<p>We've made several visits to Rhodes now, but have not been that thrilled with the restaurants we've found in the area.</p>
<p>We tried Huey's on Madison because it seems to be one of those "musts". We don't really have any desire to return.</p>
<p>I'm sure there are many excellent places in Memphis, relatively close to Rhodes. So, does anyone want to share their great experiences?</p>
<p>FYI, inside the Barret library, on the right as you're coming through the door, there's a podium set up with hundreds of menus for local restaurants.</p>
<p>Here's what I can think of near Rhodes, all of which I like. I didn't list anything downtown, nor did I list anything east of East Parkway (like stuff down Poplar Ave and on Highland Ave). I also didn't list anything that I might like but that a non-local would think might be shady.</p>
<p>Fine dining:
Cafe Society on Evergreen
Paulette's on Madison</p>
<p>Nice sit-down:
Bosco's on Madison
Do on Cooper
Beauty Shop on Cooper
Sekisui on Evergreen
Pei Wei on Union at Evergreen</p>
<p>Casual sit-down:
Holiday Ham on Union
Cafe Eclectic on McLean
Fresh Slices on Overton
Huey's on Madison
Fino's at Madison and McLean
Bar-B-Q Shop on Madison
Heavenly Hoagies on Union
Wiles-Smith Pharmacy on Union
Bogie's on Madison
Molly's La Casita on Madison
Blue Monkey on Madison
Celtic Crossing on Cooper
Young Avenue Deli on Young near Cooper
Cafe Ole at Cooper and Young
Soul Fish on Cooper</p>
<p>Thanks very much, lynx. This list should be more than sufficient, given that we're probably going to spend a total of 15 nights in Memphis over the next 4 years.</p>
<p>I was unaware of the menus in Barrett library -- that's a good resource to know about.</p>
<p>Ok, I know this may turn into a "religious" debate...</p>
<p>And by "best" I mean best example of Memphis-style BBQ (whatever that is).</p>
<p>So, share your opinions!</p>
<p>Try Brother Juniper's College Inn for breakfast. Outstanding!</p>
<p>No input on bbq--we're vegetarians.</p>
<p>Canyon Creek, my favorite is Blues City on Beale. 1/2 rack and an order of 3 tamales and chili as an appetizer. I admit atmosphere may have something to do with it. D (I think) still believes Blues City is best for ribs but prefers to eat the pulled pork (not North Carolina , this is Memphis BBQ) at Central BBQ now. I brought two pounds home with me yesterday...uhhh...Saturday.</p>
<p>Non-BBQ . She's also a big fan of the Blue Plate. Great breakfast. Great service. Great place. I love Memphis food (and like others I love Memphis' music scene including Beale). If you like southern cooking try Cupboard but call the cardiologist first.</p>
<p>I noticed that tripadvisor.com has reviews posted on a number of restaurants in the Memphis area, a few of which appear on these lists.</p>
<p>My personal favorites after nearly four years at Rhodes are as follows:</p>
<p>DO Sushi
Central BBQ (by far the best BBQ in Memphis--try the BBQ Nachos!)
The Majestic Grille (downtown)
Beauty Shop
Fresh Slices (this is a great place to go if your not sure what you want-they have a little bit of everything)
Cafe Eclectic (perfect for lunch or a snack)
Blue Plate Cafe (lovely breakfast)</p>
<p>Thanks for the list of favorites, koveracre. </p>
<p>We've now hit Rendezvous, downtown, and The BBQ Shop, on Madison. Each was great, in its own way. I would go back to either (and probably will go back to the BBQ Shop since it's so close to Rhodes).</p>
<p>However, we now have a goal for my son's remaining 3.5 years at Rhodes: to hit each of the top 10 BBQ restaurants. It's going to be rough, but I'll make the sacrifice to further my son's Memphis experience.</p>
<p>Sacrifices must be made. It's the least we can do.</p>
<p><<Try Brother Juniper's College Inn for breakfast. Outstanding!</p>
<p>No input on bbq--we're vegetarians.>></p>
<p>By the way, shyparentalunit, we can only do bbq when it's just my son and me. CCMom is a tries-to-be vegie also. We meant to do Brother Juniper's a couple of trips ago, but there was a glitch (closed on Sunday maybe -- my memory is fuzzy). Glad to hear it's good -- we'll try it on one of our trips.</p>
<p>From recent trips to Memphis, we really like Fresh Slices, Bhan Thai, and Golden India. Keep the suggestions coming--we like having new places to eat when we visit.</p>
<p>If your goal is to hit a lot of different bbq places over your time around Rhodes, here's my top 10 list, in no particular order:</p>
<p>BBQ Shop
Central BBQ
Tops
Corky's
Interstate BBQ
Rendezvous
Commissary
Blues City Cafe
Neely's (on Jefferson)
Pig and Whistle</p>
<p>Here's a key to Memphis BBQ: if the restaurant doesn't have a pit (that is, a wood-fired smoker - you should see a chimney and smoke) it's not a BBQ restaurant. There are people who can work absolute wonders with a pork shoulder in an oven, but if you're going to focus, I think this is as good a criteria as any and better than most.</p>
<p>The Germantown Commissary is very good.</p>
<p>It looks like we have our work cut out for us.</p>