Memphis, Tennessee

We made the rounds in Memphis like two tourists on Speed! We only had a part of a day and a night to see a town we'd been wanting to visit for years, since one of our close friends, Frank Splann grew up there and we're always talking about going with them to see the sights. Instead, guided by a few phone conversations, we blew around the city in less than 24 hours, hit two of the most iconic eating "dives," saw Graceland, Stax, Sun, Beale Street, The Peabody Hotel, and a few of the neat neighborhoods on the way! Phew. wares me out just thinking about it! Not to even mention the really cool park we stayed in, on the other side of the Mississippi...right ON the river. We sat on a park bench in the morning and waved at the river traffic as it drifted by us. We were so close, we could almost touch some of the big barges. So which dives did our friend Frank recommend? First up was the Blues City Cafe. The BBQ was stellar. The best example of the dark (almost black!), peppery sauce Memphis is famous for. The second, Dyer's Burgers. This place has been in operation since 1912, cooks it's burgers in "secret" GREASE, and is one of the most awesome hamburger experiences I've had to date (and I've had a lot of them too!!). Dyer's is listed in so many top 1o burger lists, it's impossible to count them. It was also listed in Esquire Magazines list of "60 Things Worth Shortening Your Life For." Both places are right on Beale Street and well worth the fat grams and calories. Memphis rocks. It's a great town, full of history, especially legendary music history, and is on our list of places to visit again in more depth!

Music City (Nashville, of course)

We literally blew through Nashville and Memphis, so our comments will be as brief as the time we spent in these two Tennessee towns! It's been many years since I was in Nashville on business (I was a music biz guy at one time, in my former life), and when I was there it was...get off the plane, head to some hotel meeting room or someones office, then dinner, or maybe just back to the airport. Done. The only part of town I remembered was around Broadway, where some of the old Honky Tonks are, and Music Row, which looks a lot different these days. Even Country Music has been been hit hard by the economy and the decline of the Record Business. It is still there though, and seems to be about the only category still standing in some form or other. We found the town itself a little on the, well, sort of, uh....ok I'll say it, boringly normal side. Aside from the fact that there's a Trader Joes there (a sort of boringly normal one at that), there was very little we saw that got us going. I'm sure there are some interesting places to eat, but we had a hard time finding something interesting enough to spend our time and $$ on, so we had dinner in our Harvey Kitchen while listening to a live Grand Ole Opry broadcast on WSM radio. Maybe we need to give it another try when we have a bit more time someday....

Surprising Asheville,North Carolina

Asheville takes a prize as one of the most surprising places we've visited. It's a city full of contradictions. It's a summer haven for the wealthy..has been for about a hundred years or more. After all, it is the home of the grandest home in America, The Biltmore. We're not going to spend a lot of time describing it because words, no matter how well written, cannot adequately give a person the overwhelming sense of grandeur this place exudes. It must be experienced with all of your senses. Then, you'll leave the way we did, pretty speechless. To imagine that one person had the fortune and vision to create not only the legendary house , but also an entire village to support it, is staggering. Anyway, go see it if you are ever anywhere nearby, or make a plan to visit. It will not disappoint. Asheville is full of summer tourists. They fill the town and nearby cities too (Highlands and Cashiers and Waynesville and Hendersonville, and on and on). These tourists share their space with a gazillion young (and old!!) Hippies and those we'd call counter culture folks. We saw more tattooed arms, legs, and faces on girls and guys than in Santa Fe or San Francisco combined. Asheville is a mecca for left wing politics (The Obamas had just visited before we got there) and has a very active Republican following. There are lots of start up, capitalistic businesses and lots of people on corners talking about unionizing the massive restaurant worker population. We found the people mostly welcoming, but some locals seem to resent the tourists. As we stated, lots of contradictions.
Asheville itself is a really beautiful town. The Art Deco buildings downtown are like a living outdoor museum. They are so well preserved we thought one of them, The Grove Arcade, was a new building made to look old. Alas, there's a big national register sign on it, declaring it's uniqueness and telling it was dedicated in 1929! Looks like it's brand new. It was July 4th weekend, so we got to experience the place like a local. They have a big dance in the newly renovated Pack Square every Saturday night. Hundreds of people turn out to celebrate the weekend. The next night, Sunday July 4th, seemed like half the town turned out for the big doings. These people really enjoy their wonderful venues, and they should be proud. This is a big city that acts in many ways like a small town. We walked most of the downtown streets, and its like a trip back in time. One of Ashevilles nicknames is "The Paris of the South." It's a fair one. The place has a very European feel.
There are good eating places all over town. We experienced several, and they were all worth the trip. The theme of most of them is LOCAL, Local, local, and more locally grown produce, meat, dairy, and everything else. Again, they are even ahead, in this category, of San Francisco or Santa Fe. Organic is taken for granted. It's the locally sourced food these people are into, and in a big way. Early Girl Eatery, Tupelo Honey, and Sunny Point Cafe are a few of the better examples. There are many many others, but these are the ones we hit, and they were all stellar. One of the reasons for this is the WNC Farmers Market, in the Southern part of town. It's been there for many years, is huge, and is an inspiration for these health conscience restaurants. We spent a few hours there and left with a few choice goodies like some Amish butter and Ginger Gold Apples (one of the first summer varieties from the vast apple orchards here to become available, even though it was still a little early).
Another interesting place we checked out is The Grove Park Inn. Built in 1913, it's another back in time place that Asheville is full of. It was constructed by a St. Louis entrepreneur, and modeled after the great railroad inns of the West. After falling into disrepair in the early 50's, it was resurrected by Dallasite Charles Sammons and his wife, whose company still operates it. It has hosted celebrities and presidents through it's long history. Again, walking in is like a trip in the way back machine. A spectacular place!
All in all, the eight days we spent here have been a totally fun surprise. We got to know the place as if we'd lived there for a year. Didn't see any of the famous residents like Andy McDowell or Billy Graham, but who cares when you can stand on a downtown corner and spot a multi-pierced, totally tattooed from head to toes, dredlocked Rastafarian cross the street in front of a couple driving their convertible Rolls up to the Grove Park Inn! What a country!!!