2023 BBQ Trip South to Alabama and Memphis

[mrteddyprincess]

This post is a work in progress. I just got back and I will document my trip to Alabama and Memphis.

I'm done adding content from the trip.

[mrteddyprincess]

Tuesday, June 27th

I took off with my two friends from Indianapolis with the intent to visit Big Bob Gibson's in Alabama and to spend two more days in Memphis. We timed our leave time to put us in Nashville, TN at noon. We ate at the food court version of Prince's Chicken and we were not disappointed. We passed up Hattie B's on our way there. The line was wrapped around the building. I would try that stuff too! Prince's satisfied my pallet just fine!



Who can pass up a Buc-ees gas station!?! This was my first visit, and I credit Panhead John for showing me pics on his way home from the NC Meat Up. Wow! What a testament to American capitalism :-) I loved my visit and bought a Buc-ees refrigerator magnet bottle opener.



And of course, this is a Texas venture, so they sold brisket sandwiches. How good can roadside convenience store brisket be? SO DELICIOUS! I didn't eat the bread. Just the brisket. And how they put brisket that tender in foil and sold it to me is beyond my imagination. Seriously tender and flavorful brisket.





We drove a little farther south and drove across the TN River to Decatur, AL to visit Big Bob Gibson's BBQ. Nothing but respect for this iconic BBQ joint. Alabama white sauce is my daughter's favorite on chicken.




This was restaurant style BBQ. I have no complaints. I make my AL white sauce thicker, but that's my preference. Who's going to tell Big Bob Gibson's how to do chicken? Not me. The sides I had there were well done.

And finally, after my friends and I returned to Huntsville, AL, we met up with jfmorris at a fantastic facility that had like five breweries at that location. He bought me a beer, I bought him a beer, and we had the best time getting to know one another. That was a really good day!

[JLR]

Great to meet with friends.
Buc-ees is awesome. They also have wonderful jerky and the biggest, cleanest restrooms!

[mrteddyprincess]

Wednesday, June 28th

On Wednesday, we woke up in Huntsville, AL, and we were headed to Memphis, TN. My buddy Dave had the idea of stopping off at Dreamland BBQ on the way out of town since they opened at 10 am. They are known for a fast rib cook. Ribs over open hickory in an hour. We were skeptical.



Their pit is inside the restaurant out in the open! It's like a cooking grate over a fireplace. The smells inside this place are amazing!






These ribs surpassed anything we could imagine. How can ribs be cooked in an hour? How could they taste good? Believe me, they were incredible! Now, the texture was different. The texture was chewy. But it was delicious!

The next stop on our way to Memphis was Muscle Shoals, ALABAMA! We bought t-shirts and paid tribute to the Swampers.



We made it to the Air BB and my buddy, Dave brought our mascot racoon out. That guy knows how to party.



This is the part of my Memphis review where I rely on my mother's advice--If you can't say something nice... We ate at a prominent--really prominent Memphis BBQ establishment and were sorely disappointed. It wasn't even chain good. It wasn't even Applebee's good. I'm not even going to speculate how that icon of Memphis fell short. I hope they do better in the future.

But don't despair. We had AWESOME BBQ in Memphis. More to come...

[JLR]

Dreamland is definitely on my bucket list next time I get near one.

[mrteddyprincess]

Thursday, June 29th, Cozy Corner, Memphis, TN



I last visited Memphis with my wife in April of 2021, and the reason I came back this time was that I needed BBQ friend proof that I wasn't hallucinating about the ribs at Cozy Corner. It opens at 11 am and we got there at 10:50 am and there was a line at the door. By the time we got in line the parking lot was filling up quickly.




I ordered two bones and slaw and beans. This is why Memphis style ribs are a thing and is what will keep me coming back to Memphis. The ribs in my opinion were spectacular and left me picking the bones clean to get every bit of flavor I could out of them. They were perfectly done with amazing smoke flavor and rub. It's that taste of the ribs at Cozy Corner that I will have in my mind every rib cook I do for the rest of my life!




Pat, Dave, Chuck, and Tom agreed with me about the quality of the food at Cozy Corner and also agreed that this lunch at Cozy Corner was why we went to Memphis.

[Draznnl]

I’m on the edge of my seat here waiting for the next installment.

[mrteddyprincess]

Thursday, June 29th, Memphis, TN, After Cozy Corner

The world headquarters of Bass Pro Shop is in a giant glass pyramid on the north end of Memphis, right on the river. It's one of the coolest tourist traps I've been to! And it turns out that if you look hard enough, there's a bar at the back. So we ended our visit with a beer.



We left Bass Pro Shop and visited the Peabody to say hello to the ducks.




We had 3 pm reservations at B.B. King's to listen to blues, but to pass time we stopped in at BBQ joint on Beale Street called Pig. We didn't know what to expect.



We ordered a bologna sandwich and a half of a rack and split it four ways. It was a good bologna sandwich and the ribs were better than average when it comes to restaurant BBQ.







B.B. King's is a nice atmosphere and had great live music! I had already eaten BBQ twice and decided I would do gumbo and a sa-- sa-- sal-- well, you know, one of those plates with not BBQ on it.







We hung out at various locations on Beale St. and took off by about 6 pm. But before I left there was an Irish Pub advertising oysters. These oysters were provided by our good friends down in Texas from the Gulf of Mexico. They did not disappoint!

[mrteddyprincess]

Thursday, June 29th, Memphis, TN, Last Entry

We left Beale Street and conveniently enough, the street where our Air B&B was located took us right by Cozy Corner again. They close at 8 pm and we were hoping to get another rack of ribs to share that night. They were sold out of ribs and rib tips.

So we got five BBQ bologna sandwiches instead.

Pat: This is pretty good, but not as good as the ribs.

Me: You can't compare a bologna sandwich to ribs! You have to compare bologna sandwiches to other bologna sandwiches, and this is the best expletive bologna sandwich I've ever put in my mouth.

Pat: Yeah, you're right.








The next morning we got up early and drove back to Indy.

Brian

(A security guard on Beale St. suggested Payne's BBQ to me. We left town before we had a chance to try it, but it's on my list of places to visit when I go back to Memphis. It's a mom and pop location that is mainly open from 11 am to 2 pm. They get really good reviews.)

[CaptainMike]

Great trip and writeup, thanks for brining us along, Brian!! Beats heck the out of eating Lexington BBQ in a Food Lion parking lot

[mrteddyprincess]

Hey, we went all the way to Memphis and back with a functioning alternator! It can be done! :-)