“You remind me of somebody.”
-Talbott Howard of Germantown, seeing Elvis at the Blue Plate Cafe

Elvis has to watch his waistline. With his renowned hankering for fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches, he can get too full to sing, even with a belt buckle the size of Tupelo holding everything in.

Staying trim isn’t easy for the King — especially when Commercial Appeal photographer Mike Maple keeps taking him to Memphis’ most popular restaurants.

At Huey’s, the photographer directs: “Hold up the burger. Now take a bite. Now another. You’re doing great, keep going . . .”

At Memphis Pizza Cafe: “Hold up the pizza. Take a bite. Another. Now get a fresh slice . . .”

At Seikisiu: “Don’t worry, it’s all cooked . . .”

At the Blue Plate Cafe: “Elvis wants breakfast . . .”

“No I don’t,” Elvis blurts, eyes pleading with waitress Jane Powers.

“. . . Then just bring him biscuits and gravy. And how about if you sing a song with Elvis?”

Powers laughs, “I couldn’t carry a tune if I had a bucket with a lid on it.”

But she carries in three plates of home-cooked biscuits with buckets of gravy.

They are delicious.