Walking with our Feet Ten Feet Off of Beale

Memphis has to be the coolest city ever. I mean, Boston is cool, New York is cool, Chicago is cool, but MEMPHIS defined cool before we knew the word. As small as Beale Street is, it's influence in the music world is ageless. For two people who love music as much as we do, visiting Beale Street and Graceland is one of the most neccessary things to do.



We checked in to the Heart Break Hotel around 5 and wanted to catch the shuttle to Beale Street by 6, so there was no time to waste. When we go there, it was overwhelming how many places there are to eat on such a small strip, especially for out-of-towners, how do you decide on one blues cafe from the next? Each of them boasting "best BBQ in town" with sounds of live jazz and blues and blue grass coming from inside, it was almost impossible for us to choose. It would be a pity to pick the wrong restaurant on a street that has so much to offer.



First we tried Alfreds, which, save for the delicious pulled pork nachos, left a lot to be desired. We decided not to eat dinner there, and just had a drink and appetizer. Good thing, because we finally landed at BB King's Blues Club which was inspirational to say the least. There was a young kid singing some southern rock, classics like Whipping Post and Midnight Rider, and every single table in the place was hand painted to reflect the Blues Persona of the street. Rufus Thomas was painted on our table and the table and the table next to us was painted bright red and in black letters said "Do you like good music? That sweet soul music?" One table had the STAX logo on it. i walked around taking pictures even though i probably looked like a total amatuer. :) Bobby got the best ribs he ever had and I had something called a "Stuffed Porktato" which you can only imagine how delicious that was.

We also got pretty lucky because it happened to be Bike Night on Beale Street. For a Street that is about two blocks long, there had to be at least a thousand bikes lined up and down the street. Some of them were like nothing i'd seen on the east coast. We will post pics of those coming soon, but we want to make sure this posts because as we drive we lose service. There is so much more to say about Memphis...next blog---Graceland :)