On what was really the first warm Friday afternoon of the year in Memphis, I headed downtown to the South Main Arts District. Memphis gets a bum rap from journalists and politicians, but at least on South Main, it is as beautiful and bohemian a city as anywhere. There is still a certain amount of free parking along G. E. Patterson Avenue if you don’t mind walking, and the district is home to some of the city’s best hotels, boutiques and culinary options.
My first stop was another visit to Zia Motto Gelato, which is not only the city’s best gelato, but really the only gelato option in the metropolitan area. It’s located in the Central Station Hotel, which is a boutique hotel located in the historic Central Train Station, which is still an Amtrak stop. My favorite choice is a peanut butter and chocolate chip gelato, but they also have Italitan-style hot chocolates, and fine Italian chocolate candies. Almost directly across the street is the historic Ernestine and Hazel’s bar, famous for its dark ambiance and legendary Soul Burgers, but I walked on up South Main to DVOUR Desserts, a place with unique gourmet cookies and mini-cheesecakes. the latter in brilliant colors that resemble edible jewels.
Further up the street, Ritual Coffee and Cocktails has taken over the former Bluff City Coffee location, and hopefully it will be open at night, which Bluff City never was. However, I could not try Ritual, as it was closed for a private event, but I saw a considerable amount of good looking food and well-dressed people inside.
I finally ended my stroll at Hustle and Dough, the lobby bar of the Arrive Hotel, where the coffee options are provided by New Orleans-based Mammoth Coffee Company. As their predecessor in the space (Vice & Virtue) did, they offer a blue bourbon latte, which is tremendous. The coffee beans are roasted in bourbon barrels, which causes a bourbon aroma and flavor to attach to the roasted beans. Memphis has a number of great hotel lobbies, and the Peabody Hotel lobby is famous, but Hustle and Dough at the Arrive might be the best in the city. It’s neither loud nor crowded, but just a great chill spot.