In Kroc’s autobiography he tells of a franchisee who proposed a hula burger with added pineapple. While that may or may not be good, it isn’t bad on pizza. Grilled fresh pineapple is a revelation to those who have never had it. That would work.
There are some pretty good (not considered the ‘best’ but you definitely won’t be disappointed) ones on or just off Beale.
But locals will often go to Germantown Commissary or Corky’s or some others. Not really walking distance of downtown, though. Of course, ask the locals about their favorite BBQ joint and you’re apt to get a dozen different answers.
Only pineapple…with cheese.
I think I would try it with other typical hamburger accoutrements, but american cheese seems wrong somehow.
one of our favorites is Central barbeque on Central. they have both good dry ribs (my dad’s favorite) and barbeque sandwiches, (my favorite) I find Corky’s and Germantown Commissary bland. I often go to Three Little Pigs as they are convenient to my house and have good sandwiches. There are other places I haven’t been to in years because of time constraints, e.g Cozy Corner. Barbeque shoppe is good but not as good as Central in my opinion. Rendezvous downtown has good ribs but I don’t like their sandwiches.
Bad barbeques restaurants don’t stay open for long but the best are in the areas you might not want to go after dark.
Whenever we are in the area, we make it a point to stop at that one place on the south end of town that is kind of schlocky and over-hyped but still pretty good. The name escapes me, it is the one with the pink trailer with the pig in the parking lot. I remember having lunch and as we were finishing, a guy passed by pushing a trolley heaped with parts on the way to the smoker.
Sounds kind of like Three Little Pigs, which adhemar just mentioned.
Either way, I prefer a mediocre BBQ sandwich to a McRib. But then again, every 5-10 years or so, I’ll forget why I don’t eat them and try it again only to be reminded why I don’t get them every year. So the advertising and limited availability clearly work.
I loved Cozy Corner’s ribs. My favorite of the bunch we had there. Germantown Commissary was solid all-around, but my favorite pulled pork sandwich was from the, sadly defunct (as the owner passed away a few years ago), Morris Grocery in Eads, TN. There have been a few times I considered blowing off the entire day here in Chicago to make a same-day road trip down to Eads for that sandwich.
you ask 10 people in memphis for thier favorite barbeque place and you will get 10 different answers. 
Not sure if I would consider it on the South of Memphis or over-hyped. It is a bit cutesy with the pig theme but from what I understand, it is the customers bringing the chachkes i into the store. I remember going there when it was on Southern as a kid. In my opinion it is a solid barbeque pulled pork sandwich. (and way better then a McRib)
When I worked downtown, we would eat at Cozy Corner quite often.
And SPAM?
Only 10 different answers? 
(Maybe we should reword the old joke: A guy from Memphis gets shipwrecked on a desert island. When a rescue crew finds him two years later, they see three huts. One is the man’s home. The other two are billowing smoke. They ask the guy: “What’s with these other two huts?” and he says “Oh, the first one is the barbecue place I go to every day, and the other one is an over-rated piece of touristy crap I’ll never step foot into!” OK… well, needs some polishing.)
This is me exactly. Well, except for the butter and yogurt.
For those that have the occasional craving between seasons, Sam’s Club sells a fair copycat under their house brand. Just add pickles and onions.
For those with a more epicurean palette, there’s this. Smoked Rib Sandwich (McRib CopyCat)
It may end up that way, but I hope it doesn’t. They didn’t originally take it off the menu to make it ‘seasonal’ it was a misguided attempt at making packaging cheaper - I mean more environmentally friendly - and reducing their ingredient list.
As for the McRib, I’ve never understood the appeal in any way. But then again I’m not a fan of sickly sweet BBQ sauce. Or teriyaki, for that matter.
I particularly like the boneless country style ribs [some sort of meat slab cut into long rectangular slabs faking a rib shape] sous vide til meltingly tender. Either sauced with BBQ sauce after doing the maillard reaction exterior on a grill or a searingly hot skillet. Note I will also dump the liquid residue from the sous vide bag into my rischert and then dice up a fresh batch of ribs to make the rischert.
I don’t really like the McRib - I had one way back in the 90s, and it was simply edible, and then had one maybe 5 years back and thought it was pretty nasty overall, the sauce sort of generic, the meat patty was insipid [I guess that would describe it. No gristle or bone fragments, it was nothing more elaborate than a hamburger patty made of port formed into a rib thing.] The bread was nothing special.
But the same goes for the McLobster or whatever the thing is called. Had one maybe 10 years back and thought I would rather spend the $8 to buy a single lobster tail in a grocery store and shred it myself.
McRib? I had exactly three bytes of one when they first came out. It tasted like cough medicine.
I took it back for a refund. Never again. What garbage.
Me showing up at Super Bowl party
Host: Hey, good to see you. Tammy made her signature wings, better get some before they’re gone!
Hustles into kitchen, sees crockpot with wings drowned in teriyaki, stifles puke
Guest: Ooh, you gotta try some of Jason’s meatballs, so good!
Sees second crockpot with meatballs simmering in BBQ sauce & grape jelly mixture, sprints for bathroom
We have a fast food taco chain in this area that is so superior to TB that I have not been into a TB in more than two decades. This chain’s fare is not amazing or inventive, it is merely very very good, as fast food goes. I mean, maybe TB has aclually improved since I was last there, but, why bother when I can get the good stuff.
Kroc was retconning, then. A franchisee of his in Cincinnati was losing business because his Catholic customers couldn’t burgers on Fridays. He came up with a proto-Filet-o-Fish to sell on Fridays only but Kroc objected. He came up with the Hula Burger, and challenged the franchisee head-to-head. The FoF outsold the HB 10 to 1.
Cite.
Even the most diehard foodies can like junk food.
One of the things I loved about Anthony Bourdain was his zeal for junk food. He was totally fine with it. He loved a hot dog from a street vendor in New York (among other things).
Most chefs have their guilty pleasures that are not “foodie” food and they will usually tell you if asked.