Thursday, September 07, 2006
MEMPHIS
My wife and I drove to Memphis, Tennessee last weekend for a friend’s wedding. We left Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. and drove straight through, arriving at 7:00 a.m. We really should have thought that out better. Regular check-in time at the hotel is 3:00 p.m., and even though we did factor in getting breakfast when we arrived, we still weren’t able to check in until 10:00 a.m., so we had to cool our jets for a while as we traipsed around like the walking dead. My wife was actually more rested than I, as I only slept for about an hour on the drive since I have trouble napping in strange places, while she can sleep[ quite happily if she was strapped to a jet engine.
We took I-70 to Rt 340 and then to Rt 7 out of Maryland. Right after it narrowed to a single lane there was a restaurant we stopped at called John’s. It seemed to be a favorite of the locals, and seemed to specialize in wholesome, simple food. I wanted energy for the trip, and my wife wanted to sleep on the first leg, so I ordered a steak with vegetables and she ordered chicken with macaroni and cheese. Perhaps they tried to be too wholesome. My steak was okay, if nothing special (it’s hard to screw up a steak), but my wife found her food particularly bland. Coupled with their creepy decorating motif of early grandmother on a religious kick, we definitely decided we could give it a miss on our way back.
After driving through the rain brought in by Ernesto, we finally reached I-81 in Tennessee and turned west. I handed the wheel over to my wife and settled in for a nap. I don’t remember falling asleep at all, but she swears I was snoring. Around 2:00 a.m. we stopped at a Waffle House. I don’t understand my wife’s fascination with the place. Before we left, she marked down the exit number of every single Waffle House along our route. I don’t mind the place, in fact I like their waffles a lot, I just don’t see anything really special about them. Reversing our dinner roles (dinner rolls?), she ordered eggs and coffee and I ordered a waffle (I said I liked them). Unfortunately, I never was able to get back to sleep.
After braving the Memphis rush hour (not too bad) and not checking into our room at 7:00 a.m., we went to Brother Juniper’s a few blocks away. We had researched this place, and all the reviews called it “the best breakfast in Memphis”. They weren’t lying. It’s a small, seat yourself place that apparently caters to the local college crowd. They crow about being featured on the Food Network’s “$40 a Day” show, and I did order “Rachel Ray’s Favorite”, an open-faced omelet called “The San Diegan”. Gordon Ramsey would freak. It had bacon, sour cream, home fries, spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes, and several other ingredients generously piled on. A lot of good food for a good price. June ordered one of their potato dishes, another specialty.
After breakfast, we still couldn’t check in, so we drove around Memphis. We found Beale Street, stopped at a Visitor’s Center near the giant glass Pyramid (it’s an arena) and hung out at a park near the Mississippi River where we were startled by a local cicada. Their cicadas are bright green with a deep buzz as opposed to our yellow and orange variety that has a high-pitched chitter. We got back to the Holiday Inn at 10:00 a.m., and were finally able to check in. Since I was desperate to get some sleep, our friend (the groom) of course chose that moment to spot us and chat for a half hour. We finally got into the room where I just fell into bed and crashed for several hours.
After we woke up, we made our way down to the ballroom where they were setting up for the next day’s reception. We met the bride for the first time, and helped put chair covers on the 400 chairs. From there we went to the rehearsal, which was unfortunately completely mishandled by the wedding planner. She was very experienced apparently, but dropped the ball and made the rehearsal last three times longer than necessary. After the rehearsal dinner, the boys and girls split up for the bachelor and bachelorette parties, which I was still too tired to truly enjoy.
The next day we had another great breakfast at Brother Juniper’s. We nearly missed it – they’re breakfast only – and they were out of cinnamon rolls. The wedding itself was beautiful, as was the reception afterwards. I was surprised at how quickly everyone cleared out after the cake was served. There was a deejay, so I was expecting dancing to go on into the night. Maybe everyone just decided to take advantage of the locale and ran out to enjoy the Memphis night life. Maybe all of the out-of-towners were anxious to get back on the road for the trip home. Maybe they were cheap jerks who scampered off after they finished their free meal. I don’t know. After hanging out for a while, we retired to our room as the happy couple was preparing to leave for theirs.
Sunday we had a nice lunch at the Germantown Commissary in order to try some Memphis barbecue. I made short work of my ribs, but my wife managed to save enough of her pulled pork to make a sandwich for the road. We then made our way leisurely back east, stopping at a Lodge cast iron outlet to admire their frying pans but settling on a hibachi. We wanted to check out other places to see or eat along the way, but couldn’t do any research since we forgot to plug in the laptop to charge in the hotel room. We did drive n to Nashville and after buying some pralines we settled on BB Kings to eat. The food was good, but the promised live music doesn’t start until 8:00 p.m., and they wouldn’t open the window so we could hear the jazz festival we had a perfect view of across the road. We did take advantage of a nearby plug to charge the laptop, though. We made it as far as Knoxville, where we decided to stop at a Best Western for the night. It was more than the prices stamped on all the billboards for Motel 6s and other budget hotels, but my wife begrudgingly admitted that you get what you pay for.
We enjoyed a complimentary breakfast at the hotel. No meat in their “hot” breakfast, but there was a make-your-own waffle station, so still pretty nice. Labor Day was spent driving north, and while we debated on stopping to eat dinner, we were so close to home by that time that we settled for stopping at a produce stand and just scrounging through the freezer when we got home.
