf oysters on the half shell with Prosecco mignonette; also serves flatbread pizzas and a variety of sandwiches. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 111. 707-7180. L, D, X, $ SOUTH MAIN SUSHI & GRILL—Serving sushi, nigiri, and more. 520 S. Main. 249-2194. L, D, X, $

DO GOOD. BETTER. 901.726.5725 momentumnonprofit.org We help Mid-South nonprofits succeed. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 • M E M P H I S M A G A Z I N E . C O M • 73

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The Memphis Dining Guide SOB—Elevated gastropub that serves favorites like general Tso’s cauliflower or duck fried rice. 345 S. Main. 526-0388. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SUGAR GRITS— Who said breakfast has to be in the morning? The Westmorelands offer grits and other breakfast goodness all day long, in addition to other Southernstyle lunch and dinner options. 150 Peabody Pl., Suite 111. 249-5206. B, L, D, $-$$ SUNRISE MEMPHIS—From the owners of Sweet Grass and Central BBQ. Serves breakfast all day, including house-made biscuits, frittatas, kielbasa or boudin plates, and breakfast platters. 670 Jefferson. 552-3144. B, L, X, MRA, $ TERRACE—Creative American and Continental cuisine includes such dishes as filet mignon, beef or lamb sliders, chicken satay, and mushroom pizzetta. Rooftop, River Inn of Harbor Town, 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3366. D, X, MRA, $$ TEXAS DE BRAZIL—Serves beef, pork, lamb, and chicken dishes, and Brazilian sausage; also a salad bar with extensive toppings. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 103. 526-7600. L (Wed.-Fri.), D, SB, X, $$-$$$ TUG’S—Famous for New Orleans gumbo, fabulous burgers, fried thin catfish, and specialty pancakes. Now serving Grisanti Crafted Pizza. 51 Harbor Town Square. 260-3344. B, L, D, WB, X, $$-$$$ THE VAULT—Oysters, shrimp beignets, flatbreads, stuffed cornish hen, and Smash Burger featured on “Late Nite Eats” are among the dishes offered at this Creole/Italian fusion eatery. 124 G.E. Patterson. 591-8000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ WAHLBURGERS WILD—Wahlburgers brings its classic menu, but with a few gamey twists at the Bass Pro Pyramid. 1 Bass Pro Drive. B, L, D, $-$$ WESTY’S—Extensive menu includes a variety of wild rice dishes, sandwiches, plate lunches, and hot fudge pie. 346 N. Main. 543-3278.L, D, X, $

MIDTOWN (INCLUDES THE MEDICAL CENTER)

ABNER'S FAMOUS CHICKEN—Fried chicken tenders and dipping sauces galore at this Mid-South staple. 1350 Concourse Ave, Suite 137. 425-2597; (East Memphis) 1591 Poplar Ave. 509-3351; (Cordova) 1100 N. Germantown Pkwy. 7545355. L, D, $-$$ ABYSSINIA RESTAURANT—Ethiopian/Mediterranean menu includes beef, chicken, lamb, fish entrees, and vegetarian dishes; also a lunch buffet. 2600 Poplar. 321-0082. L, D, X, $-$$ ALCHEMY—Southern fusion, locally grown cuisine features small and large plates; among the offerings are pan-seared hanger steak, quail, and lamb chops; also handcrafted cocktails and local craft beers. 940 S. Cooper. 726-4444. D, SB, X, $-$$ ART BAR—Inventive cocktails feature locally foraged ingredients; snacks include house-cured salt & vinegar potato chips and herb-roasted olives. Closed Mon. 1350 Concourse Avenue #280. 507-8030. D, X, $ BABALU TACOS & TAPAS—This eatery dishes up Spanish-style tapas with Southern flair; also taco and enchilada of the day; specials change daily. 2115 Madison. 274-0100; 6450 Poplar, 4108909. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ BACK DO / MI YARD—A revamped patio space behind The Beauty Shop features rotisserie meats and fishes via Brazilian-style outdoor grill. Dinner Wednesday-Saturday, weather permitting. 966 S. Cooper, 272-7111. D, X, $$ BAR DKDC—Features an ever-changing menu of international “street food,” from Thai to Mexican, Israeli to Indian, along with specialty cocktails. 964 S. Cooper. 272-0830. D, X, MRA, $ BAR KEOUGH—It’s old-school eats and cocktails at the new Cooper-Young neighborhood corner bar by Kevin Keough. 247 Cooper St. D, X, $ BAR-B-Q SHOP—Dishes up barbecued ribs, spaghetti, bologna; also pulled pork shoulder, Texas toast barbecue sandwich, chicken sandwich, and salads. Closed Sun. 1782 Madison. 272-1277. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ BARI RISTORANTE ENOTECA—Authentic Southeastern Italian cuisine (Puglia) emphasizes lighter entrees. Serves fresh fish and beef dishes and a homemade soup of the day. 524 Cooper. 722-2244. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BARKSDALE RESTAURANT—Old-school diner serving breakfast and Southern plate lunches. 237 S. Cooper. 722-2193. B, L, D, X, $ BAYOU BAR & GRILL—New Orleans fare at this Overton Square eatery includes jambalaya, gumbo, catfish Acadian, shrimp dishes, red beans and rice, and muffalettas. 2094 Madison. 278-8626. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$

BEAUTY SHOP—Modern American cuisine with international flair served in a former beauty shop. Serves steaks, salads, pasta, and seafood, including pecancrusted golden sea bass. Perennial “Best Brunch” winner. Closed for dinner Sunday. 966 S. Cooper. 272-7111. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BELLY ACRES—At this festive Overton Square eatery, milkshakes, floats, and burgers rule. Burgers are updated with contemporary toppings like grilled leeks, braised tomatoes, and sourdough or brioche buns. 2102 Trimble Pl. 529-7017. L, D, X, $ BOSCOS—Tennessee’s first craft brewery serves a variety of freshly brewed beers as well as wood-fired oven pizzas, pasta, seafood, steaks, and sandwiches. 2120 Madison. 432-2222. L, D, SB (with live jazz), X, MRA, $-$$ BOUNTY ON BROAD—Offering family-style dining, Bounty serves small plates and family-sized platters, with such specialties as chicken-fried quail and braised pork shank. 2519 Broad. 410-8131. L (Sat. and Sun.), D (Mon.-Sat.), SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ BROADWAY PIZZA—Serving a variety of pizzas, including the Broadway Special, as well as sandwiches, salads, wings, and soul-food specials. 2581 Broad. 454-7930; 627 S. Mendenhall. 207-1546. L, D, X, $-$$ CAFE 1912—French/American bistro owned by culinary pioneer Glenn Hays serving such seafood entrees as seared sea scallops with charred cauliflower purée and chorizo cumin sauce; also crepes, salads, and onion soup gratinée. 243 S. Cooper. 722-2700. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ CAFE BROOKS BY CITY & STATE—Serving grab-and-go pastries, as well as lunch items. Menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches, such as the Modern Reuben and Grown-Up Grilled Cheese. 1934 Poplar (Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). 544-6200. B, L, X, $ CAFE ECLECTIC—Omelets and chicken and waffles are among menu items, along with quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. Menu varies by location. 603 N. McLean. 725-1718; 111 Harbor Town Square. 590-4645. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $ CAFE OLÉ—This eatery specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine; one specialty is the build-your-own quesadilla. 959 S. Cooper. 343-0103. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ CAFE PALLADIO—Serves gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches, and desserts in a tea room inside the antiques shop. Closed Sun. 2169 Central. 278-0129. L, X, $ CAFE SOCIETY—With Belgian and classic French influences, serves Wagyu beef, chicken, and seafood dishes, including bacon-wrapped shrimp, along with daily specials and vegetarian entrees. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 212 N. Evergreen. 722-2177. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ CELTIC CROSSING—Specializes in Irish and American pub fare. Entrees include shepherd’s pie, shrimp and sausage coddle, and fish and chips. 903 S. Cooper. 274-5151. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ CENTRAL BBQ—Serves ribs, smoked hot wings, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken, turkey, nachos, and portobello sandwiches. Offers both pork and beef barbecue. 2249 Central Ave. 272-9377; 4375 Summer Ave. 767-4672; 147 E. Butler. 672-7760 ; 6201 Poplar. 417-7962. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ COMPLICATED PILGRIM—Quick serve coffee shop, bar, and restaurant all in one at The Memphian hotel. 21 S. Cooper St. 601-909-5820. B, L, D, $-$$ THE COVE—Nautical-themed restaurant and bar serving oysters, pizzas, and more. The Stoner Pie, with tamales and fritos, is a popular dish. 2559 Broad. 730-0719. L, D, $ THE CRAZY NOODLE—Korean noodle dishes range from bibam beef noodle with cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables, to curry chicken noodle; also rice cakes served in a flavorful sauce. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 2015 Madison. 272-0928. L, D, X, $ THE DOGHOUZZ—It’s both bark and bite at the Doghouzz, which pairs a variety of gourmet hot dogs alongside local craft beer and one of the city’s most extensive whiskey selections. Open for lunch, dinner, and late-night. Closed Sunday. 1349 Autumn Ave. 207-7770. L, D, X, $ ECCO—Mediterranean-inspired specialties range from rib-eye steak to seared scallops to housemade pastas and a grilled vegetable plate; also a Saturday brunch. Closed Sun.-Mon. 1585 Overton Park. 410-8200. B, L, D, X, $-$$ FABIOLA’S KITCHEN—Longtime caterer Fabiola Francis serves up burgers, tacos, fish, and much more. 1353 Jackson Ave. B, L, $ FARM BURGER—Serves grass-fed, freshly ground, locally sourced burgers; also available with chicken, pork, or veggie quinoa patties, with such toppings as aged white cheddar, kale

