Tribecca Allie Cafe is an upscale brick-oven pizzeria on the Main Street of Sardis, Mississippi, bringing a big-city feel to a small town in Panola County. Tribecca was awarded second place at the American Pizza Championships in Orlando, Florida, and is definitely worth the drive from Memphis or elsewhere in North Mississippi, but hours are limited, so call or check the website here http://tribeccaallie.com/ before driving.
The Marketplace Grill is a mini-chain, with locations in Conway, Fort Smith and the Fayetteville area, and it is worth a visit if you’re travelling to Arkansas. The diverse and reasonably-priced menu features everything from burgers and pizzas to seafood and steaks, in a setting patterned after old-fashioned farmers’ markets. Visit http://marketplacegrill.com/ for more information and locations.
The former Sole location in the Westin Hotel in downtown Memphis has become Bleu Restaurant and Lounge, an upscale bar and restaurant directly across from the Fed Ex Forum that often features live jazz. Last Thursday, April 19, they celebrated the opening of their new outdoor patio with live music and free food and drink. #MemphisRising
Channel Ziltch is a bizarre television-themed performance venue in Clarksdale, located next door to the highly-acclaimed Southern cuisine lunch restaurant Oxbow. Juke Joint Festival, April 14, 2012
The Magnolia Cafe is another mainstay of SXSW. Like 24 Diner, it never closes, and there are two locations, but the one on Lake Austin Boulevard is closest to SXSW and always crowded. Thursday, March 15, 2012
If you’re hungry after a SXSW showcase, it’s no big deal, because food trucks are everywhere in downtown Austin, and they’re open late. I mean some of them as late as 3 AM.
The Omelettry is way out in North Austin on Burnet Road, but still it’s not uncommon to find musicians or panelists from SXSW starting their day there with a great breakfast. The Omelettry was founded in the 1970’s, and is one of the oldest breakfast restaurants in Austin.
Stack Burger Bar on West 4th in downtown Austin is part of a nationwide trend toward upscale burger bars with quality beef, and this one truly satisfies, although it’s often very crowded. The burgers were reasonably priced and cooked to order, and the fries were excellent as well. An added pleasure the night I was there was that a Cedar Street Courtyard SXSW party with a DJ was going on in the downstairs courtyard below the restaurant windows. Visit Stack Burger Bar at http://stackburgerbar.com/
Big Orange Burger Company is Little Rock’s answer to the current trend of upscale burger boutiques with bars and wine lists, and it doesn’t disappoint, although its extreme West Little Rock location on Chenal Parkway makes it a little hard to find. The burger I tried, topped with cheese, bacon and an egg was extremely good, and cooked to order, and the freshly-cut french fries were also impressive. Although it’s quite a ways from Little Rock proper, it’s worth the drive out west. Visit them here: http://bigorangeburger.com/
Johnny G’s Creole Kitchen is a new restaurant on Beale that opened this spring. I haven’t tried it yet, although my best friend Tune says it’s good. They certainly have a cool sign!
