Memphis Restaurants - An Exchange Between Ben Meeks and the Weekend Grillers

Ben's First Letter to The Weekend Grillers about Memphis Restaurants

Hello.

I read your comments about Memphis Restaurants and felt compelled to let you know that you are missing out on some very good barbeque. Take it from a local that loves barbeque.

I will limit my suggestion to two places that you should try.

First is the Bar-B-Q Shop, 1782 Madison Avenue in Midtown. The sauce is unbelievable and the meat is cooked to perfection. You can try anything, but you MUST try the Combo Plate which is under the appetizers section of the menu. It is cheddar cheese cubes with polish sausage and fried bologna covered with their sauce. I will not try to describe it. Just try it and try not to order another one. I recommend the ribs and pork dinner as an entre.

My second suggestion is the Germantown Commissary. This is in the city of Germantown at 2290 Germantown Rd. It is not a commissary anymore, just a barbeque restaurant. I recommend a chopped pork sandwich here. They have really good banana pudding if you are in the mood for dessert.
 

Ben Meeks

The Weekend Grillers' Reply about Memphis Restaurants

Ben,

Thank you for your letter and interest in The Weekend Grillers.

I'm assuming by the memphis restaurants you mentioned that you've read my article "Memphis Barbeque - Seven Restaurants in Seven Days" (you mention a couple of stops that are in the article and not yet on the website). This article has been VERY successful for me and has been turning up all over the internet. People do LOVE your hometown and BBQ. If you have not read it -- here it is from Ezine Articles -- Memphis Barbeque - Seven Restaurants in Seven Days

Now as to your letter -- First THANK YOU for writing. It is always good to hear from someone who enjoys our work.

Second, Thank you for the recommendations. Jamie and I are planning a trip to Memphis in the spring to eat BBQ. (I love saying that to people who ask -- especially on the plane... "Why are you going to Memphis?" "To eat BBQ...and you?" They always look so envious!") We will DEFINATELY try out the places that you have mentioned.

As to my picks -- On my recent trip I was limited to the downtown/Beale Street area because of time and lack of a car. I ate at 5 Memphis restaurants I could walk to or ride the trolley to easily and then rounded out my "week of BBQ" for the article with a couple of places (Interstate and Corky's) I had tried before. The Rendezvous was my favorite. I guess because being a sauce guy I was so surprised by how good the dry ribs were. I was also surprised that some place that famous was actually good. That is not always the case.

Silky O'Sullivan's was a nice surprise. Funny story -- Somehow this place had escaped me in my research before visiting Memphis. We had had BBQ a couple of night and some of the group wanted something else. WHY? I don't know -- but being the team player I said sure. So one of the girls picked Silky's because she "loves Irish food". Huh? Not sure myself exactly what Irish food is. Hagis maybe. Anyway I got quite the laugh when we all entered and it was a BBQ Place!

Cozy Corner was recommended to me by Michael Stern of RoadFood. When I got down to Memphis I asked our Instructor, Kim Williams, a Memphis Native, where to eat and the first place she said was Cozy Corner. I was not disappointed at all.

Now as to your picks -- Michael also speaks highly of the Germantown Commissary and has it listed on his Roadfood website. And I LOVE banana pudding. Thank you for that tip.

Never heard of the Bar-B-Q Shop but absolutely will try it. I saw the cheese cubes on a couple of other menues (Blues City, I think) and have never seen those before. Is that a Memphis specialty? My friend Chuck (in the picture with me on the website) talked a lot about Midtown and told me that he will take me there when I come back down.

If you are up for it why don't you join us? Jamie and I love to talk BBQ and would love to have you. Just let us know if you want to join us and I will let you know when we are coming down. Probably be in end of Jan. first of Feb. (Note from Mark -- For various reasons I did not make it to Memphis this Spring, but the next time I go I will post it in advance here on The Weekend Grillers and in The Weekend Grillers Blog and anyone else who would like to join us and eat some BBQ at these Memphis Restaurants just write. We would love to have you!)

Hope to hear from you soon and see you in Memphis,

Mark

Ben's Second Letter to The Weekend Grillers about Memphis Restaurants

The Bar-B-Q Shop is the best in Memphis in my opinion, and I have been to Rendezvous, Cozy Corner, Interstate, Corky's, Payne's, Central, A&R, Neely's and on and on. Just make sure you go to the Bar-B-Q Shop next time you go to Memphis.

Thanks for your reply. Yes my e-mail was a response to your article.

I would like to join you and your friend at the Bar-B-Q Shop for some good barbeque talk. Just let me know when you will be coming into town and I will join you.

As far as the Bar-B-Q Shop goes, I would like to touch on two points that you mentioned. One is sauce. You said you are a sauce guy. Well I am a sauce guy too, and the only way I know how to describe Bar-B-Q Shop sauce is the perfect mix of tangy and sweet all in one. I don't know how they do it, but it is just dang good. It is brown in color, however it is not runny like heavily vinegar based sauces that look brown. But, they still know how to cook the meat. Secondly, the reason why I believe the Bar-B-Q Shop is not as popular as some of the other places around town is due to the fact that it is not on one of the major thoroughfares through Memphis. It is on Madison Ave. in Midtown. Madison is by no means a small street, but being Midtown it has more of a neighborhood feel and there is not nearly as much traffic as Poplar Ave., Third St., or downtown where some of the other Memphis restaurants you mentioned are located.

I didn't think that the sausage and cheese plate originated here, but maybe it did.

Two more things... Have you ever been to the Memphis in May World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest? It is huge, has been on the Food Network many times and it makes the entire downtown smell like a barbeque pit. It is one heck of a party also.

Also, have you see the website Southern Foodways History? It has some really good information on Memphis barbeque. Southern Foodways Alliance is part of a center for the study of Southern culture at the University of Mississippi. Anyway, there is some good reading on there if you like the history and other things of barbeque.

Ben

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