coleslaw, and roasted beets. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 175. 800-1851. L, D, X, $ THE FARMER AT RAILGARTEN—Mac Edwards comes out of retirement with classics including pan-seared catfish, gulf shrimp and grits, or a Gibson donut bread pudding. Closed Mon./Tue. 2166 Central. 313-0087. D, $-$$ FINO’S ITALIAN DELI & CATERING—The newly revived Fino’s offers the old favorites such as the Acquisto as well as a new breakfast menu. 1853 Madison. 272-FINO. B, L, D, X, $ FLAME RAMEN—Traditional Japanese ramen restaurant serving up bowls of noodles in Midtown. 1838 Union Ave. 779-8666. D, $-$$ FRIDA’S—Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex standards, including chimichangas, enchiladas, and fajitas; seafood includes shrimp and tilapia. 1718 Madison. 244-6196. L, D, X, $-$$ GLOBAL CAFÉ—This international food hall hosts three immigrant/ refugee food entrepreneurs serving Venezuelan, Sudanese, and Syrian cuisines. Samosas, shawarma, and kabobs are among the menu items. Closed Mon. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 157. L, D, X, MRA, $ GOLDEN INDIA—Northern Indian specialties include tandoori chicken as well as lamb, beef, shrimp, and vegetarian dishes. 2097 Madison. 728-5111. L, D, X, $-$$ GROWLERS—Sports bar and eatery serves standard bar fare in addition to pasta, tacos, chicken and waffles, and light options. 1911 Poplar. 244-7904. L, D, X, $-$$ HATTIE B’S—Fried chicken spot features “hot chicken” with a variety of heat levels; from no heat to “shut the cluck up” sauce. Sides include greens, pimento mac-and-cheese, and black-eyed pea salad. 596 S. Cooper. 424-5900. L, D, X, $ HM DESSERT LOUNGE—Serving cake, pie, and other desserts, as well as a selection of savory dishes, including meatloaf and mashed potato “cupcakes.” Closed Monday. 1586 Madison. 290-2099. L, D, X, $ HUEY’S—This family-friendly restaurant offers 13 different burgers, a variety of sandwiches, and delicious soups and salads. 1927 Madison. 726-4372; 1771 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 754-3885; 77 S. Second (Downtown). 527-2700; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-4455; 7090 Malco Blvd. (Southaven). 662349-7097; 7825 Winchester. 624-8911; 4872 Poplar. 682-7729; 7677 Farmington Blvd. (Germantown). 318-3030; 8570 Highway 51 N. (Millington). 873-5025. L, D, X, MRA, $ IMAGINE VEGAN CAFE—Dishes at this fully vegan restaurant range from salads and sandwiches to full dinners, including eggplant parmesan and “beef” tips and rice; breakfast all day Sat. and Sun. 2158 Young. 654-3455. L, D, WB, X, $ INDIA PALACE—Tandoori chicken, lamb shish kabobs, and chicken tikka masala are among the entrees; also, vegetarian options and a daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. 1720 Poplar. 278-1199. L, D, X, $-$$ INSPIRE COMMUNITY CAFE—Serving breakfast all day, in addition to quesadillas, rice bowls, and more for lunch and dinner. 510 Tillman, Suite 110. 509-8640. B, L, D, X, $ LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM—Serves such Southern cuisine as po’boys, shrimp and grits, and wood-fired pizzas. 2119 Madison. 207-5097. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ LBOE—Gourmet burger joint serves locally sourced ground beef burgers, with options like the Mac-N-Cheese Burger and Caprese. Black bean and turkey patties available. 2021 Madison. 725-0770. L, D, X, $ THE LIQUOR STORE—Renovated liquor store turned diner serves all-day breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees such as Salisbury steak and smothered pork chops. Closed for dinner Sun.-Mon. 2655 Broad. 405-5477. B, L, D, X, $-$$ LITTLE ITALY—Serving New York-style pizza as well as subs and pasta dishes. 1495 Union. 725-0280; L, D, X, $-$$ MARDI GRAS MEMPHIS—Fast-casual establishment serving Cajun fare, including an etouffee-stuffed po’boy. Closed Mon.-Tues. 496 N. Watkins. 530-6767. L, D, X, $-$$ MAXIMO’S ON BROAD—Serving a tapas menu that features creative fusion cuisine; entrees include veggie paella and fish of the day. Closed Mon. 2617 Broad Ave. 452-1111. D, SB, X, $-$$ MEMPHIS PIZZA CAFE—Homemade pizzas are specialties; also serves sandwiches, calzones, and salads. 2087 Madison. 726-5343; 5061 Park Ave. 684-1306; 7604 W. Farmington (Germantown). 7532218; 797 W. Poplar (Collierville). 861-7800; 5627 Getwell (Southaven). 662-536-1364. L, D, X, $-$$ MIDPOINTE FROM EDGE ALLEY—Edge Alley’s sister cafe at the Ballet Memphis headquarters focuses on freshness for its breakfast, lunch, and happy hour tapas. Closed Sunday-Monday. 2144 Madison Ave. 425-2605. B, L, X, $

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MOLLY’S LA CASITA—Homemade tamales, fish tacos, a vegetarian combo, and bacon-wrapped shrimp are a few of the specialties. 2006 Madison. 726-1873. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ PANTÀ—Small, Catalan-inspired plates by Kelly English in the former Restaurant Iris space. 2146 Monroe Ave. Closed Mon.-Wed. 590-2828. L, D, $-$$. PARISH GROCERY—Shrimp? Roast beef? Oysters? Whatever type of po’boy you want, the New Orleansthemed eatery has got it. Closed Monday. 916 Cooper St. 207-4347. L, D, X, $-$$ PAYNE’S BAR-B-QUE—Opened in 1972, this family-owned barbecue joint serves ribs, smoked sausage, and chopped pork sandwiches with a standout mustard slaw and homemade sauce. About as down-to-earth as it gets. 1762 Lamar. 272-1523. L, D, $-$$ PIZZERIA TRASIMENO—Small pizzas baked in wood-fired clay ovens along with a selection of small salads. Menu is soon to include desserts, local beer on tap, and Umbrian wine. 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 181. 308-1113. L, D. $ PHO BINH—Vietnamese, vegetarian, and Cantonese specialties include lemon tofu and spring rolls. Closed Sunday. 1615 Madison. 276-0006. L, D, $ RED FISH ASIAN BISTRO—In the former Nineteenth Century Club building, serves sushi, teriyaki, and hibachi. Specialties include yuzu filet mignon and Chilean sea bass. 1433 Union. 454-3926; 9915 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 729-7581; 6518 Goodman (Olive Branch). 662-874-5254. L, D, X, $-$$$ ROBATA RAMEN & YAKITORI BAR—Serves ramen noodle bowls and Yakitori skewers as well as rice and noodle dishes. 2116 Madison. 410-8290. L, D, X, $ SABROSURA—Serves Mexican and Cuban fare, including arroz tapada de pollo and steak Mexican. Closed Sun. 782 Washington. 421-8180. L, D, X, $-$$ SALT|SOY—Nick Scott and Brac McCarley team up to provide Southern and Asian-inspired dishes at this Japanese Izakaya. Closed Sunday, Monday. 2583 Broad Ave. 726-4444. D, $$ SALTWATER CRAB—Offers an array of seafood dishes including boils with blue crab, crab legs, lobster tails, and more, and specialty sushi like the Dynamite or Royal King rolls, in addition to signature sangrias and cocktails. 2059 Madison Ave. 922-5202. L, D, X, $$ THE SECOND LINE—Kelly English brings “relaxed Creole cuisine” to his newest eatery; serves a variety of po’boys and such specialties as barbecue shrimp, andouille shrimp, and pimento cheese fries. 2144 Monroe. 590-2829. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SEKISUI—Japanese fusion cuisine, fresh sushi bar, grilled meats and seafood, California rolls, and vegetarian entrees. Poplar/Perkins location’s emphasis is on Pacific Rim cuisine. Menu and hours vary at each location. 25 Belvedere. 725-0005; 1884 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 309-8800; 4724 Poplar. 767-7770; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-0622; 2990 Kirby-Whitten (Bartlett). 377-2727; 6696 Poplar. 747-0001. L, D, X, $-$$$ STICKEM—Brick and mortar location for the popular food truck, which offers grilled meat on a stick. 1788 Madison. Closed Sunday. 474-7214. L, D, X, $ STONE SOUP CAFE—Cooper-Young eatery serving soups, salads, quiche, meat-and-two specials; and daily specials such as Italian roast beef. Closed Monday. 993 S. Cooper. 922-5314. B, L, SB, X, $ SOUL FISH CAFE—Serving Southern-style soul food, tacos, and po’boys, including catfish, crawfish, oyster, shrimp, chicken, and smoked pork tenderloin. 862 S. Cooper. 725-0722; 3160 Village Shops Dr. (Germantown). 755-6988; 4720 Poplar. 590-0323. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ SWEET GRASS—Chef Ryan Trimm takes Southern cuisine to a new level. Low-country coastal cuisine includes such specialties as shrimp and grits. Closed Mon. Restaurant’s “sister,” Sweet Grass Next Door, open nightly, serves lunch Sat.-Sun. 937 S. Cooper. 278-0278. D, SB, X, $-$$$ TAMBOLI’S PASTA & PIZZA—Pasta-maker Miles Tamboli whips up Italian soul food with seasonal menus featuring dishes like crispy fried chicken or creamy bucatini with pecorino cheese. Serves dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Pizza only menu after 9pm. 1761 Madison. 410-8866. D, X, $-$$ TAKASHI BISTRO—Fusion restaurant with an open kitchen that lets customers watch chefs prepare a variety of Japanese and Thai cuisine. 1680 Union Ave. Suite 109. 800-2936. L, D, $-$$. TSUNAMI—Features Pacific Rim cuisine (Asia, Australia, South Pacific, etc.); also a changing “small plate” menu. Chef Ben Smith is a Cooper-Young pioneer. Specialties include Asian nachos and roasted sea bass. Closed Sunday. 928 S. Cooper. 274-2556. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$

