Barbecue in Memphis

Corkey's and Rendezvous both offer very good BBQ....another option is Interstate Bar-B-Que....Google their website.

Those are the big three!

Rendezvous has been there forever . . . ribs are "dry" style heavily laden with spice and smoked . . . very meaty . . St. Louis cut (as are almost all ribs in Memphis) . . . sides are nothing, negative atmosphere, plastic utensils, wonderful ribs.

Corky's is all over, with around three locations in Memphis (and dozens throughout the south) . . . personally, I think their "wet" is better than the "dry" . . . sides are much better than Rendezvous, tho I would rank ribs just barely below. They also have baby back's if you prefer them.

Interstate are the Neely's, who can be seen on Food Network on Saturdays . . . their bbq sauce recipe can be found on-line . . . personally, I'd rank them a close third, but you'll get arguments from others who would put them first.

My recommendation is to hit all three: get a rib appetizer at Corky's, head to Rendezvous for dinner, and Neely's for dessert (the best desserts of the three) with a rib chaser!

He always took us to The Commissary in the Germantown area. It's been around for over 25 years, and the building itself has been around forever.

http://www.commissarybbq.com/

Corky's is okay, but it's a chain. You can get it tons of places. If you're in Memphis, eat at a local Memphis joint.

I third or fourth or whatever Gus's. It's in a pretty bad area, is a little greasy inside, and not barbeque, but the food is great, the place is famous (made so by the locals, not the tourists), and it's a memorable experience.

1. Commissary is very good for pulled pork, but the other three have much better ribs. Actually, I feel Gridley's is really the best pulled pork, even better than the Commissary.

2. True, Corky's is a chain, but it's a Memphis chain! The original is on Poplar, and it grew slowly from there. They still watch over the product, and I would not discount it.

3. Gus's is also a chain by your definition. It's from Mason TN, with the Memphis location technically a branch of the original. No atmosphere, grungy decor (if you can call it that), but spectacular chicken. It's just a tad spicy (closer to Popeye's in taste, but not as breaded). Other dishes are awful: white grocery bread, mac & cheese from the 1950's, greasy fries, acceptable (barely) coleslaw, but you're there for the chicken.

One last comment:

BBQ is an "art", and as such the relative values are up to the viewer (eater). Top experienced palates can disagree on this one, but the big three have been recommended.

I think I do speak with some knowledge, as (1) we lived there for several years and (2) while living there my wife was on a team that won Memphis in May for pork shoulder.

We at at Corkys several years ago and absolutely loved it. To be honest..we were a little put off by Beale Street.. maybe we were just too tired to enjoy it.