Many centuries before European settlers arrived, a community thrived here. Archaeology reveals the rich history of the First Americans in the Mid-South.
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
OCT. 12 / 7:30P.M.
Asleep at the Wheel is a legendary band! They bring their toe-tapping, two-stepping country-swing with songs like “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read” & “Miles of Miles of Texas.” Always a Blast…
Brian Duprey Sings SINATRA
NOV. 9 / 7:30P.M.
Brian Duprey, as Ol’ Blue Eyes, is remarkable. He sings Frank Sinatra’s hits like; “Fly Me to the Moon,” “New York, New York,” “That’s Life,” & “My Way.” Nancy Sinatra said, “He’s got it down.”
BRIGHT STAR
By Steve Martin & Edie Brickell
DEC. 6, 7 / 7:30P.M.
DEC. 8 / 2:00P.M.
“Bright Star,” the bluegrass musical, tells a true story of love & redemption set against the 1940’s American South. With beautiful songs BRIGHT STAR is genuine & daringly hopeful. Not to be missed!
SEGER SYSTEM
Bob Seger Tribute OCT. 19 / 7:30P.M.
Seger System creates the look, feel, and sound of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. Experience songs like “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “Against the Wind,” “Main Street,” “Still the Same,” “Like a Rock” & more.
JOHN MCEUEN & THE CIRCLE BAND
“May the Circle Be Unbroken”
NOV. 16 / 7:30P.M.
BPACC hosts founding member of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John McEuen. Concert includes old time music to John’s original & Nitty Gritty songs to a “Circle” album tribute. Acoustic music on overdrive!
Marshall Charloff’s
THE PURPLE XPERIENCE
Tribute To Prince
JAN. 25 / 2:00P.M. & 7:30P.M.
Marshall Charloff & his dynamic band perform Prince’s greatest hits like; “Little Red Corvette,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Raspberry Beret,” “1999,” & “Purple Rain” with all the passion & energy of a true Prince concert.
OTHER OUTSTANDING SHOWS
RUMPELSTILTSKIN
Based on Grimm’s Fairy Tales OCT. 26 / 2:00P.M.
The King makes a young girl spin straw into gold. To escape, she turns to magical companions, & a mischievous Elf – Rumpelstiltskin. Will this lead to disaster, or happily ever after? Great family fun!
CHAPEL HART
CHRISTMAS
NOV. 22 - 23 / 7:30P.M.
Chapel Hart returns with a show of original & traditional holiday songs, plus their signature upbeat country. Seen on America’s Got Talent & Grand Ol’ Opry. These ladies are heading sky-high!
SANDI PATTY
FEB. 8 / 7:30P.M.
Contemporary Christian singer, Sandi Patty, is known as “The Voice.” She has 40 Dove Awards, 5 Grammy’s & 30 Albums. Sandi has incredible vocal range, versatility…can do it all. Only at BPACC.
Attractions & Events
From history, architecture and cultural attractions to shopping, dining and exciting events, Columbus has you covered. Plan your Columbus adventure today.
Tennessee Williams Tribute: September 12-15 | Thunder Over Columbus Air Show: September 21-22
Seventh Avenue Heritage Festival: October 2-5 | Octoberfest: October 4-5 | Caledonia Days: October 18-19
Roast ‘N Boast October: 18-19 | Eudora Welty Writers’ Symposium: October 24-26
Art ‘N Antiques Show and Sale: October 31-November 2 Fall Pilgrimage: October 31-November 2 | Wassailfest: December 6
VISITCOLUMBUSMS.ORG for a complete list of
and events. 800.920.3533 | 662.329.1191
Photo by Jack King Media
Moving Business Forward.
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At HHM, we’re more than accountants. We’re trusted business advisors. This means we provide proactive solutions and ideas to help you build sustainable growth through every season and situation you face. Discover more reasons HHM is the right partner for you at HHMCPAS.COM.
28 The First Bluff City
Many centuries before European settlers arrived, a community thrived here. Archaeology reveals the rich history of the First Americans in the Mid-South ~ by chris mccoy
36 The Final Flight of the Sun Country Special
On February 10, 1944, an American Airlines DC-3 plunged into the Mississippi River, killing all aboard. What happened that night? ~ by michael finger
47 LOCAL TREASURES
Curb’s Enthusiasms
Mike Curb has parlayed his music industry successes into life-altering educational projects. ~ by alex greene
71 SIPS
Bog Heaven
Taylor Pfohl tends the bar(s) at Bog & Barley, Germantown’s grand Irish Pub. ~ by bruce vanwyngarden
72 CITY DINING
The city’s most extensive dining listings
80 LAST STAND
Artifacts of the Other The power of holding the past in your hand. ~ by alex greene
SENIOR EDITORS jon w. sparks, abigail morici, bruce vanwyngarden
STAFF WRITERS alex greene, chris mccoy
CONTRIBUTORS jesse davis, michael donahue, vance lauderdale
4 CREATIVE DIRECTOR brian groppe
ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR christopher myers
GRAPHIC DESIGNER neil williams
PHOTOGRAPHERS greg campbell, michael donahue, david h. dye, alex greene, chris mccoy, matthew murphy, bruce vanwyngarden, namario yancey
4 SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE shaune mcghee
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES kelli dewitt, chip googe, patrick pacheco
4 published by contemporary media, inc. memphis, tennessee 901-521-9000
subscriptions: 901-575-9470
4
CONTROLLER lynn sparagowski
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER jeffrey a. goldberg
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER margie neal
DIGITAL SERVICES DIRECTOR kristin pawlowski
WAREHOUSE MANAGER chet hastings
NEWSSTAND CONSULTANT joe luca
SPECIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR molly willmott
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PUBLISHER EMERITUS kenneth neill
september 2024
Dark, Salt, Clear, Moving, Utterly Free
BY ANNA TRAVERSE
How do you center yourself in moments of anxiety, or (if you are like me) long, pearled strings of anxious moments? e standard advice — standard for a reason: it works — tends toward focusing one’s senses on the present. In this moment, what do I see? Hear? What can I smell, taste, and feel? Take a deep breath; exhale slowly; take another. Be here now. Sometimes, though, I need something a bit stronger to quell a jittery mind. And no, I’m not talking about a drink — that stopped being a solution for me 15 years ago this month(!). What I’m talking about is the potent stuff of time itself — historical, pre-historical, post-historical time, and the mind-altering perspective it delivers, when we stop to consider our minute place in time’s vast flux and flow. In her poem “At the Fishhouses” (1948), Elizabeth Bishop considers knowledge to be, like time and like the ocean, forever slipping our grasping hands. In the lines below, “it” is seawater, but much more besides:
If you tasted it, it would first taste bitter, then briny, then surely burn your tongue. It is like what we imagine knowledge to be: dark, salt, clear, moving, utterly free, drawn from the cold hard mouth of the world, derived from the rocky breasts forever, flowing and drawn, and since our knowledge is historical, flowing, and flown.
As a little girl, my first experience with childhood insomnia emerged when I began to grasp how infinitesimally tiny I was (am), how tiny and fleeting were the lives of everyone I would ever know. I remember lying in my little twin bed and feeling overcome by the scale of it all, and by the tiny pinprick of … me … amidst an immense swirling darkness. e universal darkness, by the way, was in my mind more aubergine-purple than black, with sprays of silver stars. Beautiful, if I hadn’t been such a strange and fretful child. At some point in adulthood, I’ve realized that my
attitude toward the swirling darkness has shifted: Where once the scale of it all made me quiver, now I see peace and wonder. When I feel anxious today, caught up in the stressors of work and life, I’ll pause, center myself in the present, and then zoom way, way out.
First, I might try to picture the physical place where I am, but thousands of years in the past. All the buildings and roads fall away. Trees rise, majestic, from rich, deep soil. Birds sing. ere is no budget spreadsheet to consider, because there are no budgets and no spreadsheets. A breeze skitters the leaves; in the distance, buffalo. Somewhere there are humans, but they are scarce, and part of nature.
en, I hurtle myself forward in time (if time has a “forward” and “backward,” which I somewhat doubt, but these are the terms we use). In this exercise, I see a world remarkably similar to that of the distant past: Trees rise once more, majestic; birds sing. If there are humans, I don’t see any, and in this conceiving, their absence bothers me not at all. e world has repaired itself from the various indignities wrought by my kind.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about time and its flowing in the context of our September cover story, written by Chris McCoy. Chris offers a historical overview of the people and cultures who thrived, fought, loved, nurtured, and grieved here, in the Mississippi Delta, long before settlers arrived. If you’ve ever wondered, “What was Memphis like, before anyone ever thought to call it … Memphis ?” — we sketch the beginnings of an answer, and suggest local resources for where to go if you want to fill in more details.
It’s not our average cover story. We usually bring you stories about Memphis of today, accompanied by historical curiosities of the past century or so (thanks to columnist Vance Lauderdale). e reality is that Memphis hasn’t been “Memphis” for very long, historically speaking — just a little over two hundred years. But cultures have been settled on this soil for millennia, including the Misissippian people who built the earthwork mounds still extant today. I’ll let Chris explain the rest (as well as staff writer Alex Greene, who penned a lovely coda that appears at the close of this issue).
I hope you fi nd these perspectives as enriching and perspective-broadening as I have. And if you’re feeling stressed, caught up in the anxieties of the everyday, take a deep breath, absolutely. Remind yourself of what you can see, hear, taste, touch. But then, once you’ve knitted yourself back together, let time unravel you. ere’s peace in the undoing.
SEPTEMBER2024
COMPILED BY ABIGAIL MORICI
DELTA FAIR & MUSIC FESTIVAL The Delta Fair is known for wholesome family entertainment while celebrating and promoting the rich art, music, and history of the Delta. AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 8
TOM SEGURA: COME TOGETHER Actor, comedian, and writer Tom Segura is one of the biggest names in comedy. ORPHEUM THEATRE, SEPTEMBER 1, 5 P.M.
ART ON THE ROCKS: GARDEN COCKTAILS & CRAFT BEER (21+) Art on the Rocks brings together botanical cocktails, craft beer, wine, and more for a fun evening in the gardens. Guests will enjoy a variety of drink tastings and bites from local restaurants along with live music. DIXON GALLERY AND GARDENS, SEPTEMBER 6, 6 P.M.
ORION FREE CONCERT SERIES The Orion Free Concert Series welcomes local, national, and international acts to the historic stage where legendary talent has left a timeless legacy. This month’s lineup includes The Arcadian Wild (September 6), Cyrena Wages (September 7), Healy (September 13), MBAA Gospel Night featuring the Tennessee Mass Choir (September 14), Canti Records Showcase (September 19), Aaron James (September 27), and The Bar-Kays (September 28). Opera Memphis will give a special Opera Goes to Broadway performance on September 29. OVERTON PARK SHELL, SELECT DATES
FEVER SEASON: HEROES OF THE PLAGUE THAT ALMOST DESTROYED
MEMPHIS Hear the stories of the yellow fever epidemics of 1873, 1878, and 1879 in Memphis, through those buried at Elmwood Cemetery. This popular walking tour by Bob Barnett is offered only once a year.
ELMWOOD CEMETERY, SEPTEMBER 7, 10 A.M. ZOO RENDEZVOUS Indulge in an endless selection of delectable bites and cocktails from the city’s top restaurants, trendy food trucks, and chic bars. By attending, you’re not just indulging in a fantastic evening but also supporting the Memphis Zoo’s mission. The night promises hours of fun with live music from local artists and a Barbie theme.
MEMPHIS ZOO, SEPTEMBER 7, 7 P.M.
MEET THE AUTHOR: ANNE BYRN Novel welcomes New York Times bestselling food writer and author Anne Byrn in conversation with Kat Gordon of Muddy’s Bake Shop to celebrate the release of Byrn’s new book Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories. NOVEL, SEPTEMBER 10, 6 P.M.
MEET THE AUTHOR: COINNEACH MACLEOD Novel welcomes the international best-selling author, who will share stories and adventures alongside his best selection of recipes yet as he discusses and signs his new book, The Hebridean Baker: At Home: Flavors & Folklore from the Scottish Islands NOVEL, SEPTEMBER 11, 6 P.M.
MEMPHIS SONGWRITERS SERIES: VICTORIA DOWDY, JB HORRELL, AND RANEEM IMAM Join the Orpheum Memphis Songwriters Series, hosted by Memphis songwriter Mark Edgar Stuart. Mark and his musical guests take audiences on a journey behind the music, sharing personal stories and introducing exciting new works. HALLORAN CENTRE, SEPTEMBER 12, 7 P.M.
SOUTHERN HERITAGE CLASSIC PRESENTS PATTI LABELLE For more than 60 years, Patti’s resplendent voice has left an indelible mark all over the world. ORPHEUM THEATRE, SEPTEMBER 12, 8 P.M.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S
DREAM Theatre Memphis presents one of the Bard’s most popular comedies. NEXT STAGE, SEPTEMBER 13–29
PARADISE BLUE This dynamic and musically infused drama shines light on the challenges of building a better future on the foundation of what our predecessors have left us. HATTILOO THEATRE, SEPTEMBER 13–OCTOBER 6 WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS
TO ME Playwright Heidi Schreck skillfully breathes new life into the Constitution through her innovative play, projecting its influence on future American generations. THE CIRCUIT PLAYHOUSE, SEPTEMBER 13–OCTOBER 6
SOUTHERN HERITAGE
CLASSIC Tennessee State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff clash on the gridirion in the 35th-annual battle between HBCU teams. SIMMONS BANK LIBERTY STADIUM, SEPTEMBER 14
COCKTAILS WITH THE CURATOR: DR. ROSAMUND GARRETT Dr. Rosamund Garrett, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art’s chief curator and curator of the exhibition, will lead a guided close-look and discussion of the Brooks’ latest show, “Andrea Morales: Roll Down Like Water.” MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART, SEPTEMBER 14, 4 P.M.
COOPER-YOUNG FESTIVAL Art, music, and crafts come together to celebrate Memphis’ culture and heritage. COOPER-YOUNG HISTORIC DISTRICT, SEPTEMBER 14
RACHMANINOFF RHAPSODY AND COPLAND 3RD The Memphis Symphony Orchestra returns for its latest season with this performance. CANNON CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, SEPTEMBER 14, 7:30 P.M. | SCHEIDT FAMILY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, SEPTEMBER 15, 2:30 P.M.
MEMPHIS YOGA FESTIVAL The Memphis Yoga Festival brings together teachers and classes from Memphis-area studios to offer attendees an opportunity to experience a wide range of yoga classes. MEMPHIS BROOKS MUSEUM OF ART, SEPTEMBER 15, NOON–5 P.M.
DISCO DETECTIVE: A ’70S SOULFUL MURDER MYSTERY This immersive and interactive dinner theater experience throws you headfirst into a swinging ’70s party with a killer twist. HALLORAN CENTRE, SEPTEMBER 15, 3 P.M.
BOOK READING & SIGNING WITH WILLY BEARDEN Memphis writer and filmmaker Willy Bearden shares his memoir Mississippi Hippie: A Life in 49 Pieces ELMWOOD CEMETERY, SEPTEMBER 17, 6 P.M. | SEPTEMBER 21, 2 P.M.
LATIN FESTIVAL
PINK PALACE CRAFTS FAIR
MJ Michael Jackson’s unique and unparalleled artistry comes to Memphis in MJ, the Tony Award-winning musical centered around the making of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour. ORPHEUM THEATRE, SEPTEMBER 1–22
MID-SOUTH FAIR Enjoy food, fun, games, and rides at the LANDERS CENTER, SEPTEMBER 19–29
MEMPHIS BACON & BOURBON FESTIVAL 2024 The annual Memphis Bacon & Bourbon Festival, hosted by the Memphis Flyer, will have creative bacon-inspired dishes of all kinds from some great Memphis restaurants, plus a vast array of distilled spirits to tempt your tastebuds. FEDEX EVENT CENTER AT SHELBY FARMS, SEPTEMBER 20, 6 P.M.
SMITH & MYERS: SHELL YEAH!
BENEFIT SERIES The duo of Brent Smith and Zach Myers reimagine beloved chapters of the American songbook alongside their own bold contributions with nothing more than a microphone and an instrument or two. OVERTON PARK SHELL, SEPTEMBER 20, 7:30 P.M.
STYX AND FOREIGNER The Eighties return as part of the Live at the Garden concert series. RADIANS AMPHITHEATER, MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN, SEPTEMBER 20, 7:30 P.M.
LATIN FEST Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group at this family-oriented festival with live Latin music, Latin food and drinks, crafts for kids, vendors, and fun for everyone. OVERTON SQUARE, SEPTEMBER 21, NOON–6 P.M.
MEMPHIS PIZZA FESTIVAL At the inaugural Memphis Pizza Festival, local pizza makers offer all types of pizza slices, full pies, and other unique pizza-inspired creations. Admission includes unlimited samples of pizza, and the event benefits the MidSouth Food Bank. AGRICENTER INTERNATIONAL, SEPTEMBER 21 MOVIES AND BREWS Join MoSH for its Movies and Brews series, featuring brews and classic films back on the big screen. Up this month is Raiders of the Lost Ark. A pre-show will showcase “Raiders Filming Locations with Dr. David West Reynolds.” MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY, SEPTEMBER 21, 5:30 P.M.
THE WAR AND TREATY With music that draws on a bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, country, and rock-and-roll, this husbandand-wife team — Michael Trotter Jr.
and Tanya Blount-Trotter — creates an endlessly exhilarating exchange of energy that is sure to move any audience. GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, SEPTEMBER 21, 8 P.M. HAUNTS & HAINTS: AN ORACLE CARD AND BOOK RELEASE EVENT Elmwood celebrates new creative projects by two locals with readings and signings. Artist and writer Stacey Williams-Ng will debut her Rhythm and Soul Tarot, while veteran journalist and current Memphis Flyer reporter Toby Sells will sign his Haint Blues: Strange Tales from the American South. ELMWOOD CEMETERY, SEPTEMBER 26, 6 P.M.
PINK PALACE CRAFTS FAIR Explore a variety of eclectic pottery, jewelry, paintings, woodwork, leatherwork, sculpture, woven goods, and so much more at the annual Pink Palace Crafts Fair. AUDUBON PARK, SEPTEMBER 27–29
THE 8TH ANNUAL FREE SHOUT-OUT SHAKESPEARE SERIES: THE COMEDY OF ERRORS This 90-minute, madcap romp is one of Shakespeare’s ever-popular adventures for all ages. The Comedy of Errors will play indoors on TSC’s Tabor Stage for two performances for half-priced admission off Tabor Stage productions. OUTDOOR STAGES THROUGHOUT WEST TENNESSEE, SEPTEMBER 27–OCTOBER 20
BILL MAHER: THE WTF? TOUR For more than 25 years, Bill Maher has set the boundaries of where funny, political talk can go on American television. ORPHEUM THEATRE, SEPTEMBER 28, 8 P.M.
To suggest an event for future editions of Out and About, email abigail@memphismagazine.com.
COOPER-YOUNG FESTIVAL
THE WAR AND TREATY MJ
Three Little Pigs
Bring your own pig, or take some home with you at this East Memphis institution.
BY MICHAEL DONAHUE
While pigging out, count the pig figurines at ree Little Pigs Bar-B-Q. I tallied about 40 on three shelves along the walls at the restaurant. More porkers are depicted in paintings and stuffed animals. I asked NaMario Yancey, who owns the restaurant with his brother, Napoleon, about the porcine statues. He says there used to be more, but customers, employees, and the former owner wanted some. “ ere were boxes of them,” he says.
He hasn’t added any pig statues, but “customers have brought some in. Like the pig above the orange juice. at’s a recent pig.”
People might bring in pigs, but more people take them out — in the form of pork sandwiches, the restaurant’s signature menu item.
NaMario and Napoleon are recent owners, having purchased ree Little Pigs on October 7, 2022. Napoleon thought the place had the best breakfast, burgers, and barbecue, and the duo saw business potential. e extensive menu above the counter, lined with regular and decaf coffee pots, creamers, barbecue sauces, and lemon juice, includes more items than just pig. In addition to the classic pork
shoulder, customers can enjoy sandwiches made with bacon, sausage, city ham, egg, or bacon, lettuce, and tomato — a BLT. Burgers, hot dogs, chicken plates, chicken nachos, and catfish also are available.
As for biscuits, you can order them with gravy; with bacon, sausage, or country ham; with
country ham with or without egg; with city ham with or without egg; or just with an egg.
If you’re hungrier, opt for one of the big breakfasts, including one called just that — the “Big Breakfast,” with three eggs, bacon or sausage, biscuits or toast, grits, and gravy.
phis elective bowling class at Billy Hardwick’s All-Star Lanes, in the same shopping center at Quince and White Station.
e second time was when he and Napoleon visited the restaurant while considering purchasing the business. ey were impressed by the employees, who remembered customers by name and knew what they were going to order as soon as they arrived.
And they loved the barbecue, which they both had for the first time that day. “It’s a high-quality, delicious sandwich,” NaMario says. ey keep the fat on the pork while it’s cooking. “ at keeps it juicy and tender.” And, he says, “Some places give you a lot of fat on a sandwich. We keep it on, but take it off after cooking.”
NaMario was also taken by the breakfasts and the crowds enjoying them. “It was a great experience,” he says. “ e police officers were coming in and the firefighters, and the early-morning line workers were in there. I took over the griddle from watching Mr. Charlie my first day.”
To date, NaMario hasn’t removed a single menu item, but he has added macaroni and cheese, barbecued chicken, barbecued chicken nachos, and smoked turkey legs. He believes it had been a long time since new items were added to the menu because the previous owner wanted to “keep it simple.”
Former owner Charlie Robertson says ree Little Pigs originally was a Loeb’s barbecue restaurant when it opened in 1968. Jack Whitaker, who owned the nearby Yorkshire Launderette, bought it around 1982 and named it ree Little Pigs, Robertson says. Whitaker sold it to Robertson in 1989.
e Yanceys have been in the food business for more than two decades. ey work along with family members at their dad’s concession business, Yancey’s Smoking Good Food, where they sell funnel cakes, corn dogs, barbecue nachos, turkey legs, chicken on a stick, and Polish sausage.
NaMario says he’d only eaten at ree Little Pigs twice before buying the business. He ordered a cheeseburger when he was taking a University of Mem-
e chicken is slow-smoked, NaMario says. “You can order it chopped or pulled. e sandwich is topped with slaw and your choice of ree Little Pigs original barbecue sauce or “Memphis Mild.”
ey added cakes and pies to the dessert menu; the restaurant already offered banana pudding. e delicious concoction includes generous slices of banana, so it’s not just pudding. And it’s crammed into the container. No skimping here. at famous trailer with the painting of the three little pigs in front of the restaurant houses their catering equipment. NaMario says their catering “went down during Covid. We are trying to push catering more, for corporate events, weddings, banquets, and all that.”
ree Little Pigs Bar-B-Q is at 5145 Quince Road.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL DONAHUE; MD BY NAMARIO YANCEY
above: Co-owner NaMario Yancey. right: The author pigging out. below: A pig figurine.
Halliburton Memorial Tower
Our history expert solves local mysteries: who, what, when, where, why, and why not. Well, sometimes.
BY VANCE LAUDERDALE
Why did Rhodes
erect a
DEAR H.F.: I was planning to call my forthcoming autobiography The Royal Road to Romance, until I remembered that was the title of the 1926 best-seller by Richard Halliburton. The publication of that book was followed by many others — The Glorious Adventure (1927), New Worlds to Conquer (1929), The Flying Carpet (1933), and Seven League Boots (1935) among them — which made him one of the most popular authors in America.
Although described as a travel writer, Halliburton didn’t tell readers where to stay or suggest the best places to dine. Instead, he packed his stories with firsthand accounts of marvelous adventures: swimming the Panama Canal, climbing the Matterhorn, wading the reflecting pool at the Taj Mahal, following Hannibal’s route through the Alps (on elephants!), circling the globe by airplane, and so much more.
His books were wildly successful, and he also published stories in newspapers and
national magazines, broadcast his exploits over the radio, and packed auditoriums with his lecture tours. In a few short years, he became one of the most famous men in the world.
Halliburton’s greatest adventure was his last. In a specially designed Chinese junk called the Sea Dragon, he planned to sail from Hong Kong to San Francisco, arriving at the grand opening of the Golden Gate International Exposition in California in 1939. But three weeks into the risky voyage, he and his crew sailed into a typhoon. His last words, heard by anxious listeners following the journey on shortwave radio, were, “Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here instead of me.” The ship was never found.
It’s true that the famous author never attended Rhodes College, or Southwestern at Memphis as it was known in his day. Richard and the Halliburton family — father Wesley, mother
above: Rhodes College President Peyton Rhodes (left) looks on as Wesley Halliburton, father of the famous explorer, turns the first shovelful of dirt at the groundbreaking for the Richard Halliburton Memorial Tower on July 20, 1961. Behind him are the construction contractor, B.B. Scarborough, and the campus architect, H. Clinton Parrent, Jr.