ZINNIE’S—Dive bar classic reopens with a makeover and signature Zinnaloni sandwich. 1688 Madison. 726-5004. L, D, X, $

SOUTH MEMPHIS (INCLUDES PARKWAY VILLAGE, FOX

MEADOWS, SOUTH MEMPHIS, WINCHESTER, AND WHITEHAVEN) BALA'S BISTRO—Authentic West African cuisine available to order or by the pound, alongside traditional American dishes and an extensive vegan menu. 4571 Elvis Presley Blvd. 509-3024. L, D, $-$$ COLETTA’S—Longtime eatery serves such specialties as homemade ravioli, lasagna, and pizza with barbecue or traditional toppings. 1063 S. Parkway E. 948-7652; 2850 Appling Rd. (Bartlett). 383-1122. L, D, X, $-$$ CURRY BOWL—Specializes in Southern Indian cuisine, serving Tandoori chicken, biryani, tikka masala, and more. Weekend buffet. 4141 Hacks Cross Rd. 207-6051. L, D, $ DELTA’S KITCHEN—The premier restaurant at The Guest House at Graceland serves Elvis-inspired dishes — like Nutella and Peanut Butter Crepes for breakfast — and upscale Southern cuisine — including lamb chops and shrimp and grits — for dinner. 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd. 443-3000. B, D, X, $-$$$ DWJ KOREAN BARBECUE—This authentic Korean eatery serves kimbap, barbecued beef short ribs, rice and noodles dishes, and hot pots and stews. 3750 Hacks Cross Rd., Suite 101. 746-8057; 2156 Young. 207-6204. L, D, $-$$ FABULOUS FLAVORS & FRIENDS—”The Candy Lady” Precious Thompson Jones comes up with a little bit of everything: omelettes, quesadillas, t-bones and waffles, and plenty of soul food. 2063 E. Brooks Rd. 314-0735. L, D, $ THE FOUR WAY—Legendary soul-food establishment dishing up such entrees as fried and baked catfish, chicken, and turkey and dressing, along with a host of vegetables and desserts. Around the corner from the legendary Stax Studio. Closed Monday. 998 Mississippi Blvd. 507-1519. L, D, $ HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY–No one cares how late it gets; not at Hernando’s Hideaway. Live music, killer happy hour, and plenty of bar fare at this South Memphis hang. 3210 Old Hernando Rd. 917-982-1829. L, D, $ INTERSTATE BAR-B-Q—Specialties include chopped pork-shoulder sandwiches, ribs, hot wings, spaghetti, chicken, and turkey. 2265 S. Third. 775-2304; 150 W. Stateline Rd. (Southaven). 662-393-5699. L, D, X, $-$$ JIM & SAMELLA’S—It’s a revolving menu of soul food delight from Chef Talbert Fleming, with anything from southern ribs to fried tamales. 841 Bullington Ave. 265-8761. L, D, X, $ LEONARD’S—Serves wet and dry ribs, barbecue sandwiches, spaghetti, catfish, homemade onion rings, and lemon icebox pie; also a lunch buffet. 5465 Fox Plaza. 360-1963. L, X, $-$$ MARLOWE’S—In addition to its signature barbecue and ribs, Marlowe’s serves Southern-style steaks, chops, lasagna, and more. 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd. 332-4159. D, X, MRA, $-$$ UNCLE LOU’S FRIED CHICKEN—Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for good reason: fried chicken (mild, hot, or home-style); jumbo burgers four patties high; strawberry shortcake, and assorted fruit pies. 3633 Millbranch. 332-2367. L, D, X, MRA, $

SUMMER/BERCLAIR/ RALEIGH/BARTLETT

ASIAN PALACE—Chinese eatery serves seafood, vegetarian items, dim sum, and more. 5266 Summer Ave. 766-0831. L, D, X, $-$$ BISCUITS & JAMS—Biscuits, waffles, French toast, and plenty of sharables at this Bartlett breakfast spot. Closed Mon/Tue. 5806 Stage Rd. 672-7905. B, L, $ ELWOOD’S SHACK—Casual comfort food includes tacos, pizza, and sandwiches. Specialties include meats smoked in-house (chicken, turkey, brisket, pork), barbecue pizza, and steelhead trout tacos. 4523 Summer. 761-9898. B, L, D, X, $ EXLINES’ BEST PIZZA—Serves pizza, Italian dinners, sandwiches, and salads. 6250 Stage Rd. 382-3433; 2935 Austin Peay. 388-4711; 2801 Kirby Parkway. 754-0202; 7730 Wolf River Blvd. (Germantown). 753-4545; 531 W. Stateline Rd. 662-342-4544 (check online for additional locations). L, D, X, MRA, $ LA TAQUERIA GUADALUPANA—Fajitas and quesadillas are just a few of the authentic Mexican entrees offered here. A bona-fide Memphis institution. 4818 Summer. 685-6857; 5848 Winchester. 365-4992. L, D, $ LOTUS—Authentic Vietnamese-Asian fare, including lemon-grass chicken and shrimp, egg rolls, Pho soup, and spicy Vietnamese vermicelli. 4970 Summer. 682-1151. D, X, $

The Memphis Dining Guide MORTIMER’S—Contemporary American entrees include trout almondine, chicken dishes, and hand-cut steaks; also sandwiches, salads, and daily/nightly specials. A Memphis landmark since the Knickerbocker closed. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 590 N. Perkins. 761-9321. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGASAKI INN—Chicken, steak, and lobster are among the main courses; meal is cooked at your table. 3951 Summer. 454-0320. D, X, $$ NAM KING—General Tso’s chicken, hot and sour soup, and homemade chicken wings are back at the longtime Raleigh Chinese eatery. 3624 Austin Peay Highway, #3. 373-4411. L, D, $-$$ PANDA GARDEN—Sesame chicken and broccoli beef are among the Mandarin and Cantonese entrees; also seafood specials and fried rice. Closed for lunch Saturday. 3735 Summer. 323-4819. L, D, X, $-$$ QUEEN OF SHEBA—Featuring Middle Eastern favorites and Yemeni dishes such as lamb haneeth and saltah. 4792 Summer. 207-4174. L, D, $ SIDE PORCH STEAK HOUSE—In addition to steak, the menu includes chicken, pork chops, and fish entrees; homemade rolls are a specialty. Closed Sun.-Mon. 5689 Stage Rd. 377-2484. D, X, $-$$ TORTILLERIA LA UNICA—Individual helping of Mexican street food, including hefty tamales, burritos, tortas, and sopes. 5015 Summer Ave. 685-0097. B, L, D, X, $

UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT

(INCLUDES CHICKASAW GARDENS AND HIGHLAND STRIP) A-TAN—Serves Chinese and Japanese hibachi cuisine, complete with sushi bar. A specialty is Four Treasures with garlic sauce. 3445 Poplar, Suite 17, University Center. 452-4477. L, D, X, $-$$$ THE BLUFF—New Orleans-inspired menu includes alligator bites, nachos topped with crawfish and andouille, gumbo, po’boys, and fried seafood platters. 535 S. Highland. 454-7771. L, D, X, $-$$ BROTHER JUNIPER’S—This little cottage is a breakfast mecca, offering specialty omelets, including the open-faced San Diegan omelet; also daily specials, and homemade breads and pastries. Closed Mon. 3519 Walker. 324-0144. B, X, $ CHAR RESTAURANT—Specializing in modern Southern cuisine, this eatery offers homestyle sides, charbroiled steaks, and fresh seafood. 431 S. Highland, Suite 120. 249-3533. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ DERAE RESTAURANT—Ethiopian and Mediterranean fare includes fuul, or fava beans in spices and yogurt, goat meat and rice, and garlic chicken over basmati rice with cilantro chutney; also salmon and tilapia. Closed Monday. 923 S. Highland. 552-3992. B, L, D, $-$$ EL PORTON—Fajitas, quesadillas, and steak ranchero are just a few of the menu items. 2095 Merchants Row (Germantown). 754-4268; 8361 Highway 64. 380-7877; 3448 Poplar (Poplar Plaza). 452-7330; 1805 N. Germantown Parkway (Cordova). 624-9358; 1016 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-5770. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ JOES’ ON HIGHLAND—Specializes in fried chicken and comfort sides such as warm okra/green tomato salad and turnip greens. Entrees include salmon patties and chicken-fried steak. Closed Mon. 262 S. Highland. 337-7003. L, D, X, $ MEDALLION—Offers steaks, seafood, chicken, and pasta entrees. Closed for dinner Sunday. 3700 Central, Holiday Inn (Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality). 678-1030. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ OPEN FLAME—This authentic Persian and Mediterranean eatery specializes in shish kebabs as well as kosher and halal fare. 3445 Poplar. 207-4995. L, D, X, $ PLANT BASED HEAT—All of your favorite Southern-style recipes, but deliciously transformed into a vegan format. Specialties include the spicy fye junt burger, or the chopped ‘n’ smoked bbq jackfruit sandwich. Closed Sun. 669 S. Highland St. L, D, $ SAM’S DELI—Everything from sandwiches to bibimbap bowls at this local favorite. Closed Mon/Tue. 643 S. Highland St. 454-5582. L, D, $

EAST MEMPHIS (INCLUDES POPLAR/ I-240) ACRE—Features seasonal modern American cuisine in an avante-garde setting using locally sourced products; also small plates and enclosed garden patio. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 690 S. Perkins. 818-2273. L, D, X, $$-$$$ ANDALUSIA— Authentic Moroccan cuisine, including tagines, brochettes, and briouates. 5101 Sanderlin Ave., Suite 103. 236-7784. L, D, $-$$ AGAVOS COCINA & TEQUILA—Camaron de Tequila, tamales, kabobs, and burgers made with a blend of beef and chorizo are among the offerings at this tequila-centric restaurant and bar. 2924 Walnut Grove. 433-9345. L, D, X, $-$$ AMERIGO—Traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine includes pasta, wood-fired pizza, steaks, and cedarwood-roasted fish. 1239 Ridgeway, Park Place Mall. 761-4000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$

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The Memphis Dining Guide ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN—Traditional Italian cuisine with a menu from two of the city’s top chefs that changes seasonally with such entrees as Maw Maw’s ravioli. Closed Sun.-Mon. 712 W. Brookhaven Circle. 347-3569. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE—Offering several varieties of eggs Benedict, waffles, omelets, pancakes, beignets, and other breakfast fare; also burgers, sandwiches, and salads. 6063 Park Ave. 729-7020; 65 S. Highland. 623-7122. B, L, WB, X, $ BANGKOK ALLEY—Thai fusion cuisine includes noodle and curry dishes, chef-specialty sushi rolls, coconut soup, and duck and seafood entrees. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. at Brookhaven location; call for hours. 715 W. Brookhaven Circle. 590-2585; 2150 W. Poplar at Houston Levee (Collierville). 854-8748. L, D, X, $-$$ BENIHANA—This Japanese steakhouse serves beef, chicken, and seafood grilled at the table; some menu items change monthly; sushi bar also featured. 912 Ridge Lake Blvd. 767-8980. L, D, X, $$-$$$ BIG BAD BREAKFAST—Fresh biscuits, house-made cured meats, jams, jellies, and more for the most important meal of the day. 6450 Poplar. More details coming soon. BLUE PLATE CAFÉ—For breakfast, the café’s serves old-fashioned buttermilk pancakes (it’s a secret recipe!), country ham and eggs, and waffles with fresh strawberries and cream. For lunch, the café specializes in country cooking. 5469 Poplar. 761-9696; 113 S. Court. 523-2050. B, L, X, $ BROOKLYN BRIDGE ITALIAN RESTAURANT—Specializing in such homemade entrees as spinach lasagna and lobster ravioli; a seafood specialty is horseradish-crusted salmon. Closed Sun. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 755-7413. D, X, $-$$$ BRYANT’S BREAKFAST—Three-egg omelets, pancakes, and The Sampler Platter are among the popular entrees here. Possibly the best biscuits in town. Closed Mon. and Tues. 3965 Summer. 324-7494. B, L, X, $ BUCKLEY’S FINE FILET GRILL—Specializes in steaks, seafood, and pasta. (Lunchbox serves entree salads, burgers, and more.) 5355 Poplar. 683-4538; 919 S. Yates (Buckley’s Lunchbox), 682-0570. L (Yates only, M-F), D, X, $-$$ CAPITAL GRILLE—Known for its dry-aged, hand-carved steaks; among the specialties are bone-in sirloin, and porcini-rubbed Delmonico; also seafood entrees and seasonal lunch plates. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. Crescent Center, 6065 Poplar. 683-9291. L, D, X, $$$-$$$$ CASABLANCA—Lamb shawarma is one of the fresh, homemade specialties served at this Mediterranean/Moroccan restaurant; fish entrees and vegetarian options also available. 5030 Poplar. 725-8557 ; 7609 Poplar Pike (Germantown). 425-5908; 1707 Madison. 421-6949. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BELLA—Among the Italian and Greek specialties are lasagna, seafood pasta, gourmet pizzas, and vegetarian options. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 565 Erin Dr., Erin Way Shopping Center. 205-2500. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CITY SILO TABLE + PANTRY—With a focus on clean eating, this establishment offers fresh juices, as well as comfort foods re-imagined with wholesome ingredients. 5101 Sanderlin. 729-7687. Germantown: 7605 W. Farmington Blvd., Suite 2. 236-7223. B, L, D, X, $ COASTAL FISH COMPANY—Upscale offerings of international fish varieties utilizing styles ranging from Carribbean, East Coast, West Coast, Chinese, to Filipino, and more. 415 Great View Dr. E., Suite 101. 266-9000. D, X, $$-$$$ CORKY’S—Popular barbecue emporium offers both wet and dry ribs, plus a full menu of other barbecue entrees. Wed. lunch buffets, Cordova and Collierville. 5259 Poplar. 685-9744; 1740 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 737-1911; 743 W. Poplar (Collierville). 405-4999; 6434 Goodman Rd., Olive Branch. 662-893-3663. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ DAN MCGUINNESS PUB—Serves fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, burgers, and other Irish and American fare; also lunch and dinner specials. 4694 Spottswood. 761-3711; 3964 Goodman Rd. 662-8907611. L, D, X, $ DORY—Chef David Krog whips up Southern specialties with classic French techniques and locally sourced ingredients. Current specialties include pork tenderloin, beef bourguignon, or cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles, with new weekly additions. 716 W. Brookhaven Circle. 310-4290. L, D, X, $$-$$$ ERLING JENSEN—For decades, has presented “globally inspired” cuisine to die for. Specialties are rack of lamb, big game entrees, and fresh fish dishes. 1044 S. Yates. 7633700. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$

