Memphis Restaurants

Memphis is one of the cheapest places in the USA to live, and that includes going out to eat. You could literally eat out every night of the week and not exhaust the citys restaurant menu. As the birthplace of rock n roll and home of the blues, Memphis has become an entertainment destination that has brought with it a cosmopolitan array of dining choices. If you have not been to Memphis in the last ten years, you might be quite surprised by the changes in the range and type of dining available. A boom in immigration, especially from south of the border, combined with a surge in downtown development, has resulted in an exciting breadth in Memphis cuisine.

Local cuisine

Memphis boasts a long culinary legacy dominated by regional barbeque. Memphis barbeque is rendered distinct by its sole usage of pork (as opposed to beef), focus on rib and shoulder cuts of meat and multiple locally-owned barbeque restaurants. Celebration of this local dish reaches its climax each year in May, when the Memphis in May Festival holds its annual international Memphis in the May Barbeque Cookoff.

Where to eat

No longer is Memphis home to only wet and dry barbecue ribs: it now boasts Asian, Mexican and other ethnic restaurants in virtually every area of the city. With a reputation as the pork barbecue capital of the world, Memphis also boasts food types as diverse as Pacific Rim, five-star French, prime steakhouses, wine bars, Mediterranean and distinctly Southern.

Visit restaurants downtown such as The Cupboard with its traditional Southern plate lunches, or the Womens Exchange of Memphis for the down-home food Memphis mothers made famous. The Rendezvous attracts those looking for a good barbeque in a decidedly low-key environment. Next door, locally-owned Sekisui serves up authentic sushi and tempura for those looking for something lighter. Around the corner, Automatic Slims makes a wicked voodoo stew for the adventurous.