Where I’m Eating…The Pig (Memphis)

When you think of food and Memphis I would be surprised if you didn’t think of BBQ.  I didn’t do much planning before this business trip so I didn’t have a list of restaurants to try. When making reservations at the DoubleTree Downtown Memphis, I noted on my reservation that I would love a list of recommended BBQ restaurants available upon arrival — which they surprisingly provided.

One of the restaurants was closed, but the second choice, which came highly recommended was The Pig.  The Pig is on Beale Street, just a 3 minute walk from the DoubleTree.

It was about 19h00 and raining. Beale Street was pretty empty.  I was dining alone. The sign at The Pig said I should wait to be seated…so I waited and waited and waited and waited.  I noticed one of the bartenders waving me in — they seemed to be quite annoyed that I was waiting for service (as the sign required). I choose a seat and waited for a server.  A young woman who looked about 17 months pregnant came up and asked what I wanted to drink. I followed up with “What beer is on tap”. She was unhappy I asked her this and she walked away. Almost immediately a replacement server came up and list the limited number of beers on tap. I went wild and had a Blue Moon.

After spending a few minutes looking at the menu I decided to order the Jumbo BBQ Pork Sandwich with Fries and Slaw.  The sandwich was delivered very quickly. The meat was flavorful but the bun was cold and stale – not even toasted. I ate this quite quickly despite it being of average quality.

After dinner the preggo server asked if I wanted dessert, of which they had two selections:  Peanut Butter Pie and Pecan Pie.  I asked the server if the desserts were homemade. She appeared to be confused and then insulted by this. I explained the question again and said that I wasn’t really excited about eating a mass marketed dessert, but if it was homemade I would give it a try. The server then understood and said the desserts are made fresh every morning. I ordered the Peanut Butter Pie…it was also average.

I thought the whole experience was quite average. The food was extremely reasonably priced. When I’m in Memphis again, will I return to The Pig? Probably not. It was perfectly fine, but I am sure I can find a better BBQ Joint in Memphis.

Where do you recommend I go next time I am in Memphis?  Is Beale Street too touristy to get good food? Other than BBQ what should I get while in Memphis?