117Prime will close April 20th. Belle Tavern will remain open. (Photo: Courtesy of 117Prime)
No more prime steak or oysters after April 20th at 117Prime. That’s when the Downtown steakhouse at 117 Union Avenue closes.
But food lovers will still be able to get steak frites at Belle Tavern. The cozy bar/restaurant immediately behind 117Prime will remain open.
“The menu will get a little bigger,” says Ryan Trimm, chef/owner of both places. But, he says, “You won’t be able to enter through Union any more. You’ll have to enter through 117 Barboro Alley.”
Belle Tavern has been open longer than 117Prime, Trimm says. The bar, which opened around 2015, “closed during Covid” and reopened after they rebranded.
Asked about the attraction of Belle Tavern, Trimm says, “I always wanted a little bar. A place where I feel like I can hang out. And it’s just relaxing and low level and fits a need.”
He describes Belle Tavern as “a borderline dive bar. It’s not a dive bar. But it’s a little hole in the wall.”
Belle Tavern is a place where he can hang out with his friends with a good whiskey and beer selection.
Belle Tavern (Photo: Courtesy of Belle Tavern)
As for 117Prime, Trimm says, “Sales have not been what they were. A lot of fixed costs. A steak house, fine dining restaurant, it gets pretty difficult to keep that moving. And it just got to the point where we were like, ‘You know what? The environment downtown is getting more difficult to navigate. And we just need to try something else.’”
And, he adds, “I don’t think a steakhouse was a good fit for Downtown at this moment.” It was hard to stay open with “valet and linen tablecloths and heavy staff and food costs.”
Trimm isn’t sure what they will do with the 117Prime space after the restaurant closes at the end of this week. They might open something “a little more fitting” or “lease it to somebody else.”
That’s right, it’s everyone’s favorite time of the year again: Memphis Flyer Burger Week! For 2023’s celebration of the holy grail of classic American dining, we researched some of the best beef patties around and released our writers all over the city to sample some good ol’ Bluff City hamburgers. The usual suspects are out in force, while some newcomers showed off their tasty takes on ground chuck. All of the restaurants on the following pages are participating in Burger Week this year, so we went ahead and checked out what you can expect for some pretty cool $6.99 deals.
Old Bridge Burger – Loflin Yard
“Oh gee,” mused an indecisive diner during a night out on the town in Downtown Memphis. “What do I want to eat tonight? A hamburger? Some barbecue? Or maybe just a small snack of onion rings to tide me over?”
“Oh-ho!” chortled a voice just over his shoulder. “Trouble deciding what to eat tonight?”
“The Loflin Fairy!” the diner exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“Why, I’m here to solve your dinnertime woes with the Old Bridge Burger at Loflin Yard.” With a flourish, the Loflin Fairy snapped his fingers to conjure a plate out of thin air, topped with a hefty burger piled with all sorts of different accouterments. The diner leaned in, eyes wide, as his salivating gaze wandered over the myriad ingredients.
“It’s got a large Angus beef patty, coleslaw, pickles, barbecue sauce … wait, is that pulled pork on top of the burger? And some fried onion rings under the top bun?”
“Indeed it is,” laughed the Loflin Fairy.
“That’s so much food!” But when the diner looked up, the Loflin Fairy had vanished, leaving him alone with the large Old Bridge Burger, a side of fries, and a frozé for good measure. — Samuel X. Cicci 7 W. Carolina Ave.
The Celtic Burger (Photo: Jon W. Sparks)
The Celtic Burger – Celtic Crossing
Celtic Crossing’s old standbys — think shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash — are splendid, but if you’re hankering for a good ol’ hamburger, you’ll get a beefy serving of satisfaction at the classic Irish pub. The Celtic Burger starts with its blended patty that is nicely seasoned and sports a satisfying topper of American cheese. There is also a “secret sauce,” which implies a certain possible leprechaun involvement, but which my taste buds and some discreet inquiries revealed to have elements of ketchup and mayonnaise (probably not from County Mayo, though).
