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Published: October 11th 2008
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The First BBQ Meal of the Trip
A full order of ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis. Suggested Listening for this Entry: "Rollin' Into Memphis" by Dash Rip Rock, "Memphis in the Meantime" by John Hiatt, "Sure Smells Like BBQ" by Big Joe and the Dynaflows and "Smokie, Part 2" by the Bill Black Combo.
Suggested Food and Drink For this Entry: Slow smoked pork ribs and a few ice cold longneck beers.
Seeing there is no entry about the great time I had kicking it with Lil' Ed and Blues Imperials, you've probably already assumed I face planted into bed back in my hotel room after leaving Al Hrabosky's. Well, other than me throwing in a stop for food on the way back to my hotel, you assumed correctly. But, the early night made it easy for me to get up early, get my act together and head my rental Suzuki tank down I-55 to Memphis. Around nine Friday morning, I rolled out of St. Louis blasting a lot of blues and 70's cheesey Elvis out of my iPod and thru the speakers of the Suzuki's stereo. After playing some phone tag with Mike (who will be referred to as "Ips" from here on out) about where to meet him and Aaron (who will
be referred to as "The Player"), it was decided we would meet at our hotel in Memphis and the head to the Rendezvous for a late lunch.
The Rendezvous arrived on the barbecue scene in 1948 when Charles Vergos converted a portion of his diner's basement into a barbecue pit. Since then, the restaurant, which is located in General Washburn Alley behind 52 South Second St. and not far from Beale St., has become a legend in the barbecue world. It has been featured in dining guides and on all sorts of TV networks & shows. Singers and musicians from John Hiatt to Ricky Skaggs have paid homage to the Rendezvous in song. (John Hiatt sings "at least we can get ourselves a decent meal down at the Rendezvous" in "Memphis in the Meantime".) The Rendezvous website lists accolades from numerous publications, tells of catering jobs for grand events, and has numerous quotes from celebrities. After reading all this, I was wondering if anything could live up to this much hype.
Ips, The Player and I met up at our hotel, the Marriott on Main St., and headed toward the Rendezvous. We parked and started on foot in
search of bbq bliss. We had the address, but no map. Ips remembered from a previous visit to Memphis the restaurant was in an alley and, seeing we were all guys, asking for directions never crossed our minds. After a few minutes of wandering around, we got a whiff of barbecue smoke and we followed our noses to the Rendezvous like Sylvester the Cat used to float toward catnip in those old Looney Tunes cartoons.
After being seated at a table in the basement, we were given complimentary red beans and rice (a tradition at the Rendezvous) and a few minutes to peruse the menu. I had read several times in the past the waitstaff was curt and sometimes downright rude as they expected you to know what you wanted as soon as you were seated. But, this was not the case at call with our waiter, although the restaurant was not busy when we visited between the lunch and dinner rushes. Ips and I went with full orders of ribs (when in Rome, right?). A few minutes later, our servings of barbecue legend hit the table.
The Memphis and Rendezvous way of serving barbecue ribs is without sauce. The ribs are given a spice rub prior to being smoked and are served "dry" and, at the Rendezvous, are given another sprinkle of the rub before being served. Then, it's up to the patron to decide if he / she wants to use one of the sauces provided on the table. Personally, I ate a few dry and sauced a few in order to get the entire effect. Not too long after being served, I had torn thru the order of ribs and the two sides.
While waiting for the check, I began to ponder the meal I just had. And, today my feelings are the same as they were in the Rendezous that afternoon. The ribs were damn good, but rarely does anything live up to that sort of hype. And, in my opinion, that's the case here. Also, the portions were smaller at the Rendezvous in comparison to other restaurants I visited later in my trip. But with that said, if you are ever in Memphis, by all means eat at the Rendezvous. One should never miss the chance to visit a legend.
You can learn more about the Rendezvous at
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