Author: Memphis Flyer

Best FM Station

1. WEVL-FM 89.9 Volunteer

Supported Radio

2. WKIM-FM 98.9 Gen X Music

3. WXMX-FM 98.1 The Max

With healthy doses of Memphis music, regional roots genres, and the kind of indie/underground rock you can’t hear on any other local station, the listener-supported, volunteer-programmed WEVL is the jewel of Memphis’ airwaves. Something tells us that legendary Memphis disc jockeys like Dewey Phillips and Nat D. Williams would approve.

Best AM Station

1. WREC-AM 600 News Radio

2. 560 WHBQ-AM 560 Sports

3. ESPN 680 AM Sports

In the Year of the Tea Party, WREC-AM 600 fills the local airwaves with all the titans of white whine, bombarding us daily with a murderer’s row of right-wing talk-radio stars: Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. Gee, um, thanks.

Best Drive-Time Show

1. Drake & Zeke in the Morning, WXMX-FM 98.1 The Max

2. Bad Dog & Ric, WEGR-FM 102.7 Rock 103

3. Maney & Riley in the Morning, WHBQ-FM 107.5 The Q

Best Local Radio Talk Show

BOM 1. Drake & Zeke in the Morning, WXMX-FM 98.1

The Max

2. Maney & Riley in the Morning, WHBQ-FM 107.5 The Q

3. Chris Vernon Show, 730 Fox Sports Radio

Once again, Drake & Zeke pull off the double-dip, topping our readers’ vote for both Best Drive-Time Show and Best Local Radio Talk Show. Their brainier brand of drive-time talk conquers the local airwaves each weekday morning from 6 to 10 a.m. But if you’re not a morning person, you can still get your fix with a re-edited broadcast Monday through Thursday from 7 to 11 p.m.

Best Sports Radio Show

1. The Gary Parrish Show with Geoff Calkins, ESPN 680 AM

Sports/92.9 FM ESPN

2. Chris Vernon Show, 730 Fox Sports Radio

3. Memphis Sport Live, 560 WHBQ-AM 560 Sports

First Gary Parrish went national, moving from his post as the University of Memphis men’s basketball beat reporter at The Commercial Appeal to become a national college basketball columnist at CBSSports.com. Then he took local sports-talk radio to the FM dial with a station move that allows his afternoon show to be simulcast on both AM and FM, breaking new ground in a suddenly saturated local sports-talk market.

Best Radio Personality

1. Bad Dog McCormack, WEGR-FM 102.7 Rock 103

2. Drake Hall, WXMX-FM 98.1 The Max

3. Ron Olson, WMC-FM 99.7 FM100

Memphis has lots of cultural “kings” — from Elvis Presley to Jerry Lawler to Yo Gotti. But after 22 years as an immensely popular and immediately recognizable voice on the local airwaves, John “Bad Dog” McCormack can probably claim his own little piece of the crown.

Best Newspaper Columnist

1. Geoff Calkins, The Commercial Appeal

2. Wendi Thomas, The Commercial Appeal

3. Michael Donahue, The Commercial Appeal

In a category that proves the objectivity of the Flyer‘s Best of Memphis poll, the daily paper The Commercial Appeal sweeps the columnist category. The winner, Geoff Calkins, is a superstar of local media. He writes sports and metro columns; he co-hosts another Best of Memphis winner, The Gary Parrish Show with Geoff Calkins, on 92.9 FM ESPN; and he’s now entered the TV realm, hosting the weekly Sports Files with Geoff Calkins on WKNO.

Best TV Weatherperson

BOM 1. Dave Brown, WMC-TV,

Channel 5

2. Ron Childers, WMC-TV, Channel 5

3. Joey Sulipeck, WHBQ-TV, Fox 13

TV meteorologists don’t actually decide what the weather’s going to be that day. Memphians can’t blame them for unending weeks of triple-digit highs or rain during Memphis in May or ice-storm-induced power outages. Not that we don’t want someone to hold responsible, mind you. In light of that, it must be a tribute to his charisma, his trustworthy mien, and his composed bedside manner in the midst of a storm that year after year voters hail Dave Brown as the conquering hero of TV weather.

Best TV Sportscaster

BOM 1. Jarvis Greer, WMC-TV, Channel 5

2. Glenn Carver, WREG-TV, Channel 3

3. Carrie Anderson, WMC-TV, Channel 5

Though the names on the back of the jersey change, the front’s still the same, and Jarvo is always there to give us the good news when it’s a win or let us down easy when it’s a loss.

