- Jul 6, 2008
- 193
- 10
I'll start things off:
Went to Neely's BBQ of Nashville.
Yes, this is THE Neeleys from Memphis (Pat and Gina plus Gaelin, Tony and Mark) from Food Network. No, it isn't the Neely (Jim) from Interstate BBQ in Memphis. I believe that Pat might be Jim's son. No, I've never seen their show...
They opened a Nashville location back in 2002. I finally made it there. I didn't go in order to do a review per se, but thought I'd throw a quick one your way.
I went to get a sandwich. The large was $5.49 and the small was $4.89. You think I was going for the small? Hardly.
You could smell the smoke from half a football field away. If you approach from the back, you can see through a plate glass window with an aging room with sides of beef hanging (maybe some pork as well...didn't look all that closely). Since I still wasn't in review mode, I didn't really look it over or ask any questions about it.
With sandwiches, you get your choice of pulled or chopped meat (once again, I didn't take a lot of notes 'cause I was hungry for a good ole Memphis style pork sandwich). Even though chopped sandwiches were standard when I was growing up in Memphis, I chose the pulled sandwich. Since I'm a Memphian, I got slaw right on the sandwich (it comes on the side otherwise). I also got the hot sauce (you have to ask for it). Normally, both the slaw and the sauce come on the side, but I was eating on the run, so I had them put them both on the sandwich.
Well, I can highly recommend it. There was a nice smoke ring on several pieces, and the meat is hand pulled on the spot. There was a really nice hickory flavor and the hot sauce was dark, rich and just spicy enough. It's an expensive sandwich for a pick-up sandwich, to be sure, but definitely worth the money. The sauce could have been hotter for my taste, but it was good. Rich and tomatoey with just the right amount of vinegar flavor.
I saw some ribs go out and they looked perfect for wet ribs. They have dry ribs as well, of course. The wet ribs looked thick and juicy. I did NOT try them though.
http://www.neelysbbq.com/ourmenu.htm
As I was going home, I passed by Nick's Famous BBQ. I decided to drop in and sacrifice my midsection for the cause (it was at this point that I decided to do a semi-formal review). For the same amount of money, I was able to get the pork plate (only chopped). It came with choice of 2 sides. I got the cole slaw and the baked beans.
It was "typical" Nashville BBQ (Jack's BBQ downtown is pretty good for Nashville and is popular with the tourists). The smoke flavor was pretty laid back and barely discernable. The pork was almost dry (but not quite - it was still "acceptable")). There was almost twice as much pork as there was from the Neeleys. I asked for a bun (normally it comes with white bread or cornbread) and I made a sandwich with the slaw and lots of "hot sauce". You get three types of sauces on the table, hot sauce, mild sauce and sweet sauce. All of them had a vinegar emphasis. The sauce wasn't all that "hot". The bun was a size smaller than Neeley's and yet, I could have made an extra whole sandwich with what was left over after I made my sandwich. I loaded it down with hot sauce and it was still a fairly undistinguished sandwich and pork. Not bad and if you're going to go for maximum value, I could recommend it. But it wasn't in the league of Neeley's. The beans were average.
http://nashville.citysearch.com/profile/9327297/
I don't think they have their own website.
Nick's and Neeley's are only about 2 miles apart.
And now I'm stuffed.
You're welcome <chuckle>
PS, how about a dedicated review section?
Went to Neely's BBQ of Nashville.
Yes, this is THE Neeleys from Memphis (Pat and Gina plus Gaelin, Tony and Mark) from Food Network. No, it isn't the Neely (Jim) from Interstate BBQ in Memphis. I believe that Pat might be Jim's son. No, I've never seen their show...
They opened a Nashville location back in 2002. I finally made it there. I didn't go in order to do a review per se, but thought I'd throw a quick one your way.
I went to get a sandwich. The large was $5.49 and the small was $4.89. You think I was going for the small? Hardly.
You could smell the smoke from half a football field away. If you approach from the back, you can see through a plate glass window with an aging room with sides of beef hanging (maybe some pork as well...didn't look all that closely). Since I still wasn't in review mode, I didn't really look it over or ask any questions about it.
With sandwiches, you get your choice of pulled or chopped meat (once again, I didn't take a lot of notes 'cause I was hungry for a good ole Memphis style pork sandwich). Even though chopped sandwiches were standard when I was growing up in Memphis, I chose the pulled sandwich. Since I'm a Memphian, I got slaw right on the sandwich (it comes on the side otherwise). I also got the hot sauce (you have to ask for it). Normally, both the slaw and the sauce come on the side, but I was eating on the run, so I had them put them both on the sandwich.
Well, I can highly recommend it. There was a nice smoke ring on several pieces, and the meat is hand pulled on the spot. There was a really nice hickory flavor and the hot sauce was dark, rich and just spicy enough. It's an expensive sandwich for a pick-up sandwich, to be sure, but definitely worth the money. The sauce could have been hotter for my taste, but it was good. Rich and tomatoey with just the right amount of vinegar flavor.
I saw some ribs go out and they looked perfect for wet ribs. They have dry ribs as well, of course. The wet ribs looked thick and juicy. I did NOT try them though.
http://www.neelysbbq.com/ourmenu.htm
As I was going home, I passed by Nick's Famous BBQ. I decided to drop in and sacrifice my midsection for the cause (it was at this point that I decided to do a semi-formal review). For the same amount of money, I was able to get the pork plate (only chopped). It came with choice of 2 sides. I got the cole slaw and the baked beans.
It was "typical" Nashville BBQ (Jack's BBQ downtown is pretty good for Nashville and is popular with the tourists). The smoke flavor was pretty laid back and barely discernable. The pork was almost dry (but not quite - it was still "acceptable")). There was almost twice as much pork as there was from the Neeleys. I asked for a bun (normally it comes with white bread or cornbread) and I made a sandwich with the slaw and lots of "hot sauce". You get three types of sauces on the table, hot sauce, mild sauce and sweet sauce. All of them had a vinegar emphasis. The sauce wasn't all that "hot". The bun was a size smaller than Neeley's and yet, I could have made an extra whole sandwich with what was left over after I made my sandwich. I loaded it down with hot sauce and it was still a fairly undistinguished sandwich and pork. Not bad and if you're going to go for maximum value, I could recommend it. But it wasn't in the league of Neeley's. The beans were average.
http://nashville.citysearch.com/profile/9327297/
I don't think they have their own website.
Nick's and Neeley's are only about 2 miles apart.
And now I'm stuffed.
You're welcome <chuckle>
PS, how about a dedicated review section?
