Arnold’s Smokehouse Serves Up Meat And Vegan Menus

Arnold’s Smokehouse is the creation of a brother-sister duo: Shanon and Ivy Arnold. Shanon is the head chef with a deep culinary background. He’s not a vegan. However, his sister Ivy is a longtime vegan who helped inspire the restaurant as equally vegan as it is a smokehouse. 

There are two menus offered that mirror each other. One is for meat eaters. The other is for vegans. You can order from both menus if you fall in between -- which we did.

Both menus feature sandwiches, flatbreads, bowls and baskets, and pasta. On the meat menu you can order BBQ Fajita Nachos served with fried chili dusted chips topped with your choice of meat, grilled peppers and onions, black beans, cheese sauce, pico, and guacamole.

You’ll find the same menu item on the vegan menu but instead topped with BBQ jackfruit and vegan cheese. That’s how the menus mirror each other.

The restaurant has two kitchens to protect the integrity of the vegan menu with no cross contamination.

For the complete Arnold’s experience, we tried items from both menus. From the vegan menu we went with the Garlic Butter Noodles w/ Smoked Shiitake Mushrooms and the BBQ Fajita Nachos with Jackfruit.

I would not have known both were vegan if I did a blind food taste. Both were guilty pleasure meets comfort food level of good. I’m saying nothing new to vegans who understand better than us just how tasty it can be.

The smoked mushrooms were a perfect touch to the garlic butter noodles. You can also order a similar dish on the meat menu with a choice of grilled chicken or grilled shrimp.

Arnold’s uses a lot of jackfruit in their vegan menum -- something I’ve previously never tried. It’s a common fruit to use in vegan dishes because, when cooked, it can taste similar to pulled pork.

The added jackfruit to the BBQ Fajita Nachos has that subtle sweetness and juice of a fruit. The taste was convincing and tasty enough to make you not miss a meat topping. That’s all to say that the nachos were great and the toppings generous. Delicious.

For the meat eaters, we ordered the Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich and Chicken Veggie Pesto Flatbread. Comparably, you can get a BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich and Grilled Veggie Pesto Flatbread on the vegan menu.

The Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich is in my running for one of my new favorites in the city now. I don’t know the secret behind it but the tangy coleslaw made it so good. The flatbread is perfect as a whole meal or to split with two. I love any dish that adds eggplant like this flatbread.

Arnold’s is inconspicuous in its interior and exterior. That's always a good indicator for me that they mean business with the food. Arnold's certainly does. Don’t forget to grab a photo in front of their backdrop sign too.

Make a trip out there to try it yourself. This Castalia Heights spot is a perfect representation of what Memphis is all about. 

Family run with a good neighborhood spirit that taps into Memphis’ most historic food scene while combining it with one of the fastest growing scenes in the city.

VISIT AND FOLLOW:

Arnold’s Smokehouse
2019 E Person Ave.
Memphis, TN 38114

Hours:
11 a.m. - 8 p.m. | Tuesday - Saturday

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Looking for more restaurants to try out? Check out our New Memphis Restaurants blog.