ERLING JENSEN SMALL BITES—Enjoy Erling Jensen’s specialty dishes in a sharable, small plate format alongside TopGolf Swing suites. 5069 Sanderlin Ave. 587-9464. L, D, X, $-$$$ FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE—Serves wet-aged and dry-aged steaks, prime beef, chops, and seafood, including salmon, Australian lobster tails, and a catch of the day. 6245 Poplar. 761-6200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FOLK’S FOLLY ORIGINAL PRIME STEAK HOUSE—Specializes in prime steaks, as well as lobster, grilled Scottish salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, rack of lamb, and weekly specials. 551 S. Mendenhall. 762-8200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$ FORMOSA—Offers Mandarin cuisine, including broccoli beef, hot-and-sour soup, and spring rolls. Closed Monday. 6685 Quince. 753-9898. L, D, X, $-$$ FOX RIDGE PIZZA & GRILL—Pizzas, calzones, sub sandwiches, burgers, and meat-and-two plate lunches are among the dishes served at this eatery, which opened in 1979. 711 W. Brookhaven Circle 758-6500. L, D, X, $ FRATELLI’S—Serves hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts, all with an Italian/Mediterranean flair. Closed Sunday. 750 Cherry Rd., Memphis Botanic Garden. 766-9900. L, X, $ FRANK GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT—Northern Italian favorites include pasta with jumbo shrimp and mushrooms; also seafood, filet mignon, and daily lunch specials. Closed for lunch Sunday. Embassy Suites Hotel, 1022 S. Shady Grove. 761-9462. L, D, X, $-$$$ HALF SHELL—Specializes in seafood, such as king crab legs; also serves steaks, chicken, pastas, salads, sandwiches, a ”voodoo menu”; oyster bar at Winchester location. 688 S. Mendenhall. 682-3966; 7825 Winchester. 737-6755. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ HEN HOUSE—Hybrid wine/cocktail bar and tasting room with plenty of cosmopolitan eats. Closed Sun. 679 S. Mendenhall. 499-5436. D, $-$$$ HIGH POINT PIZZA—Serves a variety of pizzas, subs, salads, and sides. Closed Monday. A neighborhood fixture. 477 High Point Terrace. 452-3339. L, D, X, $-$$ HOG & HOMINY—The casual sister to Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen serves brick-oven-baked pizzas, including the Red-Eye with pork belly, and small plates with everything from meatballs to beef and cheddar hot dogs; and local veggies. And with a few surprises this time around. Closed for lunch Mon. 707 W. Brookhaven Cir. 207-7396. L, D, SB, X, MRA. $-$$$ HOUSTON’S—Serves steaks, seafood, pork chops, chicken dishes, sandwiches, salads, and Chicago-style spinach dip. Famous for first-class service. 5000 Poplar. 683-0915. L, D, X $-$$$ LA BAGUETTE—An almond croissant and chicken salad are among specialties at this French-style bistro. Closed for dinner Sun. 3088 Poplar. 458-0900. B, L, D (closes at 7), X, MRA, $ LAS DELICIAS—Popular for its guacamole, house-made tortilla chips, and margaritas, this restaurant draws diners with its chicken enchiladas, meat-stuffed flautas, and Cuban torta with spicy pork. Closed Sunday. 4002 Park Ave. 458-9264; 5689 Quince. 800-2873. L, D, X, $ LIBRO AT LAURELWOOD—Bookstore eatery features a variety of sandwiches, salads, and homemade pasta dishes, with Italianinspired options such as carbonara and potato gnocchi. Closed for dinner Sun. 387 Perkins Ext. (Novel). 800-2656. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$ LOST PIZZA—Offering pizzas (with dough made from scratch), pasta, salads, sandwiches, tamales, and more. 2855 Poplar. 5721803; 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-892-8684. L, D, X, $-$$ LYNCHBURG LEGENDS—This restaurant with a Jack Daniels’ theme and Southern cuisine serves such entrees as Bourbon Street salmon, buttermilk-fried chicken, and grilled steak and wild mushroom salad. DoubleTree Hotel, 5069 Sanderlin. 969-7777. B, L, D, X, $-$$$ MAGNOLIA & MAY—The family behind Grove Grill cooks up Southern-inspired casual dining at this country brasserie, with popular menu items like peach gazpacho, low country shrimp n’ grits, and plenty of weekend brunch options. Closed Mon. 718 Mt. Moriah Rd. 676-8100. D, SB, MRA. $$-$$$. MAHOGANY MEMPHIS—Upscale Southern restaurant offers such dishes as coffee-rubbed lamb chops and baked Cajun Cornish hen. Closed for dinner Sun. and all day Mon.-Tues. 3092 Poplar, Suite 11. 623-7977. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ MARCIANO MEDITERRANEAN AND ITALIAN CUISINE— Veal Saltimbocca with angel-hair pasta and white wine sauce is among the entrees; also steaks, seafood, and gourmet pizza. 780 Brookhaven Circle. 682-1660. D, X, $-$$

MAYURI INDIAN CUISINE—Serves tandoori chicken, masala dosa, tikka masala, as well as lamb and shrimp entrees; also a daily lunch buffet, and dinner buffet on Fri.-Sat. 6524 Quince Rd. 753-8755. L, D, X, $-$$ MELLOW MUSHROOM—Large menu includes assortment of pizzas, salads, calzones, hoagies, vegetarian options, and 50 beers on tap. 5138 Park Ave. 562-1211; 9155 Poplar, Shops of Forest Hill (Germantown). 907-0243. L, D, X, $-$$ MOSA ASIAN BISTRO—Specialties include sesame chicken, Thai calamari, rainbow panang curry with grouper fish, and other Pan Asian/fusion entrees. Closed Mon. 850 S. White Station Rd. 683-8889. L, D, X, MRA, $ NAM KING—Offers luncheon and dinner buffets, dim sum, and such specialties as fried dumplings, pepper steak, and orange chicken. 4594 Yale. 373-4411. L, D, X, $ NAPA CAFE—Among the specialties are miso-marinated salmon over black rice with garlic spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Closed Sun. 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 122. 683-0441. L, D, X, MRA, $$-$$$ NEW HUNAN—Chinese eatery with more than 80 entrees; also lunch/dinner buffets. 5052 Park. 766-1622. L, D, X, $ ONE & ONLY BBQ—On the menu are pork barbecue sandwiches, platters, wet and dry ribs, smoked chicken and turkey platters, a smoked meat salad, barbecue quesadillas, Brunswick Stew, and Millie’s homemade desserts. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 751-3615; 567 Perkins Extd. 249-4227. L, D, X, $ ONO POKÉ—This eatery specializes in poké — a Hawaiian dish of fresh fish salad served over rice. Menu includes a variety of poké bowls, like the Kimchi Tuna bowl, or customers can build their own by choosing a base, protein, veggies, and toppings. 3145 Poplar. 618-2955. L, D, X, $ OWEN BRENNAN’S—New Orleans-style menu of beef, chicken, pasta, and seafood; jambalaya, shrimp and grits, and crawfish etouffee are specialties. Closed for dinner Sunday. The Regalia, 6150 Poplar. 761-0990. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$ PARK + CHERRY—The Dixon offers casual dining within the museum. Seasonal menu features sandwiches, like rustic chicken salad on croissant, as well as salads, snacks, and sweets. Closed for breakfast Sun. and all day Mon. 4339 Park (Dixon Gallery and Gardens). 761-5250. L, X, $ PATRICK’S—Serves barbecue nachos, burgers, and entrees such as fish and chips; also plate lunches and daily specials. 4972 Park. 682-2852. L, D, X, MRA, $ PETE & SAM’S—Serving Memphis for 60-plus years; offers steaks, seafood, and traditional Italian dishes, including homemade ravioli, lasagna, and chicken marsala. 3886 Park. 458-0694. D, X, $-$$$ PF CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO—Specialties are orange peel shrimp, Mongolian beef, and chicken in lettuce wraps; also vegetarian dishes, including spicy eggplant. 1181 Ridgeway Rd., Park Place Centre. 818-3889. L, D, X, $-$$ PHO SAIGON—Vietnamese fare includes beef teriyaki, roasted quail, curry ginger chicken, vegetarian options, and a variety of soups. 2946 Poplar. 458-1644. L, D, $ PIMENTO’S KITCHEN + MARKET—Fresh sandwiches, soups, salads, and plenty of pimento cheese at this family-owned restaurant. 6540 Poplar Ave. 602-5488 (Collierville: 3751 S. Houston Levee. 453-6283). L, D, X, $ PYRO’S FIRE-FRESH PIZZA—Serving gourmet pizzas cooked in an open-fire oven, wide choice of toppings, and large local and craft beer selection. 1199 Ridgeway. 379-8294; 2035 Union Ave. 208-8857; 2286 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 207-1198; 3592 S. Houston Levee (Collierville). 221-8109. L, D, X, MRA, $ RED HOOK CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR—Cajun-style array of seafood including shrimp, mussels, clams, crawfish, and oysters. 3295 Poplar. 207-1960. L, D, X, $-$$ RED KOI—Classic Japanese cuisine offered at this family-run restaurant; hibachi steaks, sushi, seafood, chicken, and vegetables. 5847 Poplar. 767-3456. L, D, X $-$$ RED PIER CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR—Owners of Red Hook bring more cajun-style seafood dishes. 5901 Poplar Ave. 512-5923. L, D, $-$$$ RESTAURANT IRIS—French Creole-inspired classics, such as Gulf shrimp and rice grits congee served with lap chong sausage and boiled peanuts, are served at this newly remodeled restaurant owned by Chef Kelly English, a Food and Wine “Top Ten.” Opening soon at 4550 Poplar. 590-2828. D, X, $$-$$$ RIVER OAKS—Chef Jose Gutierrez’s French-style bistro serves seafood and steaks, with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 5871 Poplar Ave. 683-9305. L, D, X, $$$

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1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033: Bright, patient, and inspiring to others. You can be happy by yourself, yet make an outstanding parent. Marry a Snake or a Rooster. The Sheep will bring trouble.

