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HOW THE CITIES WERE CHOSEN
In assessing the locations, we actually looked at metropolitan areas -- the core cities and surrounding suburbs as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. This year's survey showed respondents were satisfied overall with earnings potential, entrepreneurial opportunities, jobs, cost of living, affordable housing, higher education, access to technology, and medical care. In general, respondents were discontent with the quality of public schools, availability of daycare facilities, race relations, crime rates, and black political clout.

Our analysis did not stop there. Using a series of statistical data, the list was then narrowed to 13 metro areas. Heavier weighting was applied to seven of the 22 factors -- "super factors" -- that pertain specifically to African Americans:

• -Black median household income compared with overall median household income

• -Percent of black households earning greater than $100,000 divided by the percent of all households earning greater than $100,000 per year

• -Black unemployment

• -Number of black-owned businesses per 1,000 black residents

• -Percentage of black home loan rejections

• -Percentage of black college graduates

• -Black homeownership rate

By combining survey response scores with the quality of life scores, we arrived at a final ranking of the top 10 cities for African Americans.

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In Memphis, cultures, food and music meld in an American original.

Courtesy of Odyssey Couleur Magazine

By Gilda Rogers

Along the mighty Mississippi River rests Memphis, Tennessee, stunningly clad in authenticity. A part of the "dirty South"-and that should not be confused with the South's current appellation as the dominant force in hip-hop-Memphis once exploited slave and sharecropping labor to cultivate its most prominent industry, cotton. Today, in a paradoxical twist, Memphis now celebrates the past, resurrecting its soul to proclaim bragging rights as the place that "gave birth to the blues"-the sound of dirt-poor black field laborers singing of their sorrows and triumphs.

This amalgamation of old meets new and the linking of black and white culture lends itself to a swank and invitingly fresh attitude. This is the character of Memphis that makes it undeniably cool. To experience Memphis is to taste these culminating flavors that infiltrate its food, along with a fusion of gospel, blues and R&B that is inherent in the music. Welcoming visitors to Memphis, the resplendent Peabody Hotel, which dates back to 1869, strikes a posh pose that is significant to the downtown Memphis skyline. The festooned horse-drawn buggies still line up in front of the Peabody, where you can see old-fashioned trolley cars criss-crossing the streets. Here you'll see the traditional parade of ducks at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. making their way to and from their wading pond, located in the middle of a grand lobby that continues to attract throngs of people.

For a delectable start to your day, lunch at McEwen's restaurant, with its hearth brick décor, might just do the trick. Located in downtown Memphis, McEwen's serves up pan-seared scallops accompanied with stone ground cheddar cheese grits, followed by its ultra famous banana cream pie that will make you shout, "Hallelujah!"

However, to truly experience Memphis is to be moved by its music-namely, the sound of authentic blues found on Beale Street. Made famous by the "Father of the Blues," W.C. Handy, who penned its musical legacy-the "Beale Street Blues"-the street still pays host to a sea of all-night revelers who traverse its neon-lighted corridor and dart in and out of such blues clubs as Rum Boogie. These blues travelers are treated to the great musicianship of storytelling [ital]griots[ital], who effortlessly turn misery into a celebratory happening.

If the blues is not your thing, you're invited to party on the rooftops of some of Memphis' swankest hotels, including The Peabody. The view of the mighty Mississippi River from the rooftop of the 16-story Madison Hotel is an amazing sight. Imagine the backdrop of a brilliant sunset and the ringing of a riverboat bell-not once, but four times, each one calling for a special toast to the sunset, the river, the people of Memphis and the country. The party is dubbed "Atop the Madison" and takes place every Thursday evening throughout the summer. The Madison is not your cookie-cutter hotel, but rather a decorative work of art courtesy of a designer palette of smoke black and rust décor and mixed-media prints, with rooms starting at $235 per night and suites at $350. You are ensconced in a lap of luxury at the Madison, which invites its guests to start off their day on the rooftop pavilion with a spectacular breakfast consisting of marinated summer berry martini, followed by a gruyere and bacon quiche, topped off with grilled pears.

