Memphis Blues Barbeque House — Restaurant in Vancouver

There are moments in modern life — fleeting, fragile, and absurd — when the illusion of joy attempts to assert itself. Ours was meant to be one of those moments: an anniversary dinner, seeking respite from banal repetitions of work and screen, choosing ribs in the park as the sun dissolved another week's memory. But the spectacle — that machinery of alienated experience — had other plans. Our simple desire for a meal became an encounter with bureaucratized indifference, a mouthpiece for petty rules whose presence confirmed the triumph of commodity over care. I arrived with the hope of a customer expecting service — not reverence, merely humanity's warmth. But expecting dignity under late-stage service capitalism reveals laughable naivety. The counter woman greeted my request with suspicion. I, noted criminal, dared ask: "Is there ketchup in the bag?" Ketchup. Not gold. Not foie gras. Ketchup — that most proletarian of condiments. A packet, a token of culinary decency. A child's expectation. The question was innocent. The answer was not. "WHY?" she snapped, not as query but accusation. A challenge. In that syllable was the system's entire disdain: for you, your time, your body, your intent. Her tone wasn't of someone overworked (though surely she was), but someone marinated in low-tier power — the kind festering in fluorescent spaces, sustained by repetition, justified by the illusion of order. I stammered, "...for the fries?" A human answer. But I'd already failed the test. "Well I'll have to add that to your bill," she barked. Let it be known: I was charged for ketchup. Not metaphorically. Not hypothetically. Charged. For. Ketchup. Let's not rush past this indignity. Let it fester in the mind like it did in my bag. This isn't just about 30 or 50 cents, whatever arbitrary figure this establishment decided ketchup costs. It's about the degradation of service, civility, life reduced to an invoice. When a place charges for ketchup with contempt, it's no longer a business — it's a symptom of a sick society confusing resentment with professionalism, policy with meaning. I'm not "outraged" morally. Morality is dead in spaces like these, sacrificed to profit margins and minimum staffing. What I feel is colder: clarity. This place — its ethos, gesture, tone — is precisely what Debord described when writing of spectacle substituting appearance for reality. I hadn't come for ribs, not really. I'd come for a moment's rest, a pause in the wheel. I received instead a hollowed "service" performance. The ribs might've been rubber. I barely tasted them. The counter woman isn't the true villain. She's the product of a system teaching her that people are problems, customers are parasites, kindness is liability, and the world comprises transactions to monitor and monetize. She enforces a doctrine about punishment, not food. Her attitude wasn't a fluke — it was a feature. To be treated like an imposition for asking for ketchup glimpses the wider horror: we're no longer people to each other. We're interruptions. Demands. Buttons to push and receipts to print. In a better world, this experience would be laughable. In ours, it's utterly ordinary. So no, I won't return. Not for ribs. Not for refunds. Not even apologies. This place doesn't deserve customers. It deserves a reckoning. Until then, keep your ketchup. You clearly need it...

Walked into Memphis blues on Monday afternoon for some BBQ takeout. The customer service was excellent the lady took good care of us and gave us our space. The other cook guy I believe was a little more intimidating and not so friendly, he didn't say anything rude or anything but wasn't exactly too friendly when he spoke to us. We ordered a full rack of ribs and another half rack of ribs and 2 orders of fries and a rib ends sandwich, the bbq sauce was not very good, I rather have kraft original bbq sauce from the grocery store. We finished ordering our take out and the lady put in the order. Within ear shot the cook says to her, "their ordering a full rack and a half rack, that will clean us out for ribs until 4 oclock". That made me feel kinda uneasy as if it was my fault they are not going to have ribs until later. Not something a customer needs to be hearing. So super quickly, within 10 minutes of ordering our take out we get our order all ready to go. I think hmmmm, that was fast. Driving home took about less than 12 minutes. Looking forward to some delicious juicy and saucy ribs as I seen pictures from other customers reviews. I opened the box of ribs and as you can see in the pictures we got one full rack and one half a rack of ribs, they were all DRY DRY DRY DRY DRY over cooked NOT SAUCED at all and totally over spiced ribs. The spices were caked onto the top of the meat and felt like leather. The inside was dry and flavourless. The fries were overcooked and dry dry dry dry, like fries that have been sitting out for way too long. The rib end sandwich was again chewy and full of hard pieces of meat that were unedible. Very disappointed with Memphis blues as I heard and seen such great reviews. When your spending 60 bux on BBQ from a BBQ restaurant, you would expect some pretty darn good quality. Seems like the meat was cooked earlier in the day and was just left in a warmer to dry the hell out. We had a few ribs each and just threw the whole thing out into the compost, same with the rib end sandwich and fries.... Hope everyone gets a better quality experience than I did. I wont be going back to this place anytime soon.... Needs to have some better standards for a BBQ house there is no excuse for this kinda of BBQ I received. Maybe just lazy cooks that really just don't care anymore about what they serve anymore. Im a cook myself and would never serve this to...

Oh Memphis Blues. Used to be one if my favourite spots. After spending 10-15 minutes looking for a spot to park. Arrived to restaurant only to be told 15 minute wait.....with standing being the only place to wait. We left our name and went for a walk. Commercial drive is always great for a walk. Back at restaurant told their was one couple ahead of us. I asked the person, )a different person than took our name, maybe we are that couple. Yep. She then proceeded to clear a dirty table that sat two only. I have been to Memphis Blues for many years. A small table does not make for a comfortable eating experience. Seeing two people sharing a large bench table, wishing the server would ask if we could share, or some logistics used in designing tables that have leafs that go up to make for a wider table. I went up to the counter to place my order, as my table was being cleared (we are almost 40 min behind our eating time explained above). I was told there is table service. I KNOW THAT. I do not see any staff that I recognize. I miss that. Okay, order my usual, with seasoning on the side for fries, no corn bread, no beans. Came fast as usual, no cutlery, no ketchup. no plates. Very little room on table. Had to put things on seats to make room....BAD.....the couple in the large booth were relaxed, laughing enjoying their meal. GGrr. During the meal each of the staff members interuppted my meal to ask if everything was okay. Grrr. My mouth full, yes, water glass empty. No seasoning for fries. Wayyyy too much sauce, no way to put it on ribs. I go get spoon. Group now seated next to us. They are told there is only one half rack of ribs left. WHAT!!!! This a rib joint. It is only 730pm.What are they gonna do for rest of the night. My partner earlier joked " What if they run out of ribs again". That's right again. We were the victim of no ribs one night. I responded no, that would not happen again. Wow, no room to eat but at least we got ribs. Weren't we lucky.😀 Memphis Blues I enjoy your food. Your staff tries hard but are not trained. Putting up a sign saying table service does not mean your concession trained staff know how to do table service. Table service means booth rental, not a place to enjoy your concession style food. Table turnover is much slower than it use to be. I am a loyal customer. I want u to succeed. Time...