Tom's Barbecue Memphis — Restaurant in Memphis

2 Texas boys stopped in today while we were on a breakdown & our truck was being serviced at the Penske down the street. I wish I had gotten folks names, because they were absolutely wonderful and treated us like family! We traded some jokes about which BBQ is better, Texas or Memphis, but it was all in fun & there were no meanspirited intentions, just to make that clear! It was all good natured, like when family teases each other with love.

Anyways, you came here to read about the food, so here ya go! I had the brisket & 2 sides of coleslaw and my co-driver had the baby back ribs, I think. I am getting old, I know they were pork ribs, don't judge me, 😂🤣!

The coleslaw was sweet with just a bit of a bite & so good I sopped up the juices with a slice of bread.

The brisket had a wonderful smokey flavor & their bbq sauce was kind of sweet and definitely complimented the rub.

They brought us a little sampler plate of their other meats & by all that is holy, when my co-driver and I were done eating, we hurt from being over stuffed with such good food! The sausage was amazing, best sausage I have ever had, to be honest. The rib tips were very flavorful & truly complimented the BBQ sauce. The ham was a treat, much better than I could have hoped for (I am burnt out on ham, we have had it the last few holidays, but it was still tasty enough that I wanted more!)

Ok, this review has turned into a novel & if you made it this far, do yourself a favor & stop in, you...

I seriously keep trying this place to hopefully get good service at least once. Today (like every other day I've been in) there was 7 employees behind the counter, and only three people ordering food. I have honestly never seen a group of workers that is so slow, so unorganized and ask you three and four times what you want. It's really nuts. Everybody screaming to each other what the order is three and four times, the lady at the cash register shaking her head like she's frustrated with the six cooks behind the counter. Lol. What a mess. I have avoided leaving a review previously, in hopes of coming back the next time and maybe, just maybe they would have a staff that is on top of things. Every person behind the counter seems to be lagging around, definately not in a hurry to get any order out. I've even been in when the owner was behind the counter and he was telling the staff to pick it up. Why even keep employees that don't care? These are faces I have seen over and over again Really bizarre. Anyway, hope this business picks up the pace bc according to all the "hype" from being featured on television, it for sure does not live up to that. The fries are always hard like they have been sitting out for an hour, meat is most of the time dried out, and words just can't describe the staff.....oh well. I guess this is my last time here....

Nowadays, this is the best barbecue in Memphis (a generation ago, it would have been top-5.) What makes this the best is that the meat, sauce, and sides all are very good, which really cannot be said for any other barbecue place in the city these days.

I have had only the pork shoulder plate, and it is excellent. The meat is lean and well-flavored, and if you are lucky, you even get an occasional burnt end. The sauce is probably the best in the city, with a mild flavor that is neither too sweet nor sour...it just complements the meat without distracting from it. As for the sides, I have gotten candied yams, green beans, and turnip greens. If you have gotten these at other places, you know they are hit-or-miss (green beans especially can be very bland.) But all are very good here.

The prices are middle-of-the-road. The atmosphere is very spartan, with a dive feel. You order at the counter, and at peak hour the line can get a bit long, but they are very efficient. It is one of those places where you are better off studying the menu online before arriving so that you know what you want and don't have to hold up the line.

If you get a plate, you get two sides, but they are not all listed on the website. The ones I have seen yams, green beans, turnip greens, corn on the cob, spaghetti, among a few others. All...