Hopdoddy

Hopdoddy
2-6 S. Cooper
Memphis, TN
901-654-5100

Early last week, Jiro (age 13) and I got an invite to try the new Hopdoddy in Overton Square. Since we were invited, we got a bit of special attention. We didn't have to wait in line, and we could try whatever we wanted on the house. (Nice, huh?) Our Hopdoddy hostess, Erin, who was in from Texas for the opening, encouraged us to go crazy, so we did.

Let's take a look at the drink menu:



They have a pretty nice selection of local beers, wine, and several cocktails. For unknown reasons, I ordered the 3 Whiskey L.I.T. which I later learned stood for Long Island Iced Tea. Um, it was REALLY strong. I didn't come anywhere close to finishing it. Erin said they are known for their margaritas and that I should try one of those too. She brought me a Little Larry which is a mini frozen margarita. Cute! And YUM!



There's a nice bar in the middle of the restaurant. (You can sit there and order food and drinks from the bartender without waiting in the line.)



Ok, back to the regular menu:



Jiro ordered a Strawberry Shortcake milkshake and was very happy with it.



It took us a minute to narrow down which burger we wanted, but we had no trouble immediately deciding to split an order of Buffalo fries.



Jiro, Satchel and I all have a hot sauce problem and love pretty much anything with Buffalo sauce. The fries did NOT disappoint. They. Were. Amazing.

Ok, let's talk about the burgers. It was really hard to choose! Jiro decided on a Breakfast Burger and I finally pulled the trigger on the Goodnight/Good Cause burger ($1 from each sale goes to Stax Music Academy).



Erin, who was very encouraging, said we should definitely try a couple more. So, we got an Ahi Tuna and the Thunderbird.

And then this happened:



Let's start with the Breakfast Burger. It's got a patty made of sausage, ham and beef. It's topped with American cheese, bacon, egg and potato hay (skinny skinny fries). It's a winner.



The Thunderbird has a chicken patty, avocado, pico, pepperjack and poblano. (Menu doesn't say bacon, but look! bacon!)





The Goodnight/Good Cause burger was very good, but is probably not at all appealing to anyone under 18 and/or anyone who is anti-onion.





And finally, there's the Ahi Tuna, which was my favorite. It is a MUST TRY. That crispy nori on top is clutch.



It was cooked just right.



SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. Seriously, eat it.

Clearly Jiro and I left stuffed and happy with lots of to go boxes. He could hardly wait to go back, so we went again this week to experience it without any special treatment.

We went on a Tuesday around 6:00pm and only had to wait in line about 5-10 minutes. When you get in line, they assign you a table so that you don't have to wonder if you'll be able to sit down when your food is ready. We were told there were no tables unless we wanted to sit outside. It was a lil chilly, but we decided to go for it. Once at a table, there are servers who come check on you and who can take orders for extra drinks or whatever you might want.

Honestly, I don't understand why this is easier than just offering table service, but it seems to be a trend right now. (Any restaurant people wanna weigh in?)

Anyways, Jiro wanted another Breakfast Burger and this time we decided to split the Truffle Parmesan fries. I decided to try the Hail Caesar salad. Oh, and Jiro got a Malted Root Beer shake. That put our total at $24.

Once outside, we were freezing but happy. I sent Jiro to get a hoodie out of the car and I had a scarf in my purse.



The fries and shake came out soon after Jiro retrieved the hoodie. The shake was yummy, but it was too cold to be drinking a shake.



The fries were good, but maybe a little too cheesy? They needed something. They were just a little too dry maybe. They were definitely nowhere near as good as the buffalo fries.



The Breakfast Burger was still a hit with Jiro. (The potato hay looked more like chips this time, but no matter.)



I was very pleased with my salad.



There were nice big pieces of Parmesan. I really thought that the fried chickpeas were croutons until the very end. The tomatoes were heirloom. Major thumbs up. (I just looked back at the menu and this salad is also supposed to have potato hay on it. Oh, well. I didn't miss it.)

All in all, I see why everyone was so excited about this place opening. And there's a reason this is their 22nd store. Try it for yourself!

Farm Burger

Farm Burger
1350 Concourse Ave. Ste. 175
901-800-1851

Before the big opening last weekend, a friend and I had lunch at Farm Burger in Crosstown Concourse. I thought the monkeys (Satchel, 15, and Jiro, 13) might like it, so we stopped in for a quick dinner on Wednesday. Jiro had been to the opening day celebration, so he knew what to expect, but I think it's fair to say that Satchel's mind was blown by the Concourse.

