The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
ON THE COVER
India Palace new buffet dish features lamb meatballs, spinach, chicken tikka masala, dal maharani and nann in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
Buffets and salad bars across Memphis sit empty. Gone are the days when you could walk up to a buffet and fill your plate to the rim with all your favorite dishes.
COVID-19 regulations have mandated that self-serve buffets be closed — not only in Memphis, but also around the country.
Whether the offering was a small lunch buffet with a handful of items or an expansive buffet spread with dozens of items, restaurants of all sizes are faced with the same question: How we do we take care of our buffet customers while our self-serve buffet must remain closed?
Creativity and ingenuity have been the key ingredients for several Memphis-area restaurants known for their buffets.
The future of the self-serve buffet may be questionable, but diners can still enjoy their buffet favorites throughout Memphis.
Owen Brennan’s is known for its elaborate Sunday brunch display, featuring Creole specialties and made-toorder omelets. On a busy holiday weekend like Mother’s Day, Owen Brennan’s could serve close to 1,400 guests in one day.
Brother and sister team Austin and Becky Baker are not only offering brunch items a la carte, but they have also designed shareable platters so guests can enjoy a taste of the brunch they now miss. The “Brunch Plate” includes ham, grilled chicken tenders, bacon, scrambled eggs, brabant potatoes, stone ground cheddar grits, biscuits, a fruit cup and chocolate eclairs.
The restaurant’s longtime omelet maker “Shorty” (his real name is Robert Fischer) has celebrity status in the eyes of his customers.
“Our brunches feel like a family reunion,” Becky Baker said. To help keep that festive atmosphere, Shorty often takes a break from making omelets in the kitchen and makes rounds in the
Himmat Singh, owner of India Palace, poses for a portrait in Memphis on Wednesday, July 8. dining room to say hello to his longtime customers.
“We are trying to make brunch feel normal while staying safe,” Austin Baker said.
The Peabody’s over-the-top Sunday and holiday brunch buffets have been a beloved Memphis tradition for decades.
“Our regular Sunday Brunch in Capriccio Grill was a bountiful buffet with hot and cold items, including a salad bar, antipasti, seasonal vegetables and fruit, plus hot entrees and side dishes. In addition, there was a carving station with prime rib, a waffle bar with all the toppings, and a made-to-order omelet station,” said Kelly Brock, The Peabody Memphis director of marketing. “There was also a large dessert buffet with single-serving portions of cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, bread pudding with house-made ice cream topping and, one of everyone’s favorites, the chocolatecovered bacon.”
Sunday brunch returned to The Peabody on Father’s Day, but now it is served on an a la carte menu. The hotel has no idea of when it will be able to restart the buffet service. “We’ll continue with brunch without our buffet for now as we monitor changes with COVID,” Brock said.
India Palace’s lunchtime buffet was a popular stop for Memphians. The buffet, which included approximately 12 items plus a salad and dessert bar, was considered one of the best lunch deals in Midtown.
In place of the buffet, India Palace has created a platter of some of its most popular dishes.
“We have about four or five items in the kitchen and will fix up a platter,” said Himmat Singh, one of the restaurant’s owners.
The new lunch “buffet platter” is available for dine-in or takeout.
When asked about the future of his popular buffet, Singh said: “I have no idea. We will have to wait and see.”
Like Singh, Mike Garibaldi has no idea when he will be able to reopen Garibaldi’s Pizza’s lunch buffet. Lunchtime patrons would flock to Garibaldi’s for its buffet that included six to eight pizzas, a meat and two, salad, spaghetti and garlic bread.
“I have been watching the big cities like Las Vegas,” Garibaldi said. “I don’t see buffets reopening anytime soon.”
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.