A&R Bar-B-Que

“The South Memphis pit where rib tips are the whole religion”

A&R Bar-B-Que has smoked its stretch of Elvis Presley Boulevard since 1983, a small South Memphis room that trades on rib tips instead of tourist traffic. It is the kind of address regulars mention quietly, a neighborhood pit that has outlasted flashier openings by doing one thing with total conviction. The rib tips are the reason to drive here: knuckly end-cuts smoked low over wood until the cartilage goes soft and the fat renders into something rich and smoky. The chopped pork sandwich arrives loose and tangy, hand-pulled shoulder with plenty of bark worked through the tender interior. The BBQ spaghetti, that Memphis peculiarity of noodles under a smoky, pork-flecked tomato sauce, holds its own against the versions across town. Wet ribs come brushed in the house tomato sauce, tender enough to reward an appetite built for eating rather than photographs.