Welcome back to Table Talk, where Daily Memphian food and dining editor Jennifer Biggs and her colleagues send the latest food news (along with a dash of this and that) directly to your inbox every Wednesday.

A tale of two food conversations:

Two weeks ago on our Sound Bites podcast/radio show, my colleagues Eric Barnes and Holly Whitfield discussed which Memphis restaurants they’re most likely to take visitors.

This week on Sound Bites, I was joined by regular food section contributor Joshua Carlucci to talk about his experiences as a relatively new Memphian and some of the under-the-radar recent favorites he’s found as part of our ongoing $10 Deal series. 

I don’t think there was any overlap in the Memphis restaurants and food spaces mentioned.

Eric and Holly highlighted a long list of favorites, from fine-dining spots such as Acre, Bishop and the Beauty Shop to more casual spots such as Edge Alley and Maciel’s to beloved holes-in-the-wall such as Elwood’s Shack and Payne’s to newish bars such as Cameo and Inkwell.

It was the kind of conversation that invites playing along, and they mentioned four places I have in fact taken visitors in the not-too-distant past: For chopped pork sandwiches at Payne’s, for tinned seafood at Bishop, for pasta on the back patio at Ecco and for choose-your-own-adventure ordering at Global Cafe. 

Beyond those, Gus’s Fried Chicken is standard Memphis visitor fare for me, though it’s becoming more known in other places all the time. And our most frequent go-to for visitors has lately become the Downtown Wiseacre Brewery with its terrific Little Bettie pizza counter. Great Memphis beer and great Memphis pizza in an interesting, casual environment. 

But the answer to this question is really contingent on who those visitors are. Not to cast aspersions on any family or friends, but some Memphis favorites aren’t necessarily for everyone.

Is my guest someone who would be enthusiastic about standing in line at a North Memphis soul food restaurant, dipping into a homestyle Mexican spot across from an auto body shop or crossing into a cinder-block barbecue palace that looks like an old garage? 

None of those are specific places I discussed with Josh this week, but they’re the kind of places we talked about.

Specifically, we talked about a Honduran food truck out on Jackson Avenue and a rarely seen sandwich at a southeast Memphis taqueria and even a corn smut quesadilla. 

That sandwich, the pambazo at Garibaldi Taqueria, is a kind of torta of potatoes and chorizo that’s been dipped in chile oil and then crisped up on the griddle. It sounds like a manifestation of my dreams. 

Food, perhaps more than anything else, is how we explore new places, and how we show familiar places to new visitors or new arrivals.

Josh is a curious food fan after my own heart, and it was fun to explore Memphis food through his fresh eyes. 

As it happens, this conversation coincided with preparations for a big family trip, our last before our oldest heads off to college. This one will start in New York and then head to Boston and Bar Harbor, Maine, before culminating in Montreal.

In New York, I’m taking my son on a ferry ride to see the Statue of Liberty. We’ll take in some history, American and baseball, in Boston and do some hiking in Maine.

But most of the research and planning has been around food. 

How to get to know a place in a hurry? Stand in line for an attraction? No. Find the most interesting neighborhoods, then walk around and eat. 

So, in New York, we’re planning to fuel our walks between Midtown and Lower Manhattan with occasional grab-a-slice pizza stops. This may result in some partial power rankings. 

Italian seems to be the play in Boston. We won’t forget the cannoli. 

Lobster rolls have been the primary research subject for Maine.

And I’ve been learning a lot about the passion for bagels and poutine in Montreal. 

I didn’t know Montreal bagels were a thing until I started noshing Montreal-style bagels on the regular from local baker Daniel Blanchard’s food cart (in the parking lot at Joe’s Wines most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). 

They’re smaller and crunchier. Montreal vs. New York? Ask me in a couple of weeks. 

Montreal also loves smoked meats. And sandwiches. All kinds of sandwiches. Seems like a sensible people. The place we’re staying is walking distance from a “croqueteria,” boasting three dozen varieties of croquettes. Speaking of power rankings.

I’ve also been getting advice about markets to visit. Farmers markets and street food markets are really one of the best ways to get a feel for a place.

I’ve found in the past that exploring new places when traveling renews the appetite for exploration back home, for seeing the familiar with fresh eyes.

Talking to Josh this week gave me a head start on that. I won’t have time to hunt down those pambazos before leaving town. But they’re first on my to-do list when I get back.

If you’re in town Friday, the vacation frame of mind may be only a cool drink away. You can try to find it at the Summer Cocktail Festival out at Shelby Farms. Many of these will use local spirits from Blue Note Bourbon and Old Dominick.

Christin Yates checks in on the Germantown opening of the South Carolina-based chain Eggs Up Grill, which offers both a fresh breakfast and a “second chance.”

Flame Ramen, which debuted in Midtown, announced it will be opening a Downtown location.

And Josh’s most recent $10 Deal find this week: Some gas station tacos south of the Memphis-Mississippi border. 

Finally, Thursday this week is National French Fry Day. Every day is a national something day, but we’ll take any excuse to think about French fries. Back in January, again on Sound Bites, food editor Jennifer Biggs and I talked about different fry varieties and our preferences.