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Published: August 21st 2005
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The famous (original) Corky's BBQ in Memphis, TN! There have been defining moments on our trip that just stop us in our tracks and bring BIG smiles to our face. Dining at Corky's BBQ Saturday night in Memphis, TN was one of them. Corky's has been voted the # 1 BBQ restaurant in Memphis for years. It has been featured on the Travel Channel and Food Network. There we were, two northern girls sitting in Corky's, listening to oldies music, taking pictures of neon signs and enjoying THEE best BBQ we ever had. The sauce was out of this world. Seriously. We shared the BBQ chicken dinner and it was -- well, just delicious! We looked at each other and said, "We're in Memphis -- eating BBQ -- on a Saturday night." It was so much fun! The sauce was so good we bought a couple of bottles for home (a bargain at $2.50 a bottle).
After dinner we decided to take a ride to Beale Street. Even though it was after 10pm and we were tired (and poor April didn't feel too well) we both decided to at least "drive by". The ride from our hotel to Beale Street took about 15 minutes. It was so exciting
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More Corky's Neon. to see the famous Peabody Hotel sign from the highway. The closer we got to Beale Street the louder the music and "vibe" got. You could hear blues and rock coming from most restaurants. Beale Street was closed to traffic (they do this at 4pm each day), so we had to park. It was hot out, 88 degrees at 10:30pm --- but there was a great breeze and it didn't bother us at all. I think we are just getting use to the heat believe it or not.
I felt like I was stepping onto a theater stage of a 1950's play! Beale Street is AMAZING! You can FEEL the history. You can almost see Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson etc., walking around and playing at all the different honky tonks. Beale Street has retained all it's original charm from those days. The area AROUND Beale Street is modern, clean and quite nice. There is a great entertainment complex connected to the Peabody Hotel called Peabody Place. There is a Movieco Cinema with 22 screens and lots of great shops and restaurants. Around the corner is a Gibson Guitar Factory and a short distance away is
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Voted # 1 the historic Sun Studios where all the legends recorded. There is also a great museum, The Rock & Soul Museum that is close to Beale Street. Graceland is a short drive away.
The security in downtown Memphis and especially Beale Street is top notch. They check your i.d. before allowing you access to Beale Street at night!!! Once you pass through the gates it is like stepping back in time....kinda like that sequence in Back To The Future -- SERIOUSLY! I just stopped in my tracks and took in the moment. I looked at all the cute bars, restaurants and old fashioned shops. I literally pictured Patsy Cline walking out of the Blues City Cafe. April and I walked up and down, taking pictures and people watching. It was getting kinda rowdy but nothing compared to Bourbon Street. We felt comfortable and safe here, however, we weren't in the mood to go to any nightclubs and Ape was under the weather, so about an hour later we headed back to our hotel. Our conclusion was that Beale Street Rocks! It is a fun place to walk around and go in and out of the honkytonks and listen to local
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Welcome to Beale Street! music. There are lots of cute places to eat and the vibe is great!
Today we got a very late start -- it was after 4pm when we went out. We had lots of work to catch up on and I had client mailing's to get ready. When we finally left the hotel, the temp in the car read 103, but -- in all honesty -- we felt fine! We parked near Beale and walked to The Pig on Beale Juke Joint. This 1950's, checkerboard floor restaurant with vintage movie posters features live rockabilly, honky tonk or bluegrass music nightly. We just wanted a "snack" because we were saving room for dinner which we planned on picking up from Corky's. We decided to share their BBQ nachos....boy were they good. Their BBQ sauce was different than Corky's (which is better), but delicious nonetheless. We relaxed and people watched for a while and then continued our jont up and down Beale. We went in some cool/fun stores and took more pictures. After and hour or so we were finally getting hot....so we decided to pick up dinner at Corky's and head back to the hotel and here we are!
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Beale Street Neon! The BBQ chicken from Corky's is # 1! Just delicious. We are watching Pulp Fiction and working and will just take it easy for the rest of the night. I am not sure what is on tap for Monday. I do know Tuesday we are going to Graceland and Rendezvous BBQ which is supposed to be one of the best BBQ restaurants -- in the country! WHOA..lol! Like I said, we are exciting girls! ;-)
Til Then!
Happy Travels....
Des & Ape
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LauraTinPCB@aol.com
non-member comment
Thanks
I really enjoyed reading your journal and seing your photos. I am Going to Memphis for the fist time in April and I will try a few of yor suggested places. Thanks for the info. Laura in Florida