Last night we ate dinner at Marlowe’s, a restaurant near Graceland. We were chauffeured to the restaurant in a pink Cadillac, and ordered the pulled pork; their barbecue sauce is based on an Elvis favorite. I wanted all-southern specialties, so I ordered fried okra and turnip greens as sides; Jim had slaw and baked beans. We got a chance to chat with the owner, Tony, who was working in the gift shop. Marlowe’s was featured on the TV show "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives." If you are interested, here’s the link. http://marlowesmemphis.com/media.htm
Tonight we ate at another barbecue place, the Rendezvous Cafe. Jim wanted to go there because it’s mentioned in a John Hyatt song “Memphis in the Meantime” and Jim is a big John Hyatt fan (we’ve seen him twice at Red Butte Gardens in Salt Lake). The Rendezvous turned out to be one of the most recommended places in downtown Memphis.
Really good food, but I think we near vegetarians are about meated out.
In between barbecue, we went to Graceland; walked around Beale Street, the home of the Blues; walked around the Memphis riverfront; and saw the ducks at the Peabody Hotel march to the elevator at the end of their working day in the hotel’s fountain. A few photos below.
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Graceland. The recorded tour was easy to follow, used lots of Elvis music, and featured sound bites from Elvis, Lisa Marie and Priscilla. |
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| Elvis' living room. |
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| Elvis' game room. |
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| Jim looking at a few of Elvis' awards and costumes. |
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| Who knew Elvis had a John Deere? |
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| Bev and Jim arrive at Marlowe's restaurant in a pink Cadillac. The car ride was free, other than the tip. |
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| Bev tries turnip greens with her barbecue at Marlowe's. Even the rolls were fried. |
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| Jim gets a beer on Beale Street --- plus they let you walk around with it. |
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| The "Duckmaster" at the Peabody Hotel explains the tradition of ducks marching to and from the hotel's main lobby fountain each day. The ducks have been a hotel tradition for over 70 years. Oddly, today's Memphis newspaper, "The Commercial Appeal," has a front page story about a former Duckmaster who went into a local bank and told the teller "I hate to do this to you, but give me all your hundreds." He was sentenced to 18 months. |
Keep wandering. Think New Orleans. I'll be your food and beverage guide there.
ReplyDeleteI told Jim that you've been to New Orleans a gazillion times. We'd love to get your guidance. Other than Cafe De Monde, I'm short on information.
ReplyDeleteAh, New Orleans. You'll never want to leave. When you're getting close, I'll give you an itinerary for the evening. Fair warning: You'll need a cab to get back to your home on wheels.
ReplyDeleteDreaming of careers I could have followed, the Peabody Duckmaster had always been high on my list. It is heartbreaking to find out that the pay is insufficient to support a reasonable Duckmaster’s lifestyle. Still, it seems like a dream job. Once a day I take them down, once a day I take them back up. A little clean-up along the way and the job is done! Sure, maybe I have to put up with a prim donna duck or two. But, even there, after a hard day dealing with a duck having a particularly self-important attitude, I could find special vindication with a nice meal of duck a l’orange, duck confit, duck soup, the possibilities are endless.
ReplyDeleteSandy has reviewed this comment and agrees. She believes that her job, too, would be more fulfilling if on occasion she could roast up and consume an ill-behaved client, partner, or judge.
Carl: Here is the link to the story: Judge says ex Duckmaster must become jailbird.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/nov/02/victim-hugs-her-sheepish-robber/
Either you or Sandy would make a great Duckmaster.