Verdict is: delicious. Rounding it out are pickles, tomatoes, and shaved lettuce. It all sits comfortably between two halves of a potato bun liberally festooned with sesame seeds. The dish comes with thick, savory fries, as one would expect from a Hibernian kitchen. The seeded bun itself is a delight, but, as will happen with robust burgers, might not stay intact through the end. This, however, is why the Irish invented forks, so you can enjoy it to the last morsel. — Jon W. Sparks 903 Cooper St.
World Famous Huey Burger (Photo: Shara Clark)
World Famous Huey Burger – Huey’s
When’s the last time you had a World Famous Huey Burger? For me, it’s been a year. Yep, when I signed up to eat this classic for this year’s Burger Week preview, I’d forgotten I volunteered to eat and write about the same burger last year.
Oops. Not to fret; it was a welcome change from my typical steak on a stick or potato soup order (I still got some soup to-go because, duh). And who doesn’t love a time-tested cheeseburger?
A perennial Flyer Best of Memphis “Best Burger” winner, the Huey’s standard features a 6-oz. certified Angus beef patty with all the fixings — mayo, lettuce, tomato, mustard, pickles, onion, and cheddar or Swiss cheese on a toasted sesame seed bun. This is a somewhat hefty burger, so prepare to unhinge the jaw a tad to get a taste of all the goods in one go. The combination of juicy beef (medium-cooked for maximum results) and familiar condiments offers that summer backyard cookout flavor we all crave when a burger hankering hits.
Plan your Huey’s trip wisely. In a noon-hour lunch attempt, the line spilled into the lobby and out the front door at not one but three locations. Which on its own is a testament to the quality and longevity of this Memphis-favorite institution. — Shara Clark Multiple locations
Southern Smokehouse Burger (Photo: Michael Donahue)
Southern Smokehouse Burger – Tops Bar-B-Q
A regular Tops hamburger is now iconic. The Southern Smokehouse Burger is a cheeseburger with grilled onions, thick-cut bacon, and a sweet Southern glaze. That glaze drenching that bacon is over-the-top great. Or make that “over the Tops.”
They added the burger with its “smokey molasses-based glaze” as a limited-time offer for the summer, says Hunter Brown with Tops Operations LLC. He and Tops CEO Randy Hough were at the Tops location at 5144 Poplar Avenue the day I was there. Also at the restaurant were a bunch of guys from Christian Brothers High School. Hough and Brown let the guys sample the Southern Smokehouse Burger.
I asked the students what they thought. They liked the “nice texture,” “sweetness and flavor,” and the “sauce.” Another guy specifically said “glaze,” so he knows his cuisine. Brown says one of the guys told him it was “amazing.”
The Southern Smokehouse Burger is $5.99, which is below the Burger Week price point. “What we’re doing is giving the burger and a side of macaroni and cheese for $6.99,” Brown says. The mac and cheese is another new Tops item. — Michael Donahue Multiple locations
Sunrise Burger (Photo: Kailynn Johnson)
Sunrise Burger – Sunrise Memphis
Working for the Flyer has come with a lot of firsts, and this year’s Burger Week was no different. It was my first time trying an egg on a burger. Not too crazy, I know, but for someone who usually sticks to a regular cheeseburger, with the occasional addition of bacon, it can be intimidating. Alongside a sunny-side-up egg, the Sunrise Burger from Sunrise Memphis comes with a double smash patty, cheddar cheese, bacon jam, and jalapeño cream cheese spread, all served on a brioche bun.
When I told my dad about how nervous I was to try all these elements together, his reaction was, “I’m not going to lie, that sounds good,” and per usual, he was right. The ingredients seemed to work together in a way that “breakfast for dinner” does, and it was a nice mix of sweet and savory. The star of the burger would definitely have to be the bacon jam, as the sweetness doesn’t overpower the other elements, and works really nicely with the jalapeño cream cheese spread. While it’s not usually my first thought to visit a breakfast spot to satiate burger cravings, I think a new 20-minute commute is now in the rotation. — Kailynn Johnson Multiple locations
Soul Burger (Photo: Earnestine & Hazel’s)
Soul Burger – Earnestine & Hazel’s
Earnestine & Hazel’s iconic Soul Burger is a dose of Memphis magic served on a blanket of crinkly deli paper.
