Memphis - Food

I'm in Memphis, Tennessee for a couple of days with my husband.  Thought I'd do some "field research" for the course!  The evening we arrived, we tried the famous dry rub Memphis BBQ - different from KC BBQ. The ribs  are covered with the "rub" which is dry and sort of the texture of sawdust.  It tastes great, but I'm still a fan of KC sauce rather than dry rub.  

In the morning we had breakfast at Brother Juniper's - tiny spot near the University of Memphis campus where we are staying.  Great omlets - everything is served with grits, of course.  They have an open faced omlet where the filling is served on the top of the eggs instead of inside.  Mike had the cheese grits and biscuits with his omlet for a real southern breakfast.

Open faced omlet - cheese grits on the side

Grits and Veggie Omlet

Went to the Cooper-Young Historic District while Mike was working - reading a great book about sugar and slavery - while hanging out at the Imagine Vegan Cafe.  So even in the midst of southern comfort food - which is big on meat - there are plenty of options.  Here's my healthy lunch:  veggie soup and salad

Tonight Mike and I went to the Soul Fish Cafe for catfish.  He had the traditional fried catfish with hush puppies and pickled green tomatoes.  I had the blackened catfish with sweet potato fries and cornbread.

Fried catfish and hush puppies are foods that Mike's grandmother cooked many times, so these are good examples of traditional foods that are still popular in many places in the U.S. but perhaps especially in the southern regions.