Memphis BBQ: anyone been recently?

[yellow truffle]

I took the Neely vs. Neely challenge. The uncle vs. the nephews. Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Que vs. Neely's Bar-B-Que. First off was Neely's on Jefferson. We had the beef ribs, a small chopped pork shoulder bbq sandwich, bbq salad, with sides of beans, slaw and bbq spaghetti. This came with bread rolls and was washed down with an MGD. The following day we went to the Interstate on Third. We had pork ribs and the sampler platter. This came with sliced white bread and washed down with a diet coke.

And now some photos...

Neely's bbq sandwich with slaw in the foreground, bbq turkey salad on the right, and extra sauce in the background.

Interstate's sampler platter (pork ribs, beef ribs, links, beef brisket, pork shoulder, bbq spaghetti, beans, slaw, all for $13.75).

The three sides: beans, slaw and spaghetti.

OMG. One of the most gratuitous and obscene meat fest I have ever experienced. The meats from both places were done really well. I am not really sure if this is truly a dry bbq as the meat came to the table with sauce (which was a vinegar base) lathered over it. Not surprisingly, the sauce from both places were almost identical. I am sure a bbq specialist can tell subtle differences, but my humble palate could not. I love the slaw placed on top of the sandwich. It balanced the flavor of the mouth puckering sauce with the sweetness of the slaw, all in one bite. This reminds me of the Primanti Brothers sandwich in Pittsburgh, where they would have the slaw and potatoes on the sandwich. The beans from Neely's used pulled pork, whereas the Interstate used pulled beef. I liked the pork better. The salad was a large bowl of house salad with slices of turkey (with spices) and sauce on the side. It was an interesting experience. Not bad if I must say. The spaghetti was another wow. I have never had or heard of this before. Once again, not bad. But these sides really play second fiddle to the meat. At the two places, it is know as, "meat plus two (sides that is)."

In declaring a winner, I would have pull the draw card. It was really difficult to be critical of these two places and especially bbq from TN. But I enjoyed the bbq of western TN more than eastern side of the state (from the Ridgewood, in Bluff City, TN). Large cuts in large servings at low prices makes any of these places a winner. I would return to these gut-busting establishments anyday.

Some links (from the University of Mississippi website):

An interview with Jim Neely.

Memphis BBQ: Collection of Photos and Essays. This has 16 q's in the que.

Thanx for reading.

[gadgetgeek]

 

Funny, my parents and grandparents used to take me to Leonards on South Parkway when I was little (in the 70s) - it was an old Memphis BBQ place. Coletta's still is famous for their BBQ pizza. Recently, I've been getting the great BBQ pizza at Romeo's, a deli-style Italian place on Southern (between Perkins and Colonial) which is owned by former bbq maven John Wills. His bbq place on Central near the Fairgrounds was one the best in town in the 80s before a terrible move to a more upscale location in East Memphis (which has been closed awhile).

[LJC]

Just back from a weekend of extreme eating, here's the report:

Kozy Corner - By far the best of all. Ribs (dry) were sensational, rib tips are a bit too tough, cornish hen is poor (too dry), chicken is the best on earth, pork shoulder sandwich is so good I am thinking of flying out there for lunch, bologna sandwich was pretty good (a first for me), bbq spaghetti was horrid (as expected) and the sides were all very good particularly the beans and slaw.

Rendezvous - a bit of a let down. All the meat was good but I was expecting a lot more. The two standouts were the lamb ribs (wow) and the slaw.

neely's - least thrilling of them all. ribs (wet) were good but after KC and Rendezvous dry style I couldn't get into the sauciness. The one item that was outrageous was the smoked sausage sandwich on a soft hero roll. Other items that we tried were the pulled pork, smoked turkey, bbq chicken, rib tips, bologna sandwich (better than KC).

We also made it to Gus's Fried Chicken which was recommended by the woman at KC (she had the menu in her pocket). Not the best fried chicken I have ever had, but up there with them.

Now that I am back I am trying to get over this MSG hangover/haze that I’ve been stuck in.

[DTBarton]

Here's a link to Hollyeats reviews including Memphis. Scroll down to Tennessee section.

http://www.hollyeats.com/South.htm

[k62hall]

Here's a link to Hollyeats reviews including Memphis.  Scroll down to Tennessee section.

http://www.hollyeats.com/South.htm

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Great site.

The first listing for Memphis is A&R BBQ and I think it may be my favorite shoulder in the city...but save room for the homemade fried pies! Worth a special trip any day.