KCRag Forum

Beale Street is pretty cool, even during the day there is music going on in the bars.  I definitely recommend the Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale....great live music ( I think the band that plays there is called The Boogie Blues Band).  Also, you should at least check out Graceland....it's actually quite interesting and Sun Records studio.  Memphis also has a trolley system that runs along Beale and the Ole Miss.

Those "historic" trolleys work well in Memphis and something like that would be great to connect 18th Vine to SWB / West side.  I just hope KC doesn't try to put them on any "real" routes like Main or Grand.

Does Memphis still have the little tram thingy that takes you out to the river?

Those "historic" trolleys work well in Memphis and something like that would be great to connect 18th Vine to SWB / West side.  I just hope KC doesn't try to put them on any "real" routes like Main or Grand.

Quoted for its Cassandra-like prophetic quality, and its undeniable truth.

Just got back.  I wouldn't recommend it honestly.  Beale Street was cool...like a mini-Bourbon St. (minus the nudity) but other than that....not much going on.  Civil Rights museum was a good idea, but it needs to be redone....way too much small print reading.  Skipped graceland due to the excessive ($30) pricetag to see a 70's mini-mansion....I didn't listen to Elvis, so the allure wasn't there for me.

KCPowercat wrote: Just got back.  I wouldn't recommend it honestly.  Beale Street was cool...like a mini-Bourbon St. (minus the nudity) but other than that....not much going on.  Civil Rights museum was a good idea, but it needs to be redone....way too much small print reading.  Skipped graceland due to the excessive ($30) pricetag to see a 70's mini-mansion....I didn't listen to Elvis, so the allure wasn't there for me.

your thoughts on downtown? where did you stay? do they hate their river, too?

downtown...around Beale good buildup to Main St. where development is starting....has some good dining places.  Outside of that...dreary, old, dirty.

Stayed in the eastern burbs due to free hotel rooms.....people completely unaware of any other way to get downtown except drive....we ended up taking a $30 cab each way....later found a bus route that went the exact same way (our fault, lack of planning).

Good interaction with the river it seemed like.....much more friendly terrain to blend downtown to the river.

KCPowercat wrote: Outside of that...dreary, old, dirty.

sounds like more promise than you saying "grassy." i might be headed to memphis this summer unless i have to pench pennies for a different trip...hopefully i grab some photos if i can get another camera.

KCPowercat wrote: downtown...good buildup to Main St. where development is starting....has some good dining places.  Outside of that...dreary, old, dirty.

You're talking about Kansas City right?

no way I consider downtown KC dirty...it's probably one of the cleaner downtown's I've been in since the DCID started doing their thing.

ddw334umkc wrote: And on the way back, stop in Cape Jarrardeu.  It's quite interesting.

I lived in Cape a couple of summers in the early '90s and go back there at least once a year to visit relatives, but I sure can't think of anything even remotely interesting in that area.

try cairo, IL and some LCD.

If anyone ever makes it to Memphis, try ''the bar-b-que shop'' on Madison. very good! in fact I was so impressed that I bought a case of sauce

I went two summers ago and liked it very much. It had a great mid-size city, southern feel to it. Beale street felt like a faux bourbon. kinda.

mostly, I liked the downtown area along the river. the city and river come together very well.

I found myself ''walking in memphis'' and saw a car-lot with the name ''It's all good'' auto sales and thought to myself: im in tha ghetto, i betta turn back   

KCPowercat wrote: Anybody been?  Suggestions?

if you go, try the my 2nd favorite barbecue places in the country behind gates and bryants........


charlie vega's rendezvous barbecue
corky's barbecue.

both excellent, sent my grandfather ribs from corky's for christmas, he loved them.

Well? anyone else been?

I've been to Memphis a couple of times this year. Once for work, and once on the way to Florida for spring break. Wanted to show my kids some of the history that is in Memphis. When I was there for work, we visited pretty much all the tourist places. I have a ton of photo's like I shot in Lexington, but it takes forever for me to get those on a hosting site... So I just haven't shared yet.

One thing that really stuck with me was when we drove by the Lorraine Motel where MLK was assassinated. I remember the day he was killed really well, the riots in KC, the curfews, all of the craziness.  But to actually see the place and the way it has been suspended in time was very humbling.

When I went back with the family, we went to Graceland for a fly by, which was cool, and we stayed at the Peabody Hotel and watched the ducks and that was fun to see too.

I didn't take the kids to Beale St. 

Memphis is one of my favorite mid-sized cities.

*Beale Street is always hoppin' no matter the time of year. It's especially packed during Memphis in May. Ground Zero Blues club on some side street near Beale is great. You can buy and consume beer on the street. Dyer's serves some great burgers cooked in 100 year old grease.
*The trolleys are a great way to get around downtown and surrounding areas.
*It's got the most active downtown of any city its size that I've been to.
*AutoZone Park is an excellent baseball stadium nicer than some MLB stadiums (try the BBQ nachos).
*FedEx Forum is one of the best locations of any arena anywhere. It's half a block from Beale.
*YMMV, but I love Tunica. I'm a low roller who likes free drinks, so I'm at home at Fitzgerald's. Take the river cruise while you're there. Also, Clarksdale isn't too far from Tunica. It's the birthplace of the blues.

just finished my 2nd full day in memphis. i like it! and i spent no time on beale street! here's what we did see/do:

- sun studio... amazing tour of the tiny studio where elvis and johnny cash recorded their first records. i never would have expected to get chills hearing some of these recordings or walking in these guys' steps.
- gus's fried chicken... drove to mason, TN for the original location. amazing fried chicken. kansas city has NOTHING to brag about. now i know what chess pie tastes like!
- national civil right museum... emotionally-charged exhibit set inside the original lorraine motel where MLK was assassinated.
- mollie fontaine lounge... this victorian-mansion-turned-bar oozes cool.
- the beauty shop... just had drinks here, but the decor is clever and actually works.
- boscos... had a few pints of the seasonal hefeweizen and very delicious pizza. the place needs an update, but is a solid destination.
- graceland... sure the admission and parking are pricey, but the mansion is amazing solely as a monument to 70s excess.
- mud island... neat community on a peninsula in the mississippi river.

Gus' chicken is our favorite!  My husband had it for the first time on a trip there last Thanksgiving and driving back to KC, he was still licking his lips and reminiscing about the crust, skin, spice.