Going to visit Memphis, TN & Tunica, MS.

Where's the best BBQ?

Thank you in advance for your replies.

MARTS

I hear "Neeley's" is pretty good


"Marty" > wrote in message
...
> Going to visit Memphis, TN & Tunica, MS.
>
> Where's the best BBQ?
>
> Thank you in advance for your replies.
>
> MARTS
>
>

In article >,
"Marty" > wrote:

> Going to visit Memphis, TN & Tunica, MS.
>
> Where's the best BBQ?
>
> Thank you in advance for your replies.
>
> MARTS
>
>

Germantown Commissary. I had to go to Memphis on business a few years
ago. My friend from down there took me to the Commissary and I thought I
had died and gone to heaven. It's not as famous as Corky's or
Rendezvous, but the ribs were great!!

http://www.gtownbbq.com/home.php

--
To reply, remove .nojunk from my email address.

Marty,

I will give you a couple of hints into the world of Memphis BBQ.

Ribs-- Corky's Barbecue has good ribs, as does Interstate Barbecue. Corky's
is on Poplar Ave. Interstate is on Third street just south of downtown
Memphis.

Pork Sandwich-- Do not order beef. The BBQ Shop on Memphis has the best
Sandwich of anyplace in town. Actually it would be tied with Interstate
BBQ. The BBQ Shop is on Madison in the Midtown area. Neely's would be a
pretty distant third. Neely's is run by the Nephews of the guy that owns
Interstate. They learned from him. They are not as good as their Uncle
Jim.

The Rendezvous is the single most famous place in the city for Ribs. They
advertise them as "Charcoal Grilled"-- which is accurate. They are not as
tender as real BBQ, but the place is great and the ribs are great also-- no
sauce, just a spice rub after they have been dipped in water and vinegar.

These are just my opinions-- and the best BBQ in Memphis is always in my
backyard or someone who loves to Q-- Memphis is full of 'em.

Good Luck,

Matthew Brown
Memphis



"Marty" > wrote in message
...
> Going to visit Memphis, TN & Tunica, MS.
>
> Where's the best BBQ?
>
> Thank you in advance for your replies.
>
> MARTS
>
>

In article >,
"Marty" > wrote:

> Going to visit Memphis, TN & Tunica, MS.
>
> Where's the best BBQ?
>
> Thank you in advance for your replies.
>
> MARTS
>
>

I posted the following a while ago on another (Non-BBQ) newsgroup, but
it still holds up.
******************************************

I was sent to Memphis for two weeks on biz, and given the opportunity (on
expense account, natch) to sample the culinary delights of the city.
What I found, in no particular order, was some exemplary BBQ,
not-so-tasty fast food, and one whopping case of food poisoning.

Since BBQ is Memphis' forte, I'll begin there. They probably cook more
pig in that town than anywhere else in the South. You won't find too
much barbecued beef, though it does exist, as does BBQ poultry. Stick
to the pig, though. It's what they do best.
Most places offer two main offerings, pork shoulder and pork ribs. The
shoulder is either chopped or hand-shredded (pulled pork) and offered
with sauce on top or on the side. Ribs are served 'dry', 'wet', or
'muddy'. I'm a 'wet' kind of guy myself, but most folks I ran into there
are used to the dry ribs.
For dry ribs, the rib rack is covered with a dry seasoning rub, then
smoked. It's served with sauce on the side. Wet ribs are in a similar
fashion, but covered in BBQ sauce during cooking. Muddy ribs are a mix
of wet ribs sprinkled with more dry rub before serving.

