Business Traveler, Dec/Jan 2021

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 b u s i n e s s t r a v e l e r u s a c o m 5 5 D E S T I N AT I O N S For those who enjoy walking in the footsteps of history Memphis is a living museum 2011 The grandson of the original owner is still there mixing ingredients and sharing stories with any customer who dares to belly up to the counter CULINARY HIGH NOTES For lunch and dinner respectively Central BBQ and Rizzos Restaurant are top picks for quality cuisine Central BBQ offers casual eats but formal tastes Opened in 2002 this Memphis style restaurant owns the motto Smoke is our Sauce From their variety of dry rubs to their fall off the bone meats Central BBQ is the perfect spot to go between meetings or after work has ended for the day Rizzos Restaurant features the creations of Chef Michael Patrick who combines common local ingredients with a pinch of love to cook up tasty dishes perfect to match the spirit of the location The restaurant is on South Main Street in close proximity to the Civil Rights Museum within the South Arts district A trip down South Main Street will lead the traveler with feline curiosity to Ernestine and Hazels a former brothel turned low key bar and grill that is rumored to be haunted The best chance of seeing or hearing the woeful spirits is upstairs where the bedrooms whisper their sordid histories to peeled paint lacerated walls and warped floorboards At the far end of the hall a crude bar occupies what had once been two adjoining bedrooms one vice replacing another Here spirits can be ordered the potable type and although not top shelf one pays for the historic ambiance and a chance to hear the local gossip with a touch of Southern hospitality Finally not for the faint of heart and if one speaks to the locals totally forbidden is Voodoo Village What started in the 1960s as St Peters Spiritual Village a construct of self ordained Baptist minister Washington Doc Harris has come through legend to be known as Voodoo Village A creepy drive down Mary Angela Road a dead end path leading to the village will bring the foolish thrill seeker to a few neglected houses which sport warning signs against trespassers There is a history here of vandals and troublemakers especially around Halloween which has necessitated the residents to fight back in an area seldom visited by police Though most thrill seeking visitors search out the most haunted hotels sites of grisly crimes and skeletons in the many hidden closets of typical tourist haunts all of which Memphis can offer in abundance the more discriminating traveler can still find plenty of off the beaten path experiences in Memphis to satisfy his or her taste BT PREVIOUS PAGE Neon signs of famous blues clubs on Beale Street FROM TOP Living room in Elvis Presleys Graceland Mansion The Saint Paul Spiritual Holy Temple at Voodoo Village Bus display at Rosa Parks exhibit as part of the National Civil Rights Museum and the site of the Assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr A guitar statue installed in the front of Sun studios entrance