Restaurant Iris, Memphis

Critics and local foodies alike have been heaping praise on this midtown establishment ever since it opened in 2008. Chef Kelly English, a Louisiana native, gives Creole cuisine an entirely new spin. The menu is full of quotation marks—lobster "knuckle sandwich," "surf and turf" of strip steak with fried oysters, "grilled cheese" of smoked salmon and brie—demonstrating the kitchen's lighthearted approach toward its upscale ingredients. The restaurant is tucked away in a green cottage in a residential neighborhood, so it's easy to miss if you don't know where you're going. Crowds are well-heeled and cosmopolitan, and service is flawless without a hint of pretension.

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