SOB Memphis, TN - 04/04/13

Click on WeatherUnderground Graphic for Weather on April 3, 2013 The rain had stopped sometime last night, started again around 3:30 p.m. and finally stopped by 5:30 p.m. An overcast sky had prevailed throughout the day, keeping the temperature quite chilly, in the high 40’s, here at the Dogwood campground in the Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park near Memphis, Tennessee.

This afternoon we visited Memphis. Our first stop was to the Visitor Center located on Riverside Drive that allows 2-hour free parking. There is one parking lot for automobiles and another parking lot for RV’s. We use this parking lot for our short visits to the Beale Street Historic District in Memphis. Across the street from the Visitor Center visitors can take the Riverside Electric Trolley to the Historic District. These are historic old-time trollys that make a complete loop through the Historic District and back to the Visitor Center. The cost to ride the trolly is $1.00 per ride, $3.50 for an all day pass and $9.00 for a 3-day pass. This is a great way to visit the area and enjoy a ride on a trolly from another era in time.

We had a late lunch at the SOB Gastropub (South of Beale) in Memphis, Tennessee. The restaurant is located on Main Street south of Beale Street. We discovered this restaurant on the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives television program in a segment we watched in March 2013.

The SOB is a small storefront restaurant located at 361 South Main Street in Memphis. We arrived there at 4:15 p.m. and there was only one other couple dining there. We selected two of the side dishes profiled on the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives program; the first was duck fried rice and the second was maple bacon braised brussel sprouts. OMG! These two dishes were absolutely delicious. The duck fried rice came with a fried egg on top of brown rice with chunks of duck meat dispersed throughout the rice. The brussel sprouts were quartered and mixed with chunks of thick bacon set in a maple syrup-based sauce. This was one of the most unusual, but delicious, preparations of brussel sprouts we have ever had the pleasure of dining on. In addition to these two side dishes, Sharon ordered the seared chicken sandwich with roasted chilies and mozzarella and Cajun potatoes (very thin, slightly crisp, potato slices with a Cajun seasoning) for her entrée. I ordered the wild boar sausage spaetzle with onions and havarti dill for my entrée. The blending of the ingredients used to prepare these entrée’s were absolutely delightful to the palate. We topped off our dining experience with a Coca-Cola bread pudding accompanied by a scoop of Jack Daniels ice cream topped off with Coca-Cola syrup. What more can I say! This unpretentious small restaurant has a chef that excels in food preparation that will delight the taste buds of the most discriminating diner. When we left the restaurant at 5:30 p.m., about two-thirds of the tables were already occupied. We will definitely be dining here on our future visits to Memphis.

We returned to our campsite at the Dogwood campground in the Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, very content with our dining experience at the SOB. We decided a return visit to Memphis in the summer or fall of this year would be added to our travel plans.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.