Memphis visitors- I'm here to answer your questions

Meine liebe

As a service to all out of towners coming in for the show, I will answer any questions related to Memphis to aid you in having the time of your life in our great city. I'm at your service! Ask away if I can help you.

branscop

Where is Elvis? Really. We all know he is alive and well there, just not sure where.

Meine liebe

branscop said:

Where is Elvis? Really. We all know he is alive and well there, just not sure where.

Nashville threw a bunch of money at him and he relocated there. But he immediately "let himself go" and no Memphian has heard from him since. I bet he has a house on the lake in Hendersonville.

Meine liebe

There's a rumor he shows up to Grizzlies games dressed up like an Elvis impersonator once in while. Which is genius.

LukinFan

How far away is Graceland from the venue area? I'm assuming you can go inside? Is it expensive? What other sites do you suggest checking out?

branscop

Meine liebe said:

branscop said:

Where is Elvis? Really. We all know he is alive and well there, just not sure where.

Nashville threw a bunch of money at him and he relocated there. But he immediately "let himself go" and no Memphian has heard from him since. I bet he has a house on the lake in Hendersonville.

Excellent!

Meine liebe

LukinFan said:

How far away is Graceland from the venue area? I'm assuming you can go inside? Is it expensive? What other sites do you suggest checking out?

Provided you have a vehicle, Graceland is close enough to the Forum. About 10-15 minutes by car. It is not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive. I had to look it up since I haven't been to Graceland since I was a kid, but it looks like $34 per adult. They have higher priced tickets for VIP tours. Check out the site to see if that's worth it for you. And yes, you get to go inside and see what terrible taste people with money had back in the day. Ha!

I will work on some other recommendations tonight.

DewieCox

Everybody needs to do Graceland once. Not a big Elvis fan but I thought it was pretty amazing. Also, do the Sun Studios tour...the cradle of rock and roll.

The zoo was pretty sweet when it went.

Leezestarr313

We went to Memphis for the EV show in 2012. We got married before the show in a neighbourhood county, and had our wedding dinner at a wonderful catfish place in the middle of the city before we went to the show. I think it was called Flying fish or something like that. Good food! We went to Graceland too, but because it was Thanksgiving, it was closed. We left our mark at the wall though

Meine liebe, that is an interesting forum name - I am German, so it always intrigues me when people use German words here. May I ask why the name?

DewieCox

Oh yeah...forgot about eats. We really liked Marlowe's. Great pulled pork, ribs, and spicy but tasty and huge wings. Grab a bag of their rub if you do any smoking or grilling.

Meine liebe

DewieCox said:

Everybody needs to do Graceland once. Not a big Elvis fan but I thought it was pretty amazing. Also, do the Sun Studios tour...the cradle of rock and roll.

The zoo was pretty sweet when it went.

I'd definately add these onto the list of possibilities of places to check out if they sound fun to you. Add the Stax Museum too.

Meine liebe

Leezestarr313 said:

Meine liebe, that is an interesting forum name - I am German, so it always intrigues me when people use German words here. May I ask why the name?

When I created the username (if I remember the timing correctly) I was dating a young lady that was majoring in German and "liebe" and "schatz" were common nicknames between us. We went on to get married and even lived in Germany for almost a year. I have always found German to be a beautiful language. When I first signed up I misspelled it and I was "meine leibe" for a while. Oops.

Leezestarr313

Meine liebe said:

Leezestarr313 said:

Meine liebe, that is an interesting forum name - I am German, so it always intrigues me when people use German words here. May I ask why the name?

When I created the username (if I remember the timing correctly) I was dating a young lady that was majoring in German and "liebe" and "schatz" were common nicknames between us. We went on to get married and even lived in Germany for almost a year. I have always found German to be a beautiful language. When I first signed up I misspelled it and I was "meine leibe" for a while. Oops.

Awesome

LukinFan

Meine liebe said:

LukinFan said:

How far away is Graceland from the venue area? I'm assuming you can go inside? Is it expensive? What other sites do you suggest checking out?

