Memphis Mojo Cafe – Bartlett, TN

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For our very first article, we’re heading to Memphis Mojo Cafe in Bartlett, TN…to get takeout. Most places aren’t open for dine in, and I wouldn’t want to sit in a restaurant right now anyway, and it’s way too hard to get a kid to wear a mask and not touch stuff, so we’re doing take-out for now.

Memphis Mojo Cafe is situated in a strip mall on Highway 64 in Bartlett, between Highway 70 and Appling Road. We ordered online from their website, but noticed that the prices are higher online, so you might as well just call them and pay when you get there.

I decided to go with their Chicken Philly, which is described on their website as “Blackened grilled chicken sautéed with onions, topped with provolone and our buffalo sauce”. It actually came with onions and peppers, but that was totally cool with me, I was actually wondering why it didn’t come with peppers when I saw the description.

Daisy opted for the Mojo Sliders with Cheese, “2oz patties topped with mustard, pickle, onion, and cheese”

Ava had been haranguing me for chicken tenders all day, so that’s what she got, with honey mustard.

We put out order in online and I waited a few minutes and then drove over there.

It’s a relatively small place, and even smaller now that Covid-19 has restaurants operating at reduced capacity. I would say the place probably had 10-12 tables before, and only 5 or 6 now so they can be sufficiently spaced out.

We had ordered ahead, so it didn’t take long at all to get my food. I did manage to snap a few pictures while I was waiting on the people ahead of me to order. They have a huge chalkboard menu behind the counter that’s pretty easy to see, so that’s a plus for a counter ordering type of place. They have local art hanging on the walls, and based on the fact that the paintings had price tags, I’m gonna go ahead and assume you can buy them.

They didn’t appear to serve beer or alcohol, which I think is kinda a mistake, they make the kind of food that goes amazingly well with a beer or three. Plus who’s gonna buy a $275 painting in a restaurant if they aren’t at least a little tipsy?

I grabbed our order and got home within a few minutes. Everything was super fresh and hot, and obviously cooked to order. They got our order almost perfect, but they did leave out the fries that I ordered with my sandwich. I think I have some kind of insane take-out food curse; if anything is going to be wrong or missing, it’s going to be whatever I ordered, without fail. I don’t make a bunch of substitutions or anything either, so it’s not like I’m some he-karen who’s pissy because they didn’t give me only chicken from the left breast and also I want my steak rare with no pink, I just think I have bad luck. Maybe I’m saving it all up and I’ll win the Powerball one day.

Anyway, to the food. Ava’s chicken tenders were very good. I sampled one since they gave her quite a few. They’re perfect for kids with breading on the thinner side as opposed to the super thick and crunchy kind that are sometimes hard for little kids to eat. If you have kids that like chicken tenders (and I think all kids are required to), they are definitely gonna like these.

I mean, adults can eat them too I’m pretty sure, they are tasty and so is their honey mustard dipping sauce. The fries were good too and make me angry that I didn’t get any. They’re seasoned and very slightly spicy. I don’t even know if “spicy” is the right word, it’s not like they’re hot, they’re just very flavorful. Highly recommended. We haven’t had a chance to try the sweet potato fries yet, but we probably will next time we go. Daisy is a big fan of sweet potato fries, and if their other food is any indication, Mojo Cafe will probably have some good ones.

Daisy’s sliders were super too. She was very impressed with the proportions; she said they totally nailed the ratio of meat:cheese:toppings so that every bite had a good, satisfying combination.

We both noticed the bread on our sandwiches were super good. Maybe we’re just easy to please, but neither one of us feels like it’s just bread from a bag. We both think they are either making their own bread or buying from a local bakery. I’ll find out for sure next time we order there. This is where getting takeout kinda sucks, I would have just asked the server if we ate there, but I guess that’s not really a benefit that’s worth dying over.

Daisy also is a big fried pickle fan, so we got an order of those. They were out of the sauce for them, so they gave us ranch instead. We both thought the fried pickles were good without any sauce at all, but I am looking forward to trying them with the sauce when they aren’t out of it.

I ordered the chicken philly and fries, but only got a chicken philly. I’m only salty because the fries are really good. Luckily, the chicken philly was so damn good I forgot all about the missing fries. Y’all, this sandwich is LEGIT. This might be the best sandwich I’ve ever had. I’m not even exaggerating. This thing is BANGIN! When I read the description, I thought the buffalo sauce sounded a little bit weird and out of place but it TOTALLY works. It’s not just a straight up buffalo sauce, it’s like a buffalo aioli or something, maybe it’s mayonnaise based but I’m super racist against mayonnaise so I’m just gonna pretend it’s an aioli to make myself feel better. Whatever the buffalo sauce is comprised of, this sandwich is legitimately life changing. If I ever want a chicken sandwich of ANY KIND, this is now my go-to choice.

I’m serious dudes, this is gonna be the kind of sandwich I randomly think about late at night and get upset that I can’t immediately go and get one. Other people do that right? Anyway, everything at Mojo cafe was above average, but unfortunately I don’t think I’m ever going to try anything else they sell, because I’m getting this damn chicken philly EVERY time.

Also, if you haven’t noticed, this a brand new website. I have some ideas up my sleeves, but I need some input from readers, assuming I ever have any. Where should I go eat? Send me an email and let me know if you have suggestions. In the Memphis area for now, but anywhere when travel is actually a thing again.