139978 Sun Feb 05 03:53:36 -0800 2006 13 11 South 0 749035 I'm used to BBQ joints in Los Angeles, and the congloglomreation of many bbq styles into kind of one kind of hodepodge in LA, but anyways I'm digressing. What is the style of Memphis bbq? And what are a few of the best? I don't care if it's just a pit or smoker or merely just takeout just after very good cue. Also, is this pork based or beef based? I quite enjoy tri tip, beef ribs, and brisket, Lastly, what is the type of sauce unique to Memphis bbq??? Sun Feb 05 03:53:36 -0800 2006 0 Mister Mister. 1 749039 http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/bbq/ Give this blog a try. You'll find lots of info on Memphis Q here. Memphis is heavy into pork ribs and butt. The sauce is usually a tomato base and reletively heavy. The conflict of styles comes down to ribs and actually is somewhat racially divided. The traditional Memphis rib will be wet with sauce but The Rendevous is owned by a caucasian family and is known for it's "dry" ribs. As for me, I eat ribs at Central BBQ on Central in midtown and I eat sliced BBQ sandwiches at Paynes on Lamar. Sun Feb 05 18:16:52 -0800 2006 749035 0 Tim 2 749044 Tritip is a California thing and most likely grilled to a medium rare. Beef ribs would be an occasional Texas thing. More likely seen as pot roasted short ribs, in most parts of the country. As already mentioned Memphis might be the great pork rib town. There is a lot of good pork shoulder around,as well. It would be very unusual to find brisket in Memphis. Some of the chain restaurants might have some sliced bottom round. Corky's chain online store shows brisket packs for sale. That being said,I can think of at least 25 Memphis joints I would try before Corky's. Neelys menu shows deli trimmed beef for sale and beef ribs. IMO going to Memphis to eat beef,would be akin to going to a great seaside seafood market to find ham steak. Randal Cooper will probably come on and steer you to the good pork places in town. Tom Mon Feb 06 10:38:17 -0800 2006 749039 0 Tom-Fl 3 749061 thanks, what are some of the places that are better than corky's? Mon Feb 06 18:50:53 -0800 2006 749044 0 Mister Mister 4 749104 Just about anything that serves bbq not on a hot buffet line is better than Corky's, IMHO. My favorite is the BBQ Shop on Madison. FYI they do have beef for some unknown reason. They are my favorite due to the combination of atmosphere, good sandwich and really good ribs. Paynes on Lamar and A&R on Elvis Presly are tied for 2nd. The sandwiches are great at both places. Atmosphere not so. Get a fried pie at A&R. Rendezvous (against most knowledgeable opinions) is worth a trip because of the history and the outside chance you will get an unbeliveable rack of dry ribs. I would guess it's a 1/5 chance of a great rack. 2/5 chance of average and 2/5 chance of poor. Most people have fun there and it is a cool palce to eat, especially if you are downtown. The other downtown can't-miss place is Cozy Corner on North Parkway just east of Danny Thomas. Good traditional pork, but they smoke a lot of different animals. They are great people too. 5 great places. If you are getting outside of Memphis (particularly west to Arkansas or north to Missouri, I have 5 more). Leslie Kelly's blogs are the best source of memphis food info out there now. Highly recommended. Wed Feb 08 16:02:59 -0800 2006 749061 0 Tater 5 749109 thank you, i may be around memphis for a few days pretty soon. so i'll try to hit up at least a few bbq joints, also, anyone know besides bbq, what's a good restuarnat there in memphis, whether downtown, mid-city, or east memphis, or the slightly surroundings areas? also, anyone know's where there's some good nightlife areound there? lastly one last question, there's supposedly a really good indian fusion resturant in memphis? called something like raj or raji and the chef is a woman who might have lived in memphis for years, not sure. anyone know about thsi place? also, other can't miss quintessential resturants, whetehr run down or even sort of high priced? i'll probably go to a few bbq, a few fine dinging, a couple others, hoepfully really great hole-in-the walls, and maybe that raj place, and maybe another fine diniong place or two if they're any good? thanks for your great help. Wed Feb 08 21:48:05 -0800 2006 749104 0 Mister Mister 6 749112 Raji passed away two years ago. Her spirit and food are sorely missed. As for fine dining you'll find that Felicia Suzanne's downtown and Wally Joe's in East Memphis are the finest restaurants in the city. They have great decor and atmosphere, service, as well as excellent food and wine that sets the standard for fine dining in the bluff city. There are other well-know establishments but none of them have all the qualities of a highly rated first class fine dining experience. Encore downtown and Cafe 1912 in midtown are both excellent bistro experiences and won't break the bank. My Thanh and Saigon Le on Cleveland are excellent Vietnamese choices. Close to the hole in the wall scenario as for decor. Taqueria Guadalupana in East Memphis is the best authentic Mexican in town. No beer, no liquor just flourescent lights and great food. Asian Palace is a trek away from town but they have an authentic Chinese menu that's just like being in China. I lived in Hong Kong and Asian Palace is the only Chinese I'll eat in Memphis. Quetzal is a new coffee shop in town. It's on Union close to downtown. They roast their own coffee and have great breakfast as well as soups, salads and sandwiches. Open 7AM to 10PM. Highly recommended. Hope this helps. Wed Feb 08 22:35:34 -0800 2006 749109 0 Tim 7 749114 it does. tood bad about raji, someone mentioned her cookins as unbelievable just a couple weeks, when i