I Left My Heart In Memphis ( It's more than BBQ, B

I was only in Memphis from March 1st thru late March 3rd, but even in that short period of time the city captured my heart.

Our first stop was Graceland and all things Elvis. Even as a non-fan I was quite impressed. We took the platinum tour and at the end of it all I felt I had a much better understanding of the man and his life.

The National Civil Rights Museum is a must-do for anyone who has a heart or would like to better understand the struggle of people of color in our society. I broke down and cried several times during the tour and lost it when I entered the area where Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.was killed.

Sun Studio is also a must-do, and The Rock and Soul Museum which traces the rich history of all genres of Music and the influence Memphis had on them, is a definite must. We got a private tour of the soon to open Gibson Guitar Factory and a sneak peek of the Patsy Cline exhibit that was opening the following Monday.

Quick Tips:

To get the most out of any trip to Memphis, I suggest you talk to the locals about the best places to eat and places to party. Memphis is a party town and you can go to Beale St. and have the best time of your life, but there are some juke joints that will give you the real flavor of the down- and-dirty blues. I also suggest that you check out some of the hole-in-the-wall neighborhood eateries. I waited until the last few hours in town to head to the much recommended Cozy Corner BBQ, and I had the best bbq in Memphis, bar none, and I had bbq from quite a few places that weekend. Just go and enjoy the city and learn of its rich and diverse history. I was a Bostonian snob now living in L.A. What could Memphis teach me? Only everything!!!!

Best Way To Get Around:

We were on a cross country trip so we had our own vehicle, but I saw plenty of buses, trolley cars, taxis. If located in the downtown area, you can just walk because everything is centrally located.

We had a large room with 2 double beds, tv, coffee maker in the room with comp. coffee and condiments, hair dryers, two very comfortable chairs and a table to sit in the room to enjoy a meal on or just sit and write. The tv had cable channels and at all times you could check on your billing status and even check out via the tv without having to wait at the front desk. The room had a telephone which is turned on for an additional $10. You could pick up the USA Today and the local papers at the front desk free of charge for guest. There is a restaurant in the hotel but this is Memphis you eat out. The staff was fabulous. It was a busy time at the hotel due to the SEC Women'' Hoop Tournament yet there was never a lapse in getting great service from that very overwhelmed front desk staff. I witnessed a few upset guests who were intoxicated and wanted to switch rooms to be closer to friends and the staff handled the situation with the utmost professionalism. Ask for Barbara, she is awesome and made our trip a pleasure.

I kept hearing about the Rezendesvous so it was my first stop for the ribs I was craving. The place was packed it was around 5:30 pm on a Friday. After what we thought was going to be a looong wait we were called after 15 minutes. You can wait in the bar area, which we did and the bartender announced to the crowd, "we have a few yankees in the house".:) Once called we were seated by the oh so lovable Percy, who was singing along with the music and just enjoying his job.

We ordered an appetizer of cheese & sausage for $5.95 and it consisted of sliced cheese, smoked sausage, peppers, and pickles sprinkled with Lawry's and you got small packages of saltine's. It was good simple eatin'. For our meal we both ordered a 1/2 slab of ribs, that came with bbq beans, slaw and rolls, and we got southern sweet tea to drink ( fresh brewed with a lot of sugar). The ribs are dry ribs that are seasoned with a variety of spices and you are given a few bottles of bbq sauces ranging from mild to hot. The ribs were very good, somewhat meaty and tender on the bone. The sides were very tasty. Overall I enjoyed my meal.

It is a popular place that you enter through a back alley but it is a place where they feed you and move you on so that the next party can enjoy the place too.

Let me start out by saying in my opinion this is the best bbq in Memphis bar none, although I have not had all the bbq that Memphis has to offer. This spot was recommended to me by the locals and on our last few hours in town we knew we had to go. I was convinced and I have been glad of it ever since.

Cozy Corner is a neighborhood eatery, not fancy by any means. When we got there we knew we wanted ribs but had heard about the bbqed cornish hen, it is out of this world. We got there and Ray was bbqing a turkey. We asked about the turkey but that is a special order ahead of time, no problem. My friend and I ordered the cornish hens with bbq spaghetti, beans and slaw, sweet tea and of course it came with bread. As I said this place is not fancy you get everything on a paper plate, paper cups and plastic utensils, but the food is incredible. The cornish hen was juicy, moist and cooked to bbq perfection the taste of the bbq came through and you were given a few bottles on varying temps. to try. The bbq spaghetti, was fabulous, the beans were smoky and had the right mix of flavors and bits of smoked sausage in them, the slaw was creamy and had a little tangy bite to it.

The meal was reasonably priced and plentiful, a bargain for sure. My friend had upon our arrival asked about the rib tips and Ray said they were cooking but try something else they were good but not the best he has on the menu and he would give us a sample. Well, the sample, which came before we got our meal, was a plate with all Ray's meats, bbq bologna, thick and deeelicious!!!, sausage, rib tips and THE RIBS!!!! These are the best ribs I have ever eaten, they come dry with a variety of spices and they are so meaty, tender and flavorful they make you drool. I ate them dry and wet and they were incredible. A 1/2 a slab is only $7.95 !!!!! I was in heaven. My friend who was fighting an upset stomach said the best she has ever had. We ate our meal and during the course of it decided to order a 1/2 of slab of ribs to take with us on the road and a bbq bologna sandwhich.

