BEST BAR B QUE in MEMPHIS (Germantown, Central: safest area, college, casinos)

[Xcaped NOLA]

Can anyone tell me where I can absolutely, positively get the BEST of the BEST Memphis Bar B Que? I know there is a festival this weekend(I won't be going). I am from LA. living in Little Rock(courtesy of H.Katrina) and will be traveling to Memphis probably for the last time so I wanted to taste Memphis' famous BAR B QUE...pork, chicken, brisket, sausage...anything. I read about some place called RENDEZVOUS. I'm a bar b que fiend! So if anyone can let me know where to go to stuff my face, I'd very much appreciate it. Thanks

[Pearlbob]

Rendevouz blows. I hate that place, and I know a lot of other locals that do too. The food isn't that good, it is overpriced, the service is terrible, etc etc. For what you are paying, and then you get to eat with plastic forks and get plastic wrapped Saltines with the meal? No thanks. It is NOT a place you can "stuff your face" with BBQ, unless you make an extra trip to the bank.

Interstate BBQ is probably the best in town; it's on the Food Network all the time.
Neely's is owned by the brother of the Interstate guy, so the food is similar.
Corky's is a chain now, so I'd pass on that.
Cozy Corner is good but sort of take-out mainly (tiny shack of a place).
Germantown Commisary I have heard is good.
Anything on Beale will have BBQ sandwiches and ribs (Pig, Rum Boogie, Blues City, etc).
For real fast food, Tops BBQ is great and definitely a place to stuff yourself.
Central BBQ is good and has a big outdoor area that is nice.
And the BBQ Shop is good, some of the friendliest service I've ever had, and is in a nice area of town.
Leonard's is (I think) a BBQ buffet open for lunch downtown.

That about sums it up. Are you coming for an overnight stay? You could easily eat at 3 or 4 of those places and taste for yourself.

[Xcaped NOLA]

thanks for the info. I'll be there for just a day trip from about 10am to about 6pm. We have a Corky's here too and the meat is always tough. Little Rock does not have much to offer in the way of BBQ in my opinion. Any good mom and pop type places?

[Pearlbob]

Depends on your def of 'mom and pop.'

BBQ Shop is small and has a neighborhood feel. Lots of locals, see the same faces everytime.

Cozy Corner is almost scary how low-class it is. It's good, people swear by it, and it's packed with businessmen, medical professionals, etc every lunch. But it's the type of place where you really don't want to think about the "cleanliness" of the place.

Central - you walk up, place an order, go sit at a table, and they bring it to you. Lots of college students from nearby.

Interstate I guess could be called mom and pop. Mind you, Memphis BBQ is generally a black thing, IE the owners, workers, etc are usually black. At least at the good places. When I think of 'mom and pop' I think of old white grandparents running the place, which just isn't so here.

Neely's is more of a sit down and order off the menu type of place.

Never been, but Gtown Commissary is probably more upscale, given the fact it's in wealthy Gtown. Not really "memphis bbq" like you think of.

Memphis BBQ: predominantly black run, in bad areas of town, not too clean, loud, smokey....etc etc. I'm definitely not trying to bad talk it, but the best food tends to come from the hole in the wall places, which also tend to not be the safest areas of town.

[Xcaped NOLA]

I know what you mean. Im from NOLA and its like that there too. Hole in the wall type places tend to have the best foods as compared to commercial establishments. I've read reviews about Interstate online and thery were about 97-98% highly rated, so thats good enough for me. Thanks again for the info. I'll be sure to go there.

[Pearlbob]

Oh oh, yes, you're from NOLA, you understand.

I always like to give a warning to people who come to town and don't realize that the best BBQ places are NOT sit down, upscale, touristy restaurants in good areas of town. Interstate isn't the best area, but it's on a major road that leads down to the casinos, heavily traffic-ed, so it's pretty safe. Lots of people eat there, I wouldn't suggest hanging out after dark though.

[GCSTroop]

Yeah Corky's was great years ago before it became franchised. Now, it's not too impressive but I heard the one downtown is still decent although I haven't been there in years. Germantown Commissary is pretty damn good. I just moved from Little Rock, and the best BBQ I had there was at a small little place in Gravel Ridge called "The Meat Shoppe" It's a family owned place, very small, and closes early. But, they have excellent ribs and BBQ sandwiches.

Other than that, I have to agree with Pearlbob's selection. And, yes, Rendezvous is WAY too overrated. Check out Beale.. I haven't been down there in 6-7 years but King's Palace had good BBQ but I can't verify a recent taste test.

[Pearlbob]

There is not a Corky's downtown. I don't know why people think that. I have never seen one downtown, and I lived there for years and still work there. ???

[NewToMemphisAgain]

To the person who said that GTown Commissary is more upscale and not really Memphis BBQ - you should really go check it out.

It's been around a lot longer than some of the other places around here. It's in a tiny little shack that used to be THE train stop in GTown waaaaaayyyy back in the day.

And it is very very very good. I just moved back to Memphis recently (I grew up here but have been gone for about 12 years) and it was the first place I went.

That said I've been to Central three times just in the last 10 days or so.

Lennard's is great too. Awesome lunch buffet!

[GCSTroop]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

There is not a Corky's downtown. I don't know why people think that. I have never seen one downtown, and I lived there for years and still work there. ???

Ah, not downtown. My apologies. I'd guess you'd say closer to midtown?? Whichever one the original is.