My wife and I drove to Memphis, Tennessee last weekend for a friend’s wedding. We left Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. and drove straight through, arriving at 7:00 a.m. We really should have thought that out better. Regular check-in time at the hotel is 3:00 p.m., and even though we did factor in getting breakfast when we arrived, we still weren’t able to check in until 10:00 a.m., so we had to cool our jets for a while as we traipsed around like the walking dead. My wife was actually more rested than I, as I only slept for about an hour on the drive since I have trouble napping in strange places, while she can sleep[ quite happily if she was strapped to a jet engine.
We took I-70 to Rt 340 and then to Rt 7 out of Maryland. Right after it narrowed to a single lane there was a restaurant we stopped at called John’s. It seemed to be a favorite of the locals, and seemed to specialize in wholesome, simple food. I wanted energy for the trip, and my wife wanted to sleep on the first leg, so I ordered a steak with vegetables and she ordered chicken with macaroni and cheese. Perhaps they tried to be too wholesome. My steak was okay, if nothing special (it’s hard to screw up a steak), but my wife found her food particularly bland. Coupled with their creepy decorating motif of early grandmother on a religious kick, we definitely decided we could give it a miss on our way back.
After driving through the rain brought in by Ernesto, we finally reached I-81 in Tennessee and turned west. I handed the wheel over to my wife and settled in for a nap. I don’t remember falling asleep at all, but she swears I was snoring. Around 2:00 a.m. we stopped at a Waffle House. I don’t understand my wife’s fascination with the place. Before we left, she marked down the exit number of every single Waffle House along our route. I don’t mind the place, in fact I like their waffles a lot, I just don’t see anything really special about them. Reversing our dinner roles (dinner rolls?), she ordered eggs and coffee and I ordered a waffle (I said I liked them). Unfortunately, I never was able to get back to sleep.
After braving the Memphis rush hour (not too bad) and not checking into our room at 7:00 a.m., we went to Brother Juniper’s a few blocks away. We had researched this place, and all the reviews called it “the best breakfast in Memphis”. They weren’t lying. It’s a small, seat yourself place that apparently caters to the local college crowd. They crow about being featured on the Food Network’s “$40 a Day” show, and I did order “Rachel Ray’s Favorite”, an open-faced omelet called “The San Diegan”. Gordon Ramsey would freak. It had bacon, sour cream, home fries, spinach, feta cheese, tomatoes, and several other ingredients generously piled on. A lot of good food for a good price. June ordered one of their potato dishes, another specialty.
After breakfast, we still couldn’t check in, so we drove around Memphis. We found Beale Street, stopped at a Visitor’s Center near the giant glass Pyramid (it’s an arena) and hung out at a park near the Mississippi River where we were startled by a local cicada. Their cicadas are bright green with a deep buzz as opposed to our yellow and orange variety that has a high-pitched chitter. We got back to the Holiday Inn at 10:00 a.m., and were finally able to check in. Since I was desperate to get some sleep, our friend (the groom) of course chose that moment to spot us and chat for a half hour. We finally got into the room where I just fell into bed and crashed for several hours.
After we woke up, we made our way down to the ballroom where they were setting up for the next day’s reception. We met the bride for the first time, and helped put chair covers on the 400 chairs. From there we went to the rehearsal, which was unfortunately completely mishandled by the wedding planner. She was very experienced apparently, but dropped the ball and made the rehearsal last three times longer than necessary. After the rehearsal dinner, the boys and girls split up for the bachelor and bachelorette parties, which I was still too tired to truly enjoy.
The next day we had another great breakfast at Brother Juniper’s. We nearly missed it – they’re breakfast only – and they were out of cinnamon rolls. The wedding itself was beautiful, as was the reception afterwards. I was surprised at how quickly everyone cleared out after the cake was served. There was a deejay, so I was expecting dancing to go on into the night. Maybe everyone just decided to take advantage of the locale and ran out to enjoy the Memphis night life. Maybe all of the out-of-towners were anxious to get back on the road for the trip home. Maybe they were cheap jerks who scampered off after they finished their free meal. I don’t know. After hanging out for a while, we retired to our room as the happy couple was preparing to leave for theirs.
Sunday we had a nice lunch at the Germantown Commissary in order to try some Memphis barbecue. I made short work of my ribs, but my wife managed to save enough of her pulled pork to make a sandwich for the road. We then made our way leisurely back east, stopping at a Lodge cast iron outlet to admire their frying pans but settling on a hibachi. We wanted to check out other places to see or eat along the way, but couldn’t do any research since we forgot to plug in the laptop to charge in the hotel room. We did drive n to Nashville and after buying some pralines we settled on BB Kings to eat. The food was good, but the promised live music doesn’t start until 8:00 p.m., and they wouldn’t open the window so we could hear the jazz festival we had a perfect view of across the road. We did take advantage of a nearby plug to charge the laptop, though. We made it as far as Knoxville, where we decided to stop at a Best Western for the night. It was more than the prices stamped on all the billboards for Motel 6s and other budget hotels, but my wife begrudgingly admitted that you get what you pay for.
We enjoyed a complimentary breakfast at the hotel. No meat in their “hot” breakfast, but there was a make-your-own waffle station, so still pretty nice. Labor Day was spent driving north, and while we debated on stopping to eat dinner, we were so close to home by that time that we settled for stopping at a produce stand and just scrounging through the freezer when we got home.
# posted by Renfield @ 12:09 PM 
