#bbqtrail

[hankonfood]

@minimoustache04 got a Bacon Cheeseburger, much to @uncletexgp's chagrin!!! @thebackporchbbq #HomeOnLaGrange #BBQtrail (at The Back Porch BBQ)

[hankonfood]

@thebackporchbbq for our first visit here. #BBQtrail #HomeOnLaGrange (at The Back Porch BBQ)

[advenspinster]

Mmmmm...The weather’s beautiful here in North Alabama. Why not spend some time sampling some of the delicious dishes along the Barbecue Trail? #visitnorthal #visitalabama #bbqtrail

[wemaynevercomeback]

Memphis, TN

So, we are back in Florida today but not yet home. As I post this we have a little less than 3 hours til St Augustine. What better time to catch up on some posts? After blazing the BBQ trail, we arrived to Memphis with full bellies and a strong desire to walk it off. Haha First we had to check into our airbnb spot for the night. A guy bought the old 1910 Cotton Exchange Building and is slowly remodeling and renting the units out as apartments and has some furnished rooms on Airbnb. We got a room on the 19th floor with a pretty sweet view of the city. The major plus here is its proximity to Beale Street and other downtown attractions. The downsides… Parking totally sucked and we had to haul our very heavy stuff 5 blocks in the Memphis heat (and those full bellies!) The bed was like a taco shell in that when we sat on the edge we both rolled to the center. Haha (forced cuddling?) But aside from that it was a neat spot for the nights and way cheaper than the Peabody. First we went for a walk to Molly Fontaine’s which was this neat small plates and fancy cocktails place James read about online. It was set in an old Victorian house with hipster bartenders and Portishead playing on the record player. I got some kind lemony rosemary gin drink and James got a good Manhattan. We shared a order of their spicy roasted pecans, yum! After that we walked through a little artsy part of town and then by a baseball stadium where the red birds were playing. They’re not a major league team but are somehow related to the Cardinals, don’t ask me how. We sorta wished we had known earlier or we would’ve gone, but they were already in the 7th inning by the time we walked by. Onto Beale St, which is like the Bourbon St of Memphis. Cops, drunk people (who are allowed to take their drinks on the street) , and performers take over the block. We popped into a place for some “big ass beers" which were literally like 32 oz, yikes! And some so-so blues music. We just liked people watching and then took some photos. We stumbled by the rock and soul museum, we didn’t go in, but the sidewalk is lined with big cement balls decorated as baseballs, basketballs etc We laughed because the last time we drove through Memphis we stopped near here to get coffee and we took silly pictures of us pretending to kick the soccer ball. That was almost 3 years ago when James was moving to Florida (awww) so we took more photos. (Then/Now will get posted later) Went home to our wacky room for the night. We checked out in the morning and then went to a place called Beauty Shop cafe which is a old beauty parlor converted into a delish breakfast spot. They had old hair dryer chairs at some of the tables, very cool spot. Where we got a much needed healthy meal. (By this time in the trip we realize the detox diet that’ll need to happen when we get home, haha) After that we checked out a cool art gallery and headed out to the National Civil Rights Museum. Which is also the location where MLK Jr was shot on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel which is part of the exhibit as well as the boarding house where James Earl Ray fired the shot. Part of the museum is under construction but our 10$ admission was well worth its price. The exhibits are moving and well done. We both would like to go back next year when the rest of the museum is reopened. From there we took some touristy pictures in front of the Mississippi river and headed to Clarksdale.

[wemaynevercomeback]

BBQ Trail

Starting with the BBQ trail

Sam's BBQ, Humboldt, TN -known for their pork sandwiches & buttermilk pie. We first read about this place in G&G magazine. Shortly after the article their pit house caught fire and burned down. But they're back up and running. James and I split a sandwich with slaw. YUM! The slaw was perfect very little sauce on the sandwich but you didn't miss it because the pork was so soft it literally melted in your mouth. The sandwich was delicious, the pit beans were spicy, the sweet tea the perfect amount of sweet and the girl that took our order--even sweeter! We sadly opted for no pie because we knew we had two more stops before Memphis and didn't want to be that fat. haha Funny painting on the side of the building of a guy "Sam" chasing after a pig with a butcher knife. Spent: $9

Helen's BBQ, Brownsville, TN -also known for it's pork sandwiches. This lady knows how to smoke some meat! She walked around on her cell phone, in scrubs, scraping wood chips into the giant smokers. The place wasn't much to look at all, the outside looked more inviting than the inside. But it didn't make a difference once we got our sandwich. The meat here was smokier and the taste stuck with you. The sauce was the shining star here. This sandwich was way messier than at Sam's. Our Potato Salad however, was not good, and we didn't feel bad for tossing it out. Spent: $7

 Woodstock Store & Deli, Millingston, TN - From the outside you wouldn't expect this quick stop looking place was also a fine place to get some BBQ. In this part of Tennessee it is clear pulled pork reigns supreme- so you guessed it, we got another sandwich with slaw. By this point we were too dang full from our two previous stops so we took this one to go. This sandwich was HUGE. The biggest one by far. Spent: $5.50 Hope's favorite of our stops: overall Sam's  James'  favorite of our stops: overall Sam's