Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman's downtown Memphis room pairs Tuscan and Sicilian grandmother cooking with Southern ingredients in the Chisca on Main building.
Signature dishes: House-made pastas, Wood-roasted plates
Must order: Whatever pasta they are rolling that night, plus the wood-roasted whole fish.
Tip: Booth seats in the bar mean walk-in dinner on most weeknights; the dining room books two weeks out on Resy.
Address: 272 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38103
Charlie Vergos's basement Memphis BBQ room off Second Street has served charcoal-broiled dry-rub ribs since 1948. The signature rub is sold by the bag.
Signature: Charcoal-broiled dry-rub pork ribs, Cheese and sausage plate
Order: Full slab of ribs, dry, with the cheese and sausage plate and a pitcher.
Tip: Enter through the alley off Monroe; closed Sunday and Monday. They cook ribs over charcoal, not in a smoker; dry-rub purists call it grilled.
Ticer and Hudman's wood-fired pizza and charcuterie room in East Memphis runs a Southern-Italian playbook on a covered Brookhaven Circle patio since 2012.
Signature: Wood-fired pizzas, House charcuterie
Order: The pizza of the night and a board of house salumi.
Tip: Brunch on Sundays runs until 14:00 with biscuits, ricotta and bacon-fat doughnuts. Patio first.
Chef Kelly English's Restaurant Iris in Memphis moved to Poplar Avenue in 2022 with a tighter menu of New Orleans Creole built on Mississippi seafood.
Signature: Crawfish and grits, Pork belly
Order: Crawfish and grits with andouille; a Sazerac to start.
Tip: Lunch service was added with the move; the four-course tasting menu is the steady bet at dinner.
Karen Carrier's Cooper-Young Memphis room sits inside a 1940s beauty salon where Priscilla Presley once did her hair, open since 2002 with a globe-trotting menu.
Signature: Watermelon and wings, Pho
Order: Watermelon wings with feta and the Vietnamese pho.
Tip: Saturday brunch fills the booths fast. Sit at the bar for a faster meal under the dryer hoods.
The Four Way is Memphis's defining Black-owned soul food room on Mississippi Boulevard since 1946. Martin Luther King Jr. ate here; the walls show the guests.
Signature: Fried chicken, Smothered turkey wings
Order: Smothered turkey wings, collard greens, mac and cheese, sweet potato pie.
Tip: Open Wednesday to Saturday for lunch only, 11:00 to 17:00. Cash and card both fine.
Betty Joyce Chester-Tamayo's Pinch District Memphis soul food room has run fried chicken, collards and a hug at the door for over twenty years.
Signature: Fried chicken, Ghetto Aid
Order: Fried chicken plate with greens and yams; ask for a Ghetto Aid.
Tip: Counter service, cash preferred. B.J. greets every table; the experience is half the meal.
Charlie Vergos's basement Memphis BBQ room off Second Street has served charcoal-broiled dry-rub ribs since 1948. The signature rub is sold by the bag.
Signature: Charcoal-broiled dry-rub pork ribs, Cheese and sausage plate
Order: Full slab of ribs, dry, with the cheese and sausage plate and a pitcher.
Tip: Enter through the alley off Monroe; closed Sunday and Monday. They cook ribs over charcoal, not in a smoker; dry-rub purists call it grilled.
