Wednesday night I was hungry and was deciding where to eat dinner. “I’ve been entrusted to give my buddy his first chicken fried steak experience,” I thought. “I need to go do some research and decide where to take him.” I had asked my readers where Downtown has a good chicken fried steak, and one restaurant that kept being mentioned over and over was Miss Polly’s. So I took out my phone and Googled “Miss Polly’s Memphis” (type it in on your phone if you want to play along at home) and pulled up their menu. “I don’t see a chicken fried steak,” I thought. “Maybe they took it off the menu.” There were several menu items that it was not clear from the website what they were, including the Fix a Flat Special and the Bird House Special. The menu items on the website were just static text. I couldn’t click through to learn more about them.
Since I wasn’t sure if Miss Polly’s had chicken fried steak, and it was stormy and I didn’t feel like walking down there to be disappointed if they did not have one, I remained at the Blind Bear, gave up on my chicken fried steak quest, and just ordered a platter of a couple of sides. (Yes, one was the mac & cheese. If you order sides at the Blind Bear and one of them is not the mac & cheese, well, you’re just a horrible person.)
Last night the weather was better, and again I was hungry. This time I decided to take a walk over to Beale Street. Miss Polly’s had their menu posted on a board next to the front door, and the menu items had descriptions. I learned that the Fix a Flat Special was indeed your choice of chicken fried steak or chicken fried chicken, and went inside.
Miss Polly’s and Beale Street business owners: I am a web developer by trade, and I am familiar with the behavior of mobile web users. I guarantee you there are people walking up and down Beale Street all day long, surfing menus on their phones, trying to decide where to go eat. Don’t make it hard for them to figure out what’s on your menu! If you want to give your dishes creative names, that’s fine, but give your potential customers an easy way to know what those dishes actually are. Yeah, some will come to your door and see your menu, but many won’t. You have a website; why not use it to effectively market EVERY item on your menu? You’re losing business if you don’t.
I went in and got seated. It was about 8:50 when I went in. According to their website, Miss Polly’s closes at 10, so I still had plenty of time to eat, but they were starting to run out of menu items for the day. The server informed me that they were out of white beans & ham and turnip greens, which would have been possible choices for my second side item. “You’re not out of mashed potatoes and gravy, are you?” I asked. That would have been a deal-breaker. Mashed potatoes and gravy are mandatory as a side with chicken fried steak. She assured me they had them and I ordered blackeyed peas as my second side.
This is the first chicken fried steak I have had since my buddy Rodger straightened me out on the difference between chicken fried steak and country fried steak. I see what he meant – it’s fried in the same batter Miss Polly’s uses for their chicken. It was a generous serving for under 10 bucks. Mashed potatoes complimented the steak well, and also came with the white gravy. Blackeyed peas were not bad, although I wished they were a little warmer.
If you’re on Beale and hankering for a chicken fried steak, this is the place to go. Good value for the money and it is authentic in the sense that Rodger described above. Miss Polly’s is one of the places on Beale known for delivering excellent value for what you pay. The service was very good. I was in and out in about 40 minutes.
As far as my quest for my BBQ teammate’s first chicken fried steak, though, I am going to keep doing research. His first experience with this great American dish needs to have a WOW factor, and I am determined not to disappoint.
I have plenty of news in the queue, so expect another post from me no later than lunchtime.