Leaving Memphis, you’re struck by the rich musical history of the area. It’s the Mississippi River delta blues, BB King’s roots, and Graceland honoring Elvis the King, all within shouting distance of the airport. Crossing the state line, Mississippi’s welcome sign claims the “Birthplace of American Music.” From New Orleans stomp, all the way to Memphis (with apologies to Mott the Hoople), you’ll find the head waters of rock and roll. If you haven’t seen Memphis on Broadway, do so before it sweeps the Tonys this year. Or least check out the show’s blog.

When I’m lucky, a business trip will include some local food and color. I like to know what an area proclaims to be its favorite dish, best flavor and unique experience. I got the hat trick in the last day, ending with a Randy Pausch head fake. The tour started at the Ajax Diner in the Oxford, MS downtown square. It’s what you’d expect from a college town eatery, with quick service, iced tea in 32 ounce plastic cups, and a filling menu. My host selected it because it’s where he goes if he’s working on an all-night project and only gets one chance to get a rib-sticking meal. It was a good choice.

Listed as the first lunch special is a chicken fried steak, mashed potato, gravy and butter bean layering called “The Big Easy.” The cross references should have been obvious, but I missed the backstory: Eli Manning, QB for my hometown Giants, is a folk hero at Ole Miss. The sandwich is supposedly one of his favorites from his (non) salad days, the moniker a tribute to his own down-river roots. Tempting as it looked, I feared falling asleep in front of a dinner crowd armed with cheesecake and rolls, opting for the Jumbo BBQ sandwich. Another good choice — the sauce was mildly sweet and had a great vinegar and pepper tang. A half dozen napkins later, I was ready to make Ajax programming jokes with the students.

One of the downsides to work travel is that following the home teams – family, sports, politics – is much harder, even with good internet access. Last night we went in search of the Devils-Flyers playoff game, and our first stop back in downtown looked promising. A round of local beer on the table, the bartender offered to search for the game, eventually finding it but without a subscription to MSG+ for viewing rights. The bartender gave us the beer on the house because we couldn’t watch the game in his place. That redefines customer service and experience. We eventually found the Nashville-Chicago game on Versus, a Devils highlight reel, and George Dickel sippin’ whiskey to cap a great day.

A bit sad that I wasn’t able to pick up an Ole Miss football tee to prompt some Eli storytelling back home, I left the hotel before dawn this morning. Without coffee, a big map, or enough light to read the signs, I managed to get lost on the edge of campus. A passing car stopped, and directions were given, along with “I’ll show you the way there,” from a man who was probably leaving the night shift and eager to get home. That kind of hospitality beats a tee-shirt, every time, as a souvenir of the trip.

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My second trip was much less relaxed, much more “big tent” presentation focused and included almost no time for sampling local cuisine. Even my thoughts of going out to the Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi were washed out by jet lag, a bad rain storm, and a fear that I’d had beginner’s luck navigating the Tokyo subway fifteen years earlier. But this trip didn’t let me down in terms of textures and tastes, as “western sandwiches” were provided for me in between meetings.

Let me say up front that I’m a huge fan of potato products mingling with meat. Hamburger on a potato roll: satisfying. Gnocchi with bolognese sauce: always. Primanti Brothers sausage sandwich with on-board fries: required Pittsburgh consumption. However, these sandwiches fit the pattern but perhaps not the intent. The meat in the center sandwich was ham (or possibly smoked turkey?) and the white salad in the far left was — drum roll — potato salad. It was definitely the most creative mixture of potato and protein I’ve seen. The yellow salad mixture was obviously egg salad, although it was made with Cheez Whiz or the Japanese equivalent as definitely lacked the creamy consistency of mayonnaise. I found that even more troubling than the potato salad, because cheese is just not part of Japanese cuisine, Western-influenced or otherwise. My only previous experience with cheez-u was ordering a slice of cheesecake during the bento expeditions, and explaining to my Nihon Sun office mates that “New York Cheesecake” had nothing to do with New York but everything in common with cheez-u. “Fear” is not too strong an adjective for their reaction. The new Sun office cafeteria gets points for being adventuresome, nice presentation, and creative use of potato salad, but Primanti Brothers has nothing to fear.

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