Nashville/Memphis trip -Memorable sights; unforgetable food?
 

Plan to be driving down to Nashville from St. Louis on Tues., April 15 and spending 2 days there. Then onto Memphis for 2 days and then back up to St. Louis for the weekend with family. We are from New England and are not at all familiar with the area. What are some "must sees" on this trip?
Looking for lunch and dinner places that are great local spots. Not fancy, but great food and reasonably priced.
Thanks for your suggestions!

Can you define "reasonably priced"? Nashville has lots of good spots, but there's a wide range of prices. Can't help with Memphis as much, though barbecue is the quintessential thing to look for. You'll get tons of recommendations for where to get it - my brother lives there and frequents the Barbecue Shop on Madison.

What are your interests? Music is huge in both cities. In Nashville, you might be able to catch a Tuesday night show at the Grand Ole Opry; otherwise, check out the Bluebird Cafe, or there will be any number of acts at small venues around town. The Country Music Hall of Fame is a big attraction, near the new symphony center, which is pretty amazing. I'll let someone more knowledgeable tell you about Memphis, but the civil rights museum there is great.

Thanks for the recommendations. As for 'reasonably priced'...probably 10-18 per entre for dinner. Local food, not haute cusine. The places locals go for a dinner with their family.
Any thoughts?

Be aware that the drive from Nashville to Memphis is pretty tedious. Nothing much to see, though the flowers should be nice.

In Nashville, in addition to the usual tourist sites, be sure to visit Belle Meade, a very upscale suburb, and Percy Warner Park, just beyond it. Percy Warned is a former estate with beautiful drives, and the flowers should be good.

You might want to look on Chowhound for restaurant recommendations. Nashville is famous for meat-and-threes, simple restaurants that serve a meat and three vegetables cooked Southern-style, usually at lunch (known locally as dinner) with cornbread or biscuits. Ask local people for their favorites as well as doing research.

If you have not experienced a Southern cafeteria, it is nothing like where you ate in college. Nashville used to have some good ones. The Belle Meade Cafeteria, 4534 Harding Pike 615) 298-5571 is still getting good reviews.

Plenty to see in Memphis: Civil Rights museum, Mud Island, Graceland, Sun Studios. Music on Beale Street.
Definitely look for barbecue there. I am sure if you check Chowhound you will get lots of opinions about which is best

Personally I've always been disappointed with Memphis BBQ (stay away from the Corky's chain, for example). but it should still be better than what passes for BBQ in most of New England!

In Nashville, it's totally touristy but also so bizarre that it's hard not to be impressive--but go to the recreation of the Parthenon, complete with statue of Athena.

For restaurants in Memphis, check out the Beauty Shop or Brother Juniper's for breakfast. They're both outstanding and frequented by locals & students. Freshly baked breads, freshly squeezed OJ. I think the area where they're located is called midtown, but I'm not postive.

If you are looking for a music night in Nashville, Bluebird is always an enjoyable evening. You can check their web site as to who is performing the nights you are visiting and reserve seats in advance.

Didn't someone post a bunch of restaurants here from their trip to Nashville--within the past week. They got compliments for hitting the best of the best.

Just spent a weekend in Memphis with my 18 year old nephew. We thoroughly enjoyed the Civil Rights Museum located downtown (http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/) but if you're travelling with youngsters they might not enjoy it because it's room after room of mainly reading things; not much to just look at. We spent a couple hours there.

We also visited Graceland (http://www.elvis.com/graceland/) and had a nice time.

For food, we hit the famous Charlie Vergos Rendezvous Room for BBQ in downtown. When I go back, I'll stick with the "dry" ribs. The pork and beef were just so-so by my standards, which are pretty high. See http://www.hogsfly.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=20

We also went to Payne's BBQ which is nothing fancy but always very good. Not sure I'd visit after dark. Great ribs. http://search.cityguide.aol.com/memp...ue/v-111016396

Nashville is only touristy if you only go to the tourist areas. It's a pretty great place to live and visit, I think.

