An ode to Elvis

People trivialize you, worship you, make fun of you, impersonate you, loathe you, listen to you, laugh at you, watch you, roll their eyes at you, squeal in delight at you, censor you, call you the king, call you a has been, march by the thousands in a solemn candlelit procession to your grave, laugh at those doing so, call you a pop culture icon, a Hollywood joke, a comeback specialist, a bloated druggy, an icon worshipped in death whose music, movies, image and reach seem to live on into eternity.

You are the original pop culture icon, a position many have tried to follow but few have succeeded in fulfilling.

Elvis, where would Memphis be without you?

It's easy to trivialize Graceland and the three quarters of a million visitors it attracts annually. But where would the Bluff City as a tourist draw be without Elvis? Would music lovers flock to Sun Studio to see where other music greats once recorded? Maybe so, but it's hard to argue that Sam Phillips' discovery of Elvis there is the main drawing point.

Beale Street was a hotbed for black culture. A young Elvis sometimes could be found roaming the street listening to the magnificent music echoing off the brick buildings. But the street eventually became a shell of its former self. Would there have been a movement in the 1980s to restore it to its former luster and ultimately make it the No. 1 tourist attraction in the state of Tennessee without the impact and attention Elvis had brought the city?

It's hard to argue the influence on the world's music Memphis has had. Elvis wasn't the reason for the success that came out of Stax. Sun produced a number of hits before the King. A number of studios are recording music today.

But without the Graceland visitors who flock to the city every year would there be a place for the Rock 'n' Soul Museum, Sun Studio tours, the much newer Stax Museum of American Soul Music? Who knows, but it's safe to say Elvis' reach on the Memphis tourism industry is huge.

Reinventing Beale Street

I will be interested to see what becomes of the east end of Memphis' Beale Street.

That section of the district has struggled for years. It seemed the additions of Hard Rock Cafe and Pat O'Brien's on that end would really liven things up. I'm not sure how Hard Rock is doing but unfortunately Pat O's closed down a year or two ago.

Now that end will get some new businesses: Red Rooster (340 Beale), Lil' Anthony's Cafe (341 Beale) and Ground Zero Blues Club (310 Beale). Only Lil' Anthony's Cafe is new; Red Rooster and Ground Zero previously were located on Lt. George W. Lee Avenue in a hidden-away spot across from Gibson Guitar.

Here's hoping the bars find new life on Beale. And here's hoping that end of Beale really starts jumping now. 

There will be a celebration on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with $5 wristbands that will provide admission to all Beale Street clubs. 

There also will be tours of the historic Daisy Theater.

A couple of other additions to the street could help lure more daytime visitors. There has been some sprucing up taking place at the W.C. Handy House and the Ernest Withers Museum Collection & Gallery will open at 333 Beale.

Withers was a Memphis photographer who died a few years ago. His subjects ranged from Elvis to the civil rights movement.

The first phase of the ultimately 7,000-square-foot museum will encompass 3,000 square feet and include a set of Withers images curated and installed by Tony Decaneas of Panopticon Gallery of Boston. There also will be 40 pieces of art hanging in the space.

An opening is planned for the end of May.

Off the beaten path in West Tennessee

From Elvis and country music to Jack Daniels whiskey and the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee is full of major attractions. But here's a list of five off-the-beaten path spots, specifically in West Tennessee, worth considering.

The Bird Dog Foundation Inc.

The Bird Dog Foundation Inc. in Grand Junction, about an hour east of Memphis, is home to the National Bird Dog Museum, National Retriever Museum and the Field Trial Hall of Fame. Visitors to the center can learn about more than 40 breeds of bird dogs, the area’s annual Field Trial’s champions and enjoy exhibits on some of the sport’s most famous dogs.

The center is open every day but Monday. There is no admission charge but donations are accepted.

Buford Pusser Home and Museum

McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser’s exploits in cleaning up crime with his “big stick” have been lifted to legendary heights, thanks to a series of “Walking Tall” movies.

The museum in Adamsville, about an hour south of Jackson, is open daily. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students. A tour includes a short video and guided tour of the museum.

Alex Haley House Museum

Were you one of the millions of TV viewers in 1977 who made “Roots” the most watched event in TV history? The miniseries was an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by the same name, written by Alex Haley. You can learn about Haley and his books at the Alex Haley House Museum.

The house, about an hour north of Memphis, was home to Haley’s grandparents, where he lived for eight years. The property is also Haley’s final resting place.

The museum is open daily except Mondays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students and children.

