Memphis originals: Here are 7 iconic dishes that Memphis chefs can't take off the menu
When chefs develop a dish, they hope it will be popular with the restaurant’s clientele.
Most dishes come and go from the menu, but every once in a while, a dish becomes so beloved that it becomes a signature item.
These are dishes that are not only unique, but highlight the style and creativity of the chef and the restaurant. These dishes are ones that guests expect to be on the menu … and are dishes that are much talked about and anticipated orders.
Here are seven dishes that fit this bill in Memphis.
I am positive regular customers (and I include myself in this group) would protest if these chefs ever took these dishes off the menu.
Tsunami: Roasted Sea Bass with Black Thai Rice and Soy Beurre Blanc
928 S. Cooper St.; (901) 274-2556; tsunamimemphis.com
Tsunami chef and owner Ben Smith knows he can never take the roasted sea bass off his menu. It’s been the most popular item since it appeared on the very first menu.
“Our sea bass dish encompasses my philosophy of simplicity in flavor and presentation,” Smith said.
A perfectly roasted slice of sea bass with a golden and slightly crispy crust is served on top of a mound of chewy, nutty black Thai rice and surrounded by a pool of soy beurre blanc. It has only three key ingredients, yet this dish is sublime.
It’s a dish that exemplifies why Tsunami has flourished for more than two decades.
Corky’s BBQ: Onion Loaf
Multiple locations; corkysbbq.com
The Onion Loaf at Corky’s BBQ is its most popular (and famous) appetizer. A one-of-a-kind spin on onion rings, sliced onions are battered and fried until golden in the shape of a loaf of bread. It’s served with Corky’s Smokey BBQ Ranch dipping sauce.
It’s a starter that is perfect for sharing. (Even though I admit I could probably eat a whole order myself!)
Corky’s owner and CEO Jimmy Stovall said it’s been on the menu since the restaurant first opened in 1984.
“It’s the one item we have never sold to-go,” Stovall said. “Don [Pelts] always wanted it to be a dine-in only item for freshness. For years, customers who love them would literally wait on a table to open up, order an onion loaf, ask for a to-go box and take it home.”
River Oaks: Caramelized Salmon over Cauliflower Risotto and Balsamic Reduction
5871 Poplar Ave.; (901) 683-9305; riveroaksrestaurant.com
There is a reason River Oaks has had its Caramelized Salmon with Cauliflower Risotto and Balsamic Reduction on the menu since chef Jose Gutierrez took over the kitchen in 2010.
A filet of salmon is perfectly pan seared and then cooked to a precise medium-rare, resulting in a tender and moist piece of fish with a nice crispy “caramelized” crust on top.
The cauliflower “risotto” is what gives this dish its signature twist.
Gutierrez once told me this side dish came to be by accident. One day he was in the kitchen looking for a way to use the trimmings from cauliflower. Little did he know he was creating a dish that would become one of his signature items. And I have to point out, this recipe was developed a decade ago — way before the current cauliflower rice and pizza crust craze. Maybe we have him to thank for cauliflower being in just about everything these days?
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SOB: General Tso’s Cauliflower
Three locations: 345 S. Main St., 5040 Sanderlin and 1329 W. Poplar Ave., Collierville; southofbeale.com
General Tso’s Cauliflower was added to SOB’s menu in 2018. According to owner Ed Cabigao, it was “immediately a hit.”
The appetizer is a flavorful vegetarian spin on popular Asian General Tso’s chicken dish. Like its meat-based inspiration, it’s the perfect combination of sweet, savory, spicy and tangy. (Oh, it’s also gluten-free!)
Cabigao said the dish is his top-selling appetizer for many reasons.
“First, the sauce is homemade and that adds to the complexity of the flavor,” he said. “It’s fried until crispy so it has a crunch and the meatiness of the cauliflower makes it feel hearty.”
It is on the menu at all three SOB restaurants.
Frank Grisanti Restaurant: Elfo’s Special
1022 S. Shady Grove Road; (901) 761-9462; frankgrisanti.com
Elfo’s Special has been served at Grisanti restaurants for more than half a century. It was created by Frank Grisanti's father, Elfo Grisanti, at the Downtown restaurant Grisanti’s on Main.
The restaurant opened around 1915 and was run by Frank's grandfather, Rinaldo "Mr. Willie" Grisanti, and Elfo.
The beloved pasta dish was created when Elfo made the dish as a special request for a customer. It’s a dish that has been on Grisanti family restaurant menus ever since.
“It was back when Catholics didn’t eat meat on Fridays. At that time, Italian restaurants only served meat sauce,” Frank said. “The customer asked Elfo to make him something that didn’t contain meat. So he made him buttered spaghetti with shrimp and mushrooms.”
The next Friday, the customer returned and asked for the special that Elfo had made for him the week before. From then on, the dish became known as “Elfo’s Special.”
Grisanti said it is a dish he will never take off the menu at Frank Grisanti Restaurant. In fact, this Grisanti classic is also on the menu of the new Go Grisanti takeout shop he opened earlier this year with his son Larkin.
Interesting fact: The recipe was featured in horror film actor and gourmand Vincent Price's 1965 cookbook, "A Treasury of Great Recipes."
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The Beauty Shop: Grilled Romaine Salad
966 S. Cooper St.; (901) 272-7111; thebeautyshoprestaurant.com
Do we dare say that The Beauty Shop introduced Memphis to the concept of grilled lettuce? We can’t think of a restaurant that served it before The Beauty Shop did.
Chef and owner Karen Carrier said the Grilled Romaine Salad has been on the menu since The Beauty Shop opened in 2002.
Searing a wedge of romaine over the grill imparts a deliciously smoky flavor to this crunchy lettuce. It adds a depth of flavor that transforms this salad from an ordinary salad to something extraordinary.
Carrier uses the basic concept of a steakhouse wedge and elevates it with crispy prosciutto, rosemary spiced candied pecans, heirloom cherry tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese and a homemade blue cheese dressing. It comes to the table with a steak knife, and can be ordered with chicken, shrimp or fish.
It’s a Beauty Shop original that Carrier said will never come off the menu.
Chef Tam’s Underground Café: Muddy Water Mac & Cheese
668 Union Ave.; (901) 207-2598; thecheftam.com
Chef Tam’s Underground Café owner and chef Tamra Patterson is known for her creative and unique spins on Southern dishes.
She credits her Muddy Water Mac & Cheese for helping put her on the national culinary map. “It’s our competition winner,” she said. In 2018, Patterson made her Food Network debut, appearing on "Guy’s Grocery Games," where she beat out three classically trained chefs with her soulful Bayou Lovers rendition of mac-n-cheese filled with crab and shrimp.
Since she opened her first restaurant in 2017, the dish has been tweaked slightly, with crawfish taking the place of crab and the name being changed — but this decadent mac-n-cheese has remained a top-selling dish.
Patterson said what makes the dish so special is that she uses a blend of five cheeses, butter, heavy cream and — of course — lots of shrimp and crawfish.
“I am never serving a regular mac-n-cheese. It will always be this,” she said. We think her customers will agree with that decision.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis chefs will never take these 7 iconic dishes off the menu
