Tops is where Memphis people go when they want barbecue without ceremony — a local chain that has been serving the same thin-sliced pork on a white bun with slaw since 1952. There are multiple locations across the city, all operating from simple buildings without pretension. The pork is not slow-smoked in the way that produces the intense bark and pull of the fancier operations; instead it is thin-sliced from a shoulder that has been cooked through and then piled generously onto the bun. It is simple, cheap, and completely satisfying.
Tops represents the everyday side of Memphis barbecue culture rather than the competition-circuit excellence of the Rendezvous or the obsessive craftsmanship of Payne's. Locals eat here on weeknights, on the way home from work, without making a production of it. That very lack of production is informative about how barbecue functions in Memphis life — not just as a tourist attraction but as a working-city staple.