Whatever you do, don’t make the mistake of talking about french fries in front of longtime Memphis restarateur Michel Leny, at least not if you’re in a hurry. Pommes frites, like Leny, hail from Belgium. They’re taken seriously, too. No one there is going to serve you fries that weren’t hand cut just minutes before you get them. Here, I’m afraid it’s hit or miss. I’ve got two favorite places, and they couldn’t be more different. Give me the pommes frites with truffle oil from Cafe 1912 any day. Lord have mercy, those delicate, finely cut fries will have you licking your fingers. But my other favorite is the cup o’ fries at Steak Escape in the Oak Court Mall! Honestly, I avoid straying from Macy’s if I can help it, because I’m likely to end up with a cup of fries if I do. Tell me where you like your fries, and if you like them fat or skinny, seasoned or waffled, and why.

For years I’ve sworn the best eggs rolls and the best hot and sour soup can be found at Shang Hai on Poplar, just east of Cleveland. Nothing’s changed my mind so far. Here’s your chance: Where are your favorite egg rolls?

OK, now this is something I might know a thing or two about. My European friends can tell me I drink my beer too cold, and it doesn’t hurt my feelings. I know what I like. That doesn’t mean I don’t like  good Midtown Brown at Bosco’s or that I won’t drink a beer if it doesn’t come in a chilled glass. But at my house, we keep mugs in the freezer. This weekend, my husband even noticed that the label on his Guinness said to serve very cold, which frankly surprised us both.

Back in the day the coldest beer was always at P&H. Where is it now?

You know you’re out there, all you chocoholics. While I’d generally take a creme brulee over chocolate anything, I have to admit I’ve recently tried a few chocolate desserts around town (the souffle at River Oaks and the tart at Erling’s) that could convert me. And my daughter makes an utterly decadent brownie that I can never resist. Also, I miss the fudge pie from North End and the Seessel’s Canasta cake.

Still, I don’t pretend to be the expert. When you’ve got to have your chocolate, where do you go? Include any of it: Pie, cake, hot chocolate, brownies, lava cakes. Let’s hear it.

One of the guys in my nacho-tasting group suggested that we move to wings when we conclude the great nachos taste-off, and I’m all for it. But there are dozens of joints around town for hot wings. I’m going to need some help narrowing it down. Who knows how to treat a wing right?

By the way, we’re close to wrapping up the nacho tasting. So far, we’ve been to R.P. Tracks, Belmont, Huey’s and Cozymel’s. Next stop is Molly’s. If you haven’t weighed in yet, go ahead and let us know where we need to go next.

I know it’s August, but it is a dreary day and even though I’m back at the office, I’m still puny. I doubt I’m up for soup today–I’m probably another day out from consuming much more than crackers and ginger ale, but I’d like something good tomorrow. I thought I wanted some last night and went so far as to send my daughter out to a pretty ubiquitous soup spot around town, only to find that I wasn’t up to eating it when she got it to me.

Tell me where I need to go, tomorrow or maybe even on the way home (after finally getting in to see the doc) today. We’ll also use these for a Best Bets when the weather changes.

I’m happy to see the spirited discussion about dining in locally owned restaurants vs. chains we’ve been carrying on (look back a few posts). Now I want to know for a Best Bets list: What’s your favorite local restaurant? Plain or fancy, I don’t care. Just tell me your favorite one. I’m posting this picture because I think of Huey’s as a quintessential local spot and the late Thomas Boggs as precisely the kind of businessman we want to see prosper. And while there was only one of him, there are many good local spot and business owners that deserve their due, too. Is it the food that keeps you going back to your favorite place? The service? Convenience? Or is it that special place where everybody knows your name? (Queue soundtrack…)

You’ve all read about CA photographer Dave Darnell and his all-day barbecue excursions to points hither and yon. I’m looking for places within a two or three hour drive of Memphis that are worth the trip. Here are a few places I’m planning to try: Uncle John’s in Crawfordsville, Ark.; Uncle Henry’s around Tunica; the steakhouse outside Oxford where locals go on Sunday nights (can’t think of the name right now). Where else? Someone said (on this blog, I believe) they serve crappie at the lodge at Reelfoot Lake. I got a bellyful of it on Father’s Day when we had a fish fry, but I’ll be craving it before long.

We could hardly have dreamed of a better weekend for being outdoors, with the exception of the crazy fireworks all around me on Friday night. My daughter said it was the same at her house and I’ve heard people talking about it today. I think more people were in town this year than usual, which resulted in the increase. I don’t mind them, really, and love to see the big, spectacular shows, but the loud noises tend to scare the dogs. Even still, we were outside nearly every waking moment, even during the thunderstorms Saturday night. We stayed in the screened porch, but we stayed out.

Where do you go around town when you want a meal al fresco? We talk from time to time about good patios, but those are mostly for drinking. Where can you find a nice meal and a cool breeze? (Let’s just pretend it’s not going to be crazy hot this week…)

I snapped a picture of the ham and cheese sandwich a coworker picked up for me earlier this week at Williams St. Grocery. She was going for home cooking (and Williams definitely gets a vote in that category–from me) but I didn’t want a full meal. This sandwich, with the fries, was $2.99! The fries were the frozen ripply kind and if you like those, then get ‘em. Me, I’ll just go for the extremely filling sandwich next time. It’s $1.99 on its own, and there’s a grilled cheese for 99-cents. The sandwich was delicious, by the way–the ham was grilled, there was a sweetish red dressing on it, and it came dressed with lettuce and tomato.

So let’s hear it: Where do you find REALLY inexpensive and good food? (By the way, we’re changing the Top 10 lists to Best Bets, since that’s what they’ll be called when GoMemphis launches.)