Nelle, younger brother Wesley Jr. — grew up in Brownsville, Tennessee. In the early 1900s, they moved to Memphis, where Wesley Sr. made a fortune as a real estate developer. As one of this city’s most prominent businessmen, in 1925 he played a key role in persuading the trustees of Southwestern Presbyterian University, then located in Clarksville, Tennessee, to move the tiny college to Memphis, where it prospered. So, it seems he took a special interest in Rhodes from the first day the school opened here. Young Wesley died at age
DEAR VANCE:
College
tower in memory of the author Richard Halliburton, even though he never attended that school?
— H.F., MEMPHIS.
15 of a heart condition. For a while, Richard attended Memphis University School, then transferred to Lawrenceville Academy in New Jersey. In 1921, he graduated from Princeton University, and that was the end of his formal studies. In a letter to his father, he wrote, “I wanted freedom to indulge in whatever caprice struck my fancy, freedom to search in the farthermost corners of the earth for the beautiful, the joyous, and the romantic.”
Whenever he needed a break from his travels, he would stay with his parents at their homes on Central and later Court Avenues. In the 1930s, he moved to Laguna Beach, California, where he built “Hangover House,” a modern, cast-concrete mansion perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. That house, little changed, still stands today.
After the author’s death, his parents donated his vast collection of manuscripts, letters, books, and other memorabilia to Princeton and Rhodes, where they are available to researchers. Nelle Halliburton passed away in 1955, but she and Wesley had already decided to build a special monument to their son in Memphis.
And so, in 1961, Wesley met with Dr. Peyton Rhodes, the college president (and yes, the namesake of the current school) and gave him an astonishing gift — $400,000, to be used for the construction of the 140-foot Richard Halliburton Memorial Bell Tower. The college’s official architect, H. Clinton Parrent Jr. from Nashville, designed the tower. The exterior would be a blend of Arkansas sandstone, Indiana limestone, and Vermont slate to match the Collegiate Gothic Revival style of the other campus buildings.
The Halliburtons meant
for this gift to be more than a tribute to their son; they hoped it would add beauty to the campus. At the groundbreaking on July 20, 1961, Wesley turned the first shovelful of dirt. “Today, Southwestern is like a charming lady who is becomingly attired, lacking only an appropriate hat,” he told reporters. “Mrs. Halliburton and I decided to buy this lady a hat to complete her sartorial elegance.”
Dr. Rhodes announced to the crowd of more than 200, “This memorial tower — rugged and yet delicate in its proportions — was selected as a fitting symbol of the high aspirations, achievements, and courage of Richard Halliburton.”
It’s unfortunate these days that so few people remember just how famous Richard Halliburton was, but Rhodes students — and anyone who lives near the campus — are reminded of him every hour (and half-hour) by the mighty gong of the bell in the tower. Although invisible, this bell is one of the most impressive elements of the memorial. Wesley, who oversaw every detail of the building’s construction, hired
the French firm of Les Fils de George Paccard, considered one of the finest bell foundries in the world, to design and build a special bell for his son’s monument. Cast of bronze, the bell stands seven feet tall and weighs some 8,000 pounds, making it — according to The Commercial Appeal — the largest bell in Tennessee. Those same newspaper accounts noted that, “When struck, the tone is A flat, generally considered the most pleasing and melodious tone for a bell.” Wesley told reporters he hoped “the deep tones will have a tranquilizing effect on the community.”
President Rhodes asked the college faculty to submit suggestions for inscriptions to be carved around the bell, “which should relate to the love of travel and adventure, the thirst for knowledge, the glory of youth, and the pursuit of excellence.” Working with Wesley, they eventually settled on two: “The day shall not be up so soon as I / To try the fair adventure of tomorrow,” from Shakespeare’s King John, and “Not fare well, but fare forward, voyagers,” from T.S. Eliot’s “The Dry Salvages.”
left: The ancient French foundry of Les Fils de George Paccard cast the massive bell, which stands seven feet tall and weighs more than 8,000 pounds. The inscription visible here — “Not Fare Well, But Fare Forward, Voyagers” — is from “The Dry Salvages” a poem published in 1941 by T.S. Eliot.
The $10,000 bell was carried to America by ship to the port of New Orleans. From there, Gordon Transports of Memphis trucked it to the campus, and the local firm of Patterson Transfer, using a 180-foot heavy-duty crane, lowered it into place while the upper levels of the tower were under construction.
The Richard Halliburton Memorial Tower was dedicated on October 17, 1962. Inside, a beautiful mosaic of the Sea Dragon covers the floor, and shelves hold Halliburton’s books, as well as family photos and other memorabilia. That lobby space is often used for important receptions, and the terrace outside is a frequent site of small concerts and lectures.
I’m glad that Wesley Halliburton lived long enough to see this dream come true. He passed away three years later, on November 1, 1965. Another, considerably more humble, monument to the writer and explorer can be found across town. In the Halliburton family plot at Forest Hill Cemetery, gravestones mark the final resting places of Wesley, Nelle, and Wesley Jr. Nearby, a plain stone marker is inscribed quite simply: Richard Halliburton, 1900 – 1939, Lost at Sea.
ONLINE: memphismagazine.com/ask-vance Or visit him on Facebook.
M.J. Wassmer
Don’t Judge This Local Author’s Debut Novel by Its Title
M.J. Wassmer’s Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend, deserves all its stars.
BY JESSE DAVIS
“I’ve always agreed with William Faulkner — he said that the human heart in conflict with itself is the only thing worth writing about.”
— GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
Perpetual underachiever Dan Foster is on vacation with his girlfriend, Mara, at the newly opened, all-inclusive (and fictional) Tizoc Grand Islands Resort and Spa when the sun explodes. So begins the wildly entertaining debut novel, Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend (Sourcebooks), by Collierville-based author M.J. Wassmer.
ough the novel’s dark-paradisiacal setting is far from Memphis and the Mid-South, Wassmer’s hometown has helped shape him. He graduated from Collierville High School and studied journalism with a concentration in marketing at the University of Memphis. “I spent my whole life working in Memphis,” he says. “I met my wife in high school at Collierville, so we’re high school sweethearts.”
It just goes to show that great things can begin in (or near) the Bluff City.
OF LONESOME DOVE AND THE LONELINESS OF MICROWAVE DINNERS
Wassmer grew up in a funny family. In a recent interview, he joked often, and often at his own expense. And humor helped a young Wassmer discover the joy of fiction-writing.
“I remember the moment that I knew I wanted to be a writer,” Wassmer says. “It was in middle school. We had a science fair and my project left a lot to be desired. I essentially just microwaved a potato. With these science projects, we had to write eight-page scientific papers, which is a lot for a middle-schooler, but I remember I had more interest in the paper than the project. I kind of goofed off throughout it. I was making jokes about friction and leftovers and the loneliness of microwave dinners.
“On the project I got a C, which is totally fair from a science standpoint, but I remember watching my teacher as she was reading the report and she laughed. ere was another teacher nearby, and she read it over my teacher’s shoulder and she laughed.”
e experience left its mark: “I was able to put together some words and evoke an emotion.”
Conjuring that laughter felt like unlocking a new kind of power. Writing, he learned, could be an effective tool. Still, Wassmer admits that he wasn’t really “much of a reader” until he encountered a novel by Larry McMurtry.
“I read Lonesome Dove my freshman year of high school, and that was the book that made me want to be a novelist,” he recalls. “It played like a movie in my head.” Lonesome Dove remains his favorite novel.
Wassmer began thinking about how to turn his passion into a paycheck, so he enrolled in the University of Memphis. After graduation, an internship led to a full-time job, which in turn led to a successful career in marketing. All the while, though, Wassmer nursed a desire to use his penchant for turning a phrase to a different use. He wanted to write a novel, but he was afraid to fail.
“Like Dan [a character] in my book, I spent my twenties cubicle-surfing and I was too lazy or scared to really pursue my dream of writing,” he says. “It’s easy in
your twenties to dismiss your dreams; you still feel like you have all the time in the world.”
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend was Wassmer’s way of working through those feelings. “I thought an end-of-the-world scenario, where you take this underachieving character and he is literally out of time,” he says, “was a decent canvas to explore themes of inherent worth, restlessness, and toxic masculinity.” Those are heavy topics to juggle, but Wassmer proves dexterous as he pushes his characters to embrace empathy, even while tempting them toward an easier (and crueler) path.
MANHOOD FOR AMATEURS
As the sun winks out of existence in the skies over the Tizoc Grand Islands Resort and Spa, the guests face a sudden leadership vacuum, an increasingly dangerous survival situation, and the very real possibility that they are completely on their own. The sudden disappearance of the sun (along with solar flares, electromagnetic pulses, or other space-andscience stuff beyond this book reviewer’s basic understanding) might have a negative effect on orbiting satellites and yes, cell phone signals.
Within this setting, Wassmer deftly maneuvers his characters into a situation built to bring out the best — or worst — in them. Tensions on the island rise as temperatures drop, and time is running out. When faced with this catastrophe, who will Dan decide to be?
“Dan is kind of obsessed with this idea of what it means to be a man,” Wassmer says. He explains that Dan exists in a state of arrested development, but he knows he has time to grow — or he would have if the sun hadn’t sizzled out. Of course, as Dan ponders what “kind of man” he wants to be, he’s missing the point. Life is about what kind of person you are. “I wanted, on the island, for him to come across different forms of toxic masculinity,” the author says, and in this, as in so many other arenas, he has succeeded.
As food is hoarded and tem-
peratures fall, the divides on the island begin to widen. One character seems to be a generally good guy, but is nonetheless willing to let the island and everyone on it burn to save his own skin. Another man is resourceful but prideful. And of course, there’s the standard-issue Macho Man character. To put it mildly, even this character’s worse, most selfish impulses, are, unfortunately, quite believable.
So, confronted with these examples, who will Dan choose to be? Another question: When everything is on the line, what value do the careers and cars and other social markers that drive us mean? At one point Dan, despairing, says, “I’m going to die a Marvel Maids marketing specialist.”
Wassmer seems to be asking if that’s such a bad thing.
“There was totally a scenario, a very likely scenario, where the book never went anywhere,
guests. There are three buildings on-site, and the guests are divided by which building they call homeaway-from-home.
“While Building A has a view of the ocean, Building B has a view of the gardens. And Building C has a view of the parking lot,” Wassmer explains. When cataclysm strikes, the guests of the resort must overcome their prejudices to work together.
Wassmer wrote most of the novel during the early Covid pandemic, and he says the apocalyptic atmosphere and the stark differences in dangers and comforts available to people in different careers and income brackets were strong influences on his work.
“Obviously inequalities exist every day, but Covid really brought them front and center,” he remembers. While he answered emails from his couch, other people were forced to risk their lives just to earn a paycheck. It was impossible not to see, and be moved by, the uneven access to healthcare, stark decline in employment opportunities, and other challenges faced by so-called essential workers.
where it was never published,” Wassmer says. “I got lucky. The book is good. There’s some baseline stuff you have to do to enable yourself to get lucky, but I also know a lot of writers just as good or better than me who will never get this opportunity.”
Part of his goal in writing Zero Stars was, seemingly paradoxically, to work through his feelings about what it meant about himself if Zero Stars were never published.
DON’T LET THE SUN SET ON YOUR DREAMS
The personal stakes are high in Zero Stars, but so too are the societal repercussions. What does it mean to defend yourself — does that obligation start and end with you? With your family?
Wassmer deftly explores class dynamics in the novel. The resort is built on a strict hierarchy of leisure, based around a three-tiered pay scale for the
“One of the questions I wanted to explore in this book is, ‘Who really benefits when the world ends?’” Wassmer explains. The denizens of Building A certainly seem to profit, at least at first. In fact, some of the humor in the novel derives from the absurdity that Lillyanna Collins, of BeachBod by Lillyanna fame, emerges as one of the island’s leaders. Lillyanna’s name recognition and perceived aura of success lend her credibility, though other people on the island have more practice working in a crisis. Of course, anyone who remembers the first six months of 2020 will find the novel’s absurdity to be an indicator of its honesty.
Wassmer’s debut novel is heartfelt, hopeful, and laugh-out-loud funny. The author nimbly sidesteps the common first novel mistakes. The characters feel authentic and have their own voices, and Wassmer never strays into sermonizing. He has turned in a compelling book that is both entertaining and meaningful. As such, Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend ’s clever title is more than a bit of a misnomer. This novel deserves four stars and every recommendation.
BABY STEPS
MY ROAD TO RECOVERY AFTER A FALL.
BY SHARA CLARK
Until this spring, although I’m probably the clumsiest person I know, I prided myself on never having broken a bone. All my structural pieces were intact and in working order, aside from some likely weak tendons from many ankle sprains through the years.
Today, I’m turning the corner into month five of recovery from an April fall that broke the ends of both bones in my lower left leg. You may relate because of an experience of your own (I’m sorry). Or (heavens forbid) you may fi nd yourself in a similar predicament. Unfortunately, the answer to “what happened?” is boring, but here I am — confessing that I was simply walking around. Some of us are more prone to tripping over things, more likely to take a tumble from time to time.
I am one of those people. And on this particular evening, my stylish but ill-fated platform boots were my ankle’s undoing. Perhaps there was an uneven bit of pavement, a tree root peeking through as I walked along the sidewalk, but suddenly I found myself lying on the concrete. It hurt — a lot. I couldn’t manage to stand. ere was no broken skin, but when I removed the heavy boot, my foot plopped down and dangled at the end of my leg.
A TRIP TO THE E.R. (AND A HOSPITAL STAY)
After an X-ray, a CT scan, and some time in a room, I was dizzy with pain and medicated by the hospital staff so they could attempt to shift my ankle in place using bare hands and force. at was a no-go (ouch!), so I was prepped for emergency surgery. e next part was a blur, of course, and I awoke from anesthesia with metal pins jutting from my shin and heel, all bolted to a brace strapped to my leg.
From the surgeon’s report: “Attention was fi rst directed to the left lower extremity where
manual reduction was performed and I could feel the ankle slipped back in the joint. … a calcaneal transfixing pin was then placed across the calcaneus under the guide of intraop fluoroscopy. Attention was then directed to the proximal tibia where two 5mm half pins were placed sequentially proximal and distal … the ankle was distracted and the coupling mechanisms were tightened down, securing the ankle into near anatomic alignment.”
I spent one week laid up in the hospital, with another surgery and (among other things) the removal of that horrid external metal contraption on day five. e technical terms on that procedure: “Open reduction internal fi xation left trimalleolar ankle fracture; Syndesmotic stabilization … Deltoid ligament repair … Removal of deep hardware.” And then came what I guess you could call an internal fixator, with the installation of “arthrex anatomical fibular plate with locking and nonlocking screws, syndesmotic screw.”
All of that is a fancy way of saying I’m now the proud owner of a titanium plate and several screws — lined up along the outside of my bone like nails in a board.
ROAD TO RECOVERY
T wo days following that surgery, I was discharged. I’d acquired borrowed essentials: a shower chair, a walker, a four-wheeled walker with a seat, a knee scooter (this was too difficult to maneuver for me; do not recommend), and a wheelchair. It was those first few weeks that were the toughest.
In the hospital, the first treatment involved stabilizing the fracture, with “transfixing pins” drilled directly into the bones.
On a plethora of pain and anti-inflammatory prescriptions, I was still aching and restless. At first, I couldn’t even get out of bed on my own. But with time I learned to navigate the house with one good leg and the rolling walker/chair — although my narrow door frames suffered. Outings were only for the many follow-up medical appointments — wound cleaning and redressing, more X-rays — weekly at first, then biweekly.
Looking back, the worst part might have been the frustration of feeling helpless, trapped in my body with its limitations. Proper healing doesn’t happen standing up with such an injury, so a lot of time was spent in bed — my leg elevated, required rest — waiting, waiting, waiting. Longing for my daily neighborhood walks.
In the early weeks, I struggled with uncomfortable swelling that sometimes made it impossible to sleep at night. About a month in, the 30 staples lining my leg were removed — at a follow-up in the clinic with no numbing (just don’t watch and it feels like little pricks). is was followed by a stubborn incision that refused to close. At every appointment, I paid close attention to the doctor’s suggestions. Compression socks, even more ice and elevation, betadine, B-12 complex, collagen supplements, frequency of changing bandages, no weight bearing at all!
Eight weeks in, I had a fi nal surgery to restitch the stubborn wound and have an internal pin removed. ( at particular pin could later limit flexibility of the ankle. It could also, I was told, eventually break and a person would have the split pieces in there until … forever? No thanks.)
WALKING AGAIN
It was around month two when I was given the green light to bear weight, wearing an orthopedic boot. An exciting moment indeed after all that lying around, but I found myself having to relearn to walk.
X-rays reveal the “deep hardware” — a steel plate attached to the fibula.
Bomb, MD, FACC, RPVI
•
It wasn’t just that it felt funny — and scary — after what I knew my bones had been through, but I had to rewire my brain, too, and build back muscles in my calves, thighs, and even my back.
My foot felt tingly, as if it had just awoken from a months-long slumber (it had), burning as the nerves reignited to do the job they’ve done for decades. Just like riding a bike, I suppose, but accompanied by strange lightning strikes of pain and a brain that didn’t want to cooperate. You don’t realize what it takes to stand up and walk around on two legs until you haven’t done that for a while.
Heading into month four as I write, the top of my foot still burns and tingles, and there is still swelling if I’m upright too long, but I’m walking (hobbling) now in supportive shoes without the boot. Short distances, but it’s a start. Last week, I completed my first two sessions of physical therapy. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but during the initial assessment, I realized how far I still have to go to get my foot working correctly — and my brain firing with my foot again to work on balance, rebound, and recovery while walking.
We’re working on stretching and strength now, a little at a time and at a comfortable pace for me. A few minutes on the recumbent stepper, toe raises, sit-down reps with a circular balance board (standing on a balance board comes later). Between sessions, I’m doing exercises at home (which might be good to do even without an ankle injury) — working on the ABCs, but with your feet, holding your leg out and “writing” each letter in the air with your toes to improve flexibility. These few months felt like time both stood still and moved quickly. In the thick of it, those painful days went on and on. But now that I’m more mobile, it seems to have happened in a flash. I’m reflecting on the stories I heard from strangers while out with the boot or in the wheelchair. After asking what had happened, they’d share a similar injury story. From one woman who fell while roller-skating with her kids to another woman who dropped a large can of pie filling on her foot in the grocery store, and many more, I learned I’m not alone in what I’ve been through. And it’s often not some daredevil move that lands you in a predicament.
This journey has been a lesson in patience and gratitude. In trusting that our miraculous bodies, which know what to do, can and will mend. But it takes baby steps. And I took more of those recently, on my first neighborhood walk since April. It was less than a mile, but I’ve never been so thankful for sidewalks and trees and clouds and light breezes and passing cars and the houses full of people living full lives — while I stroll, stronger and smiling, the finish line in clear view.
Shara Clark is editor of the Memphis Flyer
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THE FIRST BLUFF CITY
Many centuries before European settlers arrived, a community thrived here. Archaeology reveals the rich history of the First Americans in the Mid-South.
BY CHRIS M C COY
Before we begin, a thought exercise: Look around you. Where are you right now, as you read these words? Most likely, you find yourself in the greater Memphis area; perhaps at home, perhaps at work, perhaps fidgeting in a waiting room. Now imagine that time is rewinding. You watch the years flip back from 2024 to 1924. What do you see? You keep going, 200 years, 1,000 years, 5,000 years, 10,000 years into the past. You’re gazing around at where the streets and buildings of Memphis will be. What do you see? Who do you see?
THE THINGS THEY LEFT BEHIND
The Mid-South is a lousy place to do archaeology. The first problem is the climate. One key to the wealth of knowledge about ancient Egypt is the hot, dry desert clime, ideal for preserving physically delicate, information-rich artifacts like textiles and papyrus scrolls. In the Mid-South and Central Mississippi Valley, conditions are quite different. “We are in a wet, humid climate,” says Anthony J. Lauricella, manager of the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa, the archaeological site in southwest Memphis. “Except for very rare, kind of lucky occasions, that’s not really conducive to preservation of organic materials.”
e second problem is that none of the First Americans who lived in the Mississippi Valley developed writing. “Prior to European contact, the Chickasaws didn’t read or write, so there’s no documented evidence,” says Wilson Seawright, genealogy manager for the Chickasaw Nation in Ada, Oklahoma. eir knowledge of proto-history “... relies primarily on the oral history, and that’s subject to interpretation. ere could be some errors, because it’s passed down from person to person.”
e last few centuries have been a time of great change in North America. European colonists who started arriving in droves 400 years ago saw the land as rich for plunder and devel-
ABOVE: A thousand years ago, these mounds at Towosahgy State Historic Site in southeastern Missouri were the center of a Mississippian village. The First American culture dominated the Mississippi Valley from roughly 900-1400 AD.
opment. e wars, forced removals, and genocides that accompanied the expansion of the United States, Canada, and Mexico destroyed cultures and erased thousands of years of history. e colonists found mounds and ruins everywhere they went, but few believed they were the work of the people they called Indians. It was omas Jefferson who first proposed that these monumental earthworks were made by the ancestors of the people who still lived here.
e idea was slow to take hold. Over time, the social sciences of archaeology and anthropology evolved. With the addition of geology and climatology, and a renewed emphasis on working alongside Native Americans instead of viewing them solely as subjects of study, a more complete picture has emerged of the First Americans. It is an epic story of discovery and migration, of the rise and fall of empires, all told through bits and pieces of everyday life that were accidentally preserved.
“We’re talking about spans of time that, to be honest, I think the human mind has trouble comprehending,” says Lauricella “We live in historical worlds, so a hundred years is a long time. We’re talking about more time by several orders of magnitude than our nation has existed. It’s hard to wrap your head around.”
ARRIVAL
The first people to reach our area, known as the Paleoindians or Paleo-Indigenous, likely arrived from North Asia via the Bering Strait about 14,000 years ago. “There’s no way to know what they called themselves, so archaeologists create a terminology to apply to these broad cultural patterns that we see in the archaeological record,” says David H. Dye, professor of archaeology at the University of Memphis and co-author of Geology, Archaeology, and Earthquakes of the Central Mississippi Valley (Arkansas Archaeological Survey, 2024). Dye elaborates, “One of the things that’s really interesting — and this is around the world, not just Native Americans — is that people tend to refer to themselves as
‘The People’ or ‘People of the River’ or ‘People of the Forest.’ They see themselves as human beings.”
e Paleoindians traveled broadly, moving in family groups numbering a couple of dozen at most. ey could go months or years without encountering another group of people. “ ey were essentially hunter-gatherers and foragers,” says Dye. “ ere was no agriculture. e only domesticated animal they had would have been dogs that [traveled] with them.
“These are not simple societies,” he continues, “but they are not organized at higher levels than the family. These are extremely complex people, hunter-gatherers: They know the land. They know thousands of square miles like you would know Walmart or Kroger. If they want something, they know exactly where to go to get it, and how to make the tools to extract it. As I tell my students, it’s not that people are primitive or simple; it’s that our understanding of them is simple.”
e Mississippi Valley landscape they found was very different than what we see today. As the glaciers melted, torrents of water flowed south. e Mississippi River at Memphis was a network of braided channels stretching up to 60 miles west of the bluffs. Mega floods caused by breaking ice dams periodically swept the area. According to Dye, the first recognizable culture is called Clovis.
Named for the New Mexico town where their distinctive fluted spearpoints were first found, the Clovis people were long believed to have been the first inhabitants of North America, but more recent archaeological finds have called this into question. Archaeologically speaking, Dye explains, Clovis spread very quickly. “ ere are two hypotheses. One is that they were literally moving very quickly across the landscape — which they were certainly capable of doing. e other is that Clovis was not a culture so much as it was a technology. If you have groups of people who are already here, thinly spread across the landscape, then an idea could race through them. So, you may not be seeing people move: You’re seeing an idea move.”
or weapons, the spear heads seem to have indicated social rank. “Dalton is really the beginnings of what we think of as tribal society,” says Dye.
Seasonal camps started to become permanent about 5,400 years ago, in the middle of the Archaic era, when an unknown people built the first mounds at Watson Brake in what is now northeastern Louisiana. e oval arrangements of eleven earthworks predate Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. As cultures became more complex, more mounds arose. At Poverty Point, located across the Mississippi from Vicksburg, a semi-circular complex of earthworks arranged around a central plaza formed an actual town around 3,700 years ago.
Poverty Point was probably a ceremonial center where a priesthood lived full-time, visited regularly by hunter-gatherers. While these people did not have recognizable agriculture yet, they did have commerce: Trade goods from as far away as the Appalachians, the Ozarks, and Ohio have been found at the massive site. Indeed, it was apparently the center of a widespread culture; artifacts from Poverty Point have been found as far south as the Gulf Coast.
en, something presumably very bad — and now, very mysterious — happened. After 600 years of occupation, Poverty Point was entirely abandoned. No one lived in the Central Mississippi Valley for the next 500 years.
THE WOODLANDS
ABOVE: An artist’s rendering of the Archaic village at Poverty Point, Louisiana circa 1300 BCE. This mound complex on the banks of the Mississippi river predates the development of agriculture in North America.
THE GATHERING OF THE TRIBES
The Paleoindians increased in number for 6,000 years. Megafauna such as woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, and giant sloths disappeared as a result of human hunting and climate change. e ice-age glaciers melted, and the Mississippi River began to look more like the river Memphians today might recognize. Human contact — outside family units — became more frequent.
