Memphis's small-room midtown crossroads, with the city's densest cluster of restaurants, bars and indie shops around the Cooper Street and Young Avenue intersection.
Karen Carrier's Cooper-Young Memphis room sits inside a 1940s beauty salon where Priscilla Presley once did her hair, open since 2002 with a globe-trotting.
OrderWatermelon wings with feta and the Vietnamese pho.
TipSaturday brunch fills the booths fast. Sit at the bar for a faster meal under the dryer hoods.
Soul Fish Cafe's Cooper-Young Memphis original on South Cooper runs fried Mississippi catfish, hush puppies and Gambino-bread po'boys daily.
OrderCatfish basket with hush puppies and turnip greens.
TipCounter service. The shrimp po'boy is the second-best order; sit on the patio when it cools.
Hattie B's Cooper-Young Memphis hot chicken counter, the Nashville import on South Cooper Street, runs heat levels from Southern to Shut the Cluck Up.
OrderHot quarter, dark; pimento mac and cheese on the side.
TipCounter service, no reservations. Lunch lines move; Saturdays can run thirty minutes after 12:30.
Young Avenue Deli has anchored the Cooper-Young Memphis corner since 1995 with cold beer, deli sandwiches and the city's deepest tap lists, plus live music.
OrderDeli Club on sourdough with a cold pint of Wiseacre Tiny Bomb.
TipCounter service for food, table service for drinks. The patio fills first on game days.
Otherlands Coffee Bar in Cooper-Young Memphis has run shabby-chic seating, full breakfast and bottomless drip coffee since 1995, with a side patio.
DrinkDrip coffee with Counter Culture beans
TipSundays the brunch line stretches; weekday mornings are the easy seat.
Java Cabana on Young Avenue in Cooper-Young Memphis is the city's longest-running indie coffeehouse, open since 1992 with poetry slams, Elvis kitsch and big.
DrinkEspresso
TipOpen until 22:00 most nights; the late-evening crowd is regulars and writers.
Young Avenue Deli in Cooper-Young Memphis runs over 100 beers, a deep tap list with 30-plus drafts, deli sandwiches and a live-music back room since 1995.
DrinkWiseacre Tiny Bomb on draft
FoodDeli sandwiches
TipThe patio is the seat in spring. Live music most weekends; check the calendar online.
The Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market in Memphis runs year-round Saturdays in the First Congo Church parking lot on South Cooper at Walker Avenue.
TipBring a tote bag. Pair the market with brunch at Otherlands or Beauty Shop nearby.
The Cooper-Young Festival in Memphis runs one Saturday each September around Cooper and Young, drawing 130,000 people for food, crafts and live music.
TipPark on side streets early; the main strip closes to traffic. Brunch at Beauty Shop before the crowds.
Young Avenue Deli in Cooper-Young Memphis runs deli sandwiches under $13, with the Deli Club on sourdough and a cold pint of Wiseacre Tiny Bomb.
OrderDeli Club on sourdough with a cold pint of Wiseacre Tiny Bomb.
TipCounter service for food, table for drinks. Patio is the spring seat.
Soul Fish Cafe in Cooper-Young Memphis on South Cooper runs catfish baskets, hush puppies and Mississippi-style po'boys under $15, the city's cheap-catfish.
OrderCatfish basket with hush puppies and turnip greens.
TipCounter service. The shrimp po'boy is the dark-horse order. Patio in spring is the seat.
The Beauty Shop in Cooper-Young Memphis runs Saturday and Sunday brunch in a 1940s salon space where Priscilla Presley once had her hair done.
OrderWatermelon wings with feta and waffles.
TipReserve weekends on OpenTable. The dryer-hood seats are the photo seat.
Young Avenue Deli in Cooper-Young Memphis runs deli sandwiches, 30-plus draft beers and live music to 03:00 daily, midtown's late-night sandwich stop.
OrderDeli Club and a cold Wiseacre Tiny Bomb pint.
TipLate kitchen until 02:00 most nights. Live music in the back room weekends.
Memphis Whistle is a small Cooper-Young cocktail bar on Young Avenue with classic and prohibition-style drinks and a tight kitchen, run by Jef and Amanda.
TipOpen daily from 16:00. Kitchen runs until 21:00 most nights, later Friday and Saturday.
Young Avenue Deli in Cooper-Young Memphis runs cold beer, deli sandwiches and live music until 03:00 daily, the city's defining late-night beer and sandwich.
TipLate kitchen until 02:00 most nights. Live music in the back room weekends.
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