Tag: Memphis barbecue

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Let the Good Times Grill

Fire flames on black background

May means barbecue in Memphis. It’s like something comes over this city. This year we have two whole barbecue festivals on the same weekend: Memphis in May’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the new SmokeSlam. (How will Memphis eat so much barbecue?) Our food writer Michael Donahue profiled two barbecue joints in his food column this week: Pollard’s Bar-B-Que and Jimbo’s Brickhouse BBQ (see page 25). He rarely ever does a double-feature, but the barbecue got to him, it pulled at him. (How did he eat so much barbecue?) And then the writers at the Flyer simultaneously started craving barbecue — like some sort of supernatural phenomenon — and all they could think about was barbecue, barbecue, barbecue. Or is it barbeque? BBQ? Bar-b-que? Our editors argued; tears were shed. Barbecue was expensed, for the sake of journalism. We had to capitalize on this madness and make a whole barbecue issue. We had no choice; we had to share what we learned. So please read about the barbecue places and dishes that have made us go mad with gluttony. Join us, won’t you?

Arnold’s Smokehouse (Photo: Bruce VanWyngarden)

Arnold’s Smokehouse

Located in the Castalia Heights neighborhood, a few blocks behind the Kellogg’s plant, Arnold’s Smokehouse is off the beaten path, but well worth the effort to find. It’s in a non-pretentious building, hard by some railroad tracks, making it clear Arnold’s isn’t about atmosphere; it’s all about the food. And the food is very good.

The owners are sister and brother Ivy and Shanon Arnold, and they have each created their own extensive menu. Ivy’s is vegan, and features creative smoked ingredients including jackfruit, cauliflower, mushrooms, grilled veggies, tomatoes, greens, pasta, gumbo, and, of course, tofu. Shanon’s menu is more traditional and meat-friendly. Both are stellar and varied, with some ambitious and unexpected offerings. But this story is about barbecue, so we went the more traditional route.

We started with the cauliflower puffs and green beans as sides, and went with the pulled pork sandwich and pulled pork fajitas as our main dishes. Everything was superb. In fact, I’d rank both the sandwich and the fajitas as among the best I’ve eaten in my 30 years here in Barbecue-Ville. Seriously delicious food, y’all.

A little logistical advice: Because of the varied menu, I suspect, our wait time was around 30 minutes after ordering. It wasn’t unpleasant. We chatted with Willie Arnold, the father of the owners, and some of the patrons and watched an episode of Martin, but next time, I’ll probably call in our order ahead of time or use DoorDash. However you do it, you’d be wise to give Arnold’s Smokehouse a try.

— Bruce VanWyngarden

2019 East Person Avenue, 901-922-5950

Payne’s BBQ Tacos at Molly’s La Casita (Photo: Chris McCoy)

Payne’s BBQ Tacos at Molly’s La Casita

Most of the other restaurants in this story are devoted to barbecue. Molly’s La Casita is not. It’s a Midtown staple, long known for its hearty Tex-Mex fare, including some of the best refried beans you will ever experience. One of the newest additions to the menus fits into the Memphis barbecue story. It’s a collaboration between two Memphis culinary institutions.

“We bought the restaurant about three years ago,” says Jessica Cornell, owner of Molly’s La Casita. “We were just ordering our pork through one of the vendors. I was like, we’re in Memphis. We have so many barbecue options that are made locally. We should try to do something with a local restaurant. Ron Payne is a regular customer. He comes in here once a week and I approached him and asked him what he thought about us using his barbecue pork for our tacos. He thought it was a great idea. So now that’s what we do. It goes in the pork tacos and our pork tamales.”

The Payne’s Pork Tacos differ from the classic pork tacos only in the protein. The dinner portion is two tacos, served with soft tortilla or crunchy shell, with a sprinkling of onion and cilantro. The shredded, slow cooked pork barbecue elevates the dish way beyond the average taco. It’s a match made on Madison Avenue, which is kind of ironic, given that Molly’s original location was on Lamar Avenue, just around the corner from Payne’s.

“Everyone loves them,” says Cornell. “We sell out of the pork all the time. Every time he [Ron Payne] comes, he has to bring us more pork.”

— Chris McCoy

2006 Madison Avenue, 901-726-1873

Eddie “Bossman” Patterson (Photo: Michael Donahue)

Bossman Pit Stop

Eddie “Bossman” Patterson’s logo is “Come Get Lost in the Sauce.” It’s on the back of the T-shirts for his Bossman Pit Stop.

And that’s easy to do. I recently tried one of Patterson’s pork barbecue sandwiches for the first time. There’s so much going on with those delectable flavors. I asked him if it had buffalo sauce in it. He says no. He uses Cattlemen’s barbecue sauce as a base and then adds his own ingredients.

A native of Tunica, Mississippi, who grew up in Memphis, Patterson tells me he learned how to barbecue from his mother and grandmother. He also learned barbecuing when he worked at the old Papa Chuck’s BBQ on Getwell Street. Papa Chuck’s later moved to the Airways location, which Patterson bought a year after the owner died.

The NBA player Antonio Burks gave him his nickname 19 years ago, Patterson says. “He said I was ‘the boss’ in barbecue. He called me ‘The Bossman.’” They both attended Booker T. Washington High School, he says.

Patterson says he barbecues every day. He goes to bed at 4 a.m, takes his grandson to school the next morning, and then at some point starts barbecuing. “I barbecue for eight hours, put it to the side, and let it do its own thing.”

The secret to good barbecue? “Cook it slow in its own juices.”

Patterson, who also does catering for businesses and events and also operates a food truck, says he eats barbecue every day. “I have to test it to make it right.”

His wife, Patricia, isn’t too happy with him not getting enough sleep, Patterson says. “She’s the ‘Bosslady.’”