National Ornamental Museum

Memphis is home to the nation’s only center devoted to the preservation of metalwork. The museum, overlooking the Mississippi River, displays exhibits and a working blacksmith on the grounds.

The museum is open daily except Mondays. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for students and children ages 5 and up.

Ghost River Brewing

Memphis’ lone brewery is also a charitable organization that donates a percentage of all sales to the Wolf River Conservancy, a group dedicated to protecting the river that flows through southern Tennessee and the Memphis area’s famous drinking water.

Learn about the brewing techniques and taste a few beers at this relatively new operation at 827 S. Main St. Free tours are offered every Saturday at 1 p.m. Reservations are required.

Memphis Zoo revises attendance policy

The Memphis Zoo today announced revised admission policies that are aimed at the Zoo's ever growing attendance.

"Our top priority is the safety of our guests, Zoo staff and animals," said Dr. Chuck Brady, Zoo president and CEO.  "We are committed to providing Zoo visitors with an educational, fun and safe experience."

The Zoo will continue to allow free general admission on Tuesday afternoons after 2 p.m., commonly known as Free Tuesday. Many revisions to the Zoo's policy affect the Free Tuesday program. Those changes include discontinuing the Free Tuesday program during the month of March and managing the admittance of minors into the Zoo. 

Effective April 6, 2010, people planning to visit the Zoo during Free Tuesday hours will be required to adhere to the following policies:

*The Memphis Zoo allows free general admission to Tennessee residents on Tuesday afternoons from 2 p.m. to close.

*Persons ages 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult age 21 or older.

*Adults age 21 and older may accompany up to five children ages 16 and under.

*Photo ID with proof of age and TN residency are required for free admittance.  Current college or military photo ID will be accepted.

*Free Tuesdays will not be held during the month of March.

"The Zoo is committed to the Free Tuesday program as a way to provide access to all segments of our community," said Dr. Brady. "This program and its participants will benefit from the new guidelines put in place. A visit during Free Tuesday should be just as enriching and enjoyable as a visit on any other day."

A new policy in effect every day is an overall cap on the number of visitors inside the Zoo. Revised general admission policies will apply every day of Zoo operation:

 

*The Zoo's capacity is 10,000 people inside the park at any one time. Once capacity is reached, admission to the Zoo will not be permitted.

*The Memphis Zoo reserves the right to refuse or permit admission at its discretion.

Previewing Memphis in April

One would think that Memphis’ favorite month is May, what with a whole month-long festival and all. But Memphis in April can hold its own.

From the tulips in bloom at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens to baseball at AutoZone Park, April is a great time for locals and visitors alike to get out and experience what Memphis has to offer.

The great thing about April in Memphis is we haven’t yet reached the busyness of the summer travel season and we’re still weeks away from May, when Memphis shines with an abundance of events. Sure, the weather still has potential to turn cool in the evenings and drop some rain showers from time to time, but spring in Memphis is here and that means more times than not, the weather is beautiful.

And what better way to celebrate the season than a trip to AutoZone Park where you can usher in the 2010 baseball season by cheering on the 2009 Pacific Coast League champion Memphis Redbirds. The Red Carpet Home Opener will be April 16 and will be the first fireworks night of the season.

Baseball and beer tend to go together and debuting at AutoZone Park this year is Memphis’ own Ghost River Brewing with a beer made just for the park, Home Run Red.

And speaking of beer, the Memphis Brewfest will be held April 24 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at AutoZone Park. It’s an opportunity to sample a number of beers from around the world.

On the art front, if you haven’t had the chance to make it to the Dixon for its exhibition titled “Monet to Matisse” it’s not too late, although you better hurry. The show will end on April 4. The exhibition features more than 40 paintings and works on paper by the most influential artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements from the Dixon’s permanent collection of late 19th and early 20th century art.

Image courtesy of Dixon Gallery & Gardens (until I can get over there and snap my own)

But if you’re too late for the art, it’s a perfect time for the tulips. Beginning in mid-March and expected to be in bloom until at least the middle of April, the Dixon has an amazing display of some 20,000 tulips. For this beautiful exhibition, Dixon floriculturist Greg Francis and greenhouse manager Manjula Carter designed the planting with 35 varieties of hybrid tulips and 16 species tulips, along with hundreds of camassia and allium bulbs. All 14 types of tulips are represented.

But if you’re hunkering for some art, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art exhibition “Venice in the Age of Canaletto” is on display through May 9. The exhibition is inspired by Giovanni Antonio Canaletto’s painting The Grand Canal from Campo di San Viola. The exhibition focuses on a period – spanning the 18th century – that saw Venice transformed into a destination for wealthy European tourists. The exhibition features paintings, prints, furniture and textiles.

