This week’s Sound Bites episode was a long time coming. After years of gabbing about restaurants, writing and food, Memphis food writer Stacey Greenberg and I finally got to sit down and do a podcast together. 

Greenberg is editor-in-chief of Edible Memphis magazine and has been chronicling the best places to eat in town for decades. She started a personal food blog when her children were young, prompted by friends she said appreciated her humor and honesty. 

On the podcast we talk about that blog (“Dining with Monkeys”) and how it led to a career in food writing and her taking the reins of Edible Memphis in 2018.

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“We put a lot of our effort into the magazine, making it beautiful and telling great stories,” Greenberg said.

The publication is printed quarterly, with a paid subscription service if you wish to have it delivered. Or, you can pick up a copy at local restaurants, cafes and shops. Stories from the magazine are published on the website and the Instagram is updated regularly with Memphis food news and recommendations.

We talk about Edible Memphis, how the Internet has changed things for restaurants and food writing and Stacey’s weekly email newsletter. She made the latter, dubbed “Where Should I Eat?” as a response to the endless texts from friends and friends-of-friends asking for dining recommendations. 

At some point I get on my soapbox about competition in food media. Greenberg and I revisit an EM article from 2019 about her unsolicited advice for restaurateurs. 

After years of covering restaurant openings, tracking down information and eating out everywhere, she shares her perspective on what restaurants get right—and what they get wrong.

Here’s a sneak peek of tips from our conversation: 

“If your menu is four pages long, you’re trying to do too much.” 

“Let a copy editor read your menu before you print it or publish it online.” 

“If you don’t have the budget to buy advertising, invite some (media) people to come eat and post about it.”

(What would you add to our list of friendly suggestions? Sound off in the comments.)

Finally, we talk about the health of the Memphis restaurant scene.

“Restaurants close all the time, but the thing that gives me hope is that when they close, new ones open. I’ll start to worry when nothing new opens,” she said. 

Listen to the whole conversation and feel free send me your podcast topic ideas, restaurant questions and comments to hwhitfield@dailymemphian.com.

We’d also love to have you rate and subscribe to Sound Bites through Apple podcasts, Spotify or whichever app the kids are using these days.