— Michael Donahue

2251 Airways Boulevard, 901-743-5426

BBQ Tofu Nachos at RP Tracks (Photo: Abigail Morici)

BBQ Tofu Nachos at RP Tracks

I’ll be honest with y’all because that’s what journalism is all about: honesty. I wasn’t looking forward to this issue because I don’t eat meat; therefore, I don’t eat barbecue. So I was planning on playing hooky and just not writing anything for this cover story — not because I’m a slacker but because I’m picky (I swear I’m not just saying that to keep my job). But then I remembered that I once heard that RP Tracks had BBQ Tofu Nachos, and I eat tofu and I eat tortilla chips. Have I eaten them together? No, but, hey, I have a job to do.

So I moseyed on down to RP Tracks — which, no, isn’t a barbecue joint, I’ve been informed, but it’s a place where this non-barbecue-eater can eat some barbecue, so deal with it. To my surprise, the menu has quite a few barbecue tofu options — the nachos plus a quesadilla and a sandwich — so I had choices for barbecue which, normally, I don’t. And that was kinda nice (and they have other barbecue meat, but I don’t care about that).

I stuck with the nachos for my visit, and they did not disappoint. They came topped with cheese (good), lettuce (good), jalapenos (I didn’t eat), and sour cream (good). I got the black bean chili on the side because, like I said, I’m picky and just don’t like black bean chili, but my boyfriend does and he gave it a thumbs-up. Now, for the pièce de résistance, the barbecue tofu — the rating? Pretty dang good. Cooked just right — not chewy, not mushy, perfect, dare I say. Since I’ve never had “real” barbecue, I can’t make any comparisons, but the flavor was like barbecue chips, especially when you put it on a tortilla chip, which, duh, makes sense. (That was an embarrassingly late-in-life epiphany for me.)

All in all, with this being my first foray eating barbecue in Memphis, I’d say RP Tracks serves up a great vegetarian/vegan/pescatarian option. Try it. I did. And this picky eater liked it.

— Abigail Morici

3547 Walker Avenue, 901-327-1471

Cozy Corner (Photo: Alex Greene)

Cozy Corner

When I dine at Cozy Corner, my longtime go-to barbecue sandwich joint, I think one thing: savory. While many of the slow-cooked meats around town have flavor profiles leaning more towards a vinegary edge or a sweet edge, I feel that Cozy Corner approaches the great quality recognized by Japanese culture: umami. Yes, there is a very subtle sweetness to their sauce, balanced with an equally subtle touch of vinegar, but those are mere elements in a whole that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.

That earthy, slow-roasted whole comes through in every delectable bite of a Cozy Corner barbecue sandwich, complemented with a bit of slaw, of course. Unlike many joints offering pulled pork, the meat here is thinly sliced, but the difference in texture matters little to this diner. It’s the flavor profile that’s key. And that’s also true of Cozy Corner’s ribs.

Served (of course) with slices of the whitest of white breads, the meat on these ribs practically falls off the bone. Perhaps one key to that is the Chicago-style smoking technique they use, with the coals placed a bit further from the grill. Starting the meat on the lowest rack and then progressively moving upward increases its time in that luscious smoky environment.

Aside from their classic ribs and sandwiches, Cozy Corner is also famous for their whole Cornish hens, whole chickens, and barbecued bologna sandwiches. But it’s at Thanksgiving that they really shine: My family always pre-orders a whole smoked turkey from them that never disappoints.

— Alex Greene

735 North Parkway, 901-527-9158

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On the Queue for the Weekend

Barbecue smoke plumed blue and beautiful (and mouth-watering) over Liberty Park Wednesday and another will rise Thursday right on the river.

Two barbecue festivals do it low and slow this year in Memphis. The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest (WCBCC) opened to the public Wednesday. SmokeSlam, the brand-new festival, was slated to open doors at Tom Lee Park Thursday afternoon.

The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest returns to Liberty Park. (Photo: Memphis In May via Facebook)

Everyone used to just call the WCBCC “Barbecue” or “Barbecue Fest.” Time will tell what shorthand or nickname will arise with two contests in town at the same time.

One thing is the same, though. Memphis in May has attracted some of the biggest, most-winning teams in barbecue. The roster shows Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q competing in shoulder. Barbecue celebrity Myron Mixon’s Jack’s Old South team will compete in whole hog. Sweet Swine O’ Mine is back cooking shoulder.

In all, Memphis in May boasts about 130 teams from 22 states and five foreign countries. All of them compete in the traditional categories of ribs, shoulder, and hog, as well as hot wings, sauce, and “Anything But Pork.” Winners will take home a share of $150,000 in prize money.

Down on the river, SmokeSlam’s three-day event promises a “fan-first” experience. This means barbecue, of course, but also fans can shop the National Barbecue & Grilling Association (NBBQA) BBQ Bazaar, a central marketplace with a wide array of products from celebrity chefs and other curated goods. The marketplace will also feature live demos from big-name pitmasters like Carey Bringle, Thyron Mathews, Ray Sheehan, Melissa Cookston, and more.

Other high-profile pitmasters will show their stuff at the B&B Charcoal: Live Fire Extravaganza. This will feature demos and live-fire samples from pros like Al Frugoni (Open Fire Cooking), Derek Wolf (Over the Fire Cooking), and others.

The biggest buzz around SmokeSlam in Memphis has been the music lineup. It includes Tone Loc, Young MC, War, The Bar-Kays, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. Every night ends with a fireworks show.

SmokeSlam attracted some heavy-hitting teams, too: 10 Bones BBQ from Nesbit, Memphis-loved caterers Hog Wild BBQ, and Nashville’s barbecue-famous Peg Leg Porkers. In all, nearly 60 teams will compete. They’re mostly from the Memphis region but the contest pulled in teams from South Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona, and elsewhere.

SmokeSlam boasts the biggest purse in barbecue competition history. Teams will share $250,000 in prize money. 

