The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
At a glance
Little Bettie at WISEACRE2
Where: 398 S. B.B. King Blvd.
Hours: 4-10 p.m. Wednesday-thursday; 1-10 p.m. Friday-sunday
Online: wiseacrebrew.com
Phone: (901) 334-9411
have ever had an onion ring that did that before! They are served with a Southern-style Comeback sauce for dipping.
The Imagine the Future chicken wings ($12) were also a standout. The sweet and spicy wings were given an Italian spin by what the restaurant calls a Sicilian Crunch. It’s a crispy mixture of Cerignola olives, black olives and capers sprinkled over the top of the wings. A side of house-made ranch comes with the dish.
We also tried one of the two salads on the menu. The Antipasti Salad ($11) was a fun cross between a salad and an Italian deli plate. Bibb and romaine lettuces are tossed with slices of salami and other cured meats, celery, roasted red peppers, olives and provolone cheese.
The creative menu is the perfect complement to the WISEACRE’S original and whimsical beer selection.
While the new taproom will eventually serve 30 beers on tap, it currently has 14 beers available. I tried the Xanadu IPA. The citrusy beer was the ideal beverage to accompany my supper.
The service at WISEACRE2 and Little Bettie is what I would describe as fastcasual. You order at the bar, and a server brings you your dishes once they are ready.
The taproom at WISEACRE2, which opened in July, is spacious with soaring ceilings and floor-to-ceiling garagestyle doors that roll up. The Bartosch brothers created a stunning taproom with artistic nods to the brewery’s beers throughout the space. WISEACRE2 also has sprawling outdoor patios for those choosing to dine outside rather than in. The size and layout of the space, which in NON-COVID-19 times will have seating for 330 guests indoors and up to another 800 outdoors on the various patios, easily works for 6-foot-plus social distancing.
Both Little Bettie’s menu and WISEACRE2 canned beers can be ordered for takeout. Online ordering is available.
The taproom is open daily, but Little Bettie is closed Monday and Tuesday.
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.