Memphis

So, last Saturday morning we woke up early to take the girl to meet her dad in Memphis. Normally, we meet a little closer for us, but we thought it'd be fun to spend the evening in Memphis and see the sights. We love Memphis Beat, Jason Lee's new tv show. Ironically, it's shot in New Orleans and not Memphis, but they do throw shots of downtown Memphis in occasionally. Something about the state taxes.

Friday morning after work, I took the girl to Chuck E Cheese and let her blow $10 worth of coins on the games. She had a blast, then we went to The Olive Garden where we shared a Chicken Parmesan. Yum! Then we rented Gnomeo & Juliet and went home to pack and snuggle with the movie.

I had to do some major girl fun with her before she left! Gnomeo & Juliet rocks socks. Way fun. Elton John songs throughout. And with voices by James McAvoy (wow, what a sigh-worthy voice), Jason Statham, Emily Blunt and Patrick Stewart. They threw Shakespeare tid-bits in, but it was mostly this fun, campy movie. We loved it.

So, back to Memphis. We dropped her off at her dad's hotel around 6pm. It was seriously hard, but she was excited, so that helped. It was a long drive and she had slept a lot of the way, but we got some snuggly time on the road.

I'm gonna miss this girl.

There was a Corky's BBQ near their hotel that they went to eat at, it's supposed to be really great. They enjoyed it. We were waffling between 2 places, one was Rendezvous by Charles Vergos'. Apparently he's one of the Memphis great's. I had no idea until I did some research on Memphis. Guy Fierri did a show on him on Diner's Drive Ins & Dives. We love that show. The other restaurant we were considering was Neely's BBQ. I guess they're the other old BBQ family in Memphis. I just thought they had a Food Network TV show and that was it. How little I know about BBQ!

So, we decided on Rendezvous, cause it was downtown and we thought Neely's would be more commercialized. Not that that's a bad thing, but you know. Downtown Memphis has very little available on street parking. We had to use a paid parking lot for $2 and walk. We went to the store front and there was a sign that said the entrance was down the alley in the back. Weird.

There was a ton of people sitting on the curb across from the restaurant. And crowded inside. We went inside and they had an hour wait. I considered finding something else. But when can you get the best ribs in Memphis? And we didn't have the girl with us. So, adults can wait! We stayed inside, though, cause Memphis is HOT! My Florida southern girl temperatures must have changed on me since moving to the mid-west. I'm not used to so much heat and humidity. So, we just grabbed a couple local beers, Ghost River Microbrewery, and stood around in the bar portion, still really crowded. The beer was good, and and the conversation was great. We chatted along and before we knew it, we had a table.

I ordered the half rack of ribs and chopped chicken. Pictures not real great, but the food was. Hands down the best ribs I've ever had. They pre-cut the ribs for you. The slaw was dark and vinegary, not my favorite, but the beans, oh the beans. I could have gotten extra. They were smoky and sweet. *sigh* I ate all my ribs and loved every bit of it. Hubby got the half rack of ribs and brisket. He said the brisket was tender and awesome.

Then we walked down to Beale St to see the sights.

 It was crowded and the streets were sectioned off from the traffic. At night, no cars are allowed.

It was like a mini Las Vegas, without the Casino's. There were lots of novelty shops and Elvis t-shirts and mugs and literally anything you could think of. Crazy, fun, touristy stuff. There was good old jazzy music pouring out each club/shop and some musicians on the street as well. It was a good time.

We walked around and through some of the shops. Then hubby pulled me into a club and we danced to the music for a bit. It was a good night.