The Liquor Store

The Liquor Store
2655 Broad Avenue
901-405-5477



I've already thoroughly documented my love for The Liquor Store over on the I Love Memphis blog, but I still wanted to see what the monkeys (Satchel, 15, and Jiro, 13) thought. So for this year's (really last year's) lunch with Chip and his fancy camera, which doubles as our annual family photo, we went to the Liquor Store.

Read: All photos by the amazing Chip Chockley!

In addition to my monkeys, my mom, and Chip, we were joined by Chip's wife, Steph, and their two monkeys (Connor, 14, and Chloe, 11).

Before lunch, I insisted we all go to the newly restored Grand Carousel at the Children's Museum to work up an appetite. It's really quite fun, and it goes faster than you'd expect. (Chip got a lil queasy standing backwards snappin pics.)



There's a separate entrance and it's $3 per person, per ride. Rides are every 15 minutes on the quarter hour.



Ok, on to lunch! The building used to be an actual Liquor Store and owners Lisa & Luis Toro were inspired by that lovely hunk of metal pictured above, hence the name. In reality it's a diner, but they also have a full bar.

I called Lisa to let her know I was bringing 8 people, but considering the size of the place, they really can't guarantee anything. However, we got lucky and were able to get seated together after just a few minutes.



I had done a LOT of talking up of the Loaded Fries so Satchel knew he wanted them. However, he wanted them all to himself, not as an appetizer. This caused a bit of teenaged angst when I informed him that meant he had to wait and eat them when everyone else got their main dishes.

This angst was further fueled by the fact that Team Chockley had easily agreed to share an order as an appetizer.



Now, I will say that having ordered these multiple times, they do come out different every time. I would attribute it to the fact that the Liquor Store has only been open, what, two months? And like any new place, they are working out the kinks. However, no matter what the proportion of gravy to Cuban pork to aioli to cheese to fries is, it ALWAYS tastes great. (One time they even ran out of their standard skinny fries and it came out with girthy fries and ...still good!) The way the cheese gets crispy around the edges on the grill is my favorite part.





I didn't want our end of the table to die of jealousy, so I put in an order of papas rellenas.



Looking at the current menu, they appear to have been cut. Which is understandable because they did not, in fact, cure our jealousy.

When Satchel finally got his very own Loaded Fries he was super cranky about sharing...until he realized there was no way he was going to be able to finish them.

Jiro, who is my breakfast lover, went with the Pancake Stack (which comes with 2 eggs and a side of breakfast meat) and an extra side of hashbrowns. The Liquor Store serves breakfast all day! Actually all menu items are available all day! Yay!



His side of hashbrown's was accidentally given to Chloe who was next to him, and by the time the replacement came, he was stuffed. No worries, he took them home and ate them about an hour later.

My mom went with the Breakfast Hash with Cuban Pork at my recommendation.



It was a little heavier on pork than I had previously experienced, but that just meant that she had leftovers for a sandwich later.

Speaking of, none of us ordered the Cuban, but Chloe did. It was bigger than her head. (And she's got a big head.)

I think she ordered it without pickles though, which is CRA-ZY.



Chip & I both got the Blue burger which comes with applewood smoked blue cheese, caramelized onions and bacon. It's so good. It's preventing me from trying other things on the menu.



Oh hey, BIG NEWS for my VEGAN and VEGETARIAN homies. The Liquor Store just added the Impossible (TM) Burger to the menu! You may have heard of it as the "vegan burger that bleeds." I had one in New York and it really, really could fool a meat eater.

Ok, back to our meal. I am not sure what Connor ordered as it isn't photographed, but Steph had the Grilled Cheese (white cheddar, Swiss and American cheese) with potato salad instead of the usual choice of tomato soup or fries. (Apparently Steph is as weird as Chloe.) Actually, I think Connor maybe shared the Grilled Cheese with Steph? Anyways...



Sadly, we didn't save any room for pie.



I love looking in the pie case by the front door. Well the PIES in the pie case, that is.



All of the pies and most of the breads are made in house. Don't be like us. Save room for pie!



All in all, we had a great meal. There were a few bumps along the way, but the more I go to the Liquor Store, the more I am impressed with the service and the food. And I like that they are adapting the menu along the way.

Hope to see you there soon!