Heading to Memphis this weekend for the second Memphis Rieslingstudy.
Would love any suggestions.
We will most likely do Catherine & Marys for one dinner but have room for another and a few lunches.
My folks still live in Memphis and I grew up there. If you eat pork and have time for a lunch, Payne’s is possibly my favorite sandwich of all time (chopped pork, hot sauce, slaw mandatory). Totally unique in the pantheon of Memphis BBQ.
I think the Andrew Michael team is fantastic, and Hog & Hominy across the street is a unique combo of southern and Italian casual. The former won’t match up to NY experiences, so the latter is probably more of a Memphis thing to do (imho). Great pizza, too.
Las Tortugas is also a standout (though I haven’t been in years), thoughtful casual Mexican, good ingredients.
Of course BBQ… Cozy Corner for cornish hen and BBQ Shop for spaghetti! are a couple of fun ones.
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Thanks so much!
We did Cozy Corner and Egon Muller last time for lunch. And BBQ Shop is where we are doing the lunch.
Who has the best friend Chicken in Memphis?
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Gus for fried chicken
Restaurant Iris for dinner or their more casual place Second Line. The chef has real NOLA creds.
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Yep, Gus’s.
Agree that Gus’s would be a good shout for the chicken, and easily walkable if you’re staying downtown. For other restaurant venues, maybe check out The Beauty Shop in the Cooper Young district. No great revelation foodwise (contemporary bistro-fayre) but it’s converted from the salon where Priscilla would have her hair done and they have retained some of the decor - you can even elect to sit under an old-fashioned lady’s dryer. Not food, but I always count a cocktail in the Peabody Hotel lobby as a classic Memphis experience - but avoid clashing with the daily Duck March if you want to get a seat.
When you mentioned Cozy Corner and Egon Muller do you mean that you were able to bring your own wine to lunch there? The name did put me in mind of Erling Jensen, a nice restaurant in East Memphis with a highly enlightened approach to corkage ($10 bottle) and a decent Sunday lunch. In fact, I’ll be celebrating my wife’s birthday there Saturday evening, unfortunately clashing with your study evening downtown. But if you’re in town for a few days and have an hour spare I’d be extremely happy to join you for a glass sometime.
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I don’t think this is the policy. We had a connection.
Thanks for the other recommendations.
Say Hi to my daughter Nolita at Rhodes College!!
Flight is one of my favs!!
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I visited Memphis in February 2023. Stayed at the Memphian which is in the theatre district and a few miles from DT. Attended a Grizzlies game on Friday night and enjoyed a pre game bite at Flight (check out the cellar dining option if available) and a post game bite somewhere near Beale Street that I vaguely remember walking a flight of stairs to get to the restaurant. Sorry, I couldn’t locate anything on the map that triggers my memory, but both meals were very good. Probably a slight nudge to Flight. Check out the record shop around the corner from Flight. Enjoyed lunch at Second Line, small plates at Porch and Parlor and dinner at Hog & Hominy on Saturday. I think that Second Line would be too small for a large gathering without some sort of private event. Porch and Parlor was my favorite meal from the weekend. Hog & Hominy is further removed from DT and it was beyond busy on a Saturday night. I couldn’t get a drink for 20+ minutes standing at the bar and I’m pretty efficient with bartenders and bar crowds. The pizza was good, but I don’t recall being overly impressed with the menu. Perhaps I should have sampled several small dishes versus the pizza. Enjoyed brunch at the Complicated Pilgram inside the Memphian Saturday and Sunday. Hoping to join a Rieslingstudy one of these days…
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I’m guessing Itta Bena
I ate at Hog & Hominy on Monday night and the starters were very good.
We are on the ground in Memphis and there is a major buzz in the air for tomorrow’s event. We did coffee this morning at Hustle and Dough, very good. Did a soul food lunch at The Four Way, enjoyed it very much. Dinner tonight at Catherine & Marys. Really dig this town.
I love when you ask 10 people for their favorite this or that and you get ten different passionate answers.
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Some final thoughts on Memphis! My 4th trip in four years…I absolutely love the city. Yes it could definitely use a few more higher end restaurants. However there is more than enough to explore there for a long weekend. We ended our weekend with a very nice brunch at Hog and Hominy. They have a small wine list with some nice choices but were also cool with us bringing in our own wine, not sure what the official corkage policy is.
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