Memphis' Beale Street: Not Perfect, But Fun!
Written: Apr 01 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Live entertainment, fun atmosphere, OK food, usually no cover charge.
Cons: Not usually world class blues, "touristy" atmosphere.
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| vickie's Full Review: Memphis |
The range of epinions about Beale Street runs the gamut from "The Best Blues is on Beale" (M Lee Williams; 1/11/00) to "Beale Street is for suckers!" I just returned from a visit (while in Memphis on a business trip) and my epinion falls somewhere in the middle! I checked out M Lee Williams review (which I highly recommend, by the way) and visited a couple of the spots he described (B.B. King's Café and Rum Boogie Café) as well as one spot that he did not mention, King's Palace Café. These are not the place to seek out in a search for cutting edge blues. However, each had great live entertainment and they proved to be great places to spend an enjoyable evening during my Memphis visit. If you want more information on Beale Street, check out www.bealestreet.com. Here's my "skinny" on the spots I mentioned:
B. B. King's Café:
NO, B. B. was not here the night I visited! However, there was a good, live group playing blues-and nothing too shabby! The players had differing skill levels so the overall effect was good-but not great. I don't remember their name, but the guitar player was REALLY good-had some VERY nice riffs. The sax player, on the other hand, wasn't so good! The atmosphere here is all music with a healthy dose of "attitude." I really enjoyed myself.
The food at B.B.'s was good-although this is NOT the place to go if you are looking for the best food in town. As a "package" of food and entertainment for an evening, it's a good time and a good value. The menu consists of:
-appetizers (ranging from $5.99 for the Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly to $7.99 for the Crayfish Cocktail),
-soups & salads (ranging from $4.49 for the Gumbo topped with Smoked Chicken to $7.99 for the King Chicken Caesar Salad),
-sandwiches (ranging from $6.40 for Catfish to $7.29 for a "Honey-cured Boom-Boom Burger!"),
-entrees (ranging from $9.99 for a Vegetable Plate to $16.99 for a 12 oz NY Strip Steak marinated in Jack Daniels!),
-desserts (ranging from $3.99 for the Fired PB&J Sundae to $4.49 for ice cream and a brownie with chocolate syrup).
We had the St. Louis style pork ribs and a blackened ribeye steak, both of which were good-but not as good as the ribs were at Rendezvous or Corkys.
Rum Boogie Café:
This club has been in the food and boogie business for 15 years. Live music plays nightly starting at 8:30 pm. The star for March is James Govan and the Boogie Blues Band. I thought they were good and put on a show that I really enjoyed. On the other hand, I did not purchase the CD that they had for sale: "A Night At Beale." The atmosphere here is definitely fun. There's lots of memorabilia hanging from the walls and what seems like hundreds of guitars hanging from the ceiling.
Again, the food at the Rum Boogie Café was good-not great. They have a big sign outside which advertises their "Championship Gumbo", but then it seems like every restaurant along here advertises "championship gumbo!" Basically, compared to B.B.'s Café, this club has more appetizers and generally a larger number of selections. The menu consists of:
-appetizers (ranging from $3.95 for a cup of Red Beans and Rice to $6.95 for a Cheese and Sausage Plate or Nachos Grande).
-soups & salads (ranging from $3.75 for a House Salad to $5.95 for Salad & Cup of Gumbo),
-sandwiches (ranging from $5.75 for a Boogie Burger to $6.95 for a Philly Steak & Cheese or a Catfish Sandwich)
-entrees (ranging from $7.95 for a half order of Red Beans and Rice to $15.95 for a full slab of ribs), and
-desserts (mostly priced at $3.50 and including Key Lime Pie, Cobbler, Pecan Pie and Brownies).
The real "show stopper" (aka: heart stopper!) at this place is the "Southern Feast". For $29.95 you can order this and get a full slab of ribs, 2 catfish fillets, 2 cups of red beans and rice 2 cups of "gator gumbo", fries and slaw-and yes, it is for 2 people!
King's Palace Café:
Another "home of championship gumbo"! Actually, this establishment won a gumbo recipe award back in 1990 and 1991. This club is smaller than the other 2 and has a much more intimate feeling. Like the others, they have live entertainment nightly, currently it is a keyboardist and a guitarist. Like the other clubs, there is no cover charge; the music is good, not GREAT and the food is very good, not GREAT. I actually think that the food here is better than the others-the music was better at B.B.King's Café. The menu here consists of:
-appetizers & soups (ranging from$3.95 for a Cup of Gumbo to $7.95 for a basket of cheese toast, fried crawfish tails, fried shrimp, fried scallops and french fries),
-salads (ranging from $3.25 for a green salad to $9.75 for Shrimp and Crawfish Remoulade served on a bed of greens),
-sandwiches (ranging from $6.25 for a King's Palace Burger to $7.25 for a Philly Cheesesteak),
-pasta (ranging from $9.50 for Mardi Gras Pasta to $12.95 for Shrimp Velvet or Shrimp Alfredo),
-entrees (ranging from $11.95 for Fried Catfish to $18.95 for a full rack of Memphis ribs), and
-desserts (ranging from $3.25 for Southern Cobbler to $4.25 for Bourbon Derby Pie).
One of the really fun things about King's Palace Café is the specialty drink menu! My favorites are the Iced Mojo (Kahlua, Frangelico, Bailey's and iced coffee) and the Mint Julep (bourbon, simple syrup and mint). And NO, these were not the absolute best examples of these drinks that you will ever taste, but they are very good, the entertainment is solid and the place is a lot of fun to visit in you are passing through Memphis!!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
vickie
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Location: Waltham, MA
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 113 members
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