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Just got back from a weekend trip to Campbellsville KY for a family reunion. While there I met with Mark of ResortsAndRestaurantsForSale.com at a great BBQ joint called the Smoke Pit. I had eaten at the Smoke Pit last year when it was at a different location, but they have since moved to a bigger place on a more well travelled highway between Campbellsville KY and Green River Lake State Park on KY Hwy 55.

If anything, the Smoke Pit BBQ has gotten better since my last visit. As soon as you pull into the parking lot you can smell the smokers doing their job. The restaurant itself isn’t anything fancy but then again the barbecue is the real star. Pat Blevins, the owner has done a great job with the Smoke Pit and I really enjoyed talking with him. Even more I enjoyed eating his food……….. Pat gave us an order of his bbq wings and let me tell you, they were great. The wings were not deep fried but cooked with a sweet smoke bbq sauce that was perfect. I then had a half rack of ribs, potato salad and baked beans. It just doesn’t get any better than that. The ribs were tender and had a wonderful smoke taste and I have to admit the potato salad was as good as my moms. (Sorry mom…). After we were done eating and were relaxing and talking, the owner brought us some home made pie. I had chocolate and Mark had butterscotch. What a way to top off a meal.

All in all eating at the Smoke Pit BBQ was a grade A experience and I highly recommend it as a stop when you are traveling through south central Kentucky. Campbellsville is a little off the beaten track, about 35 miles from Elizabethtown KY and Interstate 65 but it is worth the side trip for some good eats.

Here are a few photos from the Smoke Pit.

Pat Blevins - Owner

BBQ Wings (really really good)

Half Rack of Ribs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans and Roll
Love this stuff………

All Done !!!

That’s right……… don’t need no fancy restaurant.  Take a look at this photo. I took this on Saturday in the parking lot of Marketplace Grocery Store in Madisonville KY.  Every weekend and often times during the week this guy is there with his smoker, a couple tables to work on and a tent top.  And look at the line!!!!  It is always like that.  And his barbecue is excellent ………..  Not like a slick bbq restaurant we have here in town who shall remain nameless……..  they have bbq that tastes like dried cardboard.  That’s another story though.

So if you are in Madisonville KY sometime and you need some good barbecue, be sure to head on down to Marketplace on South Main street and stand in line for a while.  It’s worth the wait.

Let’s start this blog off on the right foot. I have eaten a lot of BBQ over the years but there is one place that stands out above the rest when it comes to as they say in Kentucky, good eatin’   Last summer my wife and I were watching a program on the Food Network about the best barbecue places in the U.S. and Interstate Barbecue in Memphis, TN looked like our kind of place so off we went. 24 hours and 600 miles later we were back home in western Kentucky completely satisfied.

Interstate BBQ serves traditional southern wet barbecue and in my opinion is second to none. I had a platter with a little of everything that took me the better part of an hour to work over (see photos below). Located just off of I-55 at exit 7, on the south side of Memphis, the restaurant is easy to locate. The owner, Jim Neely is an outgoing “old school” bbq man who definitely lets you know about his love of barbecue. The restaurant itself is nothing fancy. A converted grocery store with bars on the windows and a spacious dining room, Interstate Barbecue can hold a lot of hungry people and it is not unusual to find it full.

Jim showed us where the magic takes place. He cooks his meat in a closed pit that keeps the mositure in the meat with vapors that can’t escape. With 2 pits running from the early morning hours, he can cook as many as 500 slabs of ribs at one time. That’s a lot of ribs!! While Jim shows where the cooking is done, one thing he won’t talk about is the recipe for his sauce. There is always an ongoing debate, especially in Memphis, about wet or dry barbecue. Jim believes in wet and when your plate arrives it is covered with a sauce that make your taste buds jump off your tongue. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it.

So, the next time you find yourself in Memphis, or like us, within 300 miles (one way) take some time out and stop by Interstate Barbecue and visit with Jim and have a feast of traditional Memphis bbq. You won’t regret it one bit.

Interstate Barbecue
2265 S. 3rd St.
Memphis, TN

You can find out more about Jim Neely’s Interstate Barbecue by visiting their website. If you are in the Memphis area be sure to make this one of your stops. You won’t regret it. Here are a couple of photos from my visit.

Before

After