The historic warehouse district south of Beale, anchored by the Arcade, Earnestine and Hazel's and the South Main farmers market on Saturdays.
Speros Zepatos's South Main Memphis diner is the city's oldest restaurant, open since 1919 and once Elvis Presley's regular booth. Breakfast and lunch daily.
Signature: Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, Sweet potato pancakes
Order: Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich; sit at Elvis's marked booth.
Tip: Counter service from 07:00 to 15:00 daily. Cash and card both fine; no reservations.
Sage Restaurant is a soul fusion room on South Main in Memphis from Chef Eli Townsend, with globally influenced Southern comfort food and a downtown rooftop bar.
Signature: Chicken and waffles, Catfish
Order: Chicken and waffles; the catfish if it is on the night's menu.
Tip: Wednesday to Sunday dinner; the rooftop opens earlier than the dining room on weekends.
Vice and Virtue Coffee on South Main inside the Arrive Hotel in Memphis runs a micro-batch roaster, pour-over coffee and pastry from a sun-flooded lobby cafe.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: Cooler and quieter on weekday afternoons; the long counter doubles as workspace.
Vice and Virtue Coffee is a Memphis micro-batch roaster inside the Arrive Hotel on South Main with pour-overs, espresso and a small whole-bean retail line.
Tip: Buy whole beans at the lobby counter; the in-house pastry comes from Lucy J's at Crosstown.
Sources from: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia
How they serve: Pour over, Espresso, Whole bean retail
Earnestine and Hazel's on South Main downtown Memphis is the city's defining dive, a former brothel and pharmacy with a jukebox, Soul Burgers and ghost lore.
Signature drink: Soul Burger and a beer
Food: Soul burgers
Tip: The Soul Burger is the bar food order. The upstairs is where the ghosts are said to live.
Loflin Yard on West Carolina Avenue in downtown Memphis is a two-acre beer garden with three outdoor bars, fire pits, a creek and house-smoked BBQ on long tables.
Signature drink: Mojito on draft
Food: House-smoked BBQ and small plates
Tip: The yard runs live music weekends. Game nights and big groups fill the firepit seats first.
Carolina Watershed in South Main downtown Memphis is a bar inside four fluted-metal grain silos with a round building, a terraced patio and two outdoor waterfalls.
Signature drink: Frozen cocktails
Food: Southern bar plates
Tip: Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The frozen drink list is fizzy and Instagrammable.
The Soul Burger at Earnestine and Hazel's on South Main is a griddled patty with caramelised onions, pickles and the bar's mysterious Soul Sauce on a soft bun.
Try: Soul Burger
Tip: Walk upstairs to the old brothel rooms while waiting for your burger. Cash works fastest.
Ghost River Brewing on South Main in Memphis runs a sustainable craft program named for the section of the Wolf River that vanishes underground. Downtown taproom.
Tip: The Beale Street second location at 341 Beale runs a beer garden and food menu.
The Memphis Farmers Market at Central Station Pavilion on South Front Street runs Saturdays April to October with 50-plus farmers, bakers and prepared-food vendors.
Tip: Get there by 09:00 for fresh produce. Breakfast tacos and Lucy J's pastries sell out by 11:00.
Loflin Yard in downtown Memphis runs quarterly Memphis BBQ classes on the South Main beer garden patio, covering dry rub, smoker timing and pulled pork techniques.
Tip: Classes run April through October. Includes a pulled pork dinner and three beers.
Arcade Restaurant on South Main downtown Memphis runs the city's oldest diner since 1919 with sweet potato pancakes and the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Try: Sweet potato pancakes
Order: Fried peanut butter and banana sandwich; sit at Elvis's marked booth.
Tip: Counter service from 07:00 to 15:00 daily; cash and card fine.
Earnestine and Hazel's Soul Burger on South Main downtown Memphis is the city's $8 late-night bar burger, griddled with onions, pickles and Soul Sauce.
Try: Soul Burger
Order: Soul Burger with a cold beer; sit at the bar.
Tip: Cash works fastest. The kitchen runs late, food until 02:00.
Arcade Restaurant on South Main downtown Memphis is the city's oldest diner since 1919, with sweet potato pancakes, fried PB and banana sandwiches and Elvis's booth.
Order: Sweet potato pancakes with bacon.
Tip: No reservations. Sit at Elvis's marked booth for the photo; weekday mornings are quietest.
Earnestine and Hazel's on South Main downtown Memphis runs Soul Burgers and a jukebox until 03:00 daily, the city's defining late-night dive bar.
Try: Soul Burger
Order: Soul Burger with a cold beer; sit at the bar.
Tip: Cash works fastest. Upstairs the rooms run quiet most nights.