Table Talk
Table Talk: Memphis native creates new spice blends
Mane Street Seasonings is Memphis through and through.
Ellen Chamberlain
Ellen Chamberlain is a global citizen who is happy to call Memphis her forever home. The Michigan native has worked in media for nearly 25 years as a radio broadcaster, journalist and ghostwriter. As The Daily Memphian’s food and restaurant writer, she gives readers inside perspectives of their favorite restaurants and the people behind them, suggestions for the best bites around town and the latest food news from in and around Shelby County.
There are 123 articles by Ellen Chamberlain :
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November 2025
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$15 DealsDonning her signature muumuu, Bartlett venue owner is serving up breakfast
Stephanie Moss Townsend has owned Egeray’s Party Room for six years but recently decided to begin serving breakfast in honor of her mother.
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Dining GuidesWhat to order: Felicia Suzanne’s West Indies crab salad
Felicia Suzanne’s, one of four Michelin Guide-recommended restaurants in Memphis, has a menu that feels like a love letter to Southern cuisine through the application of classic French technique.
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Food News Memphis entrepreneur launches new bourbon line with a country star
The Memphis-born bourbon brand blends duck-hunting heritage with sustainability.
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Food News Will Memphian whip up a win on Gordon Ramsay baking competition?
The results are a secret, but we know Chloe Sexton, the baker behind internet phenom Chloe’s Giant Cookies, is a cast member on “Next Level Baker,” premiering in December.
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Table TalkTable Talk: Friendsgiving is for (chosen) family
“The community I’ve cultivated, and that’s found me, in this city makes spending the holidays here warm and an opportunity for deep reflection and gratitude.”
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Dining GuidesWhat to order: Hog & Hominy’s collards and hominy
The restaurant’s collards and hominy is a culinary mission accomplished: It brings the taste of home to the table.
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Table TalkTable Talk: The holiday pause is the perfect moment to savor Memphis
Our local restaurants deserve the same kind of enthusiasm and exploration we’d give to the eateries in our holiday vacation destinations.
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$15 Deals $15 Deal: Bayou’s crawfish basket
The crawfish are plump and juicy, tucked onto a bed of crispy seasoned fries that soak up just enough of the drippings to keep every bite interesting.
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Dining GuidesWhere to eat in Silo Square in Southaven
Restaurants at Silo Square include a coffee shop, a bagel shop, breakfast, barbecue, lunch, dessert and a wine bar. Here is the definitive dining guide to the Southaven development.
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December 2025
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Food NewsWhat to order: The Lobbyist’s yams crowned with an airy kataifi
Chef Jimmy Gentry’s vegetable-forward menu is full of creativity, but it’s the yams, topped with a pastry made of shredded filo dough, that’s the standout dish.
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Table TalkTable Talk: 25 years of Mr. Rusty’s is over, but his taste of Chicago isn’t gone for good
After more than 25 years of serving authentic Chicago-style fare, Mr. Rusty’s Real Taste of Chicago closed its doors at 1859 Winchester Road the day before Thanksgiving.
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$15 Deals $15 Deal: El Porton’s grilled steak bowl
Take time to enjoy the unlimited tortilla chips and salsa. The salsa is blended to a nearly smooth consistency and has the slightest kick.
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Food News Hearts, tulips and swans: Local baristas throwdown a latte
Baristas left it all in the cup, with one champion of the bracket-style latte art competition taking home coffee beans, an eight-cup siphon — and bragging rights.
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Dining GuidesWhat to Order: Crispy rice-French toast at Maeve’s Tavern a standout brunch dish
The finished slice is topped with a finely milled pistachio powder, butterscotch and a dollop of pistachio whipped cream on the side.
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Food News‘Welcome home’ to Cxffeeblack’s new, larger location
With a new roaster that will triple its capacity, the Cxffeeblack team is preparing for a wholesale expansion into Memphis grocery stores, new cafe partners across the city and a future described as “uncontained.”
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Table TalkTable Talk: Comfort foods and holiday traditions
Certain dishes mark the season, and many of our holidays would feel incomplete without them.
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Food NewsCharlie’s Meat Market’s temporary closure could turn permanent
There hadn’t been any announcements until now because “all options are on the table,” according to Charlie’s owner Chuck Hogan.
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Food News Memphis rapper 8Ball debuts coffee brand
One of Memphis’ most enduring hip-hop voices is lending his name to a different kind of grind.
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FoodEvelyn & Olive owner opening new Jamaican restaurant
When Evelyn & Olive closed in 2023, after more than a decade in operation, many assumed the hiatus would be brief. Even the owner.
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Dining GuidesWhat to order: Park + Cherry’s mushroom and butternut squash risotto
Park + Cherry recently debuted a fall/winter menu, and it’s full of seasonal goodness to take the edge off winter’s chill.
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Table TalkTable Talk: Team Car Cafe may be closing but it’s going out with a bang
Nearly four weeks before it plans to close its doors for good, Team Car Cafe introduced its most ambitious offering ever: a $100 double shot of espresso.
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Food News Boscos, Memphis Made commemorate ’94 ice storm with Christmas ale
Three decades after the ice storm of 1994, that moment in time has been bottled — well, casked — into a Christmas ale.
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