Julie Wiklund
Earnestine & Hazel's
Earnestine & Hazel’s
South Main’s ragged dive bar keeps the Memphis spirit coming with “soul burgers” and live jazz, blues, and soul performances all night long. A pharmacy since the 1930s, the owner handed over the property to two hair stylists living upstairs, Earnestine and Hazel, who turned the building into a café frequented by nearby performers including B.B. King, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and plenty of others. Earnestine & Hazel’s became a bar in the 1990s, and the current iteration has been featured in several movies, as well as Playboy and Esquire. — Sam Cicci
Walnut Grove Lake
This insular neighborhood in East Memphis is the surprising home to a small but pretty body of water known as Walnut Grove Lake. Pontooning and paddle-boating residents of the area consider it one of the city’s best-kept secrets. The neighborhood, founded as a sunny subdivision in the 1960s, is dotted with Scandinavian architecture-styled homes and old-growth trees. For an inside look at the lake and its residents, check out our January 2015 cover story. — Eileen Townsend
Payne's Bar-B-Q
Calling a good barbecue place “nothing fancy” is probably the best compliment you can pay it in these parts. Payne’s Bar-B-Q, located on Lamar Avenue, is nothing fancy, but their pulled pork sandwich will make you feel like a millionaire. Their distinctive yellow mustard-based slaw and no-nonsense barbecue has drawn the attention of food writers and average hungry people nationwide. The blog seriouseats.com called Payne’s food “perfect,” while the folks over at the Memphis Flyer have regularly listed Payne’s on their annual “Best of Memphis” list. — Eileen Townsend
Tyler Hildebrand
The Piano Bar at Folk’s Folly
Okay, so every city has one, and ours may not be quite as famous as the one at The Carlyle in New York, but Ms. Charlotte Hurt has “manned” the piano weeknights at Memphis’ iconic steakhouse for over two decades now, and is as much a local institution as Folk’s Folly itself. The late, great Bobby Short would certainly approve. — John O‘Leary