mentioned a visit to memphis. for the fine dining places, you mentioned, are they restaurant unique to memphis, meaning does it incorporate local cuisine, or is more like what i can get in Los Angeles or New york city, if it is then I'll skip those, since i have eaten very vell in the french type restuarnats in those cities before. Besides the cue joints, is there a few places that are inherently unique to Memphis, once again, price does not matter nor does type of food. Like if you were visiting LA, i steer you toward: places like: langer's for unbeliebables pastrami. sushi nozawa for some of the best sushi anywhere. phillip's bbq for california style bbq. a couple places in the san gabriel valley for the most best, aand authentic chinese cuisines outside of china. carney's for a quintessential la chili dog. etc. etc. thanks again for the above rec's/answers. Wed Feb 08 23:27:15 -0800 2006 749112 0 Mister Mister 8 749140 Tim had excellent suggestions and is one of the few great non-Que memphis posts. That said, Memphis is known for que and anything else is a distant 2nd. Soul food quality is inconsistent here. There is not an above average fried catfish place that I know of (but there are plenty in North Mississippi within an hour or two of Memphis). 61 On Tour downtown tries to meld Memphis, New Orleans and soul food. They do a pretty good job. You can also find tamales (more of a Mississippi delta tradition) at a few places like Blues City Cafe. Most of these traditions that have been replicated in Memphis are a poor version of the originals that are generally in the Mississippi delta (Doe's in Greenville, etc). Burgers get a lot of press here due to Huey's and Dyer's. Both good places and better than anything in Atlanta. They aren't mind blowing though. IMHO, to get more regional cuisine, you need to hit the spots in N Mississippi or the Delta. (Lusco's in Greenwood, Crystal Grill in Greenwood, L&M (not regional but an amazing salumeria) in Oxford, Taylor Grocery in Taylor, Doe's in Greenville, etc). I could be forgetting something about Memphis. If so, hopefully someone will point it out. Fri Feb 10 12:03:26 -0800 2006 749114 0 Tater 9 749155 Tater is giving you a great overview of dining in the Mid-South. As stated, BBQ is the food of choice. As for what's unique to Memphis what he did leave out would be "Southern", "Soul" or "Home" cooking. This is unique to the south and you'll find a broad range of styles in Memphis. Two don't miss choices...mostly for lunch are Alcenia's and The Gay Hawk. Both establishments are downtown. One on the north end and one on the south. Both rough around the edges but the food is cooked with love just like the food most southerners grew up on. Alcenia's is "meat and three" and Gay Hawk is a buffet of stunning proportions. You'll find lots of fried choices, fried chicken, fried pork chops, fried catfish, fried okra and fried corn. Then you'll find vegetables cooked 'til they're gray but flavored with Emeril's favorite seasonsing...Pork Fat!!! So fine. At the Gay Hawk you'll usually find pig knuckles, back bones and/or pigs feet. Turnip greens and cornbread will be a staple and fruit cobblers and banana pudding are usually the finale. You won't find either of these places open past 7PM so definitely best for a BIG lunch. Sun Feb 12 22:11:57 -0800 2006 749140 0 Tim 2 749393 I have to disagree with this a little. I don't think the rib question is racial at all and it won't determine what kind of ribs are available given a particular part of town. You can get great wet and dry ribs regardless of location - It's not necessary to go to a mostly AA location for good wet ribs and vise-versa for dry. It's just a personal choice between sauce and dry seasoning. I been in BBQ places all over Memphis and sat next to AA, Asians, Cauc, etc. and have never seen a trend based on race as to what kind of rib they order. I'm fairly certain that the owners of Rendevous are Greek. Any rib house that serves ribs has sauce on the table. I get dry ribs at Rendevous and then sauce them myself - come to think of it - do they even serve wet ribs? I think (not sure) all their ribs come out dry and the sauce is up to you but I may be wrong about that - anyone know? Fri Feb 24 10:13:18 -0800 2006 749039 0 Angela 1 749063 Here Ya Go.........This Should take care of ya............... Link: http://www.southernfoodways.com/oral_history/tnbbq/M00_index.shtml Mon Feb 06 21:09:15 -0800 2006 749035 0 Ike! 1 749392 I haven't read the responses so this may be a repeat of what others have said but.....Memhis is all about the pork. You won't find any beef. The big debate in Memphis que is wet or dry. I prefer wet but that's me. The top contenders are Central BBQ, Kozy Korner and Rendevous. KK is a hole in the wall and has fantastic smoked game hens among other things. Rendevous is very Memphis and great for a visitor while having some outstanding ribs which hit your table about five minutes after you order. Central is famous as one of the best. Interstate BBQ is well-known as well but I've never been. For all the hype - Corky's is not good. They over parboil or tenderize or whatever those ribs. I find them mushy and usually end up getting intestinal distress from them. Any of the three I mentioned are consistant and good. If you want the Memphis experience then go to Rendevous. Fri Feb 24 10:05:58 -0800 2006 749035 0 Angela 1 749394 If you want non-que Memphis head down South Main to the Arcade. It's been there forever and is just basic good Memphis food. The Soul Cafe on Bealle is good. The Arcade was in some movie with Danny Devito - can't rember. Anyway, it's good. If Pie In The Sky is still in the back corner it's great non-traditional pizza. Fri Feb 24 10:20:10 -0800 2006 749035 0 Angela