Memphis Starter Pack
Memphis Starter Pack
Abby West
Available for hire
Top spots to see when you come visit Memphis! A mix of food, sights and areas to explore.
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Stay (Downtown)
I think downtown Memphis has a lot going on these days - plus, it's convenient to the main sites, is walkable to many of my favorite food spots, and has access to the river!
ARRIVE hotel
@abby
They have a really cute coffee shop downstairs so even if you don’t stay you can stop by. Good location on South Main.
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The Central Station Memphis
@abby
A very cool hotel in a revamped train station. Local art on the walls, swanky bar. Feels almost like sf or nyc. Great bar in the lobby. At the Amtrak station if you want to do something fun like tie this into a train trip to NOLA!
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Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis
@abby
Good location, though not quite as prime as the two other hotels I recommend on South Main. It does have a good rooftop bar with really nice views of the bridge at night!
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Go Out
Live Music
Earnestine & Hazel's
@abby
Old school spot, gets crowded. Usually has live music. Known for their soul burger late night.
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Bar DKDC
@abby
Live music and drinks. It’s a small space that gets crowded on the weekends. Lots of local acts play here and occasionally you’ll get cameos from bigger folks who are in town. The owner also owns The Beauty Shop next door (good for brunch) and Hazel’s Delicatessen.
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Lamplighter Lounge
@abby
Great dive bar in midtown. Supposedly William Eggleston used to or still does hang here. One pool table. Bring your own liquor and ask for a setup for a $1. Setup is a glass, coke, and ice.
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Loflin Yard
@abby
Big sprawling outdoor space with bars and live music. A little more ‘modern’ than some of my Memphis faves, but a big space for live music which is nice. Decent covid friendly spot bc of the big outdoor space. People are good about wearing masks.
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Drinks & Atmosphere
👌 Beck & Call
@abby
Rooftop bar at the Hyatt downtown - great views but overpriced, blah drinks. Burger and fries smelled amazing but we didn’t try any food when we were there.
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👌 Eight and Sand
@abby
The bar inside the Central Station hotel. vibey. Good cocktails. Has an extensive vinyl collection and occasionally has a DJ.
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Longshot
@abby
Shuffle board and good apps! The japanese style fries and curry cauliflower apps are particularly good.
The mains are less memorable.
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Take in the Mighty Mississippi
Tom Lee Park
@abby
Wander along here to take in the sweet sights of the Mississippi. You can rent scooters to see more in less time.
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Memphis Pyramid
@abby
This is just a hilarious piece of corporate America that you have to indulge in. The pyramids were a Memphis landmark (bc of the connection with Memphis, Egypt - get it?) and then Bass pro moved in.
You may have to pay something like $10 pp to go to the top floor observation deck, but it’s worth it for a thing to do and to watch the sun set over the Mississippi.
Go to “The Terrace at the Pyramid” for drinks - I believe “The Lookout at the Pyramid” is also top floor but indoors.
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Big River Crossing
@abby
Rental bikes nearby. Also connects to a path that runs all the way along the River up to Beale St etc.
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Eat
BBQ
👌 Cozy Corner Restaurant
@abby
Excellent!!! The ribs, sliced pork sandwich and Cornish hen are all great. Sauce is spicy and not too sweet (get it “hot”). Good banana pudding. Friendly staff. Founder is the first African American woman inducted into the bbq hall of game.
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👌 Payne's Bar-B-Que
@abby
Good! Fun atmosphere (veeeery old school; you can smell the cigarette smoke baked into the walls).
Meat was great but heavy handed on the sauce and slaw. Next time I’d order sauce on the side and build my own sando. Ribs were better than the sandwich. Again, I’d get SoS and I’d ask for the “hot” sauce which is slightly less sweet.
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✅ Tops Bar-B-Q
@abby
Recommended order: pulled pork sandwich, fries. Current front runner for pulled pork sando. Sides aren’t noteworthy; just get fries. Tangy slaw / sauce and well constructed sando. Good ratio of meat to toppings.
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Everything Else
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
@abby
This is the original location of what’s now a pretty big chain out of Memphis. Their fried chicken is great, as are their fried pickles.
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Good Fortune Co.
@abby
Good non-traditional ramen and starters with surprisingly great service for memphis! They have a vegan option in every part of the menu.
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👌 Little Bettie
@abby
Good! Set inside the large, new facility for Wiseacre Brewifing, which is Memphis’s biggest craft beer label. They serve "New Haven style" pizza. It’s pretty good! We typically keep it simple with their cheese and pepperoni options, but they do offer some wilder pies, too.
Beers are good, and big outdoor space with picnic tables. Sometimes have live music on the stage outside.
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👌 Vice & Virtue Coffee
@abby
Hipstery coffee. Have only tried the drip, but it was great. They have pastries and a few toast options. Classic Parisian ham and butter baguette is also great (served W-Sun).
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Get Into History
National Civil Rights Museum
@abby
Good, very dense, museum. Walks you (literally) through civil right movement, ending in the hotel room where MLK was staying when he was shot.
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Stax Museum
@abby
Fun music history museum. Lots of great memorabilia. Not super well organized, so don’t bother trying to read every piece of info on the wall. It’s also packed! So head through it and tune into the pieces that catch your eye.
Free for locals on Tuesday’s.
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Sun Studio
@abby
They do a great ~30 minute tour of the studio with fun stories about Elvis, Jerry Lee Louis, etc. The photo, the Million Dollar Quartet, was taken here, and lots of records recorded here.
Tour is on the 1/2 hour, $15pp. For a larger group, book tickets in advance.
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Local Weather
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abby West
Available for hire
Cofounder @ Thatch 📍Washington, DC
My favorite way to get under the skin of a place is to eat! I always seek out new dishes and ingredients that are local to the place I'm visiting. My ideal day in a new city involves wandering the streets of a new neighborhood to get a feel for its energy, ducking into an art gallery or museum to see something inspiring, and then stopping for an afternoon coffee and chocolate chip cookie. At night, you'll more likely find me in a cocktail bar than a club. I also love to hike, camp, and be near the ocean!
I lived for 8 years in San Francisco, and spent extended time in Lima, Peru and Mombasa, Kenya. Even though I've moved back to my hometown of Washington, DC, I still stay up to date on the SF food scene and travel back often for work! I'm pretty tapped into the DC food and coffee scene.
Conversational in Spanish. Have some rusty Swahili.
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