Yet we know very little about these cultures. Dye offers two reasons for the absence of knowledge. “One is that what remains of their technology is very limited. ey used a lot of woven and wooden objects that [did not endure]. e other reason is that, at least in the Mississippi Valley, [what objects do remain] are under 20 or 30 feet of sediment.”
e artifacts we have from the earliest periods tend to be found along eroding riverbanks, which means they lack context. at makes accurate historical dating very difficult. “You can’t date stone,” says Lauricella. “If you were to find one of those [artifacts], to get a secure date on it, you would have to find it in association with some sort of stratified organic material that you could do carbon-14 dating on. And that’s a very rare occurrence.”
e emergence of the Dalton culture around 3,500 BCE marks the beginning of the Archaic period. “Almost all of the Dalton sites have been destroyed in the area between the Ozarks and Crowley’s Ridge. We call it the Western Lowlands. ere were thousands of sites there. It was an incredibly rich culture. Nearly all of that stuff ’s gone as a result of rice farming — they just land-leveled everything. Dalton’s really interesting, because they created the earliest cemeteries that we have found in the New World.”
Dalton period burials near Slone in Northwest Arkansas show the first signs of hierarchy and religion: High-status individuals like chiefs and shamans were buried with oversized spear heads. Useless as tools
When the Woodlands Period began, about 3,000 years ago, people began to build mounds again, such as the Pinson Mounds site near Jackson, Tennessee, believed to be connected to the Hopewell culture. Another site of the same vintage near Marked Tree, Arkansas, was destroyed in the early 1980s. About 1000 BCE, signs of occupation returned along the Mississippi, but they were small and temporary. Trade remained limited.
By around 200 BCE, log-lined tombs began to appear. “You do have mounds, but they’re not places where people are living for a long period of time,” says Dye. e Plum Bayou mounds outside of Little Rock, Arkansas, are typical of the period. e large ritual center is circled by an embankment and a moat — not for defense, but rather to separate sacred from mundane space, Dye explains.
In the late Woodland period, weaponry evolved as atlatl spear throwers, the weapon of choice for millennia, were replaced by bows and arrows. Tribal feuds were more deadly, and people began congregating in larger groups for protection. Agriculture had become more sophisticated during the Woodland period, and maize (corn) was introduced from Central America.
At first, it seems the new crop was rare, eaten only on major feast days. Farmers learned to plant maize next to squash and beans. “Beans fix nitrogen into the soil, and are eaten,” says Lauricella. “ en, squash spreads its runners out, and that sort of shapes the ground. You don’t lose as much water to evaporation.”
ese “ ree Sisters” crops increased food production, and field farming took off. With it came a population explosion, and more complex social hierarchies. Massive floods, which may have driven the depopulation of the Mississippi Valley, became rarer as the climate stabilized. e time was ripe for revolution.
A NEW RELIGION
By 1050 AD, First Americans had been building mounds on and off for 4000 years. But there had never been anything like Cahokia. Situated in Southern Illinois just across the river from St. Louis is the largest archaeological site in North America. At its center is Monks Mound, an earthen pyramid 30 meters tall. Its 17-acre base is wider than the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt. Even more remarkably, Monks Mound was the center of a complex of more than 120 mounds. Places like Poverty Point and Plum Bayou evolved and grew over time. Cahokia was built all at once, in a human lifetime. It
was a planned community that experts believe once housed 20,000 full-time residents. e population swelled with visitors during feasts and festivals where thousands of deer were eaten.
Cahokia was the epicenter of a cultural revolution. From Iowa to Ohio, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, everyone adapted the same mound-and-plaza town plan. Was this the result of conquest by a great king? Probably not. Even though a burial was found, at Cahokia’s Mound 72, of a high-status individual dressed in lavish beaded garments, he probably wasn’t a monarch. Cahokia was the center of a new religion.
“Cahokia was a pilgrimage area,” says Dye. “ is idea of pilgrimage has a long, deep history in Eastern North America. Cahokia is a more recent iteration of that phenomenon. I think, for the most part, these are elites that are going up there. Ritual and religion are always tied to politics.”
Consultation with contemporary Native Americans have allowed anthropologists to reconstruct some of the myths that made Cahokianism so compelling. For thousands of years, First American society had been based on elaborate kinship networks and shamanic societies. e beginning of the Mississippian period is marked in the archaeological record by the sudden appearance of red pottery with complex designs symbolizing the sky, where Hero Twins (thunder and lightning) lived; the earth, where the people lived; and the Beneath World, the realm of the Great Serpent and evil giants.
According to one legend, Red Horn was a master of chunkey (also called tchung-kee), a game where a smooth round stone was rolled down a track. Players threw spears in the path of the stone, and the winner was the competitor whose spear came closest to where the stone stopped rolling. Red Horn traveled to the underworld to play chunkey with the giants. When he lost, the giants claimed his spirit. e Hero Twins took pity on Red Horn, using their magic to bring him back to life, and returning him to rule over the Earth.
When tribal elites traveled to Cahokia, the theory goes, they were taught the ritual of Red Horn, and became honorary kin. us, a system of family ties was transformed into something like a nation-state stretching over most of North America.
CHUCALISSA
After a period of increasing violence, peace appears to have taken hold as the new belief system spread. Mississippian sites at Obion, Reelfoot, and Shiloh in Tennessee were early adaptors of Cahokianism. On the bluffs above the Mississippi River a settlement now known as Chucalissa was founded. “ ere’s some small Woodland sites all through Shelby County, as there are through all parts of North America,” says Lauricella. He explains that in this period, pottery, agriculture, and cultivated crops were more common, as were mound-building and village settlements.
“Chucalissa was a typical Mississippian site,” he says. ere is a platform mound and a plaza, surrounded by houses. Higher-status people, presumably involved with the leadership of the group, lived on the chief’s mound. Lauricella notes that he and colleagues believe the fields below the bluff were used for agriculture.
At its peak, about a thousand people lived in the first Bluff City. “ ere were bigger Mississippian centers. However, if we were to look across the planet at that time, that would have been, in its own right, a fairly large settlement,” says Lauricella. “It was probably connected to the mounds downtown, where the Metal Museum is, which haven’t been investigated scientifically in the way that Chucalissa has been. en, even farther away, there were smaller farming communities that traded or had family connections with Chucalissa. Most of those smaller sites were plowed under years ago by early European farmers, unfortunately. We may only be getting a very particular window, essentially based on luck.”
DOWNFALL
The peace of the Cahokian time lasted for about a hundred years. At Cahokia’s Mound 72, there are hints of a dark side within the uniting religion. Nineteen women are buried in a mass grave, dating to roughly the beginning of the city. Were they sacrificed? War captives? Rebels? We may never know. Around 1150 CE, civil war broke out. A huge palisade wall, made from more than 20,000 thick tree trunks, was built around one neighborhood. Two other neighborhoods were burned.
“By 1180, people were beginning to leave,” says Dye. “By 1250, half of the people are gone. By 1300 there’s tumbleweeds in the street. All those people who were at Cahokia headed in different directions and created new communities. A lot of them come into Southeast Missouri, and we think droughts were driving them out. e droughts were really stressing people during the early part of the Little Ice Age, and those stressors probably undermined religious beliefs.”
Where the Cahokian refugees went, war followed. Early Mississippian warfare was a mannered sport for aristocrats. After Cahokia fell, it was ethnic cleansing. At Crow Creek, South Dakota, 486 people — an entire village — were massacred, their bodies dumped into a half-completed defensive moat. In one Illinois cemetery from the period, one-third of all adults died from blows to the head. At first, the Mid-South was spared the violence. en, in 1375, the 90-house village of Powers Fort was burned. Drought returned yet more, and Chucalissa was mostly abandoned around 1400.
BELOW: A recreation of the Mississippian community on the Memphis bluffs, circa 1300, from the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa.
IABOVE: The mounds at Winterville, near Greenwood, Mississippi. This late Mississippian site was constructed and occupied as the Mississippian capital Cahokia was in decline.
FIRST CONTACT
n May of 1539, the conquistador Hernando de Soto landed near Tampa Bay, Florida, with 600 Spanish soldiers, 200 horses, and enough supplies for an 18-month exploration of the new Spanish territory of North America. In 1541, when he crossed the Mississippi River near Memphis, Chucalissa had been a ghost town for more than a century. On the Western side of the river, though, he saw signs of habitation everywhere.
Droughts had pushed people into the area between Crowley’s Ridge in Arkansas and the bluffs at Memphis. Dye estimates that up to a hundred thousand people lived in that area.
At the confluence of the St. Francis and the Tyronza Rivers, de Soto found a heavily fortified Mississippian village under the command of a chief named Casqui. Today, Casqui’s city is the Parkin Archaeological State Park. “Cahokia and other big Mississippian sites were more Early Mississippian. en they had declines, and we [Parkin] kind of rose during their decline,” says Nathan Odom, Park Superintendent. “We’re a 17-acre site, but 23 other sites in the area range in size.” Collectively they are considered the Parkin Phase. e site at Parkin Archaeological State Park was likely the capital.
The Mississippians de Soto encountered were technologically advanced. de Soto’s scribes recounted canoes holding some 60 people each. The culture’s mythology was represented in pottery. Other “effigy pots” appeared to show portraits of individuals. “The effigy pots are amazing,” says Odom. “Roughly 105 of them are documented. They come from northeast Arkansas, [and] Southern Missouri.
One of the leading theories is that [the pots] are like death masks, because they were associated with burials. So it could represent the deceased person. It could represent a revered ancestor. Or it could be a war trophy.”
e warfare sparked by Cahokia’s collapse continued. de Soto’s scribes wrote, “Casqin and his parents, grandparents, and ancestors for many centuries previous had war with the lord or lords of another providence, called Capaha, which bordered his own.”
With the help of the Spanish, Casqui sacked Capaha, destroying their temple and desecrating their honored dead. But the worst was yet to come.
“A lot of people would argue, well, de Soto massacred people, de Soto brought in diseases. ey all died,” says Dye. “ ere’s no archaeological evidence for that. ese cultures are booming after de Soto leaves.”
In the early 1600s, the French set up trading posts in Canada. European colonists brought with them novel diseases which the North American population, isolated for at least 14,000 years, had never encountered. Lauricella notes that one skeleton found at Chucalissa shows skeletal evidence for tuberculosis.
“In the 1630s, they’re beginning to engage in the fur trade in the Great Lakes area,” says Dye. “I think that they’re bringing back smallpox, because they disappear overnight. One minute they’re there, and the next minute they’re gone.” Wave after wave of pandemic disease swept through the First Americans. In the Central Mississippi Valley, the death rate approached 90 percent.
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ABOVE ) Effigy pots like this one are believed to be portraits of individuals who lived almost a thousand years ago. The red colors identify it as an artifact from the Mississippian period.
OPPOSITE ) This detailed human figure was found in Stoddard County, Missouri. It is now in the Smithsonian Institution’s Anthropology collection.
FIRST AMERICAN HERITAGE
Without the pandemics, the European conquest of North America would have gone quite differently, if it were a conquest at all. As it was, the weakened First Americans were balkanized and divided. Many who survived the cataclysm adopted new identities. e next 250 years would bring a series of wars, removals, and genocides at the hands of Europeans.
Wilson Seawright is the genealogy manager for the Chickasaw Nation in Ada, Oklahoma, and a member of the Nation. He says, “ e story about Chickasaw history simply is that they came from some point in the West. Where in the West, we don’t really know. e Chickasaw migrated into the areas of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.”
Seawright says First American communities, including the Chickasaw, are constantly battling old stereotypes. “ ere’s just misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge about
Native Americans in general. Chickasaws were woodland people. We lived in the southeast part of the United States where there were a lot of timber creeks and rivers. We were not Plains Indians: We didn’t have teepees. We didn’t wear big headdresses. at’s what many people think, because that’s what they see on TV.”
ere is a movement afoot to set the record straight. “When people think about First Americans, Indians, Native Americans, most people think about the past immediately. ey don’t think about the present. And a lot of people don’t know how successful and vibrant contemporary First American culture is,” says Brady Davis, CEO of the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation. “I’m not going to say that people necessarily intentionally get anything wrong. But I feel that it’s extremely important that groups are able to share their history and their culture from their experience and from their perspective, because that is their identity. at is who they are. ey know who they are better than anybody else.”
The Inkana Foundation recently broke ground on a new Chickasaw Heritage Center in Tupelo, Mississippi. Construction of the $60 million facility is funded by the Chickasaw Nation, the federal government, and the state of Mississippi.
“Inkana” means “friend” in the Chickasaw language. e reason archaeologists and anthropologists study the deep past is to help us better know our present selves. “ e people who lived here are not fundamentally different from us,” says Dye. “So much of human differences are so thin, and I think people often overlook that. We get wound up with looking at how we’re different. Focus on how we are alike, and maybe we’ll get along better.”
THE FINAL FLIGHT OF THE T
On February 10, 1944, an American Airlines DC-3 plunged into the Mississippi River near Memphis, killing all aboard — at the time the second-worst disaster in American aviation history. What happened that night?
BY MICHAEL FINGER
he witnesses testifying at the Civil Aeronautics Board Accident Investigation, held in Memphis on February 22, 1944, couldn’t agree on what they had heard in the skies over Arkansas 12 days earlier. A half-hour before midnight on February 10, they had looked up as American Airlines Trip 2, dubbed the Sun Country Special, flew overhead. Some reported the propeller-driven plane’s engines sounded normal. Two boys, just a few miles farther east, said the plane backfired several times. Others claimed the engines went silent, then restarted with a bang. The last witness, a watchman on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vessel moored along the banks of the Mississippi River, heard an unusual whistling noise, “like a rocket going off.” What he saw was the most critical testimony of all. Instead of its normal cruising altitude of 5,000 feet, the twin-engine passenger plane had plunged to 200 feet and barely cleared the Arkansas levee. With the right wing tilted downward, the plane plunged into the river at the bend around Cow Island, just 18 miles south of Memphis. With a tremendous explosion and fireball, the aircraft disintegrated, killing everyone aboard — 21 passengers and three crew members. As one of the investigators described the scene, “it was like throwing a water-filled paper bag against a concrete wall.”
At that time, the crash of the Sun Country Special became the second-worst disaster in the history of American aviation. To this day, the cause of the tragedy remains a mystery.
SUN COUNTRY SPECIAL
river during the salvage operation, showing broken pieces of the plane, and items carried aboard by the passengers, such as the clothing and suitcases on page 39.
“Suddenly, the plane hit the water about 150 to 200 yards off the barge with a loud noise and burst of flame and sank immediately. For a moment a ball of fire seemed to roll forward on the water and then it too disappeared. The waves from it rocked the heavy barge.”
—CHARLES WILLIAMS, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
American Airlines Captain Dale B. Francis, age 39, pulled the big plane up to the runway, went over the pre-flight checklist, and waited for the all-clear command from the tower at Adams Field, the airport at Little Rock. An experienced pilot, he had joined American in 1939 as a first officer and had flown as a captain since 1942. During that time, he had logged some 13,500 hours in the air, more than half of those on the popular DC-3, the dual-engine aircraft that had become the workhorse for commercial and military airlines.
Powered by Wright Cyclone 1,200-horsepower engines, the DC-3 was conceived in 1936 when the CEO of American Airlines contacted the Douglas Aircraft Corporation of Santa Monica, California. He wondered if they could design a plane capable of carrying either cargo or passengers (or sometimes both), and was durable enough to handle the toughest flying conditions. The DC-3 quickly became the mainstay of American Airlines and other carriers, and this particular flight, called simply Trip 2, followed a transcontinental path that linked Los Angeles with New York, with three refueling stops along the way. The cross-country journey took only 18 hours.
The plane itself, tail number NC 21767, had flown some 10,000 hours since leaving the factory in 1939. It had been overhauled on December 24, 1943, and the propellers had also been replaced at that time. According to the Civil Aeronautics Administration records, “the maintenance of this aircraft was satisfactory.”
Sharing the cockpit that evening was First Officer Raymond R. Majors. Just 25 years old, he had joined American in 1942 and had accumulated only 1,900 hours of flight time, with some 300 hours flying a DC-3. The third member of the crew was Dovie Holybee, the stewardess, who had been with American Airlines since 1942. She would be in charge of 21 passengers, who filled every seat. Half of those were military personnel, being shuttled around the country to other assignments. Of the non-military passengers, one worked for the Sperry Corporation in New York, one was a doctor in Philadelphia, and the others’ occupations were not recorded.
The plane also carried nine canvas bags stuffed with 358 pounds of airmail. The ground crew at Little Rock filled the fuel tanks, so the plane was carrying its maximum amount of fuel, more than 400 gallons. Even so, the DC-3 was such a workhorse, that even with the full complement of passengers, mail, and fuel, it wasn’t considered overloaded.
The weather that night was clear, with no storms in the area, and only light gusts of wind. By all accounts, it should have been a routine flight. Captain Francis pulled back on the throttles, rolled his plane down the runway, and the big plane lifted off at precisely 10:56 p.m. With a cruising speed of 207 miles per hour, the Sun Country Special would touch down in Memphis in less than an hour, arriving here at 11:40 p.m.
In those days, smaller airports like Little Rock and Memphis didn’t track commercial airplanes with radar. Instead the pilots followed a series of radio beacons, which operated on different frequencies, while also communicating with the nearest towers
by radio messages. Since the DC-3 didn’t have jet engines, it flew at much lower altitudes to take advantage of the heavier air. At a cruising altitude of 5,000 feet (less than a mile), pilots could use highways, buildings, rivers, and other features as landmarks.
As the plane approached Memphis, the tower contacted Francis and instructed him to land here, so he could pick up a “high-priority” passenger bound for Nashville. These were war times, and this happened frequently; “high-priority” usually meant “high-ranking.” In this case, however, with his plane full, Francis would have to exchange one of his passengers for the new one, and reports indicate a brief radio conversation about the weight of the passenger and his luggage, so the transfer would be smooth. This last communication would be the last anyone would ever receive from the Sun Country Special
When the DC-3 was still about 20 miles from the river, several witnesses on the ground noticed it flying overhead, but as they later told investigators, didn’t think anything was unusual. That situation began to change rapidly as the airplane continued eastward. Within three miles of the river, John Lee William noticed the plane flew over his farm unusually low. He later told reporters, “The motors stopped running, started up again with very loud roars and popping, and then the plane disappeared over the levee.”
Not too far away, two young brothers, Joe and Henry Qualls, also saw the low-flying plane, as they walked along a country road. They testified at the CAB hearing that it “backfired loudly as it went overhead and then went silent.”
The chief witness was Charles Williams, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers watchman, who saw the DC-3 come within a hundred feet of his barge. He had time to notice that the plane’s red and green navigation lights “were blinking off and on” and both engines were “roaring at an awful speed.” To his horror, he watched as the plane then plunged directly into the river.
“Suddenly, the plane hit the water about 150 to 200 yards off the barge with a loud noise and burst of flame and sank immediately,” he later told The Commercial Appeal. “For a moment a ball of fire seemed to roll forward on the water and then it too disappeared. The waves from it rocked the heavy barge.”
Williams ran to wake his foreman, W.R. Wellborn. The two unlashed a smaller powerboat and headed for the crash site. According to The Commercial Appeal, “They found no trace of oil, floating wreckage, or even bubbles and returned to shore. Wellborn then walked to a farmhouse a half mile away and called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in West Memphis.”
By this time, officials at the Memphis airport had noticed the Sun Country Special was overdue, but couldn’t understand what had happened. Just as it approached the river, the plane passed over a “fan beacon,” which was supposed to alert the pilot to switch to the radio frequency used by the Memphis tower. When Francis failed to do so, the tower tried to contact the plane four times, without success. By this time, it should have been in view, if not already approaching the runway for a landing. All alerts now went out, to the U.S. Coast Guard and even the Memphis Police Department, to be on the lookout for
the missing plane, thinking that it had perhaps made a forced landing in the cotton fields on either side of the river.
Boats gathering at the crash site realized the scope of the tragedy when debris such as luggage and seat cushions from the crash began to float to the surface or wash ashore. The plane had now been underwater long enough that there was no hope of survival for the passengers or crew, so Corps of Engineers vessels began to converge at Cow Island to develop a salvage plan. The river was 25 feet deep at that bend, but a DC-3 stood almost 20 feet tall, from ground to tail tip, so they at least held out hope the plane was intact, and would be found easily. That hope was quickly dashed; the entire plane had somehow disappeared beneath the muddy water, so searchers would have to wait for morning light to begin their grim task.
Memphians were no doubt stunned to pick up their newspapers the next day and read the front-page headline: “Big Airliner Plunges In River Near Here; 24 Persons Aboard.” Some remembered that a similar disaster had taken place at almost the same spot just eight years earlier; in that case, the plane — also a DC-3 — crashed into woods near the river, with no survivors. Older readers remembered that back in 1925, the sinking of the M.E. Norman had also taken place at the Cow Island bend. Tom Lee became a national hero by single-handedly rescuing some 30 passengers, but another 23 drowned, and many of the victims’ bodies were not recovered for weeks, their remains sometimes found miles downstream. Officials here hoped they could recover the victims of the Sun Country Special quickly; it was the least they could do for their families.
A professional diver was brought in early Friday morning. In the days before SCUBA gear, divers clambered into bulky canvas suits, strapped on weight belts and lead shoes, and bolted on a heavy brass diving helmet. A lifeline — a cable with an airline — was their only link to the surface, and the dive would turn deadly if something sharp — a ragged piece of airplane wing, for example — tore open their suit or sliced their oxygen line. The diver’s efforts were futile, however. The current was too powerful for him to stay in one place, and the always muddy river, with a deep layer of silt on the bottom, reduced visibility to zero. After several attempts, he gave up.
This now became a full-scale salvage operation, and the Corps of Engineers brought in the huge dredge vessel Ockerson and another boat, Arkansas II, equipped with grappling hooks and wire nets, in an attempt to snare portions of the wreck. What they soon discovered, however, was that the airplane was no longer intact. The impact with the water had shattered the plane — and its occupants — into thousands of pieces.
The dredge had massive scoops that would dig into the riverbed and deposit what it found on the deck of a nearby barge, where investigators looked through everything. The Arkansas ’ grappling hooks accomplished the same thing. Considering the size of the search area, this was slow, tedious work — the temperature had dropped below freezing — and often gruesome, as the crews began to turn up passengers’ belongings and then human remains.
Pieces of the plane began to fill the deck of the barge: the twisted door of the luggage department, a portion of the tail, pieces of a wing, a propeller blade, a landing wheel, even an engine. The Commercial Appeal kept a running inventory of the personal items located: “a large thermos jug from which the plane’s hostess had served coffee, a Naval ensign’s coat, an Army officer’s flying boot, and two briefcases that bore the names of passengers. The fact that this scattered debris was far downstream [from the crash site] seemed to confirm the belief that the airliner disintegrated after striking the water at nearly 200 miles an hour.”
The newspaper coverage repeatedly emphasized the force of the crash. When a row of seats was snagged by the grappling hooks and tugged to the surface, the reporter noted, “The mute evidence of arm rests, each twisted in an almost identical manner, tells of the tremendous impact and quick disintegration.” Perhaps this was designed to make readers understand — or at least hope — that the passengers hadn’t suffered: “The power behind the impact has convinced searchers that death intervened so swiftly that none of the passengers knew what happened.”
But where were all those passengers? The plane had crashed on a Thursday night. For three days, the salvage vessels brought up pieces of the plane. Finally, on Monday, The Commercial Appeal headline announced, “River Begins To Give Up Its Plane Dead.” The dredging had turned up five bodies: Captain Edgar Zarr of Dallas; Lieutenant Victor Ramsey of Youngstown, Ohio; Lieutenant Charles Spring of Camp Young, California; and Lieutenant Herbert Sudmeir of Nashville. These men were all military personnel. A fifth body was recovered at the same time, a civilian from Whittier, California, E.C. Miller. The newspaper noted that “only Lieutenant Ramsey’s body was in good condition. The others were mutilated in varying degrees” — either by the crash or by the dredge — “and were identified by military identification tags or items in their clothing.”
Day after day, the investigation began to split into two phases: the physical recovery of items from the crash site, and an analysis of everything in an attempt to find a cause. After all, something had happened so quickly to bring this aircraft down that the pilots apparently had no time to alert the airports. But in these days before “black boxes” recorded control inputs (flaps, throttle, and more) and cockpit voice recordings, they could only rely on the physical evidence left behind.
Investigators noted that several of the bodies still had their seat belts around them, buckled even though they were no longer attached to the seat; the force had ripped out the bolts. However, as the newspaper reported, “That the belts were fastened does not prove anything. It is conceivable that the belts were ordered fastened when the pilot found his ship was out of control. On the other hand, it is thoroughly possible that the signal for passengers to cease smoking and fasten their seatbelts had been switched on” as the Sun Country Special prepared to land.
An important clue surfaced when searchers found the plane’s
“parachute flare” still in its launching tube. is is a special light that a pilot drops at night to prepare for an emergency landing; it illuminates the field or highway where he hopes to put his crippled airliner down. e fact that this safety device remained unused told investigators that a forced landing — at night, remember — wasn’t an option. Pilots who knew Captain Francis expressed doubt that he would try to land on a river bank, and certainly not in the river itself, when the lights of the Memphis airport were visible in the distance.