I went to 5 different BBQ places while there, and tried to sample similar
items to be able to judge more fairly.
Here's my preference for Memphis BBQ joints, in descending order:

JIM NEELY'S INTERSTATE BBQ - Best in Memphis, IMHO. It's easy to get to,
either from downtown, or from the Graceland area. However, it's in what
some folks (mostly Caucasian) would refer to as "the bad part of town".
Don't worry, no one will be car-jacking you, but don't be stupid and act
too much like a tourist. Go for lunch on a weekend, and all will be well.
Once you're inside, it looks like any other family-run restaurant that's
been around for a while. Kinda ratty furniture, lots of pictures and
civic awards on the walls, and a wonderful aroma that only comes from
years of BBQ smoke. Service was fast and efficient.
The ribs were, hands down, the best I had in Memphis. Tender to the
point of falling off the bone, covered with a sweet/hot sauce, they left
a trail of joyful tears on my face, and spatters of sauce on my shirt.
Along with the ribs I sampled the pork shoulder. It was moist and
flavorful, but too finely chopped for my taste. The best surprise,
though, was the BBQ spaghetti. The pasta was cooked just past the al
dente stage,then covered with a mix of chopped shoulder and BBQ sauce,
then left to "stew" for awhile. By the time it's served, it's soft,
gooey, and utterly delicious. The side of slaw was OK, the beans were
much better. White bread and iced tea rounded out the meal, all for
less than $18, including tip.

CHARLIE VERGO'S RENDESVOUS - This place is a Memphis institution. It's
also incredibly hard to find if you've never been there, and aren't in
the company of a native. In theory, the Rendesvous is on 2nd St.
downtown. In reality, you need to find a very small alley (Gen.
Washburn's Alley) beside a German restaurant on 2nd, go down that alley,
turn into a smaller alley, and you'll find it. It's mostly underground,
with the upstairs section being used for private functions.
The menu is simple, but you don't really need one. People come to the
Rendesvous for ribs. I got the combo plate, so I could sample the
chopped shoulder as well. An appetizer of sliced link sausage dusted
with dry rub seasoning was simple, yet delicious. It was served with
fresh-baked rolls, which were excellent for sopping up the sauce. You
had a choice of a sweet/mild sauce with a hint of vinegar, or a
sinus-clearing hot BBQ sauce.
Both were excellent, and I found a 2/3 - 1/3 mix of the two sauces was
just to my taste. The ribs, served 'dry', were, well, drier than I am
accustomed to. The flavor was good, but I wasn't enjoying them as much
as I had hoped. The shredded pork shoulder was much better, and went
very well with the sauce and rolls. Sides of pickles, beans and slaw
were also served. The slaw was easily the weirdest I've ever been
served. Served in a paper cup, it had the texture of wet hay, and the
taste of lawn mulch mixed with mayo. Avoid the slaw!
The service was very good. Most of the waiters have worked there since
before Nixon resigned. They'll take care of you!
Appetizer, combo plate, drink & tip cost around $24.

CORKY'S - For every fan of the Rendesvous in Memphis, there's an equal
number of die-hard Corky's supporters. Tucked in a very small lot on
Poplar not too far from I-240, Corky's looks like a non-descript
burger-joint, except for the line of people waiting to be seated. I went
there for lunch, so I really can't say how bad the line can get, but I'd
go early or late.
I had the Combo plate, with shoulder and ribs, accompanied by fries and
rolls. The sauce was tasty, but not outstanding. The ribs, served wet,
were also good, but nothing to turn cartwheels over. I really liked the
pulled pork, though. The flavor and texture were both worth the trip.
I'd probably skip the ribs on my next visit, and just have a couple of
loaded pulled pork sandwiches with lots of sauce. Great service from the
staff as well. Very friendly, with a touch of sass. Corky's is also
the only place that offered little 'Wet Wipes' at the end of your meal,
which were very helpful in large-scale BBQ sauce removal!
Drinks and Combo Plate for me & Rib plate for my guide to all things
Memphis, (the wonderful Esther P.!) ran about $25 + tip.

