Corky's Bar-B-Q, Memphis, TN

Corky’s Bar-B-Q

Memphis, Tennessee

June 16, 2005 

Corky’s is a famous Memphis barbeque joint which was so popular that it has since been franchised.  There are now Corky’s Bar-B-Q throughout Memphis and many other cities throughout the south.  We ate at one of the franchises on our way out of town.

The Corky’s where we ate, on Poplar Avenue, had the pleasant look of a cookie-cutter franchise.  The building was probably built just for Corky’s, but could have just as easily housed any number of other chain restaurants.  The building is attractive, however, with the ubiquitous barbeque interior decorating scheme of brick, wood, and burgundy paint.  We were among the first diners, arriving at 11:00, but the place filled up quickly.  We were seated immediately and served quickly.

We ordered the tamales at $3.99 and Dawn had a bowl of Brunswick stew.  For the main course, Dawn ordered a regular order of the ribs for $11.99 and I ordered the pork and spaghetti combo plate for $7.99.  When the food arrived, they were all portions meant to be consumed by normal humans, not the gargantuan portions often seen in barbeque joints.

The tamales were not wrapped in corn husks, as are traditional tamales.  They were wrapped in a thick corn wrapping, almost reminiscent of a corn dog, except with ground meat (pork? beef?) in the middle instead of the hot dog.  They were covered with melted cheese, probably cheddar and Monterey jack.  Neither of us cared for them but, then again, I don’t normally care for tamales.

The Brunswick stew was good – thick and robust, full of vegetables, shredded brisket and pork.  It was a little bit sweet, but didn’t have any barbeque taste.

Dawn’s dry ribs were good, much better than at the Rendezvous the night before.  The dry rub was heavy on paprika and salt.  The ribs were tender, verging on the cusp of too tender.  They were meaty and the meat practically fell off the bone.  They were good both dry and with sauce added.

The pork was pulled.  The meat was tender, but there was no smoky flavor.  I suspect their meat is cooked with charcoal.

The spaghetti reminded me of the spaghetti we used to get in our lunches in elementary school.  There was nothing to suggest barbeque in the spaghetti, but no self-respecting Italian restaurant would have served it.  You’d probably have to go to a Denny’s to get similar spaghetti.  The sauce contained ground meat of some sort.

The coleslaw was mayonnaise-based and was average, at best.  Dawn wasn’t that generous, she pronounced it “limp.”

The beans were thick and sweet and had a mild metallic taste.  I suspect they came from a can.

The sauce was pretty good.  It was thick and sweet with a fairly heavy smoky taste.  It did not have the metallic aftertaste that can come with liquid smoke.

One notable side was the yeast rolls.  Most barbeque places give you a slice of white bread or, at the most, Texas toast.  Occasionally, we would get a roll similar to those you get in a 12-pack at the grocery store.  These rolls, though, were dense and yeasty and clearly had a homemade taste.  While I like rolls a little salty, these were right on the edge of being too salty.

Since they seemed to do well with their baking, we ordered the peach cobbler.  It was a good choice.  The crust was light and tasty and the filling was thick, sweet and flavorful.

I would have liked to have gone to the original Corky’s.  The franchise we went to was pretty good with good main dishes, though they fell down on their sides.  They were the best bakers of any of the barbeque joints we went to.

Pros:  Good dry ribs; homemade yeast rolls; good peach cobbler

Cons:  Slaw was bad; small potions for the price; spaghetti was disappointing

 

BBQ:  ««« ½                                  Service:  ««« ½

Sauce:  ««« ½                                 Sides:  ««

Ambience: ««« ½                           Overall:  ««« ½