Best TV Anchor

BOM 1. Joe Birch, WMC-TV, Channel 5

2. Mearl Purvis, WHBQ-TV, Fox 13

3. Kym Clark, WMC-TV, Channel 5

Completing a BOM trifecta for Channel 5, Joe Birch gets the nod as Best TV Anchor. He’s been the face of Action News 5 for decades, but Birch may be Memphis’ Dick Clark: Share some of that fountain of youth, would ya, Joe?

Best Website

1. memphisflyer.com

2. commercialappeal.com

3. gomemphis.com

Yep.

Best Local Blog

1. I Love Memphis Blog, ilovememphisblog.com

2. Eat Local Memphis, eatlocalmemphis.com

3. Dining with Monkeys, diningwithmonkeys.blogspot.com

— tie — Paul Ryburn’s Journal, paulryburn.com/blog

Civic boosterism meets hurricane-like force of nature in the person of Kerry Crawford-Trisler. “I Love Memphis” isn’t blog-name jingoism. It’s a way of life. Crawford-Trisler pushes all things Memphis with event recommendations, food and music reviews, and her ever-growing photo gallery of Memphians proud to proclaim their ardor.

Best Twitter

1. @ilovememphis

2. @MemphisFlyer

3. @ArtsMemphis

More than 3,000 followers and growing.

Best Grocery Store

1. Kroger

2. Whole Foods

3. Fresh Market

The modern, self-service grocery was invented in Memphis — Clarence Saunders’ Piggly Wiggly changed everything when it opened in 1916. When today’s Memphians want to stock up on groceries, raid the deli counter, or veg out in the produce section, our poll shows that they reply, in force, “Let’s go Krogering.” Plus, Kroger carries Pancho’s cheese dip.

Best Liquor Store

1. Buster’s Liquors & Wine

2. Joe’s Liquor Store

3. Kirby Wine & Liquors

It’s alcohol, so it’s hard to go wrong — and with Buster’s, it’s hard to go more right. Extensive selection, good prices, friendly and helpful staff: Buster’s has got your fix whether you like piña coladas or just the taste of champagne.

Best Department Store

1. Target

2. Macy’s

3. Dillard’s

To paraphrase Louis Armstrong, if you have to ask what Target is, you’ll never know.

Best Shopping Mall

1. The Avenue Carriage Crossing

2. Oak Court

3. Wolfchase Galleria

This open-air mall in Collierville gets the readers’ pick for Best Shopping Mall. In addition to a great selection of stores, the pedestrian- and kid-friendly destination screens movies and hosts live music on Friday nights and showcases a full slate of nonprofit events.

Best Gift Shop

1. Maggie’s Pharm

2. Babcock Gifts

3. More Than Words

For more than two decades, Maggie’s Pharm has provided its customers with “herbs, oils, and other things” from its Midtown location. The store carries Archipelago, Primal Elements, Burt’s Bees, Crabtree & Evelyn, and Pre de Provence, among others. What do you get the person who has everything? They’ll hook you up at Maggie’s Pharm.

Best Farmers Market

1. Memphis Farmers Market

2. Agricenter Farmers Market

3. Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market

If Memphis has gone loco for the locavore movement, much of the credit goes to the Memphis Farmers Market. Started in 2006, the downtown market has sparked a trend, including a number of neighborhood farmers markets in other parts of the city.

Best BookStore (new)

1. Davis-Kidd Booksellers

2. Barnes & Noble

3. Borders Books Music & More

It was a dark and stormy night when Karen Davis and Thelma Kidd decided to open Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Actually, we don’t know if that’s true, but it seems like a good bit of fiction for a place with a good bit of fiction.

Best BookStore (used)

BOM 1. Burke’s Book Store

2. Tiger Bookstore

3. Book Traders

Burke’s recently celebrated its 135th anniversary with a gathering of some of its former owners, including Bill Burke’s widow, Patsy. The newest chapter has seen the beloved bookstore move to Cooper-Young and focus on what owners Corey and Cheryl Mesler see as their core business: buying and selling used books.

Best Bank

1. First Tennessee Bank

2. Regions

3. Bank of America

It’s fitting that a bank named First Tennessee would indeed win first place in the category for Best Bank. That’s truth in advertising, folks.