Provided you have a vehicle, Graceland is close enough to the Forum. About 10-15 minutes by car. It is not cheap, but not ridiculously expensive. I had to look it up since I haven't been to Graceland since I was a kid, but it looks like $34 per adult. They have higher priced tickets for VIP tours. Check out the site to see if that's worth it for you. And yes, you get to go inside and see what terrible taste people with money had back in the day. Ha!

I will work on some other recommendations tonight.

Awesome! thank you! Love the Mitch quote too in your sig

ItIsEvolutionBaby

Can't wait

Meine liebe

Better late than never, right? Sorry it took so long, but I have a kid and figured we had plenty of time til the show.

Here is my best attempt at a few recommendations for out-of-towners visiting Memphis.



Food: Memphis is a food town. There are too many good local restaurants, so whatever you do avoid chain restaurants. I hate chains. Also, I’m not a huge patron of the more fancy and expensive places. The ones I have been to were great, but I think you can get food that is almost as good for much cheaper. Budgets, man.

Breakfast:

Bryant’s- Simple but awesome breakfast. Can’t recommend starting your day here enough, especially if you aren’t planning on moving around for a few hours afterwards. A bit out of the way for those staying downtown but you won’t regret it. Also awesome: Brother Juniper’s, Blue Plate Café (downtown), Stone Soup Café, The Arcade (downtown; honestly I’d give the food there a solid B but I have to put it on the list because it’s really old, unique, and Elvis loved it).

Assorted Lunch and Dinner Places in No Particular Order:

Trolley Stop Market (awesome giant pizza), Young Ave Deli (good food, cool place, great beer selection), Dyer’s on Beale (late night greasy burger awesomeness on Beale St), Tops BBQ (good BBQ, but I go there for burgers), Wiles-Smith Drugstore (old time soda fountain, GET A MILKSHAKE), Las Delicias and La Guadalupana (both good Mexican places out east), Memphis Pizza Café, Soul Fish (down home southern awesomeness). More expensive but really good: McEwen’s, Local, Sweet Grass, Bhan Thai.

BBQ:

You really can’t go wrong with any of the following: BBQ Shop, Rendezvous, Interstate BBQ, Central BBQ, Germantown Commissary. (Cozy Corner and Payne’s are supposed to also be awesome but I’ve never been). If you put a gun to my head I couldn’t give you my favorite.

Drinks/Late Night Food/Clubs:

Ernestine and Hazel’s (simply awesome, haunted, weird, divey as hell, but whatever you do GET A SOULBURGER), Huey’s (more bar and grill but cool vibe and good late night food), Mollie Fontaine Lounge (read about it before you go), Blind Bear, BarDog (I think Ed mentioned he went there with Glen Hansard the night before his solo date in 2011??? I think he called it “The Dog Bar”), Flying Saucer (beer selection is ridiculously huge), P+H (weird dive), Raiford’s (sweet dance club, so laid back and fun), Celtic Crossing (cool Irish pub), High Cotton Brew Pub.

Coffee:

I love Tamp and Tap (they serve beer too) and Café Eclectic, but I’m not huge on coffee. Shocker: We have Starbucks in Memphis.

Stuff to See/Tour: Graceland, Sun Studio, Rock and Soul Museum, Stax Museum, Memphis Zoo (really, it’s awesome), National Civil Rights Museum, Mud Island Mississippi River Park (sweet replica of the river that you can walk in, really cool), Schwab’s on Beale, Beale Street in general, the Peabody Hotel and the Duck Walk, Pink Palace, Brooks Museum.

Areas to Explore/Parks:

Shelby Farms, Overton Park (check out the Shell), Tom Lee Park (downtown, river views), Cooper-Young (my neighborhood-shops, bars, restaurants, cool place to walk around), Overton Square (entertainment district), South Main St and the Main St Pedestrian Mall, Harbor Town, Victorian Village. I’m a huge fan of walking around downtown, especially during the day. It’s got the vibe.