Well, I didn't eat the ribs until the following Tuesday which was 3days later in Maryland but let me tell you this, they still were as good as if I got them fresh. I think that this is a hidden gem in Memphis and a must do and go in and talk to Ray and his staff they are some of the nicest folks in Memphis.

The history of Rock & Roll began here and continues to be made here. I am a music fan growing up the daughter of a professional musician, niece to a number of jazz musicians and a wanna be musician myself. I had always heard of Sun Studios and to have had the opportunity to visit a place that is so small, so non descript but so full of history was an honor. Will, our tour guide brought the place, it's music and it's history to life with his enthusiasm and obvious love of his job. It is the place were Elvis recorded his first record, where modern era heroes U2 worked on an album and were the legendary BB King has recorded. The original wiring is still in the building as are the microphones, drums, piano that Jerry Lee Lewis played and so many moments of history that it is something I can not do justice by. You just close your eyes, listen to the music that accompanies the tour, which takes place in one tiny room, and let Will and your imagination take you on a musical journey that will fill your soul and long for the days when music was music, pure & unabashedly made by people who were musicians in the true sense of the word. Visit Sun Studio and stop in the souvenier shop for a few gifts like guitar picks and the such. The tour cost $8.50 and are daily from 10 - 6pm with the last tour starting at 5:30pm and it is handicap accessible.

This was the most poignant of museums that I visited. This museum traces the struggles of the civil rights movement in this country and it is housed in The Lorraine Hotel, which is the place that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assasinated. As you enter the courtyard to the museum you see two cars that have remained parked in the same spot since that fateful day, April 4, 1968 and the memorial reef that sits on the balconey. As you enter there is a huge black granite wall that shows people climbing a moutain and inscribed with text. You then move to an area that begins to trace the struggles of african -americans in this country dating back to slavery. There are numerous areas that have audio and video presentations, a Klan Outfit in a glass case, and voices of everyday people who took part in the struggle. There is a section of the Greyhound bus that was bombed while Freedom riders were on it. There is the bus that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on which you can enter. As you board there is a life size statue of the bus driver in his seat and another of Mrs. Parks in hers and an audio to the exchange between them. There is a cell that is set up the same as the one MLK, Jr. was in when arrested in Montgomery and a copy of the letter that he sent his wife. There are so many exhibits that bring the struggle to life that they would be too many to name but these two must be mentioned. The "I am a Man" exhibit that chronicles the Memphis Garbage strike which brought Dr. King, to Memphis has a truck and a ton of garbage around life sized picketers. I shed tears throughout this museum because it is so intense and powerful to see. Then there is the final place on the tour, The King Room, which is where he stayed before he was killed. It is the same as it was the day he was killed and it was at this point that I broke down and had to be consoled. I remember the day MLK, Jr. was killed and the reaction of my family and as I heard the song, "Precious Lord Take MY Hand" playing I remembered vividly the reactions of my great-grandmother, my aunts, uncle's and cousins as we were all gathered as a family and my grand mother and mother who joined us later. I remembered my confusion as a 7 year old child to see the people I loved the most in the world crying because of his death. The tour drained me emotionally but I believe this is a must see. History come alive. It is $6.00 for adults and the museum is open six days a week, closed on Tues. except in Feb..

As the only museum associated with the Smithsonian outside of Washington, DC, this is a must see. We have all heard the saying the soundtrack to our lives, well this museum is the sountrack to the history not only of the Memphis music scene but of the history of Memphis itself. It is a place that lets the music take you on a journey of a people who let music breakdown the racial divides that existed in Memphis throughout the years. It is a tour that combines some of the most incredible audio, visual and rare artifacts that you begin to feel as if you were a part of it all. You are given a cd player and a headset that will act as a musical tour guide for you. It also has narrative, so you can follow along at your own pace. You will view a brief film that interviews artist about the rock & the soul music of Memphis and then you are on your way. The tour takes you from the early beginnings of music in the Memphis area, you begin with the slaves and the white sharecroppers who both sang in the fields and how they came together and melted their two styles together. To hear the chants that they sang is an awe inspiring thing. You see the bareboned instruments that they created out of spoons, pails, washboards,and buckets, and better yet you are allowed to give them a try. You trace the history of gospel, bluegrass, rythmn & blues, soul, rock & roll and country music. The musical journey is set up chronologically, so as you progress through the years you see how it all developed into the sounds we here today. It brings you close to those rebels of music, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Rufus Thomas, and even Ike Turner. You are introduced to the first all female radio station. You are taken right up until the end of the tour were we hear the rebellious soul music of the sixties, it ties such songs as James Brown's, 'Black & I'm Proud' and intertwines it with the boycott's and marches. It actually goes further than the sixties because it also explores how the Memhis sound has inspired today's music legends such as U2, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughn, R.E.M., ZZ Top and many more. It is the history of Memphis music that includes Sun Studio, Stax Records, Beale St. and Graceland. You should stop here before going to any of the forementioned places because it will give you a better insight to those tours. My friend, Brenda and I were able to get a sneak peek at the Patsy Cline exhibit that was to open the following Tues. and meet the authors of the book that inspired the exhibit and two leading authorities on Elvis. The authors are the people who now own and live in the house Elvis owned before moving to Graceland.