Best Local Store for Women’s Clothing

1. Crazy Beautiful

2. Indigo

3. Oak Hall

Located near the University of Memphis, Crazy Beautiful is seemingly one pinup girl shy of a calendar. With dresses from Trashy Diva and Living Dead Souls, the store specializes in retro style with a modern twist.

Best Local Store for Men’s Clothing

1. Oak Hall

2. James Davis

3. Lansky’s

Walking into Oak Hall is like walking into the hushed boutique of a Paris atelier, only the accents are a little more Southern. But the clothes are just as couture. With suiting from Zegna, Robert Talbott, and Hugo Boss, Oak Hall is one pinstripe away from perfection.

Best Vintage Clothing

1. Flashback

2. Goodwill

3. Salvation Army

A longtime favorite, Flashback has proven that vintage wear is all in the details. Their extensive selection of clothing and furniture is anchored by a bevy of accessories: More magnets, jewelry, trinkets, and silk-scarf-covered pins than you could ever sift through.

Best Local Men’s Shoe Storep>

1. Oak Hall

2. James Davis

3. R.sole

We just talked about walking into Oak Hall and how nice that is. Walking out is just as nice, because Oak Hall is also the best place in town for men’s shoes.

Best Local Women’s Shoe Store

1. Joseph

2. Shoe-Nami

3. Cook & Love Shoes

Among the well-heeled, Joseph is the tip of the stiletto, the peep in peep-toe, and the pump in pumps. Carrying Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Chloé, and Donald Pliner, Joseph definitely has sole.

Best Home Furnishings

1. Pottery Barn

2. Ashley Furniture Homestore

3. Samuels Furniture & Interiors

Memphis gets a lot of mileage out of being a logistics hub. One of the more rarely mentioned advantages, however, are outlets such as the Pottery Barn store on Spottswood. Filled with bargains on contemporary furniture and stylish home décor, no wonder it’s our readers’ favorite.

Best Pet Store

1. Petco

2. Hollywood Feed

3. PetSmart

It’s where the pets go! But it’s also whence the pets come: The store hosts animal adoption days where customers can pick out a new pet up front, then shop around the rest of the store to get the whole nine yards.

Best Hair Salon

1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Dabbles

3. Hi Gorgeous

Best Day Spa

BOM 1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Serenity Day Spa

3. Germantown Day Spa

Best Place To Get a Facial

BOM 1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Mona Spa & Laser Center

3. Germantown Day Spa

Best Place To Get a Manicure/Pedicure

1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Nail Bar

3. Rose’s Nails

Best Place To Get Waxed

1. Gould’s Day Spa & Salon

2. Hi Gorgeous

3. Serenity Day Spa

If you want some pampering, better get to Gould’s. Taking home the readers’ awards for Best Hair Salon, Best Day Spa, Best Place To Get a Facial, and Best Place To Get a Manicure/Pedicure, Gould’s has got you covered from head to toe. Literally. As for the Best Place To Get Waxed, just be grateful we didn’t make a joke about manscaping.

Best Health/Fitness Club

1. YMCA Downtown

2. DeSoto Athletic Club — tie — Memphis Jewish Community Center

3. Church Health Center Wellness

Maybe it’s the downtown location right next to AutoZone Park, or maybe it’s just the residual effect of the greatest disco song ever written, but the Downtown Y exercises its way to victory.

Best Yoga Studio

1. Midtown Yoga

2. Bikram Yoga

3. Better Bodies Yoga

Get downward, dog! Midtown Yoga found the best position in this category: number one.

Best Local Fine Jewelry

1. Mednikow Jewelers

2. Las Savell Jewelry

3. Robert Irwin Jewelers

Mednikow Jewelers really sparkled this year. This longtime East Memphis institution took home the top prize — and that has a nice ring to it.

Best Tattoo Parlor

1. No Regrets Tattoo Emporium

2. Underground Art

3. Trilogy

No Regrets Tattoo Emporium has a lot of satisfied customers, and they don’t have any regrets. When it comes to permanently decorating one’s body, what better recommendation can there be?

Best Antiques Store

1. Bojo’s Antique Mall — tie — Flashback

2. Toad Hall Antiques

3. Palladio

Bojo’s and Flashback tied among our voters for the best place to find old treasures, in a category dominated by shops in the Cooper/Peabody area.

