
November 4, 2023
TASTIN’ ‘ROUND TOWN FOOD TOURS - THE SPLIT-DECISION FOOD TOUR
175 Peabody Place, Memphis, TN 38103
“Memphis is known for more than just mouth-watering BBQ. Try a variety of signature dishes from the best chefs of Memphis and fill your desire for BBQ too!” – tastinroundtown.com
Food tours are a great way to experience a city, and this tour, led by Harper, was no exception. Not only did we get to sample delicious food, but we also learned a lot of history about Memphis. The five restaurants we visited showed some of the diversity offered in Memphis’ food scene.
Stop 1 – Blues City Cafe. BBQ Ribs (Wet), Cole Slaw, and Baked Beans. Ribs were fall-off-the-bone delicious. The beans were some of the best I’ve had since the last time I had my mom’s.
Stop 2 – Central BBQ. BBQ Ribs (Dry) and Pork BBQ Nachos. The ribs were good but the nachos were out of sight. The restaurant makes their own tortilla chips.
Stop 3 – SOB (South of Beale) Restaurant. Seasoned popcorn and General Tso’s Cauliflower. The popcorn with a mix of seasoning salt and cinnamon was addictive and the cauliflower with a sweet ‘n sour glaze was very good. The restaurant, which serves “Asian Southern” food, has been featured on Guy Ferrari’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”
Stop 4 – Rum Boogie Café. Gator Gumbo. Wish I could have had more of this gumbo, it was that good. The restaurant/bar had a large collection of guitars from artists who have performed on Beale Street.
Stop 5 – Dyers Burgers. Dyer’s Double Combo Burger. OMG…this burger was juicy and tasty. I have never seen burgers cooked in hot grease before, but they were amazing. The story says, while the grease is strained daily, they have been using the same grease for over a hundred years.
I highly recommend this tour for anyone coming to Memphis. I would suggest doing it at the beginning of your stay to get the lay of the land and intros to some of the best eating places in Memphis.
Blues City Cafe
BBQ Ribs (wet); Cole Slaw; Baked Beans
Part of one of Elvis' pink Cadillacs on the wall at Blues City Cafe.
Central BBQ
Inside Central BBQ
Pork BBQ Nachos
SOB (South of Beale)
Seasoned Popcorn - given to us while we waited for our dish.
General Tso's Cauliflower.
Rum Boogie Cafe
The performer (I unfortunately forgot to get his name) sang "Walking in Memphis" for our group. He was very good.
Some of the guitars.
The building used to be part brothel. This spiral staircase led up to the private rooms.
Gator Gumbo
Dyers Burger
The kitchen area.
A cook pulling our burgers out of the grease.
Dyer's Double Combo Burger
Loved their t-shirts - "Have you had your vitamin "G" today?" G, of course stands for Grease.
Our group on Beale Street.
Another picture of our group.