GoElvis.com,

There are no plaques on the wall saying “Elvis Ate Here.” But the ghost of Elvis Presley seems to linger in restaurants all over town.

The King was known to pick up a cheeseburger or two in his day. The stories are sometimes embellished with a sprinkling of myth and exaggeration, but there are enough eyewitnesses still around who can shed light on the King’s dining-out habits.

He liked simple Southern food. He wasn’t hot on barbecue. He loved Krystal hamburgers. He preferred Pepsi to alcohol. He was a very good tipper.

Some of his favorite hangouts are long gone. But many restaurants still offer the same dishes Elvis and his inevitable gang of followers may have ordered when they trooped in at all hours.

Memphians Cindy Hazen and Mike Freeman often help tourists follow in Elvis’s culinary tracks. In fact, they have a new book out that would help fans follow Elvis’s path through the city. It’s called Memphis Elvis-Style, and it lists places where Elvis lived, ate and played during his years here, both before and after he became the King of Rock and Roll.

Elvis myths are “part of living in Memphis,” said Hazen. “Everyone went to high school with him or said they did.”

Some of the more notorious stories about Elvis’s visits to local restaurants simply are not true, said George Klein, a former radio disc jockey and Elvis associate.

But, he added, who cares? “They’re not hurting anyone by saying Elvis went there.”

For their book, however, Hazen and Freeman said they verified the stories associated with the places they listed with the help of interviews and historical archives.

Among restaurants listed is the Western Steakhouse and Lounge at 1298 Madison, for example, where owner Lil Thomsen says Elvis often enjoyed rib-eye steaks and country brown potatoes in the back corner booth - Elvis’s booth.

“We get a lot of advertisement with that booth,” said Thomsen, who said Elvis called her “Mama Lil,” and once gave her a guitar, which is one of many Elvis souvenirs on display at the restaurant.

But the future of the much beloved Western Steakhouse is uncertain. Thomsen and her husband have been in ill health. They are trying to sell the restaurant and last year launched an essay contest - with a $100 entry fee - to give the restaurant away to the person who could best complete the statement “I would like to own and operate a restaurant like the Western Steakhouse and Lounge…”

But all of that’s on hold until Thomsen gets back on her feet, she said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do about all that yet,” she said.

Sun Studio Cafe, 710 Union at Marshall, also has booths on which Elvis may have rested his swivel hips, especially in the early days when the joint was known as Taylor’s Cafe.

Many great musicians hung out there writing songs and waiting to be discovered, including Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. Sun Studio founder Sam Phillips, who is credited with discovering Elvis, often did his paperwork at the cafe, which was run by Dell Taylor.

The tin ceiling and checkered tiled floor of the current restaurant are original, as are several of the booths, said Mark Bell, general manager of Sun Studio.

Taylor’s Cafe served hearty Southern cooking to feed hungry workers from the area, which was then a center for car dealerships, said Bell.

The menu is similar, with real milkshakes made as they were in the ’50s a popular item. And though it probably was not on the menu at Taylor’s, Sun Studio Cafe now offers fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, one of Elvis’s favorite treats.

The menu at Coletta’s Italian Restaurant at 1063 South Parkway E. is almost exactly as it was in Elvis’s day. Coletta’s is one place Klein said he remembers going with Elvis, though owner Jerry Coletta said Elvis only came in a couple of times. Once Elvis ordered ravioli and they were out.

“He was very gracious. I think he ordered spaghetti instead,” said Coletta. Later, Priscilla Presley often came in to pick up a few of the restaurant’s famous barbecue pizzas to take back to Graceland.

In the early days, Klein also remembered hanging out at K’s Drive-In, which is now called K’s Restaurant, at 166 Crump.

Mary Agnes Harris, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Dwain Harris, and whose grandfather started the restaurant around 1938, said it was a popular cruising spot for South Memphis high school kids, including Elvis.

At the time, Elvis would ride in on his motorcycle and sometimes play guitar for his friends in the parking lot.

Now the restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch, serving Southern cuisine that Harris called “cholesterol city” that warms the soul. The restaurant is known for its barbecue as well as a made-from-scratch deep-dish apple pie served with ice cream.

Just down the road was Earl’s Hot Biscuits, which had a sign boasting “king of the home-made hot biscuit.” Earl’s has since moved to West Memphis but still offers the homecooking Elvis loved, and arguably some of the best biscuits in the area.

According to Memphis Elvis-Style, one of the carhops at Earl’s who waited on Elvis was Willie Herenton, now the mayor of Memphis.

Earl’s was a late-night hangout, as was the Gridiron Restaurant at 4101 Elvis Presley Blvd., near Graceland.

Director of operations Mike Miller said one of Elvis’s favorites was the Palm Beach Burger, a hamburger with pimiento cheese. But the restaurant’s former manager of 32 years, Ann Lyon, said Elvis ordered other things as well.

He often came in the day after Christmas for eggs and bacon. “We were the only ones open then,” said Lyon.

Sometimes Elvis wore a disguise when he came in to keep fans from mauling him. “He just wanted to be left alone,” said Lyon. “He seemed like a very nice person.”

In addition to lots of photos of Elvis, the Gridiron displays a piece of Graceland’s gate on the wall.

Two of Elvis’s favorite restaurants are no longer in business.

There was Chenault’s at 1400 Elvis Presley Blvd., which was open 24 hours and served good old-fashioned country-fried steaks with big ol’ yeast biscuits, red-eye gravy and mushy vegetables - though Elvis often ordered burgers. The big advantage of Chenault’s was a private back room, where Elvis and his gang would set up camp after entering through a side door.

