Charley Vergo's Rendezvous, Memphis, TN

Charley Vergo’s Rendezvous

Memphis, Tennessee

June 15, 2005 

This is it, the Mecca, the Mt. Everest, the ultimate barbeque experience, or so I’d read and been told.  The Rendezvous in Memphis, TN may be the world’s most famous barbeque joint.  Reportedly, Elvis had Rendezvous ribs flown into Las Vegas anytime he was playing there.  President Clinton served Rendezvous ribs on Air Force One.

Of course, there is some controversy about whether the Rendezvous really even is barbeque.  Barbeque purists insist that the fact that the ribs are directly grilled over charcoal, rather than using indirect cooking from wood disqualifies them from being true barbeque.  Nevertheless, most barbeque books and guidebooks treat the Rendezvous as barbeque, so I will suppress my purist urge and do likewise.

Charley Vergo’s Rendezvous was, in a word, extremely disappointing.  Okay, that was two words, but the qualifier was apt.

The Rendezvous is located in an alley just half a block from the Peabody Hotel and a block and a half off the famous Beale Street.  We watched the 5:00 duck march at the Peabody and then walked over to the Rendezvous, skirting dumpsters along the way.  We were seated immediately and our waiter appeared at our table as soon as we sat down.  As opposed to the service at the barbeque shop, which was just as quick, the attitude of the service at the Rendezvous seemed geared toward getting the customers in and out as quickly as possible.  One nice touch was that the waiter immediately brought us full pitchers of our drinks – water for me and diet Coke for Dawn.  The interior is nice with a lot of brick.  Menus are on top of the red and white checked tablecloths, all under glass.  A faint scent of charcoal and propane (which, I presume, was used to start the charcoal) permeates the restaurant.

We ordered an appetizer of pork nachos for $7.95 and a full rack of ribs for $16.95.  They both arrived at the same time.

The nachos were just normal ballpark type nachos with a generous pile of pork on top.

The ribs are, famously, served dry, but there is sauce on the table.  The ribs are caked with a dry rub which is said to be the secret to the greatness of the Rendezvous’ ribs.  My question upon tasting them was, “What’s the big deal?”

The regular sauce is thick and sweet with a strong molasses taste.  The hot sauce is thinner and is hot without being tongue-searing, sinus-clearing hot.

The baked beans tasted like they’d just come out of the Van Kamp’s can and warmed on the stove.  The coleslaw was mustard-based and was not very good.

In short, Charley Vergo’s Rendezvous seems to be living on its past reputation alone.  If you want to go, just so you can say you’ve been and are disappointed, don’t say that you weren’t warned.

Pros:  Proximity to the Peabody Hotel and Beale Street; quick service.

Cons:  Falls far short of its reputation; food is average, at best; felt rushed through.

BBQ:  «« ½                                     Service:  ««« ½

Sauce:  «««                                     Sides:  ««

Ambience:  ««««                          Overall:  «« ½