MEMPHIS

Barbecue may be king in the Tennessee city, but meat is only half of the story. Inspired by regional produce and the city’s love of soul food, creative chefs are putting new, plant-based spins on classic Southern fare

- JACQUI AGATE

At Plant Based Heat, owner Ralph 'RJ Groove' Johnson is chuckling over a spitting fryer. "Twenty-plus years ago, I owned a [branch of] Crumpy's Hot Wings," he tells me. "And now my first vegan restaurant is next door to one, so we laughed about that."

One of more than 200 wing joints here in the 'hot wing capital of the Deep South' (an epithet I've heard three times in as many days), Crumpy's is something of an institution. The rib-sticking, finger-licking wings it's been slinging since the early Nineties - served up red hot or sweet with honey - are as Memphis as Elvis Presley, barbecue and the blues. Here at Plant Based Heat, however, things are done rather differently.

The all-vegan restaurant opened in June 2021 and is one of several plant-based spots shaking up Bluff City's meat-heavy food scene. The vegan wings - known as 'vings' a top seller, made from a mix of soy and pea protein, shaped into flats and drumsticks and then fried in rapeseed oil. "Then we sauce it up and you'll be back tomorrow," says RJ with another belly laugh.

I get my wings with 'agave gold sauce' - a riff on Memphis's signature 'honey gold'. They're sticky and sweet with a low, slow heat, and turn my fingertips yellow. "Food is a passion in Memphis," says RJ. "Folks like Mr Crump [of Crumpy's] just know how to cook. It's in their blood. And if your food's not good, the people will tell you. Memphis is a tough crowd."