And not to be outdone by Memphis in May, this month will feature the annual Africa in April Cultural Awareness Festival April 15-18 in Robert F. Church Park along Beale Street. This year’s event will honor the Republic of Nigeria and will feature a diverse cultural marketplace, food and entertainment.

And finally, not to forget the opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the great weather with good friends, April in Memphis means prime patio season and the Bluff City has plenty of offerings, particularly in Midtown and Downtown. Whether you want to simply take a glass of wine from the hotel bar at The River Inn of Harbor Town up to the rooftop to enjoy a spectacular sunset or enjoy a beverage along Beale Street, there are a multitude of offerings.

Some favorites include Celtic Crossing (903 S. Cooper St.), which is aided by a great Monday pint night special of $2.50 per beer. Other standouts include Boscos Squared (2120 Madison Ave.), Young Avenue Deli (2119 Young Ave.), Calhoun’s Sports Bar (115 E. GE Patterson Ave.) and, if you can get a spot by the windows, the Flying Saucer (130 Peabody Place).

Here’s to a fabulous April in Memphis.

Stevie Ray Vaughn, cold beer and a Memphis Negative Nancy

The Syracuse-Butler Sweet 16 tournament game has just started and I have just enough time for a pint. It's a Thursday, just after 6, and the Huey's in East Memphis is filling up. But there are a couple spots open at the bar.

Two guys sit at the corner playing dominoes; a man in slacks and Oxford shirt sips a Coors Light bottle next to me. Two seats down, a woman in her 50s eats dinner while sipping scotch (burger, greasy fries and scotch?).

I am perched in the middle of the bar where I can watch a few minutes of the game before I have to head out to an event. There's a low buzz from the growing dining crowd and the sweet, relaxing guitar of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Those sounds, along with a pint of Ghost River Golden, are easing my tension.

The bartender is efficient and friendly. Well, he's friendly to his customers, but no so much to his physical position in life.

As I'm enjoying my surroundings Trey, our friendly bartender, suddenly irks me. A female University of Memphis grad student, formerly of Syracuse, N.Y., sits down at the bar.

Instead of making conversation with her as to what she's doing in Memphis, he instead quizzes her as to "Why the hell are you in Memphis?" It's good-natured banter, but it still irritates me just the same. I guess it's just today's Memphis Negative Nancy.

But another Stevie Ray Vaughn song just came on and the beer is still cold.

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Memphis Mondays: A taste of Napa, New York and Europe in the Bluff City

We happened upon a gem of a restaurant in Memphis Saturday night, Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar. Well, we didn't exactly happen upon it. I had a reservation.

But this was our first time at this restaurant, and I must say it's one of the best dining experiences I've had in Memphis. And that's nothing against the dining scene in the Bluff City. Memphis is a foodie city; of course most consider it as such because of the barbecue and traditional Southern fare.

But there are plenty of fine-dining options, and Flight is one of the latest to join the fray.

I don't know that I would call Flight the best food in Memphis, the best wine in Memphis or the best atmosphere in Memphis. But it does a tremendous job of combining the three, in addition to offering a unique option for dining in Memphis: the concept of flight dining.

Let me explain. Food items are listed on the menu in threes. Feathered, seafood and fresh fish, for example, are presented as flight trios. The feathered flight features small plates of chicken, quail and duck. Of course you can order individual small plates, mix and match from different flights or just order a larger entree of one item.

Wines are also served in flights of three: Chardonnays, zins and sparklers, for example. The wine flights reminded me of the great eateries in Napa and the numerous wineries there with tastings available. At Flight, the wine flights come out with tasting cards describing the wines one has ordered.

The setting inside the restaurant, in addition to the superb food, reminded me of great eateries in New York and Europe we've dined in. We sat upstairs where we could look out through the large windows in this corner spot, with Monroe Avenue to the left and the trolleys speeding by on Main Street.

Details: Flight is at the corner of Main and Monroe. I never find parking to be a problem Downtown, but for those who do, Flight offers complimentary valet service.

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Memphis Mondays: South Main Historic Arts District Friday Night Art Trolley Tour

I can’t think of a better time to write about an outdoor event in Memphis than on this cold and rainy Monday. It’s hard to say what the weather will be like this Friday in Memphis, but here’s hoping it cooperates for the first Friday Night Art Trolley Tour of the spring.

In case you’re not familiar with it, the Friday Night Art Trolley Tour is a monthly event on the last Friday of every month in Downtown’s South Main Historic Arts District. Technically, the event encompasses all of the district – Main Street south from the Beale Street area to just south of Central Station at the intersection with G.E. Patterson Avenue. But the heart of the shops, galleries and boutiques begins at Huling and heads south to Central Station (and including the galleries along Huling).

