My hubby is back with another travel post from our trip to Memphis….

On a recent road trip to Memphis, my wife and I attended our first Duran Duran concert. It was an awesome experience and I was thrilled that we had the opportunity to go. Check out my review of that show here.

Since we were going to Memphis for the first time, I thought we would sample some of that famous BBQ that I always hear people talking about. Prior to going, I knew very little about Memphis, let alone its BBQ. I knew that Corky’s Ribs and BBQ hailed from Memphis because we previously sampled its ribs after purchasing them via QVC.com. I was not impressed with the ribs. I thought they were fatty and had very little meat. We decided to skip Corky’s and searched out other possible restaurants.

In my search I discovered Neely’s BBQ had a couple of locations in Memphis. Having sporadically watched Down Home with the Neelys on the Food Network, my wife and I were impressed with their food selections. We decided that we would try their BBQ while in Memphis. We selected their location on Mount Moriah Avenue because the location was close to our hotel and close to the Memphis Botanic Garden where the Duran Duran concert was going to be. After checking in at our hotel, we traveled to the restaurant.

Dinner at Neely’s BBQ in Memphis

As I drove down the street,  I envisioned a big and fancy restaurant to match the big and fancy style that I see on the Neely’s show. When the GPS announced that we had arrived, I looked around, asking “Where’s it at? I don’t see it!” As I looked back, I realized that I had passed it up. The building was much smaller and much plainer than I had thought, painted all in yellow. Seeing this didn’t deter me from wanting to go in.

As we stepped inside, I realized that this wasn’t going to be the big and fancy restaurant that I had thought. It was quite small. It looked like the decor had not been updated in the twenty years. The ceiling tiles looked like they were coming apart. The booth seats were held together by duck-tape. And the photographs on the walls of the Neelys with the celebrities were faded and in cheap frames you would find at a dollar store.

But still I kept an open mind, thinking that this will not matter if the BBQ is awesome. The menu selections offered traditional BBQ selections without any unique choices. My wife ordered the the BBQ Chicken Platter with Mac and Cheese and Green Beans. I ordered the Pulled Pork Platter with BBQ Beans and Mac and Cheese. The food arrived fairly quickly and we eagerly got to eating.

We soon realized that the BBQ was not knock over special. It was good; but I knew we had much better. My pulled pork had gristle and bones throughout it and not enough sauce. My wife’s chicken was somewhat dry with too much sauce. The BBQ beans were just beans and BBQ sauce. No onions or peppers. The Mac and Cheese was a classic any creamy recipe. The green beans were good, but the portion size was rather small. My food was on a plastic plate reminiscent of a school cafeteria; while my wife’s platter was in a plastic basket with a paper liner.

Overall, I was not impressed with the food or the building’s decor.I must say that the waitresses were very nice and the service was good.  Maybe the other menu items would have been a better choice. But for our experience, we would not recommend it. If the food tasted pretty good it wouldn’t necessarily matter what the restaurant looked like.  Next time maybe we will try the Neely’s in New York.

Maybe next time, we will try Corky’s or another restaurant. Leave us a comment with your recommendations on your favorite Memphis BBQ restaurant.