On Memorial Day, I drove down to Oxford, Mississippi to do some shopping at Square Books, and, I thought, to eat at Soulshine Pizza Company. Unfortunately, the pizza company proved to be closed due to the holiday, and I ended up driving to Tupelo for dinner.
On Friday, 4/27/12, I drove down to Oxford to pay a visit to the new End of All Music record store, and as it was the kickoff evening for the Double Decker Arts Festival, I parked near the square and hung around for awhile. The upstairs balconies that give the festival its name were full of people, as it was a lovely evening outside. Walking into Square Books, I found an interesting book by Elijah Wald about the history of the African-American verbal ritual the Dozens, and then I grabbed a dinner at Soulshine Pizza Factory before heading back to Memphis for my jazz gig at the Westin Hotel.
B-Side is a hidden gem of a restaurant, a small breakfast spot next to its sister restaurant Lilly’s Dim Sum and Then Some in West Little Rock. Little Rock doesn’t have a whole lot of breakfast choices, and B-Side is worth finding.
It seems that the 24 Diner is one of those places that everyone at SXSW ends up at sooner or later. The breakfasts are great, plus Waterloo Records and it’s fabulous stage are right next door. (Taken with Instagram at 24 Diner)
Chilling with Mike Suggs and the Saturday Crew at Pearl’s Oyster Bar, South Main, Memphis.
I decided to eat dinner Friday night at the Warehouse Number 1 Restaurant in Monroe, Louisiana, which is built on the levee directly beside the Ouachita River. I hadn’t eaten there in nearly ten years, but it’s still good.
Atlanta now has Another Broken Egg Cafe, which started in Mandeville, Louisiana near New Orleans, and is undoubtedly familiar to anyone who has been to Destin. There are now locations in Dallas, Shreveport, Baton Rouge and many other places in the south, and the food is always great.
Open until 2 AM most nights and until 3 AM on weekends, Cafe Intermezzo is a late-night hangout for Atlanta. Intermezzo’s coffee menu alone is three pages, the liquors another four or five pages. The exquisite desserts aren’t on the menu at all- they are under glass instead, where an employe called a “tour guide” describes them in detail as you point to them and ask about them. Not a place to worry about weight, calories or cholesterol!
The Apache Cafe is a unique institution in Atlanta, offering hip-hop and experimental jazz, poetry, art, desserts and french press coffees. Definitely a must-do for any fan of hip-hop music when coming to ATL.
After I spoke at the conference panel, I went back to Virginia-Highlands for dinner, and found this cool place call Yeah Burger, whose slogan is “Keeping It Real.” Nice atmosphere, great burgers and reasonable prices.
