Brian L.
Yelp
Good messy burgers, not much of a grocery store, not much parking, broken down coolers everywhere. Not my favorite burger. Definitely not my favorite place to eat. Maybe if I grew up here and ate here all my life, I might have more affection towards this place.
I would have to go against the grain a little here. Or a lot. Some places I like, but everyone else hates. Sometimes vise versa. Roxie's Grocery has been on my list for quite some time, and now I can finally cross it off.
After a purchase at the pyramid, I bought 2 of the Mr. Good Burger combos for myself and a coworker. Parking isn't allowed on 3rd and there isn't much on the side street, but I was early and found a spot. I find it very fitting for Memphis to name a section of 3rd street after the late great Memphis music icon Mr. BB King, however, the stretch named for him is south of here, so Roxie's is still on 3rd street.
As a grocery store, this place sucks. It is old, run down, and worn out. There are so many broken down coolers from the 50s and 60s. There is old junk everywhere and wasted space. There are empty shelves for product and some of the product for sale looks like it's collected dust for years. I would definitely check expirations.
The ceiling at least looks like it's been replaced since the turn of the century. If I were shopping for groceries, I don't think there's one meal I could cook from my purchase. Exxon does a better job of stocking the necessary staples. The beer is sold by the can, so not a place to buy a 6 pack. 1 star for groceries.
Well, I wasn't there for groceries, and neither was anybody else. Everybody was standing around in everyone else's way, waiting for their food. There were 4 cooks working hard doing an excellent job of what they do. They are frying burgers on a flat top griddle, frying chicken in an old iron pot, and frying bacon and fries together in a deep fryer. My order came quick enough, and I received two carry out boxes. Without a bag to carry them in, it proved difficult to hold them, open the fridge, and get two cokes, then go to the car, get my keys, and load them up. I had to hold them against me trying not to make a mess. A bag would have helped tremendously. I didn't get one napkin from them either. The cokes were maybe like 50* so either they were just stocked, or that cooler will soon be abandoned like its neighbors. 2 stars for the whole order carry out process.
Ok, here is my and my coworkers take on the burgers. First of all, they are messy to begin with (I knew it would be, so I'm fine with it this time), but not being able to eat on the spot means it will be soggy when you take it somewhere. Anyone can put cheese, pickles, onions, and such on a burger, so the only thing to really judge is the meat. Yes, it is good. They use lots of black pepper and the griddle is seasoned from years of hard abuse. The bacon is cooked in the deep fryer which cooks and seasons the fries. I'm just guessing that with the bacon contributing to the fryer oil, I'll bet they filter it but never replace it. That's kind of yummy and gross at the same time.
Although the meat patties are good, they are by far my favorite. They are not the largest (instead they serve doubles and triples) and they are not the tastiest. I doubt they're the best quality either. Of course I'm comparing it to other griddle fried burgers. Fire grilled burgers are in a different class and far superior to me. 4 stars on the food.
So if there's nothing special about the toppings or the patties, what makes Roxie's burgers so unique and special? My friend and I could find nothing to compel us to go through this ordeal again. Roxie's, you do have a great business going, but my recommendation to you would be to clear all that junk out (every bit of it), let your neighbors go elsewhere to stock their pantries (they already do), put some tables inside, and change the sign to Roxie's Burgers. Then I will go back.