From fine dining to more fine dining, the Inn at Hunt Phelan harkens back 177 years, when this stately mansion, now turned into a bed and breakfast and four-star French-Creole restaurant, posed as a retreat for the Union General Ulysses S. Grant. A tunnel which ran beneath the site was a part of the Underground Railroad. A historical sanctuary, the Inn at Hunt Phelan also established itself as one of the first Freedmen schools in Memphis for emancipated slaves. It has retained many of its original light fixtures and fireplaces. Bed and breakfast rates start at $240, while the comfort of its outside veranda surrounded by luscious greenery compels you to order a mint julep.

Meanwhile, the sign in the window at Sun Records recording studio, where such musical icons as B.B. King, Ike and Tina Turner, Bobby Blue Bland, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and a host of others got their start, says it best: "Hip long before hop was added."

Yes, Memphis is hip. And it is in Memphis where the sacred ground of the many sights and sounds of American culture-black and white-come together and make for a life-altering experience.

Gilda Rogers is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.

Memphis Matters

Memphis is grounded in rich cultural history that has been superbly preserved at museums spread throughout the city. This year, the city is abuzz as "Memphis Celebrates 50 Years of Soul, 1957-2007." Be sure to check out these destination on your visit.

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Foreign visitors to Italy, including expatriate Italians, often make pilgrimages there for three experiences: the country's antiquities, its wine, and the pleasures of the Italian kitchen. Recently, in between visits to wineries and thermal spas, I attended a cooking school in the elegant kitchen of Casa di Guiliana in the village of Bure, San Pietro in Cariano, nestled in the foothills of the Dolomite Alps. The villa is northwest of historic Verona; and beyond its gates are the Valpolicella Classico district vineyards. Italy's western Veneto region, from Lake Garda to Cortina d'Aprezzo, offers mushrooms, game, radicchio, olive oil, and wines along with the perfect climate for aging prosciutto and artisan cheeses, such as Grana Padano.

Formerly a barn used for drying tobacco, Casa di Guiliana is now a luxury villa rental. The 19th-century stone dwelling has been meticulously restored with the aesthetic tension that embodies Italian style: an easy meld of classic design and modern conveniences.

From this serene location, day-trippers have several scenic options: less than two hours to the east is Venice; 15 minutes east is Verona, home to the famous Roman amphitheater, Arena di Verona; Drive 30 minutes west to see Lake Garda, Italy's largest, considered the Riviera of northern Italy.

Casa di Guiliana's consulting chef Antonia Montrucoli, assisted by her friend, Maria Rosa Gaspari, regularly conducts cooking classes in the villa. Both members of Associazione Insegnanti di Cucina Italiana, an organization founded to promote and maintain Italy's 20-plus regional cuisines, they teach villa guests and locals who want to learn traditional cooking.

Montrucoli is famous for her Veronese style of cooking and her recipes such as Pasta e fagioli, Boccon del gelosone, and Zeleti. "One must use the freshest local ingredients," she insists. "It is the philosophy which distinguishes all regional cuisines." Complexities of Veronese cuisine can also be found in Veneto: Authentic Recipes from Venice and the Italian Northeast (Chronicle Books; $19.95) by Italian American Cookbook author Julia Della Croce.

Burn off extra calories at two nearby thermal spas, both of which are naturally heated by the inactive volcano Monte Baldo.

In Sirmione, the century-old spa lies at the end of a peninsula in Lake Garda, where palm trees and the Alps provide a dramatic backdrop to the soothing waters of the Aquaria Wellness Center. An array of pampering, holistic, and even medical treatments is available. By contrast, the spa at Lasize on Lake Garda's southeast shore is an outdoor, meticulously landscaped thermal park popular with singles, couples, and families. Italy exports more wine than any other country, and the Veneto region is the largest wine producer within Italy. Sample southwest Veneto's three best-known wines, Soave, Bardolino, and Valpolicella.

On my final day at Casa di Guiliana, a friend and I drove high up into the Dolomite Alps above Verona. We took in the expansive views of Lake Garda and enjoyed a picnic lunch of San Daniele prosciutto, Grana Padano cheese, and good bread, and washed it all down with an Amarone della valpolicella Classico (2002). Ahhh! La dolce vita! (the sweet life!)

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