Table Talk: When the city shuts down, the kitchens stay open
“Before most of us were even willing to let the pets outside, Aldo’s Pizza Pies fed both neighbors and the first responders working to clear the snow,” Ellen Chamberlain writes. (The Daily Memphian file)
Ellen Chamberlain
Ellen Chamberlain is a global citizen who is happy to call Memphis her forever home. The Michigan native has worked in media for nearly 25 years as a radio broadcaster, journalist and ghostwriter. As The Daily Memphian’s food and restaurant writer, she gives readers inside perspectives of their favorite restaurants and the people behind them, suggestions for the best bites around town and the latest food news from in and around Shelby County.
Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only.
The winter storm of 2026 may go down in local history with the same level of lore as the 1994 ice storm or the 2003 derecho known as “Hurricane Elvis.”
Years from now, older Gen Alpha Memphians may gather their Gen Beta children close and regale them with tales of being iced in for days, sledding and making igloos outside. And they’ll likely talk about the cooking that sustained each of our households during this latest shutdown.
In my home, I refused to allow culinary boredom to win. My first forays into the kitchen after being snowed in were rather clumsy and lazy as I’m still settling into my new home. I made every variety of sandwich and Angus burger available to me — with and without bacon and cheese, choosing between raw and caramelized onions of every color.
Things were looking up by my third day of seclusion.
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