“Let’s go to Memphis in the meantime, baby.”
That’s the chorus of my favourite song on John Hiatt’s breakout 1987 album Bring the Family. And once I’d booked my trip, I could not get it out of my head.
Every year, me and the boys head out for an adventure. (I know that sounds like the opening line of a cheesy beer commercial – the bad grammar’s on purpose.) This year we settled on Memphis, thinking the barbecue would be good and the music possibly even better. We were right.
The largest city in Tennessee – with about 655,000 people – is an easy place to visit. It’s best known, depending on your angle, for giving the world Elvis, rock ’n’ roll and the distribution hub for FedEx. We found a relaxed, unhurried vibe running through the city, with just the right amount of urban bustle. What was one of the United States’s poorest cities in the 1980s now boasts one of the country’s most vibrant downtowns, according to a 2013 Forbes article.
We landed on Thursday evening and set our bearings over a few bourbons at the rooftop bar of our hotel, the Madison, while enjoying a panoramic view of the muddy Mississippi River. Turns out the Twilight Sky Terrace is something of a hot spot for the young and eligible of Memphis. We were neither, but lots of friendly folks offered suggestions for our weekend. One guy bought us a round. Score one for Southern hospitality.
Navigating the city is easy. The 20-some blocks from east to west along Main Street encompass many of the major attractions, hotels and a few museums. From our hotel to historic Beale Street was a brisk five-minute jaunt, and Main itself is lined with good shopping and eateries.
You can hop the buck-a-ride trolley and do the loop for a quick and easy survey of the city. It runs along Main and then circles back along the waterfront. The shore isn’t much to see, though. The compact downtown buzzes till late most nights, centred on the always-hopping ground zero of blues that is Beale. It’s there that today’s household names – Elvis, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis – got their start.
Truly, music is the city’s beating heart, permeating every aspect of life. Memphis wears with pride the badges of such legends as Sun Records, where Elvis and Johnny Cash and many other stars recorded monumental hits in the fifties and sixties. Then there’s the Stax sound and the likes of Booker T and the MGs, Sam and Dave, Tina Turner and Issac Hayes. Black and white musicians hung out at this neighbourhood recording studio and churned out hit after hit. While the United States tried to work out its racial issues, Memphis just set about making music. Colour didn’t matter in the studio.
Tragedies occurred elsewhere as this complex history unfolded.
On our first morning, we visited the newly renovated National Civil Rights Museum at the former Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. It had reopened the week previous after an almost two-year, $28-million renovation. It is eerie to stand in that tableau. But the exhibits are beautifully presented, and you track the chronology of the civil-rights movement as you wander through the entirety of the motel, finishing up in the perfectly staged rooms where MLK spent his final hours.
Over the next couple of days, we hit Sun Records, Stax, the Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and, of course, Graceland. The Stax collection of artists’ costumes, gold records, microphones and amps are the stuff of dreams for soul music fans. Not to mention Isaac Hayes’s gold-plated Cadillac, which spins on a giant turntable so you can see every detail. Stax is a short cab ride from downtown; Graceland is farther. The Elvis mansion is out in the burbs, but it’s sure worth the trip. The mansion is remarkably modest in size by today’s megastar standards, though the gaudy decor is just what you’d expect – lots of shag and gold and mirrors, and more than a touch of trashiness. It’s magnificent.
Downtown Memphis is littered with contemporary bars, cafés and diners. The historically designated Arcade is the oldest café-restaurant in Memphis (circa 1919), and it’s a short hop on the trolley line, not far from Beale. The corner where it’s located has a plaque touting the location’s role in many movie shoots, including Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train. The Arcade’s suitably named Eggs Redneck – “a Travel Channel favourite!”– is a plate with many shades of beige, from the eggs and gravy to the grits and sausage. Not sure how they do that. It tasted beige, too.
At Restaurant Iris in Midtown, a lovely home converted into a fine-dining destination by Louisiana-born chef Kelly English, we enjoyed excellent high-end contemporary Southern cuisine (gumbos, braises, crawdads and seasonal fare). Jeff Frisby, the manager, armed us with a list of his favourite eateries. His top picks: Hogs & Hominy, Acre and Elegant Farmer. For ribs and barbecue he pointed to the Cozy Corner, Interstate and Central Ave.
Ah, barbecue. Music may be the heart of Memphis, but barbecue keeps it pumping. You hear soul grooves just about everywhere, carried along with wafts of smoky deliciousness. We had done a little pretrip research. A Toronto chef friend had suggested the Rendezvous, one of the largest and most “showy” of the downtown smoke shacks. Corky’s also came up. But when I ran these past a music expert who travels to Memphis frequently, he sent me a terse e-mail: “Corky’s is for suburbanites who don’t know any better and the Rendezvous is for tourists. … The very best ribs I have EVER found anywhere in the U.S. are at Payne’s.”
We visited the Rendezvous Friday night, and it was pretty damned good, but we were set on Payne’s. We found it the next day, on the wrong side of the tracks, by the side of the road on the edge of a suburb about 15 minutes from downtown. It’s nondescript par excellence. Panel board and mismatched chairs is the decorating scheme.
Payne’s is serious. No music plays. It’s quiet – hushed even. The kitchen is a dark room with an electric stove and a smoker. Here, mama and her two children conjure the most sublime barbecue I’ve ever tasted, as they’ve been doing for 45 years. Eight bucks for the rib sandwich, $1.25 for a side of beans and 60 cents for a Coke. The coleslaw was perfect, tangy, flavourful; the beans creamy and smoky.
It was the kind of food that leaves you happy, satisfied, but craving more. It figures that alt-rock icons Sonic Youth dedicated an album to Payne’s. Not exactly soul music, but I sure do understand the sentiment.
If you go
Unfortunately there are no direct flights to Memphis from Canada. American, Delta and United have good itineraries connecting through Atlanta, Detroit or Chicago.
Where to Stay
The grand and historic Peabody dates to 1869, though it moved to its present location in 1925. The lobby lounge is a bustling social focal point, and twice a day ducks march to the fountain for a dip, an 80-year tradition. Lansky Brothers, tailor to Elvis, Roy Orbison and Isaac Hayes, runs its busy shop here. From about $300. 149 Union Ave.; peabodymemphis.com
The Madison is a recently renovated former bank with a sleek contemporary-boutique vibe. It’s a full-service hotel with pool, rooftop lounge and a solid restaurant. Bold art and graphics reference the music of Memphis. The 110 rooms are spacious and finely appointed. From about $175. 79 Madison Ave.; madisonhotelmemphis.com