The district itself seems to constantly be changing. Seven years ago when I began attending the Art Trolley Tour, the businesses in the district were pretty much all art galleries and a couple of restaurants. Today, it’s a mix of galleries, designer boutiques, shops and eateries. And what was once what I would describe as a hole in the area between Huling and Beale Street, has been filling in with several restaurants and a smattering of galleries.

So why go? Well, if you like art, particularly local and regional art, the galleries usually debut new works at these events. It's a great time to expose yourself to the local arts scene in Memphis.

Maybe you like the Downtown designer boutique feel found in New York’s SoHo. It’s not SoHo, but there is a nice mix.

And when the weather is good, the sidewalks are actually pretty full of Downtown residents, visitors, tourists, the after-work crowd, the Friday pregamers, the wine-and-cheese crowd and more walking from gallery to boutique with a glass of wine in hand.

The details: The night begins at 6 p.m. and while many shops close around 9, the bars and restaurants stay open later. The Main Street trolley from Beale Street south is free.

Also, the South Main Association will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and offering complimentary Boscos beer to its members ($5 for nonmembers) in the lot next to Bluff City Coffee beginning at 6 p.m.

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Memphis' Beale Street gets name change

It appears since our beloved Memphis Tigers are not in the NCAA Tournament this year, Beale Street is converting itself to Beal Street in honor of Vanderbilt's Jermaine Beal.

Performa (manager of the Beale Street Entertainment District) CEO and Vanderbilt grad John Elkington will post symbolic sign alterations Thursday at 10 a.m. at the corner of Rufus Thomas Boulevard and Beale.

They're encouraging Vanderbilt fans who live in town to watch the Commodores' tourney games in the clubs along Beale.

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Random musings on festivals in Memphis

Just read a story in my paper (The Memphis Daily News) discussing the economic impact of the Indie Memphis film festival.

I don't know if this is good to admit as I write about the positives of this film festival. But I've never attended Indie Memphis. I don't really consider myself a film buff. Actually, I have not been to a movie in a theater in two years (the last was "Juno").

Having a toddler son tends to keep me from attending events such as this. I end up being very selective with what local arts events I support because of my time.

But I don't need to attend the festival, or read a story telling me that it attracted 7,000 attendees last year to know it's a good thing for Memphis. Utah's Sundance draws six times the amount of visitors as does Indie Memphis. But one of the beauties of the Memphis arts scene is the variety.

You want a music festival? We have several, from the large Beale Street Music Festival, to the smaller benefit concerts such as the two-day Rock for Love held in August. We have great visual arts shows, pottery events, theaters; Memphis is a great arts city.

Back to the economic impact from these festivals. The Daily News story cites a study by Utah’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research that showed "the 2008 Sundance Film Festival injected $92 million into the local economy. That figure was based on attendance of more than 40,000 people.

"The festival created nearly 2,000 jobs and netted nearly $4 million in state tax revenues. For the year ending February 2009, Sundance generated media attention valued at more than $8 million."

Indie Memphis is no Sundance, but garnering just a fraction of that economic impact isn't a bad thing. There are so many jobs that exist in Memphis, and many cities for that matter, that are thanks to the dollars generated from visitors and locals alike enjoying events such as music and film festivals.

That brings me to my next thought. Memphis long has been regarded as a festival town, largely centered on Memphis in May. Many people, including myself, were not impressed when the lineup for the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival was announced Thursday. Bonnaroo it is not.

But the attendance numbers usually don't argue with the festival's success. Even in down years, it usually draws 80,000 or so attendees over the three days. I haven't decided if the acts I do enjoy who have been announced for the festival are worth purchasing a ticket to see. But I know many Memphians and visitors enjoy those bands. And I'm very happy we have events such as Beale Street Music Fest to enjoy.

Ernest Withers exhibit at Memphis Pink Palace

Just came across an interesting event listing in my newspaper, The Daily News. I've slacked off a bit on Black History Month Travel Tips lately. And since a lot of my followers are in Memphis, here's a local exhibition you could consider.

The Pink Palace Family of Museums will present “I Am A Man” through Oct. 24 at the Pink Palace, 3050 Central Ave. The exhibit will show the Ernest Withers portfolio, which documents prominent civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 1960s. For more information, call 320-6362 or visit www.memphismuseums.org.

