Beale Street to the End of the Line... Summer 2011

Oh my goodness, what a trip! Flying into the Little Rock Airport was a breeze and the surrounding areas were lush and green due to all the rain they have recently received. The Mississippi was reportedly higher than normal though we'd never seen it before except from the sky. We had pre-registered for a family van through Budget and arrived at the counter ready to roll. Unfortunately the Budget counter was closed and we were reshuffled to a very long line at the Avis counter. The counter service was quite unfriendly and tried to finagle another $200 from us though we had pre-paid for our adventure. Our van was dirty, and had not been cleaned from the previous renters. There were water bottles and litter scattered throughout. The dash board had about a 1/2" of dust on it. There was no pre-check on the car, no maps, nothing. It served its purpose however so we didn't scuffle over these small issues. I hate to complain, really I do.

Onward... our first stop was a Wal-Mart to scoop up road snacks and drinks. We are not Wal-Mart shoppers on a regular basis as we prefer Target in our neighborhood but when in Rome... right. I gotta tell you though, that Wal-Mart has everything you could possbily want for a road trip. There were dill-pickle potato chips, potted meat, and spicy-nacho-barbecue-orange-habanero-grilled-cheesy flavored puffs. We found water and apples with peanut butter and raspberry fruit-filled Oreos and then got on our way. Zach provided us with his I-Pod filled with blues, jazz, rap, and country music to help us enjoy our journey. Thanks a bunch, Zach! The drive from Little Rock to Memphis was very pretty with small areas of marsh and flooding.

Making our final pass over the Mississippi into Memphis, we were awed by the power and grandeur of the "Big Muddy."

Sorry friends, we didn't see Elvis. Memphis was very quiet on Memorial Day Weekend. We headed straight to Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous on Second Street in downtown Memphis for their renowned ribs. The owners of Rendezvous are of Greek heritage and their menu reflects this distinction. These meaty morsels come with a dry rub and sauce on the side, though the wait staff recommends you dip the ribs in the vinegar at the bottom of your basket. Do it!! By the way, their sauce has worchestershire in it so stay away from that if you're allergic to anchovies like two of us are. Don't miss out on the lamb riblets and the beef brisket either - they are delightful! Find out more about Rendezvous at  http://www.hogsfly.com/.

On to Beale Street - what a party! You can pop in and out of a multitude of bars, clubs, karaoke, pool halls, tons of live music, shops, eateries, and even a Hard Rock Cafe. Silky O'Sullivan's has a Diver's Bucket of Booze that all five of us shared one evening. Miss Polly's has some excellent fried chicken and waffles and pretty inexpensive liquor. Stop into Superior for terrific karaoke (boy can they sing on Beale Street!) and a few shots of Fireball cinnamon whiskey. Delish!! A very open-minded place which we like very much. But our favorite place was just upstairs of the King's Palace in their Absinthe Room. We shot some pool, listened to the jukebox, and watched a small group of twenty-somethings enjoy some absinthe. Now I have never before seen this production with the sugar cubes, the absinthe, and water. I've heard that this stuff will make the walls quiver right in front of your eyes so I didn't imbibe. If you are more adventurous than me... go for it. It's now legal here in the United States, but I'll stick with my Amaretto Sour, thank you very much.

Just a little off Beale Street we amazingly found Ernestine & Hazel's. This little gem of a speak-easy is located on Main Street and every Sunday evening they feature a jazz jam. We were lucky enough to have some really terrific musicians perform for us in this unusual setting. Head over there, order a drink, then go upstairs to the restrooms. Check out the bathroom with the tub (?) and the locked/unlocked doors which used to house.. You guessed it... prostituties. I'm pretty sure it used to be a brothel. It felt haunted but that's just me. I'll try just about anything my kids ask me to do and Zach asked for this place. A real treat and you won't find a website for them either.

Of course we saw the ducks at The Peabody. They are world-famous and we try to see anything that is "world-famous." Get there at least a half hour before they stroll or you'll never see anything. We were up on the mezzanine and still had trouble seeing it all. The bloody-mary cocktails from the bar were nice though.

We enjoyed two incredible breakfasts in Memphis. First up was Cockadoo's on Second Street in downtown Memphis. If you have a hankering for the most incredibly mouth-watering cathead biscuits, sweet potato hash, and stone ground grits - head here for breakfast. Erin had the peanut-butter and blueberry french toast... mmmm. Check them out at http://www.cockadoos.com/. Our second memorable breakfast was at Arcade Restaurant, the longest continuously operating cafe in Memphis. It is just around the corner from the Lorraine Motel, and has survived all kinds of turmoil to remain a hot (and crowded) spot for breakfast. If you love sweet potatoes like I do, you must have their sweet potato pancakes. Breakfasts here are not huge which is nice because food sometimes goes to waste when restaurants overdo it. The Arcade web site can be found at http://www.arcaderestaurant.com/.