I can't remember which atrium Farm Burger is in, but it's the one closest to Cleveland. When I went for lunch it was crazy crowded, but at 5:30pm, it was nice and mellow; No line, no waiting. (If you sit at the bar, you don't have to stand in line. The bartender will take your order. I did notice a dad and little kid at the bar, so it doesn't appear to be a 21 and up situation, but it may just be that they aren't enforcing it yet.)



The monkeys quickly decided what they wanted and we put in our order. Satch got a build your own burger with a side of six wings. Jiro got the signature Farm Burger and fries. I actually wasn't feeling great so I ordered a Super Salad with chicken packed to go. I figured I'd eat it later that night or for breakfast.



I sent the monkeys to get waters and paid the tab: $36.43 plus tip. (They deliver the food and bus the tables, so tipping is called for, but not necessarily 20%, which is what I reflexively do when they use those sneaky computers.)



They found a nice table by the window and put our number down so the food runners could find us..



I quickly noticed that two men were hard at work building furniture on the patio. Yay, patio!



Once I quit taking pictures, Satchel started in on a Dr. Bob-esque rant. "This is one of those borderline vegan places with local bullshit," he said. Then he conceded, "But their meat is probably really good." Having spent two weeks in California over the summer, he's become a bit more outspoken on certain things.

I noticed a sign nearby, so I went to see exactly what the Farm Burger M.O. is.



So, Satchel basically hit the nail on the head.

After a few more moments, Satchel's wings arrived, and everyone started salivating.



He agreed to let Jiro have one of the drummies (he prefers the flats) and Jiro, in turn, agreed to give me a bite. I thought they were very tasty. They were gone in just a few minutes, so I am assuming Satchel agreed. He said they were a 7 out of a 10. (For rating purposes, he said there is no 10, but Slider Inn wings are a 9.)

The burgers arrived next, and both boys pounced. Satchel allowed me a quick snap.



After one bite he was all, "Ohmygodthisisamazing. This is the best burger in Memphis. This is an 11 out of 10." So, there you go.

Meanwhile, Jiro was having a come apart. The Farm Burger he ordered came with farm sauce and caramelized onions.



The Farm sauce looked like Thousand Island with maybe relish in it? The chunks totally turned Jiro off. And he didn't understand what caramelized onions were. So, we had to do a bunch of scraping.



He ate about three bites and then pawned it off on me. It was a bummer because he was the one who was really excited about coming to Farm Burger. Oh well, he still had plenty of fries, which everyone liked (and compared to Wing Stop).

I snapped a pic of my salad for posterity.



Not sure how it would look if I ordered it to eat in, but I was happy the chicken patty was separate. I was actually expecting a chicken breast, but the chicken patty was fine. When I came for lunch, I had a chicken burger which I expected to have a ground patty, but came with a thin breast. But whatever--I'm chalking it up to being new. Both were good.



(Major thumbs up on the chicken burger, btw. Kale!)

I ate my salad the next day and it was really good. Wasn't crazy about the cranberries (aren't we done with dried cranberries yet??) and caramelized onions (which I like, but not on salad), but I was a major fan of the nutritional yeast. I didn't need any dressing.

But back to Farm Burger. We had folks check on us regularly. Everyone who works there seemed super nice and looked very hip, as you might expect. They even stole my favorite guy from Flying Fish, so A+ on service.

On our way out, we stopped at the Curb Market to get a few essential groceries, and then hit MemPops for two Peaches and Cream popsicles for the road. Aww, yeah.

Wimpy's

Wimpy's
150 N. Avalon
901-249-2725

I noticed Wimpy's on a trip to Home Depot, as it is tucked into the strip mall in the parking lot. I was intrigued. I did a little research and discovered that their burgers are made to order, the sauces are house-made, and the milkshakes hand-spun.



The next time I needed to go Home Depot, I had Satchel (15) with me. I told him that Wimpy's was the midtown version of Sear Shack. That sold him.

They have outdoor seating, which is very important to me.



The inside of the restaurant is clean and bright. It's an order at the counter kind of place, and then they bring everything out. Well, except drinks. You get those yourself.



There's a mix of the Wimpy we know from the Popeye cartoons and a reimagined, modern day Wimpy, decorating the walls (and menus and cups, etc.).




We were both impressed by the menu, particularly the free toppings.




Satch went with a buffalo chicken sandwich with pineapple. I got The Wimpy with pimento cheese and banana peppers. We decided to share some fries and Satch also got a cookies and cream milkshake.

The food came out after a few minutes and we dug in. Satchel's eyes literally rolled into the back of his head when he tasted his sandwich. "It's soooooooooo good," he said. (It was three chicken tenders with buffalo sauce and a big slice of pineapple. Simple, but all of his favorite flavors.)



