John Clay's Sidelines

Neal McAtee, a Lexington native currently living in Memphis, sent along the following barbeque recommendations for UK fans headed down for the Liberty Bowl. With his permission, here are his tips:

John,

Should have sent this to you earlier.  As a lexingtonian living in Memphis, thought I would give you a quick guide to Memphis barbeque.

As you probably know, the big two are Rendevous and Corky’s.   Rendevous is dry and is more about the experience.  Also, given the owners are Greek, it has a slightly different taste.  Corky’s is more traditional.  Of the two, I prefer Rendevous.

For a more traditional barbeque, I would try one of the following over Corky’s:

Neely’s – if I said the big three rather than the big two, Neely’s would be there.

Central barbeque -  a relatively newcomer, but by far my family’s favorite.  Their original location is a couple of blocks west of the Liberty Bowl.  It is the typical barbeque joint – with red and white checkered plastic tablecloths.   I went there on Saturday and he had new blue and white checkered tablecloths on the table – coincidence or not, it is great.

The Bar-B-Q shop on Madison is another very good place.

The last two are more off the beaten path and therefore, better, in my opinion.  The have more of the local, hole in the wall flavor and, more importantly, better barbeque.

Also, I noticed the team may practice at MUS field.  As a Rhodes grad, I always like to see the practice of pro teams at the my alma mater (grizzlies of NBA practiced there  and when I was in college, the showboats of WFL practiced there).  However, the MUS field is more comparable to the liberty bowl field.  It is quite impressive for a high school field – stands not as big as remember my high school – Tates Creek, but field is very nice).