Black History Month Travel Tip of the Day: Finding Soul in Memphis

Editor's Note: I had something else in mind for today's Black History Month Travel Tip of the Day, but thanks to the power of Twitter, I've adjusted. This message from @StaxMemphis sealed the deal: "This week in 1966, Otis Redding releases his reworking of the Stones classic "Satisfaction."

Did you know the great Otis Redding recorded in Memphis?

I often wonder how much music listeners really appreciate the city of Memphis for its place in music history. Sure, the city has Elvis and Beale Street. Hundreds upon hundreds of musical legends have made stops along the way to stardom in Memphis. I could write a number of entries on the Bluff City's role in shaping music, but I think today's focus will center on the soul of Memphis, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.

Considering the role Stax Records played in combining black and white talents on its recordings, it seems like a perfect entry for today's Black History Month Travel Tip of the Day.

The museum is located at the site of the original Stax Records, the recording home to many American legends during the 1960s and '70s: Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, Booker T & the MG's, Wilson Pickett. The museum honors all of the Stax artists, as well as the influence of many other soul musicians on other labels from Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to Aretha Franklin (Memphis born) and Al Green (recorded at Memphis' Hi Records and still resides in the city).

The museum has some 2,000 interactive exhibits, films, artifacts, items of memorabilia and galleries. In addition to hearing all the truly great music that was made at Stax, the highlight of the museum to me is Isaac Hayes' gold-plated Cadillac. 

Images courtesy of www.soulsvilleusa.com

To me, the Stax Museum is one of the gems in Memphis. If you live in the area but have never visited, I highly suggest it. If you are out of town and planning a visit to Memphis, by all means put this museum on your to-do list.

Through April 30, the museum's featured exhibit is "STILL LIFE IN SOUL: Contemporary Music Photography by Jacob Blickenstaff." It explores the resurgence in popularity of soul music through photography made since 2005 by Blickenstaff.

For more information about the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, go to http://www.soulsvilleusa.com/. Stax is at 926 E. McLemore Ave. just a few minutes southeast of the Downtown core.

Black History Month Travel Tip of the Day No. 7: Memphis Cotton Museum

The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange tells the story of King Cotton in an appropriate setting: Memphis' historic Cotton Row along Front Street, what was once the center of the worldwide cotton trade. The museum opened in 2005.

The main exhibit hall at the museum is a 3,000-square-foot space where the story of cotton is told through documentary films, oral histories and interpretative exhibits. The museum will expand Feb. 26 when it opens the east wing called Exploration Hall. It will debut with "The Changing World of Cotton," an exhibit that allows visitors to explore the history of cotton farming over the past 70 years.

This museum is not focused on the black experience in America, per se, but without the backbreaking work performed by slaves, cotton might not have ever become the king it once was in the South. There are thousands of sites, museums and attractions in the United States that tell the story of Black America. But a museum focused on cotton seems like a pretty important place to get another perspective on African-American history.

For more information, go to http://www.memphiscottonmuseum.org/index.asp.

Black History Month Travel Tip of the Day No. 1

Editor's Note: I realize Black History Month is reaching its midway point but that doesn't mean it's too late to start a Black History Month Travel Tip of the Day. I will even try to double up some days to catch up.

1. Memphis’ Hattiloo Theatre

Hattiloo Theatre started in March 2006 at 656 Marshall Ave. in the Edge neighborhood of Downtown Memphis near the famous Sun Studio. The black repertory on an annual basis presents seven major productions and six special performances that highlight the diversity of black artistic expression, all in a cozy 66-seat theater.

Currently, the theater is showing “The Piano Lesson,” written by August Wilson, through Feb. 28. For more information, call 901-525-0009 or go to http://hattilootheatre.org.

Image courtesy of http://hattilootheatre.org

Don't be afraid to travel

Aren’t You Scared to Go There?

No, actually. As the former expert on the Memphis forum on Trip Advisor, questions related to that topic were posed at least once a day. Memphis, you see, has a violent reputation. And it’s certainly with cause; the city is near the top nationally in a number of crime statistics. It’s a problem that, unfortunately, is not going away anytime soon.

But so many cities in the world have these “dangerous” reputations. Yes, in Memphis, certain crime statistics are high. But the Downtown Zip code where many attractions are located is one of the safest in the city.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland is in an area that some people consider questionable at best. But I worked as a tour guide there in the late 1990s and never felt unsafe there. I mean, it’s one of the most visited houses in the country – and arguably second-most popular behind the White House. Do you really think criminals are standing around waiting to mug you with all those people as witnesses? And things are only going to get better there, as Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. has been working to transform the area into a tourist zone.

