home • about us • advertise with us • the blogs • contact • submit an event • best of memphis LOG IN / CREATE ACCOUNT Sign up for Flyer e-mail Subscribe to RSS SPECIAL SECTIONS » BEST OF MEMPHIS October 04, 2012 Best of Memphis The People Have Spoken SLIDESHOW Best of Memphis Click to View 30 slides As you've most likely noted, the visual theme for the Best of Memphis 2012 issue is a nod to this year's elections. With this in mind, I was scratching about, looking at old campaign slogans to come up with a suitably zippy I Like Ike!-like tagline. I Like Memphis! doesn't quite do it. Romney's campaign slogan, btw, is "Believe in America," while Obama's is "Forward." The period is part of the slogan. While ellipses would most certainly work, the period suggests something more decisive. Forward. So, I was talking to a co-worker about the winners in a particular category, and, boy, was she mad. Bark, bark, bark! The interesting thing is that she is a huge supporter of the first-place winner, frequents the place probably once a week. But, for her, that winner is not the BEST, and so, bark, bark, bark! I love a good temper tantrum, but what I really appreciated was how engaged she was in the ballot, and that appreciation goes, too, to the record number of voters we had for this year's Best of Memphis. It takes a chunk of time to go through a ballot that has 125 categories. This year's ballot has two new categories: Best Food Truck and Best New American Cuisine (which we used to call "contemporary"). Perhaps the biggest change on the ballot is that we axed the entire "And the Rest" section, which included Best Memphis Success and Best Memphis Failure (the wording of which drove some batty). We may bring back the section for 2013. As always, the bold "BOM" means that the winner received an overwhelming majority of the votes. "Reader's Choice" means that the vote was too close to call. The Best of Memphis issue was written by Greg Akers, Joe Boone, John Branston, Shara Clark, Anna Cox, Chris Davis, Michael Finger, Leonard Gill, Louis Goggans, Chris Herrington, Bianca Phillips, Hannah Sayle, and Bruce VanWyngarden. Forward. — Susan Ellis, Managing Editor Food + Drink Best Food Truck 1. Central BBQ 2. Fuel Cafe 3. YoLo Airstream - Tie - Revival Southern Food Company Best Barbecue BOM 1. Central BBQ 2. Germantown Commissary 3. Bar-B-Q Shop — Tie — Corky's Our readers have been saying it for years, so they weren't surprised when USA Today recently profiled Central BBQ, "the best barbecue in Memphis." It isn't only the homemade pork rinds or the barbecue nachos or the succulent ribs smothered in Central's signature tangy, sweet sauce; we also love the Ghost River beer on tap, covered patio, multiple locations, and snazzy new food truck. For all these reasons and more, Central has stolen the hearts (and bellies) of barbecue lovers in Memphis — and that's no small feat in a town that eats, sleeps, and breathes slow-smoked pork. Best New Restaurant 1. Alchemy 2. Slider Inn 3. Stone Soup Café Best New American Cuisine 1. Alchemy — Tie — Sweet Grass 2. Majestic Grille 3. Beauty Shop Alchemy offers eclectic, modern cuisine, an extensive wine, beer, and cocktail list, and a swanky atmosphere. Somewhere between one of the mixologist's latest concoctions and your second helping of chorizo mac and cheese, you'll get an idea why Memphis diners are buzzing about Alchemy. Sharing top honors in this category is Sweet Grass, site of the recent Heritage BBQ pop-up restaurant and home to Ryan Trimm's smart take on Low Country cuisine. Try Sweet Grass' version of the classic shrimp and grits, featuring house-made sausage and Benton's country ham. Best Breakfast 1. Brother Juniper's 2. Bryant's Breakfast 3. Blue Plate Café Keep your bread and circuses; all it takes is a cup of hot coffee and the promise of an open table to keep patrons at Brother Juniper's happy. Year after year, our readers have insisted that this breakfast spot (visited by Rachael Ray herself) is worth the wait — and on weekends, you'll be in for one. Enormous omelets, breakfast specials, cheese grits, home fries, vegan and veggie options, and friendly service make this a Memphis institution. Best Brunch 1. Owen Brennan's Restaurant 2. Majestic Grille 3. Boscos Squared — Tie — Beauty Shop If you can't make it to Bourbon Street for brunch, Owen Brennan's serves up the next best thing at its impressive Sunday brunch buffet. Complete with omelets, waffles, a variety of Cajun/Creole-style seafood