Memphis BBQ Review...AKA the Best Idea of the Weekend

I make no secret that I think Memphis Barbecue is THE BEST barbecue in the whole wide world (aside from my hubby's of course).  I know that barbecue bias is regional and Memphis's style happens to be my favorite one. What is Memphis Barbecue?  They are most famous for their ribs, especially the dry ribs.  I am not a huge fan of ribs, but I love love love some pulled pork shoulder with some sweet Memphis style barbecue sauce.

One of my favorite ways to eat pulled pork shoulder is on Barbecue Nachos (pictured above).  If you've never had some you're missing out. I grew accustomed to having them all the time in when I lived in Memphis and was shocked when I moved to Alabama and everyone looked at me like I had 3 heads when I talked about it.  Lucky for me good old Huntingdon College liked to serve barbecue on the same day they had a nacho for lunch in the caf.  I credit myself with introducing the entire women's basketball team to the delicacy. I continued to enlighten Alabamians with this amazing dish when I found Corky's Pulled Pork in the freezer section at the grocery store...and just about lost my mind.  That's how I introduced Eric to it.  We were in college so he was not quite the grill master he is today and well we were much to busy to be concerned with smoking a pork butt all day long.  Eric loved it, as did his roommates.  Let's face it if you are in college and you're cooking for your boyfriend you also end up cooking for his roommates.

Now that we're grown-ups (I use that term lightly) we like to barbecue on the weekends and one of Eric's favorite things to smoke on his Big Green Egg is a Boston Butt. We love to eat it fresh but we really just look forward to barbecue nachos the next day. =)  Lately we've been skipping right to the nachos and have enlightened almost all of our friends and neighbors.  I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't like it.  The best part?  It's soooo easy to make: tortilla chips, pulled pork, cheese dip (not queso, just plain jane yellow cheese dip), Memphis-Style BBQ sauce, and jalapenos if you like that sort of thing.  Pile those on a plate in that order and zap it in the microwave and sprinkle a little BBQ seasoning on top.  I promise it's the best thing ever!

So yeah back to the BBQ we ate last weekend.  We went to what I would consider my top 3 picks for Memphis BBQ: Corky's, Charles Vergo's Rendezvous, and the Germantown Commissary and decided to do a little taste test to see which place we liked the best.  Disclaimer: this review was conducted by myself, Eric, Mom, and Dad and is in no way scientific.  We aren't food experts by any means, but we probably should be!

Up first was Corky's:

Corky's has been around for nearly 30 years and is one of the more popular BBQ joints.  They've been voted #1 BBQ in Memphis 22 times, have the most locations (9 in 4 states), plus you can purchase their ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and BBQ sauce in grocery stores around the southeast.  It has been featured on Food Heavens: Barbecue Wars on the Travel Channel, and if you drive by their original store on Poplar in Memphis you can smell the BBQ pit smoking several blocks away.....

Next we headed downtown to Revdezvous:

Charles Vergo's Rendezvous started out as a basement restaurant in a back alley that served ham and cheese sandwiches. One day Mr.Vergo found a charcoal pit in while cleaning out part of the basement and the rest is history.  Today the Rendezvous is one of the most famous BBQ places in Memphis.  Yes you read that right....in a back alley.  If it weren't for the crowds of people standing around in the alley you would not even know it was there.  They are known for their dry ribs and their unique vinegar-sweet cole slaw. We found out they make a mean brisket when we were there, too.  They've been in the same location since 1948 and some of their staff have been there for nearly that long.  They actually have several generations of families working there. They have also been featured on the Travel Channel's Food Heavens: Barbecue Wars, as well as Ribs Paradise. You can find their sauce in select store around the southeast and they will ship meat all over the country.