Still, travelers are worried about safety when visiting a new city, some to such a degree that it leads them to only stick to the most touristy of tourist sites a city has to offer. But with proper preparation and research about a city – and use of common sense – many of the world’s cities can be enjoyed worry-free.

When preparing for a trip to Italy, I read about the pickpockets on the Rome Metro. So I kept an eye on my surroundings, always kept my hand on my wallet that was in my FRONT pocket and didn’t stand around reading a guidebook with a fanny pack strapped around my waist screaming, “I’m a tourist. Rob me, please!”

It’s not always that simple, of course. You can’t always be prepared. I mean, how could Clark Griswold know that when he took that wrong turn into East St. Louis in “National Lampoon’s Vacation” that he would find his car’s rims being stolen out from under him? But he probably shouldn’t have fallen for that gag in “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” that saw his video camera get stolen while he stood in the water fountain so the “nice” stranger could take his picture.

There are so many online sources these days that there really isn’t an excuse to not know where the safe places in town are. It’s safe to assume that heavily visited tourist spots are in safe areas, or at least well-policed ones. That doesn’t mean to let your guard down, though.

Downtown Memphis might be one of the safest areas of town, but I’m not going to leave my car doors unlocked. And I’m certainly not going to leave a bag out in sight. That’s just waiting to be stolen. I’m also not going to walk down a dark alley two blocks off the main drag. It just makes no sense.

I’m going to be extra sure of my surroundings when in an unfamiliar city, and especially sure in a different country.

Here are a few safety tips when traveling. Some might seem like common sense. Some, not so much.

• Don’t walk down dark alleys at night
• Do stick to busier areas at night, especially when alone
• Don’t leave belongings in view in a parked automobile
• Do lock the car doors
• Don’t walk around looking like a lost tourist
• Do have a confident air about you
• Don’t wear a fanny pack
• Do carry your wallet and/or money in a front pocket
• Don’t carry more bags than you can easily handle
• Do strap your purse securely over your shoulder and neck
• Don’t hand your camera over to a stranger
• Do be as discreet as possible about the fact you have a camera in your possession (not always possible with large equipment, but at least carry it in a secure manner)
• Do have a cell phone
• Don’t go to an ATM in a dark or secluded place
• Do put money away in a secure place as quickly as possible after taking it out of an ATM
• Don’t carry too much cash
• Do use credit cards and traveler’s checks when possible
• Don’t go out in an unknown city without a map or directions
• Do have the name and address of your hotel written down; also, in case your credit cards are stolen, do carry phone numbers of credit cards in a separate place so they can be reported lost or stolen

There are others. But the most important thing to remember is use common sense and don’t be afraid to travel and experience a local community for what it is.

Finding a friendly neighborhood bar

What defines a local bar? For some, it’s the neighborhood bar, a watering hole one can walk a block from their house or apartment and be there. For others, it might be a place near the office where a drink can be had before heading home for the evening.

For me, someone who works in the downtown core of Memphis but lives in the epitome of suburbia 40 minutes away, I find my neighborhood bar is a mix of after-work watering holes and pregame pubs. A relatively new bar in Downtown Memphis, South of Beale, has become my go-to spot for after-work drinks, pre-event cocktails, pregame drinks and postgame nightcaps.

As a season ticket holder to University of Memphis basketball games and the Broadway season at The Orpheum Theatre, not to mention a Downtown worker, I have more than enough reasons to have a neighborhood bar there. My neighborhood bar doesn’t need to be near my house. My friends and I frequent South of Beale before Tigers games, sometimes afterwards and I expect my wife and I will stop in before we head to shows at The Orpheum this spring.

South of Beale bills itself as a gastropub, a bar that serves good drinks AND good food, not just drinks and a smattering of pub food. The concept of the gastropub can be the topic of another post, but trust me, the food is great.

I ended up at South of Beale after today’s Tigers game against Gonzaga, but we decided to try another neighborhood bar for pregame activities. Bardog Tavern is also a relatively new establishment. It has the look, feel and character of a hole-in-the-wall neighborhood drinking establishment. It is, in fact, a neighborhood bar of sorts. It seems the bar is always packed when I visit, no matter the time of day. We were lucky enough to have owner, Aldo DeMartino, stop by and have a drink with us before my friend Dave and I walked over to FedExForum for the game.

Aldo, a New Jersey native who lived in New York for 15 years before coming to Memphis, has built a gem of a place in a residential and business district of Downtown. He confirmed our suspicions that many of the people at the crowded bar today were indeed locals. Last week, in fact, when Memphis was slammed with an ice storm, he said it was one of the bar’s busiest nights on record, and it was nothing but locals. To me, that’s the epitome of a local bar.

