Memphis Chicken Showdown

Our plans to spend a week watching the Mississippi River flow at the Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis were foiled by the weekend rains. Both Memphis and Nashville experienced extreme flooding. So, we were left with only a day to spend in Memphis. We had to complete our “Chicken Showdown” – to determine our favorite of the Chicken Shacks in Memphis. Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken vs Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken

Uncle Lou's

Uncle Lou’s Fried Chicken (and home of the “Monster Burger”-- 1/3-pound of beef (three patties), stacked between five pieces of cheese and served on a Kaiser bun. The Monster Burger Challenge- eat two Monster Burgers in eight minutes and you get your photo on the Wall of Fame. Fail and you’re on the Wall of Shame)

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Both places had the right atmosphere. At Uncle Lou’s, the walls were lined with signs and Food Network kudos.

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

At Gus’s, the line for service stretched out the door. The “Danger Men Cooking” signs over the door to the kitchen where you could smell the chicken frying.

"Danger Men Cooking"

Gus’s chicken itself was amazingly good but Uncle Lou’s had an afterburner that didn’t stop. The fried dill pickles helped tone down the burn. At Gus’s, the chicken was fried perfectly- crisp, not greasy and moist inside. The fried dill pickles done beautifully.

After a hearty lunch, we took a stroll down Beale Street.

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Handy Park had a great blues band playing. What used to stretch for 2 miles in the early 20th Century now covers 3 blocks in the restored Historic District and feels a bit like a Blues Disneyland.

On the drive home, we saw an amazing motorhome adaptation—Scooter’s B-Bque Bus!

Scooter's Bar-B-Que Bus- note the smoke coming from the 'chimney'

We had to stop and pick up a half slab of baby back ribs. Scooter’s “office” in the gutted Prevost bus is complete with generator and b-bque cooker.

The cooker fills the entire back of the bus and the smoke pouring out the stack in the roof makes it look like a motorhome on fire.