Memphis was almost in the history books. We cruised the mighty Mississippi as they did in the days of Mark Twain in what looked like a turn-of-the-century riverboat. We toured music landmarks Sun Studio and Graceland. We walked to the National Civil Rights Museum where MLK, Jr. was assassinated and walked down the electric avenue of Beale Street. The only thing left to conquer in Memphis was the city’s best ribs at a little place called Rendezvous.

Rendezvous isn’t located on Beale Street and it isn’t lit up in neon like most of the downtown restaurants. It’s down a shady-looking alley with no other businesses in the vicinity. But, for what it lacks in décor on the outside, it makes up with delicious food on the inside. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush seem to agree, as both former presidents have been customers in the past. Even President Obama has tried the ribs via FedEx and loved them so much that he wrote a letter of thanks to the owner. Rendezvous doesn’t require you to be the PotUS to receive these ribs through the mail. They actually ship them overnight through their web site. That’s how good they are.

To give you some background, I’m not a big eater. Nine times out of ten, I’m taking home to-go boxes from restaurants. I also don’t like beans and I’m not a big fan of coleslaw. At Rendezvous, however, I ordered a full rack of ribs and the seasoning on them was so mouth-wateringly perfect that I split a second full rack with George. Again, I usually want less food, not more.

It was astonishing for me to have a full rack and a half of these dry-rub ribs, and the mild and hot sauce only brought out the exceptional baked-in seasoning out more. Then, I tried the barbeque-baked beans. They were so warm and flavorsome that I didn’t realize that I was eating something I usually hate. The same goes for the mustard-based coleslaw, which had a yellow-orange color and unique zing to them.

Kevin and Kenny, my new roommates in L.A., talked about this place more than a normal person should. Now I know why. Too bad this place 1,800 miles away from where I’m going to be living and their ribs start at $99 for overnighting two slabs. Good thing we put off going to Little Rock for a couple of hours. We’re going to the Clinton Library tomorrow morning, anyway.