We finished up the weekend with some Commissary:

The Germantown Commissary is probably my favorite of all three.  I have a little bias because it's where we always ordered from when we lived there.  It's also the first place my parents ate at when they went down to look at houses.  They sat at a little table with maps trying to figure out where the heck they were going move us that summer.  Oh yeah and their BBQ is fantastic!  They've been in Germantown (right outside of Memphis) for just over 30 years in a store that's been there for almost 100 years. They have great ribs, pulled pork, classic coleslaw, baked beans (the kind with meat in them), and that sauce...I could drink it.  They've been featured on the Travel Channel's Food Paradise: Barbecue Paradise 2.  Their sauces and seasoning are harder to find in stores, but you can surely purchase it at the restaurant.

So which one was the best???  It all depends on what you're looking for.  Let me just preface this by saying that all three places have amazing food and delicious BBQ.  We were not disappointed by anything and if you go to any one of these restaurants you will be pleased with your meal.  We just wanted to see what we liked best from each place.  Low and behold we actually preferred a different thing from each location.

Best Ribs

Our favorite ribs were from Charles Vergo's Rendezvous.  They were seasoned with dry rub and cooked to perfection.  They were hands down our favorite ribs.  

Best Pulled Pork Shoulder

The top pulled shoulder honors went to the Germantown Commissary. I hate to say it but I knew this going in, but I kept my biases to myself until after we'd sampled all three.  They have the perfect smokey flavor and the meat is super tender.  I had at least 5 pulled pork sliders (on Hawaiian Rolls) on Sunday and would have eaten more if we had more meat.  

Best Sausage

By far the best sausage came from Corky's.  To be honest this was my first time having sausage at a barbecue place but it will certainly not be my last.  This smoked sausage was bursting with flavor and was really delicious.  It was probably the most lopsided contest of all with Corky's way out in front of the other two.

Best Sides

I had to throw this one in for fun. Once again each place had a side that was tops.  From Corky's it was the rolls....duh. From Rendezvous, the slaw.  They have a really unique tasting slaw that is sweet and tangy and delicious.  We figured it's some combination of BBQ sauce and apple cider vinegar that makes it so good.  And from Commissary. it was the beans.  Their beans are very saucy and have meat mixed in with it.  We also gave them bonus points for their slaw.  As far as "classic" coleslaws go, theirs was great.  

Best Sauce and Seasoning

We loved them all.  They are all really similar in taste, so if you like Memphis-style BBQ just pick one and you will be happy.  We picked up several while we were there. 

So to sum it up, it doesn't matter which BBQ place you go to because your taste buds will do a happy dance at whichever BBQ place you pick. Just make sure you go eat some!  =)

1 Year of our Hollow Puppy

I know I said that I would recap our BBQ experience today, but I realized yesterday that we have an anniversary/birthday to celebrate today, so BBQ will have to wait until tomorrow....I promise.

Today we're celebrating this little guy:

Today we have officially had our sweet Hollow pup in our lives for an entire year.  To think we've had him for an entire year is nuts.  It certainly doesn't seem that long.  But one year ago today a little scruffy pup and his sister came tearing through our backyard trying to play with Hawk and Peanut.  They'd been hanging around for a little while when Eric, not me ERIC, suggested we feed them.  I asked him if he was sure about it because everyone (except for my husband apparently) knows that if you start feeding a dog they usually don't leave.  I reminded him that once I get attached to something I don't let it go easily so I asked him one more time if he was sure he wanted to feed them......

That night they got a rug under the carport to sleep on and from then on they greeted me at the back door every morning waiting for their breakfast.  After they ate they'd take off and play in the woods all day, but they were usually lounging in the yard when I got home every evening.  We eventually started letting them inside in the evenings, but they always slept curled up together in their "house" in the carport.  This went on for about 5 months until Hollow's sister was hit by a car one day (she had a bad habit of chasing cars).  That day Hollow came inside for good.

Hollow curled up with his sister.  This was right after they started hanging out at the house.  

I am not saying that it's been easy on any of us.  His affinity for chewing up remote controls and the occasional shoe was nearly his demise.  But he always manages to win us over again with his crazy antics and his puppy snuggles.  I think he has been good for Hawk and Peanut, too.  They are both turning 6 this year which is middle age for dogs and having a puppy around the house seems to have increased their energy or at least their willingness to play.

