WHERE WE WENT:
Central BBQ
2249 Central Avenue
Memphis, TN
38104
WHAT WE ORDERED:
Pulled Pork Plate, Cole Slaw, Baked Beans, Macaroni & Cheese, BBQ Pork Nachos
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 7
Menu - 7
Presentation - 7
Taste - 8.5
Price - 8
Service - N/A
Overall - 7.5
Atmosphere - Central BBQ has a homey feel to it. The picnic style seating, large windows, and Memphis-centered wall decor provide a breezy, casual feeling. The outdoor patio seating is an excellent option in decent weather. It's definitely not fancy, but it's unique and charming.
Menu - The menu is everything you would expect from somewhere with "BBQ" in its name. There are multiple BBQ plate and sandwich options available as well as an option to purchase meat and sides in bulk. There were a few surprising offerings. The boast crispy homemade potato chips with chunky blue cheese dressing and a char grilled, marinated portabella mushroom sandwich, so even our vegetarian friends can enjoy Central.
Presentation - The presentation is plain and simple. Basic plates or baskets with wax paper. The restaurant itself is completely unpretentious, as is its presentation.
Taste - The BBQ nachos are the best we've ever had. A hulking pile of chips topped with a generous portion of pulled pork, dressed with nacho cheese, BBQ sauce and dusted with dry rub (and jalapenos optionally). Absolutely delicious. The proportions of each of the ingredients are perfect. The nachos are neither dry nor soggy. The layers of flavor are awesome and the dry rub is the perfecting touch. The pork plate is juicy and delicious, with slow-cooked flavor cooked in. Central's BBQ sauce is scrumptious. The sides were just ok. The cole slaw was a bit runny, and the beans were more like cowboy beans than southern baked beans. The mac & cheese was the best of the sides, but needed some salt. Overall though we were very pleased.
Price
- Central is completely comparable to other restaurants of the same kind. Their prices resemble something like Sonny's with equal portions and a more authentic, less mass-produced taste.
Service - At Central you order at a counter and have no server, but every employee of the restaurant we encountered was friendly and welcoming.
WOULD WE GO BACK?
Yes! Central BBQ is one of our staples
Here's a link to their website:
http://www.cbqmemphis.com/home.html
WHERE WE WENT:
Brother Juniper's
3519 Walker Avenue
Memphis, TN
38111
WHAT WE ORDERED:
Special # 3 (Two eggs, scrambled w/ pesto, red peppers, spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella), Home Fries, Build-Your-Own Omelet w/ mozzarella, feta, mushrooms, spinach, ham), Biscuit, Toast, Assorted Spreadable Fruits
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
Atmosphere - 8
Menu - 9
Presentation - 7
Taste - 9
Price - 8
Service - 7
Overall - 8
Atmosphere
- Brother Juniper's is a small, homey place. There's a "front yard" and a porch at the entrance. The seating is tight, but it feels cozy not crowded. The decor is simplistic and personal, which gives it a homespun charm. Walking inside you'll forget that you're in the city; you'll feel transported out to a family farm where you're greeted with open arms and welcomed to the table.
Menu
-The menu was extensive. There were plenty of options for every taste. Both vegetarians and meat eaters will be happy with choices. There are predetermined breakfast specials as well as "Build-Your-Own" options. There is a variety of styles of food: Southern like biscuits and gravy, Italian like eggs and pesto, etc.
Presentation
- Everything was plated on standard white dishes. Each dish had excellent color combinations as well as textural variety. Looking at our food made our mouths water.
Taste -The Special #3 was delicious. It's rare that you find pesto at breakfast, but the flavor was incredible, very savory. The home fries are easily the best we've ever had. They use red potatoes quartered, seasoned and roasted. They are the perfect, hearty aspect of breakfast, but have such a good flavor they could easily be paired with a prime rib at dinner and not be out of place. We wish we had the recipe. The BYO Omelet was excellent. There were heaping quantities of all the ingredients and everything tasted farm-to-table fresh. We tried multiple of their spreadable fruits (strawberry, peach, and blackberry), which are similar to jams but are made without added sugar or preservatives. All of them were delicious, but blackberry is the best. We actually have a jar sitting in our refrigerator now.
Price
- Brother Juniper's is a little pricier than most other breakfast places we've been too, but the freshness of the ingredients and the extra generous portions account for that and make it completely worthwhile.
Service - Our service was ok, but it was a little slow. Also, our waiter seemed not to be completely there as far as his attention to our table.
WOULD WE GO BACK?
Yes. They truly do live up to the claim that they are the "Best Breakfast in Memphis"...at least that we've encountered so far.
Here's a link to their website:
http://brotherjunipers.com/