PIG & WHISTLE - I ate an early dinner here one night, and as one of 5
people in the joint, you would have thought I'd have got better service.
Located in Bartlett, NW of Memphis, Pig & Whistle was described to me by
many people as "They used to be really good..." An Onion loaf appetizer
arrived piping hot, only to chill down within 5 minutes to an inedible
greasy knot of onions and breading. It was accompanied by prepackaged
containers of a ranch-style dipping sauce clearly marked 'Keep
refrigerated' that were about 80 degrees F.
The waitress appeared several days later with the Combo plate. The first
thing I noticed was the fresh made slaw. I don't care much for slaw, but
this looked to have been chopped right from the cabbage 5 minutes
previously. The beans were just so-so, and were probably right out of the
Bush's Baked Bean cans so prominently displayed by the kitchen.
The ribs were extremely dry underneath the sauce. It was my first try
at a 'muddy' rack of ribs, and I just wish the ribs were up to the
sauce. Pig & Whistle's sauce came very close to Interstate's sauce on
the lick-yer-fingers scale, and was easily the standout feature of the
meal. The pork shoulder was quite tasty, with an irregular chopped/pulled
consistency. The sausage link slices served with the combo plate were
also very good, but the Pig & Whistle sauce slathered on Oscar Mayer
franks would have been just as delightful. Total tab including tip was
about 20 bucks.

TOPS - I almost didn't get to Tops, and wouldn't have made the effort, if
not for a friend's urging. On my way out of Memphis, I pulled in for a
quick lunch before the drive back to DFW, and was quite suprised to find
a lack of ribs on the menu. At this location (there are many around
Memphis) they seem to sell more burgers than BBQ. I ordered a couple of
BBQ sandwiches to go, and in my rush to get on the road, made a major
error by forgetting to tell them to NOT put slaw on the bun.
Apparently this is done to fill up the bun while not putting on much
meat.
I liked the sauce, but not much else. The sauce was light, tangy and
complemented the sandwich very well. What I disliked was the contrasting
textures of the chewy slaw and the tender pork. I'm not a big fan of
bone & gristle, and can usually tell when something in chopped BBQ needs
to be chewed and when something neds to be spit out. With the slaw
gumming up the sandwich, though, that equation went out the window.
As it turns out, the slaw had more in store for me than just ruining a
sandwich. I've got what's known as a cast-iron stomach. Nothing bothers
me. When I started getting heartburn and a weird feeling about the time
I crossed the Ark/TX border, I should have realized something was amiss.
It's now a week later, and I'm just now getting my gastro-intestinal
tract into some semblance of order. I won't go into the icky details,
but add in fever, chills and general aches to the usual symptoms, and
you'll know why I may never eat slaw again. (Coleslaw is specifically
mentioned as a prime carrier medium for Staph, Listeria, and Clostridium
bacteria...)
I can't blame all the Tops BBQ spots for the case of food poisoning, but
avoid the one at I-40 & Sycamore View!

Neely's. Definitely the best going. Heck, you can even get it in the
Memphis Airport.

