germantown commisery...worth the drive!
http://www.commissarybbq.com/
Originally Posted by DallasRain
The Commissary is very, very good, however, I don't think it's any better than The Bar-B-Q Shop on Madison or Central BBQ (any location). Since I live downtown, it makes no sense for me to drive all the way out to Germantown unless the Commissary is two heads and four shoulders above the pack, and IMHO, it ain't.
Germantown Commisary is by far my absolute fave, but I would be open to sampling the others mentioned. I just don't care for Rendezvous... Cole slaw was meant to be made with mayo. Jmo.
Originally Posted by Ginger Doll
Well, for starters the Rendezvous doesn't slow smoke their ribs, they charcoal grill them (seasoned with Greek spices, which is a bit different from what you usually get anywhere else). They're ok, but most true barbecue aficionados don't accept anything as "barbecue" unless it's slow smoked. (Whenever I got asked about best barbecue here I used to name the Rendezvous as one of the places to try, and the people who went there reported back to me that they didn't like it; I've given up recommending it anymore. I'm sure that could get me deported from Memphis, but I got tired of the criticism for recommending it in the first place.)
Craig David Meek wrote the book on Memphis barbecue (literally, see:
Memphis Barbecue: A Succulent History of Smoke, Sauce & Soul). He also (used to?) blog on Memphis barbecue at "
Memphis Que".
Here's his post comparing The Rendezvous to one of his favorite places, Latham's in Jackson. And
here's his post on the Germantown Commissary, and whether it deserves its crown in the Memphis Most poll as "Best Ribs in Memphis" (TL;DR: It doesn't (sorry DR)).
One thing to do is read those posts for the information on some of the other BBQ places in Memphis, and they may give you some ideas for places to visit either during the remainder of your visit (I'm one of those folks who believes that too much barbecue is never enough), or on a future visit.
Personally, since I live downtown I find it too easy to just go to either The Bar-B-Q Shop or Central's downtown location. One thing The Bar-B-Q Shop has that no other Memphis barbecue joint has (that I know of) is an endorsement from Bob Fucking Dylan himself. So there.
Cheers,
bcg