It’s cold, it’s dreary, the days are short and dark. Soup might not cure COVID and it won’t make winter go away, but it’ll help get us through these last weeks.

Belly Acres brings a menu of grass-fed burger choices and plenty of other options to the popular corner of Poplar and Ridgeway.

Batesville is just an hour’s drive south of town and offers up a gem of a breakfast and lunch spot with Bread & Butter Bistro; it even has a dog.

Memphis Sandwich Clique has set up Clique HQ and is serving sandwiches in East Memphis. But you have to order online, show up on time, and pay attention: There are processes.

Warm apple purse might not sound like much next to show stoppers like crème brûlée and Key lime pie, but you’re in for a treat at River Oaks.

Dave Krog’s Dory has finally opened, but for now, it’s just takeout and private dinners. The beef Bourguignon is great, and you don’t want to miss the rolls.

On Mondays after 4 p.m., two burgers and two beers come in right at the limit when you take advantage of the buy-one, get-one offer.

Little Bettie is a tiny kitchen in an enormous brewery, but the pizzas are top notch, the menu is clever and fun, and the beer at Wiseacre is good as ever.

Maciel’s in Cooper-Young delivers the same fresh Mexican favorites as the original restaurant Downtown. For the time being, it all comes on paper and with plastic for our safety — but the food is still great.

Ty’s Smokehouse in Bartlett offers a daily special for $5 and change, and a “Hungry Man” meat-and-three comes in under $10 with drink and tax included.

New Mexican place on Summer is really a few miles past the official end of the avenue, but it’s close enough and the food is good.

Good gas station food is one of the lesser-acknowledged advantages of Southern life and gas stations aren’t just for fried chicken anymore. 

Alex Grisanti’s Elfo Pizzeria, part of Elfo Grisanti Northern Italian Cuisine, opens Friday in Southaven; here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll find.

If you’re in pursuit of good outdoor walks, good outdoor dining and quick browsing/shopping, you’ll find plenty in Little Rock, just a two-hour drive west of Memphis.

Add another Mexican restaurant to the stretch of Summer Avenue we all love for our tacos and tortas. La Unica has finally opened in an old Wendy’s.

Rock’n Dough has opened in the former Fox Ridge Pizza in Cordova with the same favorites, from pizza to beer and more, that it has in Germantown, and it continues to expand.

From chicken to tacos, this street food stroll has some mouth-watering treats in store. 

New Asia, a favorite Chinese restaurant known for its authentic dishes and a large Chinese-American selection, has finally reopened its Germantown dining room.

As a new recurring feature, I’ll be on the hunt for street-food finds in the Memphis area: good stuff from food trucks, farmers markets, gas stations, walk-up windows and the like.

Outdoor seating on Huling outside Puck Food Hall needs to be enjoyed while the weather begs you to get out and eat, work a bit, maybe even have a cocktail. And you can order from neighboring restaurants, like Grecian Gourmet, too.

At Tavern 018 in Cordova, the plate lunch is a remarkable bargain at $7; the food is good and most of it is from scratch.

Global Café opened in 2018 to give immigrant food entrepreneurs a place to cook. Two of us split empanadas and Juan’s tacos, and it was more than we could finish.

A Summer Avenue taco truck scene has bloomed through the summer, with at least eight regular trucks around the wider neighborhood and several others that seem to pop up more infrequently. If you live near Summer or Macon avenues between Highland and White Station, there’s a good chance you can walk to a taco truck. 

Hazel’s Lucky Dice Delicatessen, Karen Carrier’s restaurant named after her mother, opened Monday in her Cooper-Young corral.