Our day started in Little Rock, Arkansas - I dropped Hart and Nibbles off at a fantastic dog park - it had a doggie splash pad and everything. You dog owners know. Anyhow, I scooted over to the ubiquitous and helpful national coffee chain, came back with provisions, scooped them up and headed for Memphis.
So many Memphis songs. So much Memphis music. Thank you Chuck Berry, John Hiatt (holy cr*p...looking for the album version of Memphis in the Meantime and found this genius live version with Rodney Crowell and Carl Perkins!), and so many more. But, telling Hart the Elvis Origin Story led me to a Sun Sessions playlist....bouncing around to the original versions of most....and so we headed down to Elvis Presley Blvd, to the kitschtastic Days Inn across from Graceland.
I mean....
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| Guitar shaped pool - kinda murky.... |
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| Plenty of Elvis over the beds...kinda bare and bouncy... |
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| Elvis with breakfast...kinda faded.... |
....and to the Arcade Restaurant, serving since 1919.
It was gloriously grubby, with beautiful neon and super friendly servers. Hart had a super hard time deciding between the sweet potato pancakes, or the peanut butter banana sandwich. You know which I rooted for - but he chose the pancakes. They. Were. Great. (You will find throughout this blog that I set him up for the genius food experience - then sneak in some tastes for myself...)
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| Now you see it.... |
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| Now you don't |
We went from the Arcade to the National Civil Rights Museum, but I need to talk about that later. What's funny, is after the museum, we went to the Peabody to see the ducks, and both got bored and left after 2 minutes. Then we went to the Rendezvous, but it was closed. It seems that the gods of good fortune were on our side, because we wound up at Central Barbecue.
So, you know, I had ribs from the Rendezvous in 1998, and found them a revelation - they were served dry, with a thin, vinegar-y sauce on the side, to add if you wanted. These ribs have haunted my memories. I mean, it might have something to do with the fact that I saw a Jerry Lee Lewis concert right afterward, and had a long chat with James Burton. But still, Memphis-style pork ribs - that falling off the bone, tender, smokey, porky goodness...
Quick check of Yelp, Chowhound, Roadfood, and SFA, a couple of phone calls, and we found ourselves at Central BBQ. Wasn't expecting much...but the people that run that place know what they are doing. Lovely, kind, funny staff, keeping their chins up while facing a deluge of tourists and locals.
Can I please tell you that the ribs were....ummmm....spectacular. Got them wet this time (20 years later, try the other way!), with their mustard BBQ sauce. How to do this justice? I parted the porcine sea with just a fork, and the rib gave way willingly, while still maintaining its pride. The bark was slightly sweet, very tangy, and darkly intoxicating.
The
meaty meat, the smoky smoke, the low-and-slow skill...Hart was stuffed
from his pancakes...immersed in a video....he said "no, Mom, I don't want any..." but still - well, you see?
Nibbles got two bones, Hart got 4 ribs, and we all got a memorable experience. We are still talking about these ribs.
I think the report on the National Civil Rights Museum needs its own post....so the shot of the amazing Memphis ribs will close this post....can't you just smell them!?
PS - Here is Hart on Memphis: We picked good BBQ. The ribs were juicy, crispy, and delicious. We went to the Civil Rights Museum. That was emotional for my mom, and I got a great pencil with a bunch of MLK Jr quotes. The Days Inn we stayed at was sup-par. It smelled bad, but the waffles were awesome.
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