The ingredients are simple: a bun, patty, onions, cheese, pickle, and “Soul Sauce.” The bar says that’s “all that’s needed to make our delicious burger.” And it has been for years. But there’s something … else about the Soul Burger. Something transportive. But something also elusive. Just what, exactly, has made this humble burger such an essential stitch in the fabric of Memphis culture? Again, it’s hard to define.
But you feel it when the barkeep slides that little paper basket your way. The warm, little burger is just how you remembered. That first bite hits your taste buds and magically unlocks some core Memphis memory.
And never a bad memory. It’s beers and buddies, and the jukebox, and Mr. Nate upstairs, and the peeling paint, the “no dope smoken” sign, and how “ragged but right” (the bar’s ethos) fits it and the city so well, and somehow you feel at home in it all.
Have you been drinking? Probably! But that’s not what makes a Soul Burger taste so good. And neither, really, is it just pure nostalgia.
It’s the perfect blend of simple, savory ingredients done just right every single time. That’s what has brought generations of Memphians coming back for more soul. — Toby Sells 531 S. Main St.
DaLabSpecial (Photo: Chris McCoy)
DaLabSpecial – Dexter’s Lab 901
It’s a hot August night on Shelby Drive. Dexter’s Lab 901 food truck is posted up in a corner of the Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lot. As soon as the blue LEDs light up, cars gather around in a semicircle, waiting for Allante Armstrong’s grease and griddle to get hot enough to cook his signature wings and burgers. “And guess what? I ain’t even posted that I’m open yet!” says Armstrong. “That’s a blessing.”
Armstrong named Dexter’s Lab 901 after his younger brother who passed away from lupus. On the side of the truck, millennial cartoon science hero Dexter shares space with a smiling Dexter Wooten, eternally young.
The burger Armstrong serves up, DaLabSpecial, is a classic griddle burger with the traditional fixings served on two thick, buttered slabs of Texas toast. “I do it just to be different because everybody else put it on regular cheeseburger buns,” says Armstrong.
The burger is thick, but not overwhelming, and super juicy. The buttered buns soak up the ample drippings without falling apart. (Structural integrity is an underrated trait in all sandwiches.) Served half-buried in spicy crinkle fries, it’s ideal street food.
Armstrong gets into a groove, taking orders and juggling burgers on the grill and wings in the fryer. “It’s just something that turned into a hustle. I don’t really know how to cook. If you put me in a real kitchen, I wouldn’t know what to do. But I’m learning,” he says.
The guy next to me in line seems amused when he hears that. “[Armstrong] catered my sister’s wedding,” he says. “You tell ’em he’s good. He’s real good.” — Chris McCoy 6990 E. Shelby Dr.
The Memphis Belle (Photo: Michael Donahue)
TheMemphis Belle – Belle Tavern
They call them “designer burgers” because of their high quality, but they usually cost more than $10. These are hamburgers made with prime beef trimmings. They’re usually available at high-end restaurants.
Well, for Burger Week, Belle Tavern at 117 Barboro Alley (on the flipside of Union’s 117 Prime) is offering its hamburger, the Memphis Belle. According to the description from the restaurant’s general manager Jake Smith, who designed the burger, the hamburger is a quarter-pound patty of ground beef “from the trimmings of our USDA prime steaks, smoked Gouda, caramelized onion, house-made dill pickles, Prime sauce, on a toasted onion kaiser bun.”
Diners can tell the difference when they take a bite, Smith says. “You get all those textures and flavors working together.” The trimmings come from their whole rib-eye New York strips at 117 Prime. “We take these trimmings and get this grind.” USDA prime, he says, “is all about flavor and tenderness.”
They’re considering permanently adding the Memphis Belle to their menu at Belle Tavern. “We’re looking at this as a test drive. Get some feedback from our guests and see what they think.” But it will cost more. And, man, oh, man, those fries that come with it. “Fries are the secret weapon.” — MD 117 Barboro Alley
The Crazy Coop (Photo: Alex Greene)
Build Your Own Burger – The Crazy Coop
The Crazy Coop, which only opened its two locations this February, offers a back-to-basics take on the classic American burger. It’s a no-frills, artisanal approach that focuses on freshness, but one can build on that foundation to create the custom burger of your dreams. That’s because The Crazy Coop is much more than a burger joint. As the name suggests, they specialize in chicken, and especially wings (indeed, they only serve burgers at their Bartlett location). But while all their flavorful options, which include both classic wings seasonings and unique creations like BBQ Bacon Bourbon or Honey Habanero BBQ, originated in their dedication to hot wings, they encourage customers to apply them to burgers as well.