dishes, bananas Foster, bread pudding, and much more, Owen Brennan's has long been charming Memphians out of bed on Sunday mornings for a hangover-busting brunch with New Orleans flair. Best Wine List 1. Flight Restaurant and Wine Bar 2. Le Chardonnay 3. Folk's Folly Prime Steak House Mirroring its small-plate concept, Flight offers a number of flights of three 2-ounce wine samples, an excellent way to survey the wine list and pair each wine with a flight of upscale contemporary dishes. Of course, if you find something you like, any sample is available by the bottle. No wonder this is a favorite for wine lovers year after year. Best Steak 1. Folk's Folly Prime Steak House 2. Ruth's Chris Steak House 3. The Butcher Shop Folk's Folly has staked its claim as the best steak joint in Memphis, and it doesn't appear to be relinquishing the honor anytime soon. Since 1977, Folk's Folly has been an institution in Memphis, coupling valet-quality service with a comfortable atmosphere and some of the finest prime steaks in the city. Not only are the cuts spot-on, each piece of meat is cooked to perfection, and our readers particularly appreciate the charm of a locally owned and operated steak house. Best Ribs 1. Charles Vergos' Rendezvous 2. Central BBQ 3. Corky's Sometimes there's a reason for the hype, and once again our readers say this tourist hot spot has the food to back up its reputation. The fall-off-the-bone pork ribs rubbed in a Greek spice mix are the stars of the menu, but they're bolstered by a supporting cast of spice-speckled sausage and cheese plate, lamb riblets, pulled pork, and some of the surliest waiters in Memphis — it's all part of the charm. Best Hot Wings 1. D'Bo's Wings n' More 2. Central BBQ 3. Mr. P's Buffalo Wings Sure, they may add "and more" to their name, but it's the wings that make this local chain soar. Owner David Boyd built his wing business from a trailer at festivals and fairs to five brick-and-mortar locations throughout Memphis and north Mississippi. With all those D'Bo's around, Mid-Southerners never have to go without their mild, hot, or "suicidal" wings. Best Fried Chicken BOM 1. Gus's Fried Chicken 2. Jack Pirtle's Chicken 3. Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken Never mind why the chicken crossed the road — we've seen people walk into traffic for Gus's fried chicken, and if you drive around their Front Street location at lunchtime, you'd be smart to keep an eye out for chicken-crazed pedestrians as well. That's because the birds at Gus's are hot, crispy, slightly spicy, juicy, and always fresh out of the fryer — and Memphians just can't help themselves. Best Cajun/Creole 1. Bayou Bar & Grill 2. Owen Brennan's Restaurant 3. Pearl's Oyster House Our readers prefer to head on down to the Bayou to satisfy their po' boy, crawfish étouffée, and red beans and rice cravings. Not only do they have a variety of Cajun and Creole options, they also have a patio beloved by regulars. For filet gumbo and crawfish pie, Memphians know where to go. Best Mediterranean 1. Petra Cafe 2. Casablanca 3. Kwik Chek Hummus, falafel, kabobs, and salads (from Greek to Caesar). Dolmades, souvlaki, and moussaka. The Flying Camel sandwich, the Sicilian panini. We must be talking Mediterranean ... and more (the Philly cheese steak). We're talking Petra Cafe, which has had Cordova, Germantown, and Forest Hill-Irene covered for years. Now Midtown too on Union. Got a group to feed? Order gyro meat, pasta salad, kalamata olives, and tabouleh from Petra by the pound! Best Dessert 1. Muddy's Bake Shop 2. Cheesecake Corner 3. YoLo Frozen Yogurt Best Bakery 1. Muddy's Bake Shop 2. La Baguette 3. Gigi's Cupcakes The eggs come from cage-free, free-range chickens. The milk's organic. No preservatives. No added hormones. No Styrofoam. Just cakes and pies (whole or by the slice), cookies, bars, and last, not least, cupcakes (plus pimento cheese) to drool over. And because Muddy's doesn't advertise, it relies on word of mouth from faithful customers at its East Memphis location. The faithful have spoken: They've voted Muddy's Bake Shop #1 in Memphis in two scrumptious categories. Best Frozen Dessert 1. YoLo Frozen Yogurt 2. Jerry's Sno Cone 3. La Michoacana YoLo's frozen yogurt and handmade gelato have been a big success — with Memphians in general and with Flyer readers in particular. In addition to frozen treats, YoLo offers baked goods too: good for you, good for the community: YoLo is a member of Project Green Fork.