Ong Cau Cafe delivers on the authentic Vietnamese in a Cordova strip mall.

Knifebird is a wine bar, but the small cocktail list offers creative and well-designed drinks.

Catfish étouffée at the recently reopened Mardi Gras is a dish worth every calorie in every bite.

Stalwart barbecue joint Cozy Corner and upstart food truck Flying Sobie's do battle for Memphis Cornish hen supremacy. 

Use fried oyster mushrooms to make an Oyster Faux Boy that will make you think Po 'Boy who?

Bar Ware has opened on South Front Street, adding a new choice to a block that has become a Downtown hot spot.

Thai Bistro in Bartlett is the real deal, authentic dishes that deliver a lot of flavor and a bit of bang, too.

3rd & Court in Hotel Indigo offers snack items, breakfast, plate lunches and sandwiches, even some pre-dunked in soup.

The Pancake Shop on Summer offers a hearty breakfast all day long, plus diner favorites like a patty melt and BLT.

Fino's in Midtown is full of regulars back for old favorites, and the food tastes the same.

The Bagel brings its namesake back and offers a deli menu in the former City East Bagel at Poplar and Kirby.

Elwood's Shells is at home in Cooper-Young, serving up Gulf seafood like they've been there for years.

The banh mi is a flavorful product of Vietnamese culture influenced by French colonization, a crusty French baguette packed with different types of pork, pickled carrot and daikon radish, fresh cucumber, cilantro and jalapeno.

Puck Food Hall is spruced up and offers new food booths, proving there's more to the name change than a rebranding.

Pimento's in East Memphis revamped its menu and added a selection of burgers that are well worth the visit.

Libro inside Novel at Laurelwood offers a hearty chicken and pimento cheese biscuit at breakfast and at Sunday brunch.

Sam’s Deli serves much more than sandwiches now that it’s settled in to its new home on Highland, just a bit south of the Highland Strip.

Impossible Burger at Hopdoddy comes with a hefty price tag but tastes more like meat than any other substitute patty I've tried.

Thai Cobb scores a home run in Cooper Young at the Beauty Shop; it's a salad that touches all the bases.

Soup nourishes body and soul, and it's done well at Lucky Cat, but don't stop your order there. Beyond the five ramen selections, there are two rice bowls, three kinds of bao, and skewers, two dumpling choices and chicken wings.

Soi No. 9 has opened a permanent spot in the new University of Tennessee Health Science Center and is serving the dish that won big on Food Network.

Yaka mein is a New Orleans fusion dish available on Wednesday and Thursday at Regina's Cajun Kitchen.

Elwood's Shells has a new weekday lunch menu with 10 items under $10; fried green tomato tacos, anyone?

Chef Elijah Townsend is cooking up creative takes on popular dishes at his South Main restaurant, Sage.

New Asia in Germantown offers fresh and authentic Chinese food, but you need to know your way around the red menu to really appreciate it.