That thread with the list of Nashville restaurants was good, but it hit a lot of the more upscale places - some might be out of the OP's budget, if I remember correctly. It's definitely worth finding, though - some of those places might be good for lunch if not dinner.

NEtripper, do you know where you're planning to stay while you're in Nashville? The Vandy/Hillsboro Village area has some good spots - Noshville deli on Broadway (evokes a New York deli), Provence cafe on 21st (soups, sandwiches, fancy desserts), McDougal's and Savarino's on Belcourt (mostly chicken strips and Italian cafe, respectively). Those would all easily fit in your budget. Baja Burrito is my favorite "fast casual" place - it's a local favorite. It's a burrito chain akin to Qdoba or Chipotle, but way better, if you ask me. It's on Thompson Lane close to I-65.

For a little bit nicer meal, I like Sunset Grill - it might be out of your price range for dinner, but you could go for lunch or save a little on another meal. Pancake Pantry is delicious and cheap. They're both in Hillsboro Village as well. Rosepepper Cantina in East Nashville gets a lot of good reviews, although my guess is that you're not staying out there. There are several locations of Bread & Company around town, also soup and sandwiches sort of place; it's pricy for what it is, but the food is good. We've also got lots of chains around if you're looking for something more familiar.

Thanks to everyone for the great recommendations! I'm taking them all with us. I wish we had enough meals there to try them all. We liked the suggestions on what to see and we'll have to work them in. People here are so helpful!

My favorite places to eat in Memphis are:
Rendevouz
Blues City Cafe
and the brunch at The Peabody, even though it is expensive

We've been to both, and we thought the food was better in Memphis, but we liked Nashville a little bit more as the downtown area was cleaner.

If you click on my username you will find my trip report from Memphis of last year (I can't remember the restaurant names).

Both are great cities with a lot to offer.

We liked Belle Meade and the Hermitage in Nashville. In Memphis, we liked going to the different clubs with no admission price, and of course, Graceland. Key to Graceland is purchasing your tickets online in advance, thus allowing you to go to the will call line and avoid the long line of those purchasing tickets on-site.

IMO Memphis is the undisputed BBQ capital.

For a tourist spot the Rendevous' ribs are not bad.
Central BBQ's ribs are better.
Germantown Commissary for ribs and sandwiches.
Tops makes a very good sandwich.
The BBQ buffet at Leonards.
Folks rave about Neely's and Interstate but I don't get there much.
For a real treat go to Cozy Corner for the BBQ cornish game hen. Yes the place is a dive but you can't beat it.

For a nice evening meal try Jarretts.

Gee, nobody has mentioned a great stop on the drive from Nashville to Memphis....Loretta Lynn's Ranch and Museum in Hurricane Mills. I think the exit is Waverly off the i-40.

In Memphis we had a fun meal at a place called Bigfoot Lodge (or something like that). Their menu is online. And there's a great pancake house in Nashville not far from Vanderbilt University but the name escapes me...maybe a local can chime in with more info?

joesorce, you're thinking of the Pancake Pantry. The lines are loooong on the weekends but should be fine during the week (open early till 3pm, I think). The sugar and spice are my favorites!

The lines may be long at the Pancake Pantry but the wait is always worth it! They have great soups too!

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken and Rendevous were highlights of Memphis dining, would love to go back just for those 2 restaurants.
For sights, Sun Studio and Graceland, top 2.

In Nashville, Belle Meade Plantation has a great lunch.
For sites, Belle Meade Plantation and also The Hermitage.

Loveless Cafe - http://www.lovelesscafe.com/ - is just west of Nashville and a good place to hit on your way out of town towards Memphis. It's at the beginning of the Natchez Trace Parkway, and also near one of the prettiest bridges you'll ever see, if you like that kind of thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez...Parkway_Bridge