Memphis-Kelvin's BBQ

Anyone ever heard od Paradise Pig in Memphis?They were here 10 years ago and disappeared. Had great dry ribs.

Hmm. What a coincidence. I took Northwest Air to New York this week and we landed in Memphis.

It was 8:30AM, but it was Memphis (!), so when I saw a Corky's BBQ joint in the terminal, I had a pulled pork sandwhich.
Stayed heavy on the belly all the way to Laguardia.

Airport food, Yuck!

Well, I can say that Kelvin's (as well as the Cozy Corner) are very fast when it comes to getting the food to the "lunch time" crowd... The Bar-B-Q shop (which I feel is the best in Memphis) is not as fast as they used to be, since they added the new addition on to their dining room...and they were kinda slow in the first place...but well worth the wait..
Interstate is in the middle somewhere,
It seems alot of these places are expanding on the dining areas but not on the staff....and as far as the wings at Kelvin's..luckily I was able to wait until they cooled off a bit and I would have to say they are some of the best I've had.
If any of you ever get the chance to visit Memphis, please take your time and try as many of these places as you can...The experience will be well worth it.

I was in Memphis last summer. I stayed 5 nights at the Pea Body for a sales convention. I'm not going to name names as I don't want to offend anyone, but boy did I pick the wrong BBQ joints to eat at, they we're not good. My favorite Q is in Rochester, MN believe it or not, John Hardy's.

Maybe you are not used to good, rich, Southern cookin. I cannot imagine going to more than 1 BBQ restuarant in Memphis and not finding good Q. I reckon you won't mind posting a couple names so as the rest of us don't go there and get took?

The best report on Memphis was our own Woodburner:

Woodburner's BBQ Tour

Some people don't like to name names. That's fine, we've posted several times about what's the best place in Memphis and named names.

I've gone to Memphis many times. Rendezvous is overrated, it's how they do their ribs -- they grill them hot and fast. Corky's is a successful chain, but it's a chain.

Memphis review

Well, beings the boss man named a name I will. I did eat at the Rendezvous, and it was mediocre. I wish I would have tried the Brazilian meat deal across the street instead. But the one I was really disappointed in was the A&R. I�d heard good things about it on roadfood.com. I wasn�t impressed at all. I did enjoy the ribs at Blues City.

Many of the joints,you need to pick the specifics to take away from the experience IMO.

Unless I did the Rendezvous for Fri/Sat lunch,I'd eat the pork sandwich and soak up the color and history.

The A & R on Elvis Presley usually has a solid pork sandwich and even the thick sliced smoked bologna on light bread is a nice addition.

They have fresh baked desserts and are on the way to the airport.

The other 50 places all have different merits to seek out.

Just my $0.02

Tony,
"My favorite Q is in Rochester, MN believe it or not, John Hardy's."

You like them better than Roscoe's??

Tony,

John Hardy's is a good customer of Cookshack. I eat there just about every time I am up that way...

Yep � I really didn�t care for Roscoe�s. I used to drive from Austin to Rochester almost every weekend for John Hardy�s, until my pants started getting to tight. I get the large combo platter half pork, half beef. Sauce on the side! I don�t like �goopy� Q. I�m a big fan of super hot food, I grow my own habaneros which I than dry in my smoker. Hardy�s has that Bad Boy sauce that will knock your socks off.

Stuart, I think Piggy Blues here in Austin, MN uses Cook Shack as well? In fact I purchased mine from them. My brother just ordered one up right from you guys a few months back. If your ever in Austin stop in and see us, we can get some lunch down there.

Steve Ross, who owns Roscoe's is a good friend and a great guy. I served on the board of the National Barbecue Association with him for years. If you go in his store right now you will see that he is conducting a drawing for a Smokette for National Barbecue Month. In all fairness to Steve he has won awards for his 'que. (He doesn't use a Cookshack, so we don't want that to get out.) :-)

Donna

I suppose I will have to give him another try! I remember the sauce being very red and thick, it�s just that I prefer a more spicy vinegar based sauce. You see SmokinOkie� I should have stuck to not naming names! Your getting me in all sorts of hot water�.I�ll have to promise to be nice from now on.

Hey I already sent an email to him warning him about you coming....

Nope, name dropping is okay as long as it's an honest opinion. Hey, not everyone likes MY Q.

I suppose I'll have to use an alias when I sign up for the free smoker!

I just returned from 5 days in Memphis. I went specifically to enjoy the Q. I found Neely's to be the best I had for ribs. I also went to the Germantown Commissary for their pulled pork sammich...damn tasty! But believe it or not, probably the highlight of the trip was a little hole in the wall called Gus' world famous Fried chicken. It was truly the best Fried Chicken I've ever had along with their homemade potato salad. The biggest dissapointment for me was the Rendezvous. I had dreamed of going there for years. They were probably the worst ribs I've ever tried to eat. Their sauce is so vinegary that I couldn't eat it. Their slaw was mustard based and totally inedible. I had their beef brisket which I must say was very good...but again slathered with that vinegary sauce. All in all, I must say the Rendezvous is a huge tourist trap. I didnt try the many corky's as Ive eaten their fare before and it is usually pretty good. Wanted to try new places and didn't find many I would return to. It was a good trip, but I don't hold Memphis on a pedestal like I used to when I thought of BBQ.

I�d like to go back and try Memphis again, But Kansas City is next. I have to go there this summer for business; I suppose I�ll stay an extra day or two. So what are the must go to places? Any stops off of I-35 from Austin, MN to Kansas City.

Tony, I'd start a new link, this was about memphis, and you're asking KC. You'll get more replies that way.

For me, there's a good link, below to a group who have done nothing but try to visit every joint in KC:

G.A.S. BBQ KC Restaurant Reviews

I worked on a project at Sprint for almost 2 years there. If I only had one to go back, I'd go to L.C.'s, the original hole in the wall place, where LC does his books out front at a table with the customers.

A real close 2nd would be Oklahoma Joe's.

I'd even recommend Fast Eddy's new place, but I haven't been.

There are some KC locals, they'll jump in with their favorites