My husband and I are going to Memphis, TN this weekend. We’re planning to go to Graceland and Beale Street, but I’m looking for other stuff to do, too. We’ve got three days there. Any suggestions?
There are three things I take out-of towners to do here:
-
If you’re interested in music history, go to Sun Studio. The tour is shorter than Graceland, but it’s cheaper and it’s far, far more interesting. Not visually interesting; it’s basically two big rooms, but hearing the history of the music that came out of that place will make your jaw drop. The tour is totally worth it; I can’t recommend this highly enough. (I’ve heard nothing but raves about the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and Stax Museum of American Soul Music, but I haven’t been to either, so I can’t say.)
-
Go eat at The Bar-B-Q Shop, at 1782 Madison Avenue. It’s the best barbecue in the city, and therefore the best in the world. (There may be disagreements, sometimes violent, on this point. I’m right.) I recommend the shoulder sandwich; be sure and specify that you want the meat “pulled,” as they won’t ask you. Anything you get there will be fantastic, though.
-
(This one’s free.) Go downtown and park somewhere on Union Avenue. Start walking westward. Stop before your feet get wet. That’s the Mississippi River. Take a few snapshots, look around a bit, walk around Tom Lee Park for a while. It’s amazing to look at, and I never get tired of it. Think about T.S. Eliot (in one of his few poems on American themes, “The Dry Salvages”) saying, “I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river Is a strong brown god.” Think about Mark Twain and Huck Finn and Hernando DeSoto and Langston Hughes.
Other stuff to do:
The Memphis Botanic Gardens are extremely cool if you’re into that kind of thing. There’s also the Dixon Gallery and the Brooks Museum if you’re into kulcher. The Memphis Symphony is playing this weekend. The Memphis Redbirds, our minor-league baseball team, are playing in town this weekend as well; their stadium is right downtown and it’s really, really beautiful; this is a great time of year for games too, because it’s not terribly hot yet (though it does rain quite a lot).
There’s some starters. Let me know what kind of stuff you’re interested in and I can give more suggestions: Bars? Live bands? Fine dining? Plays?
Memphis in May is probably going to make Beale Street VERY CROWDED this weekend, as the Music Festival is happening. See this (warning: PDF file) for who’s playing and when. (Another warning: everyone seems to be slamming their site for info at the moment, so it make take awhile to come up.)
BBQ abounds, and you could probably eat all of your meals at BBQ places and not repeat a place.
You could also drop by the Peabody Hotel and watch the ducks for awhile.
Or, if your tastes run to the odd: wander by the Univeristy of Memphis to watch all the students panicking over finals. :eek: 
<< The problem with trouble-shooting is that trouble shoots back! >>
That explains a LOT about why so many hotel rooms in the city were sold out! Thank you for the link!
We’re not actually staying in Memphis. We’re both big fans of bed & breakfasts, so we’ll be staying at the Bridgewater House in Cordova. We were thinking we’d spend a day splitting our attention between Graceland and Beale Street, maybe another day just schlepping around downtown - maybe visit the zoo and the park there - then another day either visiting local state parks or perhaps the Victorian Village.
In answer to your question, jackelope, we’re more interested in parks and good food (the parks so we can walk off the good food and make room for more) and possibly some historic areas than anything else.
Thank you so much for the answers so far, and keep them coming!
Day 1: Charlie Vergos’ Rendevous
Day 2: Corky’s
Day 3: Central Barbecue
Then, if your flight is in the right terminal you can get an order from Neeley’s (or is it Interstate? – same family) while you’re waiting for your flight. Don’t worry about having it at 9:00 AM – we asked last time and the guy said they got orders then all the time.
–Cliffy
Oh, and if you’ve never seen it before, you gotta see the Mississississippi.
–Cliffy
Be sure to look for the Duke of Rat and the Rat Patrol, we’ll be in Memphis this weekend, Friday thru Monday. But we’ll be getting hammered in the Bartlett/Germantown area (you won’t actually see us, probably, but Cordova is close to both).
You’ll want to meander around Shelby Farms then, to work off some of that BBQ. 
Although the weather for this weekend looks like it may be a bit iffy, although it seems like every time I look they’ve changed their minds on the chance of rain.
:eek: We’re being invaded! 
<< Help Desk: We don’t read the manual for you. >>
Could you pop in to my parent’s and tell them hello?
heh.
Nobody mentioned the Peabody ducks…
I saw them on The Travel Channel I think.
Parks:
If you get the chance, there’s one of those wonderfully well-kept secrets about an hour’s drive (maybe 45 minutes) north of Memphis: Meeman-Shelby Forest is a terrific day’s getaway. You’ll want to call them for directions and info. If you can get away for a night, there are cabins there that you can rent out in the woods for a reasonable rate; it’s a terrific way to get away from the city without going far. The site says it borders on the Mississippi, but I’ve never seen the River there and I’ve loved it just the same.
Closer in town there’s Shelby Farms, as mentioned above; honestly I don’t know much about it, except that I’ve heard it’s the largest park in the country that’s enclosed completely withing a city’s limits. (“I’ve heard” != “it’s true,” of course.) I think they have some buffalo there or something, too.
