DAY 7 - Kansas City to Memphis, New Year's on Beale St.

Happy New Year!! We made it to Memphis. We took back roads of Missouri and Arkansas and made it in eight hours. We saw some amazing back country and scenic settings. We arrived around 4pm and after checking into the hotel we immediately headed out to get our Memphis bbq experience underway. We hit the famous Corky’s BBQ for New Year’s Eve dinner (see review below).

Photos of the scenic back country in Missouri and Arkansas

Memphis skyline as we arrived

A highway video we shot on our drive from Kansas City to Memphis

After dinner I dolled up and walked Beale St (Memphis’ version of Bourbon St.) to ring in the New Year. The street was packed. With the Liberty Bowl taking part in Memphis on Friday, fans of Eastern Carolina and Kentucky flooded the streets.

Me on Beale St. getting video footage of the scene

Video footage of midnight on Beale St. in Memphis - the dropping of the Guitar at Hard Rock Cafe, fire works at midnight and party goers ringing in the new year

Also, Tennessee is apparently more lenient on drinking regulations than California because they sell alcohol on the street and allow you to walk around with it. It’s not just for New Year's; it's a year-round law activated Thu-Sun.

We plan to sight see and hit a couple more bbq joints on New Year’s Day. USC plays at 3:30pm local time so that’ll work into the mix somehow.

THE REVIEW - Corky's BBQ, Memphis, TN

Probably the most famous bbq restaurant on our trip is Corky’s BBQ – www.corkysbbq.com – in Memphis, TN. We pulled into Memphis on New Year’s Eve at 4pm and we were off to Corky’s by 5pm. It’s about 10 minutes east of where we’re staying in downtown Memphis and it’s worth the drive. We couldn’t have picked a better place to spend our New Year’s Eve dinner. It was lively, upbeat, the staff was friendly and there were tons of fans there for New Year’s and the Liberty Bowl. Before the food even came we were having fun. Plus, our waiter Tony made it a great experience with his wonderful hospitality, enthusiasm and knowledge of Corky’s operation (his Tennessee accent was fun too). Oh yeah, they had the highest rated ribs yet.

Mama D. out front of the famous Corky's BBQ in Memphis, TN.

Corky's in Memphis was packed on New Year's Eve

After looking over the menu we were excited to try Corky's famous ribs and pulled pork

Footage of our Corky's BBQ feast, includes a cameo by our waiter Tony

Sauce – 4 – Corky’s original sauce screamed “BBQ Sauce.” It tasted like the sauce you’ve been eating since you were a kid. It was on the sweeter side with a hickory smoke undertone, no spice at all. They also had a unique apple BBQ sauce that was sweet and tasted like apple butter and bbq sauce – tasty, but be sure you’re a fan of SWEET.

Corky's had two sauces - Original and a special Apple BBQ sauce

Sides – 3 – Best potato salad so far. It tasted like a loaded up baked potato, but in potato salad form. The coleslaw was good, but nothing special – crispy shredded lettuce with a light mayo, but no seasonings or creaminess. Unfortunately, the bbq beans were a disappointment – they had an unusual after taste. The 3 rating is because of the outstanding potato salad.

Corky's potato salad was the best we've had - it was a potato salad form of a baked potato with all the fixings

Slabs – 4.5 – Corky’s ribs were the first we had with only a dry rub. Earl’s Rib Palace in Oklahoma City had a rub AND sauce and they were delicious (best we had at the time). Corky’s are on the same level. Along with the fantastic taste the ribs were perfectly cooked – the meat was moist, almost soft, and fell off the bone with a slight tug. They were meaty, not fatty and the skin was crusty with the dry rub.

Corky's BBQ ribs with a dry rub

Corky's had pork ribs with bbq sauce as well

Steaks – 3.5 – Although not their specialty, the brisket was decent. It was served in lean slices, not shredded, and it went great with sauce. It was a tad dry and not quite to the level of Hog Wild’s smoky flavored brisket.

Sandwiches – 4 – The pulled pork was one of the best we’ve had. It was served different than anything we’ve seen. It wasn’t shredded and it wasn’t in chunks. It was thick strings of pork. It was super moist and required little sauce. Because it was in long strings there wasn’t any crispy skin on it, but that was okay, the meat was flavorful enough.

Corky's delicious pulled pork was served in long thick pork strings; not shredded or chunky

Honorable mentions - Hush puppies is a side you don't see often; it's the first time we've seen them on our trip. They look like doughnut holes and taste like corn dog batter, but more well-done. Crunchy outside and sweet moist breaded inside. Delicious! We also wanted to call out the delicious dinner rolls. Perhaps we liked them so much because we were really hungry when they came to the table, but I think it was because they had a fresh crispy crust and a warm soft doughy inside. The butter melted nicely.

Me out front of Corky's BBQ in Memphis, TN.

DAY 6 - All Day in Kansas City

It's day six and I'm glad I brought my elastic pants. My waist size has grown a few inches. In fact, mom and I might try out for the upcoming Mother/Son Biggest Loser.

Our one full day in Kansas City was spent stuffing our faces with some of the best bbq in the country. We hit the three most hyped bbq joints in KC – Gates BBQ, Arthur Bryant’s and Jack Stack (see reviews below). Between bbq feasts we managed to mix in some sightseeing and a despearately needed walk. We were also able to take a drive into the suburbs of KC to check out some nice houses, really big houses.

Kansas City's historic City Market. It had fresh produce, ethnic delis and markets, coffee shops, gift shops and more.

Mama D. checking out the City Market's fresh produce

Downtown Kansas City was going through some revamps and looked to be developing a nice entertainment district

A beautiful neighborhood road in the suburbs of Kansas City

One of the many massive mansions we saw while driving around the Kansas City suburbs

Some of the monstrous houses were behind gates

The dogs were tired out from the hour walk along the river

We’re a bit sad to leave Kansas City because the weather was amazing (40-55 degrees and clear), the parks were huge and deserted, and the town lit up at night with all kinds of lights.

Kansas City was very festive with the buildings decked out in holiday lights

Even the horse carriages had lights

Mama D. talks about KC's amazing lights

On Wednesday morning we are off to Memphis, which is an eight hour drive. We are staying in the heart of town just off Beale St. so it should be another eventful two days.