The winter in Memphis has been as unpredictable as a summer thunderstorm in Memphis. Last Friday was Trolley Night and Memphis got a small respite from the below freezing weather, so my little family clan hit the town. For those of you who don’t know, Trolley Night occurs every last Friday of the month. South Main in Memphis lights up and shines with Art Gallery exhibitions, live music, pop up shops and all of the stores open their doors and create an open house environment. It’s probably the best night to be in Downtown Memphis outside of hitting a Redbirds or Grizzlies game.
And Stop…serious question time (Imagine me in my Hammer pants holding my hand up) WHY IN THE HELL DOES MEMPHIS ONLY DO TROLLEY NIGHT ONCE EVERY FRIDAY? Yes, I’m screaming in all caps to get my point across. This is how downtown’s should function. It shouldn’t be an event once every month. The local stores and galleries deserve to be patronized all of the time. Trolley Night (where you get to ride the rail for free from 5pm to 9pm… honestly most people walk anyway) should be all of the damn time. It would stimulate the economy and people would expect to have a great downtown every weekend. Which means they would go down there more often, not less. Only a city that has been smoking (Damn Marion Berry is from Memphis, I digress) would NOT understand that creating a great downtown experience increases tourism. Trolley Night would not get old. It would grow. Combine Trolley Night with Drop Off night were people could hop a cab to Overton Square, and Cooper Young, and Broad Street… and Memphis becomes a city with style and a very cool nightlife.
Okay, this was supposed to be about Miss Polly’s Soul City Cafe. As it should be, this restaurant sits on historic Beale Street. On this night, with the weather actually breaking, the street was basically empty. All of the blues venues, bars and restaurants were easily accessible and without the crowd it was perfect timing for a family to stroll the street. We walked down to Handy Park to take in some blues before turning back to head towards the Orpheum and back towards Main. LV and my daughter both wanted to eat and when my son chimed in, my first thought was Hooters! (Okay what guy doesn’t immediately think Hooters? Don’t answer that) Since we were on Beale and we had never eaten there before, we decided against turning and walking the extra two blocks to Hooters. We were about to go to BB King’s until this guy sitting on a stool said, “Hey, you super handsome family man who looks fantastic and wealthy…” okay he didn’t say that. He simply said, “Hey, this is the best place downtown to eat. Come on in and give us a try.” I couldn’t really tell what the place was. Tucked away like a sliver of wood and brick between two bigger clubs was an old school screendoor with a chicken sitting on a stool. Not a real chicken, but just roll with me. We looked up and saw the neon sign and my wife reminded me that she had heard of the place before.
We are both ex Cali people and when we see or hear Chicken & Waffles, the first place that comes to mind is Pico and Roscoes in L.A. We asked the kids if they wanted to try it and everyone agreed. We entered the building. The place honestly is 10 feet across and feels like a shotgun house when you enter. There are probably 10 tables and a very short bar. There is a visible kitchen area, which I always like, and a few tvs on the 80s Soul video station. The atmosphere was very laid back and the servers were very cool and personable. Each table continued the theme of Beale Street by celebrating Soul and Blues entertainers like, Ike & Tina, and BB King. The menu was simple which made for fast decisions. One drawback for me was the lack of lemonade, but I did the get the hood famous Grape Soda in a can, BOOM! LV had a sweet tea. (I won’t get into the kid’s meals)
While I don’t expect you to hit up Miss Polly’s if you are dieting and watching your physique… I damn sure expect you to hit up Miss Polly’s if you are itching to get your grub on at a great price. Since we both hadn’t eaten any Chicken & Waffles since leaving Cali, we didn’t hesitate once we got to that section.
Now it should be noted that while I haven’t done a Hi Lites on Gus’ Chicken in Memphis. If any person coming to the city, or lives in the city, and asks me where they can get the best chicken in the city, I immediately say Gus’. My expectations for fried chicken are pretty high. It takes a lot for me to admit that chicken from any other place is worth my time. We started our clock to see how long the ticket time would be. This is important for those of you who are looking to get out on Beale and enjoy yourselves. We sat down at 8:02. Had menus at 8:03, ordered Fried Green Tomatoes at 8:05, and drinks, and got the FGTs at about 8:15. The FGT’s had a very light crust that had a nice spice to it. We dipped those in ranch and demolished those. By 8:23 our plates began coming to the table. Not bad in my book at all. Especially for four different plates (including breakfast…my son, shoulder shrug).
LV had the Flying Waffle which came with three wings. I had the Hen House, a breast. Both came with one gigantic, golden brown waffle with butter. My initial response to the chicken was, “This won’t be as good as Gus’.” The crust was darker and I thought it looked slightly overcooked. I was dead wrong. The crust was darker because they used a frier that minimized the amount of oil needed to cook the chicken. Just in case you’re wondering, with fried chicken you are basically steaming the chicken inside of the crust. Miss Polly’s flavor was distinctly different and had both a sweet and spicy flavor. The chicken was tender and could be torn to little bits, so I tore it and spread it over the waffle. I poured syrup over the both the chicken and waffle, took a bite and held my back, rocking from side to side with my eyes closed giving all praises to Chicken Jesus. Delicious! LV ate as much of her wings as she could. Our bill for all four plate and drinks came in at right under 40.00.
I can’t say this enough about Memphis, this city has the best restaurants I’ve ever been too. I’ve visited D.C., New Orleans, Orlando, Los Angeles, Nashville, lived in San Diego and driven across country at least 5 times and if I had to choose the best city for food, I’m going with Memphis. Which leads me to another complaint about the city… (WHY IN THE HELL ISN’T MUSIC & FOOD THE SELLING POINT FOR TOURISM HERE??!!!!) All people know about here is Elvis and that’s the city’s fault. Nashville is now known as Music City and Memphis is known as The First 48 Hours. It shouldn’t be that way!!!!!!
Okay I got that out of my system… I highly recommend Miss Polly’s. It’s definitely a Memphis Hi-Lite. (If you’re an uppity high brow type, go sit your ass down and eat some chicken and waffles, lol).
Miss Polly’s Soul City Cafe 154 Beale Street, Memphis, TN 38103 901.527.9060