Memphis cooks the best fried chicken. Here are the city's must-try restaurants

Editor's note: This story originally published in 2019. Joes' Fried Chicken has since closed.

Memphis may be world famous for barbecue, but the city's fried chicken is not to be missed either.

Do we dare say it? With dozens of one-of-a-kind spots serving crispy and flavorful fried chicken, Memphis hands down has the best fried chicken in Tennessee, if not the whole South.

From classic to spicy, there is a fried chicken in town for just about everyone.

When I was asked to work with The CA's summer interns on a project, fried chicken was a topic I knew they needed to tackle. Due to time, the tour of the best fried chicken spots in town was narrowed to six restaurants. 

These are restaurants consistently praised for their crispy, juicy and flavorful renditions of Southern fried chicken. Many have fed hungry Memphians their tried-and-true secret family recipes for years, if not decades. The common denominator: Each is a Memphis original.

Here’s a taste of the history and fried chicken at six Memphis eateries courtesy of The Commercial Appeal's summer 2019 interns: Dima Amro, Harley Chapman, Kaylan Freeman and Daniel Oyefusi.

Jack Pirtle’s Chicken

Jack Pirtle’s Chicken has a rich history of over 60 years of serving quality fast food-style chicken in Memphis.

Now a second-generation family-owned business, the restaurant began as “Jack Pirtle’s featuring Kentucky Fried Chicken.” Colonel Sanders himself sold Jack Pirtle spices and sauces out of his truck, according to Tawanda Pirtle, who now runs the company with her husband, Cordell.

The original Jack Pirtle’s Chicken is still in operation on South Bellevue in Midtown Memphis and services anywhere from 300 to 500 cars each day. Over the decades, the chain grew from this one flagship location to eight restaurants across the greater Memphis area.

Jack Pirtle wanted to serve his community fresh, delicious food. “That’s what we build our business around today — we feed the working people,” Tawanda Pirtle said.

The cooking process is labor-intense, with fresh chicken delivered to stores twice-weekly.

Each batch of chicken is pressure-cooked to order, with 36 pieces taking about 35 minutes to cook from start to finish.

The fried chicken itself is crispy with a golden light batter. The pressure-cooking technique seals the juice and flavor within the meat.

The menu also includes items like fried chicken livers, gizzards, wings, chicken tenders and homemade gravy — which regulars know is a tasty dipping sauce for the chicken.

Alcenia’s

Everything about Alcenia’s feels like home, from colorful table linens to family portraits decorating the bright orange walls to colorful, over-sized cups with bendy straws.

Betty Joyce “B.J.” Chester-Tamayo, owner of Alcenia’s, welcomes diners with a hug and a kiss and proceeds to serve them her Southern-style fried chicken.

Chester-Tamayo, a Mississippi native, opened Alcenia’s after the death of her son, who died in a motorcycle accident. The restaurant is named after her mother, whom Chester-Tamayo said her son loved dearly.

IN THE KITCHEN:Meet B.J. Chester-Tamayo, chef and owner of Alcenia's in Downtown Memphis

She said she cooks her food to feed the “heart, the head, then the stomach. All made with love.”

Chester-Tamayo’s fried chicken is cooked to order and fried to perfection, often in a cast iron skillet that belonged to her grandmother. The chicken has a golden exterior that’s crispy, but still lets the seasoning seep into the meat.

Regulars know to call ahead of time to place their order, as it typically takes 20 to 25 minutes to cook the chicken the old-fashioned way.

The Four Way

Jerry Thompson, who owns The Four Way soul food restaurant with his wife, Patrice Bates Thompson, calls the soul food spot a “walking museum” that happens to serve food. With portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Ida B. Wells and history spanning more than six decades, it’s hard to argue with that sentiment.

The Four Way, located in Soulsville, was established in 1946 by Irene and Clint Cleaves. The first integrated restaurant in Memphis, The Four Way was a gathering spot for everyone, from civil rights leaders to Stax musicians. In the 2001, Willie Bates, Patrice’s father, bought the building that housed The Four Way and brought the beloved neighborhood restaurant back to life.

Today it remains a meeting point for members of the community, and serves fried chicken with the same recipe that was used during the restaurant’s inception.

The chicken is marinated for several hours to ensure the flavor sticks. Cooked fresh to order, the chicken takes about 20 minutes to make it to the table. The fried chicken that arrives at the table has a thick crust that stays true to its restaurant’s history.

Joes' Fried Chicken

What began as a weekly pop-up restaurant in Ecuador, Joes' is a charming restaurant in East Memphis that serves fresh fried chicken for everyone to enjoy, including Memphis celebrities like Penny Hardaway.

Joe Spotts and Joseph Soliman met in Istanbul and never imagined opening an eatery together, but now they run one of the best fried chicken spots in Memphis.

Soliman, the main cook, begins with a whole chicken, never frozen, and carefully chops it into meaty pieces. The chicken marinates for at least 24 hours in a bath of spices, soaking in the flavor to the bone.

