Visit: Buck's Smoking Pit

I had an abbreviated lunch hour today, and decided to make the quick trip to Buck's Smoking Pit to give the sandwich a try. I was a little concerned about whether they were open as I saw a padlock on the door and the carry-out window--but the padlock was merely on the open hasp of the door.

The menu's painted over the order counter: I tried the large hot pork shoulder sandwich. The proprietor made a point of saying that they had beef as well, but I like to be consistent the first time I go into a place.

Needless to say, I should have taken his advice. The shoulder was undercooked, with pieces of chewy fat, and no discernible smokiness. The sandwich itself wasn't bad (after I'd taken the pure fat off), but the meat would have benefited greatly from some additional time on the pit.

Buck's has lots of other options available, as well: Beef ribs, pork ribs, rib tips, bologna, sausage, pig feet, pig tails (that's new to me), and a handful of non-barbecue items. I'll have to give it another visit to try something that's not a barbecue sandwich.

Buck's Smoking Pit

On Saturdays when I've got to go into work I usually stop by the Memphis Farmer's Market since it's a little out of the way for a dedicated trip. Then I take some odd route through the city to get from there to work; the better for discovery. Today was down Mississippi Blvd, where I passed a place that hadn't popped up on any of the Google searches for "barbecue" or "restaurants" I'd done, and I might have needed verification to add anyway. In any case, Buck's Smoking Pit exists, is open for business, is on the map, and is going to be visited very soon, because it looks like it has the potential for greatness.

1293 Mississippi Blvd
Memphis, TN 38106
(901) 347-3127

Pollard's Barbecue

Updated map information for Pollard's Barbecue.

Pollard's is little more than a barbecue take-out counter located in a strip mall. Two chairs sit against the wall for folks to wait for their food, and a menu is set on the wall behind the counter.

They make a solid sandwich, however. The meat lacks some smokiness of an A&R sandwich, but with that distinction, the two are virtually identical. Also like A&R, they have warm fried pies available. Being compared to A&R isn't necessarily a bad thing--unfortunately A&R is more convenient to most folks around town, given their multiple locations, and with smokiness and a slightly better pie has an edge in flavor, as well. Still, green is green on the map, and Pollard's is worth a visit if you're in the area.

The sandwich was a little pricey ($4.50 for a regular, in days of $5.00 footlong subs), compared to some other places, but it may just be ahead of the curve on keeping up with a general increase in food prices, and the unavailability of certain economies of scale.

4637 Boeingshire Dr
Memphis, TN 38116
(901) 398-2987