Photo by Michael Donahue // Buy this photo
The chopped barbecue chicken sandwich at The Rendezvous is a light alternative.
Photo by Michael Donahue
The chopped barbecue chicken sandwich at The Rendezvous is a light alternative.
I love Rendezvous shoulder sandwiches and barbecued ribs, but over the past couple of years I've ordered more and more chopped barbecued chicken sandwiches.
Chopped what?
It's the same chicken Rendezvous uses on its nachos and Greek salad, but for the sandwich the chicken comes on a bun and with the traditional Rendezvous beans and tangy slaw side items.
Since it's chopped, the texture is a lot different from what most people think of as barbecued chicken. It's not those long slices of chicken drenched with barbecue sauce.
John Vergos, one of the Rendezvous owners, said the chicken sandwich was added to the menu eight years ago. They based the sandwich on the chopped barbecued chicken sandwich served at The Bulldog in Bald Knob, Ark. He and his wife used to stop there when they took their kids to summer camp. His wife loved the sandwich.
Rendezvous came up with its own version -- a combination of skinless and boneless breast and thigh meat. "It's grilled, lightly seasoned, lightly sauced and we chop it up. It's done by hand."
The sandwich is perfect for customers who want to eat light, Vergos said. "It's a healthy complement to the shoulder sandwich."
Other chicken options at the Rendezvous are the half chicken and the chicken breast.
I discovered that my all-time favorite Rendezvous item -- the pork loin plate -- was taken off the menu a year ago while I was ordering all those chopped barbecue chicken sandwiches. That had the same great barbecue taste of the ribs without the mess. You could eat it with a fork and didn't have to use 50 napkins.
"We cannot find the same good cut of pork loin we used to," Vergos said. They used to be able to buy meat from eight or nine companies, but now there are only two companies, he said.
That's why they on longer carry beef ribs, Vergos said. But they do carry beef brisket, another one of my Rendezvous favorites. You eat that with a fork, too.
The Rendezvous Restaurant is at 52 South Second; 523-2746.
Michael Donahue: 529-2797; donahue@commercialappeal.com
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