But I wanted to get down to the fundamentals: their basic, unadorned cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and onion. The flavor was exquisite. Owner/chef Darius Buckner explained that, having cooked since childhood, then working with a chef in Atlanta for decades, he was committed to seasoning and shaping the patties by hand himself. That attention to detail pays off in the nuanced flavors of their burgers. You could order up a bunch to go for a backyard cookout without ever firing up your grill. — Alex Greene 7199 Stage Rd. (Not available at Ridgeway location)
Over the past month several people have recommended the Belle Tavern to me, citing great drinks, an impressive bar food menu, and the happy hour, and service industry prices. I had not heard of it before and, frankly, I’m disappointed that you guys held out on me so long. I might not still be in the service industry, but I still have that look in my eye of perpetually needing to unwind. It’s the one you get only after years of dealing with the boobs who terrorize servers and bartenders. So sure, it took me a hot minute to discover the Belle Tavern, but I finally made it. Seven of us braved the icy roads over the weekend to seek shelter and whiskey, and God bless them for being open and willing to accommodate us.
Arctic winds and ice would seemingly kill a bar crowd, but not at Belle Tavern. The place was half-full when we arrived and stayed occupied the whole time we were there. The bartender, Q, suggested a hot mug of mulled wine to start and, people, let me tell you, that alone would’ve made it worth the trip. Friends had suggested the 3 Whiskey Old Fashioned, which we also ordered. It, too, was incredible. One of my buddies had the Bourbon Cherry Limeade. Its color is such that it could be mistaken for an actual cherry limeade, if you need something to pour in an old Sonic cup and carry to your kids’ sporting events. The Belle Tavern also has a huge selection of whiskeys, a welcome sight to the snow-drunk masses and connoisseurs alike.
A good bar can get by on the booze alone, but a competent menu never hurt, either. The Tavern used to be a part of Belle Southern Bistro before it closed, and it still maintains a lot of the great grub that was showcased at the Bistro. We ordered the Butcher Board, a selection of meats, cheeses, and more for $15, and it was enough to pass around the whole group. In fact, it was such a large amount of food that the conversation turned to the cost of living in Memphis, with the Butcher Board serving as the affordable housing offered here as opposed to, say, the skyrocketing Nashville market.
The bar itself is both elegant and cozy. There were several tables, a lounge area, and a stately horseshoe-shaped bar (my favorite style of bar, if you are wondering) with super-cushy bar stools. The Tavern is accessible only by alleyway which serves two purposes: One, not as many dummies can find it, and two, it makes me feel like I’m walking into an illegal poker game — something I’ve yearned for since my first viewing of A River Runs Through It. There is also a huge window that opens into the alley, which will lend itself to awesome alley parties and open-window rainstorms once it warms up. To find Belle Tavern, take a right down Barboro Alley from 2nd and look for the blue neon sign, like a beacon shining bright.
The Tavern’s tag line is “The Place Your Friends Haven’t Told You About.” It’s a mix of speakeasy and pub, divey with the alleyway entrance, yet comfortable owing to lack of crust punks passed out in the restroom. It’s dark and romantic, but can be dressed down with a little of what I call “yelling about hating Tom Brady in front of strangers.” The bar laughs in the face of tradition, booking music Sundays through Wednesdays instead of on weekend nights, when most of the clientele just wants to chill. The place has a huge TV above the bar and another in the lounge area. The bar is open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from noon to
10 p.m on Sundays. Happy hour is from 10 p.m. to midnight (uncertain how this is handled on Sundays). For those of you who deserve it most — the dear hearts of the service industry — happy hour is open to close. Finally, for you New Year’s Resolution sorts, there is a “prohibition” menu with mocktails. Hearty congratulations to all of you who have just found your new pre- or post-Grizzlies game bar in the Belle Tavern. Don’t spoil it for the rest of us.
