{"id":935,"date":"2012-04-24T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2012-04-24T10:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extraordinarybbq.com\/?p=935"},"modified":"2023-09-27T12:14:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T17:14:10","slug":"competition-101-memphis-in-may","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extraordinarybbq.com\/competition-101-memphis-in-may\/","title":{"rendered":"Competition 101: Memphis in May"},"content":{"rendered":"
Picture this:<\/p>\n
You arrive in Memphis, Tennessee on a Thursday morning in May.\u00a0 In the airport you see a few quick service BBQ restaurants; Neely\u2019s, Corky’s, and Interstate.\u00a0 Even though you are quite famished after your 6am flight, you of course pass these stale airport outlets in favor of the fresh smoked love that Memphis has to offer.\u00a0 Hailing a cab, you tell your driver to high-tail it downtown.\u00a0 Stepping out of the cab at your hotel, your sinuses are assaulted by the smell of roast pork, spices, and sweet smoke. You walk through the revolving door of the Peabody, taking notice of the ducks splashing around in the center fountain, and the tux clad jazz pianist in the bar.<\/p>\n
Checking in at your hotel, you can\u2019t help but notice the hazy blue fog drifting and dancing about the alleys and byways of downtown.\u00a0 You drop your luggage and proceed to relive your own version of \u201cWalking in Memphis\u201d, pretending those Nike’s are blue suede, you are walking with your feet 10 feet off of Beale.\u00a0 You grab a \u201cBig Ass Beer\u201d from a\u00a0vendor on Beale Street, watch the Beale Street Flippers do 27 continuous backward handsprings down the middle of the road; then follow the crowds, and your nose, towards the Mississippi River.\u00a0\u00a0 Walking down the long brick-clad street, Ole Man River comes into view and so does the crowd.\u00a0 There are about a thousand or so people here, all calmly walking to the gates of what many consider to be the Superbowl of Swine.<\/p>\n