A Review of Pig on Beale Street - It's What's for Dinner

Tired of the long punishing Chicago winter, a friend of mine and I decided to make a road trip down to Memphis, Tennessee. We went in search of sunshine, some good music and of course, some good barbeque. The sunshine and good music were easy to find and enjoy, as you can never fill up on too much of those things. It was the hunt for a good restaurant that required us to be more selective.

We wanted our first meal in Memphis to be delicious and memorable. It would be that first meal that would set the tone for the rest of our trip, after all. So we decided to begin our search by consulting with some locals who referred us to a restaurant called Rendezvous. Mouths watering, we followed the seemingly sketchy directions down a dark alley to the recommended restaurant, but were sorely disappointed to learn that it was closed that day. Defeated, we retreated to Beale Street and walked up and down the street inspecting the windows of local eateries, looking for lines of people outside, as the long line is often times a good indicator of the quality of the food inside. It was then that it caught our eye. A simple looking restaurant with a sign we couldn't refuse. A restaurant called "Pig." As if the name alone wasn't enough to draw us in, the aroma of sweet barbecue beckoned us with scent waves that were almost visible to the naked eye.

Pig on Beale Street is known for its many different styles of barbecue from pulled pork sandwiches to hickory smoked turkey. But the dishes that caught our fancy were the smoked barbecue pork shoulder and hickory smoked ribs.

We ordered the full rack of barbeque ribs and tapped our feet impatiently as we awaited their arrival. While we waited, we took a look around the restaurant.

Pig has a very retro feel to it. With its Formica tables and varied music memorabilia on the walls, you are easily transported back to the 1950's. The restaurant is dark and unpretentious and there are rolls of paper towels on each table. It's the kind of place you would expect to get good barbeque, but not the place you would want to wear your Sunday bests.

It seemed like a long time before our food finally arrived. The restaurant was short on servers and the one we had did not have the time to address our beer refilling needs. Still, upon tasting our long awaited ribs, we agreed that it was worth the minor inconvenience. Our ribs were served dry with sides of barbecue sauce, one sweet and one spicy. The spicy one was both of our favorite. The rib meat was tender and well seasoned, and fell off the bone with ease. We got white, sliced bread and fries on the side and both were perfect accompaniments.

All in all, our experience at the Pig was a good one, although if you are super hungry and are looking for more efficient service, I would recommend that you try one of the other eateries on Beale Street.