The Bar-B-Q Shop, Memphis, TN

The Bar-B-Q Shop

Memphis, Tennessee

June 15, 2005 

The Bar-B-Q Shop is housed in an unattractive storefront, but inside it is very pleasant.  With a pressed-tin ceiling (faux or real, I can’t tell the difference), a lot of brick, and a deep burgundy paint job, diners sit in old sawed-off church pews.  We were seated as soon as we walked in and our waiter was at our table only moments later.  The Bar-B-Q Shop does a brisk lunch business and the wait staff was hustling.  Nevertheless, our waiter was very attentive and friendly – our water glasses were never allowed to get empty.

One accoutrement that I might do away with, were I the owner, was the Pepcid dispenser in the men’s room.  It just seems to me that sends the wrong message.

Once again, we ordered a sampler plate, here called the Bar-B-Q Shop Special ($18.99) and split it.  While not the mountain of food we faced at Jim Neeley’s Interstate Bar-B-Q, there was still more than enough food for both of us.  The plate included chopped pork shoulder, chopped beef brisket, pork ribs, barbequed spaghetti, baked beans, and coleslaw.  The ribs can be served “wet”, “dry”, or “half and half”.  We chose the latter option.

The Bar-B-Q Shop doesn’t use wood-smoke on their meat, they directly grill the meat over charcoal so the meat doesn’t have a smoky taste – the smoky taste comes from the sauce.  The regular sauce was thick, sweet and smoky tasting, presumably from liquid smoke.  There is a slight metallic aftertaste, probably also from the liquid smoke.  The hot barbeque sauce was tongue-searingly hot.  It is a little bit sweet, thick, and with a slight jalapeno flavor.  Dawn liked mixing the two sauces, but the hot was a little too hot for me.

The pork shoulder was tender and had a delicate taste that was almost overwhelmed by the sauce.  The brisket was chopped and was a little bit dry.  The flavor held up better against the sauce, but overall, the pork was more pleasing, at least to me.

The ribs were tender and came away easily from the bone.  The dry rub didn’t seem to add much flavor, but the sauce complimented the ribs well.

The barbequed spaghetti was pretty good.  It was warm, but the noodles were a little bit soft.  Dawn liked them, but I prefer my noodles a little more al dente.  The flavor of the sauce was fine, but not as good as Interstate Bar-B-Q’s.

The barbequed beans were good, but really had nothing to distinguish them.  They were not as sweet as some we’d had, which was fine by me.  The coleslaw was mayonnaise-based and was just okay.

Pros:  Pleasant ambience; lot of food at a good price; if you like hot sauce, this sauce is hot; good service.

Cons:  Nothing really distinguished itself; regular sauce has metallic aftertaste; no smoky flavor to the meat.

BBQ - ««« ½                                 Service - «««««

Sauce - «« ½                                    Sides - «« ½

Ambience - ««««                          Overall - ««« ½