A sixth body was pulled up on the afternoon of February 14. It was the remains of Lieutenant Linton M. Seifert of Fort Belvoir, Virginia, but stationed at Camp Young, California.
By this time, the dredges and grappling hooks had managed to retrieve almost 75 percent of the airplane, though nothing showed any structural failure. Considering the possibility that something had struck the plane while it was airborne, or some key component had failed in mid-fl ight, authorities recruited Boy Scouts to scour the woods for two miles west of the crash site, looking for any pieces that may have broken off. ey also offered a reward to anyone who uncovered a piece of the plane. Several people came forward with various metal scraps discovered in the woods, but they found nothing from the DC-3.
is being wartime, authorities couldn’t completely rule out sabotage. Witness testimony indicated no evidence of a bomb, but experts took the time to analyze the contents of the thermos bottle that had belonged to the stewardess. It contained no poison, or anything that she might have used to incapacitate the pilots.
e plane’s log book, with its aluminum cover twisted and dented, turned up in one of the dredge deposits, but authorities knew it would offer few clues. Whatever happened to this plane, it was impossible that the captain or first officer took the time to keep a record of it.
Experts also examined what was left of the controls and instrument panel. eir conclusion was that nothing indicated the pilots attempted to change anything — reducing or increasing the throttles, switching the fuel tank valves, lowering the landing gear, turning on the landing lights, changing the flaps — in response to an emergency, or to prepare for an emergency landing. Whatever brought the plane down happened so quickly the crew had no time to react, or to even issue a “Mayday” call over the radio. More recent aviation tragedies have been attributed to a sudden depressurization of the cabin, which could have rendered everyone aboard unconscious within minutes. But these accidents involved modern jetliners flying above 25,000 feet, where the air is thin. At the
low cruising level of the DC-3, even if a door or cargo hatch opened, that wouldn’t have brought down the plane.
en investigators focused on an intriguing possibility. It would be decades before the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson” showed that a flock of geese could bring down a modern-day jetliner by fracturing the blades of its engines, forcing the pilot to make a “controlled water landing” of U.S. Airways 1249 in the Hudson River. Even so, CAB experts considered the possibility of a “bird strike.” After all, the general conclusion was that something had caused the DC-3 pilots to lose control of their plane in a manner of minutes, if not seconds. at would certainly happen if a flock of birds crashed through the plane’s windshield, injuring or even killing both pilots.
It’s not as farfetched as it sounds. One of the searchers, examining a leather suitcase brought to the surface, was confounded by the discovery of feathers that appeared to be driven into the side of the luggage. Experts determined these came from two different birds, a lesser scaup duck and snowy owl, noting that “neither of these types of feathers was used in the passenger pillows.” So they interviewed pilots who had encountered flocks of birds — or even a single large bird — while flying. Although the airmen reported damage and even cracked windshields, investigators never found any instance of an airplane crashing as a result. ey also interviewed the witnesses, who said they had noticed no flocks of birds on the night of the crash. “It is possible that these feathers became attached to the luggage while in the water,” concluded the CAB report, while admitting, “although these feathers are not considered evidence that the airplane collided with birds, such a possibility cannot be entirely discounted.”
The remaining bodies continued to elude searchers, who warned that “all wreckage and bodies are now wholly or partially covered with sand, making it necessary to bite deep into the bottom with the heavy dipper.” is partly explains why the only human remains being located now were “several parts of bone and flesh.”
A surprising find came six days after the crash, when eight mailbags were found in a small area on the bottom of the river, and the ninth bag was found washed ashore, miles downstream. Post Office officials quickly confiscated the bags — containing 378 pounds of airmailed letters and packages — and took the time to sort them out, dry everything, and send everything to the proper recipients.
e last body turned up on February 19, which, “because of extensive deterioration,” could only be identified by its blue American Airlines neck-
tie. This was evidence that the remains were that of the captain or first pilot. Fingerprints were sent to the airline headquarters in New York, for comparison with their records. Within a few days, the results confirmed that the last body recovered from the wreck was First Officer Ray Majors.
Portions of an eighth body were also pulled from the water that day, and this was a particularly gruesome find. They were the leg and foot of a woman. Only two women were aboard that flight — Stewardess Dovie Holybee of Armore, Oklahoma, and Lieutenant Elizabeth McGuire from Little Rock, who was a member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). The Commercial Appeal, which had covered this disaster in such detail, never reported how — or if — the identity of these remains was ever established.
The underwater search was finally called off on February 22, almost two weeks after the crash. It had been one of the most difficult recovery operations and crash investigations in the history of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Teams aboard multiple vessels had worked 24 hours a day in miserable, dangerous conditions. The official statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was: “Having effected recovery of 95 percent of the aircraft involved in an accident in the Mississippi River near Memphis on February 10, due to rising river conditions and the slim possibility of effecting additional recovery at this time, salvage operations of the aircraft are being discontinued.”
Boats up and down the river were encouraged to “be on the lookout” for anything in the water or along the banks that may be related to the plane. Nothing significant ever turned up.
The very next day, the Civil Aeronautics Board opened its investigation into the crash. They brought forth 19 witnesses, along with experts from the Civil Aeronautics Authority, American Airlines, the U.S. Weather Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other government agencies. The result of their detailed investigation was summed up concisely: “The Board is unable to determine the probable cause of this accident based upon the available evidence which has been collected in the present investigation.”
This was an unfortunate conclusion. If experts couldn’t determine what had caused the disaster, especially if it was mechanical failure, how could they prevent a similar tragedy from happening again? Even more troubling, of course, was the complete loss of life for all aboard. The seven bodies recovered were sent to the J.T. Hinton Funeral Home in Memphis, for preparation for transfer to the victims’ hometown mortuaries. For the 17 others, their final resting place would be the Mississippi River.
CURB’S ENTHUSIASMS
Mike Curb has parlayed his music industry successes into life-altering educational projects.
BY ALEX GREENE
Maybe it’s because his career was initially founded on the creative act of songwriting, but even when talking to Mike Curb about dry matters of business or politics, you sense the sheer inspiration that drives him. It doesn’t matter if you’re only speaking with him on the phone — you can still hear the enthusiastic gleam in his eye as he describes a “Eureka!” moment, or stops to wonder “What if?”. Plainly put, he’s enamored with the possibilities of the world.
e Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes College, launched in 2006 with funds from the Mike Curb Family Foundation, embodies some of that energy, taking a uniquely hands-on approach to music education, partnering with the city’s many music industry enterprises to give students both nutsand-bolts experience and a deeper understanding of Southern music’s cultural and historical roots.
Case in point: the meteoric rise of 2023 Rhodes graduate Lina Beach, who, through an Institute project that involved students in a recording session by the great bluesman Bobby Rush, discovered that the source of her favorite Al Green hits was none other than Royal Studios. Over a couple of years, through a combination of pluck and her own talent, Beach
top: Mike Curb at the opening of the Curb Gallery at the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum with Rhodes President Bill Troutt and John Doyle, executive director of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
right: Mike Curb (left) with pioneering Black music industry executive Eddie Ray (center), and Stax Records’ Al Bell (right) celebrating the opening of the Curb Gallery at the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum.
Curb Institute alum Lina Beach playing with the Hi Rhythm Section in Australia earlier this year; Mike and Linda Curb with Carole and President Bill Troutt at the opening of the Curb Institute at Rhodes College; Curb in front of Elvis Presley’s former home on Audubon Drive, which the Curb Foundation purchased and restored “as kind of a laboratory for the Institute.”
wound up interning at the studio, cutting her own material there, and ultimately touring the world as the official guitarist of the Hi Rhythm Section, who backed Green’s ’70s hits and still perform widely today. Beach credits the Curb Institute for kickstarting it all, telling Rhodes’ online news blog that it “helped me find a community of students with the same passion for music I have.”
Beach’s story is one of many that the Mike Curb Institute has set in motion. What’s striking is just how much Curb’s own career benefitted from a similar legup when he was only 18, long before he distinguished himself as an executive and politician. Of course, there was no college institute to rely on then, only the opportunity that a sympathetic ear could offer him.
Finding that opportunity was something Curb pursued single-mindedly from a very young age as he played piano and wrote songs for his group, The Arrows. “I was a Cal State [Northridge] student,” he recalls, “and I wrote a song called ‘You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda.’ I used to walk down to Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, where there were a lot of independent record companies, and I would try to play them my songs. So one day I was at Capitol Records. I don’t even know how I got in there, but I saw
Darin, and I followed him onto the elevator.”
Darin, of course, was a pop star by then. “In 1959, he’d recorded ‘Mack the Knife,’” Curb explains, “which became one of the biggest hits of all time on Atlantic’s subsidiary label, Atco. Then in the early ’60s, he moved to Capitol Records.”
When Curb sidled into the Capitol Records elevator, Darin, only in his mid-20s himself, was already a music industry veteran. “I’d never met him before, but I knew all about him,” says Curb. “And I let him know, in my pitch, how much I liked his records. So he knew that I wasn’t joking. I told him that I had recently started a publishing company and he asked, ‘Oh, are you a songwriter?’ I said yes … so he invited me to his office on the sixth floor of the Capitol Tower.”
Curb played Darin his demo of “You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda” and that was Curb’s lucky break. Darin, claiming the song’s publishing rights, saw an opportunity as well, and called Honda’s ad agency. A new version was recorded for Mercury Records by The Hondells and “they selected my song to be the theme for the Honda commercial,” remembers Curb. “So for a couple of years, whenever you turned on the radio, you heard ‘You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda.’”
In fact, the song was an act of sheer chutzpah. As Curb confesses, “I’d never even ridden a motorcycle.”
Marveling at his nerve in hindsight, Curb says, “It’s funny, remembering it all these years later. I guess I had nowhere to go but up.”
Did Curb inherit such gumption from his FBI-agent father, or was it just a quirk of fate? Whatever its source, the young self-taught songsmith was clearly driven, going from success to success from that point on, learning to write songs, produce records, and score films. In 1965 he scored Skaterdater, which won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival, opening still more opportunities.
At first, he tended to score edgy, motorcycle-themed flicks like The Wild Angels with Peter Fonda. “I was doing
Bobby
clockwise from top left:
top: Artist’s rendering of the future home of the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and Curb Music Center. Curb partnered with the Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame to purchase the Hard Rock Café building on Beale Street earlier this year.
bottom: Mike Curb and Al Bell in the early ‘70s, celebrating their partnership on Isaac Hayes’ Shaft soundtrack album and the launching of the Wattstax concert at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
some things as a songwriter, but I think where I really excelled was as a producer,” he says. “Then, when I would do music for the movies, I would get the rights to put out the soundtrack album on my little record label, Sidewalk Records.”
That “little” label was scoring big. It seemed the young Curb had an ear for hits, producing Linda Ronstadt’s first recorded work with the Stone Poneys for Mercury, in addition to releases on his own fledgling label. By 1969, with the venerable MGM Records flagging somewhat despite its acquisition of the jazz-centric Verve Records, the soundtrack giant merged with Curb’s Sidewalk imprint, and Curb was tapped to head the MGM label. Sidewalk became Curb Records. That same year, he co-wrote a new American Bandstand theme, which the TV series used until 1974.
The Seventies were Curb’s salad days in the music business, as he produced hit after hit for MGM, leaning in a decidedly middle-of-the road direction with singles like Sammy Davis Jr.’s “The Candy Man” and Donny Osmond’s “Puppy Love.” He also pioneered the new sound known as Christian Rock, and became outspoken in his stance against drugs. Eventually, politics beckoned. He oversaw the music at Richard Nixon’s 1973 inauguration, and then, encouraged by Ronald Reagan, successfully ran for lieutenant governor of California in 1978, often serving as a foil to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown. But he remained rooted in the music business and Curb Records carried on.
Amid all these developments, he was solidifying his ties to soul music and Memphis. “I always loved Black music,” Curb notes. “I was able to sign and produce Solomon Burke. I signed Lou Rawls. And the first Black executive ever in the major labels, Eddie Ray, put together Sidewalk’s distribution agreement with Capitol in 1964, 60 years ago.
“Later, Eddie moved to Memphis and introduced me to Al Bell, who was the head of Stax at the time,” he continues, “and Al and I partnered on Shaft. I was overseeing the music for MGM, and that was an MGM movie. Quincy Jones was supposed to score it but he got tied up in another project. So MGM asked me to find someone to replace him, and I was having dinner with Al Bell and asked him if Isaac Hayes could score, and
Al said, ‘Well, Isaac doesn’t read music.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t read music very well either. But how do you feel about him?’ Al said he could score, so the rest is history. We put the record out in partnership with Al Bell, it was released on [Stax subsidiary] Enterprise/MGM Records, and it was very exciting. Of course, Isaac won an Academy Award for that.”
Sometime later, Ray cooked up plans to start a music business school known as The Tennessee College of Recording Arts & Sciences. “I think at one time he was the only professor there. But it was very interesting, very exciting,” Curb says. He contributed “a few thousand dollars” to the budding program, but beyond that, he says, “I got interested in music business education, though it was really Eddie’s idea.”
Half a century later, the list of music education projects that Curb has funded is lengthy, largely centered on his adopted home of Nashville. Belmont University, for example, sports the Curb Events Center, the Curb Café, the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, and Ocean Way Studio. His largesse has also funded the Curb Conservatory at the Country Music Hall of Fame and renovations to the legendary RCA Studios A and B. All of which speak to Curb Records becoming increasingly focused on country music, over six decades and counting . In 2001, the label was named Country Music Label of the Year by Billboard magazine.
But Curb has also maintained a steadfast commitment to Memphis, his endowment of the Mike Curb Institute for Music at Rhodes being the prime example. With Dr. John Bass serving as its director, Billboard has listed it as one of the nation’s top music business schools and the Institute maintains vital links with other musical landmarks in Memphis.
Of course, that includes Elvis. “One of my biggest things in Memphis,” reflects Curb, “was when my wife and I bought Elvis Presley’s former [pre-Graceland] home on Audubon. We refurbished it and then, after we started the Curb Institute at Rhodes, we used the Elvis Presley house as kind of a laboratory for the Institute.” For a time, before a small fire and some flooding brought them to a halt in 2017, the Elvis home hosted unforgettably intimate, student-run concerts, including performances by Memphis jazz legends Charles Lloyd and George Coleman. (Rhodes has plans to resume the Audubon Sessions concert series in the future.) Meanwhile, the Institute’s archives, including the Stax Oral Histories collection, exemplify its prioritizing of history in other ways.
Most recently, Curb has pivoted to Beale Street and other landmarks of Southern music history. “We’re hoping to do on Beale Street what we did in Nashville’s Music Row, where we bought quite a few buildings,” he explains. “We sponsor the Memphis Music Hall of Fame’s awards every year, and we have now partnered with the Rock ’n’ Soul Museum and [its executive director] John Doyle. We just jointly purchased the Hard Rock Cafe building, which is kind of the anchor building for Beale Street, and we’re going to move the Rock ’n’ Soul Museum over there shortly. And we already have the Music Hall of Fame there.”
He pauses, reflecting on what’s in store for Memphis, then adds with his usual contagious enthusiasm, “We’re going to do something really special here.”
2024MEMPHISAREA INDEPENDENTSCHOOLSGUIDE
President’s Letter
September 2024
The Memphis Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) represents 33 of the region’s finest private schools, each of which is unique, and all of which share a commitment to setting educational excellence, meeting the needs of individual students, and building a stronger community.
In the Mid-South, we are fortunate to have a wide variety of high-quality educational opportunities: public, charter, and independent. Independent schools in the Memphis area are numerous and varied. Parents exploring these schools generally are interested in strong academics, small class sizes, and innovative approaches to education that will best prepare their children for college.
What does “independent” mean? Each MAIS member school is guided by its own mission, maps its own curriculum, develops its own programs, creates its own educational environment, and is governed by its own board. We are independent in our educa-
tional offerings and in whom we serve. Among our members, you will find a variety of schools designed for specific ages, gender, religious affiliations, and unique needs. All MAIS schools nurture intellectual curiosity, encourage critical thinking, and promote personal growth. Students from all socioeconomic backgrounds attend independent schools, and many schools work with families to help meet the costs associated with an independent school education. Some offer monthly payment options, while many
offer financial aid grants to offset the cost of tuition. Many of our independent schools participate in the new Education Savings Account program the Tennessee Department of Education offers.
With the autonomy to implement programs free from state mandates, independent schools can create innovative curricula that meet the ever-changing needs of students. Individual attention is a hallmark of independent schools, where smaller class sizes enable them to foster a
variety of learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom. Teachers at independent schools develop an understanding of their students’ learning styles and potential, foster environments where all students can succeed, and encourage students to value perseverance and achievement. In this environment, students form relationships with their teachers, which frequently lead to greater academic success and often transcend the school day as teachers become life mentors for students.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Independent schools not only nurture students’ intellectual ability and curiosity but also their social growth and civic conscience. Opportunities extend well beyond the classroom for athletic competitions, artistic pursuits, and leadership experiences. Students and teachers of independent schools are engaged citizens, volunteering throughout the Mid-South. Community service, whether required or voluntary, is a core component of MAIS schools. When choosing a school, parents are wise to seek out one whose mission, values, and teaching philosophy are right for their family and to consider the community, curriculum, and extracurriculars that answer the essential question, “Is this school a good fit for my child?”
As you read through this publication, we hope you will want to learn more about the outstanding educational opportunities that exist in the schools that comprise the Memphis Association of Independent Schools (MAIS). We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Memphis Magazine in presenting this information. MAIS is proud to represent the families of the students who attend independent schools in the Mid-South. We invite you to schedule visits and tour MAIS campuses. We will welcome you!
John Murphy President, Memphis Association of Independent Schools
John Murphy MAIS President McKenzie Cohen MAIS Vice President
Kristen Ring MAIS Secretary
Bryan Williams MAIS Past President
Q & A with John Murphy
Head of School at Bodine School; President of the Memphis Association of Independent Schools (MAIS)
What are independent schools and how do they differ from public schools?
Independent schools have local governance typically run by a Board of Trustees. The Board is responsible for the financial health of the school, among other things. Independent schools are individually mission centered, whereas school systems have a mission that applies to all schools within that system.
What are the benefits of independent schools to students and to parents?
The main benefit of an independent school to a parent is the ability to choose a school with a mission most
closely aligned with their family values. Whether parents are looking for schools that are faith-based, secular, coed, or single-sex, there are many schools that meet these needs. MAIS offers a wide variety of school missions that fit their child’s individual needs.
What are the factors parents should think about when considering an independent school?
There are many factors involved in choosing the right independent school. One simple factor is location and the impact the commute may have on family life. Tuition is another factor in choosing an independent
school. Most schools publish their tuition online and offer need-based financial aid. Parents may look ata school’s strengths in different academic and extracurricular areas. Visiting school campuses and learning each school’s mission is essential to identifying which factors are important to your family and to your child’s education.
What is the goal of MAIS?
The goal of the MAIS is to advance the mission of each member school in partnership with each other.
How should parents research financial assistance and when should they
start the paperwork?
◗ Bodine School
◗ Bornblum Jewish Community School
◗ Briarcrest Christian School
◗ Christ Methodist Day School
◗ Christ the King Lutheran School
◗ Christian Brothers High School
◗ Collegiate School of Memphis
◗ Concord Academy
◗ Evangelical Christian School
◗ Fayette Academy
◗ First Assembly Christian School
◗ Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School
◗ Harding Academy
◗ Hutchison School
◗ Lamplighter Montessori School
◗ Lausanne Collegiate School
◗ Madonna Learning Center
◗ Margolin Hebrew Academy
◗ Memphis University School
◗ New Hope Christian Academy
◗ Northpoint Christian School
◗ Our Lady of Perpetual Help
◗ Presbyterian Day School
◗ Rossville Christian Academy
◗ St. Agnes Academy / St. Dominic School
◗ St. Benedict at Auburndale High School
◗ St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School
◗ St. George’s Independent School
◗ St. Mary’s Episcopal School
◗ Tipton Rosemark Academy
◗ Trinity Christian Academy
◗ Westminster Academy
◗ Woodland Presbyterian School
Independent schools give needbased aid in order to foster an economically diverse student body. There are misconceptions on what financial aid means and looks like; it is not an all-or-nothing case of either paying full tuition or no tuition. Financial aid allows a parent to pay a modified tuition based on your economic situation. Different schools have different financial aid timelines. The question of financial aid should be a part of your school tour or inquiry. All schools use third-party vendors to determine what level of aid is right for each child. Many independent schools are participating in the Educational Savings Account (ESA), a state program that offers need-based financial aid. M.O.S.T. (Memphis Opportunity Scholarship Trust) is also a popular need-based program that gives hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships each year.
Do you have any other advice for students and/or parents?
My best advice to parents considering their school options is to visit the campus and have a list of questions prepared for your visit. There is an MAIS school that is perfect for every child.
Concord Academy is a place for students with learning differences to belong and succeed.
Many schools are not equipped to support the unique needs of students with learning differences. At Concord Academy, our specialized teachers and staff work with students to foster success in the classroom, support socialemotional growth, and set students up for success after high school.
Combining our expertise with a culture of understanding, belonging, and support, we see Concord students blossom in learning, building friendships, and being appreciated for what makes them unique. Concord Academy equips students with learning differences with the skills they need for lifelong success.
Concord Academy is an independent, state-approved, special education middle and high school serving students with learning disabilities, Autism, ADD/ADHD, anxiety/ depression, and other diverse learning needs.
Learn Differently
Concord Community Day October 4
Join us for Concord Community Day! Meet our staff and students and learn more about our exceptional school!
Presbyterian Day School
4025 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38111
901.842.4695
At Presbyterian Day School, we know how to reach boys, teach them, and channel their energies in the most positive and productive ways.
In our 75th year of teaching boys, PDS knows they wiggle and squirm, they delight in getting their hands dirty, and their minds sometimes wander. (That’s okay!)
Boys are curious, thrive when they are active and learn best through experiential approaches. At PDS, we let boys move, inquire, and think out loud. This isn’t just a boys’ school. It’s a school built for boys — and all the ways they learn, grow and do.
Here, boys (two years old through sixth grade) learn how to become better thinkers, problem solvers and citizens. With the launch of our Cultural Expeditions program, we are expanding opportunities to experience the world. A focus on global learning allows for a safe environment where our boys connect to the wider world, opening the door to deeper empathy and respect for diverse individuals, cultures and beliefs.
PDS is committed to the whole boy; nurturing the heart, soul, mind and body. Our character education program offers age-appropriate lessons on the virtues of manhood and small-group meetings with mentors on campus. Knowing boys are more comfortable embracing multiple roles in an all-boy setting, we offer art, choral and instrumental music, our own intramural league, competitive sports, robotics and more. At PDS, each boy can develop his own interests with the love and support of his teachers, mentors, coaches, parents, and classmates.
“We chose St. Benedict at Auburndale because we wanted our children to be challenged academically and to be fully prepared for college. We wanted them educated in a CoEd environment that looked more like the real world, and to have Christian-based values instilled on a daily basis. We believe that St. Benedict excelled in every area.”
St. Benedict at Auburndale is dedicated to academic excellence through a comprehensive and challenging multi-level curriculum, all within an atmosphere imbued with the aims, values, and teachings of the Roman Catholic faith.
As the only private Catholic high school in Shelby County offering the AP Capstone™ program, we stand as a beacon of innovation and distinction, empowering students with essential college skills like research, collaboration, and communication. Our PLUS Program provides tailored support for students with learning differences, while our STEM, Business, and Fine Arts programs blend theory with hands-on application.
At St. Benedict, we believe that each student has a unique learning style. We have created an environment that leverages individual strengths, allowing teachers to meet students where they are in their academic journey and foster a love of learning. We offer 21 AP Classes, 26 sports, and 20+ Clubs.
St. Mary’s Episcopal School
60 Perkins Extended, Memphis, TN 38117
901.537.1405 • admissions@stmarysschool.org
Girls Are. Remarkable.
Since 1847, St. Mary’s Episcopal School has helped girls unlock their full potential and enter the world confident, capable, and ready for any challenge. Every teacher, every lesson, every resource is dedicated to girls and how they learn best.
A girls-centered education reaps benefits because girls learn differently. Through this approach St. Mary’s girls build confidence, take on challenges, and gain leadership skills. We also champion the educational needs of girls in STEM majors and careers, because research shows that girls’ school graduates are six times more likely to consider majoring in math, science, and technology compared to girls who attend coed schools.
Early Childhood
St. Mary’s starts girls’ education with an emphasis on wonder and discovery, empowering young, eager learners with love and encouragement.
Lower School
Hands-on curriculum teaches St. Mary’s girls to be tenacious and creative problem solvers in dynamic learning environments.
Middle School
St. Mary’s challenges girls to develop public speaking, writing, and problem-solving skills with higher education and future careers in mind.
Upper School
College preparatory curriculum at St. Mary’s helps girls find community, realize their potential, and achieve their goals. For girls. For life.
Westminster Academy
2520 Ridgeway Road, Memphis, 38119
901.380.9192 • info@wamemphis.com • wamemphis.com
What is the purpose of education? Admission to college? High test scores? Or something greater?
At Westminster Academy, we equip students to pursue God’s truth, goodness, and beauty in the world around them — all while preparing them for any path they choose upon graduation. The purpose of a classical Christian education is to train the soul to love that which is worth loving.
