By Patricia Schultz (Workman Publishing, 2003)

There’s more to Memphis than Elvis. Its barbecue has long been a hallmark of soul food, linked with the city’s blues history since the beginning. This is succulent pork barbecue, not the beef commonly used elsewhere, and it’s pretty much the rule that the best meals in town are also the sloppiest. Of the hundreds of barbecue joints in Memphis, a number are world-famous multigenerational institutions in business for more than fifty years and with no-frills décor that’s just as old. The short list of major leaguers includes the Rendezvous, or ‘Vous, where 10,000 meals a week are served in a boisterous college-beer-dive atmosphere. The ribs aren’t smoked but grilled, and are dry-rubbed with spices after (and sometimes before) they’re done – a style of barbecue found mainly in Memphis. The place is hidden in an alley near the city’s grand old Peabody Hotel, which is worth a visit just to see the famous twice-daily parade of trained ducks, who waddle across the neo-Renaissance lobby to the music of John Philip Sousa.