— Toby Sells

World Championship Barbecue Cooking
Contest, Liberty Park, Wednesday-Saturday, May 15-May 18, $15.00-$549, memphisinmay.org

SmokeSlam, Tom Lee Park, Thursday-Saturday, May 16-May 18, $15.13-$544.74, smokeslam.com  

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Mexico in Memphis

The Mexico in Memphis family (Photo: Michael Donahue)

Mexico in Memphis? Think barbecue. Then think Mexican food.

The smoked meat — brisket, chicken, and pork — tacos Tim Shirley sells in his Mexico in Memphis food truck are “Memphis style,” says the cook, who, along with his wife Angelica, owns the business.

His Memphis-centric fare also can be found at events inside Agricenter ShowPlace Arena. As sole vendor for Agricenter International, Tim, 50, sells barbecued nachos, barbecue sandwiches, and smoked meat quesadillas — all of which he also sells on the food truck — as well as turkey legs.

“It’s a smaller menu,” Tim says. “It’s all quick food and the kind of food people enjoy for events like that. … I’m not claiming it’s 100 percent classic Mexican food. We take the Mexican dish and, basically, try to respect the soul of the dish by having pico de gallo and homemade salsa. We try to stay true to the Mexican flavors and Memphis smoked meat at the same time. Our slogan is ‘Memphis Smoked Meats, Fresh Mexican Flavors.’”

Tim got the idea when he remembered what his sons ate growing up: “Leftover barbecue meat stuffed in a quesadilla for breakfast or lunch.” He barbecued the meat and Angelica prepared the leftovers. “We also ate leftover barbecue meats in tacos and things like that.”

He got into barbecuing after calculating how much they spent eating out. “That led to experimenting with trying to recreate at home what we enjoyed at restaurants. … I got into barbecue and started going to barbecue joints across Memphis. And it became an obsession to go to as many barbecue places as I could.”

After Tim started his own blog, Memphis Barbecue Guide, he discovered more than 200 barbecue places just in Memphis while visiting “roadside pits and bars and really, any place that had real pit barbecue.”

A native Memphian, Tim says he got into Mexican cooking through Angelica, who was born in Mexico City. Her family taught him how to cook during visits to Mexico. The women let Tim join them in the kitchen and cook fried corn cakes, or sopes, topped with various ingredients. The men taught him how to grill steak tacos and fried fish tacos outdoors. Tim also tried the fare at “little roadside taco shops, taquerias, panaderias, and torterias throughout the region.”

Recreating these experiences when he got home “sort of morphed into the fusion stuff as well. Leftover smoked meats and making tamales and quesadillas.”

Tim, who was majoring in business management at Southwest Tennessee Community College, changed his major to hospitality management after the school opened its Culinary Institute. “Around this time I was really into this barbecue thing and Mexican cooking.”

Tim, who did his internship at Hog & Hominy restaurant, says, “I was going to all these barbecue contests, writing articles, and taking pictures for my blog. And I was cooking at home as well. A ‘backyard chef’ kind of thing. Experimenting.”

In 2020, while working as a corrections officer sergeant with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department, he began operating a food truck on the side for family events. “In 2022, I left the jail and opened the food truck full-time.”

He uses smoked brisket in his tacos. “That would be our replacement for the carne asada, meat cooked over hot coals like on a grill, or beef barbacoa, meat slow cooked underground with hot coals. It’s all about getting that smoked flavor in the beef. But we still have the pico de gallo, homemade salsa, lime, and cilantro, which are all classic taco condiments.

“A little more Memphis would be our Memphis smoked pork taco. That’s meant to be like a barbecue sandwich in a taco. ”

Tim will still be using the Mexico in Memphis food truck, but he will be “focusing on the concessions” at ShowPlace Arena. “As this business grows, we’ll be sending the truck out in coming months.”

People need to follow Mexico in Memphis on Facebook to find locations, he says.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Memphis Chefs Personalize Barbecuing: Part 1

Barbecue sushi from Poke Paradise (Photo: Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh)

If you’re a Memphis chef, chances are you’ve thought about creating some kind of barbecue. Or maybe you already have.

But what would be your “signature” barbecue? Even if the idea is still in your imagination?

Tamra Patterson, chef/owner of Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe: “If Chef Tam created her style of barbecue/meat, it would be barbecue catfish stuffed with a barbecue jambalaya. No matter what I cook, I always have to infuse my love of Cajun food and Cajun culture.”

Jonathan Magallanes, chef/owner of Las Tortugas: “My style would be twice-cooked for an extra texture. First, braised like carnitas with whole orange, bay leaf, lard, lime, and green chile. Then flash-fried in peanut oil. At Tops Bar-B-Q, I ask for extra dark meat on the sandwich. That bark and meat crust is divine. Then I would use a chipotle salsa. Pork is braised in a huge copper kettle. Chipotle, cilantro, lime, and onion for garnish. I like to do the whole rack of ribs this way, or shoulder. Crispy pork is the best pork, as it accentuates and concentrates the porcine flavor.”

Mario Grisanti, owner of Dino’s Grill: “I make my own barbecue sauce, but I make it sweet. I would make a beef brisket and smoked pork barbecue lasagna with layers of meats, mozzarella cheese, etc. Thin layers of each covered in barbecue sauce.”

Chip Dunham, chef/owner of Magnolia & May: “One of my favorite barbecue dishes I’ve created is our Tacos con Mempho. I smoke my own pork shoulder for 12 hours and serve it on two corn tortillas with American cheese melted between them, avocado salsa, and tobacco onions. At brunch, we simply just add a scrambled egg and it’s a breakfast taco. Another one of my favorites was our barbecue butternut squash sandwich. We roast butternut squash and toss it with some Memphis barbecue sauce. It’s a vegan sandwich that satisfies the biggest meat-eater.”

Kelly English, chef/owner of Restaurant Iris and The Second Line: “If I were to try to put my own fingerprints on what Memphis already does perfectly, I would play around with fermentations and chili peppers. I would also explore the traditions of barbacoa in ancient Central American and surrounding societies.”

Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh, Poke Paradise food truck owner: “I made a roll with barbecue meats a long time ago. Made with Central BBQ ribs. I made them plenty of times when I hung out with my barbecue friends. I did it in my rookie years. Inside is all rib meat topped with rib meat, barbecue crab mix, thin-sliced jalapeño, dab of sriracha, furikake, green onion.”

Armando Gagliano, Ecco on Overton Park chef/owner: “My favorite meat to smoke is pork back ribs. I keep the dry rub pretty simple: half brown sugar to a quarter adobo and a quarter salt. I smoke my ribs at 250-275 degrees using post oak wood and offset smoker. … The ribs are smoked for three hours and spritzed with orange juice and sherry vinegar every 30 minutes. After three hours, I baste with a homemade barbecue sauce that includes a lot of chipotle peppers and honey. Wrap the ribs in foil and put back on the smoker for two hours. After that, remove from the smoker and let rest in the foil for another hour. They should pull completely off the bone, but not fall apart when handled.”

FreeSol, owner of Red Bones Turkey Legs at Carolina Watershed: “I am already doing it with the turkey legs. We are smoking these legs for hours till they fall of the bone. … We [also] flavor them and stuff them.”

Ryan Trimm, chef/owner of Sunrise Memphis and 117 Prime: “Beef spare ribs are a personal favorite of mine. A nice smoke with a black pepper-based rub followed by a fruit-based sweet-and-spicy barbecue sauce is my way to go.”

And even Huey’s gets in on the act. Huey’s COO Ashley Boggs Robilio says, “Recipe created by Huey’s Midtown day crew: Huey’s world famous BBQ brisket burger. Topped with coleslaw and fried jalapeños.”

Continuing to celebrate barbecue month in Memphis, more chefs share ’que ideas in next week’s Memphis Flyer.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

Tops Bar-B-Q to Open Two New Locations

Randy Hough and Hunter Brown (Photo: Lynn Hantz)

Tops Bar-B-Q will open two new locations this year during its 70th anniversary.

“The first one we’ll launch this year will be in East Memphis,” says Tops Operations LLC vice president Hunter Brown.

They’re not ready to give the exact addresses, but the first one will be “the farthest east location we’ll be,” Brown says. The second location, which also will launch this year, will be in Cordova.

That will add two more locations to their 16 Tops locations.

Tops plans to expand as Memphis expands. They’re checking out neighborhoods “in terms of where we would be next,” says Tops CEO Randy Hough.

Tops has plans for “at least two more” locations in 2023.

They like to tell people, “If we’re not close by, I’d be on the lookout.”

As for opening Downtown, their store at 1286 Union Avenue is “as far west as we’ve gone outside of Marion, Arkansas,” Hough says.

“The pandemic changed the way Downtown exists today. Just in terms of foot traffic.” But, he adds, “We’re looking pretty heavy at just how the footprint would expand.”

As for existing Tops locations, Brown says, “We’re not looking to close any that are still here. We’re simply adding more restaurants to neighborhoods we’re currently not in.”

They’re using a drawing of the Tops Summer Avenue/National Street location to promote their 70th anniversary. “That’s what Tops is all about,” Hough says. “That’s the way a lot of our guests remember Tops — some of the nostalgia. It takes you back to that feeling of driving up. You’ve got the neon. That’s the sixth store that was built. It’s just a special one in terms of nostalgia.”

The Tops brand is ingrained in the memory of so many Memphians. “Our colors are red, white, and yellow. Those are the kinds of colors you’ll see on Tops.”

The new Bartlett store was the first to shift colors. “Some of that is because of city ordinances and what’s allowed. It’s got more red, white, and gray.”

Some of the old locations feature a logo of a pig standing on a spinning top, Hough says, and “neon is used on some of the buildings where it says ‘Memphis Best Bar-B-Q Since 1952.’”

Neon is “not on all of our Tops, but that’s another thing that you’ll notice that’s kind of unique.”

Tops founder J.W. Lawson came up with the name Tops. Their slogan is “Tops in barbecue. Tops in Memphis, too.”

The first store, which was on Macon Road near National Street, “closed many years ago,” Brown says.

The second location, which opened in 1954 at Rhodes Avenue and Getwell Road near the University of Memphis, is “still going strong today,” he says. “It was an old house. And it was the last house in the neighborhood on Rhodes at Getwell. And you certainly can tell if you look at it. It kind of blends in the neighborhood. That’s a special one to us. It has a lot of memories. There are a lot of people who lived and grew up in that area who talk about it all the time. It has an emotional connection.”

The taste of the barbecue — which is cooked in an open pit — and the hamburgers hasn’t changed since the 1950s, Hough says. The recipes may have been tweaked back in the ’50s, but they’re “the same ones we know of that would be back in the ’50s. I just don’t know if it’s ’52.”

They want people to experience the same taste people did in the 1950s. “That’s really important to us. When you taste the sauce, the beans, the pork — those are the same.

“We tried to stay true for that long.”

New food items at Tops are rare. Tops Bar-B-Q recently added the Smoked BBQ Bologna sandwich — the first new item in 10 years.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Ownership Shift at Corky’s

Corky's BBQ CEO Jimmy Stovall (Credit: Corky's BBQ)

With 27 years at Corky’s under his belt, Jimmy Stovall knows the ins and outs of the barbecue business. And by spearheading the recent acquisition of the entire Corky’s family of companies, the CEO can now add “owner” to his CV.

Stovall leads BBQVC Food Group LLC, which recently purchased Corky’s from an investment group led by Dobbs Equity Partners, Inc. BBQVC comprises Corky’s senior management executives and specifically selected private strategic investors who hope to keep the restaurant’s family culture strong going forward.

“We want to thank Dobbs Equity Partners for the tremendous work they’ve done the past three years to position the Corky’s family of businesses for long-term success and for giving us the opportunity to invest directly in the business we love so much,” said Stovall. “We are proud to be a Memphis family business and truly grateful for all of our incredible customers and employees, many of whom have been with us since we first opened in 1984.