We aim to instill this love of learning through hands-on experience, classroom discussions, joyful play, and involvement in the community. Our students experience God’s beauty and goodness through rich literature selections and in service of others. They delve into His truths through deep discussions in the classroom, and make connections to the wider world while traveling both domestically and abroad during the Upper School years. Through programs like our House system, athletics, and the Protocol course, we strive to cultivate healthy competition, wisdom, and virtue in our students, further equipping them to love and honor their neighbors and fellow students.
As a result, Westminster faculty and parents create a unique community with one goal: to graduate well-prepared students who have a love for learning and for the Lord. We invite you to reconsider the purpose of education, and discover the beauty of a classical Christian education!
Bodine School serves students in grades 1-5 who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. The core curriculum at all grade levels focuses on fundamental skills in language arts and mathematics, while the cornerstone of Bodine’s language arts instruction is the daily Orton-Gillingham (O-G) lesson. O-G instruction is delivered in class sizes of ten students or fewer, and all classroom teachers participate in intensive, ongoing O-G training. Bodine School’s Instructional Program was recently accredited by the Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA), demonstrating Bodine’s commitment to dyslexia remediation.
New
Hope Christian Academy
3000 University Street, Memphis, TN 38127 901.358.3183 • admissions@newhopememphis.org newhopememphis.org
TEACHING. LEARNING. DISCIPLESHIP
New Hope Christian Academy (NHCA) is an urban, college-preparatory elementary school in the heart of Memphis’s Frayser community. It serves over 400 students from 3 years old to sixth grade. NHCA provides a rigorous, Christ-centered education based on the three pillars of teaching, learning, and discipleship. Our extended pillars are affordability and relationships.The tuition formula allows any family to attend NHCA. NHCA offers unique learning experiences like our STEM SmartLab and Urban Farm and Forest. Our Alumni Support Office fosters ongoing relationships, helping graduates pursue high school, college, and their God-given vocations. In addition to supporting scholars beyond the sixth grade, we ensure they have the resources and encouragement they need to thrive throughout their college years and beyond. Open enrollment begins each year in November, with Educational Savings Account (ESA) vouchers accepted for K-6 applicants.
St. Francis of Assisi School
2100 Germantown Pkwy • Cordova, TN 38016
901.381.2548 • sfawolves.org
St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School educates students, grades 2K through 8, and has built a reputation of producing academic leaders and preparing students for the top high schools in Memphis. Since founded in 2004, SFA has produced 18 Valedictorians, 15 Salutatorians, 20 National Merit Finalists and 32 National Merit Commended Scholars from a variety of elite Memphis area high schools. SFA has been on the leading edge of integrating technology into the classroom to promote interaction, collaboration, and engagement. We provide all students with 1:1 Apple devices and all classrooms are equipped with Promethean Boards or Apple TVs. With Project Lead the Way STEM Courses, students become problem solvers and effective communicators for a complex and challenging world. Why join SFA School? High standards, a moral foundation and compassion that our children and society need right now. We have a place for your child to grow in mind and spirit.
Open House: October 22, 5-7 PM • January 28, 9-11 AM
Life skills lessons for middle school boys – car maintenance, cooking, power tools, campfire building, tying ties, sewing on buttons – plus top-notch college prep!
GIRLS WITH GRIT since 1851
November 2, 2024
Set Your Course at St. George's.
Because we want students to not only build sound educational foundations but ignite a lifetime of deep curiosity.
At St. George’s Independent School, children master classic content and embrace extraordinary experiences to build sound foundations and ignite a lifetime of deep curiosity. Across its three campuses in Germantown, Memphis and Collierville, students from 6 weeks through 12th grade build meaningful relationships with the area’s leading educators to strengthen academic growth and uncover individual talents.
Our students rise to extraordinary challenges because we carefully prepare them to responsibly but robustly embrace active engagement—to measure words and consider consequences, but also to bravely take healthy risks. Our students welcome challenging lessons, deliver public speeches, test new athletic skills, and audition for class plays—because we instill that kind of thoughtful boldness in them every day.
Students can explore all their interests. St. George’s was named an Arts Rich School of Merit by the leading fine arts cohort, the Tennessee Arts Academy. St. George’s is the only private school and one of only five high schools in the state to be named for this distinguished award. Athletics teams and student-athletes are well-supported throughout the entire school community. Student-athletes strive to reach their full potential every day and the coaches seek to transform and impact every student-athlete on their team.
This fall, St. George’s is planning several admission events for interested families, including an Open House, Gryphon For a Day and Sneak Peeks. Visit sgis.org/visit to learn more about these opportunities.
• Religious affiliation: nonsecular • Before- and after-school care: yes
Lausanne Collegiate School 1381 W. Massey, 38120 • 474-1000 • lausanneschool.com • Student body: co-ed
• Grades: PK2-12 • Tuition: $13,858 - $30,452
• Enrollment/student-faculty ratio: 895; 7:1 • Religious affiliation: nonsectarian • Before- and after-school care: yes
Madonna Learning Center
7007 Poplar, Germantown, 38138 • 752-5767 • madonna-learning.org • Ages: 4-40+ • Tuition: $16,150 • Enrollment/student-faculty ratio 100; 5:1 • Provides individualized support for specialneeds children and adults • Religious affiliation: Christian • Before-school care: yes
Margolin Hebrew AcademyFeinstone Yeshiva of the South
390 S. White Station, 38117 • 682-2400 • mhafyos. org • Grades: PreK-12/co-ed (PK3-8), female (9-12), male (9-12) • Tuition:$8,500 - $20,343
• Enrollment/student-faculty ratio: 215; 4:1 • Religious affiliation: Jewish • Before- and afterschool care: after only
Memphis University School 6191 Park, 38119 • 260-1300 • musowls.org • Student body: male • Grades: 7-12 • Tuition: $24,500 • Student-faculty ratio: 7:1 • Religious affiliation: nondenominational • Before- and after-school care: after only
New Hope Christian Academy 3000 University St., 38127 • 358-3183 • newhopememphis.org • Student body: co-ed • Grades: PK3-6 • Tuition: $12,500 (financial aid available, need-based on a sliding scale)
• Enrollment/student-faculty ratio: 421; 16:1 • Religious affiliation: nondenominational Christian • Before- and after-school care: after only, K-6
Trinity Christian Academy 10 Windy City Rd., Jackson, TN, 38305 • 731-6688500 • tcalions.com • Student body: co-ed • Grades: PK–12 • Tuition: $6,794-$11,743 • Little Lions: Infants - age 3 • Tuition: $804-$911 monthly. Little Lion students can enroll in a 10- or 12-month pay plan. Enrollment/student-faculty ratio: 690; 9:1 • Religious affiliation: Christian, Interdenominational • Before- and afterschool care: yes
Woodland Presbyterian School 5217 Park, 38119 • 685-0976 • woodlandschool. org • Student body: co-ed • Grades: Age 2 years-8 • Tuition: $5,560 - $17,580 (tuition assistance available) • Enrollment/student- faculty ratio: 325; 7:1 • Religious affiliation: Presbyterian • Before- and after-school care: yes
A CENTURY OF HEART
Celebrating 100 Years of The American Heart Association
For the last century, the American Heart Association has been at the forefront of the fight against heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death among women. For the last 20 years the Mid-South Go Red for Women Movement has been a cornerstone of this battle, driving awareness, education, and community action to reduce the impact of cardiovascular diseases on women in the region. As we prepare for the Mid-South Go Red for Women Luncheon on Friday, September 13th , we celebrate not only the progress made over the past 100 years but also the vibrant future ahead.
THE HEART OF THE MATTER RISKS FOR WOMEN
Heart disease and stroke are often perceived as men’s issues, but the reality is starkly different. Cardiovascular diseases claim more women’s lives each year than all forms of cancer combined. Stroke follows closely behind as a leading cause of serious long-term disability. Women of all ages and backgrounds are at risk, making awareness and prevention critical.
e AHA’s Go Red for Women Movement was established to change these startling facts. It aims to educate women about their risk factors, promote healthy lifestyles, and fund essential research.
The statistics are alarming: one in three women dies from heart disease and stroke. However, 80% of cardiac and stroke events may be prevented with education and action. By prioritizing heart health through diet, exercise, and regular medical check-ups, women can significantly reduce their risk. The Mid-South Go Red for Women Movement has been instrumental in spreading this life-saving message, encouraging women to know their numbers—such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels—and to adopt heart-healthy lifestyles.
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY
The Mid-South Go Red for Women Movement has made a profound impact on the community. rough partnerships with local organizations, healthcare providers, and schools, the movement has reached thousands of women with critical information and resources. Initiatives such as free health screenings, CPR training, and wellness workshops have equipped women with the tools they need to make informed decisions about their health. Under the esteemed leadership of Beverly Robertson, the current Chair, the Mid-South Go Red for Women Movement continues to thrive and expand its reach. One of the most notable successes of the movement is the annual Mid-South Go Red for Women Luncheon, a hallmark event that brings together passionate advocates, healthcare professionals, and community leaders to celebrate the progress made and to inspire further action. This year’s luncheon themed the “Celebration of the Century,” promises to be a landmark event, paying tribute to the AHA’s Centennial Year and the incredible strides made in heart health research and innovation.
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CENTURY MID-SOUTH GO RED
FOR WOMEN LUNCHEON
Mark your calendars for Friday, September 13th, as the Mid-South Go Red for Women Luncheon returns with a spectacular program designed to educate, inspire, and entertain. The day will begin at 10:30 AM with a Health and Wellness Expo, featuring booths from local vendors offering products and services that promote heart, body, and mind wellness.
One of the highlights of the expo will be an interactive timeline, allowing guests to journey through the last 100 years of the AHA’s history. This engaging exhibit will showcase the milestones in heart health research and innovation, celebrating the achievements that have saved countless lives.
At 11:30 AM, the luncheon program will commence, hosted by the charismatic Gina Neely from WMC-TV’s Bluff City Life . A passionate wellness advocate and New York Times bestselling author, Neely will guide attendees through an exciting and inspirational program that includes both familiar favorites and bold new experiences.
One of the most anticipated segments is the Survivor Fashion Show, hosted by Dillard’s Wolfchase. This moving segment showcases models who have survived heart disease and stroke, modeling the latest fashions with grace and confidence. Their stories of survival and strength serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of early detection, treatment, and lifestyle changes.
Another highlight of the luncheon is the Women of Impact Recognition. This year, 10 remarkable women will be honored for their record-shattering achievements in the Mid-South community. Their stories of dedication, resilience, and impact will inspire all who attend.
The event is proudly supported by Regional One Health, the Signature Healthcare Sponsor; Ring Container Technologies, the Signature Heart for Schools Sponsor; and CVS, a National Go Red for Women Sponsor. Their generous support helps ensure that the movement’s message and mission reach even further into our community.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
GO RED FOR WOMEN ON SEPTEMBER 13 TH
In a world where heart disease and stroke claim the lives of too many women, the Mid-South Go Red for Women Movement stands as a beacon of hope, education, and empowerment. This year’s luncheon promises to be a landmark event, celebrating the AHA’s centennial and the incredible progress made in the fight against heart disease. By coming together, we can continue to make strides in research, education, and community impact, ensuring a healthier future for all. Let’s go red, and let’s go strong—together.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: www.heart.org/ memgored
Bog Heaven
Taylor Pfohl tends the bar(s) at Bog & Barley, Germantown’s grand Irish Pub.
BY BRUCE VANWYNGARDEN
This place is incredible,” says Taylor Pfohl. “All the wood you see came direct from Ireland — everything from the very front of the house to the whiskey lounge bar upstairs. An Irish builder came and mapped the place, then went home, built it out, broke it down, and shipped it back over here to be reconstructed.”
e place in question is Bog & Barley, the magnificent Irish dining establishment located in Germantown’s Regalia Center, where Pfohl works behind the bar(s). His workplace is undeniably impressive, with its high ceilings, towering and well-stocked cabinetry, and ornate woodwork. Opened in April 2023 by Irishman and longtime Memphis restaurateur (Celtic Crossing) D.J. Naylor, Bog & Barley is something of an Irish pub on steroids. It has an almost cathedral-esque feel, grand and European.
Before coming to Bog & Barley, Pfohl worked at Bayou Bar & Grill in Overton Square, where he was a vivacious Midtown institution for 13 years. He moved to Bog & Barley full-time last spring.
Pfohl grew up mostly in Midtown, he and his brother the sons of a loving single father. A graduate of Central High School (“‘ e’ High School,” he reminds me, with a grin), he went on to study music at the University of Memphis. After college he went on the road with Al Kapone, and played with Dance Street, the Memphis Soul Review, and various wedding bands.
“Finally,” he says, “it got to the point where I needed to make more money, so I got a job at Broadway Pizza, working in the kitchen. en they put me on the floor, and after a few months, I went from there to Bayou, where I had a great run and made lots
of lifelong friends. I have great memories of that place.”
But, Pfohl says, he’s quickly becoming part of the team at his new work home. “I got to know D.J. because we’re both
“I tell people this is the most beautiful bar you’ll ever see but the least pretentious. They don’t want us reading off a script or a menu; they want us to be who we are, to communicate openly with our customers.” — Taylor Pfohl
golfers. And I know he’s one of those guys who, when he sets his mind on something, he’s in all the way. He’s always around and he’s easy to work for. He knows your wife’s name, your kid’s name. He cares. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to work.”
scotches, and an impressive list of specialty cocktails.
“So how would you communicate to me, Taylor, about what cocktail I should order?” I ask.
When asked about the menu, Pfohl says, “I tell people this is the most beautiful bar you’ll ever see but the least pretentious.
ey don’t want us reading off a script or a menu; they want us to be who we are, to communicate openly with our customers.”
e offerings are plentiful and varied, with Irish fare — bangers and mash, fish and chips — and a sizeable listing of more traditional American entrees — steaks, salmon, trout, scallops. It’s formidable, and I make a note to return for dinner soon.
e drink menu is full of wines, whiskeys,
“Well, there are five staples that have remained on the menu since we opened,” he says. “I’d recommend looking at those first, since our customers love them.”
“What about this ‘Emerald Queen?’” I ask.
“ at would be a great choice,” he says. “It’s fun to make and really delicious.
“Sold.”
Pfohl starts by putting fresh strawberries and blueberries in the bottom of a highball glass.
en he adds a green-shaded cranberry juice, ice, champagne, St-Germain, and Empress Gin, which has a purple hue.
“What we’re doing is creating a tri-colored flag,”
he says, displaying his work on the gleaming bar top.
And, indeed, the effect is topnotch — three distinct layers, topped with a sprig of fresh mint (which Taylor says is “spanked” to release the herb’s oils). It’s a work of art, almost too pretty to drink. But I down it anyway, following Pfohl’s instructions to stir with a straw first, which destroys the visual but blends the booze beautifully. is is a very good drink, worthy of a queen, indeed.
I’m impressed — with the venue, the drink, and the guy who made it for me. I recommend heading to the Regalia and checking out Bog & Barley, if you haven’t yet. And be sure to try the Emerald Queen. If you’re lucky, it might even be Taylor-made.
Bog & Barley is in the Regalia Center, 6150 Poplar Avenue.
Taylor Pfohl with an “Emerald Queen.”
Memphis Dining Guide
A Curated Guide to Eating Out
Memphis Magazine offers this curated restaurant listing as a service to our readers. Broken down alphabetically by neighborhoods, this directory does not list every restaurant in town. It does, however, include the magazine’s “Top 50” choices of must-try restaurants in Memphis, a group that is updated every August. Establishments open less than a year are not eligible for “Top 50” but are noted as “New.” is guide also includes a representative sampling of other Bluff City eating establishments. No fast-food facilities or cafeterias are listed. Restaurants are included regardless of whether they advertise in Memphis Magazine; those that operate in multiple locations are listed under the neighborhood of their original location. is guide is updated regularly, but we recommend that you call ahead to check on hours, prices, or other details. Suggestions from readers are welcome: dining@memphismagazine.com.
DOWNTOWN
117 PRIME—Restaurateurs Craig Blondis and Roger Sapp team up with Chef Ryan Trimm to recreate the traditional American steakhouse. Serving oysters on the half shell and a variety of surf and turf options. 117 Union. 433-9851. L, D, WB, X, $-$$$
ALDO’S PIZZA PIES—Serving gourmet pizzas — including Mr. T Rex — salads, and more. Also 30 beers, bottled or on tap. 100 S. Main. 577-7743; 752 S. Cooper. 725-7437. L, D, X, $-$$
AMELIA GENE’S—Globally inspired fine-dining cuisine at the One Beale project, including Rohan duck, Wagyu filet, and an extensive cheese cart. 255 S. Front. 686-5051. D, X, $$-$$$
THE ARCADE—Possibly Memphis’ oldest cafe. Specialties include sweet potato pancakes, a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, and breakfast served all day. 540 S. Main. 526-5757. B, L, D (Thurs.-Sat.), X, MRA, $
ARNOLD’S SMOKEHOUSE—A classic smokehouse with vegan and nonvegan options seasoned to perfection. Closed Mon. 2019 E. Person Ave. 922-5950. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$ AUTOMATIC SLIM’S—Longtime Downtown favorite specializes in contemporary American cuisine emphasizing local ingredients; also extensive martini list. 83 S. Second. 525-7948. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$
BARDOG TAVERN—Classic American grill with Italian influence, Bardog offers pasta specialties such as Grandma’s NJ Meatballs, as well as salads, sliders, sandwiches, and daily specials. 73 Monroe. 275-8752. B (Mon.-Fri.), L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$ BEDROCK EATS & SWEETS—Memphis’ only Paleo-centric restaurant, offering such dishes as pot roast, waffles, enchiladas, chicken salad, omelets, and more. Closed for dinner Sun. 327 S. Main. 409-6433. B, L, D, X, $-$$
CAROLINA WATERSHED—This indoor/outdoor eatery, set around silos, features reimagined down-home classics, including fried green tomatoes with smoked catfish, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich, burgers, and more. Closed Mon.-Thurs. 141 E. Carolina. 321-5553. L, D, WB, $-$$
CATHERINE & MARY’S—A variety of pastas, grilled quail, pâté, razor clams, and monkfish are among the dishes served at this Italian restaurant in the Chisca. 272 S. Main. 254-8600. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
CHEF TAM’S UNDERGROUND CAFE—Serves Southern staples with a Cajun twist. Menu items include totchoes, jerk wings, fried chicken, and “muddy” mac and cheese. Closed Sun. and Mon. 668 Union Ave. 207-6182. L, D, X, $-$$
DINING SYMBOLS
B — breakfast
L — lunch
D — dinner
SB — Sunday brunch
WB — weekend brunch
X— wheelchair accessible
CHEZ PHILIPPE—Classical/contemporary French cuisine with Asian and Nordic influences, presented in a luxurious atmosphere with seasonal tasting menus from chef Keith Clinton. Afternoon tea served Thu-Sun., noon-3:30 p.m. (reservations required). Closed Sun.-Tues. The Peabody, 149 Union. 529-4188. D, X, MRA, $$$$ CIMAS—It’s breakfast tacos, shrimp and grits, chilaquiles verdes, and plenty of other Southern and Latin-American twists at the Hyatt Centric. 33 Beale St. 444-3232. B, L, D, X, $-$$$
MRA — member, Memphis Restaurant Association
$ — under $15 per person without drinks or desserts
$$ — under $25
$$$ — $26-$50
$$$$ — over $50
BELLE TAVERN—Serving elevated bar food, including a butcher board with a variety of meats and cheeses, as well as daily specials. 117 Barboro Alley. 249-6580. L (Sun.), D, MRA, $
BEN YAY’S GUMBO SHOP—Spiritual successor to DejaVu, offering fresh and authentic Creole staples. 51 S. Main St., 779-4125. L, D, X, $-$$
BISHOP—Ticer and Hudman’s newest venture at the Central Station Hotel features upscale dishes in a French brasserie style. 545 S. Main St., 524-5247. L, D, X, $$-$$$
BRASS DOOR IRISH PUB—Irish and New-American cuisine includes such entrees as fish and chips, burgers, shepherd’s pie, all-day Irish breakfast, and more. 152 Madison. 572-1813. L, D, SB, $-$$ BY THE BREWERY—Breakfast and lunch café, with a focus on Southern-style biscuits, salads, and soups. 496 Tennessee St. 310-4341. B, L, $
CAFE KEOUGH—European-style cafe serving quiche, paninis, salads, and more. 12 S. Main. 509-2469. B, L, D, X, $
CAPRICCIO GRILL ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE—Offers prime steaks, fresh seafood (lobster tails, grouper, mahi mahi), pasta, and several Northern Italian specialties. 149 Union, The Peabody. 529-4199. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$$
COCOZZA AMERICAN ITALIAN—”The red sauce joint of your dreams” serves up classic Italian-American fare from the owners of Majestic Grille. Closed Sun. 110 Harbor Town Sq. 609-1111. D, X, $-$$
COZY CORNER—Serving up ribs, pork sandwiches, chicken, spaghetti, and more; also homemade banana pudding. Closed Mon. 735 N. Parkway. 527-9158. L, D, $
CURFEW—An elevated sports bar/American tavern concept by Top Chef contestant Fabio Viviani at the Canopy Memphis Downtown hotel. 164 Union Ave. B, L, D, X, $-$$ DOS HERMANOS KITCHEN—Breakfast and lunch concept by Eli Townsend in the Cossitt Library. 33 S. Front. 286-2399. B, L, $ ESCO RESTAURANT AND TAPAS—Shareable dishes, turkey ribs, and seafood mac’n’cheese at this 2 Chainz franchise. 156 Lt. George W. Lee Ave. 808-3726. L, D, $$-$$$
FEAST & GRAZE—Whipped goat toast, open-faced grilled cheese, and other local pantry snacks and charcuterie boards. Closed Sun./Mon. 55 S. Main. 654-5926. L, X, $
FERRARO’S CHEESY CORNER & PIZZERIA—Plenty of pizzas, along with a whole new cheese-inspired menu (fancy grilled cheeses and build-your-own mac and cheese bowls). 111 Jackson. 522-2033. L, D, X, $ FISHBOWL AT THE PYRAMID—Burgers, fish dishes, sandwiches, and more served in a unique “underwater” setting. Bass Pro, 1 Bass Pro Drive, 291-8000. B, L, D, X, $-$$
FLIGHT RESTAURANT & WINE BAR—Serves steaks and seafood, along with such specialties as bison ribeye and Muscovy duck, all matched with appropriate wines. 39 S. Main. 521-8005. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
FLYING FISH—Serves up fried and grilled versions of shrimp, crab, oysters, fish tacos, and catfish; also chicken and burgers. 105 S. Second. 522-8228. L, D, X, $-$$
GARDEN BRUNCH CAFÉ—Fish and grits, steak and eggs, and other upscale takes on Southern brunch classics. 492 S. Main St. 249-7450. B, L, $$
