SAGE

A couple weekends ago one of my besties, Aisha, was in town, and as part of The Welcome to Memphis itinerary (which I’ll share below), I included brunch at SAGE. Now if you are a Memphian, you may be thinking, but SAGE is a relatively new restaurant, and this is true. SAGE opened last year and as such is not a Memphis staple (yet), but as I was thinking about Sunday Memphis brunch locations it became the obvious choice. Let me tell you why.

First, SAGE is downtown, a street over from the Peabody Hotel, where we were going to see the Duck March, and right on Main Street. This means we could hop on the trolley and explore downtown. We could also see some of the beautiful murals gracing the alley ways and buildings on Main. 

Second, the Sunday brunch menu at SAGE is delicious and consists of some super Down South staples – chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, peach cobbler – as well as some creative takes on soul food favorites – like the sweet potato egg rolls and the Soul Waffle.

Finally, SAGE is a Black-owned business and in a city that’s majority African American, we should have more Black-owned businesses that are prospering. 

So after watching the Duck March at the Peabody Hotel, which is such a touristy thing to do, we walked over to SAGE. Aisha ordered the Soul Waffle – two crispy waffles stuffed with southern style greens, Mac and cheese, and fried chicken, deep fried and topped with sage infused syrup and confectioner’s sugar. That she ordered the waffle and not French toast was a feat because Aisha is a French toast connoisseur. She loved the waffle though. 

As much as I try, I cannot not order the shrimp and smoked gouda grits. They were delicious though I must admit, the gouda grits I made the day before were better. That’s not to say that these weren’t tasty – I did eat all of them – but mine were tastier. 

Of course, there’s always room for dessert. I successfully talked Aisha into sharing an order of peach cobbler with me and there were zero regrets. I highly recommend that you order the peach cobbler. If you’re worried if you’ll have room, might I suggest ordering dessert first? 

The Welcome to Memphis Weekend Itinerary

Friday
Lunch at Interstate BBQ (Is Interstate my absolute favorite? No, A&R is my favorite but Interstate is good and Aisha loved it! Mission complete)
Makeda’s Cookies (because experiencing Makeda’s butter cookies is an absolute must!)
The National Civil Rights Museum
*The WKND* (originally we were supposed to go to The WKND for happy hour but plans change)

Saturday
SPINS! At Crosstown Concourse where DJ Devin Steel was this month’s guest DJ

Sunday
Peabody Hotel Duck March
SAGE

SAGE
94 South Main Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 672-7902