He also immediately began dipping his fries in his shake, which I had to try. Yum! on both the shake and the fries dipped in shake.



I was pleased with the way my burger looked and tasted. I liked that it had fancy lettuce. It was also a good size--I had trouble finishing it.



When we were done, Satchel noticed that he could have gotten fried pickles and cheese fries. "We are definitely coming back," he said.

I ended up going back the next day with Jiro (13) and one of his buddies after soccer. (I kind of felt bad for trying a new place without him.) They both ordered plain burgers and shakes, but were both very happy.



And then about a week later, I ended up going back with both monkeys. Satchel got his same buffalo chicken sandwich, but also got the cheese fries he'd been craving. (Just fries with cheese sauce on top, nothing special. Satch added the ketchup.)



I tried the grilled chicken salad with bacon, which was pretty fine. I'll basically eat anything with banana peppers listed in the description.



Jiro had another plain burger and an order of fried Oreos with strawberry sauce. These were a hot with both monkeys.



Again, we were all happy with our meals. The staff has been super friendly and I haven't found anything to complain about, which is weird.

The bathrooms are also very nice and have a changing table.

Go try it for yourself and let me know what you think.

Burgerim

Burgerim
569 S Highland St.
(901) 308-1203

Getting the monkeys (Satchel, 14, and Jiro, 12) to (enthusiastically) try new things is quite difficult. My best bet is usually burgers. So, on Saturday, we hit up the new Burgerim on the Highland Strip.



I didn't do a lot of research prior to going, so I wasn't aware that it's an Israeli chain. Very cool. I did realize that sliders are their specialty. Also cool. (In Hebrew, you add "im" to make things plural, so now the name makes perfect sense.)

It's a fast casual kinda place where you order at the counter and then find a seat. I especially like the bar seating, but we grabbed a booth.



Ok, let's back up. When it was time to order, the monkeys were on it. They decided to split a trio of burgers (with their mutually agreed upon toppings of cheese, ketchup and pickle) and an order of wings. I felt like I needed to try something a little more exciting since they have so many options.



For example, your patty can be made from Beef, Dry Aged Beef, Wagyu Beef, Merguez (Spicy Beef), Turkey, Lamb, Chicken, Salmon or Veggies. And for a little extra you can add Grilled Onion, Sauteed Mushrooms, Sunny Side Up Egg, Pineapple, Bacon, American Cheese, Avocado, and Jalapeño. They also offer three bun types, including gluten free, and several sauces. Not wanting to hold up the line, and not really wanting a salad, I decided on the duo. I chose one with regular beef and a sunny side up egg and one with the spicy beef and avocado. I was given a choice of regular fries, sweet potato fries or half and half. So many choices! I went with sweet potato. Our total was $36.64.

I gave the monkeys the cups so they could handle the drink machine (which is the fancy kind with endless combinations) and took a seat. When the boys arrived, I asked them to put their phones away. They were thrilled. They love making conversation with their mom. I think Satchel spent most of the wait time explaining how his dad and I are both hippies, but I'm more of an urban hippie while his dad is a nature hippie.



A film crew came in and started shooting and we saw a few people we knew, so it was very lively. The space is pretty small, but everyone seemed to find a place to sit, or was happy getting orders to go.

It took a little longer than I would have expected to get our food, but since they've only been open a short while, it was understandable. I enjoyed people watching and whatnot.

When our food arrived, it was neatly packaged in little boxes--another thing Burgerim is known for. (Look out, Krystal's!) The boys' food came together since they technically ordered a combo and a starter to share.




Of course the first thing we noticed was the fries. "They're like potato chips," Satchel noted as he began shoveling them in his mouth.



They were both happily stuffing their faces in no time.




I was pleased with my little duo, and the system for determining which was which.




My fries were regularly shaped, but I did notice today on the website that the sweet potato fries are pictured as slices, so maybe that will change.

I have to admit that the spicy beef, which the guy told me was really "spiced" beef and more sweet than spicy, was weird. The texture was bizarre. And don't get me started on that avocado!



However, the regular beef with a sunny side egg was outstanding. It was a little messy. My hand was covered in delicious runny yolk, so I didn't even try get a close up. I just ate it and made happy noises. For whatever reason, the boys couldn't finish the wings, so I tried a few of them as well. They were pretty good. They had more batter than you'd usually find on a hot wing, but I don't consider that a bad thing.

Final verdict? The monkeys LOVED it. I liked it, and would definitely go back to try a few other menu items, especially if I was in the area. But let's be real, Slider Inn will always be my BAE.