Bosco's

Bosco's was something of legend for me. I had heard of it ever since I had first moved to Memphis back in 2000. I first went there last October. It was amazing. The food is spectacular, but that's only part of the reason for going there. The main draw to this great Memphis restaurant is the beer. It was Memphis' first brew pub. Located on Overton Square, it has long been a Memphis establishment.

Last night I went with a couple new friends. They go every Saturday afternoon. I learned a lot from them about beer and Memphis in general.

I had the Isle of Skye stout, the Irish Red, and the Stock Ale. All of those were delicious. I would have eaten too, but I felt guilty as I had food back at my place. Bosco's diverse beer menu is usually limited to 8 beers. Four are always on tap and four are seasonal. It's a great idea as it makes people come in all year to try the different beers.

This is a great bar to hang out at and to grab a beer or dinner. It's a bit pricey, but you get what you paid for. Don't waste your time going to a chain restaurant if you're in town for just a few days, go for this Memphis landmark.

The location of Bosco's makes it easy to do an old fashioned pub crawl. You can easily walk to several different bars and enjoy Midtown Memphis. And as always, don't drink and drive. If you're staying in downtown, you can get a taxi for cheap to get to Midtown.

This is a repost from my beer blog.

The Train

For Memphians the train means one thing: delays and inconvenience. Okay, that's two things, but you get the idea. The train is just that, a train. It runs cargo from Memphis to points East and vice versa. The only problem is that it cuts through major parts of Memphis. From Collierville in the East to the University of Memphis area this train can potentially shut down large North-South avenues.

Usually when the train rumbles through you can expect delays of about 5-10 minutes. However, every so often the train stops and can remain motionless for several minutes. This is the bane of many U of M students as one of the larger parking lots is located south of "the tracks". Many professors allow the reason "caught by the train" as a legitimate excuse for being tardy to class.

Another annoyance caused by the train its horrible, high pitched horn. The engineer will often blast this infernal device several times while approaching busy intersections. Sometimes it feels that they are doing it out of spite for those who live near the tracks. You can even hear the horn on Poplar (sometimes further out) ,about a mile away.

I know of only three ways you can bypass the train. You can either 1) take the interstate or 2) use the bridge at Ridgeway or 3) the tunnel on Central Avenue west of Poplar. The best methods are 1 and 2. 3 is pretty dodgy as it's in a rougher neighborhood and is actually a perfect place for an ambush. I highly recommend against using the third method.

Since coming to Memphis 10 years ago I have become accustomed to the train. No longer do I scream and pound my fist into the steering wheel when I get caught by the train. Well actually yes I do. I still hate it, but it is a fact of living in Memphis.

Sam Cooper traffic

I was heading home the other day, going West on Sam Cooper Boulevard, when I noticed that the East bound lanes were completely bogged down. The traffic stretched about 1 or 2 miles back from the beginning of the jam. It appeared that construction was the root of this. So be advised, if you are leaving Midtown, use an alternative route than Sam Cooper.

Memphis Streets

In Memphis, there is a saying; you can get anywhere in town by taking Poplar. It's true. Poplar runs from basically the Mississippi River to parts East. You can literally go from down town to East Memphis to other cities in Shelby County. It is the street in Memphis.

If you can find Poplar, you can find just about anything in Memphis.

The way Memphis is set up is basically a grid. There is Poplar, Union/Walnut Grove, Summer and Park which all run East-West. There are several small streets which run North-South, but the East-West ones are more important. The main North-South streets are: Highland, Perkins, Mendenhall, White Station and Germantown Parkway. Those are in order from West to East.

Memphis is a pretty easy city to navigate, unlike other cities such as Nashville (more on this later). The only bad thing is that Memphis is spread out and travel times can be very long. Also, gas tends to go fast. I personally think that surface streets are better than the interstates, unless you are going to Collierville or to Mississippi. The interstate loops around the city and actually leads you well out of your way. I find them to be annoying and often a waste of time.

As I said, Poplar is the main avenue in Memphis. If you can find Poplar, you can find just about anything.

*Note* Numbers increase from West to East.