GOOD FORTUNE CO.—Authentic handcrafted noodles, ramen, and dumplings. 361 S. Main. 561-306-4711. L, D, X, $-$$
THE GENRE—Burgers, tenders, catfish, and plenty of vegan options made to order at this music-themed restaurant/lounge. 200 Poplar, Suite 105. 410-8169. B, L, D, X, $-$$
GUS’S WORLD FAMOUS FRIED CHICKEN—Serves chicken with signature spicy batter, along with homemade beans, slaw, and pies. 310 S. Front. 527-4877; 3100 Forest Hill Irene (Germantown). 853-6005; 2965 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 373-9111; 730 S. Mendenhall. 767-2323; 505 Highway 70 W., Mason, TN. 901-294-2028. L, D, X, MRA, $
HAPPY MEXICAN—Serves quesadillas, burritos, chimichangas, vegetable and seafood dishes, and more. 385 S. Second. 529-9991; 6080 Primacy Pkwy. 683-0000; 7935 Winchester. 751-5353. L, D, X, $ HIVE BAGEL & DELI Bagels, bagels, and more bagels at this new Downtown deli offering baked goods, sandwiches, and salads. Closed Mon./Tue. 276 S. Front St. 509-2946. B, L, $
HU. ROOF—Rooftop cocktail bar with superb city views serves toasts with a variety of toppings including beef tartare with cured egg, cognac, and capers or riced cauliflower with yellow curry, currants, and almonds. Also salads, fish tacos, and boiled peanut hummus. 79 Madison. 3331229. D, X, $
HUSTLE & DOUGH BAKERY & CAFE—Flaky, baked breakfast goodness every day with fresh pastries, sandwiches, and more at Arrive Hotel. 477 S. Main St., 701-7577. B, L, X, $
IBIS—Upscale cocktail bar serving sharable small plates, including lobster rolls, crab cakes, and lamb meatballs, alongside select larger entrees. Closed Mon.-Wed. 314 S. Main. 748-5187. D, X, $-$$
INKWELL—Unique craft concoctions, charcuterie plates, flatbreads, and sandwiches at this dope cocktail bar. Closed Mon.-Tue. 631 Madison Ave. 334-9411. D, X, $-$$
ITTA BENA—Southern and Cajun-American cuisine served here, conveniently located above B.B. King’s Blues Club on Beale St.; specialties are duck and waffles and shrimp and grits, along with steaks, chops, seafood, and pasta. 145 Beale St. 578-3031. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$
KINFOLK—Breakfast with a side of nostalgia in Harbor Town. Specialties include biscuit sandwiches, steak and omelet plate, and brown butter mushrooms with jammy egg over grits. 111 Harbor Town Square. 457.5463. B, L, SB, WB, $-$$
KING & UNION BAR GROCERY—Classic Southern favorites including catfish plate, pimento cheese, po-boys, chicken & waffles. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with cocktails served with flair and favorite Memphis beers. Locally made confections available in the grocery. 185 Union Ave. 523-8500. B, L, D, $-$$
KOOKY CANUCK—Offers prime rib, catfish, and burgers, including the 4-lb. “Kookamonga”; also late-night menu. 87 S. Second. 578-9800; 1250 N. Germantown Pkwy. 1-800-2453 L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$
LITTLE BETTIE—New Haven-style pizzas and snacks from the AndrewMichael team at Wiseacre’s Downtown location. 398 S. B.B. King Blvd. 334-9411. L, D, $-$$
THE LOBBYIST AT THE CHISCA—Chef Jimmy Gentry brings his farm-to-table ideas Downtown, with seasonal, and sometimes weekly, new menus, and an emphasis on creative vegetable dishes. Closed Sun. 272 S. Main St., Suite 101. 249-2170. D, $$-$$$$
LOCAL—Entrees with a focus on locally sourced products include lobster mac-and-cheese and rib-eye patty melt; menu differs by location. 95 S. Main. 473-9573. L, D, WB, X, $-$$
LOFLIN YARD—Beer garden and restaurant serves vegetarian fare and smoked-meat dishes, including beef brisket and pork tenderloin, cooked on a custom-made grill. Closed Mon.-Tues. 7 W. Carolina. 249-3046. L (Sat. and Sun.), D, MRA, X, $-$$
LONGSHOT—A wide variety of international fusion dishes and craft cocktails with a side of shuffleboard. 477 S. Main. D, $-$$
THE LOOKOUT AT THE PYRAMID—Serves seafood and Southern fare, including cornmeal-fried oysters, sweet tea brined chicken, and elk chops. 1 Bass Pro Dr. 620-4600/291-8200. L, D, X, $-$$$
LUNA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE—Serving a limited menu of breakfast and lunch items. Dinner entrees include citrus glaze salmon and Cajun stuffed chicken. 179 Madison (Hotel Napoleon). 526-0002. B, D (Mon.-Sat.), X, $-$$$
MACIEL’S—Entrees include tortas, fried taco plates, quesadillas, chorizo and pastor soft tacos, salads, and more. Closed Sun. 45 S. Main. 526-0037, X, MRA, $
THE MAJESTIC GRILLE—Features aged steaks, fresh seafood, and such specialties as roasted chicken and grilled pork tenderloin; offers a pre-theater menu and classic cocktails. Well-stocked bar. 145 S. Main. 522-8555. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$
McEWEN’S—Southern/American cuisine with international flavors; specialties include steak and seafood, sweet potato-crusted catfish with macaroni and cheese, and more. Closed Sun., Monroe location. 120 Monroe. 527-7085; 1110 Van Buren (Oxford). 662-234-7003. L, D, SB (Oxford only), X, MRA, $$-$$$ MESQUITE CHOP HOUSE—The focus here is on steaks, including prime fillet, rib-eyes, and prime-aged New York strip; also, some seafood options. 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-890-2467; 88 Union. 5275337. 249-5661. D, SB, X, $$-$$$
MOLLIE FONTAINE LOUNGE—Specializes in tapas (small plates) featuring global cuisine. Closed Sun.-Tues. 679 Adams Ave. 524-1886. D, X, MRA, $
MOMMA’S ROADHOUSE—This diner and dive at Highway 55 serves up smoked wings, burgers, and beer, among other solid bar-food options 855 Kentucky. 207-5111. L, D, MRA, $
NEW WING ORDER The award-winning food truck cooks up its signature hot wings at its first physical location, at Ghost River on Beale. Closed Mon./Tue. 341 Beale. L, D, $-$$ THE NINE THAI & SUSHI—Serving authentic Thai dishes, including curries, as well as a variety of sushi rolls. Closed for lunch Sat. and Sun. 121 Union. 208-8347. L, D, X, $-$$
PAPER PLATE PAVILION—Popular food truck serves up brisket mac and cheese and more favorites at Tom Lee Park. Riverside Dr. L, X, $-$$
PAULETTE’S—Presents fine dining with a Continental flair, including such entrees as filet Paulette with butter cream sauce and crabmeat and spinach crepes; also changing daily specials and great views. River Inn. 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3300. B, L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$
PENNY’S NITTY GRITTY—Coach Penny Hardaway brings plenty of Southern flavors and lots of customizable grits. 220 S. B.B. King Blvd. 334-5950. B, L, D, $$-$$$
PRETTY TACO Fast casual tacos with a Memphis twist, like the Soul Burger tacos. Closed Sun./Mon. 265 S. Front St. 509-8120. L, D, $-$$
PROMISE South Main soul food restaurant (think turkey necks, meatloaf, fried catfish) using old family recipes. Closed Sun./Mon. 412 S. Main. L, D, $-$$
RAW GIRLS—Raw and hot plant-based food alongside cold-pressed juices made from seasonal, locally grown sources. Closed Sun. 150 Peabody Pl., Suite 118. 207-5463. B, L, D, $-$$
RENDEZVOUS, CHARLES VERGOS’—Menu items include barbecued ribs, cheese plates, skillet shrimp, red beans and rice, and Greek salads. Closed Sun.-Mon. 52 S. Second. 523-2746. L (Fri.Sat.), D, X, $-$$
SABOR CARIBE—Serving up “Caribbean flavors” with dishes from Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Closed Sunday. 662 Madison. 949-8100. L, D, X, $
SAGE—Restaurant and lounge features daily lunch specials and tapas with such dishes as braised short ribs, teriyaki pulled pork, and the Sage burger made with Angus beef, avocado mash, fried egg, and flash-fried sage. 94 S. Main. 672-7902. L, D, WB, X, $-$$
SILLY GOOSE LOUNGE—Gourmet, wood-fired pizzas and handcrafted cocktails at this Downtown restaurant and lounge. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 111. 435-6915. L, D, X, $
SMURFEY’S SMOKEHOUSE—The beloved food truck has found a permanent home for their famous loaded nachos and fries with plans of adding breakfast soon. Closed Sun. and Mon. 149 Madison Ave. 337-7966. L, D, X, $-$$
SOUTH MAIN SUSHI & GRILL—Serving sushi, nigiri, and more. 520 S. Main. 249-2194. L, D, X, $
SOB—Elevated gastropub that serves favorites like general Tso’s cauliflower or duck fried rice. 345 S. Main. 526-0388; 5040 Sanderlin (East Memphis). 818-0821; 1329 W. Poplar Ave. 286-1360. L, D, WB, X , $-$$ SOUTH POINT GROCERY—Fresh and delicious sandwiches made to order at Downtown’s new grocery market. 136 Webster Ave. B, L, D, X, $
SUGAR GRITS—Who said breakfast has to be in the morning? The Westmorelands offer grits and other breakfast goodness all day long, in addition to other Southern-style lunch and dinner options. 150 Peabody Pl., Suite 111. 249-5206. B, L, D, X, $-$$
SUNRISE MEMPHIS—Serves breakfast all day, including house-made biscuits, frittatas, kielbasa or boudin plates, and breakfast platters. 670 Jefferson. 552-3144; 5469 Poplar Ave. (East Memphis). 844-6117. B, L, X, MRA, $
SUPPER CLUB ON 2ND—Fine dining and urban bistro styles collide at this snazzy, chic restaurant, featuring gold-encrusted tomahawk steaks, a deep sea lobster dawg, fancy cocktails, and plenty of other elevated goodies. 85 S. 2nd St. 453-6334. D, WB, X, $$-$$$
TALK SHOP—Southern-style cuisine, a breakfast bar, and plenty of other cool dishes and drinks at the Caption by Hyatt. 245 S. Front St. B, L, D, X, $-$$
TERRACE—Creative American and Continental cuisine includes such dishes as filet mignon, beef or lamb sliders, chicken satay, and mushroom pizzetta. Rooftop, River Inn of Harbor Town, 50 Harbor Town Square. 260-3366. D, X, MRA, $$
TEXAS DE BRAZIL—Serves beef, pork, lamb, and chicken dishes, and Brazilian sausage; also a salad bar with extensive toppings. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 103. 526-7600. L (Wed.-Fri.), D, WB, X, $$-$$$ THE GARDEN BRUNCH CAFÉ—Leaving their Nashville roots, a unique and healthy brunch spot in the heart of Downtown. Closed Mon.—Thurs. 492 S. Main St. 249-7450. B, SB, WB, X, $-$$$
TUG’S—Famous for New Orleans gumbo, fabulous burgers, fried thin catfish, and specialty pancakes. Now serving Grisanti Crafted Pizza. 51 Harbor Town Square. 260-3344. B, L, D, WB, X, $$-$$$
WAHLBURGERS WILD—Wahlburgers brings its classic menu, but with a few gamey twists at the Bass Pro Pyramid. 1 Bass Pro Drive. B, L, D, X, $-$$
WESTY’S—Extensive menu includes a variety of wild rice dishes, sandwiches, plate lunches, and hot fudge pie. 346 N. Main. 543-3278. L, D, X, $
WINGMAN—Downtown lounge and hookah bar offering wings galore with ten signature sauces, and plenty of other goodies. 143 Madison Ave. L, D, WB, X, $-$$
MIDTOWN (INCLUDES THE MEDICAL CENTER)
ABNER’S FAMOUS CHICKEN—Fried chicken tenders and dipping sauces galore at this Mid-South staple. 1350 Concourse Ave, Suite 137. 425-2597; (East Memphis) 1591 Poplar Ave. 509-3351; (Cordova) 1100 N. Germantown Pkwy. 754-5355. L, D, $-$$
ABYSSINIA RESTAURANT—Ethiopian/Mediterranean menu includes beef, chicken, lamb, fish entrees, and vegetarian dishes; also a lunch buffet. 2600 Poplar. 321-0082. L, D, X, $-$$
ALCHEMY/ SALT|SOY—Handcrafted cocktails and local craft beers with the Asian fusion dining concept from Salt|Soy. 940 S. Cooper. 726-4444. D, SB, X, $-$$
ART BAR—Inventive cocktails feature locally foraged ingredients; snacks include house-cured salt & vinegar potato chips and herb-roasted olives. Closed Mon. 1350 Concourse Avenue #280. 507-8030. D, X, $ ASHTAR GARDEN—Southern twists on classic brunch dishes, and plenty of cocktails. Closed Mon.-Wed. 898 Cooper St. 4431514. L, D, $-$$
BABALU TACOS & TAPAS—This eatery dishes up Spanish-style tapas with Southern flair; also taco and enchilada of the day; specials change daily. 2115 Madison. 274-0100; 6450 Poplar, 410-8909. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$
BACK DO / MI YARD—A revamped patio space behind The Beauty Shop features rotisserie meats and fishes via Brazilian-style outdoor grill. Dinner Wed.-Sat., weather permitting. 966 S. Cooper, 272-7111. D, X, $$
BAIN BARBECUE & BAKERY—Brian Bain’s popular Texas-style barbecue is back, alongside an assortment of baked goods. 993 S. Cooper. 310-4141. B, L, X, $-$$
BAR DKDC—Features an ever-changing menu of international “street food,” from Thai to Mexican, Israeli to Indian, along with specialty cocktails. 964 S. Cooper. 272-0830. D, X , MRA, $
BAR KEOUGH—It’s old-school eats and cocktails at the new CooperYoung neighborhood corner bar by Kevin Keough. 247 Cooper St. D, X , $ BAR-B-Q SHOP—Dishes up barbecued ribs, spaghetti, bologna, other classics. Closed Sun. 1782 Madison. 272-1277. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$
BARI RISTORANTE ENOTECA—Authentic Southeastern Italian cuisine (Puglia) emphasizes lighter entrees. Serves fresh fish and beef dishes and a homemade soup of the day. 524 S. Cooper. 722-2244. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
BARKSDALE RESTAURANT—Old-school diner serving breakfast and Southern plate lunches. 237 S. Cooper. 722-2193. B, L, D, X, $
BAYOU BAR & GRILL—New Orleans fare at this Overton Square eatery includes jambalaya, gumbo, catfish Acadian, shrimp dishes, red
beans and rice, and muffalettas. 2094 Madison. 278-8626. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$
BEAUTY SHOP—Modern American cuisine with international flair served in a former beauty shop. Serves steaks, salads, pasta, and seafood, including pecan-crusted golden sea bass. Perennial “Best Brunch” winner. Closed for dinner Sunday. 966 S. Cooper. 272-7111. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
BOSCOS—Tennessee’s first craft brewery serves a variety of freshly brewed beers as well as wood-fired oven pizzas, pasta, seafood, steaks, and sandwiches. 2120 Madison. 432-2222. L, D, SB (with live jazz), X, MRA, $-$$
BOUNTY ON BROAD—Offering family-style dining, Bounty serves small plates and family-sized platters, with such specialties as chicken-fried quail and braised pork shank. 2519 Broad. 410-8131. L (Sat. and Sun.), D (Mon.-Sat.), SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
BROADWAY PIZZA—Serving a variety of pizzas, including the Broadway Special, as well as sandwiches, salads, wings, and soul-food specials. 2581 Broad. 454-7930; 627 S. Mendenhall. 207-1546. L, D, X, $-$$
CAFE 1912—French/American bistro owned by culinary pioneer Glenn Hays serving such seafood entrees as seared sea scallops with charred cauliflower purée and chorizo cumin sauce; also crepes, salads, and onion soup gratinée. 243 S. Cooper. 722-2700. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
CAFE ECLECTIC—Omelets and chicken and waffles are among menu items, along with quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. Menu varies by location. 603 N. McLean. 725-1718; 111 Harbor Town Square. 590-4645. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $
CAFE OLÉ—This eatery specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine; one specialty is the build-your-own quesadilla. 959 S. Cooper. 343-0103. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$
CAFE PALLADIO—Serves gourmet salads, soups, sandwiches, and desserts in a tea room inside the antiques shop. Closed Sun. 2169 Central. 278-0129. L, X, $
CAMEO—Three longtime Memphis bartenders join forces for creative cocktails, cheese boards, snacks, and Sunday brunch. 1835 Union Ave., Suite 3. 305-6511. D, SB, $-$$
CELTIC CROSSING—Specializes in Irish and American pub fare. Entrees include shepherd’s pie, shrimp and sausage coddle, and fish and chips. 903 S. Cooper. 274-5151. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$
CENTRAL BBQ—Serves ribs, smoked hot wings, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken, turkey, nachos, and portobello sandwiches. Offers both pork and beef barbecue. 2249 Central Ave. 272-9377; 4375 Summer Ave. 767-4672; 147 E. Butler. 672-7760 ; 6201 Poplar. 4177962. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$
COMPLICATED PILGRIM—Quick-serve coffee shop, bar, and restaurant all in one at The Memphian hotel. 21 S. Cooper St. 538-7309. B, L, D, $-$$
THE COVE—Nautical-themed restaurant and bar serving oysters, pizzas, and more. The Stoner Pie, with tamales and fritos, is a popular dish. 2559 Broad. 730-0719. L, D, $
THE CRAZY NOODLE—Korean noodle dishes range from bibam beef noodle with cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables, to curry chicken noodle; also rice cakes served in a flavorful sauce. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 2015 Madison. 272-0928. L, D, X, $
EAT AT BLACK LODGE—High-end breakfasts, like waffle grilled cheese sandwiches, nacho and tater-tot “tot-chos,” and other entrees like sweet spicy thai pork at the longtime video store. Now with Masquerade cocktail bar. Closed Mon./Tue. 405 N. Cleveland. 672-7905. L, D, X, $-$$
ECCO—Mediterranean-inspired specialties range from rib-eye steak to seared scallops to housemade pastas and a grilled vegetable plate; also a Saturday brunch. Closed Sun.-Mon. 1585 Overton Park. 410-8200. B, L, D, X, $-$$
EVELYN & OLIVE—Jamaican/Southern fusion cuisine includes such dishes as Kingston stew fish, Rasta Pasta, and jerk rib-eye. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun.-Mon. 150 N. Avalon St. 748-5422. L, D, X , $
FABIOLA’S KITCHEN—Longtime caterer Fabiola Francis serves up burgers, tacos, fish, and much more. 1353 Jackson Ave. B, L, $ FARM BURGER—Serves grass-fed, freshly ground, locally sourced burgers; also available with chicken, pork, or veggie quinoa patties, with such toppings as aged white cheddar, kale coleslaw, and roasted beets. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 175. 800-1851. L, D, X, $ THE FARMER AT RAILGARTEN—Farmer classics include panseared catfish, gulf shrimp and grits, or a Gibson donut bread pudding. Closed Mon./Tue. 2166 Central. 313-0087. D, X, $-$$
FINO’S FROM THE HILL—Italian deli offers old favorites such as the Acquisto as well as a new breakfast menu Germantown location paired
FLAME RAMEN—Traditional Japanese ramen restaurant serving up bowls of noodles in Midtown. 1838 Union Ave. 779-8666; 61 S. Second St., Suite 160 (Downtown). D, $-$$
FLIP SIDE—Pinball meets pub in the Crosstown neighborhood, with plenty of games alongside a Caribbean- and Latin-inspired menu. Closed Mon. 1349 Autumn Ave. 207-6193. L, D, X, $-$$
FRIDA’S—Mexican cuisine and Tex-Mex standards, including chimichangas, enchiladas, and fajitas; seafood includes shrimp and tilapia. 1718 Madison. 244-6196. L, D, X, $-$$
GLOBAL CAFÉ—This international food hall hosts three immigrant/ refugee food entrepreneurs serving Venezuelan, Sudanese, and Syrian cuisines. Samosas, shawarma, and kabobs are among the menu items. Closed Mon. 1350 Concourse Avenue, Suite 157. L, D, X, MRA, $ GOLDEN INDIA—Northern Indian specialties include tandoori chicken as well as lamb, beef, shrimp, and vegetarian dishes. 2097 Madison. 728-5111. L, D, X, $-$$
GROWLERS—Sports bar and eatery serves standard bar fare in addition to pasta, tacos, chicken and waffles, and light options. 1911 Poplar. 244-7904. L, D, X, $-$$
GUAC FRESH MEX—Authentic Mexican cuisine and four types of guacamole. Closed Sun. 782 Washington Ave. 587-4100. L, D, X, $
HATTIE B’S—Fried chicken spot features “hot chicken” with a variety of heat levels; from no heat to “shut the cluck up” sauce. Sides include greens, pimento mac-and-cheese, and black-eyed pea salad. 596 S. Cooper. 424-5900. L, D, X, $
HUEY’S—This family-friendly restaurant offers 13 different burgers, a variety of sandwiches, and delicious soups and salads. 1927 Madison. 726-4372; 1771 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 7543885; 77 S. Second (Downtown). 527-2700; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-4455; 7090 Malco Blvd. (Southaven). 662-349-7097; 7825 Winchester. 624-8911; 4872 Poplar. 682-7729; 7677 Farmington Blvd. (Germantown). 318-3030; 8570 Highway 51 N. (Millington). 873-5025. L, D, X, MRA, $ IMAGINE VEGAN CAFE—Dishes at this fully vegan restaurant range from salads and sandwiches to full dinners, including eggplant parmesan and “beef” tips and rice; breakfast all day Sat. and Sun. 2158 Young. 654-3455. L, D, WB, X, $
INDIA PALACE—Tandoori chicken, lamb shish kabobs, and chicken tikka masala are among the entrees; also, vegetarian options and a daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. 1720 Poplar. 278-1199. L, D, X, $-$$ INSPIRE COMMUNITY CAFE—Serving breakfast all day, in addition to quesadillas, rice bowls, and more for lunch and dinner. 510 Tillman, Suite 110. 509-8640. B, L, D, X, $
JACK’S BROWN BEER AND BURGER JOINT—Another spot to satisfy your burger craving this time with 100% American Wagyu beef. 2197 Central Ave. 512-6957. L, D, X, $-$$$
KNIFEBIRD—Neighborhood wine bar boasts plenty of flights, cocktails, and mocktails alongside bruschetta and charcuterie boards. Closed Sun. 2155 Central Ave. 748-5425. D, $-$$$
LAFAYETTE’S MUSIC ROOM—Serves such Southern cuisine as po’boys, shrimp and grits, and wood-fired pizzas. 2119 Madison. 2075097. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$
LOS COMALES—Authentic Mexican cuisine, daily specials, and strong margaritas. 1322 Madison. 440-8393; 345 Madison Ave (Downtown). 590-4524; 2860 S. Perkins (East Memphis). 369-0528. L, D, X, $-$$
THE LIQUOR STORE—Renovated liquor store turned diner serves all-day breakfast, sandwiches, and entrees such as Salisbury steak and smothered pork chops. 2655 Broad. 405-5477; 669 S. Mendenhall Rd. (East Memphis). B, L, D, X, $-$$
LOUIS CONNELLY’S BAR FOR FUN TIMES & FRIENDSHIP—An upgraded dive bar with a neighborhood feel and a rockin’ SMASH burger. Closed Sun. and Mon. 322 S. Cleveland St. 433-9582. L, D, X, $-$$
MAXIMO’S ON BROAD—Serving a tapas menu that features creative fusion cuisine; entrees include veggie paella and fish of the day. Closed Mon. 2617 Broad Ave. 452-1111. D, SB, X, $-$$
MEMPHIS PIZZA CAFE—Homemade pizzas are specialties; also serves sandwiches, calzones, and salads. 2087 Madison. 726-5343; 5061 Park Ave. 684-1306; 7604 W. Farmington (Germantown). 7532218; 797 W. Poplar (Collierville). 861-7800; 5627 Getwell (Southaven). 662-536-1364. L, D, X, $-$$
MEMPHIS WHISTLE—Cocktails, cocktails, and even more delicious cocktails alongside burgers, sandwiches, and other tasty snacks. 2299 Young Ave. Closed Mon.-Tue. 236-7136. D, X, $-$$
MOLLY’S LA CASITA—Homemade tamales, fish tacos, a vegetarian combo, and bacon-wrapped shrimp are a few of the specialties. 2006 Madison. 726-1873. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$
PAYNE’S BAR-B-QUE—Opened in 1972, this family-owned barbecue joint serves ribs, smoked sausage, and chopped pork sandwiches with a standout mustard slaw and homemade sauce. About as down-to-earth as it gets. 1762 Lamar. 272-1523. L, D, $-$$
THE PUBLIC BISTRO—Knifebird owners’ full-service American bistro with a menu by chef Gannon Hamilton. 937 S. Cooper St. Closed Sun. 509-2113. D, $-$$
ROBATA RAMEN & YAKITORI BAR—Serves ramen noodle bowls and Yakitori skewers as well as rice and noodle dishes. 2116 Madison. 410-8290. L, D, X, $
SALTWATER CRAB—Offers an array of seafood dishes including boils with blue crab, crab legs, lobster tails, and more, and specialty sushi like the Dynamite or Royal King rolls, in addition to signature sangrias and cocktails. 2059 Madison Ave. 922-5202. L, D, X, $$
THE SECOND LINE—Kelly English brings “relaxed Creole cuisine” to his newest eatery; serves a variety of po’boys and such specialties as barbecue shrimp, andouille shrimp, and pimento cheese fries. 2144 Monroe. 590-2829. L, D, WB, X, $-$$
SEKISUI—Japanese fusion cuisine, fresh sushi bar, grilled meats and seafood, California rolls, and vegetarian entrees. Poplar/ Perkins location’s emphasis is on Pacific Rim cuisine. Menu and hours vary at each location. 25 Belvedere. 725-0005; 1884 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 309-8800; 4724 Poplar. 767-7770; 2130 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-0622; 2990 Kirby-Whitten (Bartlett). 377-2727; 6696 Poplar. 747-0001. L, D, X, $-$$$
SHROOMLICIOUS MEALS—Vegan eatery with a heavy blend of (as the name implies) mushrooms. Closed Mon. and Tues. 394 N. Watkins St. 205-8413. L, D, X, $
SLICE MIDTOWN—Serving New York-style pizza as well as subs and pasta dishes (formerly known as Little Italy). 1495 Union. 725-0280; L, D, X, $-$$
SOUL FISH CAFE—Serving Southern-style soul food, tacos, and po’boys, including catfish, crawfish, oyster, shrimp, chicken, and smoked pork tenderloin. 862 S. Cooper. 725-0722; 3160 Village Shops Dr. (Germantown). 755-6988; 4720 Poplar. 590-0323. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ STICKEM—Brick-and-mortar location for the popular food truck, which offers grilled meat on a stick. 1788 Madison. Closed Sunday. 474-7214. L, D, X, $
TAMBOLI’S PASTA & PIZZA—Pasta-maker Miles Tamboli whips up Italian soul food with seasonal menus featuring dishes like crispy fried chicken or creamy bucatini with pecorino cheese. Serves dinner Tues.-Sat. 1761 Madison. 410-8866. D, X, $-$$
TAKASHI BISTRO—Fusion restaurant with an open kitchen that lets customers watch chefs prepare a variety of Japanese and Thai cuisine. 1680 Union Ave., Suite 109. 800-2936. L, D, $-$$.
