Memphis BBQ pizza is a thin-crust pie topped with shredded mozzarella, sharp cheddar and pulled pork in tomato BBQ sauce. Elvis Presley's favourite at Coletta's.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Coletta's on South Parkway claims to have invented BBQ pizza around 1954, two decades after the restaurant opened in 1923. Elvis Presley would order it in the original South Parkway Elvis Room. The dish is now on menus at Memphis pizzerias and a regional specialty across West Tennessee and North Mississippi.
Common allergens: Wheat, Dairy, Pork
Tip from the editors. Mild BBQ sauce is the key; spicy sauce overwhelms the cheese. Don't skip the sharp cheddar; it makes Coletta's version.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Coletta's is Memphis's oldest restaurant on South Parkway since 1923, Elvis Presley's South Parkway haunt and the home of Memphis BBQ pizza topped with pork.
Signature: BBQ pizza, Spaghetti
Order: BBQ pizza with the side spaghetti.
Tip: Ask for the Elvis Room dining area. Closed Sundays and Mondays. The Appling Road location runs the same menu.
Memphis Pizza Cafe's Madison Avenue midtown room has run thin-crust by the slice and house specialty pies since 1991, a casual midtown standby with a side patio.
Signature: Pizza by the slice, The Hippie
Order: The Hippie pizza with feta and pesto.
Tip: Open daily for lunch and dinner; the patio is the seat in spring. Multiple locations across Memphis run the same menu.
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