photograph by justin fox burks
Chef Eli Townsend of Dos Hermanos
What’s for dinner? Here at Memphis Magazine, that’s a question we find ourselves asking quite frequently, with thoughts turning to food as the workday ebbs away. Lucky for us, Memphis chefs and entrepreneurs continue to embrace new ideas and adventures, blessing the city with an abundance of new restaurants and tasty dishes to satisfy our growing appetites. For the last couple of years, our dining contributors have used the annual February food issue to take a deeper dive into Memphis’ culinary world. We’ve explored it through traditional means (a top restaurants list), through a selection of our favorite dishes over the course of a year, or even 2021’s “Memphis Eats A-Z” feature.
But it’s back to basics this year. There are almost too many fresh options to choose from, so through our “Dinner at 8” feature, we’re here to let our readers know about the eight new restaurants that made the biggest impression on us in 2023. We’re spoiled for choices, but we’re not complaining!
On a recent blustery winter Saturday, I had made plans for lunch inside a library — a delightfully odd concept already. I wasn’t expecting there to be karaoke. But when I walked into the Cossitt Library on Front Street, Eli Townsend himself, chef at Dos Hermanos Kitchen, was perched on a café stool, clad in a canary-yellow blazer, belting out … “Landslide,” by Fleetwood Mac. Turns out, in addition to offering a community-gathering space and a creative food menu, Dos Hermanos also hosts monthly karaoke brunches. Did I mention this is all taking place inside a library?
photograph by justin fox burks
Zucchini fritters with seafood ceviche.
The Cossitt, Memphis’ first public library, reopened last spring after a $7 million renovation to the more modern addition (a wing of the historic, original red-sandstone structure remains under construction). As much a neighborhood hub as a cathedral for books, this is not a library where you’re likely to be shushed; upstairs, a comfy seating area has been set aside with a sign stating, “TEENS ONLY.” This is a place to come together — hence the café’s name, Dos Hermanos, or Two Brothers, in the figurative sense of brotherly love.
We started with hot black coffee — nothing fancy, but exactly the thing on a chilly, damp afternoon — and perused the menu. The café offers breakfast and brunch fare as well as heartier lunch and early-dinner options. (They close at 8 p.m. and, fair warning, do not have a liquor license.) An unreformed lover of wordplay and a vegetarian, I had no defenses against the creative charms of the falafel waffle. Say that five times fast! Falafel batter (spiced ground chickpeas) is poured into a waffle iron, yielding crisp nooks and crannies that cradle an exuberance of sauteed mushrooms, Louisiana-style hot sauce, balsamic glaze (a little gloopy for my liking), and lightly battered, tender-fried cauliflower florets. My dining companion chose the shrimp and grits — succulent and creamy, respectively, and like everything at Dos Hermanos, served in generous portions.
At one point during the meal, I lost track of our waiter, then realized he (in stage-ready silver-sequined flares) was choosing a song to croon, mid-shift. The mood was unabashedly bright and welcoming: Folks at the next table over swayed and sang along to R&B numbers, while a Downtown public-safety officer perched on a stool and shot video of the goings-on. A couple of our new friends asked encouragingly if we would be singing, too. While I appreciated being perceived, however briefly, as someone who might be un-self-conscious enough to sing karaoke under any circumstances, the answer was no. But if you, brave reader, are up for broad-daylight, stone-cold-sober singing, I salute you.