Best Smoke Shop

1. Tobacco Corner

2. Wizard’s

3. Whatever

If you’re a smoker, whether it’s cigars, cigarettes, pipes — or whatever — our readers like Tobacco Corner, which snuffed the competition.

Best Dry Cleaner

1. Bensinger’s Fine Cleaners

2. Happy Day Laundry and Cleaners

3. Dryve Cleaners

Bensinger’s cleaned up in this category. A Memphis staple for many years, you can count on Bensinger’s to hang in the top three every time Best of Memphis rolls around.

Best Florist

1. Pugh’s Flowers

2. Holliday Flowers

3. Garden District

Yes, they’ve heard all the jokes, and you’ve seen their cute little vans with the skunk on the side. So Pugh’s has a sense of humor — and the top honors this year.

Best Garden Center

1. Dan West Garden Center

2. Midtown Nursery

3. Stringers Garden Center

Dan West has all your plant needs covered, like a mound of mulch around your azaleas. And that’s no fertilizer.

Best Local Athletic-Goods Store

1. Outdoors Inc.

2. Breakaway Athletics

3. Dowdle Sports

Outdoors Inc., once just a Midtown favorite, has expanded all over the area to serve those who want to play outside — with the best equipment.

Best Bicycle Shop

1. The Peddler (Highland)

2. Midtown Bicycle

3. Outdoors Inc.

A longtime favorite for Memphis cyclists, the Peddler coasts home with a win. Spandex optional.

Best Local Video Store (rental)

1. Black Lodge Video

2. Movie & Pizza Company

Black Lodge on Cooper has local film geeks covered, from the latest fare to obscure titles and foreign delights.

Best Record Store (new)

1. Spin Street

2. Goner Records

3. Shangri-La Records

Spin Street wins this category year after year because not only do they have an astonishing variety of CDs and DVDs (including a fine selection of low-priced, gently used copies) but a ton of music-related merchandise — posters, clothing, books, and guitars. Even if you just want to go in and look around, it’s almost impossible to walk out empty-handed. We know; we’ve tried.

Best Record Store (used)

1. Shangri-La Records

2. Spin Street

3. Goner Records

Last year, Memphis magazine’s history columnist Vance Lauderdale was writing about local flutist/musician Edwin Hubbard and traipsed into Shangri-La to see if they had a copy of his first album, which came out in the 1970s. They had three copies — unopened and unplayed. That’s just one example of the scope of the collection here. It’s almost like A. Schwab’s motto: “If you can’t find it here, you’re better off without it.”

Best Music Equipment Store

1. Amro Music Stores

2. Memphis Drum Shop

3. Guitar Center

Amro offers all things to all people: guitars for rockers, pianos for classical-music lovers, and brass and woodwinds for anyone playing in — or wanting to start their own — complete orchestra. Need a new tuba for the school band? You’ll find it here. Add lessons, sheet music, and a knowledgeable staff, and Amro is sweet music to our ears.

Best New Car Dealer

1. Dobbs Honda

2. Wolfchase Honda

3. Gossett

Years ago, Dobbs Honda was called Courtesy Honda, and even though the name has changed, the “courtesy” part has remained an essential part of this company’s success. A no-pressure sales staff, friendly and reliable service department, clean and spacious showroom — it’s a finely tuned machine that keeps our readers rolling year after year.

Best Used Car Dealer

1. Carmax

2. City Auto Sales

3. Gossett

The old days of trudging around car lots are over, and Carmax offers one of the best ways to find the car of your dreams — online. You can search by model, year, price range, and even fuel economy, check out multiple views of the cars online, then print out a handy list so you can see the cars in person. Judging from all the vehicles we see around town with the “Carmax” decal on their bumpers, it obviously works for our readers.

Best Place To Buy a Motorcycle

BOM 1. Bumpus Harley-Davidson

2. Al’s Honda

3. DeSoto Honda

Whether it’s the Whitten Road location or the newer store in Collierville, the ultra-modern building showcases plenty of Harleys, of course, and a fully staffed service department, but it’s also packed with clothing, parts, posters, and accessories. Displayed here and there are museum-quality vintage Harleys from a century-plus of Milwaukee Iron. Bumpus has a lock on readers for the simple reason that it’s not just a cycle shop; it’s a full-blown motorcycling experience.

