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Photographs by Justin Fox Burks
Fried Crab Claws
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Photographs by Justin Fox Burks
Custard-fried French toast
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Photographs by Justin Fox Burks
20-ounce chili-rubbed cowboy prime ribeye.
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Photographs by Justin Fox Burks
12-ounce filet with maitre d’butter
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Photographs by Justin Fox Burks
Tres Agaves Blanco tequila cocktail with lime juice and cilantro syrup
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Photographs by Justin Fox Burks
Henry McKenna bourbon cocktail with curaçao and lemon juice
For your first visit to Char Restaurant, a new steakhouse near the University of Memphis, order the Char Wedge, a magnificent salad with roots in the 1960s. A classic prelude for the surf and turf to come, the salad — served on a dinner plate — drapes Maytag blue cheese dressing over half a head of Iceberg, cool and crunchy. Slice a chunk (you will need a knife and fork) and bacon, scallion, tomato, and egg tumble into lettuce layers stacked like a piece of puffed pastry.
Yes, the Wedge rekindles nostalgia for Baby-boomers like me, but Char is not your parent’s special-occasion steakhouse in mood or menu. Instead, the restaurant presents a retro chic personality with high ceilings, a piano bar, and black-and-white photos of Memphis personalities like the late Billy “Spook” Murphy, a popular head football coach for the Memphis State Tigers. “I feel like Char has more soul than a typical steakhouse,” says owner Ben Brock, who also operates Amerigo in East Memphis. “We wanted a more welcoming environment, cozy and female friendly.”
Open since early October, Char’s 6,900 square feet bring lunch, brunch, and dinner to a neighborhood where food and drink typically target college students. Restaurant entrees are opulent (20-ounce cowboy rib-eye), comforting (chicken piccata with white wine lemon butter), and sourced from the sea (scallops, seafood carbonara, or cornbread-dusted redfish plated with garlic cheddar grits).
Robust small plates layered with flavor also are shareable, and they cost much less. Try chili-fried oysters with cumin cream sauce or jumbo lump crab cakes, served as a jubilant duo with tomato shallot relish on top. At lunch, $13 daily specials for meat and veggie plates (meatloaf! short ribs! country-fried steak!) join burgers and entrées. Up next: a Char location in Nashville’s Green Hills suburb sometime next fall.
431 S. Highland Street (901-249-3533) $-$$$
