I love Memphis. If you’re reading this, you probably do, too.
But even the cities we love can wear us down. These days, I rattle between the same three or four places inside the Parkways — groceries, kid stuff, the gym, repeat. Every once in a while, you need a change of scenery, even if you don’t have time to leave town.
There’s a line I love in a Jason Isbell song. In it, this guy finds his way to his favorite bar, The Mustang Lounge. He says, “If you don’t sit facing the window, you can be in any town.” That’s what I’m talking about here. (Minus the existential dread.)
Sometimes, you have to escape. If you can’t escape town, you can escape your rat-race routine. Escape is as close as one of Memphis’ amazing bars. And I ain’t talking about just drowning your sorrows.
I’m talking about bars that make you feel you’ve stepped into somewhere new. Bars free of litter, bad drivers on Poplar, Kroger’s SWAT team security guards checking your receipt, and customer service so bad you feel like you did something wrong.
You need a fresh perspective, a fresh flavor. You need an escape. Let us show you the portal.
• Mary’s Bar of Tropical Escapism — This one’s obvious. Escape is literally part of the name. The escape is real, too.
Step inside Mary’s B.O.T.E. You’ll forget Cooper Street is behind you. You’ll forget Hattie B’s is right there.
It’s bamboo, palm fronds, a beautiful bar, citrus fruits hanging in nets for reasons you don’t understand nor care to. Drinks with literal paper umbrellas. Drinks with literal cherries on top. Drinks in parrot-head glasses and unicorn glasses.
The menu transports you, too. There’s a Mai Tai ($13), Mary’s Grog ($14), a Painkiller ($14), and something called Trinidad Especial 2.0 ($14). You’ve heard of these in maybe Moby Dick, a YouTube sea shanty, or a Jimmy Buffett song.
Either way. You ain’t in Memphis anymore. Union Kroger what?
• Beck & Call — One way out is up. And if you’re looking to escape (or to get above it all) you’ll want Beck & Call.
Escape into the chic, simple quiet of the Hyatt Centric’s rooftop bar on Beale Street. Classy enough for a little black dress and casual enough for your favorite Grizz tee. All of it in a comfortable, urban elegance.
Bonus, it comes with an amazing view that gives the Mississippi River its rightful grandeur. Past and present Memphis slides by, above the noise, above the grit, above it all. Escape “where Memphis meets the skyline,” as Beck & Call says on its website.
Do this with a Garden Stroll ($17) in your hand. It’s Tito’s Vodka, St-Germain, cucumber, lemon juice, and club soda. It’s cool, floral, citrusy, and with enough bubbles to make the world below seem pleasantly far away.
• Escape the Chaos With a Martini — Sometimes escape is polite order. Polished wood. White linen. A bartender in an apron. And a perfectly cold martini.
The city now brims with amazing bars and restaurants that effortlessly offer this kind of escape. Bar Limina. Amelia Gene’s. The Lobbyist. Fawn. Andrew Michael. Felicia Suzanne’s. Art Bar. Cafe 1912. These were just a few suggestions from a recent discussion in the Memphis subreddit about the best places to get a martini in town (around $14 to $18).
These bars — and that drink — can transport you to a cultured, civilized space free from a loud bike night on Beale, the sweaty blast of heat that hits when you open your car door after work, and maybe even those complicated feelings you have about the guy selling drinks at Poplar and East Parkway.
No. A martini in an upscale bar is quietly dignified. Crafted with purpose. Tailor-made just for you in that very moment. Gin. Vodka. Vermouth and bitters, or not. Dirty. Olives. Lemon twist. Or not.
This is your Memphis escape, after all. Get it your way.
