Taste Budz

Vendor at the Ujamo Festival. Busiest place I saw all night but like most vendors there, food was handled without gloves. When I commented about it, a woman serving, quipped that they use tongs. So, I did not get to taste their food. Vendors who wore gloves, handled money, cleaning & food with the same gloves. Good safety is as important as everything else.

Transplanted Memphisians run this great downtown food tent, if I remember my conversations with them correctly. The menu changes, so you may want to get a business card and call ahead to see what’s up. When it’s on, it’s on. If you see that bigass pull-​behind smoker smoking, it’s either going to be awesome today or tomorrow.

Went to Taste Budz after drooling about it for a week before going to Johnson City’s Blue Plum Festival.
They had a special menu for the festival. I had the (award-​winning) ribs, green beans and cole slaw. Unfortunately collard greens were not an option during the festival, but you can bet I would have eaten my body weight in them were it an option.
The ribs were delicious. 2 big ribs, well sauced (which I totally got all over my hands, face and arms because I am a child) which I devoured. The green beans were delicious as was the cole slaw — not too overdone or out of the ordinary, but just enough to compliment the ribs.
They also had the option of barbecued chicken or pulled pork, but since the ribs won awards I had to put them to the test. They smoke the meat themselves, and apparently its led many to drift toward the small spot.
Next time I am in Johnson City, you can be assured that I will be hanging outside Taste Budz hoping they’re cooking up some collard greens for me.