The Dirty Crow Inn (CLOSED)


A Lot To Crow About

As a long time wings aficionado, it has always been my intention to stop by The Dirty Crow Inn to try the chicken wings that my friends have talked about. It's taken awhile to get there, mainly due to a combination of procrastination and the fact that the restaurant is a little off the beaten path for me. Located on the corner of Kentucky Street and Crump Boulevard, it's just outside Downtown so getting there meant passing by a lot of other places that I like to dine at. However, one evening while heading down Peabody Avenue from the Slider Inn, I was at the point where I usually turn the corner onto Martin Luther King Boulevard when I had a sudden epiphany. With my intention to engage in something different, I decided to turn left instead of right and headed down Crump to The Dirty Crow for some delicious wings.


For my choice of wings, I went with the ones that are the favorite among my friends. The Soy Ginger with Wasabi wings are definitely a departure from typical hot wings. In terms of taste, they were more about flavor than spiciness, for the balance of wasabi, soy, ginger and other ingredients combined for a unique experience that was memorable. In fact, I liked the wings so much that I got a second helping to go along with fries and a 24 oz. can of Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR). My friends were right about the wings and I look forward to getting these often.

SIDE NOTE: The Dirty Crow has several wing flavors to choose from, ranging from Sriracha Honey to Dry Rub Seasoning to Jerk wings that a lady sitting next to me ate with a big smile on her face.


Despite being known for chicken wings, The Dirty Crow Inn also serves a variety of food that you can find in a typical dive bar. Given that a go-to item for most is a burger, I decided to go with the We Don't Bluff burger. It consists of a quarter pound of beef along with cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, bacon and onion straws. Because I'm a man who really likes to grub, I got my burger as a "Double Stack" of two beef patties to satisfy my appetite. While the burger hit the spot, it wasn't as good as I expected, with the onion straws and BBQ sauce overwhelming the beef that was decent yet ordinary. Unlike the wings that I had earlier, I can't see myself ordering it again but I won't discourage anyone from trying the burger.
Overall, I have been impressed with my experiences at The Dirty Crow Inn. In addition to good food, I like the overall vibe of the place. The dive bar is small and cozy that is very easy to relax and chill (I wish this place was around when I working on Presidents Island). It also has an outdoor patio with additional seating and (on weekends) performing acts. In comparing the bar to other places in Memphis, The Dirty Crow is a lot like the Slider Inn with a little bit of the charm of Alex's Tavern. It's a fun place that will be even better now that my man Aldo Dean, owner of the Slider Inn, Bardog Tavern and Aldo's Pizza, has bought The Dirty Crow. With Aldo constantly expanding his restaurant empire, he is going to be a tycoon in the near future. It will be interesting to see how the "Crow" competes when Aldo opens a second Slider Inn in Downtown Memphis' South Main District that will have a similar setup to The Dirty Crow. Although it's possible that the two bars could cannibalize each other, I'm sure Aldo will make it work in a very profitable way.

SIDE NOTE: It's not often that I talk about non-food stuff on the blog, but I was really impressed by the act that I saw during my second visit to The Dirty Crow Inn. After eating my burger, I wandered outside to the patio to enjoy some music. It seemed that everyone was really getting into it and for good reason. Mallory Everett really put on a show, with a robust country voice that livened the audience. What made me take notice was a line in one of her songs that, and I'm paraphrasing, that she banged (substituting the f-word she used) a black girl so hard that it made her an albino. Damn! That definitely put a smile on my face as I sat back and enjoyed a very good show that featured a combination of her songs and classics like Dolly Parton's "Jolene." I would love to see her play again, especially at the Slider Inn where she will be an instant hit. Ms. Everett can be heard on most musical platforms including Spotify and Apple Music. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Before I close, I want to mention that the Monroe Avenue Festival is coming up this month (August). It's a festival that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in a fun way. It kicks off with the Breakaway Bardog 5K (an exhilarating run that I participated in; I know, it's hard to believe) and continues with raffles, concerts and plenty of food and beer. It will have plenty of games and other fun stuff, including the dunk tank for folks with a strong arm that can accurately hit the "dunking plate" (I'm hoping Magyn will be one of the "participants"). The festival ends with a meatball eating contest that's fun to watch and isn't as serious (as in grotesque) as the hot dog eating contest in New York. It's all for a good cause that will help kids get the help they need. I hope you come.

UPDATE: About a week after I posted this, I was informed that Aldo has changed both the name and menu for this iteration of The Dirty Crow Inn (now called Momma's Roadhouse). Although the "Crow" is gone for now, the original owners (not Aldo) have announced that the bar will reopen in a new location sometime in 2020. However, it won't be going Uptown as was posted on its Facebook page but will possibly reopen somewhere in Downtown Memphis. Follow the bar to stay updated.
 
UPDATE: Starting December 13, 2020, The Dirty Crow will sell food, including its famous wings, at the 40 et 8 Club (a bar for veterans)  in West Memphis every Sunday. Curbside pickup is available, although you can dine there while having drinks and listening to live music. The Dirty Crow will reopen somewhere once the global pandemic known as COVID-19 is under control.

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