Memphis 3: Put some South in your mouth

 Memphis 3: put some South in your mouth

 

Oh yeah, they're subtle down here. 

Subtle much?

 

 

While following the Blues highway is the big pull for this trip up the Mississippi the food is also a powerful attraction.  Crunchy pieces of fried chicken,  huge racks of ribs, biscuits and gravy, grits - what's not to like? Well, grits actually.  Not much to like about grits.  Coarsely ground maize kernels boiled with water or milk - as delicious as it sounds.

 

Driving the long, flat and extremely boring trip from Memphis to Nashville we take a break about halfway, turning off the freeway when we see a promising sign for a restaurant.  Bear in mind, promising very rarely delivers. Such as when we see a farmers' market sign proclaiming Peaches. Yum, we think. Uh uhh.  "Oh no ma'am, we don't have any peaches, that's just our sign".  We bought tomatoes, and they were delicious.

 

Fried chicken

 

Gus's

In Memphis they told us Gus's is the last word in fried chicken.  True, it was darn good and they turn it out by the coop load with creamy mashed potatoes and coleslaw. 

How much chicken is too much?

 

Even better than the chicken? Our waitress Shalonda's false eyelashes.  

Shalonda's awesome lashes

 

 

 

So a restaurant in whoknowswhere Tennessee didn't make us very excited, but hey we needed a bathroom and it was past lunchtime.  It turns out Patty's in Wildersville might just be the best fried chicken in America.  

 

 

Chastity with two plates of chicken

We enter a place so clean and, gosh darn it, down home we couldn't help but order lunch.  $9.95 brought 4 pieces of crunchy crumbed juicy chicken, mashed potato and coleslaw the like of which the Colonel would turn in his bow tie for.  Chastity, our waitress, told us "I'm not gonna lie, it's the best fried chicken I ever ate, and I'm not just saying that 'cos I work here".  So we ordered it.

Ribs Memphis, and word is - Rendezvous has the best ribs.  They don't. And we're yet to find the best. 

 

Rendezvous ribs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eat here

Barbecue  As Cleatus (yes) our Uber driver says "you caint beat barbecue and cold beer. No sir". Who are we to argue?  

Going the whole hog

Martin's in Nashville had every right to be proud.  Whole hogs roasted every day,  four BBQ pits, 24 hours cooking time.  The sign says it all.

     

No microwave no freezer