One of the fun things I get to do as author of “Smokelore” is help chose inductees to the American Royal’s Barbecue Hall of Fame in Kansas City. I’m particularly pleased by one inclusion in this year’s class: Flora Payne of Payne’s Bar-B-Que in Memphis.
Payne’s is one of my favorite barbecue places because they make perhaps the world’s best chopped pork barbecue sandwich. As a reporter with the Atlanta newspapers, I flew in and out of Memphis a good many times and always tried to visit the restaurant, which is located in a converted gas station on the old U.S. highway leading to Tupelo, Miss. When you order a sandwich, you hear them chopping the meat behind the counter — whack-whack-whack – a snare drum rhythm as sweet as anything you’ll hear at the nearby Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Then they top it with a spicy brightly colored coleslaw, a combination of flavors that makes me think of that falsetto note Al Green used to hit. Baby!
Horton Payne started the restaurant during the 1970s but died a few years afterwards, leaving the business to his widow, Flora, and their children, Ron and Candice. For almost 40 years now, they’ve run the place faithfully and built a national following. I’ve interviewed the Paynes and felt the joy they take in their craft. Congratulations, Flora Payne, on a well-deserved honor!
All around, it’s a great class of inductees. The other members: Dave Raymond of Chicago, co-creator of the nation’s best-selling barbecue sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s; Darren Warth of Iowa, one of the most decorated pitmasters on the competition circuit; Byron Chism of Florida, creator of one of the most popular barbecue rubs, Bad Byron’s Butt Rub.
In the legacy category (meaning they’re no longer with us): Rick Schmidt, longtime proprietor of Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas, one of the most historic barbecue places in the U.S.; Columbus B. Hill, a pioneering pitmaster of the late 1800s who brought African American barbecue knowhow to Colorado; Bill Arnold, creator of Blues Hog Barbecue Sauce, based on his upbringing in Tennessee.
In addition, the Hall of Fame recognized the BBQ Forum and its founder, Ray Basso, with its Impact Award.
Congratulations, inductees. The world is a better-tasting place because of you all.