Some Unexpected Perquisites of Organizing a BBQ Seminar

Organizing the BBQ Seminar has been a lot of fun. Some of the benefits -- good food, good company -- are predictable. Others are less so.

Among the unexpected rewards are some beautiful candies that Christelle made for me. I have never seen anything like them. They are so lovely that I can't bring myself to bite them! Jonathan brought them by my office and told me that she had made them as a thank-you for putting the BBQ Seminar together.

Thank you, Christelle, for sharing your talents with me and my family!

Germantown Commissary

The second Rhodes Barbecue Seminar was held at the Germantown Commissary on 20 November 2009. This location was suggested by Eric Henager. Thanks for the tip, Eric.

Wow, Germantown Road is a long way from Rhodes College! Wow, there are a lot of cars on I-240 and Poplar at around 5:30 PM! Living just a mile from Rhodes, I am thankfully spared having to deal with rush hour commutes, and passing through an East Memphis traffic jam wasn't my favorite way to begin an evening out.

There was a lot of vehicular traffic in front of the Commissary when we arrived, and I was worried that we'd have trouble finding a parking space. Fortunately, the Commissary offers complimentary valet parking. Is it possible that they are unique among BBQ restaurants in this regard?

I had called ahead the day before to reserve seating for 20-25 people. Traffic and other delays caused us to arrive over a fairly wide range of times. The folks at the Commissary were very accommodating in holding tables for us even though there were many outside of our party waiting to be seated. The Commissary is a very popular place! Eventually, we were seated at three tables.

The ribs were served dry, a bit salty, and having little or no dry rub on them. I thought they were very good.

The pulled pork was also tasty, though I wish it had been pulled a little more. That is, some of the pork was still in large pieces, which made it difficult to eat my sandwich.

The beans were great, but served very hot, making it easy to burn your tongue if you're not careful. The onion rings were tasty but a bit oily for my tastes.

The barbecue sauce was good but not my favorite in Memphis. The hot version had virtually no fire at all.

Some in our party ordered tamales, barbecued chicken, and perhaps other dishes as well. I will leave it to them to comment on these.

I had been told that the desserts at the Commissary were excellent, so my son Sam and I decided to indulge. I tried Sam's banana pudding, which was good.

I ordered the caramel cake and thought it was good too, though neither of these were as good as the ones I get at home. I'm anxious to try their chocolate pie, lemon pie, and coconut cake. The pecan pie looked great.

In case you're wondering, food photography is hard! The food looked a lot more appetizing on our plates than it does in these pictures. The wonderful aromas of the Commissary go a long way. Sadly, I haven't figured out how to upload them to this blog yet. Eric Breck, maybe this is something you computer scientists can work on.

Our waitress was very accommodating in splitting our check. The service was fast, friendly, and efficient.

The Commissary was crowded during our visit. It's on the small side, and I found myself in the wait staff's way on more than one occasion. The line to pay was also a bit chaotic. All of this led to slight feelings of claustrophobia and of being rushed, for me at least.

In attendance were Ellie Bagley (Religious Studies); husband-and-wife team Sarah Boyle and David Kabelik (both, Biology); Eric Breck (Computer Science) and his fiance Emily;

Jonathan Fitz Gerald (Biology), his wife Christelle, and their two daughters; Eric Gottlieb (Mathematics) and his son Sam; Eric Henager (Modern Languages, Spanish), his wife Alicia, and their three children; Terri Lindquester (Mathematics) and her daughter Abby; Michelle Voss-Roberts (Religious Studies) and her husband Brian; Mike Sheard (Mathematics), his wife Sue, and Sue's sister Kay.

Also in case you're wondering, blog layout is hard! One would think there would be an easy way to place photos so that they flow naturally with the text, but if there is, I haven't found it yet.

I'm looking forward to our next outing, which will probably be in January or February given end-of-semester- and holiday-induced hectic schedules. If anyone wants to suggest a destination, drop me an email or post a comment.

Payne's on Lamar

Our first BBQ seminar was held on Friday 9 October 2009 at Payne's on Lamar. I thought it was a very nice beginning to what will hopefully become a longstanding Rhodes tradition.

The ribs at Payne's are served with a barbecue sauce that recalls the sweet and sour sauce that can be found at some Chinese restaurants. The ribs were tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. I thought they were delicious! Dry rub was not an option. The pork sandwiches were also good, though perhaps not to the same level as the ribs. The hot version of the barbecue sauce was not particularly hot. The beans were very good, with lots of pork in them. The cole slaw was acceptable, though a bit heavy on mustard for my tastes.

There were few vegetarian options (I know, I know, it's a barbecue restaurant), though our hosts kindly prepared a cole slaw sandwich for the two vegetarians in attendance. While the vegetarian sandwiches were not particularly tasty, our hosts' consideration was appreciated. Overall, the service was hospitable and friendly, though not excessively attentive.

Hot dogs and chips were the only non-barbecue options available for the barbecue-averse children in attendance.

The atmosphere at Payne's is spare, with uncovered dusty lightbulbs and plastic plants. The stove and refrigerator are akin to those you might find in a home. This gave the place a pleasant sense of informality and hominess.

We cashed out at $10 per person, which earns Payne's a rating of highly affordable in my book. Payne's is a cash-only business.

In attendance were Jonathan Fitz Gerald and his family, Michelle Voss Roberts and her husband Brian, Jeff Hamrick, Kendra Hotz, Ellie Bagley, Art Carden and his son, Tracy Lemos, Willie Hiatt, and yours truly (Eric Gottlieb) with family.

I enjoyed our visit to Payne's and will definitely return.

Introduction to the Rhodes BBQ Seminar

Memphis is known for its excellent barbecue, and Rhodes College is a long-standing Memphis institution. It seems only natural that there should be a means for the members of the Rhodes community to explore Memphis barbecue together. This is the purpose of the Rhodes BBQ Seminar.

The term "seminar" is used loosely and with humor here, and is only a reference to Rhodes' academic nature. We have not yet incorporated any lectures on the history, sociology, or anthropology of barbecue. At least one professor has expressed regret about this, so perhaps we will find some authorities to address us at some point.

The BBQ Seminar is open to all associated with the Rhodes community and to their families.