“We like to say our people are our secret sauce and that goes for employees and customers alike. We look forward to continuing to serve up great Memphis BBQ and sides along with great service and atmosphere.”

Stovall began his barbecue career in college, manning the original Corky’s drive-through window, and worked as a waiter, assistant manager, and general manager before achieving his current role as CEO. He’s recognizable as the face of the brand through his efforts to grow the enterprise nationally via appearances on TV network QVC, and also led the creation of the Prime Time Strategic Partners perishable food fulfillment center.

The Corky’s organization boasts around 300 employees, with four company-owned restaurants in the Memphis area and four franchised locations outside the city. The brand sells products in more than 5,000 grocery stores across the country, and its fulfillment center ships over 1.5 million direct to consumer packages per year.

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Food & Drink News News Blog

Memphis Ranked 5th-Best BBQ City by Lawn Mowing Company

Payne's BBQ. (Credit: Justin Fox Burks)


When it’s a slow news day, survey rankings like this one sometimes get a little attention — and a little attention is about what this survey deserves. LawnStarter, a landscaping and pest-control company has a hard-working PR department that is constantly creating clickbait surveys and rankings, i.e. 2021’s Best Cities for Your Summer Vaxcation; 2021’s Best Cities for Single Dads; 2021’s Best Cities to Get (and Stay) Married; 2021’s Best Cities for LGBTQ Singles; 2021’s Horniest Cities in America; 2021’s Best Biking Cities in America, etc. You get the idea.

This week, they did 2021’s Best BBQ Cities in America, and, well, as you may have guessed from the headline above, they did Memphis wrong, ranking the Bluff City fifth-best in the country, just behind that legendary barbecue mecca, Cincinnati.

C’mon Lawnstarter. You don’t see us out here ranking lawn mowers and weed eaters. We know what we’re good at and we know what we know better than any other place in America — and that’s barbecue (and yes, real barbecue cities spell it out). And what is this absurd ranking of Memphis as number 40 in “quality”? FORTIETH? Get outta heah with this mess.

According to LawnStarter, the real hub of great “BBQ” is “the Midwest.” Puh-leeze. Here’s how the grassy know-it-alls address the criminal assault on America’s true greatest barbecue city: “Kansas City: The BBQ Capital of America. Sorry, Memphis. Kansas City tops our list of the Best BBQ Cities. With far more winners in the World Series of Barbecue contests and the second-highest number of national excellence awards, the Heart of America is a powerhouse for quality brisket and burnt ends.” 

Read it all here, if you’re having a slow day and need an irritant.

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Cover Feature News

Desiree Robinson: For the Owner of Cozy Corner, it’s a Family Affair

CREDIT: Brandon Dill

For the past 20 years, Desiree Robinson has been the heart and soul of the Cozy Corner Restaurant. At 83 and “semi-retired,” she is the lynchpin that keeps the family business running. Known for their slow-cooked racks of ribs and immaculate service, the tiny establishment at North Parkway and Manassas has made a name for itself in a city filled with barbecue restaurants.

Desiree herself has also made waves. Earlier this year, she was inducted into the American Royal’s BBQ Hall of Fame, becoming the first African-American woman inducted. The national group, which inducts three new members a year, looks for those who “have made an outstanding impact on the world of barbecue.” The honor came as a surprise. She had never been inclined to push for any kind of recognition when it came to her work. For years she just tried to make Cozy Corner a place Memphians would love.

Brandon Dill

Cozy Corner owner and American Royal’s BBQ Hall of Fame inductee Desiree Robinson

“I almost passed out,” she says. “I just couldn’t believe it, because I never thought of us as more than a great mom-and-pop restaurant where people would come in and bring their children for good food. I never thought about anything like this. It never crossed my mind. I was just amazed when they started talking about me.”

Desiree and her family moved to Memphis when she was young in search of better opportunities. “My mom said I would be going to school in Memphis,” she says. “So, I was 4 or 5 when we moved from Mississippi into the city. I pretty much grew up at 1201 Tutwiler in Memphis.”

Karen Focht

The Cozy Corner Restaurant at North Parkway and Manassas

From an early age, Desiree found herself working in the kitchen with her grandmother and mother, making family dinners. For years she would spend time perfecting her craft and trying new recipes while gaining a love for cooking.

“When I was 8 years old, I was cooking dinner for the family,” she says. “It had to be on the table at 5 o’clock Monday through Thursday. Cooking, and cooking for my family, was something that was always important for me when I was growing up.”

Desiree went to Manassas High School, where she met her husband, Raymond. The two were an instant match. They were engaged before they left high school and moved to Denver after Raymond got a job at Martin Marietta, a building-materials firm.

The Robinsons settled down in Denver, starting a family and cooking for their co-workers and neighbors on the weekends. People would often comment on Raymond’s prowess behind the grill.

“Raymond was an awesome cook from day one,” she says. “Early in our marriage he sat me down one day and told me, ‘I love to cook!’ I remember smiling at him and telling him, ‘Okay then, I want to keep you happy.’ I didn’t do a lot of cooking. I’m an excellent cook, too, but I stepped back because he would enjoy himself so much when he was cooking. He would plan stuff out and always be testing new recipes. We had company almost every other day because people wanted to try his food.”

Brandon Dill

Desiree Robinson

It was the initial interest from friends and co-workers in Denver that led to the creation of their first restaurant, Ray’s Barbecue, in Denver. Though successful, the couple’s time in Denver was limited. Both Raymond and Desiree came from single-parent households and neither wanted their parents, who were still living in Memphis, to struggle.

“We never meant to stay in Colorado for as long as we did,” she says. “Raymond and I were both only children and we didn’t want other people taking care of our parents as they grew older. We said when we went out there we would only stay a couple of years, actually. It just so happened that I liked it very well and we were out there for eight years. When we came back to Memphis, it was because both Raymond and I felt like we needed to take care of our parents. We both liked Colorado, but we knew we had to come back home.”