When I travel, even if it’s just for a day, I like to find what I consider a local bar. When in New York City last summer, it was Blind Tiger on Bleecker Street in the West Village. This place, while it had some tourists and a bit of the college crowd nestled up to the bar, to me it was local to the core. It was a smaller place, where the bartenders seemed to know the patrons. I stumbled upon the place on a Friday afternoon. After 30 minutes there, the bartender/owner enthusiastically greeted my wife when she soon joined me. The guy next to me was buying us drinks. And by the next day, not only did the bartender remember me, his coworkers who had not met me before were greeting me like an old friend.

There are plenty of other examples of bars from my travels that I feel – if I lived there – could become a neighborhood bar for me: Brooklyn’s Bar Great Harry, Keg & Barrel in Hattiesburg, Miss., Kilkenny’s Irish Pub in Tulsa, Okla., Elevator Brewery in Columbus, Ohio, The Ginger Man in Dallas and The Fat Cat in Norwich, England. There are several I can’t even remember and can’t possibly Google because they were so small: the tiny bar in the first floor of an apartment building near the Philadelphia Art Museum, the bar with 10 taps of beers I had never heard of near Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., and the little place with pool tables, a couple of dart boards and too much University of Alabama stuff in Atlanta.

I might not live near a neighborhood bar “where everyone knows your name,” but if I can stumble upon one on my travels, it’s just the icing on the cake.

Walking in Memphis: Beale Street's Brass Note Walk of Fame

Ever find yourself walking Beale Street and wonder about all the names engraved in brass music notes along the sidewalks? Wonder no more, as a free tour will be offered Feb. 13 by Jimmy Ogle, billed as Memphis’ mobile historian.

The Beale Street Brass Note Walk of Fame guided tour will begin at 1 p.m. inside the Historic Daisy Theater (across from the theater where many live acts continue to perform) at 329 Beale St.

There are plenty of obvious names: Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, Jerry Lee Lewis, Isaac Hayes, Johnny Cash, Al Green, Otis Redding; the list of recognized names that influenced American music goes on and on.

There are – at least to some people – what would be called lesser names that have played important roles in their own right on the Memphis music scene: Jerry Wexler, Justin Timberlake, Little Milton, Memphis Slim, The Blues Brothers, Sam & Dave, Willie Mitchell, Three 6 Mafia, and, well, this list goes on and on as well.

Ken Hall, Beale Street marketing director for Performa Entertainment Real Estate (the firm that manages the Beale Street Entertainment District), provided some history of the brass note walk.

“The brass note walk was begun in 1986 by John Elkington of Performa Entertainment Real Estate as a means of tying the rich musical history of Beale Street together with its future as an entertainment district. Since 1986, over 90 honorees has been selected of which 82 currently have note display in the sidewalks between Second and Fourth. Three more are in various stages of completion and the remaining six still await financial sponsorship for creation.

“The notes combine two arts: the musical legacy of the honoree with the metallurgy of the Lugar Foundry in Eads, Tenn., which casts the brass notes. The notes are then engraved and laid in concrete on the north side and south sidewalks along Beale Street. Rising metal costs over the past couple of years have pushed the costs up to $1,700 per note form casting to concrete.”

If you find yourself in Memphis Feb. 13 take some time out to enjoy this tour. It is expected to last about an hour.

For more information, call 901-526-0115. For a full list of brass note honorees, go to http://www.bealestreet.com/wordpress/?page_id=298.  

Restaurant Weeks Show Off a City's Options

Restaurant Week is a beautiful thing. If you’re fortunate enough to live in or visit a city during Restaurant Week, you are in luck. New York’s Winter Restaurant Week is in full swing. It will run through Feb. 7 (some restaurants will extend the offer through Feb. 28.) Participating restaurants – and there’s a lot of them (go to www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek for a listing) – offer prix-fixe, three-course menus for $24.07 and $35.

I love the concept of Restaurant Week, even though it’s something I have only participated in twice (New York’s summer event last year and the debut event in Memphis in the fall). I’m not sure how many cities have restaurant weeks, but the idea of finer restaurants presenting a sampling of their respective menus at more affordable prices is a great idea. It’s a win-win: Diners experience restaurants their budget might not typically allow and restaurants gain new customers.

Washington, Philadelphia and San Diego all wrapped up Restaurant Week last month. Baltimore’s runs Jan. 22 through Feb. 7, offering three-course menus for $35.10 at nearly 100 restaurants (http://www.baltimorerestaurantweek.com/). Los Angeles is offering its Restaurant Week through Feb. 5  (http://discoverlosangeles.com/play/dining/restaurantweek/aapart2010.jsp). There are three price plans for lunch and dinner ranging from $16 to $44. Restaurant Week Boston runs March 14-19 and 21-26 (http://www.bostonusa.com/visit/restaurantweek).

