Restaurants in Batesville

In November of 2009, Adam Richman of Man v. Food sat down at one of the wooden tables inside The Mean Pig BBQ and ordered the restaurant’s Shut-Up Juice Challenge. His only goal: to finish the smoked, pulled-pork sandwich, which comes topped with coleslaw and a slather of Shut-Up Juice—a fiery concoction of barbecue sauce mixed with concentrated habanero extract. After a hard-fought battle, the professional eater barely limped past the finish line, completing a challenge that bests most diners. At the restaurant’s last count, less than 2% of contenders who started the Shut-Up Juice Challenge finished it.

The Mean Pig BBQ may be most widely know for its spicy challenge, but locals come here for the chopped-pork sandwiches, fall-off-the-bone ribs, and smoked beans, a Mean Pig original. The owners smoke the pork and ribs over a hickory-wood smoker for 24 hours before drenching the meat in homemade mild, medium, or hot barbecue sauce. They temper the heat with creamy coleslaw, potato salad, and icy beverages to cool scorched tongues.

Though the entrees at The Dixie Cafe make the biggest splash across its menu marquee, they're threatened with gastronomical upstaging by the southern-style eatery's 19 sides and scratch-made gravies. The chicken-fried steak, for example, is a tender, hand-breaded fillet that fully blossoms with flavor only after chefs smother it with cream gravy and cheddar cheese. And the Cajun grilled catfish's down-home taste isn't fully developed until it is paired up with bites of turnip greens, fried okra, or a homemade roll. The classic platter meals take advantage of this by pairing an entree with two sides, rolls, and jalapeño cornbread and can be ordered "light" for a portion that's smaller than the regular size and easier to toss in the air and catch in your mouth.

Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city in the world. It’s a difficult reputation to live up to, but Tokyo Japanese Restaurant attempts to uphold the traditions of this culinary heavyweight with its menu of authentic Japanese cuisine.

The three-course hibachi meal for two is perhaps the best display of the eatery’s extensive offerings with its shrimp appetizer, choice of soup or salad, and a triumvirate of sirloin steak, shrimp, and chicken. Tokyo Japanese Restaurant also boasts a large sushi and maki menu filled with common favorites, such as spicy salmon rolls, and more hard-to-come-by selections, such as quail egg and spicy crawfish.

Bob's Grill touts breakfast every day, boasting a schedule that starts at five in the morning and stretches until two in the afternoon, with the exception of bingo nights on Tuesday and Thursday. While regulars will continually find classics such as breakfast burritos and omelets on the menu—as well as bacon cheeseburgers and sandwiches—blue plate specials and other daily offerings change it up with stuffed bell-peppers, gumbo, and pork chops, as well as a smattering of delectable fruit pies.