Then, Soliman covers the marinated chicken in flour mixed with a blend of 16 spices. (Soliman is quick to point out that KFC only uses 11 spices.) The secret blend includes spices inspired by his Lebanese background, making it a true original.

The chicken is then deep fried in a combination of vegetable and peanut oil until it has a golden crunchy crust.

Spotts and Soliman recommend adding their house-made Uncle Cootie’s hot sauce, to each bite for a bit of peppery heat.

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken

While Memphis is most famously known for its barbecue, Gus’s fried chicken gives pulled pork and baby back ribs a run for their money when it comes to popularity contests.

The name of the restaurant comes from late owner and inheritor of the original family recipe, Vernon “Gus” Bonner. For decades, he ran the original Gus’s in Mason, Tennessee.  Wendy McCrory, a longtime worker and patron of Gus’s, brought the first location to Memphis in November 2001. Since opening that first Memphis location on South Front Street, she has grown the company to 29 locations in 13 states nationwide.

What makes Gus’s fried chicken so special? The chicken marinades in the secret-recipe wet batter for 24 hours before being dropped into the deep fryer.

The result? Tender, juicy meat contained within a hard shell of perfectly crisp skin with just the right amount of spiciness.

Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken

Lou Martin, the Uncle Lou behind Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken, jokes, “If Colonel Sanders had Uncle Lou's fried chicken recipe, he'd be a general.”

After having a sampler of his entire menu from his “Sweet Spicy Love” fried chicken to his “corrupted” carrots to their homemade strawberry banana pudding, we can confirm this.

MEMPHIS RESTAURANTS:Meet the man who fries up 'sweet spicy love' at Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken

Established on April 4, 2001, Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken almost never existed. Burned by two unsuccessful restaurant endeavors, Martin swore he would never step foot into the restaurant business again until he was met with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Equipped with his great-grandmother’s recipe, Martin opened shop in just two weeks.

It is his Sweet, Spicy Love sauce, renamed from Honey Dipped Fried Chicken after the restaurant appeared on an episode of Guy Fieri’s "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives," that sets his chicken above the others. After the chicken is dipped in batter and fried, it is dunked in his signature bright spicy red sauce. Be prepared to get your hands dirty, this is chicken that requires paper towels.

What about the side dishes?

Dima Amro, a vegetarian, offered to taste test the sides at each of our stops.

A fried chicken restaurant tour doesn’t sound like a vegetarian’s dream, but luckily there were classic Southern sides on each plate.

First stop, Jack Pirtle’s Chicken's golden crinkle cut fries were perfectly salted with a satisfying crunch.

Next, at Alcenia’s, bright orange yams were flawlessly sweet with a slight crisp on the edges.

The Four Way Restaurant offered sides galore, but the shining star was the tangy pickled green tomatoes. The server recommended pairing it with the greens.

Next up was Joes’ on Highland. The spiral mac and cheese was doused in a yellow cheese sauce blended with spices, and warm angel biscuits were served with honey butter.

At Gus’s, the fried pickles, in a crispy light brown shell, were paired with ranch for dipping.

And one of the bests for last: Uncle Lou’s served up mouth-watering fried okra and honey butter biscuits better than my mom’s. The biscuits were the first item gone on the table.

Want to read more stories like this? A Commercial Appeal subscription gets you unlimited access to stories that highlight Memphis' one-of-a-kind restaurant scene.

Dima Amro, Harley Chapman, Kaylan Freeman and Daniel Oyefusi contributed to this story.

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. 

Best bites  

The interns all said they had a great time visiting these “must-try” Memphis fried chicken restaurants. At each spot, they devoured the plates of fried chicken and numerous sides. Here is what they each loved best.

Daniel Oyefusi couldn’t quite choose a favorite restaurant, citing both Alcenia’s and The Four Way as having great chicken. “The chicken was Southern-style and reminded me of home,” he said. “It was really crispy, and the meat was flavorful.”

For Kaylan Freeman, Uncle Lou’s hit the spot. “I really loved the sweet, spicy flavor of the chicken. There wasn’t a super heavy crusting on the chicken, which made the flavor really penetrate the meat.”

Dima Amro, a vegetarian, enjoyed The Four Way because “the sides felt homemade and fresh.” She thought many of the sides were different from what is normally served at restaurants, citing dishes like the smothered cabbage and pickled green tomatoes.

Harley Chapman’s favorite was also Uncle Lou’s. She enjoyed the spicy chicken tenders and honey butter biscuits, saying “both made lasting impressions on my taste buds.”

The interns

Kaylan Freeman is a junior at Rhodes College, pursuing degrees in both film and political science along with a minor in gender and sexuality studies.

Dima Amro is a senior at the University of Memphis, completing a degree in journalism with a minor in international studies.

Daniel Oyefusi is a recent University of Maryland graduate with a journalism degree. He is moving on to work at the Baltimore Sun.

Harley Chapman is a senior at Rhodes College, pursing degrees in both political science and music.