Memphis Monday: Eat Cornbread, Raise Hell

1. Gay Hawk Restaurant

First off on today's Memphis Monday list is a great little restaurant with a fun name. Gay Hawk is located on the west side of the city, close to Downtown. We first visited this restaurant around a year and a half or two years ago with Geoffrey's friend Jeff. He came to visit and we all had a hankering for some true Memphis Soul Food, and Kreature Comfort's Lowlife Guide to Memphis (more info on that here) led us to Gay Hawk. I'll admit, we were skeptical during the drive over, when we pulled up, and even when we walked in. Time has taken it's toll on the little restaurant; it's been around since 1951 after all. It's pretty dark inside, and when our eyes adjusted we could see several little tables and a large steam buffet table over to the right. We were treated very kindly as soon as we walked in, and I'm pretty sure they took the confused, unsure looks on our faces to mean we were tourists. We grabbed a plate and headed over to the buffet. Some of the selections were a little too...adventurous for me...chitlins and the like...so I stuck to the basics. I honestly can't remember what I ate there because it's been so long. I know there was a casserole I loved and the cornbread was sweet and divine. Everyone of us loved our food and the service. There was a man in there who gave me the impression that he was the owner or head cook and had worked there eleventy million years...anyway he saw that I had devoured quite a bit of the cornbread and came up and asked me if I would like some fresh (that's one thing I didn't mention, we went there at an awkward time for lunch - a little early or a little late, I can't remember - and the food could have been a little fresher, though that's the case with most buffets) I told him dog gone it I sure would be much obliged...maybe with different wording. He proceeded to bring me (ok, I guess he brought us) the hottest fluffiest cornbread. It put's up a fight with Stone Soup's cornbread, I'll tell ya (and it hurts me to say that.) I slathered some butter on that little cornbread muffin and gobbled that baby up faster than you can say molasses. And then another, and maybe, perhaps, possibly another. My mouth is watering just telling y'all about it. So if you make it to Memphis, or you live here now and haven't been to Gay Hawk, don't let appearances fool you.

2. Ernestine's and Hazel's

This restaurant needs to be moved from my To Do list to my Done list, ASAP. (Image above can be found here.) Ernestine and Hazel's has been a drugstore, bar, and brothel; it's a Memphis tradition and I'm ashamed to say I've never been there. They're famous for their soul burgers and smoky atmosphere. Reviewer Jamie Z on urbanspoon says "I've brought a number of friends to Earnestine and Hazel's, and some of them love it, others hate it. The haters think it's too dirty, dark, and creepy. The people who love it think it's dirty, dark, and creepy." I love that description, it reminds me of my favorite bar, The Downtown Pub in Tuscaloosa. My favorite Memphis blogger, Carrie over at I Love Memphis got married there and says that it's super affordable as a venue! Apparently you eat downstairs and if you go upstairs there are little bedrooms leftover from it's brothel days and a claw foot bathtub. I'm a sucker for those. It's open super late, and I hear the food gets better as the night grows longer. Can't wait to try this!

Images can be found here and here.

 

Thanks for reading! I'm about to make a Hobby Lobby run then head to work at the most amazing place. See y'all soon. Remember: Eat Cornbread, Raise Hell.