TIGER

1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034: Tiger people are aggressive, courageous, candid, and sensitive. Look to the Horse and Dog for happiness. Beware of the Monkey.

RABBIT

1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035: Luckiest of all signs, you are also talented and articulate. Affectionate, yet shy. You seek peace throughout your life. Marry a Sheep or Boar. Your opposite is the Rooster.

RAT

DRAGON

1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032: You are ambitious, yet honest. Prone to spend freely. Seldom make lasting friendships. Fit best with Dragons and Monkeys. Least compatible with Horses.

1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036: You are eccentric and your life complex. You have a very passionate nature and abundant health. Marry a Monkey or a Rat late in life. Avoid the Dog.

SNAKE

BOAR

1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037: Wise and intense with a tendency towards physical beauty. Vain and high tempered. The Boar is your enemy. The Rooster and Ox are your best signs.

1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031, 2043: Noble and chivalrous. Your friends will be lifelong, yet you are prone to marital strife. Avoid other boars. Marry a Rabbit or a Sheep.

DOG

HORSE

1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042: Loyal and honest, you work well with others. Generous, yet stubborn and often selfish. Look to the Horse or Tiger. Watch out for Dragons.

1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038: Wise and intense with a tendency towards physical beauty. Vain and high tempered. The Boar is your enemy. The Rooster and Ox are your best signs.

Happy Hour

ALL LOCATIONS

Open 7 Days a Week!

MON-FRI 3-7PM SUN 1-7PM ROOSTER

1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041: A pioneer in spirit, you are devoted to work and quest after knowledge. You are selfish and eccentric. Rabbits are trouble. Snakes and Oxen are fine.

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MONKEY

1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040: You are very intelligent and able to influence people. An enthusiastic achiever, You are easily discouraged and confused. Avoid Tigers. Seek a Dragon or a Rat.

SHEEP

1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039: Elegant and creative. You are timid and prefer anonymity. You are most compatible with Boars and Rabbits, but never the Ox.

1/19/22 11:16 AM

The Memphis Dining Guide RONNIE GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT— This Memphis institution serves some family classics such as Elfo’s Special and handmade ravioli, along with house-made pizza and fresh oysters. Closed Sun. 6150 Poplar, Suite 122. 850-0191. D, X, $-$$$ RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE—Offers prime steaks cut and aged in-house, as well as lamb, chicken, and fresh seafood, including lobster. 6120 Poplar. 761-0055. D, X, $$$-$$$$ SALSA—Mexican-Southern California specialties include carnitas, enchiladas verde, and fajitas; also Southwestern seafood dishes such as snapper verde. Closed Sun. Regalia Shopping Center, 6150 Poplar, Suite 129. 683-6325. L, D, X, $-$$ SAUCY CHICKEN—Specializes in antibiotic-free chicken dishes with locally sourced ingredients, with such items as hot wings and the Crosstown Chicken Sandwich, and a variety of housemade dipping sauces; also, seafood, salads, and daily specials. Closed Sun. 4715 Poplar. 907-0741. L, D, $ SEASONS 52—This elegant fresh grill and wine bar offers a seasonally changing menu using fresh ingredients, wood-fire grilling, and brick-oven cooking; also a large international wine list and nightly piano bar. Crescent Center, 6085 Poplar. 682-9952. L, D, X, $$-$$$ SOBEAST—Eastern branch of the popular South of Beale, featuring the restaurant’s traditional staples, as well as rotating special menu items. 5040 Sanderlin. 818-0821. L, D, SB, X, $-$$. SOUTHALL CAFE—Locally sourced ingredients bolster a chef-driven menu offering breakfast and lunch classics. 669 S. Mendenhall. 646-5698. B, L, WB, X, $ STAKS—Offering pancakes, including birthday cake and lemon ricotta. Menu includes other breakfast items such as beignets and French toast, as well as soups and sandwiches for lunch. 4615 Poplar. 509-2367; 7704 Poplar (Germantown). 800-1951. B, L, WB, X, $ SUSHI JIMMI—This food truck turned restaurant serves a variety of sushi rolls, fusion dishes — such as kimchi fries — and sushi burritos. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Mon. 2895 Poplar. 729-6985. L, D, X, $ SWANKY’S TACO SHOP—Taco-centric eatery offers tortas, flatbreads, quesadillas, chimichangas, burgers, and more. 4770 Poplar. 730-0763; 6641 Poplar (Germantown). 737-2088; 272 S. Main. 779-3499. L, D, X, $ THREE LITTLE PIGS—Pork-shoulder-style barbecue with tangy mild or hot sauce, freshly made coleslaw, and baked beans. 5145 Quince Rd. 685-7094. B, L, D, X, $ TOPS BAR-B-Q—Specializes in pork barbecue sandwiches and sandwich plates with beans and slaw; also serves ribs, beef brisket, and burgers. 1286 Union. 725-7527; 4183 Summer. 3244325; 5391 Winchester. 794-7936; 3970 Rhodes. 323-9865; 6130 Macon. 371-0580. For more locations, go online. L, D, X, $ TORCHY’S TACOS—Plenty of Tex-Mex variety, with creative monthly special tacos. 719 S. Mendenhall. 3438880. B, L, D, $ VENICE KITCHEN—Specializes in “eclectic Italian” and Southern Creole, from pastas, including the “Godfather,” to hand-tossed pizzas, including the “John Wayne”; choose from 50 toppings. 368 Perkins Ext. 767-6872. L, D, SB, X, $-$$ WANG’S MANDARIN HOUSE—Offers Mandarin, Cantonese, Szechuan, and spicy Hunan entrees, including the golden-sesame chicken; next door is East Tapas, serving small plates with an Asian twist. 6065 Park Ave., Park Place Mall. 763-0676. L, D, X, $-$$ WASABI—Serving traditional Japanese offerings, hibachi, sashimi, and sushi. The Sweet Heart roll, wrapped — in the shape of a heart — with tuna and filled with spicy salmon, yellowtail, and avocado, is a specialty. 5101 Sanderlin Rd., Suite 105. 4216399. L, D, X, $-$$ WOMAN’S EXCHANGE TEA ROOM—Chicken-salad plate, beef tenderloin, soups-and-sandwiches, and vegetable plates are specialties; meal includes drink and dessert. Closed Sat.-Sun. 88 Racine. 327-5681. L, X, $ ZAYDE’S AT THE J—Kosher options at the Memphis Jewish Community Center cafe include traditional New York-style dishes and Israeli fusion. 6560 Poplar Ave. 208-3495. L, D, $-$$

CORDOVA BOMBAY HOUSE—Indian fare includes lamb korma and chicken tikka; also, a daily luncheon buffet. 1727 N. Germantown Pkwy. 755-4114. L, D, X, $-$$

