iowamom

DH, DD (11) and I are heading to Memphis for the Liberty Bowl (Dec 31) to see DH's alma mater Rice play in their biggest bowl game to date!

We will likely be in Memphis for less than 48 hours but none of us have ever been there before. We are staying at the Residence Inn Memphis East - location isn't ideal but we were limited by availability of 1 bedroom suites and price - and even then had to pre-pay for the minimum of two nights.

Any suggestions for good mid-priced restaurants? (We love BBQ but some of us prefer dry rub - saw a recommendation from a Fodorite for Rendezvous) Not sure what we should do for dinner after the Liberty Bowl - it's NYE!

Any suggestions of activities?

Any parking advice for the Liberty Bowl?

iowamom

Anybody???

stumpworks73

Rendezvous is famous for dry rub ribs.

I like Corky's on E. Poplar for pulled pork with red sauce BBQ that meets your mid price category.

For lunch one day find a Gus Fried Chicken for nationally acclaimed local fare.

spirobulldog

Gus' Fried Chicken
Blues City has good ribs and other good eat. Probably my favorite place in Memphis. Rendevouz is good. They smoke their ribs over coal not wood. They also use oregano in their rub. So, they do have a different taste than most. Corky's is commercialized, IMOP. I don't like it. That said, it is often the #1 rated bbq joint. I don't like Neely's-their sauce is super sweet, IMOP.
Central BBQ is good. Paynes and Leonards makes a lot of peoples top bbq spot.
Huey's has good burgers and other items too.


See Peabody Ducks
See Elvis/Graceland

SusanCS

For additional information, you might check tripadvisor.com. The DE there is a woman named Deb who has lots of personal information about Memphis.

CounterClifton

You'd be hard pressed to find a rib joint that didn't do dry rub. It's the Memphis norm. Personal favs are Germantown Commissary and Neely's Interstate (but I don't use sauce). I lived 10 years very near Corky's... but really felt their quality had slipped a lot. I stopped eating there unless someone else was making the decision. Meat started tasting off to me.

It's not pure Memphis, but Ruth's Chris Steakhouse right across the street from your hotel. Probably a bit beyond "midrange" though. Buckley's though is local and more reasonable and in the same area there on Poplar. Pretty good prime rib.

Will gladly second Gus's Fried Chicken.

More to do's: National Civil Rights Museum (would even call this one a must, which is rare for me) in the Lorraine Motel. Gibson Guitar Factory. Sun Studios tour to see where Elvis, Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, many others recorded. A peek inside the voodoo shop on Beale St is a kind of a fun goof.

iowamom

Just for back from dinner at the Commissary - fantastic!!! Waiting area was full and chaotic (people waiting for tables and people ordering/picking up carry out) - always a good sign of a popular place - but we only had to wait about 15 mins for a table. Thanks for the recommendation!

CounterClifton

No worries IA_mum. Lived not too far from there for a long time before we moved down here to Australia. It was a fav and one I miss, so I'm glad you liked it.

iowamom

We made it to Buckley's and Rendezvous as well - ribs were definitely better at the Commissary. The ones at the Commissary were very meaty - Rendezvous ribs had significantly less meat and were pretty dry. Buckley's was great - waited an hour for a relatively early NYE dinner. Steaks were good - as was dessert!

CounterClifton

I thought the same thing about Rendezvous. Both them and Corky's, I thought, were on the downhill side of things on quality for quite a while (just my opinion). Corky's, meanwhile, I thought the meat started tasting kind of "funny". Like not as nice, a little rank. Everyone's tastes are different though and that could have just been us. But it did change and just about the time they started expanding, doing packaged stuff for stores and all that. Rendezvous was most about the cantankerous image of the staff and pulling people in for that (also my opinion).

Glad you're getting some good meals in. It's a great food town.

iowamom

Thanks so much Clifton - we are back home now but glad we had some good meals!

Seems like the Commissary is a place locals go and Rendezvous has become a tourist destination...

We are definitely planning to return to Memphis in the spring or fall when the weather is better. (And we aren't overrun by zillions of football fans!)