Our RV Adventures

or I had to go to Tennessee to get some good Alabama BBQ.

One of the nice things about being here at Tom Sawyer RV Park is the view of the Mississippi River, and the barge traffic going by.

Of course the park itself is really nice with long sites, trees,and a picnic table.

But then 2/3’s of the park is under water as I mentioned yesterday. We even had to drive through about 6 inches of water to get to our site.

And here’s the road leading out to the other area.

But this flooding pales in comparison to what happened in May 2011.

Glad we missed that one.

As usual, our last day here in Memphis consisted of shopping and eating. So our first stop was the Tru-Value Hardware out by I-40. I was looking for three things, a new shower on-off valve, a selection of ATM fuses, and a new locking 1/2 inch hitch pin for our Blue Ox tow bar.

Jan wanted a new shower valve because the old one on our Oxygenics shower head had started leaking. And of course the fuses were for my problem with the 12V  receptacles on our dashboard that showed up as we were leaving Fort Smith yesterday. So while I was at it, I wanted to get a selection of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 amp fuses, all of the various sizes that are used in our coach.

And I needed a new hitch pin because the lock on one of mine had jammed and couldn’t be used anymore. At least it jammed while it was off the hitch, and not locked on.

I had already checked two Wal-Marts and a Lowe’s for the shower valve with no luck, and Tru-Value didn’t help here, either. But they did have the 10 and 15 amp fuses, but not the 5, 20, and 30 ones.

And they did have a selection of locking hitch pins, but only in 5/8” and not the 1/2” that I needed. I still have one of the original non-locking pins and I’ll use one of  those until I find something else, probably from Amazon.

Then it was off to have more Memphis BBQ. Last night we had eaten at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous, a place in an alley in downtown Memphis.

We ate here on our visit before last, and loved it. But when we were here last time, it was a Sunday and Rendezvous was closed. So we ate there last night so we wouldn’t miss it this time.

Rendezvous is known for their ribs, and one taste shows why.

These ribs are different. They’re grilled over charcoal, not wood, and not slow smoked, or anything like that. They’re grilled 30 minutes on a side about 18 inches above a blazing charcoal fire.

This produces a delicious crust on the ribs that is then mopped with a mixture of vinegar, water, salt, and barbecue spices. Then before serving, the ribs are sprinkled with the secret Rendezvous seasoning.

I got the combo platter with ribs and their pulled pork, all juicy and delicious, while Jan just had ribs.

But another real standout here are their beans. They’re almost as good as the ribs. They have a delicate burnt caramel taste that I’ve never encountered before, but it adds such a flavor bonus, it’s hard to describe.

As far as today goes, we were going through the Best BBQ Places in Memphis’ lists trying to find a good place to eat this afternoon. But one problem we ran into was, like Rendezvous, many of the high-rated places are closed on Sunday.

But looking over several lists, I came across a name I was really familiar with – Jim & Nick’s BBQ. I’ve eaten at their original Birmingham AL location a number of times back in the 90’s, and knew they had started to spread out in Alabama, but I didn’t know they had gone further. In fact they’re now in 7 states as far west as Colorado.

So off we went to Jim & Nick’s out in Cordova, a Memphis suburb about 30 minutes away on the east side of  the city. And it was well worth the trip.

We started off with their Sausage Plate, with a link of their home-made sausage, served with pimento cheese and BBQ sauce. So good that Jan, who doesn’t really care for sausage, loved this.

Then they brought out a basket of their Cheese Biscuits which we devoured pretty quickly. They’re delicious, and so well-loved, they even sell the mix so you can make your own at home.

Jan got their Pig on a Bun pulled pork sandwich topped with cole slaw, while I again went with a Combo Plate with Ribs and Pulled Pork.

And it was like I was back in Alabama again, with the spare ribs and the pork, all slathered in their sauce, especially their Hot Habanero sauce. Like being back home.

Earlier, I had mentioned to our waitress Joy, that I had eaten at their original location a number of times, and she apparently mentioned this to the manager, Todd Mulder. So Todd came by our table and spent about 30 minutes talking BBQ with us. Everything they serve is made from scratch, and they even own their own hog farms so they can control the quality of the meat.

And as it turns out, he and his wife love Gulf Shores, AL where I grew up, and where we’re going to be in a couple of weeks, that we spent some more time talking about our favorite places there.

Todd’s a really nice guy, and you can tell he’s really passionate about his job, and it shows in the food and service at his place.

And thanks for the great service, Joy.

While we were eating, Jan asked me which ribs I liked best, Rendezvous’ or Jim & Nicks. I told her I really liked them both. It’s like apples and oranges, Even though they’re both ribs, they’re so different, it’s more of a contrast than a comparison.

But maybe if I ate at both places a few dozen more times, I might be able to decide. Or maybe not.

Tomorrow we’ve got a short 80 mile run east to the Cherokee Landing Thousand Trails park near Middleton, TN,. But strangely enough, to get from Memphis, TN to Middleton, TN, we have to go through Mississippi.

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Thought for the Day:

Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned. – Milton Friedman

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