100-year-old Overton Park in Midtown has some nice trails through it, though I’m not sure if an out-of-towner would enjoy it much. I like it because it’s right in the center of Midtown, but back in the trails you feel like you’re out in the country. Overton Park also has the Brooks Museum of Art, the Memphis Zoo (“now fortified with pandas!”), and a nine-hole golf course if you’re into that sort of thing.
Another largely unknown park is Stanky Creek (yes, “Stanky”) out in Bartlett. Take Covington Pike north from Summer Ave., then go right on Yale Road, and a mile or two down on your left there’s a little gravel parking lot with minimal signage. It leads to loads of trails through a huge nature area; it’s a great place to run dogs. (Come to think of it, there’s not much to recommend it to out-of-towners, but locals might like it.)
Tom Lee Park, which I mentioned above, is a nice, open area on the river, but that’s where the music festival will be this weekend, so you’ll want to steer clear.
Dining:
Loads of options. For my money the best in town is McEwen’s on Monroe, which also has one of the city’s best wine lists. For good pan-Asian, try Sekisui Pacific Rim on Poplar Avenue near Colonial. Cafe 1912 (on Cooper north of Central) has a great reputation, but the one time I’ve been there I was sorely disappointed, to be honest.
For an Italian lunch that simply can’t be beat for the price, go to Fino’s in Midtown at McLean and Madison (look for the black awning; they’re closed Sunday and Monday, and they close at 6 p.m. the rest of the week). It’s a deli where they sell lots of food in bulk, like salami and various olives and so on, but they’ve got a small lunch menu as well; order anything you want because it’s all wonderful and cheap. I usually just look on the board up back and get one of the two daily specials. The food comes on styrofoam plates, and the tableware is plastic, but they’ve got the best carbonara sauce I’ve ever tasted in my life. Mmmm, Fino’s.
Out east (closer to Cordova where the verbose clan will be staying) isn’t really my territory, but Ya-Ya’s is supposed to be good. And Owen Brennan’s is good, but fairly pricey, New Orleans cuisine. (Is Owen Brennan’s even still there? I never go out east these days.)
Historic areas:
The Chucalissa Museum is supposed to be interesting, but to be honest I’ve never been there and don’t even know where it is. Try the Pink Palace (right next to my house); they’ve got a great museum and an IMAX theater, plus the building itself is a historic mansion. Check the Web site or call before you go, since recent city budget cuts have meant closing it one or two days a week.
Hope this helps! If you have more questions, ask away; I love playing Tour Guide.
All your suggestions help a lot! Thanks everyone for the advice. I’m really looking forward to this trip - I love to travel.
You should go to the Brooks Museum in Overton Park and catch The Quilts of Gee’s Bend exhibition. I did a story on it and it’s absolutely stunning. The New York Times called it one of the most important art shows in the world right now. Since Memphis in May will have everyone downtown this weekend, you’ll probably have it all to yourselves.
Also in town is the new Wonders exhibit at the Pyramid, The Art of the Motorcycle. This one will be crowded, but it’s getting rave reviews.
This weekend will be a good time to get reservations at McEwen’s. Music Fest is generally a slow weekend for them–so slow that my SO (who works there) and I are heading to Hot Springs, Arkasnsas for the weekend. If you drop me an email I can see about getting you some reservations.
I went to Memphis with my mom & sister in 2001.
There is a travelogue of my trip.
No idea what my bandwidth limit is, so if you can’t get in, blame your fellow dopers who got there first!
We went to Chucalissa & really liked it.
We’re suckers for that sort of thing, though.
I still have a tiny bead doll on top of my TV that I bought there.
Oh, and the BBQ Shoppe is da bomb. Skip Central BBQ and Corky’s. The Rendezvous has great atmosphere, but the Q isn’t as good as Interstate, Neely’s or the BBQ Shoppe.
You’re on crack. Central is sublime. Corky’s is great. The Rendevous has a 1 in 10 chance of being the greatest thing you’ve ever tasted in your life or merely very good. I’ve been to Interstate only once, but it was so-so.
–Cliffy
Corky’s was the best barbecue I had when I was in Memphis briefly in 2001. We also ate at a couple places along Beale Street (Blues City Cafe and Rum Boogie Cafe), but lots of locals directed us to Corky’s and we were suitably impressed. Bring a bottle of their sauce and a shaker-bottle of their dry rub back with you!
While there, we also visited Graceland (awesome!), hung out on Beale, toured the Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, and just spent time alongside the mighty Mississippi. If antiques are your thing, we stopped into a tremendous antique mall called Bojo’s.
When you’ve visited the Lorraine Motel (aka the Museum of Civil Rights), have a drink in the Flying Saucer, the best boozer in Memphis.
Does the legendary Stubby Clapp still play for the Redbirds?
Stubby left Memphis a few years ago; as of last year, he was playing in the Toronto Blue Jays’ farm system. He’s missed here; he was much admired among local baseball fans.
And the Flying Saucer has a great beer selection, but it’s not the best bar in town.
Thanks for the info about Stubby. My (Kiwi) mate and I (Irish) saw the Redbirds twice while we were there in 2002.
And there may be better boozers in town than the Saucer but, from our point of view (and also anyone who appreciate’s women’s legs), it had the most going for it.