Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Shirley
Hi Tim, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our Story…Memphis Guy Meets Mexican Girl
From the breezy beaches of coastal Mexico to the smoldering pits of Memphis, comes our vibrant, culinary food truck adventure…¡Mexico In Memphis! When a Memphis guy met a Mexican foreign exchange student in high school in the 80’s, he’d met his soulmate and developed the relationship that would eventually give birth to this new culinary journey. Our slogan reflects our culinary offerings…¡Memphis Smoked Meats, Fresh Mexican Flavors! We offer hungry Memphians both wood-smoked barbecue and flavorful Mexican salsas, combining traditional methods of preparation, successfully fused together from both worlds. Think-Smoked Meat Tacos. Delicioso! We serve these succulent and flavorful tacos with various Mexican salsas or with bbq sauce and slaw in the style of the American South. Join us as we traverse these two amazing food cultures together, one bite at a time!
For the full story of our family, trips to Mexico and our journeys to over 300 barbecue joints across the American South, read here.
But how did it all begin? In the 1980’s, a knock-dead gorgeous Mexican foreign exchange student with a spicy personality found herself in a rural Tennessee high school, deep in the American South. That’s where Angelica made a new friend, Tim from Memphis. A friendship developed that would last for years and eventually blossom into something more. It was years later in the late 90’s that Tim and Angelica would reconnect and eventually wed on a beautiful beach in Acapulco. Travels to visit family in the coastal cities of Acapulco, La Paz, Los Barriles, Todos Santos and Los Cabos would lead Tim to develop a passion for Mexican cooking and culture.
But during the years before Tim and Angelica reunited as friends, Angelica successfully achieved her bachelor’s degree in a language she did not grow up speaking and began teaching high school Spanish in Tennessee. Down through the years, she has become a teacher well-beloved by her students, some of which have continued on to become Spanish teachers themselves, pursue careers in international business and establish other Spanish-related careers. She continues to inspire those in her field and has been awarded Foreign Language Teacher of the Year twice for the entire tristate region. While she admittedly doesn’t particularly like the kitchen, her knowledge of Mexican culture has proven invaluable for Tim, opening a doorway for him to explore Mexican cooking from her family, trips to taquerias (taco stands), tortarias, beachside seafood shacks and more. Angelica may not be fond of the kitchen, but she certainly knows how to eat Mexican food. She knows which condiments typically go with each dish and she understands the soul of the dish. She knows when it’s right and when it’s not.
Meanwhile, Tim moved away from the small Tennessee town where they met, to attend college in northern Indiana, near Chicago. A few years later in the late 90’s, Tim returned to Memphis. There, he continued his college career, finishing culinary school. It was there that he developed a love for cooking after having spent so many years away from the Southern food he’d been raised on. With a focus on Memphis ‘que, he began a barbecue adventure spanning over twenty years, visiting over 300 bbq joints, food trucks and roadside pits, journaling his experiences on his blog, memphisbbqguide.com. He traveled to other major barbecue regions of the U.S. to better understand variations in the smoky cuisine, including Texas, Kansas City, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and more. With a focus on his hometown, he enjoyed succulent smoked meat from more than 200 bbq eateries in Memphis alone. He has also been a certified bbq judge for Memphis In May and MBN (Memphis Barbecue Network) for over a decade. In more recent years, he also judged briefly for KCBS (Kansas City Barbecue Society) and SCA (Steak Cook-Off Association). In 2015, Tim was extended the rare honor of judging the Memphis In May Finals. In all of Tim’s travels and experiences in barbecue, he had one primary goal-to better understand the process and techniques of American barbecue, especially from Memphis.
But Tim’s culinary point of view is a two-edged sword. From that first visit to Mexico City and Acapulco, to later travels throughout Southern Baja, Tim fell in love with Mexican food culture and took every opportunity to learn from cooking with family there in their homes, street-side taco stands (taquerias) and more.
After all of our experiences together in Coastal Mexico and the American South, fusing smoky barbecue with vibrant Mexican cuisine was only a natural progression for us. Our BBQ-Mexican fusion is not just something we created for the truck. We’ve already been eating this way in our home since the early 2000’s. But we’re not just keeping it for ourselves. We look forward to sharing this Mexico In Memphis journey with you and your loved ones! Que Rico! Note: I copied and pasted a blurb I once wrote for the truck, which is why it reads like an ad. 😂 But it contains the important information. In addition to that story, we began a business relationship with the Agricenter in February. We serve from the Mexico In Memphis concessions inside the Show Place Arena adjacent to the Butcher Shop. We have served, rodeos, circuses and even a monster truck show.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are so many taxes to be concerned with. That’s been a learning curve.
Since we have grown to include the Show Place Arena, it’s been difficult to juggle both the truck and the arena, but we’re getting the hang of it.
Staffing can be difficult, because we don’t have regular hours. We can’t offer the usual 40 hours a week. So finding someone who has a flexible schedule can be tricky. So far we have been blessed with amazing staff.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We love sharing our personal journey through food. It’s the kind of food our boys grew up eating in our home. I would barbecue some meat and Angelica would serve that leftover smoked meat in quesadillas to the boys. Or we make tacos with it. Event, I began smoking meat expressly for tacos, tamales, sopes and such. We don’t have time to serve all of our creations on the truck, but we do offer some of our very best. The Wood-Smoked Beef Brisket Tacos are definitely a favorite. Our Quesadillas are also a top seller. The smoked meat with melted cheese and crispy edges just really works well together, especially if we add Pico, sauteed onions and pickled jalapeños (La Costeña). Our BBQ Nachos are quite popular too. We use queso dip broken down from the block, nothing dumped out of a can. For lighter options, people love our Paradise Shrimp Tacos and Chicks on the Beach (three smoked chicken tacos with pineapple Pico, cilantro-lime slaw, lime, cucumber and radish. Occasionally we offer a smoked beef brisket version of birria with the broth for dipping. Our latest dish is a Mexican Rice Bowl with Mexican red rice, choice of smoked meat or shrimp, black beans, corn, Pico and more. We then serve that with our signature cremosa, a chipotle cream sauce. People come asking for “that orange sauce.”
What are your plans for the future?
A fixed location would be nice, but it will have to be the right location. We cater and I would like to expand that let of the business.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.threads.net/@mexicoinmemphis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MexicoInMemphis
- Twitter: https://www.tiktok.com/@mexico.in.memphis
