Alcenia's

Made my DDD visit on June 14th 2012. Glad I made the stop, well worth
the trip. Originally was planning on going for Brunch, but had to
change my plans at the last minute. BJ greeted me with a warm hug and
made my day and made me feel at home. All the food was fantastic.The Fried Green Tomatoes and Cucumbers were great. The Sweet Potato
Fries were the Bomb. Got the Bread Pudding, Sweet Potato Pie and Best
of all the Cornbread was ” Money”. Had the Cornbread for breakfast .Wish she had some Cha Cha sauce. Maybe she can bottle it and sell it
from her website someday. Ordered the book and it was so personal.
Thanks BJ. Next visit to Memphis will be there for Brunch.Great food and great service 6 Chef Hats and Stars !!!

All the food is made to order so you will have to wait. DO NOT come here if you are wanting a quick meal. However, the service is TOP NOTCH and the food is DELICIOUS. I highly recommend Alcenia's.  My father had the Chicken and Waffles and I had the salmon croquette. Both were extremely tasty.  The food is made with love and technique. That's the only way I can explain it. Experience it yourself! 

O:-)

WE had a TERRIBLE experience as well. I would not recommend that restaurant to ANYONE.

My wife and I visited this place after seeing Guy feature her on the show in 2009, and we had an awful experience!! We waited 2 hours on our food, ask for coffee 4 times, was served fried chicken that was burned, a waffle that was hard, and when I asked for butter for my waffle the lady brings me a hard piece of margarine, and at the time it was only three tables with customers at them so they were not busy. The two servers acted as if they had no idea why the food was taking so long. We were served on carryout trays with plastic spoon, knife and fork and the coffee left much to be desired. We were thoroughly disappointed. We were very excited to visit this place since we live in Little Rock and it was only a 2 hour drive for us. They must have really layed the charm on when Guy was there cause this place was not even close to what was advertised.

Where do we find the recipe for chow chow?

The food at Alcenia's is great.  Look for the HUGS that BJ gives out.  Food created by someone who know's about family and Love....

The food at Alcenia's is great.  Look for the HUGS that BJ gives out.  Food created by someone who know's about family and Love....

There is a wait as they make everything to order, but the pork chop was the best I've ever eaten.

If you come to Memphis and miss Alcenia's, then you have missed a crown jewel. I am not sure what happened when Memphis Ray and Chicago Mike visited, but our visit could not have been more OPPOSITE from their visits. Our first delight was when BJ came rushing out to hug and welcome us. The next delight was the food itself. Folks should remember that when you are getting good, HOME-COOKED SOUTHERN food, you should expect to wait. It was obvious this food was fresh-cooked and made to order. Don had the fried chicken, and I had the pork chops. We both had mac-n-cheese, and shared green beans, fried green tomatoes, and lima beans. Everything was hot when it got to the table, there was no doubt it had just been cooked. The corn bread was to die for. I begged for the recipe, and BJ promised it would be in the cookbook she hopees to finish by December. The portions were so large, we had to leave with a to-go box. The bottom line is that we almost didn't go to  Alcenia's because of the location -- what a MISTAKE that would have been! This was our 12th DDD stop in 2 weeks, and proves to be one of our TOP favorites. Don's miss this one!

Echo Chicago Mike.  I live here and saw this on the show.  Had never been.  What a disaster.  The wait staff was just 2 kids, could not have been more than 16.  After we sat there waiting on our food for 1 1/2 hours we felt obligated to stick it out.  The food was just OK.  They ran out of mac & cheese , no dessert we wanted and they didn't have the famous CHA CHA tat was talked about on the show.  Place was very hot, could not get drinks.  People next to us left after waiting 1 hour.  Somehow Guy Fieri needs to have a show "after the visit reviews"  I would be embarassed to associate my name with this kind of service.  OH, we did get the kiss from BJ, after we had been there 2 hours and I was trying to pay. 

What a complete Train Wreck.  Just returned from a week in Alabama and Tennessee and this place almost single-handedly busted the bubble.  BJ wasn't there, or if she was, she wasn't hugging anyone.  Took our 3 boys, who watched the show and were all pumped up to check it out.  One waitress worked the small dining room, and she was simply incapable.  She had no clue as to which menu items were available.  We waited an almost an hour for our food (it'll be right out...) and had to ask for drinks 4 times.  Half the order never showed up.  There was no corn bread, no cha cha, no spicy corn, no apple butter, no dessert., no plates (food was served in styrofoam carry-out containers -- open 5 of those on a 4-top and see what happens).  My wife's family is from Alabama, so we are accustomed to the more leisurely pace of the South, but this was rediculous.  Unless you have 2 hours to kill, stay away.  The fried green tomatoes we good, though.

What great food!!!  Friendly people as well.   It was just what we needed to fill the void.   We were traveling across the country and decided to stop.  So close to the I40 we could not resist.  So glad we came.  Hubby had the pork I had the chicken and we were both well pleased.   The side vegetables were great.  The cornbread was such a treat!!!  Had to buy some cha cha to take home.   We will be back again when we go thru Memphis.   Try it and you will not be disappointed.  I can southern cook but this was even better than my southern cooking.  Hubby just smiled and smiled through the whole meal.  He was like a kid in a candy store trying something new.  Love to know the spice in the corn.  It was over the top!!!  I would taste and try to figure it out.  Low and behold I ran out of corn before I could figure it out.  Now I have to come back!!!  Thanks for the great meal.