The catch-all label for Memphis between downtown and East Memphis, covering Overton Park, the medical district and the Cooper-Young feeder streets.
Frank and Hazel Vernon's Madison Avenue Memphis BBQ room invented BBQ spaghetti and has run dry-rub and wet ribs from a wood-pit smoker since 1987.
Signature: BBQ spaghetti, Dancing Pigs ribs
Order: Half slab of dry ribs with a side of BBQ spaghetti.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays. The Dancing Pigs sauce ships nationally if you want to keep the meal going.
Memphis Pizza Cafe's Madison Avenue midtown room has run thin-crust by the slice and house specialty pies since 1991, a casual midtown standby with a side patio.
Signature: Pizza by the slice, The Hippie
Order: The Hippie pizza with feta and pesto.
Tip: Open daily for lunch and dinner; the patio is the seat in spring. Multiple locations across Memphis run the same menu.
Central BBQ's Midtown Memphis room on Central Avenue is the chain's original, opened in 2002 with dry-rub ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and BBQ nachos.
Signature: Pulled pork, BBQ nachos
Order: Pulled pork sandwich with BBQ nachos to share.
Tip: The patio is the seat; the dining room fills fast at lunch. Online ordering skips the line.
Phillip Ashley Chocolates is a Memphis chocolatier on Madison Avenue named one of America's finest by Forbes. Custom-painted bonbons shipped nationwide from Midtown.
Tip: The studio is appointment-only for tastings; online ordering and pickup at the Madison studio.
Worth the queue: Bourbon-pecan praline truffle
Lamplighter Lounge on Madison Avenue in midtown Memphis is the city's defining smoke-stained dive bar, with cheap beer, a pool table and a relentlessly local crowd.
Signature drink: Beer and a shot
Food: None
Tip: Cash preferred. No food. The 03:00 close pulls everyone in midtown when other bars shut.
Central BBQ in midtown Memphis runs the city's standard BBQ nachos: tortilla chips with pulled pork, sauce, sour cream and jalapeños. The stadium snack done right.
Try: BBQ nachos
Tip: Order at the counter and grab a patio table. Available at all four city locations.
The Bar-B-Q Shop on Madison Avenue in Memphis invented BBQ spaghetti: pulled pork and BBQ sauce tossed over noodles. The signature side that put the room on the map.
Try: BBQ spaghetti
Tip: Order a small spaghetti as a side; the full plate is enormous. The Dancing Pigs sauce ships.
The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in Memphis runs each May at Liberty Park, the centrepiece of Memphis in May with global BBQ teams and the largest BBQ contest.
Tip: Friday is the easier day to walk through the team tents. Saturday is the finals and most crowded.
Central BBQ in midtown Memphis runs the city's most reliable pulled pork sandwich under $13, plus BBQ nachos and a half slab combo that splits between two.
Try: Pulled pork sandwich
Order: Pulled pork sandwich with BBQ nachos to share.
Tip: Order online to skip the lunch line at the Midtown branch on Central Avenue or use the app.
Lamplighter Lounge on Madison Avenue in midtown Memphis runs cheap beer and a pool table to 03:00 daily, the city's longest-burning smoke-stained dive bar.
Try: None
Order: Beer and a shot at the bar, jukebox playing.
Tip: Cash preferred. No food; bring a sandwich from Young Avenue Deli first.