The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Belmont Germantown keeps faves but updates menu and decor
catfish strips or shrimp with some darn decent onion rings. You can still get wings (they don’t taste the same as the ones at the East Memphis Belmont, but they’re good wings), and you can get a plate of what I think are the best bar tamales in town, big, spicy and meaty tamales covered in chili, cheese and onions.
(Don’t put these, covered and smothered, in a category with true Delta tamales, wet Memphis tamales or the various Hispanic tamales available around town; this is a category that has more in common with nachos.)
The Belmont burger remains, cooked to order and served on a French roll. You can still order potato skins.
But if you have a taste for hot and sweet oysters, you’re also in the right place. These are mighty tasty, but “hot and sweet” led me to expect an Asian influence, and these are more Buffalo style. Crisp fried oysters are tossed in a sauce, one very much like wing sauce, then served in oyster shells topped with crumbled blue cheese and slivers of green onion. We made quick work of them, but I preferred the pork belly sliders, meltingly tender rich pork belly nestled between toasted slider buns, stopped with Asian slaw and pan juices.
The sliders were on the special menu, which will change every two weeks (though items might reappear). An entree called “lobster chunks” could do with a better name, but we were taken with it. Scallops, each topped with a dollop of lobster cream sauce and a chunk of lobster, sat atop a bed of rich risotto peppered with garlicky sauteed kale and slivered brussels sprouts.
Look for more like this from Meitzler, who comes with experience at On Teur, Cafe 61 and Local under his toque. He’ll play with strong flavors and continue to modify the menu. Derk’s Famous Crawfish Mac & Cheese is a new addition to the menu, and bravo on the topping: I strongly prefer