TJ MULLIGAN’S—Cold drinks, comfort food, and plenty of live entertainment. 2021 Madison. 725-0770; 1817 Kirby Pkwy (East Memphis). 755-2481; 8070 Trinity Rd. #1 (Cordova). 756-4480; 2821 N. Houston Levee Rd (Lakeland). 377-9997. L, D, X, $-$$
TONICA—Paella and other Spanish-inspired dishes with an Italian touch, alongside an extensive list of gin and tonics. 1545 Overton Park. Closed Mon.-Wed. D, X, $-$$
TSUNAMI—Features Pacific Rim cuisine (Asia, Australia, South Pacific, etc.); also a changing “small plate” menu. Chef Ben Smith is a Cooper-Young pioneer. Specialties include Asian nachos and roasted sea bass. Closed Sunday. 928 S. Cooper. 274-2556. D, X,, MRA, $$-$$$
TUYEN’S ASIAN BISTRO—A variety of Asian dishes from the minds and chefs behind Saigon Le. Closed Sun. 288 N. Cleveland. L, D, X, $-$$
VIBE FOODS—By way of Colorado, superfood bar serves up clean and delicious meals and juices. Closed Sun. 1350 Concourse Ave. 572-1127; 3139 Poplar Ave. (East Memphis). 207-2535. B, L, X, $-$$
ZINNIE’S—Dive bar classic reopens with a makeover and signature Zinnaloni sandwich. 1688 Madison. 726-5004. L, D, X, $
SOUTH MEMPHIS (INCLUDES PARKWAY VILLAGE, FOX MEADOWS, SOUTH MEMPHIS, WINCHESTER, AND WHITEHAVEN)
BALA’S BISTRO—Authentic West African cuisine available to order or by the pound, alongside traditional American dishes and an extensive vegan menu. 4571 Elvis Presley Blvd. 509-3024. L, D, $-$$
CACHE 42 KITCHEN & COCKTAILS—Elevated fine dining (think golden rack of lamb or lobster queso) and cocktail lounge at MoneyBagg
Yo’s restaurant; menu by chef Daris Leatherwood. Brunch and lunch options coming soon. 4202 Hacks Cross Rd., Suite 121. 494-5458. D, $-$$
COLETTA’S—Longtime eatery serves such specialties as homemade ravioli, lasagna, and pizza with barbecue or traditional toppings. 1063 S. Parkway E. 948-7652; 2850 Appling Rd. (Bartlett). 383-1122. L, D, X, $-$$
CURRY BOWL—Specializes in Southern Indian cuisine, serving Tandoori chicken, biryani, tikka masala, and more. Weekend buffet. 4141 Hacks Cross Rd. 207-6051. L, D, $
DELTA’S KITCHEN—The premier restaurant at The Guest House at Graceland serves Elvis-inspired dishes — like Nutella and Peanut Butter Crepes for breakfast — and upscale Southern cuisine — including lamb chops and shrimp and grits — for dinner. 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd. 443-3000. B, D, X, $-$$$
DWJ KOREAN BARBECUE—This authentic Korean eatery serves kimbap, barbecued beef short ribs, rice and noodles dishes, and hot pots and stews. 3750 Hacks Cross Rd., Suite 101. 746-8057; 2156 Young. 207-6204. L, D, $-$$
FABULOUS FLAVORS & FRIENDS ”The Candy Lady” Precious Thompson Jones comes up with a little bit of everything: omelettes, quesadillas, t-bones and waffles, and plenty of soul food. 2063 E. Brooks Rd. 314-0735. L, D, $
THE FOUR WAY—Legendary soul-food establishment dishing up such entrees as fried and baked catfish, chicken, and turkey and dressing, along with a host of vegetables and desserts. Around the corner from the legendary Stax Studio. Closed Mon. 998 Mississippi Blvd. 507-1519. L, D, $
HERNANDO’S HIDEAWAY No one cares how late it gets; not at Hernando’s Hideaway. Live music, killer happy hour, and plenty of bar fare at this South Memphis hang. 3210 Old Hernando Rd. 917-982-1829. L, D, $
INTERSTATE BAR-B-Q—Specialties include chopped pork-shoulder sandwiches, ribs, hot wings, spaghetti, chicken, and turkey. 2265 S. Third. 775-2304; 150 W. Stateline Rd. (Southaven). 662-393-5699. L, D, X, $-$$
JIM & SAMELLA’S—It’s a revolving menu of soul food delight from Chef Talbert Fleming, with anything from Southern ribs to fried tamales. 841 Bullington Ave. 265-8761. L, D, X, $
LEONARD’S—Serves wet and dry ribs, barbecue sandwiches, spaghetti, catfish, homemade onion rings, and lemon icebox pie; also a lunch buffet. 5465 Fox Plaza. 360-1963. L, X, $-$$
MARLOWE’S—In addition to its signature barbecue and ribs, Marlowe’s serves Southern-style steaks, chops, lasagna, and more. 4381 Elvis Presley Blvd. 332-4159. D, X, MRA, $-$$
UNCLE LOU’S FRIED CHICKEN—Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives for good reason: fried chicken (mild, hot, or home-style); jumbo burgers four patties high; strawberry shortcake, and assorted fruit pies. 3633 Millbranch. 332-2367. L, D, X, MRA, $ SUMMER/BERCLAIR/ RALEIGH/BARTLETT
901 HOT POT & KOREAN BBQ—All-you-can-eat hot pot and Korean BBQ, from short ribs to garlic shrimp. 2965 N. Germantown Pkwy. 512-4963. L, D, X, $$-$$$
BISCUITS & JAMS—Biscuits, waffles, French toast, and plenty of sharables at this Bartlett breakfast spot. Closed Mon./Tue. 5806 Stage Rd. 672-7905. B, L, X, $
BRYANT’S BREAKFAST—Slingin’ famous biscuits, plate lunches, chicken fried steak, and other breakfast classics since 1968. 3965 Summer Ave. 324-7494. B, L, $
CEVICHERIA AND GRILL CHILEMON—Ceviche, of course, but also plenty of other postres, aperitivos, and mixed grilled meat and seafood feasts. Closed Sun. 4509 Summer Ave. 672-7905. L, D, $
CHEF FLAVAS AND BARTLETT BREAKFAST FACTORY ”Flavaful” sandwiches, soups, pastas, and more from the makers of the popular local spinach artichoke dip. Traditional breakfast options served by Bartlett Breakfast Factory. Closed Sun./Mon. 6301 Stage Rd. 779-2200. B, L, D, X, $-$$
DIM SUM KING—All the best from a selection of authentic Chinese dishes: roasted duck, sizzling hot plate, Cantonese BBQ, and plenty more. 5266 Summer Ave. #65. 766-0831. L, D, X, $-$$
ELWOOD’S SHACK—Casual comfort food includes tacos, pizza, and sandwiches. Specialties include meats smoked in-house (chicken, turkey, brisket, pork), barbecue pizza, and steelhead trout tacos. 4523 Summer. 761-9898; 4040 Park Ave. 754-2520. B, L, D, X, $ EXLINES’ BEST PIZZA—Serves pizza, Italian dinners, sandwiches, and salads. 6250 Stage Rd. 382-3433; 2935 Austin Peay. 388-4711; 2801 Kirby Parkway. 754-0202; 7730 Wolf River Blvd.
(Germantown). 753-4545; 531 W. Stateline Rd. 662-342-4544. L, D, X , MRA, $
FANATIC SPORTS BAR AND WING FANATIC—Sports bar and hot wing joint folded into one, with plenty of screens to watch the big game. 2857 Appling Way. 695-3243. L, D, $-$$
LA TAQUERIA GUADALUPANA—Fajitas and quesadillas are just a few of the authentic Mexican entrees offered here. A bonafide Memphis institution. 4818 Summer. 685-6857; 5848 Winchester. 365-4992. L, D, X, $
LOTUS—Authentic Vietnamese-Asian fare, including lemon-grass chicken and shrimp, egg rolls, Pho soup, and spicy Vietnamese vermicelli. 4970 Summer. 682-1151. D, X, $
MORTIMER’S—Contemporary American entrees include trout almondine, chicken dishes, and hand-cut steaks; also sandwiches, salads, and daily/nightly specials. A Memphis landmark since the Knickerbocker closed. Closed for lunch Sat.-Sun. 590 N. Perkins. 7619321. L, D, X, $-$$
NAGASAKI INN—Chicken, steak, and lobster are among the main courses; meal is cooked at your table. 3951 Summer. 454-0320. D, X, $$
NAM KING—General Tso’s chicken, hot and sour soup, and homemade chicken wings are back at the longtime Raleigh Chinese eatery. 3624 Austin Peay Highway, #3. 373-4411. L, D, $-$$
ÓRALE TACOS & BAKERY—Tacos, enchiladas, and other traditional Southern Mexican dishes alongside baked pan dulces. 2204 Whitten Rd. 571-1786. B, L, D, $-$$
PANDA GARDEN—Sesame chicken and broccoli beef are among the Mandarin and Cantonese entrees; also seafood specials and fried rice. Closed for lunch Saturday. 3735 Summer. 323-4819. L, D, X, $-$$
QUEEN OF SHEBA—Featuring Middle Eastern favorites and Yemeni dishes such as lamb haneeth and saltah. 4792 Summer. 207-4174. L, D, $
SIDE PORCH STEAK HOUSE—In addition to steak, the menu includes chicken, pork chops, and fish entrees; homemade rolls are a specialty. Closed Sun./Mon. 5689 Stage Rd. 377-2484. D, X, $-$$
TORTILLERIA LA UNICA—Individual helping of Mexican street food, including hefty tamales, burritos, tortas, and sopes. 5015 Summer Ave. 685-0097. B, L, D, X, $
UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT (INCLUDES CHICKASAW GARDENS AND HIGHLAND STRIP)
A-TAN—Serves Chinese and Japanese hibachi cuisine, complete with sushi bar. A specialty is Four Treasures with garlic sauce. 3445 Poplar, Suite 17, University Center. 452-4477. L, D, X, $-$$$
THE BLUFF—New Orleans-inspired menu includes alligator bites, nachos topped with crawfish and andouille, gumbo, po’boys, and fried seafood platters. 535 S. Highland. 454-7771. L, D, X, $-$$
BROTHER JUNIPER’S—This little cottage is a breakfast mecca, offering specialty omelets, including the open-faced San Diegan omelet; also daily specials, and homemade breads and pastries. Closed Mon. 3519 Walker. 324-0144. B, X, $
CELEBRITY’S SOUL FOOD—Classic soul food dishes coupled with a Hollywood-esque VIP experience. 431 S. Highland St., Suite 105. L, D, X, $$
CHAR RESTAURANT—Specializing in modern Southern cuisine, this eatery offers homestyle sides, charbroiled steaks, and fresh seafood. 431 S. Highland, Suite 120. 249-3533. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$ EL PORTON—Fajitas, quesadillas, and steak ranchero are just a few of the menu items. 2095 Merchants Row (Germantown). 754-4268; 8361 Highway 64. 380-7877; 3448 Poplar (Poplar Plaza). 452-7330; 1805 N. Germantown Parkway (Cordova). 624-9358; 1016 W. Poplar (Collierville). 854-5770. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$
MEDALLION—Offers steaks, seafood, chicken, and pasta entrees. Closed for dinner Sunday. 3700 Central, Holiday Inn (Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality). 678-1030. B, L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
PLANT BASED HEAT All of your favorite Southern-style recipes, but deliciously transformed into a vegan format. Specialties include the spicy fye junt burger, or the chopped ‘n’ smoked bbq jackfruit sandwich. Closed Sun. 669 S. Highland St.; 363 S. Front St. (Downtown). L, D, $
SAM’S DELI—Everything from sandwiches to bibimbap bowls at this local favorite. Closed Mon./Tue. 643 S. Highland St. 454-5582. L, D, $
EAST MEMPHIS (INCLUDES POPLAR/I-240)
ACRE—Features seasonal modern American cuisine in an avantegarde setting using locally sourced products; also small plates and enclosed garden patio. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 690 S. Perkins. 818-2273. L, D, X, $$-$$$
AGAVOS COCINA & TEQUILA—Camaron de Tequila, tamales, kabobs, and burgers made with a blend of beef and chorizo are among the offerings at this tequila-centric restaurant and bar. 2924 Walnut Grove. 433-9345. L, D, X, $-$$
AMERIGO—Traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine includes pasta, wood-fired pizza, steaks, and cedarwood-roasted fish. 1239 Ridgeway, Park Place Mall. 761-4000. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
ANDALUSIA— Authentic Moroccan cuisine, including tagines, brochettes, and briouates. 5101 Sanderlin Ave., Suite 103. 236-7784. L, D, $-$$
ANDREW MICHAEL ITALIAN KITCHEN—Traditional Italian cuisine with a menu from two of the city’s top chefs that changes seasonally with such entrees as Maw Maw’s ravioli. Closed Sun.-Mon. 712 W. Brookhaven Circle. 347-3569. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$
ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE—Offering several varieties of eggs Benedict, waffles, omelets, pancakes, beignets, and other breakfast fare; also burgers, sandwiches, and salads. 6063 Park Ave. 729-7020; 65 S. Highland. 623-7122. B, L, WB, X, $
ANTIGUA MEXICAN BAR & GRILL—Tortas, tacos, and other authentic Mexican cuisine alongside freshly-made salsa, guacamole, and white queso dip. 717 N. White Station Rd. 761-1374. L, D, $-$$
BANGKOK ALLEY—Thai fusion cuisine includes noodle and curry dishes, chef-specialty sushi rolls, coconut soup, and duck and seafood entrees. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. at Brookhaven location; call for hours. 715 W. Brookhaven Circle. 590-2585; 2150 W. Poplar at Houston Levee (Collierville). 854-8748. L, D, X, $-$$
BELLE MEADE SOCIAL—Upscale Americana cuisine including lamb lollipops, spicy tuna stack, and steak & noodle salad. 518 Perkins Extd. 480-7054. L, D, $-$$$
BELMONT GRILL—Burgers, steak sandwiches, and other classic American fare at one of Memphis’ longstanding bars. 4970 Poplar. 767-0305. L, D, X, $-$$
BENIHANA—This Japanese steakhouse serves beef, chicken, and seafood grilled at the table; some menu items change monthly; sushi bar also featured. 912 Ridge Lake Blvd. 767-8980. L, D, X, $$-$$$
BIG BAD BREAKFAST—Fresh biscuits, house-made cured meats, jams, jellies, and more for the most important meal of the day. 6450 Poplar. 881-3346. B, L, X, $-$$
BOG & BARLEY—An all-Irish fine dining experience by the owners of Celtic Crossing, and a full bar with plenty of beer and 25-year-old Macallan. 6150 Poplar, Suite 124. 805-2262. L, D, WB, X, $-$$
BROOKLYN BRIDGE ITALIAN RESTAURANT—Specializing in such homemade entrees as spinach lasagna and lobster ravioli; a seafood specialty is horseradish-crusted salmon. Closed Sun. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 755-7413. D, X, $-$$$
BRYANT’S BREAKFAST—Three-egg omelets, pancakes, and The Sampler Platter are among the popular entrees here. Possibly the best biscuits in town. Closed Mon. and Tues. 3965 Summer. 324-7494. B, L, X, $
BUCKLEY’S FINE FILET GRILL—Specializes in steaks, seafood, and pasta. (Lunchbox serves entree salads, burgers, and more.) 5355 Poplar. 683-4538; 919 S. Yates (Buckley’s Lunchbox), 682-0570. L (Yates only, M-F), D, X, $-$$
CAPITAL GRILLE—Known for its dry-aged, hand-carved steaks; among the specialties are bone-in sirloin, and porcini-rubbed Delmonico; also seafood entrees and seasonal lunch plates. Closed for lunch Sat.Sun. Crescent Center, 6065 Poplar. 683-9291. L, D, X, $$$-$$$$
CASABLANCA—Lamb shawarma is one of the fresh, homemade specialties served at this Mediterranean/Moroccan restaurant; fish entrees and vegetarian options also available. 5030 Poplar. 725-8557; 1707 Madison. 421-6949. L, D, X, $-$$
CIAO BELLA—Among the Italian and Greek specialties are lasagna, seafood pasta, gourmet pizzas, and vegetarian options. 5101 Sanderlin Ave. 205-2500. D, X, MRA, $-$$$ CITY SILO TABLE + PANTRY—With a focus on clean eating, this establishment offers fresh juices, as well as comfort foods re-imagined with wholesome ingredients. 5101 Sanderlin. 729-7687. Germantown: 7605 W. Farmington Blvd., Suite 2. 236-7223. B, L, D, X, $
COASTAL FISH COMPANY
—Upscale offerings of international fish varieties utilizing styles ranging from Carribbean, East Coast, West Coast, Chinese, to Filipino, and more. 415 Great View Dr. E., Suite 101. 266-9000. D, X, $$-$$$
CORKY’S—Popular barbecue emporium offers both wet and dry ribs, plus a full menu of other barbecue entrees. Wed. lunch buffets, Cordova and Collierville. 5259 Poplar. 685-9744; 1740 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 737-1911; 743 W. Poplar (Collierville). 405-4999; 6434 Goodman Rd., Olive Branch. 662-893-3663. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$
DAN MCGUINNESS PUB—Serves fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, burgers, and other Irish and American fare; also lunch and dinner specials. 4694 Spottswood. 761-3711; 3964 Goodman Rd. 662-8907611. L, D, X, $
DORY—Chef David Krog whips up Southern specialties with classic French techniques and locally sourced ingredients. Current specialties include pork tenderloin, beef bourguignon, or cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles, with new weekly additions. 716 W. Brookhaven Circle. 310-4290. L, D, X, $$-$$$
ERLING JENSEN—For decades, has presented “globally inspired” cuisine to die for. Specialties are rack of lamb, big-game entrees, and fresh fish dishes. 1044 S. Yates. 763-3700. D, X, MRA, $$-$$$
ERLING JENSEN SMALL BITES—Enjoy Erling Jensen’s specialty dishes in a sharable, small-plate format alongside TopGolf Swing suites. 5069 Sanderlin Ave. 587-9464. L, D, X, $-$$$
FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE—Serves wet-aged and dry-aged steaks, prime beef, chops, and seafood, including salmon, Australian lobster tails, and a catch of the day. 6245 Poplar. 761-6200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$
FOLK’S FOLLY ORIGINAL PRIME STEAK HOUSE
Specializes in prime steaks, as well as lobster, grilled Scottish salmon, Alaskan king crab legs, rack of lamb, and weekly specials. 551 S. Mendenhall. 762-8200. D, X, MRA, $$$-$$$$
FORMOSA—Offers Mandarin cuisine, including broccoli beef, hot-andsour soup, and spring rolls. Closed Mon. 6685 Quince. 753-9898. L, D, X, $-$$
FOX RIDGE PIZZA & GRILL—Pizzas, calzones, sub sandwiches, burgers, and meat-and-two plate lunches are among the dishes served at this eatery, which opened in 1979. 711 W. Brookhaven Circle. 758-6500. L, D, X, $
FRATELLI’S—Serves hot and cold sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts, all with an Italian/Mediterranean flair. Closed Sun. 750 Cherry Rd., Memphis Botanic Garden. 766-9900. L, X, $
FRANK GRISANTI ITALIAN RESTAURANT—Northern Italian favorites include pasta with jumbo shrimp and mushrooms; also seafood, filet mignon, and daily lunch specials. Closed for lunch Sun. Embassy Suites Hotel, 1022 S. Shady Grove. 761-9462. L, D, X, $-$$$
HALF SHELL—Specializes in seafood, such as king crab legs; also serves steaks, chicken, pastas, salads, sandwiches, a ”voodoo menu”; oyster bar at Winchester location. 688 S. Mendenhall. 682-3966; 7825 Winchester. 737-6755. L, D, WB, X, MRA, $-$$$
HEN HOUSE—Hybrid wine/cocktail bar and tasting room with plenty of cosmopolitan eats. Closed Sun. 679 S. Mendenhall. 499-5436. D, $-$$$
HIGH POINT PIZZA—Serves a variety of pizzas, subs, salads, and sides. Closed Mon. A neighborhood fixture. 477 High Point Terrace. 452-3339. L, D, X, $-$$
HOG & HOMINY—The casual sister to Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen serves brick-oven-baked pizzas, including the Red-Eye with pork belly, and small plates with everything from meatballs to beef and cheddar hot dogs; and local veggies. And with a few surprises this time around. Closed for lunch Mon. 707 W. Brookhaven Cir. 207-7396. L, D, SB, X, MRA. $-$$$
HOUSTON’S—Serves steaks, seafood, pork chops, chicken dishes, sandwiches, salads, and Chicago-style spinach dip. Famous for first-class service. 5000 Poplar. 683-0915. L, D, X $-$$$
LA BAGUETTE—An almond croissant and chicken salad are among specialties at this French-style bistro. Closed for dinner Sun. 3088 Poplar. 458-0900. B, L, D (closes at 7), X, MRA, $
LAS DELICIAS—Popular for its guacamole, house-made tortilla chips, and margaritas, this restaurant draws diners with its chicken enchiladas, meat-stuffed flautas, and Cuban torta with spicy pork. Closed Sun. 4002 Park Ave. 458-9264; 5689 Quince. 800-2873. L, D, X, $
LIBRO AT LAURELWOOD—Bookstore eatery features a variety of sandwiches, salads, and homemade pasta dishes, with Italian-inspired options such as carbonara and potato gnocchi. Closed for dinner Sun. 387 Perkins Ext. (Novel). 800-2656. B, L, D, SB, X, $-$$
LITTLE ITALY EAST—New York-style pizzas galore and homemade pasta. Closed Sun. 6300 Poplar Ave., Ste. 113. 729-7432. L, $-$$
LOST PIZZA—Offering pizzas (with dough made from scratch), pasta, salads, sandwiches, tamales, and more. 2855 Poplar. 572-1803; 5960 Getwell (Southaven). 662-892-8684. L, D, X, $-$$
MAGNOLIA & MAY—Southern-inspired, family-owned, casual dining restaurant serving up a variety of sandwiches, chef-inspired dishes, and craft cocktails. Popular items include shrimp and grits and the double cheeseburger. Closed Mon. 718 Mt. Moriah Rd. 676-8100. L, D, WB, X, MRA. $$-$$$.
