Memphis Minnie's

576 Haight St.

BBQ in the lower Haight

Sunset magazine has consistently called this restaurant the best BBQ place on the West Coast. They have a sake menu, too.

Everything is good here. I had my first sweet tea here, and I had grits with shrimp, gravy, and sliced green onions -- an item from their Sunday brunch menu that's "a South Carolina tradition." I've had grits before, but they were like a cross between oatmeal and concrete mix. Today's grits were smooth, rich, and creamy, and the shrimp (which were slightly overcooked) complemented the grits. Our party of four also shared two types of ribs, beef brisket, potato salad, corn bread muffins, and a beef brisket omelet.

I like the non-pretentious, bright atmosphere.

When I saw all our food spread out on our table, ready to be eaten, I exclaimed, "I love America."

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I went here for dinner, and got the rib tip appetizer, the beef brisket, and the pork ribs. For sides, we got the mac n cheese and beans, which were ok. The meat, however, was HORRIBLE. It was dry and flavorless, and we basically had to douse everything in sauce, which was runny (I prefer it thick). After talking to Jesse, he suggested I go for lunch, since his experience wasn't like that at all. Perhaps I will one day and have this experience redeemed, but for the time being, I do not plan on ever going back.

I took off 1.5 stars because I thought it was really bad (I would've taken off more, but I thought that would be unfair to Jesse's review).

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One rule of thumb for any and all BBQ restaurants: The meat will be more moist if you go during lunchtime and drier if you go during dinnertime. Memphis Minnie's is no exception, unfortunately.

- J - k -J