This is one that I generally prefer at home, but some restaurants in the past 10 years or so have started putting care and attention in their potato salad. McEwen’s comes to mind right away, and Mantia’s also has a nice potato salad. My mom and my mother-in-law make the best potato salad and though they’re both mayo-based, they’re very different. I’ll see if I can get them to share a recipe. For now, who’s the potato salad master in the restaurant world?
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Responses to “Best potato salad”
March 19th, 2008 at 9:25 am
Heavenly Ham had good potato salad, but since they closed up shop in Memphis they’re no longer in the running.
Brad’s Barbecue in Bartlett has pretty good potato salad, but frankly, until someone in town starts serving roast garlic potato salad, they’re pretty much indistinguishable.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Corky’s has a great twice-baked potato salad, with sour cream and bacon…yum! And the potato salad at McAllister’s is good, too, for standard deli fare.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Bogie’s potato salad is very good & different due to the seasonings in it. Try their salad sampler on Thurs. (unless this has changed) & Friday when they have shrimp salad, the only day(s) it’s available. You get tuna salad, chicken salad, potato salad, pasta salad (also very good) & shrimp salad. It has some greens, a house made vinaigrette, chopped tomatoes & cucumbers, & crunchy bread sticks, & easily serves two or makes two (or more) meals for one person. I’m going to try Mantia’s potato salad because I haven’t had any of theirs yet. I’ll get some on my next fresh mozzarella run there, because theirs is the best I’ve found. I agree that potato salad made at home is often the best. It tends to be mushy & store bought tasting in a lot of restaurants. Also try great deviled eggs at Germantown Commissary.
March 19th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
The old Public Eye used to have the best potato salad. Sweet Peppers used to have a similar recipe. I believe the “secret” in both cases was the use of sour cream in addition to mayo. I also miss the creations at Erika’s. Of those still standing, Newk’s and Germantown Commissary make pretty good, though different potato salads.
March 19th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
The best potato salad is at a place that used to be Hays Smokehouse that is now called Curt’s in Lexington TN. http://www.curtssmokehouse.com/
March 19th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I agree with John about sour cream in the dressing for potato salad. I also think the pickles are important - bread & butter pickles work well. I tried making potato salad with Yukon gold potatoes, but couldn’t really tell much difference in the flavor. I have found that the Yukon gold flavor comes thru more in a hot potato dish, especially mashed potatoes, than when they are served cold. And I agree with what I’ve read that a cold potato dish needs to be seasoned more aggressively than one served hot because chilling it tends to dull the flavors.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I haven’t seen it in Kroger in a while, but Kroger used to have a real good red potato salad. I think thye used sour cream as an ingredient.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:19 am
I used to love the potato salad in Seesel’s deli section. It was the mustard-based variety, which I prefer, and just the right combination of taste and texture. Before I was a vegetarian, I could make an excellent meal of their rotisserie chicken, potato salad, and salad bar.
These days, McAlister’s isn’t bad, but on the whole, I prefer homemade versions to store/restaurant recipes.
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Ditto on Bogie’s. The best potato salad I’ve had apart from what my family makes.
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