And the restaurants of Downtown Memphis participated in the city’s first restaurant week in early November. Not sure how much more business the restaurants generated, but I discovered new restaurants because of the promotion. That’s the whole point really; that and an opportunity to get an exceptional meal at a decent price.

In Memphis, the price was $20.09 for three courses. No, the entrees weren’t always the same size of the normal portions served. But I did not leave hungry and the many reviews I read on other blogs and on Twitter all agreed on that fact.

NYC Restaurant Week was the country’s first such celebration, debuting in 1992 to coincide with the Democratic National Convention held there. The cost for three courses was $19.92 then. It’s gone up slightly to $24.07 and been extended to two weeks.

Great food at good prices. Sounds like a good concept to me. 

Cold Souls: Iced In in Memphis

This isn't the greatest weekend to visit Memphis. Most flights in and out of Memphis International Airport were canceled Friday, the Memphis Zoo was closed Friday and today, The Orpheum Theatre's performance of "Jersey Boys" was canceled Friday, Graceland – Graceland! – closed Friday, and galleries and museums ranging from Memphis Brooks Museum of Art to National Civil Rights Museum closed their doors for part or all of the weekend. At least the Grizzlies NBA game versus New Orleans is still on for tonight, although it will be interesting to see how light the crowd will be to see one of the league’s hottest teams (Memphis, not the Hornets).

I’m not going to get into the whole “why the South shuts down for snow argument” other than to say we don’t get snow. We get ice, the kind that weighs down tree limbs and drops them on power lines during the night.

I am curious what travelers in Memphis – and any other locale hammered to various degrees by this winter storm – are doing to make the best of their trips. I don’t have much advice to offer in these types of situations; I’ve never traveled somewhere only to see many of the sights I had hoped to see shut down because of weather. (A tornado warning while on a trip to Springfield, Ill., last March did force us into our Downtown hotel’s basement as we were checking out instead of making a quick visit to some of the shops and galleries near the new Lincoln Presidential Library before heading home.)

At least things seem to be thawing out pretty well here. Hopefully those who were able to get a flight into the city have been able to make the best of their time in Memphis.

Not that anyone should plan lodging around the what if’s of being stranded, but to me it’s one more reason to pick a hotel in the heart of the action. And in the case of Memphis, that’s Downtown, where I know several bars, clubs and restaurants remained open Friday night, some even offering specials. This also can be a good time to get to know the people in a city, namely those servers and bartenders. Those conversations, experiences and new relationships built among other “iced-in” patrons and workers can make a forgettable trip a memorable one.

Running in Memphis: Remembering Jeff Buckley

As I sit at my desk in Downtown Memphis, I can't ignore the excruciating pain pulsating through my left leg, the leftover effects of two hard runs this week, one of which was speed repeats over the very steep Auction Avenue Bridge to Mud Island. The bridge is short; it connects Downtown to Mud Island over the Wolf River Harbor. But it is fairly steep as it has to allow for barge and boat traffic to clear.

Anyway, I was doing this run a few days ago at sunset. I love sunsets – beaches, rivers, flat farmland – anywhere that shows the sun dipping below the horizon without obstructions. Memphis has great sunsets, just not a lot of vantage points to enjoy them. The peak of the Auction Avenue Bridge, however, certainly is one of them.

The reason I bring up Jeff Buckley is as I sit at my desk, Buckley’s music just randomly came up on my iPod, giving me my second reminder of that run. See, that harbor has much to do with the singer/songwriter who had only months before his death in 1997 moved to Memphis.

It was on this run a few days ago that I was reminded of Buckley while looking down at the water below. It was in those waters that Buckley, who was fully dressed and swimming in the harbor, disappeared. His body was found several days later. His drowning brought to an end the career of a brilliant musician.

I know you might be wondering how these random thoughts on running, the brilliant sunset over the Mississippi River and the greatness of Jeff Buckley have anything to do with local travel. I guess to me being a local traveler also means traveling within one’s city. I’m unable to travel nearly as much as I would like, but I’m blessed to live in a city that draws – I venture to guess – millions of visitors a year. It’s moments like this week’s when I could step out of my Downtown office, run a few blocks away and experience a brilliant sunset over the Mighty Mississippi that makes me glad I can be a local traveler in my hometown.

I encourage you to find those local experiences wherever you call home.