Memphis Recently

Good recs for BBQ and anything else you deem worthy. Need a breakfast place or two. Staying downtown.

I was there about a year or so ago and definitely the best BBQ I ate was the chopped pork sandwich from Payne's.

Second the motion for Payne's. Make sure you go to the original location on Lamar and not the other one on Elvis Presley Blvd. Same family, definitely not the same operation. Recommend the Chopped Pork and also the BBQ Balogna sandwiches, both topped with the house sauce and a dollop of Tennessee Mustard Slaw.

Buddy

Payne's Bar-B-Que
1762 Lamar Ave.
Memphis, TN 38114
(901) 272-1523

On the fried chicken front, I'd recommend a visit to Gus's Fried Chicken. They've got a few locations, but I can only vouch for the one on Front Street.

Gus's Fried Chicken








Gus's Fried Chicken
310 South Front Street
Memphis, TN 38103
901-527-4877

For breakfast downtown I like The Blue Plate Cafe and for dinner I can't speak highly enough about Hog & Hominy. On Sundays, Hog & Hominy does a romaine salad with pecorino vinaigrette and crispy chicken skins as well as apoutine with neckbone gravy, chili oil, and caputo cheese curds. Maybe they offer these nightly but I've only had them on Sundays. Hog & Hominy is not downtown but worth the short trip.

Blue Plate Cafe
113 Court Ave, Memphis, TN 38103

http://www.hogandhominy.com/
707 W Brookhaven Circle
Memphis, TN 38117

I second Gus's. I thought Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous (52 S. 2nd st) was pretty good as well. I only had the pulled pork, though. Wasn't tat hungry but my friends raved about the ribs. Also, I liked Earnestine and Hazel's Bar and Grill (531 S. Main) had a good burger in a Divey southern bar setting.

We ate at Central. Thought the ribs and brisket were very good. The pork, not so much. Great beers.
Lunch at Payne's on Lamar. Chopped pork sandwich for me and rib sandwich for my wife. This was very, very good.
Just don't expect much atmosphere. As my wife said when we walked in "We're not at Alinea anymore".
Ate breakfast at Bryant's. I had the sampler...biscuits, gravy, grits, potato pattie, sausage, bacon, pork and smoked ham $10. Liked it all, especially the ham. Almost all actually. I thought the gravy sucked. My wife had the bacon, egg, cheese biscuit which she proclaimed excellent. The place works a lot like Hot Doug's. The line wound all the way through the place and out the door. Place your order, sit and they'll bring it to you. The owner was at the counter, taking orders and chatting with each customer. I was afraid to ask if his name was Doug. Line moved fast. About 20 minutes from Downtown. Well worth it.
Sadly, we did not make it to Gus's.

Not downtown, but the other Memphis threads seem very old or involve road trips.

I had lunch yesterday at Germantown Commissary. The food generally tasted very good, but I was still disappointed. I had read reviews that the food tended to be dry. It was VERY dry. Good smoke, no jello, etc. But it needed a lot of either cole slaw (for the shoulder) or sauce (for the half slab). The sausage was in the Kielbasa/Thuringer very fine ground style, which was ok but I prefer the chunky grind and almost Italian Sausage-like char often found in Chicago.

Even the coconut cream pie was dry, but that's because they put an insane amount of coconut in it. It was also very sweet, and I couldn't finish it. Definitely something to share.

In the future, it's not a place I'd go out of my way to stop at again, but if you're in the Germantown/Bartlett region east of 240 (which I was), it's a reasonable stop. I was disappointed because I had higher expectations.

I can't wait to get back in Memphis! When I'm going through there I always love to stop in at the Cozy Corner Bbq at 745 North Pkwy, Memphis, TN 38105.

http://www.cozycornerbbq.com/

rolled through Memphis around lunchtime yesterday on the drive back up north from Spring Break on the Gulf(ill add my Louisiana, NOLA, and Mississippi stuff to appropriate threads as my schedule permits). -

had 2 spots in Memphis on my list -

#1 - Dyers Hamburgers





Im all about the old - and this place has been around since 1912 - I thought the burger was solid, as was the bologna sandwich - the star was the split dog fried in the same grease as the burgers.

Double cheese - good burger - one of the best in the U.S.? I dunno...:



Big Rag Bologna:



Split Dog:



As mentioned the dog was the shiznit - not sure why more places dont split and deep fry dogs.

Stop # 2 - Central BBQ

was looking for some bbq while in town - this spot worked out well - their downtown location.



located right next to the old Loraine Motel - read up on your history y'all.







on to the food - Central's food was all good - a busy place - kind of reminded me of Portillos - as far as the operation/seating.

the feast:



1/2 slab bb ribs - good stuff - succulent and nice:



dug this bologna sandwich - better than Dyers -





also got some pulled pork nachos and a 1/2 order of wings - all good - I thought their pulled pork was good that Id get a sandwich next time -

Quick stop in Memphis, but have a feeling I will be back

Dyers Burgers
205 Beale Street
Memphis, TN.

http://www.dyersonbeale.com/index.php

Central BBQ
2249 Central Ave.
Memphis, TN.

http://cbqmemphis.com/