When the duo returned to Memphis, Raymond found work doing odd jobs in the city while Desiree opted to stay home and raise their children. By the time their two children, Ray Robinson Jr. and Val Bradley, had begun high school, memories of their Denver restaurant had started to linger on their minds.

Brandon Dill

Desiree Robinson with her grandkids

“After Colorado, Raymond had been missing the restaurant business. One day he came to me and said, ‘I want to open another restaurant.’ We both were qualified to do it. I then remember him saying, ‘One of us is going to run the restaurant and the other one is going to have to get a job.’ It was funny because prior to this he had told me that he didn’t want me to work after our kids were born. He forgot all about them!”

In 1977, Desiree and Raymond opened the Cozy Corner. Despite her involvement in the initial opening, Desiree ended up taking a job at BellSouth. Through the years, she would work at Cozy Corner during the weekends but largely spent her time away from the restaurant.

“By the time the restaurant opened, the kids were teenagers and worked there more than I did! I went with BellSouth and worked there until I retired. I did work in the restaurant some, but for the most part, it was Raymond and the kids running the show. The kids would leave school and go straight to Cozy Corner.”

Michael Donahue

a barbecued Cornish hen

During the first few years of Cozy Corner, the Robinsons worked with a single barbecue pit and a limited menu. At the time, Raymond was also the only chef. Nonetheless, the quality of the food and service kept hungry Memphians coming back for more.

“When we first opened, Raymond ended up doing all of the cooking. In hindsight, he probably wanted to do all of the cooking. He could turn a plain meal into a fabulous meal in a minute after I put it on the table. We played off each other really well. Even though I wasn’t in the kitchen at the time, I learned from just hearing him talk about what he was doing.”

Raymond’s warm personality was a reason for Cozy Corner’s early success, bringing in a stream of regular customers. “I think it was good that Raymond was at the restaurant in the beginning because of his personality,” Desiree says. “He was one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We had known each other for a long time and were married for 43 years before he passed away. In all that time, there was not one person who didn’t like him. He was so nice to be around. There was no one he wouldn’t talk to, and don’t you dare look discouraged. He would talk you out of it. We were exact opposites! I learned a lot from just watching him interact with others. I think it rubbed off on me over the years.”

While Desiree worked at BellSouth, Raymond kept Cozy Corner growing. They added more menu items, another barbecue pit, and survived a fire that forced them out of their original restaurant and into a smaller location while they underwent repairs. Time and time again as challenges arose the Robinsons overcame struggles together.

When Raymond died suddenly in 2001, it was a shock for the entire family. As a whole, they were devastated and his death put the future of Cozy Corner in limbo. While the family was mourning the loss, one of the first questions Desiree remembered asking the family was, “How are we going to keep the business open?”

After deliberating for a few days, she decided to step into Raymond’s place and run the business.

“After he died, I went full-time at Cozy Corner. I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing it any other way. It was fun for everybody, and the customers were so glad they didn’t know what to do. Raymond had never met a person that didn’t like him, and he brought that energy to Cozy Corner every day. He was very likable, and I just wanted to keep that up.”

Desiree tried to maintain the small mom-and-pop feeling of the restaurant after Raymond’s death. Cozy Corner is a gathering ground for the Robinsons; four generations of the family now work in their kitchen. Her office in the back of the restaurant was converted to a nursery so that family members could still work in the restaurant with their young kids. Most of the staff in the restaurant are friends or family.

“It’s really a family thing,” she says. “We just added another one who’s only 8 months old, and we are trying to figure out how to get him in there. It’s a place where we can come together and laugh and enjoy life.”

Desiree can take credit for the continued success of Cozy Corner after Raymond’s death. She took the reins at the restaurant making sure that customers were shown the same attention and care that they had under Raymond’s ownership.

Under her leadership, Cozy Corner continued to make a name for itself in the local scene. It has won local and national awards and started making lists as a regional barbecue powerhouse. As Desiree pushed into her early 70s, she helped the restaurant expand its hours from closing at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., a move that also expanded its popularity.

Today Desiree Robinson is still a regular around Cozy Corner but has passed much of the day-to-day business off to her grandkids. Though retired, she still makes her way down to the restaurant now and then to make sure that all of her guests feel like they are family.

“Come and eat with us,” she says, “and have the best food you’ve ever had with the best people you could ever meet.”

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

The Rendezvous Adapts During Quarantine

CREDIT: Photo courtesy of The Rendezvous

When you think of the Rendezvous, you think of lots and lots of people. People standing around outside waiting for their name to be called by microphone telling them their table is ready. People lining the steps as they enter and leave. People crowded in front of the hostess station waiting to eat. And then just about every checkered-tablecloth-covered table is laden with food and more people eating it amid loud conversations and music from the jukebox.

Now, the popular Downtown restaurant is quieter. Tables and chairs stand empty. Your favorite server is drawing unemployment. No one is marveling at the collection of photos, paintings, newspaper articles, and eclectic memorabilia covering the walls. Photo courtesy of The Rendezvous

The Rendezvous, which opened in 1948, now is doing takeout and delivery.

“We have office staff ’cause we had to help our employees with unemployment,” says John Vergos, one of the owners. “We have our cooks. And we have some other miscellaneous people. We have eight or nine.”

Vergos no longer works nights. “I come in about 9 and make sure we’ve got food ordered and answer phones, help with the takeout. And then my sister comes in later and helps with takeouts and get food to the customers.”

Takeout and delivery has been successful. “One thing that’s going on with us that is good is our shipping business has actually done quite well. So we increased our staff down there.”

Vergos spends his time between the shipping kitchen and the restaurant. “We ship in the United States, but we haven’t shipped anything to Alaska or Hawaii. We ship all over the United States.

“There’s been an enormous amount of paperwork my staff is handling — applying for SBA disaster loans, and for the employee protection loan, which required a lot of paperwork. And we’re constantly on the phone with our insurance company. Our goal is to keep our health benefits to all of our employees. We’ve already had to pay health care for all our employees, which we’ve been doing since the beginning of time.

