“Down Home with the Neely’s” was the popular Food Network show that was launched in 2008 featuring the Neely family, hosted by Pat and Gina Neely, the owners of the former Neely’s Bar-B-Que restaurant on Jefferson Ave, downtown Memphis, with occasional appearances by Tony Neely, owner of the former Neely’s Bar-B-Que on Mt. Moriah. Since I work in downtown Memphis I stopped by Neely’s Bar-B-Que a handful of times on my way home from work. I also made a trip out to the Mt. Moriah location. Check back in the future for the full article about this piece of barbecue history. Until then, check out my Quick-Fire Guide below as well as full reviews of other bbq restaurants from my BBQ Guide.
Quick-Fire Guide:
Here are a few notes about the ‘que:
Tenderness-
- Ribs-were perfectly tender and had a nicely developed bark on the exterior. At times they were a little too fatty. At the Mt Moriah location, the ribs were just slightly dry.
- Shoulder– was tender and had some of the crust.
Beef-was tender and bits of crusty bark mixed throughout my sandwich.
Smoke-
- Ribs-had very mild smoke flavor. At the Mt. Moriah location, I enjoyed a little more smoke flavor.
- Shoulder-had slight smoke flavor
Beef-had the best wood smoke flavor of anything I had from Neely’s on Jefferson. The best meal I had from there.
Sauce-had a nice balance of sweet, tangy and savory
Slaw-crunchy, tangy, a little creamy, a little spicy, both mustard and mayo. It complimented the pork.
BBQ Nachos-The pork shoulder had only slight smoke flavor. I thought the cheese sauce used was inferior to what is served at so many other Memphis joints. It reminded me of the cheap stuff served at a high school concession.
BBQ Spaghetti-I recall had a little sweet heat from the bbq sauce
Thanks for visiting my Memphis bbq blog! Tim Shirley