Best Way To Debut an Album

Almost two months before the release of their highly anticipated Memphis, the members of Magic Kids celebrated the Fourth of July by putting their tracks on the jukebox at Midtown dive the Buccaneer. Word on the street is you can still stop by and drop in a few cents if you’re itching to hear some infectious indie pop.

— Halley Johnson

Best Place To Be a Dog

Earlier this summer, the city opened its first dog park on Avery behind the Memphis City Schools administration building. It’s pretty bare bones — just a fence, a couple of benches, some signs, and doggie-poo bags. But the dogs who gather there every day to play fetch and sniff each others’ butts don’t seem to mind.

— Bianca Phillips

Best Sigh of Relief

Petra enthusiasts breathed a sigh of relief when, after the restaurant closed last year, much of its menu was incorporated into the popular Madison sandwich shop Kwik Chek. But the store’s redesign and consistent following didn’t seem to matter on August 4th, when customers found Kwik Chek’s doors locked, lights off, and signs posted saying the building had been seized for tax purposes. A few hours and an Internet rampage later, the store reopened with no apparent consequences, giving Midtowners a second collective sigh of relief. Way to keep us on our toes, Kwik Chek.

— Halley Johnson

Best Thing About the New Playhouse on the Square

Everything. The theater was modeled after Chicago’s Steppenwolf, so it looks good, sounds great, and is surprisingly comfortable. It’s also got art galleries, multiple bars, and a rooftop patio overlooking Ike’s and a boarded-up BP. Okay, so the view isn’t perfect, but it’s nothing another pharmacy or two can’t fix. — Chris Davis

 

Best Fictional TV Memphis

Memphis Beat portrays a quaint city where crime occasionally rears its ugly head in between gnaws on barbecue ribs and slurps of sweet tea. Elvis impersonators litter Memphis streets like glam panhandlers. Hellcats depicts a cosmopolitan city where hip, sexy youth prevail — and work their killer bods but don’t neglect the ‘cue. Hot, manhandling cheerleaders flitter across downtown Memphis like oversexed butterflies. Edge: Hellcats. — Greg Akers

Best Reality TV Memphians

TLC’s Police Women of Memphis made for compelling, utterly entertaining TV this summer. Though some of the crooks and knuckleheaded high jinks made me cringe — kinda wish people in Seattle and Montpelier didn’t know about Running Man — officers Virginia Awkward, Joy Jefferson, Arica Logan, and Aubrey Olson made me proud to be a Memphian and happy to be protected by such stellar role models. — Greg Akers

Best Vegan Menu

Let’s hear it for Deja Vu Creole Soul Food & Vegetarian Restaurant. Now with two locations (a tiny one downtown at 936 S. Florida and a massive one in Hickory Hill at 3557 Ridgeway), this soul food joint offers numerous vegan entrées ranging from mock chicken-salad sandwiches and barbecue tofu to TVP tacos and vegan cheese, spinach, and mushroom quesadillas. Though Deja Vu also serves meat, the soul sides (think collard greens, fried cabbage, and candied yams) are made vegan to accommodate all guests. Save room for the rich vegan chocolate cake with strawberry sauce or the super-moist vegan banana bread. — Bianca Phillips

Best of Both Worlds

As the Memphis Grizzlies enter their 10th season in town, the franchise has boasted players with all-star ability (Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay) and hard-nosed role players who do all the “little things” that help teams win (Shane Battier, James Posey). But only one player fits both categories: current center Marc Gasol, who was one of the NBA’s most improved players a year ago and, by most statistical measures, the team’s most important player. Similarly, the Grizzlies have had players who embody the increasingly international flavor of the world’s second-most popular team sport (Hasheem Thabeet, Hamed Haddadi) and players who embody the local basketball scene from the ground up (Antonio Burks, the late Lorenzen Wright). But only one player fits both categories: the younger Gasol again, who started on the Spanish national team this summer and did his high school work locally at Lausanne.