We are guided by our guts, Yelp, and the food channel. We weren't disappointed with our dinner at Gus' World Famous Hot & Spicy Chicken. Man, oh man!! This fried chicken was the biggest, juiciest, hottest and spiciest chicken ever. We met our very good friends here to enjoy some of the most picture-perfect chicken we have ever seen. We could not get enough of it. Their lemonade was down-home, as was their sweet tea. The cole slaw was quite good was well. Go ahead and fill up on chicken though because the desserts were forgettable. We visited the Front Street location in Memphis, though there are others. Gus has been featured on Food Network for good reason. There's a wait morning, noon, and night but it's well worth it. Best chicken (besides Lo-Lo's of course) ever. I can't find their website, maybe they don't have one. But you can find more information on Yelp or TripAdvisor or one of those websites.

You can't believe everything you read or agree with it either. You won't agree with me on everything I say and I'm okay with that. I'm just thankful for a reader!! But we tried Huey's for a late-night burger. They reportedly have the best burgers in Memphis. I was not impressed. Give me an In-n-Out burger anyday. Now that's a religious experience for me. Their burgers were okay for a late-night snack but the boys in my family liked the deep-fried burgers at Dyer's better. I didn't go to Dyer's so I'll just have to take their word for it. We heard the rumors about the ageless strained cooking grease, but again... they're just rumors to me. You can try find out more information at either http://www.hueyburger.com/ or  http://www.dyersonbeale.com/. Try them yourself and let me know what you think.

And now... onto our VERY favorite place in Memphis. Alcenia's on Main Street. I am not kidding when I tell you that she has the best food in all of Memphis. Seriously, the BEST food in all of Memphis. For starters we all got a hug and kiss from this sweet woman. Her kiss alone was worth the price of entry! We settled in and started off with the Kool-Aid which is super sweet. The day we visited it was Ghetto-Grape flavor. Shivers. Our family of five ordered the catfish.We couldn't help ourselves. Four of us ordered the fried catfish, but the smartie in the group (me) ordered the baked catfish. Okay, they were both good, but the baked catfish with all of Alcenia's secret seasonings was out of this world. Ask if they have any candied yams when you visit because you will feel as if you have died and gone to yam heaven. The green beans were terrific, and so was the cabbage. My son said that he'd eat cabbage every day if I'd cook it like Alcenia. Well, I just might. I ordered her cookbook and you should too. Don't dilly-dally, just go straight to http://www.alcenias.com/ for more information and a link to her cookbook.

One thing we found interesting everywhere we went was the practice of paying at the counter before you leave. We haven't seen this in awhile in Arizona, and found it to be sometimes refreshing and sometimes frustrating. Refreshing because you know exactly where your credit card has been. Frustrating when there was a long line. I love seeing new things!

Culture in Memphis - truly fascinating and enlightening. We took a few long walks along the river in the morning and it was very nice. Gorgeous homes and condos line the riverwalk and further downtown were some lovely neighborhoods with brick walk-ups and stately homes. Downtown area however ~ sketchy and uninhabited on the weekend. This is certainly no different from many downtown areas and I expect you'd say the same thing if you visited Phoenix. We searched out STAX Museum of Soul Muisc and were not disappointed. This museum is laid out perfectly with just the right amount of information and showpieces. It is housed in an old movie theatre adjacent to a new recording studio/school of arts. I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone interested in the history of soul music and Memphis itself. A website can be found at http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/. The most interesting piece for me was how race relations were during the heydey of STAX. I love to hear that people can get along in this world. We need more of it. Truly. We also visited the Lorraine Motel - National Civil Rights Museum. This is the site where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and it was very emotional. I believe that the museum is a bit overwhelming and you need more than 2 or 3 hours to absorb it all. The museum continues on the other side of the road to the boarding house where James Earl Ray stayed. We truly love to visit places of history and culture and this is something you just shouldn't miss. We found out so much about this area through the museum. The events of the 1960's and race relations of the time are fraught with anger and emotion. The Lorraine Motel was one of the only motels in the area that accepted African-Americans at that time. That it has remained standing at all is a testament to freedom fighters here in the south. Thank God. Visit them at http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/.

I'm going to finish up with our lodging. We stayed at the Springhill Suites on Main Street. We are die-hard Marriott people and love their hotels. We did not love the Springhill Suites in Memphis. It was hot, humid, unkempt, and the staff was unimpressive. Our room was not serviced for toilet paper, towels, and toiletries. The a/c was not working properly. Most importantly, when we asked for directions, information, suggestions at the front desk or from the valet - NO ONE knew anything. Not where to eat; not where to visit; not where to go. Shameful. Never again.

Next up... from Memphis to Clarksdale and Jackson, Mississippi.

Bye Y'all,
Deb :)