Good service and great Chinese food are what A-Tan is all about. Featuring fresh ingredients, the restaurant offers a wide variety of specials. Try any of the tempting choices on the menu. Order meat or seafood, but don't miss the dumplings! Should you try their hot mustard, it would be best to have one of the imported beers from the bar on hand to extinguish the fire ­ it's hot!

Freshly intense, precisely cooked authentic Asian food delivered by an excellent waitstaff makes this dining experience worth repeating; it's not at all like more traditional Chinese restaurants. The extensive menu is enhanced by ingredients flown in fresh that day. Try the clams with black bean sauce or fresh crabmeat, and you'll know you've made a great dining decision. Wine, beer and liquor available (limited selections). Reservations are accepted.

DOWNTOWN. This restaurant is under the competent supervision of Karen Blockman Carrier, whose talent for imaginative culinary creations make this one of the most original restaurants in Memphis. She blends the flavors and ingredients of Mexico, the Caribbean, the American Southwest and even Louisiana and Southeast Asia to produce a dining sensation that keeps regulars coming back. If you go for lunch, expect portions that will leave little room for dessert.

MIDTOWN. This Midtown diner is most famous for its traditional Southern breakfasts of omelets, country ham, grits, or made-from-scratch biscuits. Weekend mornings are the most crowded times but breakfast starts at 7 a.m. all week long. Less known among out-of-towners are the inexpensive, classic meat and veggie lunch plates. Daily special meats like country fried steak and pork chops are served with your choice of three vegetable sides.

MIDTOWN. This trendy and festive restaurant is just as the name implies. Set in an old 1940's beauty shop, the waitresses wear curlers and you can dine in refurbished hair-dryer chairs. But the kitchsy theme isn't what keeps the place packed out. The eclectic and international fare is interesting yet delicious and won't disappoint. From the clay pot Thai mussels to the apple-smoked Cuban style chicken, a meal here is an adventure every time. But all that is just to be expected from the mind behind it all, Karen Blockman Carrier, who created two of Memphis' other most popular restaurants, Automatic Slim's and Cielo.