I was starting to question the barbecue expertise at Southern Living.

In 2024, the esteemed Southern magazine listed a barbecue restaurant in Nashville as the best barbecue joint in Tennessee, as decided by the magazine’s readers. 

Every Memphian who read that poll was stunned: Had those readers lost their minds?

Memphis is the barbecue capital of the world for a reason.

Not only do we have many, many excellent barbecue restaurants in this city, hundreds of barbecue teams from around the world converge in Memphis every May to win the coveted title of not one but now two international barbecue contests.

But the magazine got it right this year when it published this year’s “The South’s Best Barbecue Joint In Every State” list Tuesday, March 11.

The magazine featured a Memphis barbecue restaurant instead of a Nashville one in its 2025 list.

Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous was named the best barbecue joint in Tennessee in the 2025 readers’ poll.

Voting was done through an online survey open between July 20 and Aug. 21, 2024, and conducted by third-party agency Proof Insights. The survey generated more than 10,000 responses.

“This is a win for Memphis,” said Anna Vergos, one of the family owners of the Rendezvous. “We are so proud to be part of this community that has always been home to the best barbecue. We hope this gives Southern Living readers another reason to visit Memphis and experience what we have to offer.”

I wholeheartedly agree with her! Memphis is (and will always be) the dining destination for barbecue lovers.

“This is a win for Memphis,” said Anna Vergos, one of the family owners of the Rendezvous, about being recognized by Southern Living. “We are so proud to be part of this community that has always been home to the best barbecue. We hope this gives Southern Living readers another reason to visit Memphis and experience what we have to offer.” (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

This Week on Memphis’ restaurant scene

There are big changes happening for Comeback Coffee. On Monday, owners Hayes and Amy McPherson announced they are closing their Downtown Memphis coffee shop to focus on growing their retail coffee line, which includes roasted coffee beans and coffee sodas. My story explains the reason they decided to close. 

Friday, March 7, was the last day for Café Ole, a Mexican restaurant in Cooper-Young Memphians have frequented for the past three decades. Owner Kendall Robertson shared what is next for the space.

Cafe Ole will reopen with a new concerpt at 959 Cooper St. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

In Food Files, Sophia Surrett reported JoJo’s Espresso has opened a coffee stand in the Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital lobby and the building that once housed the Downtown Happy Mexican will reopen later this year as a restaurant called Happy Memphis. She also shared the news that gluten-free bakery Jacques Louise is taking a break while the owner looks for a new kitchen after a fire damaged her former space. 

In last week’s “Sound Bites” podcast, Holly Whitfield sat down with Stacey Greenberg, the editor of Edible Memphis magazine. On the podcast, Greenberg talks about her career in food writing and taking the reins of Edible in 2018.

My “What to Order” column this week featured a dish that is only available for six days a year: the Fish Pudding at Calvary’s annual Lenten Waffle Shop. Read about the history of this dish and why I think it became a Memphis tradition (it’s been on the waffle shop menu for 97 years).

Joshua Carlucci featured Hard Time Deli’s Buffalo chicken Caesar sandwich as our “$10 Deal” last week. Carlucci describes the sandwich as “one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in recent memory. Maybe ever. And it’s not just the flavor, though there’s plenty of that. It’s the concept itself.” 

Thanks for joining me for this week’s Table Talk. Be sure to look for this column weekly for all the latest food news in Memphis.

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