The Rendezvous has been a Memphis institution for over seventy years, and it has remained stubbornly itself through all the changes around it. The entrance is through a downtown alley off Monroe Avenue — easy to miss if you don't know it's there — down steep stairs into a cavernous basement that smells of charcoal and dried spices. The walls are covered with photographs and sports memorabilia, the booths are packed close together, and the waitstaff are brisk and efficient in the way of places that have been doing this a long time.
The ribs are cooked over charcoal with a dry Greek-inspired spice rub rather than a wet sauce — a style that sets the Rendezvous apart from most Memphis barbecue. They are excellent. The pork shoulder is also good. Lunch on weekdays draws a mixed crowd of downtown office workers and out-of-town visitors; dinner on weekends is louder and more celebratory. Reservations are accepted and worth making for a Friday or Saturday night.