Lou Lou in NC

"El Capitan" > wrote in message
news
> In article >,
> "Marty" > wrote:
>
> > Going to visit Memphis, TN & Tunica, MS.
> >
> > Where's the best BBQ?
> >
> > Thank you in advance for your replies.
> >
> > MARTS
> >
> >
>
> I posted the following a while ago on another (Non-BBQ) newsgroup, but
> it still holds up.
> ******************************************
>
> I was sent to Memphis for two weeks on biz, and given the opportunity (on
> expense account, natch) to sample the culinary delights of the city.
> What I found, in no particular order, was some exemplary BBQ,
> not-so-tasty fast food, and one whopping case of food poisoning.
>
> Since BBQ is Memphis' forte, I'll begin there. They probably cook more
> pig in that town than anywhere else in the South. You won't find too
> much barbecued beef, though it does exist, as does BBQ poultry. Stick
> to the pig, though. It's what they do best.
> Most places offer two main offerings, pork shoulder and pork ribs. The
> shoulder is either chopped or hand-shredded (pulled pork) and offered
> with sauce on top or on the side. Ribs are served 'dry', 'wet', or
> 'muddy'. I'm a 'wet' kind of guy myself, but most folks I ran into there
> are used to the dry ribs.
> For dry ribs, the rib rack is covered with a dry seasoning rub, then
> smoked. It's served with sauce on the side. Wet ribs are in a similar
> fashion, but covered in BBQ sauce during cooking. Muddy ribs are a mix
> of wet ribs sprinkled with more dry rub before serving.
>
> I went to 5 different BBQ places while there, and tried to sample similar
> items to be able to judge more fairly.
> Here's my preference for Memphis BBQ joints, in descending order:
>
> JIM NEELY'S INTERSTATE BBQ - Best in Memphis, IMHO. It's easy to get to,
> either from downtown, or from the Graceland area. However, it's in what
> some folks (mostly Caucasian) would refer to as "the bad part of town".
> Don't worry, no one will be car-jacking you, but don't be stupid and act
> too much like a tourist. Go for lunch on a weekend, and all will be well.
> Once you're inside, it looks like any other family-run restaurant that's
> been around for a while. Kinda ratty furniture, lots of pictures and
> civic awards on the walls, and a wonderful aroma that only comes from
> years of BBQ smoke. Service was fast and efficient.
> The ribs were, hands down, the best I had in Memphis. Tender to the
> point of falling off the bone, covered with a sweet/hot sauce, they left
> a trail of joyful tears on my face, and spatters of sauce on my shirt.
> Along with the ribs I sampled the pork shoulder. It was moist and
> flavorful, but too finely chopped for my taste. The best surprise,
> though, was the BBQ spaghetti. The pasta was cooked just past the al
> dente stage,then covered with a mix of chopped shoulder and BBQ sauce,
> then left to "stew" for awhile. By the time it's served, it's soft,
> gooey, and utterly delicious. The side of slaw was OK, the beans were
> much better. White bread and iced tea rounded out the meal, all for
> less than $18, including tip.
>
> CHARLIE VERGO'S RENDESVOUS - This place is a Memphis institution. It's
> also incredibly hard to find if you've never been there, and aren't in
> the company of a native. In theory, the Rendesvous is on 2nd St.
> downtown. In reality, you need to find a very small alley (Gen.
> Washburn's Alley) beside a German restaurant on 2nd, go down that alley,
> turn into a smaller alley, and you'll find it. It's mostly underground,
> with the upstairs section being used for private functions.
> The menu is simple, but you don't really need one. People come to the
> Rendesvous for ribs. I got the combo plate, so I could sample the
> chopped shoulder as well. An appetizer of sliced link sausage dusted
> with dry rub seasoning was simple, yet delicious. It was served with
> fresh-baked rolls, which were excellent for sopping up the sauce. You
> had a choice of a sweet/mild sauce with a hint of vinegar, or a
> sinus-clearing hot BBQ sauce.
> Both were excellent, and I found a 2/3 - 1/3 mix of the two sauces was
> just to my taste. The ribs, served 'dry', were, well, drier than I am
> accustomed to. The flavor was good, but I wasn't enjoying them as much
> as I had hoped. The shredded pork shoulder was much better, and went
> very well with the sauce and rolls. Sides of pickles, beans and slaw
> were also served. The slaw was easily the weirdest I've ever been
> served. Served in a paper cup, it had the texture of wet hay, and the
> taste of lawn mulch mixed with mayo. Avoid the slaw!
