Where do you dine, chains or independents?

[crossroad]

I was trying to find a place to eat tonight and was so surprised that there were long lines at TGI F's and Johnny Carino's, ON A RAINY FRIDAY EVENING!! The chains do have the marketing muscles and operational consistency, as well as economy of scales to lower their costs and become more competitive.

Are there enough local or independent presence in Memphis? Friends say Memphis is mostly BBQ but I don't think it's the case. Personally I think local entrepreneurs deserve a little more locals' support from the national chains, in every aspect.

[northernbizzkit1]

I was trying to find a place to eat tonight and was so surprised that there were long lines at TGI F's and Johnny Carino's, ON A RAINY FRIDAY EVENING!! The chains do have the marketing muscles and operational consistency, as well as economy of scales to lower their costs and become more competitive.

Are there enough local or independent presence in Memphis? Friends say Memphis is mostly BBQ but I don't think it's the case. Personally I think local entrepreneurs deserve a little more locals' support from the national chains, in every aspect.

[tennreb]

Why not go to one of the many restaurants in Cooper-Young, Overton Square, and Downtown. Even Collierville and Germantown have a large number of quality local places from casual to high-end.

[fearlessvk]

While there are definitely too many chains in Memphis, especially fast-food restaurants (especially 24-hour fast food restaurants - gaaaaaa!) I was quite pleased upon moving here with the independent and local selections. I can walk to a number of great restaurants from my front door, and there's plenty more in midtown. I practically never drive east of the university for any reason, so I can't comment beyond that. One thing about Memphis that was a little alarming, though, was when the Memphis Flyer did their best-of issue, so many of the #1 reader awards were given to all kinds of chains. Both for restaurants and for other businesses. People need to make more of an effort to explore the independent places; I'm not some kind of militant anti-chain fanatic, but the indies are always the places that give a city its character. I can't imagine voting for any kind of chain as the best ANYTHING in a city.

Back to restaurants, though, i'm not really a huge fan of bbq (i virtually never eat pork - i made a special exception upon arriving in memphis cause i figured i should try the local specialty, but there's no way i could eat that stuff on any kind of regular basis) and there are a ton of great options for me outside of bbq. Like so much else in Memphis, there's a problem here of a gap between perception and reality. When my friends from out of town ask about Memphis, they seem to imagine that the only dining options are BBQ and chains. One cuisine that Memphis could really use to sell itself is Vietnamese - there are tons of great little vietnamese and pho places clustered around cleveland. Yum!!!

S

[hgupta]

One thing about Memphis that was a little alarming, though, was when the Memphis Flyer did their best-of issue, so many of the #1 reader awards were given to all kinds of chains. Both for restaurants and for other businesses. People need to make more of an effort to explore the independent places; I'm not some kind of militant anti-chain fanatic, but the indies are always the places that give a city its character. I can't imagine voting for any kind of chain as the best ANYTHING in a city.

One cuisine that Memphis could really use to sell itself is Vietnamese - there are tons of great little vietnamese and pho places clustered around cleveland. Yum!!!

S

[crossroad]

are you in Memphis? because it wasn't rainy here tonight when I was out. The independent places are pretty packed. Sure, we have Corky's, Rendezvous, Neely's, BBQ Shop, etc. for local barbeque places, but there are other venues as well...Huey's, Half Shell, East End Grill, Paulette's, Bosco's, the Grisanti family of restaurants, and numerous downtown that are local and often hard to get into because of long waits. I'd say Memphis is a very independent-friendly town for restaurants. Sure, you have your packed Chili's or Carrabba's, but people even out in the suburbs are willing to go and often opt for a local place instead of a chain.

[UptownNewOrleans]

I eat @ both. But now I'm starting to eat at the independent places more because after a while, I get tired of chain restaurants. N.O. doesn't have many chain restaurants (except in the vicinity) except for Popeyes, McDonalds & maybe some other chain restaurants. Whenever I'm in Memphis, the only independent place I go to is Tyler's Place. It's in Orange Mound on 2481 Park Ave. The dude has good food.