2017 Issue 6 Nov/Dec - Focus Mid-South Magazine

BBQ chicken crepe at Scoops Parlor on G.E. Patterson
She stated, “Now of course I
want everyone, but I absolutely
love the fact that I have
70% Memphians on my tours
every week. That lets me
know that the EAT LOCAL
MOVEMENT is working. I’m
glad about it!”
McCarter has so far focused
on walking food tours of
downtown Memphis—in
particular the South Main Arts
district—which also includes
specialized “brunch so hard”
and cocktail tours. It is also
clear that her itinerary is a
labor of love—she expressed
that she “picked every single
restaurant based solely on
my love for that restaurant. I
wanted to give people a sense
of what locals eat on a daily
basis all in one day. I want to
go to the hidden gems and
the spots where locals may
cry if it ever closed. Those are
the places I want to go. It’s all
about helping them getting
that exposure.
“There’s places
like Rizzo’s Diner, Green Beetle,
and The Vault with chefs in
there, banging out some great
and creative food and I want to
be apart in helping spread the
word. It’s literally what keeps
me going when I want to just
give up.”
We had to try and taste for
ourselves so we booked an
afternoon food tour earlier this
month, and showed up with an
empty stomach and a camera.
The tour started out at the
Green Beetle—what I was to
learn was the first operational
bar in Memphis and where
we began our gastronomic
experience with some fried
food (it is the South y’all). My
tour guide, AK, brought us
fried catfish and fried green
tomatoes with chow chow,
and I took the light but well
seasoned batter covering them
as a sign of more good things
to come. I wasn’t disappointed.
Interestingly, the food
doesn’t stand alone on the
tours. As we walked to our
next destinations I learned
all about the social history
of Memphis and the various
establishments we visited.
Food in context! Our second
stop was at Scoops on G.E.
Patterson where I enjoyed a
barbecue chicken crepe and
a delightful scoop of locally
made honey pistachio gelato.
Next we stopped by The
Vault, which recently replaced
Double J Smokehouse &
Saloon, and had an intriguing
sampling of chicken, crab cake,
and fried manchego cheese.
I also had the coldest beer
I’ve ever had in my entire life
thanks to the chill rail they
have installed at the bar. That
alone is worth a visit!
Even though I was
completely stuffed at this
point, I pressed on and tried
the Jamaican jerk chicken
wings from Central BBQ. Like
us all, I had been to Central
BBQ countless times—how
had I never tried these before?!
Game changer. Lastly, we
turned the corner and ended
up at Makeda’s Homemade
Butter Cookies where I had
a piece of sinfully delicious
made-from-scratch lemon
icebox pie and Makeda’s
signature cookie. I couldn’t
have thought of a better way
to end such an enjoyable and
insightful tour!
For more information on
City Tasting Tours or to book
a tour, visit their website:
citytastingtours.com/
Fried catfish and fried green tomatoes with chow chow
at Green Beetle on South Main
Fried chicken, crab cake, and fried manchego at
The Vault on G.E. Patterson
BBQ nachos and Jamaican jerk chicken wings at
Central BBQ on Butler
Joyful Noise/ NOV+DEC 2017 / focusmidsouth.com / Page 37