Hen House on South Mendenhall in East Memphis runs country fried chicken, chicken and waffles and Southern comfort dishes from a converted house with a side patio.
Signature dishes: Country fried chicken, Chicken and waffles
Must order: Country fried chicken plate with biscuits and gravy.
Tip: Open daily; the small patio fills first on warm days and the wait can be 45 minutes at brunch.
Address: 679 S Mendenhall Rd, Memphis, TN 38117
Mahogany Memphis is a Black-owned, women-owned Cajun-Creole room in Chickasaw Oaks Village on Poplar Avenue with crawfish étouffée and blackened catfish.
Signature: Crawfish étouffée, Blackened catfish
Order: Crawfish étouffée and blackened catfish, with a glass of red.
Tip: Reserve on the website for dinner; Sundays book up first for the Cajun brunch.
Tops Bar-B-Q is a Memphis chain of drive-in BBQ counters since 1952, with chopped pork sandwiches, onion rings and the city's signature cheap drive-thru BBQ option.
Signature: Chopped pork sandwich, Onion rings
Order: Chopped pork sandwich, onion rings, sweet tea.
Tip: Drive-thru and counter only, no dining room. The Summer Avenue branch is one of the oldest still standing.
Mahogany Memphis is a Black-owned, women-owned Cajun-Creole room in Chickasaw Oaks Village on Poplar Avenue with crawfish étouffée and blackened catfish.
Signature: Crawfish étouffée, Blackened catfish
Order: Crawfish étouffée and blackened catfish, with a glass of red.
Tip: Reserve on the website for dinner; Sundays book up first for the Cajun brunch.
Memphis Pizza Cafe's Madison Avenue midtown room has run thin-crust by the slice and house specialty pies since 1991, a casual midtown standby with a side patio.
Signature: Pizza by the slice, The Hippie
Order: The Hippie pizza with feta and pesto.
Tip: Open daily for lunch and dinner; the patio is the seat in spring. Multiple locations across Memphis run the same menu.
Central BBQ's Midtown Memphis room on Central Avenue is the chain's original, opened in 2002 with dry-rub ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and BBQ nachos.
Signature: Pulled pork, BBQ nachos
Order: Pulled pork sandwich with BBQ nachos to share.
Tip: The patio is the seat; the dining room fills fast at lunch. Online ordering skips the line.
Germantown Commissary on South Germantown Road has slow-smoked Memphis BBQ from a converted general store east of the city since 1981. A long porch out front.
Signature: Pulled pork plate, Smoked chicken
Order: Pulled pork plate with the smoked chicken and slaw.
Tip: Open daily; the porch fills first. Drive from downtown takes 20 minutes via Poplar Avenue.
A&R Bar-B-Que on Elvis Presley Boulevard in South Memphis has run Black-owned hickory-smoke BBQ from a converted gas station since 1983: pulled pork, ribs, bologna.
Signature: Pulled pork sandwich, Smoked bologna
Order: Pulled pork sandwich with smoked bologna on the side.
Tip: Counter service. The Hickory Hill branch at 3721 Hickory Hill Rd runs the same menu.
Tops Bar-B-Q is a Memphis chain of drive-in BBQ counters since 1952, with chopped pork sandwiches, onion rings and the city's signature cheap drive-thru BBQ option.
Signature: Chopped pork sandwich, Onion rings
Order: Chopped pork sandwich, onion rings, sweet tea.
Tip: Drive-thru and counter only, no dining room. The Summer Avenue branch is one of the oldest still standing.
