We left Asheville, NC at 6am on Tuesday morning and headed west through Tennessee. We chose Memphis as our "pit" stop and to conduct a barbecue taste test. We originally planned on stopping at three joints but our stomachs wouldn't allow more than two.
We ended up going to Neely's (http://www.neelysbbq.com/home.htm)
and Leonard's (http://www.leonardsbarbecue.com/). We ordered the same thing at each:
Ribs (dry rub and bbq) and a traditional Memphis pulled pork sandwich. The sandwich has tons of pork, cole slaw and bbq in btwn 2 buns. Delicious!
Our first stop was Neely's. We didn't know what to expect considering the Neely's are famous for their bbq and have a show on the food network and stuff. Sometimes, it seems like once a restaurateur makes it big, their food goes to shit. Not in this case. I may not be a bbq expert but the dry rub ribs were the best ilya and i have ever had. the meat just fell off the bone and the flavor was perfect. The pulled pork sandwich was really good, too. Ilya thought the actual pork was better at Neely's because it had a more smoky taste. I definitely enjoyed my sandwich but I thought it could have used way more slaw and a bit more sauce.
Leonard's has been around since 1922. The hostess has been there for over 30 yrs and she is a huge fan of Leonard's. They have a giant map hanging in the entrance where you can mark where you're from with a pin. We're on the Leonard's map! Anyway, the ribs at Leonard's were good but not as tender as the Neely's ribs. They have the best cole slaw ever and the warm rolls they serve are soo good. I enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich at Leonard's more than the one I had at Neely's. The Leonard's bun was toasted, a lot more slaw and sauce and overall there was just more goin' on with this sandwich.
All in all...if I return to Memphis I'm definitely doing another pork comparison.
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