THE BUTCHER SHOP—Serves steaks ranging from 8-oz. filets to a 20-oz. porterhouse; also chicken, pork chops, fresh seafood. 107 S. Germantown Rd. 757-4244. L (Fri. and Sun.), D, X, $$-$$$ GREEN BAMBOO—Pineapple tilapia, pork vermicelli, and the soft egg noodle combo are Vietnamese specialties here. 990 N. Germantown Parkway, Suite 104. 753-5488. L, D, $-$$ KING JERRY LAWLER’S MEMPHIS BBQ COMPANY— Offers a variety of barbecue dishes, including brisket, ribs, nachos topped with smoked pork, and a selection of barbecue “Slamwiches.” 465 N. Germantown Pkwy., Suite 116. 509-2360. L, D, X, $ JIM ’N NICK’S BAR-B-Q—Serves barbecued pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, and fish, along with other homemade Southern specialties. 2359 N. Germantown Pkwy. 388-0998. L, D, X, $-$$ EL MERO TACO—This food truck turned restaurant serves up Mexican and Southern-style fusion dishes, including fried chicken tacos, chorizo con papas tacos, and brisket quesadillas. 8100 Macon Station, Suite 102. 308-1661. Closed Sun.-Mon. L, D, WB, X, $ POKÉ WORLD—Serves up Hawaiian poké bowls filled with rice and diced, raw fish. Also offers Taiwanese bubble tea and rolled ice cream for dessert. 1605 N. Germantown Pkwy., Suite 111. 623-7986. East Memphis: 575 Erin Dr. 779-4971. L, D, $ SHOGUN JAPANESE RESTAURANT—Entrees include tempura, teriyaki, and sushi, as well as grilled fish and chicken entrees. 2324 N. Germantown Pkwy. 384-4122. L, D, X, $-$$ TANNOOR GRILL—Brazilian-style steakhouse with skewers served tableside, along with Middle Eastern specialties; vegetarian options also available. 830 N. Germantown Pkwy. 443-5222. L, D, X, $-$$$

GERMANTOWN

BLUE HONEY BISTRO—Entrees at this upscale eatery include brown butter scallops served with Mississippi blue rice and herb-crusted beef tenderloin with vegetables and truffle butter. Closed Sun. 9155 Poplar, Suite 17. 552-3041. D, X, $-$$$ FOREST HILL GRILL—A variety of standard pub fare and a selection of mac-and-cheese dishes are featured on the menu. Specialties include Chicken Newport and a barbecue salmon BLT. 9102 Poplar Pike. 624-6001. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$ GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches; Mon.-night all-you-can-eat ribs. 2290 S. Germantown Rd. S. 754-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA—Authentic Mexican food prepared from local food sources; specializes in tortugas — grilled bread scooped out to hold such powerfully popular fillings as brisket, pork, and shrimp; also tingas, tostados. Closed Sunday. 1215 S. Germantown Rd. 751-1200; 6300 Poplar. 623-3882. L, D, X, $-$$ MOONDANCE GRILL—From the owners of Itta Bena and Lafayette’s. Serves steak cooked sous vide and seafood dishes including Abita-barbecued shrimp and pan-seared sand dab, in addition to an extensive wine and cocktail list. 1730 S. Germantown Road, Suite 117. 755-1471. L, D, X, $$-$$$ NOODLES ASIAN BISTRO—Serves a variety of traditional Asian cuisine, with emphasis on noodle dishes, such as Singapore Street Noodles and Hong Kong Chow Fun. 7850 Poplar, Suite 12. 755-1117. L, D, X, $ PETRA CAFÉ—Serves Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern sandwiches, gyros, and entrees. Hours vary; call. 6641 Poplar. 754-4440; 547 S. Highland. 323-3050. L, D, X, $-$$ ROCK’N DOUGH PIZZA CO.—Specialty and custom pizzas made from fresh ingredients; wide variety of toppings. 7850 Poplar, Suite 6. 779-2008. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $$ ROYAL PANDA—Hunan fish, Peking duck, Royal Panda chicken and shrimp, and a seafood combo are among the specialties. 3120 Village Shops Dr. 756-9697. L, D, X, $-$$ RUSSO’S NEW YORK PIZZERIA AND WINE BAR—Serves gourmet pizzas, calzones, and pasta, including lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, scampi, and more. 9087 Poplar, Suite 111. 755-0092. L, D, WB, X, $-$$ SAKURA—Sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are Japanese specialties here. 2060 West St. 758-8181; 4840 Poplar. 572-1002. L, D, X, $-$$ SOUTHERN SOCIAL—Shrimp and grits, stuffed quail, and Aunt Thelma’s Fried Chicken are among the dishes served at this upscale Southern establishment. 2285 S. Germantown Rd. 754-5555. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$

TAZIKI’S—Mediterranean-inspired dishes all made from scratch. 7850 Poplar Ave., Suite 26. 612-2713. East Memphis: 540 S. Mendenhall Rd. 290-1091. Bartlett: 7974 US-64. 203-0083. L, D, $ WEST STREET DINER—This home-style eatery offers breakfast, burgers, po’boys, and more. 2076 West St. 757-2191. B, L, D (Mon.Fri.), X, $ ZEN JAPANESE FINE CUISINE—A full sushi bar and plenty of authentic Japanese dishes, like Hibachi or Wagyu beef. 1730 S. Germantown Rd. 779-2796. L, D, X, X, $-$$$

COLLIERVILLE

CAFE EUROPE—From Italian chef Michele D’oto, the French, Spanish, and Italian fusion cuisine includes a variety of dishes like Rosette al Forno, fish ceviche, and sole meuniere. Closed Sun. 4610 Merchants Park Circle, Suite 571. 286-4199. L, D, X, $$-$$$$ CAFE PIAZZA BY PAT LUCCHESI—Specializes in gourmet pizzas (including create-your-own), panini sandwiches, and pasta. Closed Sun. 139 S. Rowlett St. 861-1999. L, D, X, $-$$ CIAO BABY—Specializing in Neapolitan-style pizza made in a wood-fired oven. Also serves house-made mozzarella, pasta, appetizers, and salads. 890 W. Poplar, Suite 1. 457-7457. L, D, X, $ COLLIERVILLE COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches. 3573 S. Houston Levee Rd. 979-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ DAVID GRISANTI’S—Serving Northern Italian cuisine and traditional family recipes, like the Elfo Special, shrimp sauteed in garlic and butter, tossed with white button mushrooms and white pepper, and served over vermicelli with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Closed Sun. 684 W. Poplar (Sheffield Antiques Mall). 861-1777. L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, $-$$$ EL MEZCAL—Serves burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, and other Mexican cuisine, as well as shrimp dinners and steak. 9947 Wolf River, 853-7922; 402 Perkins Extd. 761-7710; 694 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 755-1447; 1492 Union. 274-4264; 11615 Airline Rd. (Arlington). 867-1883; 9045 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 383-4219; 7164 Hacks Cross Rd. (Olive Branch). 662-890-3337; 8834 Hwy. 51 N. (Millington). 872-3220; 7424 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 417-6026. L, D, X, $ EMERALD THAI RESTAURANT—Spicy shrimp, pad khing, lemongrass chicken, and several noodle, rice, and vegetarian dishes are offered at this family restaurant. Closed Sunday. 8950 Highway 64 (Lakeland, TN). 384-0540. L, D, X, $-$$ FIREBIRDS—Specialties are hand-cut steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and wood-grilled salmon and other seafood, as well as seasonal entrees. 4600 Merchants Circle, Carriage Crossing. 850-1637; 8470 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 379-1300. L, D, X, $-$$$ JIM’S PLACE GRILLE—Features American, Greek, and Continental cuisine. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 3660 Houston Levee. 861-5000. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$ MULAN ASIAN BISTRO—Hunan Chicken, tofu dishes, and orange beef served here; sushi and Thai food, too. 2059 Houston Levee. 850-5288; 2149 Young. 347-3965; 4698 Spottswood. 6098680. L, D, X, $-$$ OSAKA JAPANESE CUISINE—Featuring an extensive sushi menu as well as traditional Japanese and hibachi dining. Hours vary for lunch; call. 3670 Houston Levee. 861-4309; 3402 Poplar. 249-4690; 7164 Hacks Cross (Olive Branch). 662-890-9312; 2200 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 425-4901. L, D, X, $-$$$ RAVEN & LILY—Eatery offers innovative Southerninspired cuisine with such dishes as crispy shrimp and cauliflower salad, spiced lamb sausage and parmesan risotto, and bananas foster pain perdu. Closed Monday. 120 E. Mulberry. 286-4575. L, D, SB, X, $-$$ STIX—Hibachi steakhouse with Asian cuisine features steak, chicken, and a fillet and lobster combination, also sushi. A specialty is Dynamite Chicken with fried rice. 4680 Merchants Park Circle, Avenue Carriage Crossing. 854-3399. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 115 (Downtown). 207-7638 L, D, X, $-$$ WOLF RIVER BRISKET CO.—From the owners of Pyro’s Fire Fresh Pizza, highlights include house-smoked meats: prime beef brisket, chicken, and salmon. Closed Sun. 9947 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 101. 316-5590; 1350 Concourse Ave, Suite 165. 791-4389 L, D, X, $-$$ ZOPITA’S ON THE SQUARE—Cafe offers sandwiches, including smoked salmon and pork tenderloin, as well as salads and desserts. Closed Sun. 114 N. Main. 457-7526. L, D, X, $

