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Fried pickles are fantastic. We have a place in town that's famous for them, that and their gargantuan cheeseburgers. BTW they also serve what they call Elvis Tupelo Chili--don't tell EPE, so called for its use of Tupelo beans, which Elvis supposedly liked.
But the reason I revived this thread was to tell you all about a special I caught last night on the Food Network about barbecue in Memphis. Elvis was mentioned a lot in the special, particularly when they talked about Coletta's BBQ pizza, which he really loved.
That's something I read about in one of those Elvis cookbooks you all are talking about but I hadn't heard anything substantiating that until I saw this special. And by the way, there are probably 4 or 5 different Elvis cookbooks out there. I've got a couple: Fit For A King and the Presley Family Cookbook.
Back to Coletta's...When pizza first hit it big in big cities like Chicago and New York back in the late fifties, it took a while for the craze to really spread throughout America. So a Memphis Italian eatery's solution to breaking in its local barbecue-loving patrons to this new dish was--naturally--barbecue pizza.
Elvis loved Mr. Coletta's pizza and had a special table in the back which they sectioned off whenever he and his entourage were coming. His son runs the place now and remembers Elvis being there on several occasions. He said he'd usually get the barbecue pizza but sometimes he'd just order spaghetti or lasagna. He showed a couple photos Elvis autographed with a note of thanks to them.
Only having read about this once in the past, I never sought the place out while in Memphis. Now I'll definitely have to!
Barbecue pizza isn't that uncommon these days, though usually it's barbecue chicken they serve. But Papa John's and Pizza Hut sure don't make it like this...
They spread some barbecue sauce on the dough (crust), then mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and they throw it in the oven. Meanwhile, a pork shoulder has been cooking for I think 6 or 8 hours. They shred it and then lay it on thick on top of the cooked pizza, then add more barbecue sauce.
I will make an exception to my recent low-carb diet for this. I may gain back the 15 pounds I've lost, but I'm sure it will be worth it.
The show is going to air again Saturday, July 23 at 2 pm ET. It's called 'BBQ with Bobby Flay', this particular episode being devoted to Memphis. Catch it if you can.
Man, I'm hungry.
going to memphis
Originally Posted by Lonniebealestreet
