You might have better luck in the Southern forum. There are already a few threads about Memphis ongoing. Wiseacre has an awesome taproom but is only open Thursday - Saturday. Other than that for brews, the Flying Saucer has the best tap list, guaranteed to have a good local selection (wiseacre, high cotton, memphis made, ghost river). There are two in town, one downtown, one out east in the suburbs. For blues, I guess go to Beale and walk around, on a week night there might not be much unless the grizzlies or tigers are playing. The downtown saucer is a block north of Beale though. Probably a few other places to get catch some good music, but they escape me right now. Also the cooper-young area is great. Awesome BBQ at central BBQ and young avenue deli has a good selection. If you want a straight up party, go to Raifords. But FYI, they only serve BMC 40's Seriously...
Brews: Wiseacre Tap Room The Growler on Cooper Young Avenue Deli on Cooper Local on the Square Schweinhaus in the Square Flying Saucer downtown Blues: BBKing on Beale Follow a guy named Eric Hughes on Facebook. He plays a lot and is amazing WC Handy Park on Beale Lafayette's on the Square
Madison Ave Cash Saver has a 30 tap growler station they will fill 32oz up to 64 oz growlers. They have a lot of local stuff. They also have a big mix six section. You can look them up on FB too and see what they have on tap. Buster's wine and liquor on S Highland has a lot of high gravity and local beers as well. They also have a website bustersliquors.com that show their inventory and prices.
Thanks for the summary. I'm going to be visiting town this weekend, and we're staying downtown - so it sounds like Flying Saucer is the best bet for a one-stop place to sample local brews. Aside from BBQ - is Gus's Fried Chicken worth it, or is it a tourist-trap? Do they serve beer?
Gus's is extremely worth it. And it's pretty much all BMC products at Gus's. You might get some fat tire, and they might've started carrying local stuff, but don't go there expecting a great beer place. Rendezvous is the real tourist trap downtown. The ribs are good, but only when fresh. Main Street has some good places for food and beer downtown. Local Gastropub is a great place for both. Flying saucer has an awesome tap list and will have a bunch of great brews regardless. If you have the time Wiseacre is very worth it, and they usually have a food truck (bonus if it's central BBQ). Plus they aren't that far from downtown.
Thanks. And funny you mentioned Raifords in your earlier post - my wife had found info on that place so late Saturday night we plan on getting our disco on.
I wouldn't call it a disco exactly, but they play that era of music a bunch and have a light up dance floor. It's a fairly triply place. Also, if you have problems with smoke machines, don't go, visibility is limited. And if you value your hearing for the next day bring earplugs. But have fun. It's a cool city.
Right on about those earplugs, we took a group of people and my best friend suffered hearing problems for months.
ahh Raiford's!! haha #FogAndForties Try to get in VIP or up in the Balcony. It is cool up there. My friends have a thing called the Weird Trifecta: Start at Shadows @ 152, then go to Raiford's, then finish the night/morning at Purple Haze. It is a guarantee for some weird times. hahah As for the question about Gus's... http://www.thedailymeal.com/americas-best-fried-chicken-spots-slideshow?slide=51 #1 in the nation ain't bad
Had a great weekend in town - the only disappointment was that we didn't realize Mud Island Park was closed off in the winter. I can report that Gus's does now have bottles of Ghost River - they had the Golden Ale and the Red Ale. Also New Belgium. Great BBQ, local beer, and live music at Central BBQ downtown location. Made a stop at the Flying Saucer, and listened to a band play at the Blues Hall on Beale Street (they had 32 oz drafts of Wiseacre IPA for $7.25) Paula & Raiford's has expanded to 3 beers to choose from - 32 oz bottles of Bud Light, or regular bottles of Corona or Heineken.