OUT-OF-TOWN

BOZO’S HOT PIT BAR-B-Q—Barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, and subs. 342 Hwy. 70 (Mason, TN). 901-294-3400. L, D, $-$$

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The Memphis Dining Guide CATFISH BLUES—Serving Delta-raised catfish and Cajun- and Southern-inspired dishes, including gumbo and fried green tomatoes. 210 E. Commerce (Hernando, MS). 662-298-3814. L, D, $ CITY GROCERY—Southern eclectic cuisine; shrimp and grits is a specialty. Closed for dinner Sunday. 152 Courthouse Square (Oxford, MS). 662-232-8080. L, D, SB, X, $$-$$$ COMO STEAKHOUSE—Steaks cooked on a hickory charcoal grill are a specialty here. Upstairs is an oyster bar. Closed Sun. 203 Main St. (Como, MS). 662-526-9529. D, X, $-$$$ ELFO GRISANTI’S NORTHERN ITALIAN CUISINE—Grisanti family classics like lasagna, homemade ravioli, garlic bread, and Northern Italian pizza. Closed Sun. 5627 Getwell Rd. (Southaven, MS). 662-470-4497. L, D, X, $-$$ LONG ROAD CIDER CO.—Specializes in hard apple ciders made with traditional methods. Cafe-style entrees include black-eyed peas with cornbread and greens, chicken Gorgonzola pockets, cider-steamed sausage, and housemade ice creams. Closed Sun.Wed. 9053 Barret Road. (Barretville, TN). 352-0962. D, X, $ MANILA FILIPINO RESTAURANT—Entrees include pork belly cutlet with lechon sauce, and shrimp and vegetables in tamarind broth; also daily combos, rice dishes, and chef specials. Closed Sun.-Mon. 7849 Rockford (Millington, TN). 209-8525. L, D, X, $ CASINO TABLES BOURBON STREET STEAKHOUSE & GRILL AT SOUTHLAND CASINO RACING—1550 Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-800-467-6182 CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE AT THE GOLDSTRIKE—1010 Casino Center Dr., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-24KSTAY /662-357-1225 FAIRBANKS AT THE HOLLYWOOD—1150 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-871-0711 JACK BINION’S STEAK HOUSE AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE LUCKY 8 ASIAN BISTRO AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE THE STEAKHOUSE AT THE FITZ—711 Lucky Ln., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-766-LUCK, ext 8213 TWAIN’S STEAKHOUSE AT SAM’S TOWN TUNICA—1477 Casino Strip Resorts Boulevard, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-456-0711 MARSHALL STEAKHOUSE—Rustic steakhouse serves premium Angus beef steaks, seafood dishes, rack of lamb, and more. 2379 Highway 178 (Holly Springs, MS). 628-3556. B, L, D, X, $-$$$ MEMPHIS BARBECUE COMPANY—Offers spare ribs, baby backs, and pulled pork and brisket. 709 Desoto Cove (Horn Lake, MS). 662-536-3762. L, D, X, $-$$ NAGOYA—Offers traditional Japanese cuisine and sushi bar; specialties are teriyaki and tempura dishes. 7075 Malco Blvd., Suite 101 (Southaven, MS). 662-349-8788. L, D, X, $-$$$ PANCHO’S—Serves up a variety of Mexican standards, including tacos, enchiladas, and mix-and-match platters. 3600 E. Broadway (West Memphis, AR). 870-735-6466. 717 N. White Station. 685-5404. L, D, X, MRA, $ PIG-N-WHISTLE—Offers pork shoulder sandwiches, wet and dry ribs, catfish, nachos, and stuffed barbecue potatoes. 6084 Kerr-Rosemark Rd. (Millington, TN). 872-2455. L, D, X, $ RAVINE—Serves contemporary Southern cuisine with an emphasis on fresh, locally grown foods and a menu that changes weekly. Closed Mon.-Tues. 53 Pea Ridge/County Rd. 321 (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, SB, X, $$-$$$ SAINT LEO’S—Offering sophisticated pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and salads. A James Beard nominee for Best New Restaurant in 2017. 1101 Jackson (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, L, WB, $-$$ SNACKBAR—Billed as an intriguing mix of “French Bistro with North Mississippi Cafe.” Serving a confit duck Croque Monsieur, watermelon-cucumber chaat, pan-fried quail, plus a daily plate special and a raw bar. 721 N. Lamar (Oxford, MS). 662-236-6363. D, $-$$$ WILSON CAFE—Serving elevated home-cooking, with such dishes as deviled eggs with cilantro and jalapeño, scampi and grits, and doughnut bread pudding. 2 N. Jefferson (Wilson, AR). 870-655-0222. L, D (Wed. through Sat. only), X, $-$$$

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S TA N D

My Visit from Martha Stewart

It’s not every day that such a celebrity drops by to sample your homemade corn wine. BY MICHAEL DONAHUE

Martha Stewart & Michael Donahue

n honor of National Drink Wine Day (February 18th), I’m sharing the story about the day Martha Stewart drank my homemade corn wine in the kitchen of my home in Red Banks, Mississippi. Yes, THE Martha Stewart: the writer, publisher, and TV personality who probably knows more about home decor, gardening, and lifestyles than anybody. She’s also the founder of the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. merchandising and media company. All of which is pretty daunting when you discover that same woman is going to drop by your house in a matter of hours. But first, a bit about the corn wine. Decades ago, the local postmaster told me about a Red Banks resident who gave her a bottle of homemade corn wine every Christmas. The woman made it the old-fashioned way, without using intricate equipment from a wine-making store. I was intrigued. I wanted to learn to make wine like that. So I invited the local winemaker to my house to show me how to make it. I bought the earthenware crock and the ingredients. Instead of videotaping the pro-

cess, I took notes reporter-style while she showed me the steps. The ingredients were ears of corn, yeast, sugar, raisins, and water. Put all that in a crock covered with a towel and “let it work,” the woman told me. And, she said, after you pour the wine into a glass jug, don’t screw the top down too tight until all the bubbles rise to the top — or the whole thing will explode. I managed to make several batches with no explosions. Getting back to Stewart. In 1993 , I got a call from Pat Kerr Tigrett, the fashion designer and Memphis booster. She said she and her buddy, Martha Stewart, were traveling to

Holly Springs, Mississippi, on their way to visit author John Grisham who was living then in Oxford, Mississippi. I said, “Bring her by my house on the way.” Stewart had just published Martha Stewart’s New Old House, which was about restoring an old house. I honestly thought if she saw my circa-1832 farmhouse, she’d do another book on restoring my house. After Tigrett called back and said they were stopping by, I cleaned my house like it had never been cleaned before. I remember finding a dyed and (thankfully) unbroken Easter egg still hidden in the living room from months before. Then Stewart and Tigrett showed up. I’m sure I had an unnatural fixed smile on my face for most of their visit. I gave Stewart a tour. She was holding a little camera, but she wasn’t furiously snapping away. In fact, I don’t remember her taking a single photo. I used to have a set of antique Eastlake furniture, which isn’t

the most sought-after Victorian style, in my living room. Springs were sticking out of almost every piece and the old upholstery was ripped or missing. I’d always planned to have the set reupholstered. I remember Stewart looking at it and graciously saying something along the lines of, “Well, all the pieces match.” I felt the book idea starting to fade. She looked serious most of the time. It was a different story when she got to the kitchen and saw the wine crocks on the table. She asked what I was making, and when I told her “corn wine,” she suddenly brightened up. I brought out a jug of the wine I had made some time before and poured glasses for everybody. She loved it. Tigrett snapped this photo of me about to pour a glass of wine for everybody as Stewart and I, both wearing heavy coats, smiled into the camera on that cold afternoon. In the photo, my kitchen table is adorned with a wooden bowl with fruit, including a pineapple, in it, which is not the norm at my house. A copy of Martha Stewart Living magazine looks like it’s strategically placed on the table, but I think they brought that magazine with them. Stewart got really excited when I told her my story about how I began making the corn wine. She wanted the recipe. I began telling her from memory how I made it while she wrote everything down. But I couldn’t remember how much sugar I used. I couldn’t find my original notes, so I told her I’d call her later and give her the correct amount. But I never called Stewart. That recipe never appeared in Martha Stewart Living. And, needless to say, a coffee-table book about my house does not exist. Well, not yet anyway. Tigrett got on my rotary phone to tell Grisham they were on their way, and they left. But I now know I can invite anybody to my house without fear. After all, THE Martha Stewart once was a visitor. And I pulled it off. I guess.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAT KERR TIGRETT

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Roadshow BMW 405 N. Germantown Parkway Memphis Cordova, TN 38018 (901) 365-2584