— Chris Herrington

Best Sinkhole Forever (BSF)

Forget Sigmund Freud. What would Jerry Springer say about a city that turns a crumbling, traffic-snarling depression on a crazy-busy stretch of I-240 into a cross-platform media celebrity? Months after the overgrown pothole stopped making headlines, people still comment on Sinkhole’s Facebook page with messages like, “I miss you, Sinky” and “Hey, Sinkhole, hope things have been going well.” Fans have posted hundreds of photos on “Sinky’s” FB page with photoshopped images of the people and things they’d most like to see fall into the hellish crater. A flaming John Calipari is there, as is former Mayor Herenton and Kriner Cash and a fantasy bubble bath where Saddam Hussein and Al Gore play with rubber duckies in the nude. Ah, Sinkhole, what a magnificent sinkhole you were. — Chris Davis

Best Combination Expansion and Contraction

When the annual Indie Memphis Film Festival returns next month, it will be with two big changes that bode well: The festival will reduce its time frame from the recent week-long slate to a more concentrated Thursday-to-Sunday long weekend. At the same time, it’s expanding its Midtown footprint by adding Playhouse on the Square to returning venues Studio on the Square, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and (presumably) post-fest party center the Hi-Tone Café. These are astute moves that should make a good event even better. — Chris Herrington

Best Way To Order Coffee

Slowly sipping your vanilla soy latte inside a coffeehouse (while reading a copy of the Memphis Flyer, of course) may be the ideal way to take in your daily dose of caffeine. But when you’re on the go, the Edge Coffeehouse has you covered. The quaint Crosstown area coffeehouse’s online menu lists abbreviations customers can text to 901-652-8788 so their hot joe is ready upon arrival (for example, the signature Avalanche iced coffee drink is AVA). Customers can choose to have their coffee delivered CBU (drive-up curb service with correct change) or REG (pick up at counter). Check out theedgecoffeehouse.com for a full list of menu abbreviations. — Bianca Phillips

Best Deal

Because they depend largely on donations and the diligent perusal of customers, the hit-or-miss nature of thrift stores makes them hard to compare. But since Amy Hoyt took over MIFA’s store in June, her eye for great finds and excellent organization have made it number one on our list of well-curated Memphis thrift stores. Besides the frequent deals and special sections the store offers, they pump their revenue back into MIFA’s programs, which benefit the Memphis community directly. Talk about guilt-free shopping. — Halley Johnson

Best Endless (And Cheap!) Culinary Search

We will always have the barbecue pork sandwich, but lately the Memphis finger food that seems to inspire the most animated discussion and satisfied tummy is the taco, the most basic component of the city’s exploding array of authentic Mexican eateries. This year, I added Taqueria Garibaldi (on Summer, try the pastor) and Mike’s Express (Macon, ditto) to old favorites Taqueria Guadalupana (Summer, asada) and Las Tortugas (Germantown Parkway, red snapper or tilapia), while word-of-mouth has Vera Cruz (Jackson) and Caminos de Michoacan (Macon) at the top of my checklist. — Chris Herrington

Best iPhone App with a Memphis Connection

My vote is for Mark’s Menus. Created by local dudes Mark Dinstuhl and Scott Brown, this app (and its sister website) lists menu items for thousands of restaurants across the U.S. Open the app wherever you are and a map pulls up nearby participating restaurants. Click on the restaurant and read the full menu right on your phone. This especially comes in handy when trying to choose a restaurant for a picky eater, someone with food allergies, or a vegetarian. — Bianca Phillips

Best Benefit of Memphis’ Logistics Firepower

Netflix, the mail-based DVD rental service, has a distribution facility in Memphis. Because it’s located right here, local customers enjoy the benefit of quicker turnaround. When you absolutely positively need to see what happens next in Breaking Bad, a day less of a wait is exceedingly important. Not that a show about an unhealthy addiction is an apt metaphor or anything. — Greg Akers

Best Thing To Happen To Local Beer Lovers

At the first Memphis Brewfest in April, beer connoisseurs were served Vermont-based Magic Hat Brewery’s signature #9 beer (a crisp, apricot pale ale). But new fans of the beer were likely dismayed when they realized it wasn’t easy to find at local markets. If they were lucky, they might have stumbled upon Magic Hat #9 at Raffe’s Deli on Poplar. But a couple of months ago, something well, magical, happened. Suddenly, #9 and a host of other Magic Hat brews became widely available in local markets, like Schnucks, Miss Cordelia’s, Fresh Market, Kroger, and Whole Foods. — Bianca Phillips

Second Best Inanimate Facebook Celebrity from Memphis

True, the egg fried on a Memphis sidewalk only attracted 1,009 friends. That’s 1/10 the size of the Sinkhole posse. But who doesn’t love photos of a sidewalk-fried egg relaxing in a pan in the swimming pool? — Chris Davis