Sure, there's a Starbucks at practically every other intersection, but wouldn't you really rather patronize a coffee shop where you can soak up some local atmosphere? If so, your first stop should be downtown, to The Center for Southern Folklore, Pembroke Square (tel. 901/525-3655). It's a one-of-a-kind cafe of culture where you can belt back a cappuccino while admiring local crafts, outsider art, and hear great live music almost any time of the day. At the edge of the Cooper-Young neighborhood, you can quaff a cup o' joe and listen to live music or poetry at Otherlands, 641 S. Cooper St. (tel. 901/278-4994). Farther down the street, you'll find Java Cabana, 2170 Young Ave. (tel. 901/272-7210), a grungy little dive teeming with twentysomethings.
Café Francisco, 400 N. Main St. (tel. 901/578-8002; www.cafefrancisco.com), is a wonderful new coffeehouse that lends a San Francisco vibe to the otherwise drab district near the Pyramid. Caffeine fiends will crave the rich coffee that's roasted here in this sophisticated cocoon. Soft couches and easy-chairs surrounded by antiques, books, and board games beckon patrons to linger. Wide booths and a long, mirrored bar are other options when grabbing a sandwich and bottled water. Number-crunchers can even check their stocks via the ticker that feeds financial stats across a screen near the bar.
Although the kitchen at Sun Studio, 710 Union Ave. (tel. 901/521-0664; www.sunstudio.com), has recently closed (no more fried peanut-butter-and-banana 'samiches'), kids can munch a Moonpie and sip a Coke here while parents bask in the early-Elvis aura this place oozes. For more substantial fare, such as meat-and-cheese sandwiches on grilled focaccia, ride the trolley south toward Fratelli's Market and Grill, 513 S. Front St. (tel. 901/525-7777), a cafe where you can also get tiramisu for dessert, and take home gourmet pastas, olive oils, cheeses, and imported beers.
The most bucolic view in town can be found inside the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, where the Brushmark Restaurant, 1934 Poplar (tel. 901/544-6225; www.brooksmuseum.org), overlooks the lush greenery of Overton Park. Indoor and outdoor seating and gourmet Southern specialties such as shrimp and grits, and spicy African peanut soup, make this bistro a special-occasion lunch spot, which is a bit dressier than a casual cafe. The restaurant is open for lunch only, and for dinner the first Wednesday of each month except January and July.
Exquisite quiche Lorraine, zesty tomato bisque and chicken salad sandwiches on chewy loaves of freshly baked French bread are delectable choices at La Baguette, 3088 Poplar (tel. 901/458-0900). Well-to-do ladies lunch regularly at this Euro-style bistro inside tony Chickasaw Oaks shopping center adjacent to the new library. Best of all are the luscious pastries, including photo-worthy fruit tarts, croissants, and éclairs.
Farther east, be on the lookout for Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Part coffee shop, part wine bar and cafe with indoor/outdoor seating, Bronte Bistro, 387 Perkins Rd. Ext. (tel. 901/374-0881; www.daviskidd.com), located inside the bookstore, is where the intelligentsia gather for sumptuous salads and sandwiches, conversation, and liquid refreshment.
