Skip to main content

Breakfast at Interstate Bar-B-Que

On the way back from Miami, I had to get up early and fly through Memphis to get back to Atlanta.  I consoled myself in my pre-dawn travel by reminding myself that the effort would pay off if Interstate Bar-B-Que was in operation.  As I got off the plane in Memphis, I walked into an invisible cloud with the unmistakable fragrance of BBQ.  My heart leapt, I turned the corner, and there it was---the happy neon pig.
Interstate is widely considered one of the top BBQ places in the country.  Airport food has certainly improved over the years, but it is still rare to have a truly great restaurant inside an airport.  Interstate is a welcome stop for all sorts of travelers.

They have some breakfast items but they offer their full BBQ menu all day (I'm not entirely sure when they open, but I was there about 9 AM).  I wanted something fast and simple so I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and a tea. I then rushed over to my plane.

I got to the plane just in time to start boarding, so I was able to settle down quickly with my treat.  I heard one passenger say "smells good, doesn't it?".  The sandwich came with some cole slaw but no fork.  I was a little worried about spilling it if I put the slaw on the sandwich so I just ate the sandwich straight.  BBQ is comfort food and this pig certainly made me happy even if he wasn't smiling at the end.  The pork was tender and very porky without being overly strong like some cuts of pork can be.  Interstate has mastered the art of saucing a sandwich---all of the meat was touched with sauce but not enough was left to drip.  The stewardess very nicely took my trash away and my stomach was very happy as we rolled down the runway.

Interstate Bar B Q on Urbanspoon
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Asheville NC: Luella's BBQ

Luella's is a nouvelle BBQ outfit on the north side of Asheville. It is nestled among the trees in a lovely neighborhood. The restaurant has lots of windows for inside seating and plenty of outside seating. Service was courteous and amazingly fast. This is a combination plate with pork and brisket. Both were very moist and tender. For the pork, I tried both the mild and hot vinegar sauces. To my surprise, I preferred the milder one because it didn't assert itself too much. I enjoyed the spicy tomato sauce for my brisket. The hushpuppies were very good. The fried okra was fresh out of the fryer and excellent. The slaw was of the vinegary variety, which I usually enjoy, but this version is heavy on the white stuff and didn't have quite enough variety in tastes for me.
Post a Comment
Read more

Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...
2 comments
Read more

Everybody's Pizza

Everybody's Pizza is across the street from Emory University.  It was founded in 1971 and has a seventies college feel.  But it isn't musty or dated---you don't feel like you are eating in a museum.  It's just pleasantly funky.  They played a Big Bird song while I was there.  What's no to like? The pizza is college-style as well, as contrasted to the Italian neighborhood style that is (or should be) the goal of a New York style pizzeria.  I think that the cheese is the ingredient that most leads me to this feeling.  In a New York pizza, the cheese would be central (even if it came from a low-grade Mob supplier), while in more suburban pizzas, the cheese is seen as one in a medley of ingredients that form the topping.  (I think that cheese-centrism should be the essence of pizza.  Remember that the modern pizza was created by adding cheese to traditional tomato sauce-covered bread.)  I think the biggest fault of this pizza is the crust, which I found to be just a lit...
Post a Comment
Read more