“We’ve got about 15 servers, but we’ve got — between the shipping kitchen and the Rendezvous — 80 employees. And we also had to lay off part-time employees at FedExForum. There weren’t that many games left. We wrote them all checks for $150.”

People still want that Rendezvous cuisine, Vergos says. The entire menu — with the exception of the Greek salad, red beans and rice, and lamb ribs — is available, he says.

Their ribs, of course, are the most popular, but their ribs and brisket combo also is popular, he says.

Rendezvous brisket was introduced at the restaurant about 15 years ago, Vergos says. “I was at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in 2004. We were with the barbecue people. There were about seven of us who catered a huge party at the Delano hotel. And one of the people was doing brisket. I’ve always liked brisket, so he kind of told me how he cooked it. The key to brisket is how you cut it. When I came back to Memphis, we made a point of doing the brisket.

“I take pride in the fact that we have people from Texas come and compare ours favorably to theirs. We smoke it for 14 hours. We cover it with salt, pepper, and Rendezvous seasoning. Not a lot you can do with brisket. Serve it with a little bit of salt and seasoning. It’s almost good without anything on it.”

Describing the ribs and brisket combo, Vergos says, “You get beans and slaw with everything. You get the equivalent of a small order of ribs and six ounces of brisket. It’s a full meal. Two people can share it, I think, unless they’re lumberjacks.”

Their iconic cheese and sausage plates are the second most popular, Vergos says. The plate contains cheese, Polish sausage, dill pickle, and hot peppers. “It’s one of the first things my dad started selling besides the ham and cheese sandwich. In those days, it was cheese, pickles, peppers, and pickled sausage on the side. When he started grilling, he started the Polish sausage. We even had pickled pig’s feet in those days. One of the few things I can’t eat.”

The business keeps going, but Vergos says he’s never experienced anything close to what the Rendezvous now is going through. “We’ve had two major fires. None of which were our fault, but they don’t compare because number one, we had insurance. Number two, pretty much we knew there was a definite date when we would reopen. And when we reopened, there was an ongoing economy.”

Vergos supports local restaurants. “I do takeout and I’m impressed how good the food is. My colleagues in the restaurant business are serving real quality food. The only difference is you can’t eat it there.”

But, he says, “What is the restaurant business going to be like in June or July or whenever we open? I know the Rendezvous will always be the Rendezvous, but we’re already looking at ways we’re going to have to do things different. We’re probably going to space our tables further. We’re looking to add dessert. We’re looking at taking reservations. We’ve even contemplated we may start serving mixed drinks. We may want to add items like my mother’s spanakopita. We’re going to do a lot more catering. We’ll probably continue to do delivery.”

Why so many changes? “To probably increase our average check charge to broaden our customer base. We probably lose some people who can’t get a mixed drink when they come down. We may lose people who don’t get dessert. We don’t have enough dishes — we may lose people.

“We operate at such a fairly fast pace that it’s difficult for us to add those things. But I think the restaurant will be at a more leisurely pace that will enable us to do different things we’ve liked to have done, but we didn’t have time. Trust me, we know how to cook other things. My mother is a wonderful chef, and she’s passed down some wonderful recipes.”

The Rendezvous already was making changes before the mandatory shutdown, Vergos says. They removed the paper napkins from the table so customers had to just use their linen napkins. “If you don’t put paper napkins in front of them, they’ll use the linen napkin.”

Instead of putting bottles of barbecue sauce on the table, the server brought extra sauce in a cup upon request. “We found it interesting that so many people take the sauce and pour it over everything. It drives you crazy.

“We’re going to save a ton on barbecue sauce and paper napkins. And it’s a much neater table.”

They will hire back all their servers, Vergos says. “We’re probably more fortunate than many in that we own our own building. And we had no debt. Many other restaurants are in the same situation, but I think we’re in the minority of being in that situation.”

Vergos doesn’t anticipate “opening to packed crowds” after the quarantine is over. “So, it’s doing shifts for our waiters so they can still make a living.

“In my opinion, I think it’s going to start off slowly and build. But it’s going to be a whole new world.”

For information on ordering Rendezvous takeout and delivery, go to hogsfly.com.

Categories
Opinion Viewpoint

It’s May: Cue the ‘Cue for Memphis

In Memphis, we see a lot of ourselves in our barbecue.

Tough cuts, mellowed low and slow in environs some find harsh and repellant. Slow smoke and heat grinds rock to diamond, from the profane to the divine, with the freedom to move across the spectrum as we choose.

If you’re new here, you’re undoubtedly still learning the barbecue ropes and tropes. Words like “wet” and “pulled” take on new meaning, and terms like “pitmaster” enter your lexicon. You learn that “barbecue” is a food — a sacrament — not an event in your backyard. And as you begin to meld with the city, ordering a pulled-pork sandwich becomes almost a civic experience.

Native Memphians, and those lucky enough to have lived here awhile, may not order ribs at every meal, but we can damn sure tell you where you should get them — and pulled pork, and barbecue spaghetti (The Bar-B-Q Shop, natch), and barbecue pizza (Colletta’s, natch), and wings (Central BBQ, natch), and barbecue nachos (Rendezvous or AutoZone Park, natch). We take our preferences seriously enough that my final parenthetical there might get me run out of town on a rail.

We stand up for barbecue, too. Let some San Francisco tech-bro tell you it’s just meat and meat is kinda gross if you think about it and the whole, like, “regional barbecue style” stuff is pretty hokey. Does your pulse shoot up? Mine did, and I’m just typing.

Barbecue is a Memphis icon, part of our brand. Yes, as much as Elvis or the blues. But barbecue is a living art form — practiced, loved, and handed down. And it’s an art that thrives beyond the glass cases of museum galleries. Just take a peek from the bluff at Tom Lee Park on the third weekend of May. 