We still have a way to go with our silly little boy.  He's still not comfortable with anyone besides Eric or I getting close to him, but we are seeing improvements.  I am pretty sure that if I was able to socialize Peanut, I will be able to succeed with him.  We've gone from hiding in the bedroom when people are over to playing in the living room with Hawk and Peanut while people are over.  I think it's only a matter of time before he will realize that people want to love on him.  Once Peanut figured out that people only wanted to love on him and scratch his belly he never looked back.  My once shy fur-child will now go up to random people at my house and bark at them so they will pick him up and pet him.

So to our hyperactive, food snarfing, somersault rolling, under the cover-sleeping, cuddle-loving, tv-watching, burrowing, daredevil, Hollow-Man.  We love you so much and we're so glad you decided to let us be your family.

Never a dull moment with this one!

Memphis Weekend Recap

I don't even know where to start with this weekend.  It was completely jam packed and SO. MUCH. FUN!  I am still not sure how we packed so much into just 3 days.  I guess we'll start from the beginning and go from there.

My weekend actually started on Thursday night.  We had a graduation/going off to college get-together at our house for a family friend's daughter. Eric grilled burgers, we sat by the pool, and we even had LIVE music.  We know a guy who plays around town and he graciously agreed to come play for a couple of hours.  It made for a great night!  Because of said get-together I decided last week that I would be taking Friday off. Call it a hunch, but I figured that things would wind down waaaaay past my bedtime and I was right.  I think we had everything put up and everyone on their way by midnight, so yeah 5:30AM was NOT happening.

                                      Eric and I                                                       Lotsa Burgers.....they were all gone by the end of the night

However 6:30AM did happen.  There was no sleeping in for this gal because I had to give my car a bath and get her oil changed so we could hit the road for Memphis!  We road tripped it up to see my parents this past weekend and had a blast!  We pulled into town around 3pm and while Dad and Eric headed out to hit some golf balls, Mom and I decided to take advantage of tax-free shopping weekend. We found a few things that we could not live without and then came home to get dinner ready....our only non-bbq meal of the weekend...seriously...tomorrow there will be a full Memphis BBQ roundup, so don't miss it!

These were the three places we sampled indulged in.

Saturday morning the boys headed out early to golf again, so Mom and I took a nice long walk around their neighborhood and then hit up a local antique mall warehouse. It was seriously one of the biggest antique places I have ever seen.  To describe it as overwhelming is an understatement.  We spent nearly 2 hours in it and only made it halfway through, but we still found some really cool stuff there!  I got some old books and some old-timey spectacles.  My Mom has had a stack of books with some spectacles on them in their house for years and I have always loved how it looks, so now I have a set of my own!   Luckily when we were about antiqued out the boys called and said they were ready for lunch, so we checked out and headed home.

Lunch on Saturday was Memphis BBQ Round 1:  Corky's Barbecue.  We opted for the Collierville location instead of the Memphis location because we were hungry and knew the latter would be packed. As usual, Corky's did not disappoint. We got a taste of everything: ribs, pulled pork shoulder, sausage, beans, slaw, and rolls. Oh those rolls.  They're some of my favorites in the whole wide world.

After lunch we headed down to Beale Street to get our fill of blues and some beer.  We stopped at a few places including B.B. Kings, Beale Street Tap Room, A. Schwab, and Jerry Lee Lewis's Club on Beale. We made a pit stop at the Peabody on our way to dinner and ended up getting to see the Peabody Ducks go back to their "penthouse" on the roof.  If you go to Memphis it's worth stopping to see.  Every morning the Duckmaster marches the ducks from the roof to the fountain in the middle of the hotel where they swim/sleep/play all day long.  Every evening he rounds them up marches them to elevator and takes them back to the roof.  It's hilarious to watch!  Make sure you get there early though because the lobby gets packed quickly.You can read all about the Ducks and the history of the Peabody Hotel HERE.

