Shemwell's Barbecue

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Suggested Listening for this Entry: Some classic country from the 1960s. "Hello Walls" & "Wine Me Up" by Faron Young and "The Cold, Hard Facts of Life" & "Sorrow on the Rocks" by Porter Wagoner.

Suggested Food & Drink for this Entry: A sliced pork sandwich on white toast and a Pepsi.

After a few hours of driving two lane roads along the Missssippi, exploring state parks in two states, and a rather sobering visit to downtown Cairo, I was ready for lunch. I didn't plan on eating at Shemwell's. In fact, I'd never heard of it. I just stumbled upon it as I was driving north, heading out of Cairo.

As soon as I saw Shemwell's sign painted on the side of its building, I made the turn into the parking lot, got out of the SUV and walked in. The first thing I noticed as I entered Shemwell's was its plain, small town, lunch counter/diner feel. The place is very nondescript. One of the tables had a group of older women sitting around it and a couple of men were at another. Both the restaurant and the atmosphere were very much the antithesis of the barbecue places I visited in Memphis.

I decided on a seat the counter a grabbed a menu. Not too long after that, a lady came out of the back and took my order. I ordered a barbecue plate which consisted of a pork sandwich, baked beans and potato salad, and a Pepsi. A few mnutes later, my plate was in front of me and I have to say I was a little shocked. The first thing I noticed was that the sandwich was made with toasted white bread. Right after that, I saw the pork was neither pulled nor chopped, it was sliced. Now, this was different than any other barbecue I've ever had. I added a little sauce from the squeeze bottle on the counter and dug in.

Shemwell's sauce is a different too. It's lighter than most sauces and it's a little vinegary and a little spicey. But, it's not in the mold of a North Carolina sauce.

It didn't take too long for me to scarf down what was put in front of me, pay my bill and head out. The food was decent and, compared to my other stops on this trip, very moderately priced, but nothing about the taste stood out. I could have driven away and not given Shemwell's much more thought, but something about it seemed to fit into Cairo's general shroud of mystery. So, after I got home, I did a little research on Shemwell's Barbecue.

Once upon a time in Cairo, Illinois there were two Shemwell's Barbecues. Only they weren't owned by the same person. One was owned by Darrell Shemwell and the other was owned by his brother Howard. Both brothers learned the barbecue craft from their father Luther. It seems Luther opened a barbecue restaurant in Cairo and it did so well, his son Howard decided to open his own barbecue joint in town. Sometime later, Darrell Shemwell, Luther's other son, took over his father's restaurant and Howard's son Skip took over Howard's restaurant. Each restaurant went through some location changes while going head to head with each other in a barbecue war within Cairo. Eventually, Skip turned his barbecue restaurant into a burger place called Nonny's, thus leaving Darrell Shemwell's place as the only Shemwell's Barbecue in town.

Maybe there is some truth to that line you used to hear in all those old westerns..."This town ain't big enough for the both of us."

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Photos

The BBQ Plate at Shemwell's
Yes, the sandwich was on toasted white bread.

Maybe the Only BBQ in Town?
I'm not sure. Read the entry on Cairo, IL to find out why....