That’s the best I can do. This ended up much longer than I expected. With the right attitude you will have a blast no matter where you go though. Any questions, you know where to find me. I can’t wait for the show.

Air23

Any cheap accomodation in a safe district? If someone hasn't got a car would you suggest to stay downtown? How is the public transport?

Many thanks

Meine liebe

Air23 said:

Any cheap accomodation in a safe district? If someone hasn't got a car would you suggest to stay downtown? How is the public transport?

Many thanks

I'm not the best for hotel recommendations as I've only been in 2 here. I would assume a cheap hotel here is either kinda crappy and/or in a bad area but I'm sure there are many exceptions. If you are looking at some hotels online feel free to PM me if you see a good deal and would like to know if it's a decent area.

Our public trans is called MATA and it's always been reliable in my experience, but not by any means fancy nor efficient. I always found the website useful and easy enough though.

The ideal budget situation would be finding a deal on a hotel downtown. I love downtown.

grizaham

I am very much looking forward to this show! Thanks for the info!

Air23

Meine liebe said:

Air23 said:

Any cheap accomodation in a safe district? If someone hasn't got a car would you suggest to stay downtown? How is the public transport?

Many thanks

I'm not the best for hotel recommendations as I've only been in 2 here. I would assume a cheap hotel here is either kinda crappy and/or in a bad area but I'm sure there are many exceptions. If you are looking at some hotels online feel free to PM me if you see a good deal and would like to know if it's a decent area.

Our public trans is called MATA and it's always been reliable in my experience, but not by any means fancy nor efficient. I always found the website useful and easy enough though.

The ideal budget situation would be finding a deal on a hotel downtown. I love downtown.

Hi, is Madison avenue a safe place? close to downtown? by walk or public transport?

Meine liebe

Air23 said:

Meine liebe said:

Air23 said:

Any cheap accomodation in a safe district? If someone hasn't got a car would you suggest to stay downtown? How is the public transport?

Many thanks

I'm not the best for hotel recommendations as I've only been in 2 here. I would assume a cheap hotel here is either kinda crappy and/or in a bad area but I'm sure there are many exceptions. If you are looking at some hotels online feel free to PM me if you see a good deal and would like to know if it's a decent area.

Our public trans is called MATA and it's always been reliable in my experience, but not by any means fancy nor efficient. I always found the website useful and easy enough though.

The ideal budget situation would be finding a deal on a hotel downtown. I love downtown.

Hi, is Madison avenue a safe place? close to downtown? by walk or public transport?

Madison Ave runs East-West and runs from downtown to midtown, most of which is safe although it does run thru some hairy spots. Nothing too bad. If you don't mind sharing, which hotel on Madison are you looking at? I would assume it's downtown but don't want to guess.

Meine liebe

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Gus's Fried Chicken. They have a location downtown. It is unbelievably good. And I love any restaurant that serves beer in a 40oz.

bigguybigeye

The Gibson guitar factory tour is cool. No cameras in the factory though.

Air23

What about the Wild Bill? Is it cool? When do the Memphis Soul Survivors play?

Meine liebe

Air23 said:

What about the Wild Bill? Is it cool? When do the Memphis Soul Survivors play?

Never been to Wild Bill's but I hear it is awesome. I honestly never heard of it until a few months ago and it is now high on my list of places to go. Judging by what I read it looks like the Soul Survivors only play on the weekend.

Ozzie

Hi, thanks for taking the time to post info ML.

zevilone

do you have an extra GA for me?

Meine liebe

zevilone said:

do you have an extra GA for me?

Not if my wife has anything to do with it.

zevilone

Meine liebe said:

zevilone said:

do you have an extra GA for me?

Not if my wife has anything to do with it.

thank you for taking the time to answer my question

Air23

is the car necessary to visit the city? i would like to spend time not only downtown but also at cooper Young. Any info is very much appreciated

Air23

one more question...what is the best place to enjoy the sunset on the river?