Day Five – Already, but not yet… The Kingdom of Pork.

At this leg of the trip it was very nice to have a late morning. We got to sleep until about 10 before we had to check out of our hotel at 11. Before leaving Memphis we decided to make another BBQ stop over at the original Corky’s BBQ. We knew a pretty good deal about this stop, and knew that it was going to be a great choice. Having eaten ribs at other heavy hitters like Dreamland and Rendezvous we were pleasantly surprised that the ribs at Corky’s we our favorite by far.

Coming into the fifth day of the trip, I (Jared) was quickly approaching my breaking point. The unsullied affection for Southern BBQ that had been born out of our first stop at The Little Dooey was beginning to wane amidst the relentless onslaught of BBQ meal after BBQ meal. It seems that my broken, frail human condition was beginning to get the best of me. But yet again the awesomeness of this trip and the arbitrary goodness of John Calvin’s god trumped my own mental state.

When I opened the menu at Corky’s, the first item I saw on the page was, BBQ NACHOS. The heavens opened, angels sang their songs and my heart leaped for joy. At the point in which I needed it the most, BBQ came through in the clutch. I checked with my fellow BBQ Road Trippers to make sure that BBQ nachos fit within the parameters of our trip and I was given the go ahead.

Praise God for the versatility of Mexican food. It truly is God’s chosen chow.

Our waitress Evelyn was amazing! She was incredibly proud of the quality of food Corky’s had to offer and was not afraid to talk with us about it. We appreciated her vibrant personality and great service.

Corky’s – Memphis, TN

Meat – 5 – Best ribs of the trip by far.
Sauce – 4.5 – it’s no Dreamland
Sides – 3 – nothing really special, but let’s be honest… you’re not going to Corky’s for their sides.
Tea – 2 – just no good.
Dessert – we were too stuffed to eat dessert, but on our way out we saw the dessert tray. It looked awesome.
Atmosphere – 4 – tons of nostalgia with pictures of celebrities covering the walls.

After finishing lunch at Corky’s we began our descent back to Texas, with a stop down at England, AR the home of Jonathan’s parents, Rick and Kay Hyde. We went that night to eat at the Mean Pig in Cabot, AR. It’s astonishing the response we receive from some of the owners when we tell them about our BBQ Tour. Once again we were treated so well by this restaurant. They gave us a tour of their place and showed us the entire process their meat goes through before serving it to their customer. The knowledge that we have gained about BBQ in these past few days has been unbelievable and taken this trip to a whole other level.

The Mean Pig – Cabot, AR

Meat – 4 – really good, chopped pork sandwich
Sauce – 4 – your choice of Mild, Sweet, or Hot
Sides – 5 – the Baked Beans were unbelievable
Tea – 1 – This was the beginning of the end of Sweet Tea for the BBQ Tour. We weren’t quite prepared for it, but Arkansas has adopted the Texas tradition of not serving Sweet Tea. This discovery reminded us of the reality that our trip was soon coming to an end.

After dinner that night, we went back to Jonathan’s house. We spent the evening watching Quigley Down Under, eating Apple Crisp as created by Mrs. Kay and finishing the first season of How I Met Your Mother.

Porkin’ aint getting any easier,

Boys of the BBQ Tour