So, what does barbecue give Memphis in return?

Well, in one month last year, it deposited $37.7 million into the Memphis economy. That’s the final tally from a Memphis in May economic impact report prepared by Younger Associates.

More than half of the 63,721 people that hit the park for the Barbecue Fest (formally, the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest) last year were from out of town. Almost 67 percent of those stayed a night here. Most stayed for three nights, spending an average of $215 a day. Tally up the sales taxes, hotel/motel taxes, and the rest and barbecue poured more than $1.1 million into the city’s tax coffers.

With the 60 or so barbecue joints, smoke shops, road-side pits, lunch counters, food trucks, or restaurants with some-kind-of-barbecue-something-or-another on their menus, you can bet barbecue’s economic impact punches above its weight in Memphis every year. 

None of this is even to mention barbecue as a major part of the Memphis brand. Who visits and doesn’t eat some sort of barbecue? No one. How do I know? Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat. I’d bet someone is probably talking about it on GooglePlus, too, if, y’know, I ever looked there.

All right, further proof? To be clear: I’m not qualifying this as a mark of success, but consider the “Memphis BBQ Angus Thick Burger” from Hardee’s. Think about the “Memphis BBQ Chicken Pizza” from Dominos (which they claim is “like summer in a box,” for some reason). Also, you probably missed it (for obvious reasons), but Papa John’s offered “Memphis BBQ Ribs” in the U.K. for a time.

Serious suits somewhere (and the trend-makers who inform them) thought Memphis barbecue — and our name — were hot enough to market nationwide and to use to fatten the bottom lines of national conglomerates. Memphis is kind of cool. Tell that to state lawmakers who’d rather we all just fell into the Mississippi River.

So, money and fame. Shallow, right?

But what about barbecue’s contribution as a civic unifier. Wet? Dry? Cole slaw or nah? We all have opinions, and we’ll fight you for them. But barbecue has given us those opinions, the ability to have those conversations, and the even playing field on which to have them.

Don’t know anybody at the party? Ask ’em about barbecue. Conversation getting too political? Pivot to barbecue. Looking for some Memphis cred? Look to barbecue. 

Seattle’s got coffee. Asheville’s got beer. Nashville’s got, ummm … and we got barbecue. 

But wait! “What about Kansas City and Texas?” you ask. Please let me introduce you to someone. He works in the tech industry in San Francisco.

Toby Sells is Flyer associate editor.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Craig David Meek Writes the Book on Memphis BBQ

Craig David Meek is a former journalist, who’s been chronicling his quest to try every soul food and barbecue restaurant in the area on his blog Memphis Que.

Craig David Meek

  • Craig David Meek

The blog caught the eye of an editor at the History Press, with the result being Meek’s excellent Memphis Barbecue: A Succulent History of Smoke, Sauce & Soul.

The book begins with Hernando de Soto introducing pigs to the region and covers everything from such old-time Memphis favorites like Brady and Lil’s and the barbecue contest to Corky’s on QVC. There are some amazing moments in Memphis Barbecue — like Jim Neely speaking quite frankly about his TV celebrity nephew Pat Neely and John Willingham’s widow remembering the barbecue legend’s last day.

Memphis Barbecue will be released on Tuesday, June 10th, and there will be a launch party and signing at the Booksellers at Laurelwood that same day at 6 p.m. Related events include the Whole Hog BBQ, Live Music & Book Party at the Hi-Tone on Friday, June 27th and a book talk and signing with a barbecue tasting at the Cotton Museum Thursday, July 10th.

Meek took some to time answer questions about writing the book.

Writing the history of barbecue seems like a massive and daunting task. How did you figure out how to organize the book?
Meek: By writing a first draft that was a rambling mess, then going back through and putting everything in a more chronological order. I originally tried to organize it around different aspects of barbecue I considered important like craftsmanship, business, and tradition with different restaurants and competition teams used to represent different components of each aspect. It ended up reading like the world’s most disorganized barbecue restaurant guide, but reading over it I saw that I had the entire history of Memphis there if I reorganized it into the story of the city told through barbecue.

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You’ve been blogging about barbecue for three years, in working on this book, did you come upon anything that truly surprised you?
Looking into the history of William’s Bar-B-Q across the river in West Memphis and realizing how important the neighborhood around it was to the development of the electric blues and early rock-and-roll in the ’40s through the ’60s. That was the vibrant, late-night music scene where the early Sun artists really honed their skills during a period when the nightlife and music scene on Beale Street was surprisingly dead.

What was your favorite part about writing the book?
Since the blog was always done anonymously, with me just coming in as an average Joe and eating, I loved gathering the oral histories that went into the book. Going into the kitchens with people like Jim Neely at Interstate, Barry Pelts at Corky’s, Eric Vernon at the Bar-B-Q Shop, Craig Blondis at Central, and Helen Turner at Helen’s over in Brownsville and hearing their stories and letting them show me the work that goes into their food. Standing behind the counter with Flora Payne while she makes a spicy jumbo sandwich for me. Going down to the basement at Coletta’s to see the shoulders on the pit, then up to the kitchen to watch them make a fresh barbecue pizza and carrying that pizza straight to their Elvis room to eat it.
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You very judiciously sidestep the question of your favorite barbecue places by saying it depends on the day, your mood, the weather, etc. Come on, man. You must have two or three places you frequent more than others. Spill it.
The Tops on Jackson Avenue is a few blocks from my house so their double cheeseburger with everything topped with two ounces of chopped pork would represent my most frequent barbecue order and it is a thing of savage beauty.

But really, I am in a different part of the Mid-South almost every day with my job, so I tend to have a favorite place to stop for each part of town. But even that gets hard to nail down. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the Fox Meadows/Hickory Hill area staring at my windshield, holding my keys, way overthinking the decision between a dry rib dinner from Leonard’s and a shoulder plate from Showboat. I know either will be perfect, but choosing one means missing out on the other that day. I’ve literally flipped a coin on multiple occasions.