Sometimes, said Memphian Bill Chenault, a cousin of former owner Rex Chenault, the staff would have to ask Elvis and his gang to leave around 6 a.m. on Sunday mornings so they could prepare for the church crowds.

The Four Flames, which was at 1085 Poplar, was another of Elvis’s favorites. The restaurant hosted a cocktail party and banquest for Elvis in 1971, when the Jaycees named the King one of 10 outstanding young men in America.

Four Flames former owner Harlon Fields, who still lives in Memphis, said the restaurant catered the cocktail party at Graceland in the trophy room, where barbecued oysters were among the nibbles served. Elvis came in and stood a few feet from the door, recalls Fields. “I don’t think he moved from his tracks the whole time,” he said.

The party then traveled to the restaurant, where the white-gloved servers brought out Chateaubriand and flaming cherries jubilee, said Fields.

“I remember we had to make sure his Chateaubriand was served well-done. And he didn’t want it to be one minute late,” said Fields, who sold the restaurant in 1983. It closed in the late ’80s.

Fields’s first memory of Elvis is from the Car Barn Cafeteria he operated at the city’s transit headquarters, where the 45 with the Elvis songs That’s Alright (Mama) and Blue Moon of Kentucky played on the juke box constantly.

“I got so sick of that,” said Fields, who admits he was never especially impressed by Elvis. “I don’t remember much else about him. He was just another guest.”

Oysters Harlon

24 fresh shelled oysters

Salt and pepper to taste

Flour for coating

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 cup A1 Steak Sauce

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 jiggers sherry or madeira

2 tbsp. flour

3 tbsp. water

Salt and pepper oysters and dredge in flour. Grill them on a lightly buttered grill (or saute lightly in a heavy skillet) until browned on both sides. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat in a saucepan on low, without boiling, the lemon juice, A1 sauce, Worcestershire and sherry. Blend the 2 tablespoons of flour with the 3 tablespoons of water and add to the sauce to thicken.

Place oysters on a platter and pour about a spoonful of sauce on each one. Run the platter briefly under the broiler to brown before serving.

Elvis Connection: Harlon Fields, former owner of the old Four Flames restaurant, said these were served at a cocktail party catered by the Four Flames when Elvis was named one of 10 outstanding young men in America by the Jaycees in 1971.

Elvis Presley’s Memphis Meatloaf

2 lbs. ground chuck

1 lb. ground pork

1 1/2 cups tomato puree

Olive oil as needed

8 oz. diced onion

2 oz. minced garlic

8 oz. sliced mushrooms

4 eggs

8 oz. breadcrumbs

2 1/2 tbsp. salt and pepper mix or salt and pepper individually to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms until soft. Remove from heat.

Place ground chuck and pork in a mixer bowl with paddle attachment. On low speed, add vegetable mixture, tomato puree and eggs. When liquids are incorporated add breadcrumbs and salt and pepper mix. Run machine until mixture comes completely together.

Place mixture into greased loaf pans, filling halfway. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for about 35 minutes to an internal temperature of 150 to 160 degrees. Let cool slightly and remove meatloaves from pans. Slice to serve. Serves 10.

Elvis Connection: The newly opened restaurant and club Elvis Presley’s Memphis didn’t exist, obviously, when Elvis was alive. But those who knew him say he would have loved to eat at this Beale Street spot. Meatloaf was a favorite of Elvis’s, and this recipe featured at the restaurant surely would have been one of the King’s picks.

Gridiron Palm Beach Burger

1 hamburger patty

Hamburger bun

1 tbsp. pimiento cheese

Mayonnaise to taste

Lettuce

Pickle slices

Put the hamburger patty and the bun on the grill. When you are ready to turn the burger, take the top of the bun off the grill and spread it with the pimiento cheese. Then set it on the burger and let the cheese melt over the meat while it finishes cooking. Meanwhile, spread mayo on the other bun half, add a layer of lettuce and several slices of pickle. When the hamburger is done and the cheese melted, put the halves together and serve.

Elvis Connection: Elvis sometimes ordered this when he ate at the Gridiron restaurant closest to Graceland.

Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches

2 slices white bread

Peanut butter to taste

1-2 bananas

Butter for sauteing

For the mashed version (according to Are You Hungry Tonight by Brenda Arlene Butler): In a small bowl, mash banana with a spoon. Toast bread lightly. Spread peanut butter on one slice and mashed banana on the other. Fry the sandwich in melted butter until each side is golden brown. Serve hot. Makes 1 sandwich.

For the sliced version: Spread peanut butter thinly on both slices of bread. Place banana slices in between and close sandwich. Sautee in butter until golden brown. Serve hot.

Elvis Connection: This was a dish that Elvis loved to eat at home, but several local restaurants serve it now to tourists. Still, a debate rages: Did Elvis prefer his banana mashed or sliced? Several cookbooks say say mashed banana was the house preference at Graceland. Yet Elvis Presley’s Memphis, a restaurant created by the good folks at Graceland, serves the sandwich with sliced bananas. They say that’s how Elvis liked it, and, frankly, they should know.

For the record, Sun Studio Cafe also serves the sandwich with the bananas sliced - despite the fact that general manager Mark Bell believes Elvis preferred his bananas mashed. Today customers seem to prefer the sliced version, he said. Decide for yourself.