Sweet Potato Pancakes at The Arcade Restaurant, Memphis, TN
After pleasantries, Eric mentioned the magic word "Breakfast" and so we were off to Downtown Memphis. As we drove, it became apparent that we were not heading to a restaurant chain, but rather a local diner. This was not quite what I had in mind and braced myself for the worst. Little known fact about me is that even though I like food, I am not a very adventurous eater even though I like to think that I am (even as a vegetarian). Don't get me wrong, I love to try new dishes, but I am extremely picky about where I eat. Not only that, but I am also notorious for ordering similar dishes at different locations.
When we arrived, I was a bit skeptical, but as we approached and then entered the restaurant, I fell immediately in love with the history of the place (I love anything historical). Eric took us to the Arcade Restaurant. You can read in detail about them via their website at http://www.arcaderestaurant.com/about.html There were many interesting and famous people that ate at this restaurant in times past. There was even a booth dedicated to Elvis because they said every time he ate there, he ate in that booth. The restaurant was also used in many movies, some of which I have seen, but probably was not paying that much attention to notice it. Most interesting to me was the fact that the tables had never been resurfaced since they opened, and they were not in bad shape either. After ordering what I wanted, I continued to read about the restaurant in their menu.
I decided to order the Sweet Potato Pancakes with grits and scrambled eggs. I had never had sweet potato pancakes. Truth is, as Un-American as it may be, I am not a big fan of pancakes. However these pancakes were more than I expected. They were not overwhelmingly tasting, but still had enough sweet potato that I wondered if it was "real sweet potato" or straight from the can. It was also soft and pillow like and I did not even have to use the syrup. I did taste it with the syrup and decided that it overpowered the subtle taste of the pancake with too much sweetness. Maybe a little bit of melted butter on the top of them would suffice. The grits were not really to my liking as it was very goopy, but I chalked this up to the fact that they were a little cold. The eggs however were perfectly scrambled. They looked like they were done in a skillet, but tasted and had the texture of scrambled eggs that were steamed. They were not runny, but not dry either. Just perfect, and I even told my husband that the eggs were perfectly done. The hash browns were just not worth mentioning as I really did not like it, so I did not eat it. The portion serving was much bigger than my stomach's eye could fathom, but even though I could not finish everything, I made sure I stuffed myself with pancakes and eggs. The pancakes and the eggs alone were worth the visit, not to mention the idea of eating in such a historical place.
My husband had french toast instead, and even though I did not sample any of his food (which is very rare), I really liked the almost rustic presentation of this loved classic. They also used french bread in their version!
Overall, I really loved this little historical gem and I am actually looking forward to going back to get their pancakes again, and maybe even try their french toast. Their pancakes was by far, the best thing I ever ate.
