Memphis bbq

[doorbell]

where's the best bar-be-que in memphis?

[kayb]

Most anywhere you go will be better than you've ever had anywhere else.

Some of my favorites:

Interstate. Go for lunch. It's in the 'hood. Ask for sauce on the side; they have a heavy hand with it.

Central. Two locations, one on Central, one on Summer. Excellent sides. Good beer selection.

Germantown Commissary. Out of the way, but good. Huge portions. Deviled egg half with every plate.

BarBQ Shop. Good variety. Nothing to sneeze at.

Three Pigs. Hole in the wall at Quince and White Station in a strip mall. Barbecue like they used to serve it in any number of Memphis bbq joints. No frills, cheap, good food.

Cozy Corner. Also in the 'hood. Worth the trip for the smoked Cornish hens.

You will note I don't mention the Rendezvous, potentially Memphis' most famous BBQ joint. That's because I don't think they're that good. Ribs are OK, if you get there early before they dry out, but mostly, it's atmosphere. Quintessentially Memphis, though.

Corky's used to be great. Not so much any more. Leonards, back in the 50s and 60s, was allegedly wonderful; not so much any more. Tops, one of the most ubiquitous, is only average.

If I could only go to one, it'd probably be Interstate at lunch, Central in the evening.

Other barbecue aficionados will swear by others. Those are mine.

Finish your dinner off by going to Westy's, downtown, for hot fudge pie.

[Morkai]

Count me in for the BBQ Shop. One of the more consistent in quality in my opinion. When the Rondezvous lives up to it's potential it's wonderful, but 75% of the time you'll get something below par in terms of Memphis quality.

[LindaK]

I had my first taste of Memphis bbq recently at Cozy Corner.

A plate of ribs w/ beans and slaw, with a side of cornish hen:

The ribs were very good, but the cornish hen was great, the flavor from the dry rub made us fight over the skin. The breast meat was on the dry side, but the dark meat was sublimely moist and smoky. Sadly, cornish hens don't really have much meat. Get two.

Finished with sweet potato pie. Delicious.