Caves Soul Food and More

Caves Hamburger has been getting a lot of attention on some local blogs latley


Most items at Caves are served from a steam table. Your typical Soul Food fare and the menu changes daily.
But I went to Caves to sample this great burger. Wow, I don’t know what burger the others got but the one I had was so over seasoned and I can not emphasize this enough. It was so over seasoned that it did not taste like a hamburger at all. I wanted to spit the first bite out but the cook was standing right there and I did not want to embarrass her. This burger was terrible. It tasted so strong of maybe Sage, Thyme and Red pepper I think, but not seasoning that should be in a burger.
The Ribs and Chicken Wings on the steam table looked good so I got a few to go.
Again, disappointing. Both items were tough and tasted like charcoal not smoke.
The owners, a Husband and Wife team were so friendly and proud of their new little restaurant that I hate to pan them in this review.
I hope they find their niche and make it work.

I rarely use the word «incredible» to describe something, but that’s the first word that came to mind when I bit into Cave’s cheeseburger. It is a huge burger featuring a half-​pound of beef infused with a secret combination of herbs and seasonings. Cave’s cooks the ground beef «well done» to a juicy tenderness, although I’m sure that the restaurant can accommodate anyone’s cooking preference. Along with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions (which I omitted), mustard and mayo, Cave’s cheeseburger is a culinary masterpiece.
To give an idea of what eating a Cave’s cheeseburger is like, imagine it as a bigger version of Alex’s Tavern’s Greek Burger. Not that the two burgers taste alike, but both have unique seasonings that captivate the eater. In place of using higher quality beef (20% fat or less), good seasoning can make a huge difference in a burger. Like Alex’s, Cave’s has perfectly followed this recipe to success.
When done right, a cheap, well seasoned burger can hold its own with those from great restaurants. At $ 7.10 (which is the price for all Cave’s plate dinners), Cave’s cheeseburger is both cheaper and better than a burger I had at the Beauty Shop several years ago. Although the bland décor inside Cave’s is directly opposite of the chic eatery, it doesn’t matter when eating an incredible burger.
Speaking of other restaurants, Cave’s cheeseburger is, in my opinion, the best in Midtown Memphis’ Vollintine-​Evergreen neighborhood. This includes notable burgers from places such as Alex’s Tavern and Café Eclectic (although I haven’t had its Pub Burger). I hope the word gets out about this awesome burger by other media. To that end, I challenge Seth Agranov of the blog Best Memphis Burger to try Cave’s cheeseburger. If he doesn’t feel it is worthy of a rating of at least four stars, I will buy his burger. I am confident that he and anyone else will love Cave’s cheeseburger.
The burger comes with a soda and steak fries. Cave’s cook its fries to a golden brown, yielding a crispy crust and a soft potato texture in its core. Lightly salted (which is completely opposite of Cave’s turnip greens), the steak fries are good on its own and are a great complement to the cheeseburger.
As for the other items on Cave’s menu, everything that I’ve had so far was good but not on par with the cheeseburger. Except for the cheeseburger, just about everything on Cave’s menu is prepared ahead of time and preserved in heated counter tops. The one item that stands out negatively is the turnip greens. The greens have TOO MUCH SALT in it and might be unhealthy for some people. Fellow Vollintine-​Evergreen resident and blogger Craig of Memphis Que said the turnip greens have «a strong vinegar bite and nice spicy kick.» While most of his reviews are accurate, I will respectfully disagree with his take on the turnip greens. I won’t say more about this because I don’t want to kill the cheeseburger’s buzz, but I couldn’t write this review without mentioning it.
In closing, I want to say that the service at Cave’s is excellent. I’m not saying this because of the obvious, but for a great gesture on the part of the owner. On the day that I ordered my cheeseburger, I was trying to catch a bus. To expedite my order, I called it in, assuming that it would be ready in about ten minutes. Unfortunately, it took over twenty minutes to prepare the order. As I walked out of Cave’s with the meal that I wanted to eat there, my bus passed by. At that point, the owner (Cave) could have said this: «tough shit, bon appétit!» However, Cave took pity on me by offering to catch the bus via his pick-​up truck. That was a very nice gesture that he didn’t have to do, and it really got me out of a pinch. I want to express my gratitude for his deed as well as bolstering the neighborhood with his restaurant. I look forward to having many meals there in the future.
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