Memphis Bob

I was told by a guy who runs a nice upscale restaurant across the border in Lewisburg, West Virginia that the Southern Inn is one of his favorite places to eat in Lexington. When I was in undergrad, it was known for country food and slow service. Apparently it has gotten better since. And the truck stop is Lee-Hi Truck Stop - on the Lee Highway right off 81 north of Lexington. Used to be (may still be) the home of the "He-Man Special" artery-clogging breakfast. In '91 or '92 they added a "breakfast bar" (which was met with cheers from us...I mean from those other drunken kids in there at 2 am). I'd recommend at least a pit stop in Lexington simply because I think it's one of the most beautiful small towns I've ever seen. But I'm biased.

A few recommendations from a native (that you haven't already covered in your blog or in reviews): East: Jarrett's, Grove Grill, Lulu Grille, Belmont (burger), Patrick's (veggies) Midtown: Marena's (bargain $20 meal on Sunday nights), Bari, Paulette's, Cielo, Harry's Detour, 61 en teur, Kwik Check (sandwiches), Brushmark (at Brooks Museum), Cafe 1912 Med Center to downtown: Cielo

Funny, my parents and grandparents used to take me to Leonards on South Parkway when I was little (in the 70s) - it was an old Memphis BBQ place. Coletta's still is famous for their BBQ pizza. Recently, I've been getting the great BBQ pizza at Romeo's, a deli-style Italian place on Southern (between Perkins and Colonial) which is owned by former bbq maven John Wills. His bbq place on Central near the Fairgrounds was one the best in town in the 80s before a terrible move to a more upscale location in East Memphis (which has been closed awhile). My standard sides (with pulled pork sandwich with slaw) have been beans and onion rings. This is changing since fewer places seem to serve homemade rings. The one thing that makes Memphis BBQ so unique is it's importance to most (if not all) locals. You simply can't drive very far without seeing (and smelling) a BBQ joint. I have a friend who always has maintained that if he was given the choice for his last meal, he'd take a good BBQ sandwich over anything else. I have to agree.

I've been kinda hooked on Central BBQ for awhile - in addition to their shoulder and ribs, I love their homemade chips. I go once or twice a month. It's been busy everytime I've been in there. It's probably still the newest place in town (open what, 2 or 3 years now). And I must confess that the Corky's drive-through makes it tough to drive down Poplar. They serve Neely's at the Pyramid (supplanting Corky's) and - in the future - at FedExForum. Everytime I'm in the airport I get Interstate (I know, that's a little odd). Haven't hit Cozy C in awhile, but it's still doing business. I keep meaning to try Jango's (on Jackson kinda near the Pyramid), Payne's (on Lamar) and The Big S but haven't gotten around to it yet.