Barbecue: Nirvana along the Mississippi

At The Bar-B-Q Shop in Memphis, barbecue spaghetti is an art.

A long weekend is not enough time to blanket the country in search of barbecue nirvana, said Kevin Pang in the Chicago Tribune. But three days was all I needed to find it in three states along the Mississippi.

17th Street Bar & Grill

Murphysboro, Ill.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The ribs from pit master Mike Mills are “glorious.” Barbecued in a “light slather of mustard-colored sauce,” the baby backs are perfectly “pull-apart tender.” 214 N. 17th St., (618) 684-3722

Dexter Bar-B-Que

Sikeston, Mo.

The “luscious and tender” pulled pork is the way to go. It’s “chopped rather than pulled from the bone, with a pork-intensity verging on cured bacon.” Add a splash of hot sauce–spiked vinegar dip. 124 N. Main St., (573) 471-6676

The Bar-B-Q Shop

Memphis

Barbecue spaghetti may sound like a “Southern gimmick,” but here it’s an art. A 12-hour smoked sauce is paired with pasta and topped by a tangy pork shoulder “with notes of hickory smoke.” 1782 Madison Ave., (901) 272-1277

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us