After the Ducks we walked across the street to our dinner destination.  A little restaurant the basement of a building whose entrance is in a back alley called the Rendezvous.  It is one of the more famous BBQ places in Memphis and has tons of history behind it. Once again we had ribs, pulled pork shoulder, sausage, beans, and slaw, but his time we also had brisket and chicken.  I think we had every meat they serve except for the lamb....we're not exactly lamb fans.  Dinner was so so good and since we were completely full we ended up heading back the to burbs.  We took Eric by our old house and my old high school so he could see where I spent my pre-teen and teenage years and we all crashed when we got back home.

Part of the Memphis Skyline looking at the Mississippi River from the top of the Peabody and Eric and I on Beale Street...such a fun day!

1. The Peabody sign from the top of the Peabody

2. The Peabody Ducks just swimming the day away in the fountain

3. Mom and Dad at the Peabody Fountain

4. B.B. Kings

5. Mom and I at the Peabody Fountain

6. The Peabody Ducks in their Penthouse

7.  Only in Memphis....Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chip flavored chocolate bar

Sunday the boys went golfing again so Mom and I ran some errands to pick up some Memphis staples that I can't get in Alabama.  I do realize that I have gone 10 years without these items, but now that I can get them I need them in my kitchen at all times.  We decided to have BBQ one last time before we headed home and picked up some from the Germantown Commissary which is one of my absolute favorites.  I am sure it's partially nostalgic since that's where we always got BBQ from when we lived there the 1st time, but their food is just so darn good! I love it!

Our assortment of BBQ sauces and rubs and our collection of Pancho's Cheese Dips and Salsa.

We packed up the car and headed home after lunch and pulled into town around 7pm Sunday night.  The puppy dogs were so happy to see us and we were glad to see them too. We finished off our weekend with leftover BBQ (what else?) and a family walk around the neighborhood.

I guess you could say this past weekend capped off our summer fun because today is the official start of football season. For the next 6 months one or both of us will have practice or a game every afternoon.  While I am excited about new seasons and I adore the football/basketball atmosphere, I am going to miss the ability to pick up and leave for the weekend on a whim.  We have certainly taken advantage of that this year.  I guess when you know you only have a certain window of time to do things like that you learn to take advantage of it and that we did.  We definitely went out with a bang this year!

Embarking on #4

I am pumped about today!  #1 because it's my Friday, nuff said  =). #2 because we're having a going-off-to-college party at our house tonight for a family friend that will consist of pool time, hamburgers on the grill, and live music...what what?! and #3 because we're headed to Memphis tomorrow!  I cannot wait!

As of today Eric and I are officially embarking on our 4th year of marriage. That seems like a really long time when I see it written out, but time has flown by and I can hardly believe it's been that long.  Of course we celebrated our anniversary yesterday.  We went out to dinner at The Pub, which is actually the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner.  We had an amazing dinner.....spinach artichoke dip with the best pita chips I have ever eaten, salad, fried shrimp and asparagus for me, and shrimp and grits plus some fried oysters for Eric.  However we did our best to contain ourselves and were able to enjoy some frozen yogurt afterward.  We don't really get each other anniversary presents.  For our first anniversary we bought a table and chairs for the pool, last year we both got new running shoes, and this year.....lounge chairs for the pool deck!  Exciting I know. All of the pool stuff is on sale right this time of year so it just makes sense to purchase something like that since we lust over pretty pool furniture all summer long. =)

I am ashamed to say that these are the only 2 pictures I got from last night.  The pub was too dark to take any pics inside and it was raining when we left the restaurant, so I don't have a picture of us....oops.  Let me tell you about that little large bowl of fro yo goodness on the right.  If you ever venture into a frozen yogurt place and you see Sea Salted Caramel Pretzel flavored yogurt on the wall, RUN to the machine and get all of the fro yo your bowl can handle.  Then go over to the toppings bar and load on some mini-reeces.....your taste buds will Riverdance the whole time you are eating it.  Long story short, it's amazing.