> The service was very good. Most of the waiters have worked there since
> before Nixon resigned. They'll take care of you!
> Appetizer, combo plate, drink & tip cost around $24.
>
> CORKY'S - For every fan of the Rendesvous in Memphis, there's an equal
> number of die-hard Corky's supporters. Tucked in a very small lot on
> Poplar not too far from I-240, Corky's looks like a non-descript
> burger-joint, except for the line of people waiting to be seated. I went
> there for lunch, so I really can't say how bad the line can get, but I'd
> go early or late.
> I had the Combo plate, with shoulder and ribs, accompanied by fries and
> rolls. The sauce was tasty, but not outstanding. The ribs, served wet,
> were also good, but nothing to turn cartwheels over. I really liked the
> pulled pork, though. The flavor and texture were both worth the trip.
> I'd probably skip the ribs on my next visit, and just have a couple of
> loaded pulled pork sandwiches with lots of sauce. Great service from the
> staff as well. Very friendly, with a touch of sass. Corky's is also
> the only place that offered little 'Wet Wipes' at the end of your meal,
> which were very helpful in large-scale BBQ sauce removal!
> Drinks and Combo Plate for me & Rib plate for my guide to all things
> Memphis, (the wonderful Esther P.!) ran about $25 + tip.
>
> PIG & WHISTLE - I ate an early dinner here one night, and as one of 5
> people in the joint, you would have thought I'd have got better service.
> Located in Bartlett, NW of Memphis, Pig & Whistle was described to me by
> many people as "They used to be really good..." An Onion loaf appetizer
> arrived piping hot, only to chill down within 5 minutes to an inedible
> greasy knot of onions and breading. It was accompanied by prepackaged
> containers of a ranch-style dipping sauce clearly marked 'Keep
> refrigerated' that were about 80 degrees F.
> The waitress appeared several days later with the Combo plate. The first
> thing I noticed was the fresh made slaw. I don't care much for slaw, but
> this looked to have been chopped right from the cabbage 5 minutes
> previously. The beans were just so-so, and were probably right out of the
> Bush's Baked Bean cans so prominently displayed by the kitchen.
> The ribs were extremely dry underneath the sauce. It was my first try
> at a 'muddy' rack of ribs, and I just wish the ribs were up to the
> sauce. Pig & Whistle's sauce came very close to Interstate's sauce on
> the lick-yer-fingers scale, and was easily the standout feature of the
> meal. The pork shoulder was quite tasty, with an irregular chopped/pulled
> consistency. The sausage link slices served with the combo plate were
> also very good, but the Pig & Whistle sauce slathered on Oscar Mayer
> franks would have been just as delightful. Total tab including tip was
> about 20 bucks.
>
> TOPS - I almost didn't get to Tops, and wouldn't have made the effort, if
> not for a friend's urging. On my way out of Memphis, I pulled in for a
> quick lunch before the drive back to DFW, and was quite suprised to find
> a lack of ribs on the menu. At this location (there are many around
> Memphis) they seem to sell more burgers than BBQ. I ordered a couple of
> BBQ sandwiches to go, and in my rush to get on the road, made a major
> error by forgetting to tell them to NOT put slaw on the bun.
> Apparently this is done to fill up the bun while not putting on much
> meat.
> I liked the sauce, but not much else. The sauce was light, tangy and
> complemented the sandwich very well. What I disliked was the contrasting
> textures of the chewy slaw and the tender pork. I'm not a big fan of
> bone & gristle, and can usually tell when something in chopped BBQ needs
> to be chewed and when something neds to be spit out. With the slaw
> gumming up the sandwich, though, that equation went out the window.
> As it turns out, the slaw had more in store for me than just ruining a
> sandwich. I've got what's known as a cast-iron stomach. Nothing bothers
> me. When I started getting heartburn and a weird feeling about the time
> I crossed the Ark/TX border, I should have realized something was amiss.
> It's now a week later, and I'm just now getting my gastro-intestinal
> tract into some semblance of order. I won't go into the icky details,
> but add in fever, chills and general aches to the usual symptoms, and
> you'll know why I may never eat slaw again. (Coleslaw is specifically
> mentioned as a prime carrier medium for Staph, Listeria, and Clostridium
> bacteria...)
> I can't blame all the Tops BBQ spots for the case of food poisoning, but
> avoid the one at I-40 & Sycamore View!