Alex Harrison
They just don’t make ’em like this anymore. Downtown’s Orpheum is an opulent extravaganza of crystal chandeliers, lush carpet, heavy brocade, and gilded moldings. Add to that the theater’s touring Broadway shows — which this year included Wicked and Jersey Boys — and you have a lock on this category. It also doesn’t hurt that the Orpheum rounds out its schedule with intimate shows by musical artists and showings of classic movies. Plus, it’s supposedly haunted.
Fun is fun, and there’s plenty of that to be found in Memphis. But
when it comes to voting, fun is serious business. The Memphis Tigers
men’s basketball team outplayed everyone in this section of the ballot
and were one of the top vote-getters of Best Of. Meanwhile, Power
House, the exciting downtown contemporary-art gallery and second-place
winner in “Best Art Gallery,” was shuttered shortly after voting ended,
and that’s seriously sad.
Justin Fox Burks
Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 1st place: ‘Best Museum’
Best Museum
1. Memphis Pink Palace Museum
2. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
3. Children’s Museum of Memphis
The Pink Palace has a little something for everybody: dinosaurs and
sea monsters for the kiddies, the four-story IMAX theater for
moviegoers, and a planetarium for the starstruck. The museum is also
very affordable. A family membership to the IMAX club, for example, is
$100 and gets you free admission to the museum and the Lichterman
Nature Center, six IMAX vouchers, unlimited planetarium passes, free
showings of new IMAX movies, and six guest passes. Or you can go on
Tuesdays after 1 p.m. when admission to the museum — but just the
museum — is free.
Best Art Gallery
1. David Lusk Gallery
2. Power House (now closed)
3. D’Edge Art and Unique Treatures — tie —
Marshall Arts
For most of the year, David Lusk Gallery holds monthly shows of work
by regional artists. For younger and perhaps less affluent collectors,
the gallery’s annual August “Price Is Right” show is a masterpiece.
Fans of local artists eagerly await the show in which all the works are
priced less than $1,000.
Best Movie Theater
1. Malco Paradiso
2. Malco Studio on the Square
3. Malco Cordova
The Paradiso is Malco’s signature showplace. With 17 screens,
multiple concession stands, and an Italian-inspired lobby — the
name comes from a 1988 film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore — the
Paradiso is escapism screened large.
Best Golf Course
1. Mirimichi
2. The Links at Galloway
3. TPC at Southwind
When superstar Justin Timberlake bought the old Big Creek Country
Club near Millington and announced he was transforming it into an
upscale golf course, most people probably thought, What does he know
about golf? Turns out the former Millington native knows more than we
thought, and Mirimichi (the course’s new name) quickly gained favor
with our readers, offering challenging fairways, a beautiful setting,
fine dining in the club’s restaurant, “green” technology, and maybe
— just maybe — the chance to see Justin himself play a few
rounds with his pals.
Best Casino
1. Horseshoe Casino
2. Harrah’s Tunica
3. Gold Strike Casino Resort
We miss the folksy Jack Binion TV ads, but Horseshoe clearly “knows
what gamblers want,” as their slogan says. With some 70 gaming tables
and a whopping 1,700 slot machines, the place offers plenty of chances
to win big. Add the popular stage shows inside Bluesville and fine
dining at Magnolia Delta Grille, and everybody comes out a winner.
Justin Fox Burks
Memphis Zoo, 1st place: ‘Best Family Entertainment’
Best Family Entertainment
1. Memphis Zoo
2. Memphis Redbirds Game
3. Children’s Museum of Memphis
Whether you like your creatures with scales, skin, feathers, or fur,
there’s plenty to see and do here. Our personal favorite: the
“Creatures of the Night” exhibit.
Best Sports Team
BOM 1. Memphis Tigers Men’s Basketball
2. Memphis Redbirds
3. Memphis Grizzlies
What a soap opera of a year this has been for the Memphis Tigers
men’s basketball team (Days of Our Lives). Last season’s team
made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament, and
the fan base was pumped (Passions). But Coach John Calipari
decided to leave and take his dream job at Kentucky (One Life To
Live). Then the news broke about former Tiger Derrick Rose cheating
on the SAT (The Young and the Restless). So rookie coach Josh
Pastner and his skeleton crew of ballers have a lot riding on them this
coming season (The Bold and the Beautiful). They’ve already lost
Angel Garcia, but if everyone else can stay healthy (General
Hospital), the team might be decent. We’ll just have to wait and
see (As the World Turns).
Best Grizzlies Player
1. O.J. Mayo
2. Rudy Gay
3. Marc Gasol
Dynamic Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo led NBA rookies in scoring last
season and led your vote as the team’s best player. He was second in
the rookie of the year race (to former Tiger Derrick Rose) but first in
Griz fans’ hearts, at least until Allen Iverson showed up.
Best Local Athlete
1. O.J. Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
2. Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies
3. Shaun Micheel, PGA golfer
The Griz finish first and second here with Mayo and small forward
Rudy Gay, who both spent the summer in camp with the U.S. National Team
and could spend many years together bouncing around the top of this
category.
