Hi Everyone :)

[Bonnie Barrow]

New to the Memphis area . Any advice on BBQ ? It’s greatly appreciated .

[SlowHand50]

It's all about the smoke. And the sauce. And the lean, tender meat.

[bluffcityguy]

Personally, my favorite is The Bar-B-Q Shop on Madison in Midtown, which has something no other BBQ joint in Memphis has, to my knowledge: the endorsement of a Nobel Prize laureate. Seriously. In an episode of his "Theme Time Radio Hour" back about 10 years ago or so, Nobel Literature Laureate Bob Dylan recommended that fine establishment to his listeners.

Other noteworthy establishments: Central BBQ (4 locations that I'm aware of), Paynes (or is it "Payne's"?) on Lamar (lauded by some Food Network celebrity "chef" (I forget who) as "the best thing she's ever eaten"), Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Q on Third Street, Cozy Corner on North Parkway, and The Germantown Commissary on S. Germantown Road.

But I'm sure I'm missing a number of worthy choices, which will probably be mentioned in future postings here. In my experience, if you ask five random Memphians which place is the best BBQ joint in the city, you'll probably get five different answers.

Cheers,

bcg

[SlowHand50]

It's Paynes, and they spell it Bar-B-Q on their sign painted on the front of what I think was once a gas station.

It's on Lamar Avenue. Its hours are limited. Closed on Sundays and Mondays. Opens at 11 a.m. Tues-Sat. Closes at 5 all those days except Sat., when it closes at 4.

Worth it to figure out their schedule and get you some.