MAHOGANY MEMPHIS—Upscale Southern restaurant offers such dishes as coffee-rubbed lamb chops and baked Cajun Cornish hen. Closed for dinner Sun. and all day Mon.-Tues. 3092 Poplar, Suite 11. 623-7977. L, D, SB, X, $-$$$
MARCIANO MEDITERRANEAN AND ITALIAN CUISINE—Veal Saltimbocca with angel-hair pasta and white wine sauce is among the entrees; also steaks, seafood, and gourmet pizza. 780 E. Brookhaven Cir. 682-1660. D, X, $-$$
MAYURI INDIAN CUISINE—Serves tandoori chicken, masala dosa, tikka masala, as well as lamb and shrimp entrees; also a daily lunch buffet, and dinner buffet on Fri.-Sat. 6524 Quince Rd. 753-8755. L, D, X, $-$$
MELLOW MUSHROOM—Large menu includes assortment of pizzas, salads, calzones, hoagies, vegetarian options, and 50 beers on tap. 5138 Park Ave. 562-1211; 9155 Poplar, Shops of Forest Hill (Germantown). 907-0243. L, D, X, $-$$
MOSA ASIAN BISTRO—Specialties include sesame chicken, Thai calamari, rainbow panang curry with grouper fish, and other Pan Asian/ fusion entrees. Closed Mon. 850 S. White Station Rd. 683-8889. L, D, X, MRA, $
NAM KING—Offers luncheon and dinner buffets, dim sum, and such specialties as fried dumplings, pepper steak, and orange chicken. 4594 Yale. 373-4411. L, D, X, $
NAPA CAFE—Among the specialties are miso-marinated salmon over black rice with garlic spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Closed Sun. 5101 Sanderlin, Suite 122. 683-0441. L, D, X, MRA, $$-$$$
ONE & ONLY BBQ—On the menu are pork barbecue sandwiches, platters, wet and dry ribs, smoked chicken and turkey platters, a smoked meat salad, barbecue quesadillas, Brunswick Stew, and Millie’s homemade desserts. 1779 Kirby Pkwy. 751-3615; 567 Perkins Extd. 249-4227. L, D, X, $
ONO POKÉ—This eatery specializes in poké — a Hawaiian dish of fresh fish salad served over rice. Menu includes a variety of poké bowls, like the Kimchi Tuna bowl, or customers can build their own by choosing a base, protein, veggies, and toppings. 3145 Poplar. 618-2955. L, D, X , $
OWEN BRENNAN’S—New Orleans-style menu of beef, chicken, pasta, and seafood; jambalaya, shrimp and grits, and crawfish etouffee are specialties. Closed for dinner Sun. The Regalia, 6150 Poplar. 761-0990. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
PARK + CHERRY—The Dixon offers casual dining within the museum. Seasonal menu features sandwiches, like rustic chicken salad on croissant, as well as salads, snacks, and sweets. Closed for breakfast Sun. and all day Mon. 4339 Park (Dixon Gallery and Gardens). 761-5250. L, X, $ PATRICK’S—Serves barbecue nachos, burgers, and entrees such as fish and chips; also plate lunches and daily specials. 4972 Park. 682-2852. L, D, X, MRA, $
PETE & SAM’S—Serving Memphis for 60-plus years; offers steaks, seafood, and traditional Italian dishes, including homemade ravioli, lasagna, and chicken marsala. 3886 Park. 458-0694. D, X, $-$$$ PF CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO—Specialties are orange peel shrimp, Mongolian beef, and chicken in lettuce wraps; also vegetarian dishes, including spicy eggplant. 1181 Ridgeway Rd., Park Place Centre. 8183889. L, D, X, $-$$
PHO SAIGON—Vietnamese fare includes beef teriyaki, roasted quail, curry ginger chicken, vegetarian options, and a variety of soups. 2946 Poplar. 458-1644. L, D, $
PYRO’S FIRE-FRESH PIZZA—Serving gourmet pizzas cooked in an open-fire oven, wide choice of toppings, and large local and craft beer selection. 1199 Ridgeway. 379-8294; 2035 Union Ave. 208-8857; 2286 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 207-1198; 3592 S. Houston Levee (Collierville). 221-8109. L, D, X, MRA, $
THE READY ROOM—Duck wontons, bananas “Oscar,” and plenty of other bar snacks and entrees at Hook Point Brewing Co.’s taproom. Closed Mon./Tues. 715 W. Brookhaven Cir. 487-6931. L, D, WB, X, $-$$
Drama Premiere Night
Sunday, September 15
RED HOOK CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR—Cajun-style array of seafood including shrimp, mussels, clams, crawfish, and oysters. 3295 Poplar. 2071960. L, D, X, $-$$
RED KOI—Classic Japanese cuisine offered at this family-run restaurant; hibachi steaks, sushi, seafood, chicken, and vegetables. 5847 Poplar. 7673456. L, D, X $-$$
RED PIER CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR—Owners of Red Hook bring more cajun-style seafood dishes. 5901 Poplar Ave. 512-5923. L, D, X, $-$$$
RESTAURANT IRIS—French Creole-inspired classics, such as Gulf shrimp and rice grits congee served with lap chong sausage and boiled peanuts, are served at this newly remodeled restaurant owned by Chef Kelly English, a Food and Wine “Top Ten.” 4550 Poplar. 590-2828. L, D, X, $$-$$$
RIVER OAKS—Chef Jose Gutierrez’s French-style bistro serves seafood and steaks, with an emphasis on fresh local ingredients. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 5871 Poplar Ave. 683-9305. L, D, X, $$$
RONNIE GRISANTI’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT— This Memphis institution serves some family classics such as Elfo’s Special and handmade ravioli, along with house-made pizza and fresh oysters. Closed Sun. 6150 Poplar, Suite 122. 850-0191. D, X, $-$$$
ROTOLO’S CRAFT & CRUST—Louisiana-based pizza company’s first Memphis location, whipping up pizza pies with homemade sauces and fresh ingredients, pasta, wings, and other shareables. 681 S. White Station. 4543352. L, D, X, $-$$
RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE—Offers prime steaks cut and aged in-house, as well as lamb, chicken, and fresh seafood, including lobster. 6120 Poplar. 761-0055. D, X, $$$-$$$$
SALSA—Mexican-Southern California specialties include carnitas, enchiladas verde, and fajitas; also Southwestern seafood dishes such as snapper verde. Closed Sun. Regalia Shopping Center, 6150 Poplar, Suite 129. 683-6325. L, D, X, $-$$
SEASONS 52—This elegant fresh grill and wine bar offers a seasonally changing menu using fresh ingredients, wood-fire grilling, and brick-oven cooking; also a large international wine list and nightly piano bar. Crescent Center, 6085 Poplar. 682-9952. L, D, X, $$-$$$
STAKS—Offering pancakes, including birthday cake and lemon ricotta. Menu includes other breakfast items such as beignets and French toast, as well as soups and sandwiches for lunch. 4615 Poplar. 509-2367; 3660 S. Houston Levee Road, Suite 104 (Collierville). 286-4335; 7704 Poplar (Germantown). 800-1951; 2902 May Blvd. (Southaven). B, L, WB, X, $ SWANKY’S TACO SHOP—Taco-centric eatery offers tortas, flatbreads, quesadillas, chimichangas, burgers, and more. 4770 Poplar. 730-0763; 6641 Poplar (Germantown). 737-2088; 272 S. Main. 779-3499. L, D, X, $ THREE LITTLE PIGS—Pork-shoulder-style barbecue with tangy mild or hot sauce, freshly made coleslaw, and baked beans. 5145 Quince Rd. 685-7094. B, L, D, X, $
TOPS BAR-B-Q—Specializes in pork barbecue sandwiches and sandwich plates with beans and slaw; also serves ribs, beef brisket, and burgers. 1286 Union. 725-7527; 4183 Summer. 324-4325; 5391 Winchester. 794-7936; 3970 Rhodes. 323-9865; 6130 Macon. 371-0580. For more locations, go online. L, D, X, $
TORCHY’S TACOS—Plenty of Tex-Mex variety, with creative monthly special tacos. 719 S. Mendenhall. 343-8880. B, L, D, X, $
VENICE KITCHEN—Specializes in “eclectic Italian” and Southern Creole, from pastas, including the “Godfather,” to hand-tossed pizzas, including the “John Wayne”; choose from 50 toppings. 368 Perkins Ext. 767-6872. L, D, SB, X, $-$$
WANG’S MANDARIN HOUSE—Offers Mandarin, Cantonese, Szechuan, and spicy Hunan entrees, including the golden-sesame chicken; next door is East Tapas, serving small plates with an Asian twist. 6065 Park Ave., Park Place Mall. 763-0676. L, D, X, $-$$
WASABI—Serving traditional Japanese offerings, hibachi, sashimi, and sushi. The Sweet Heart roll, wrapped — in the shape of a heart — with tuna and filled with spicy salmon, yellowtail, and avocado, is a specialty. 5101 Sanderlin Rd., Suite 105. 421-6399. L, D, X, $-$$
THE WING GURU—A staple of the Memphis wing scene, featuring everything from classic buffalo to exquisite lemon pepper. 5699 Mt. Moriah Rd. 509-2405; 875 W. Poplar Ave., Ste. 6 (Collierville). 221-7488; 8253 Highway 51, North Suite #103 (Millington). 872-0849; 4130 Elvis Presley Blvd (Whitehaven) 791-4726; 5224 Airline Rd., Ste. 107 (Arlington). 209-0349. L, D, X, $-$$
THE BLUE ROOM RESTAURANT—An elevated take on traditional Southern recipes, located in the U of M Kemmons Wilson Culinary Institute. Closed Mon. 1245 N. Germantown Pkwy., Suite 101. 249-7512. D, SB, $$-$$$
BOMBAY HOUSE—Indian fare includes lamb korma and chicken tikka; also, a daily luncheon buffet. 1727 N. Germantown Pkwy. 755-4114. L, D, X, $-$$
THE BUTCHER SHOP—Serves steaks ranging from 8-oz. filets to a 20-oz. porterhouse; also chicken, pork chops, fresh seafood. 107 S. Germantown Rd. 757-4244. L (Fri. and Sun.), D, X, $$-$$$ GREEN BAMBOO—Pineapple tilapia, pork vermicelli, and the soft egg noodle combo are Vietnamese specialties here. 990 N. Germantown Parkway, Suite 104. 753-5488. L, D, $-$$
JIM ’N NICK’S BAR-B-Q—Serves barbecued pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, and fish, along with other homemade Southern specialties. 2359 N. Germantown Pkwy. 388-0998. L, D, X, $-$$
EL MERO TACO—This food truck turned restaurant serves up Mexican and Southern-style fusion dishes, including fried chicken tacos, chorizo con papas tacos, and brisket quesadillas. 8100 Macon Station, Suite 102. 308-1661. Closed Sun.-Mon. L, D, WB, X, $
OPTIONS Burgers, wings, philly cheesesteaks, and more comfort food options. Closed Mon.-Thu. 7940 Fischer Steel Rd. 245-6048. D, SB, $-$$
POKÉ WORLD—Serves up Hawaiian poké bowls filled with rice and diced, raw fish. Also offers Taiwanese bubble tea and rolled ice cream for dessert. 1605 N. Germantown Pkwy., Suite 111. 623-7986. East Memphis: 575 Erin Dr. 779-4971. L, D, $
SHOGUN JAPANESE RESTAURANT—Entrees include tempura, teriyaki, and sushi, as well as grilled fish and chicken entrees. 2324 N. Germantown Pkwy. 384-4122. L, D, X, $-$$
TANNOOR GRILL—Brazilian-style steakhouse with skewers served tableside, along with Middle Eastern specialties; vegetarian options also available. 830 N. Germantown Pkwy. 443-5222. L, D, X, $-$$$
GERMANTOWN
BLUE HONEY BISTRO—Entrees at this upscale eatery include brown butter scallops served with Mississippi blue rice and herbcrusted beef tenderloin with vegetables and truffle butter. Closed Sun. 9155 Poplar, Suite 17. 552-3041. D, X, $-$$$
THE CRAZY COOP—Plenty of hot wings and sauces, plus sandwiches and other dinner plates. 1315 Ridgeway Rd. 748-5325; 7199 Stage Rd. (Bartlett). 433-9212. L, D, $-$$
DIMSUM MEM—Traditional Chinese food truck takes over the New Asia space. 2075 Exeter Rd., Suite 90. L, D, X, $-$$
GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches; Mon.-night all-you-can-eat ribs. 2290 S. Germantown Rd. S. 754-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$
LAS TORTUGAS DELI MEXICANA—Authentic Mexican food prepared from local food sources; specializes in tortugas — grilled bread scooped out to hold such powerfully popular fillings as brisket, pork, and shrimp; also tingas, tostados. Closed Sun. 1215 S. Germantown Rd. 751-1200; 6300 Poplar. 623-3882. L, D, X, $-$$
LIMELIGHT—Wolf River Hospitality Group brings Wagyu beef, duck gnocchi, and other fine dining dishes on a rotating seasonal menu. Closed Mon./Tue. 7724 Poplar Pike. 791-2328. D, X, $-$$$
LOCAL LIME—Tacos and margaritas in a casual environment, plus other goodies like the Mexican caramel apple crisp skillet. Closed Mon. 7605 W. Farmington Blvd., Suite 1. 224-2204. L, D, X, $-$$$
MOONDANCE GRILL—From the owners of Itta Bena and Lafayette’s. Serves steak cooked sous vide and seafood dishes including Abita-barbecued shrimp and pan-seared sand dab, in addition to an extensive wine and cocktail list. 1730 S. Germantown Road, Suite 117. 755-1471. L, D, X, $$-$$$
NOODLES ASIAN BISTRO—Serves a variety of traditional Asian cuisine, with emphasis on noodle dishes, such as Singapore Street Noodles and Hong Kong Chow Fun. 7850 Poplar, Suite 12. 755-1117. L, D, X, $
PETALS OF A PEONY—Authentic Sichuan cuisine, from crispy duck to peony fried chicken. Be prepared for spice! 1250 N. Germantown Pkwy. 787-8886. L, D, X, $-$$
PETRA CAFÉ—Serves Greek, Italian, and Middle Eastern sandwiches, gyros, and entrees. Hours vary; call. 6641 Poplar. 754-4440; 547 S. Highland. 323-3050. L, D, X, $-$$
ROCK’N DOUGH PIZZA CO.—Specialty and custom pizzas made from fresh ingredients; wide variety of toppings. 7850 Poplar, Suite 6. 779-2008. L, D, SB, X, MRA, $$
ROYAL PANDA—Hunan fish, Peking duck, Royal Panda chicken and shrimp, and a seafood combo are among the specialties. 3120 Village Shops Dr. 756-9697. L, D, X, $-$$
SAKURA—Sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are Japanese specialties here. 2060 West St. 758-8181; 4840 Poplar. 572-1002; 255 New Byhalia Rd. 316-5638. L, D, X, $-$$
SOUTHERN SOCIAL—Shrimp and grits, stuffed quail, and Aunt Thelma’s Fried Chicken are among the dishes served at this upscale Southern establishment. 2285 S. Germantown Rd. 754-5555. D, SB, X, MRA, $-$$$
STONEY RIVER STEAKHOUSE AND GRILL—Specializes in hand-cut steaks, a fresh seafood selection, and plenty of house specials. 7515 Poplar Ave., Suite 101. 207-1100. L, D, X, $$-$$$$
SUFI’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL & BAR—Offers authentic Mediterranean and Persian cuisine, from hummus shawarma to traditional moussaka. Closed Mon. 7609 Poplar Pike. 779-2200. L, D, X, $-$$$
TAZIKI’S—Mediterranean-inspired dishes all made from scratch. 7850 Poplar Ave., Suite 26. 612-2713. East Memphis: 540 S. Mendenhall Rd. 290-1091. Bartlett: 7974 US-64. 203-0083. L, D, $
THE TOASTED YOLK CAFE—Churro donuts, signature Eggs Benedict, and plenty other boozy brunch options at this franchise’s first Tennessee location. 9087 Poplar Ave., Ste. 11. B, L, X, $-$$
UNCLE GOYO’S—More than 30 dishes with a focus on authentic Mexican cuisine, from the brains behind TacoNganas. 1730 S. Germantown Rd. L, D, X, $-$$
WEST STREET DINER—This home-style eatery offers breakfast, burgers, po’boys, and more. 2076 West St. 757-2191. B, L, D (Mon.-Fri.), X, $
ZEN JAPANESE FINE CUISINE—A full sushi bar and plenty of authentic Japanese dishes, like Hibachi or Wagyu beef. 1730 S. Germantown Rd. 779-2796. L, D, X, X, $-$$$
COLLIERVILLE
CAFE PIAZZA BY PAT LUCCHESI—Specializes in gourmet pizzas (including create-your-own), panini sandwiches, and pasta. Closed Sun. 139 S. Rowlett St. 861-1999. L, D, X, $-$$
CIAO BABY—Specializing in Neapolitan-style pizza made in a woodfired oven. Also serves house-made mozzarella, pasta, appetizers, and salads. 890 W. Poplar, Suite 1. 457-7457. L, D, X, $
COLLIERVILLE COMMISSARY—Serves barbecue sandwiches, sliders, ribs, shrimp, and nachos, as well as smoked barbecued bologna sandwiches. 3573 S. Houston Levee Rd. 979-5540. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$ DAVID GRISANTI’S ON MAIN—Serving Northern Italian cuisine and traditional Grisanti family recipes. Closed Sun./Mon. 148 N Main. 861-1777. L, D, X, $-$$$
DYER’S CAFE—Juicy hamburgers, split dogs, and milkshakes at the historic Collierville restaurant. 101 N. Center St. 850-7750. L, D, X, $-$$ EL MEZCAL—Serves burritos, chimichangas, fajitas, and other Mexican cuisine, as well as shrimp dinners and steak. 9947 Wolf River, 853-7922; 402 Perkins Extd. 761-7710; 694 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 755-1447; 1492 Union. 274-4264; 11615 Airline Rd. (Arlington). 8671883; 9045 Highway 64 (Lakeland). 383-4219; 7164 Hacks Cross Rd. (Olive Branch). 662-890-3337; 8834 Hwy. 51 N. (Millington). 872-3220; 7424 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 417-6026. L, D, X, $
EMERALD THAI RESTAURANT—Spicy shrimp, pad khing, lemongrass chicken, and several noodle, rice, and vegetarian dishes are offered at this family restaurant. Closed Sunday. 8950 Highway 64 (Lakeland, TN). 384-0540. L, D, X, $-$$
FIREBIRDS—Specialties are hand-cut steaks, slow-roasted prime rib, and wood-grilled salmon and other seafood, as well as seasonal entrees. 4600 Merchants Circle, Carriage Crossing. 850-1637; 8470 Highway 64 (Bartlett). 379-1300. L, D, X, $-$$$
JIM’S PLACE GRILLE—Features American, Greek, and Continental cuisine. Closed for lunch Sat. and all day Sun. 3660 Houston Levee. 861-5000. L, D, X, MRA, $-$$$
MULAN ASIAN BISTRO—Hunan Chicken, tofu dishes, and orange beef served here; sushi and Thai food, too. 2059 Houston Levee. 850-5288; 2149 Young. 347-3965; 4698 Spottswood. 609-8680. L, D, X, $-$$
OSAKA JAPANESE CUISINE—Featuring an extensive sushi menu as well as traditional Japanese and hibachi dining. Hours vary for lunch; call. 3670 Houston Levee. 861-4309; 3402 Poplar. 249-4690; 7164 Hacks Cross (Olive Branch). 662-890-9312; 2200 N. Germantown Pkwy. (Cordova). 425-4901. L, D, X, $-$$$
RAVEN & LILY—Eatery offers innovative Southern-inspired cuisine with such dishes as crispy shrimp and cauliflower salad, spiced lamb sausage and parmesan risotto, and bananas foster pain perdu. Closed Mon. 120 E. Mulberry. 286-4575. L, D, SB, X, $-$$
STIX—Hibachi steakhouse with Asian cuisine features steak, chicken, and a fillet and lobster combination, also sushi. A specialty is Dynamite Chicken with fried rice. 4680 Merchants Park Circle, Avenue Carriage Crossing. 854-3399. 150 Peabody Place, Suite 115 (Downtown). 2077638 L, D, X, $-$$
WOLF RIVER BRISKET CO.—From the owners of Pyro’s Fire Fresh Pizza, highlights include house-smoked meats: prime beef brisket, chicken, and salmon. Closed Sun. 9947 Wolf River Boulevard, Suite 101. 316-5590; 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 165. 791-4389 L, D, X, $-$$
ZOPITA’S ON THE SQUARE—Cafe offers sandwiches, including smoked salmon and pork tenderloin, as well as salads and desserts. Closed Sun. 114 N. Main. 457-7526. L, D, X, $
OUT-OF-TOWN
BOZO’S HOT PIT BAR-B-Q—Barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, and subs. 342 Highway 70 (Mason, TN). 901-294-3400. L, D, X, $-$$ CITY GROCERY—Southern eclectic cuisine; shrimp and grits is a specialty. Closed for dinner Sun. 152 Courthouse Square (Oxford, MS). 662-232-8080. L, D, SB, X, $$-$$$
COMO STEAKHOUSE—Steaks cooked on a hickory charcoal grill are a specialty here. Upstairs is an oyster bar. Closed Sun. 203 Main St. (Como, MS). 662-526-9529. D, X, $-$$$
ELFO GRISANTI’S NORTHERN ITALIAN CUISINE—Grisanti family classics like lasagna, homemade ravioli, garlic bread, and Northern Italian pizza. Closed Sun. 5627 Getwell Rd. (Southaven, MS). 662-4704497. L, D, X, $-$$
CASINO TABLES
CHICAGO STEAKHOUSE AT THE GOLDSTRIKE—1010 Casino Center Dr., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-24KSTAY /662-357-1225
FAIRBANKS AT THE HOLLYWOOD—1150 Casino Strip Blvd., Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-871-0711
IGNITE STEAKHOUSE AT SOUTHLAND CASINO RACING—1550 N. Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-800-467-6182
JACK BINION’S STEAK HOUSE AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE
LUCKY 8 ASIAN BISTRO AT HORSESHOE—1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-303-SHOE
SOUTHLAND CASINO HOTEL'S THE KITCHENS—1550 N. Ingram Blvd., West Memphis, AR, 1-800-467-6182
THE STEAKHOUSE AT THE FITZ—711 Lucky Ln., Robinsonville, MS, 1-888-766-LUCK, ext 8213
TWAIN’S STEAKHOUSE AT SAM’S TOWN TUNICA—1477 Casino Strip Resorts Boulevard, Robinsonville, MS, 1-800-456-0711
MANILA FILIPINO RESTAURANT—Entrees include pork belly cutlet with lechon sauce, and shrimp and vegetables in tamarind broth; also daily combos, rice dishes, and chef specials. Closed Sun.-Mon. 7849 Rockford (Millington, TN). 209-8525. L, D, X, $
MARSHALL STEAKHOUSE—Rustic steakhouse serves premium Angus beef steaks, seafood dishes, rack of lamb, and more. 2379 Highway 178 (Holly Springs, MS). 628-3556. B, L, D, X, $-$$$
MEMPHIS BARBECUE COMPANY—Offers spare ribs, baby backs, and pulled pork and brisket. 709 Desoto Cove (Horn Lake, MS). 662-536-3762. L, D, X, $-$$
SAINT LEO’S—Offering sophisticated pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, and salads. A James Beard nominee for Best New Restaurant in 2017. 1101 Jackson (Oxford, MS). 662-234-4555. D, L, WB, X, $-$$
SIMON’S—A unique dining experience situated in a charming small town. Closed Sun./Mon. 201 N. Main St. (Bolivar, TN). 731403-3474. L, D, $$-$$$$
SNACKBAR—An intriguing mix of “French Bistro with North Mississippi Cafe.” Serving a confit duck Croque Monsieur, watermelon-cucumber chaat, pan-fried quail, plus a daily plate special and a raw bar. 721 N. Lamar (Oxford, MS). 662-236-6363. D, X, $-$$$
TEKILA MODERN MEXICAN—Modern interpretations of classic dishes from all over Mexico. 6343 Getwell Rd. (Southaven, MS). 662-510-5734. B, L, D, X, $-$$
WILSON CAFE—An impressive culinary destination in the heart of the Arkansas Delta. Serving jambalaya, Waygu flatiron, butternut ravioli, swordfish & shrimp kabobs, burgers. 2 N. Jefferson (Wilson, AR). 870655-0222. L, D, WB, $-$$$
Artifacts of the Other
The power of holding the past in your hand.
BY ALEX GREENE
above: A ritual vessel excavated from the Nodena Site in northeastern Arkansas, occupied from 14001650 A.D., now on display at the Hampson Archaeological Museum in Wilson, Arkansas.
Igrew up in haunted lands. I suppose all Americans do, but it was especially clear in the fields near Memphis, Nebraska, where the seasonal tilling of the soil on what my father called “Indian Hill” would reveal arrowheads and scrapers on a regular basis. He and I would comb the dirt for the telltale points and edges of flint shaped by human hands, and I would imagine those hands in their daily routines of hunting, fishing, washing, or cooking — all the actions we humans share — as the prairie winds whipped around me like voices from the past.
Those voices, those people, had lived in a relatively recent recorded history which, if read unfl inchingly, revealed the dark side of my own ancestors. ose among the Otoe-Missouria tribe who’d survived smallpox were driven out to clear the way for my kin. And yet, while the stone mementos of their existence suggested to me a collective shame, they also hinted at a kind of transcendence. e world into which I was born, the modern way of life that seemed so inevitable, was not the only way. One could learn from the voices in the wind. Even the name Nebraska came from the Otoe-Missourian words “Ni Brathge,” meaning “flat water.”
In my youth, I romanticized the lives of those Otoe-Missourians, but even as I matured and devoted myself to cultural anthropology, stripping away illusions of the “noble savage,” I could see in their differences a way out. More importantly, looking at the sharpened flint I collected in a shoebox, I could also see a way in. Every arrowhead, every flaked edge of bone striking flint, spoke to the innate humanity of those now gone. ey’d been relocated to Oklahoma only a few years prior to my great-grandparents’ arrival, but I could still learn from them.
Now, reading Chris McCoy’s account of the widespread Mississippian culture that pre-dated North America’s more familiar historical tribes, I can’t help wondering if those Otoe-Missourians experienced the same ruminations I did. Did a curious Otoe youth ever dig up a copper image of a hand with an eye in its palm, so common along Mississippian trade routes, and wonder who’d come before?
Such was the reach of Mississippian culture
(“from Iowa to Ohio, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast,” as McCoy writes) that this hypothetical Otoe youth may well have been seeing signs of their own ancestors from Cahokia, near today’s St. Louis. As archaeologist Robert L. Hall writes in the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2004 exhibition guide, Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand, the historical descendants of Cahokia’s people were likely speakers of Sioux-related languages, including the Winnebago, Iowa, Otoe, and Missouria tribes. He even considers a model whereby the huge urban society centered on Cahokia didn’t so much collapse as disperse. “After A.D. 1200,” he writes, “bison hunting was becoming more visible in the archaeological record among the village farming cultures of the Missouri valley and in the prairie margins of the Plains … thereby reducing the population pressure around Mississippi valley centers such as Cahokia.”
If the spread of Cahokian ritual artifacts — sporting the imagery of the hawk, the Hero Twins, the open palm with an eye at its center — went hand in hand with the religious trappings of concentrated political power built on sedentary agriculture, perhaps alternatives to such agriculture made the religion (and the political elites) obsolete. Yet the mounds like those at Chucalissa and Shiloh still remained, silent silhouettes from the past, leaving the historical era’s Native Americans pondering the provenance and the personhood of those that came before them — just as I pondered the sharpened flint in the fields of my homeland. All archaeological science aside, such lines of thinking may represent the greatest power of the past’s lingering remnants: they hint at other ways of being, other visions of humanity and the cosmos, other histories that might have been or may yet come to pass.
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