785. Memphis Barbecue

Where: Memphis, Tennessee

When: March 17 - 20, 2016

With: Ashley, Pam, Krista, Jenna, Loren, Rachel, Suzannah, Christine, Ryan, Gibbs

Ahh Memphis, home to blues, BBQ and my bachelorette party. While I can't disclose the full details of all the activities of this trip over these posts, I will share certain details about the highlights of this city in the south without incriminating myself or any of my friends.

This post obviously focuses on barbecue, although we had a ton of great meals in Memphis, BBQ or not. Throughout the sprawling city, there were tons of pockets of cute neighborhoods with fun bars and great restaurants. While I was more along for the ride than doing any of the research myself, I could tell there was a lot to offer in this city. Like at this Mexican restaurant that was happily celebrating Saint Patrick's Day and made sure there were sparklers to celebrate my bachelorette.

Our first barbecue spot was at Central BBQ, a close, but somewhat sketchy walk off of the famous Beale Street. This is where Jenna, Ashley, Pam, Loren and I stuffed our faces with Memphis style barbecue. Memphis style is usually pork slow cooked in a pit using a dry or wet rub. Central prides itself on a dry rub ("no sauces touch the pit"). It was delicious and gluttonous and basically put us all to sleep very quickly thereafter.

The next day, the rest of my crew arrived, and while we didn't kick off with BBQ, we did have another famous Memphis staple: Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken. The wait to eat here is long, so we decided to order take out and just take fun selfies outside. 

Then we ate the best possible way there is: buffet style on a park bench. It was so fun and delicious. 

The final barbecue place we sampled while in Memphis was at Rendezvous. Located underground, this place felt like a German beer hall meets an Italian grandmother's basement. It was huge and cavernous with checkered table cloths and tons of paraphernalia all around. We ordered a ton of different stuff to share and stuffed our faces. It was fantastic. 

The book also mentions a non-barbecue Memphis tradition involving ducks. And no, not the edible kind. It's a tradition in the Peabody Hotel where every evening, the ducks that swim in the main fountain of the hotel are guided back to the elevator to tuck in for the night in their private room. 

We got there a bit late, so most of us were forced to the second floor balcony (except Jenna who knows how to cross a velvet rope when she sees it and ended up with a perfect front row seat at the bar to enjoy the ducks with a cocktail.) 

The ducks in their fountain.

There is an MC commentating on the whole event, and they even get steps and a little red carpet to walk down. It was so cute!

Video courtesy of our rock star, Jenna.

Peons on the second floor.

Commemorative duck plaque outside the hotel, honored with a bride and cowboy boots.

          So all in all, Memphis barbecue and its ducks are amazing. While a girl's trip for a bachelorette may not seem like the time to chow down on this delicacy, we all enjoyed it thoroughly.