Bub-Ba-Q, Woodstock GA

When Bub-Ba-Q opened its second location in Woodstock in the summer of 2009, there was considerable hoopla on a message board that I used to frequent, and which no longer exists. I mention it in this vague way to show that yes, I can table those unfunny attempts at recurring jokes when I promise to do so. If I’m not mistaken, this Woodstock branch is located in a space that was occupied for a few years by a Slope’s, which is a small chain of barbecue restaurants with four or five locations in the northern suburbs.

The original Bub-Ba-Q is in the town of Jasper, and I’ve not visited it yet. The restaurants are a culmination of a lot of hard work and something that I don’t believe I’ve come to on this blog before: a touring schedule. Before Bub-Ba-Q set its sights on a strong restaurant presence, the owners were out on the festival circuit, spreading the word and improving their product at cookoffs and invitationals. This is a world that I might need an expense account to really appreciate properly, should any kind sponsors be out there ready to send me to Kansas City or that great big one in Lynchburg that runs every October. The Jack Daniels’ World Championship Invitational is the one to beat. Last year, Bub-Ba-Q came third overall, with its amazing brisket second place among all challengers.

They are best known, however, for a meal that I have not yet tried. They offer a deep-fried pork burrito that’s served smothered in Brunswick stew and called a Hog-a-Chonga. It’s probably not really in keeping with my nature to shy away from something that sounds so decadent, but really, what I like best at a barbecue restaurant is a simple plate of chopped pork with two sides, and Bub-Ba-Q does a splendid job of it.

Last week, Marie and the kids and I got together with several friends for supper here. We’ve started a little rotation among some of our buddies in town for doing something once a week, evolving from a long-established weekly movie night to incorporate dinners. That this gives us more opportunities to write chapters here on the blog as well as socialize and see our friends is a nice side effect. I also confess that I hope we’ll get to enjoy occasional restaurants that I wouldn’t think to try on my own as other members of the gang pick things.

Kimberly, who we hope is saving Randy from ever again eating at one of those Chinese buffets, picked Bub-Ba-Q. Also present were our friends Todd and Samantha, and Neal, who ordered that second-place-in-the-world brisket and was very pleased with it. My son had a pork sandwich along with fried mac-n-cheese, another terrific house specialty, and Marie had their very good ribs. I had my standard plate of pork with baked beans, which were pretty good and corn fritters, which were excellent.

The Grit, Athens GA

I used to work with a girl in Athens named Alexia who was militantly, albeit comedically, vegetarian. She took her comedic militant vegetarianism to extremes, even suggesting that with a little conditioning, lions could be taught to enjoy a healthy salad instead of a nice gazelle. Well, maybe I suggested that and she just agreed with it; it’s not the sort of thing that rational people propose. Anyway, she ate at the Grit almost exclusively for ages. As the city’s pre-eminent vegetarian restaurant for years, the Grit has had many proponents and champions, but none, perhaps, louder than Alexia. So, to me, the restaurant’s sort of intrinsically linked with her. And to lions and gazelles. Continue reading “The Grit, Athens GA” →

Jack of the Wood, Asheville NC

The best meal and the best experience that we had on our most recent trip to Asheville came at a themed pub which has not earned a reputation for great food. That’s not to say we’ve heard anything bad about it, just that it doesn’t come up in conversation as one of the city’s great places. I’d like, briefly, to address that, because Jack of the Wood surprised us by being an extremely good and inviting little place with simply wonderful pub food. Continue reading “Jack of the Wood, Asheville NC” →

The Noodle Shop, Asheville NC

One of my worst traits is my stubbornness. I’m working on it, but basically, when I get a mind to do something, it takes an act of Congress to get me to reconsider. I don’t even consider reconsidering until it’s too late. I think this really worked against me on this trip to Asheville, and we had lunch on Saturday at a very good place that we would certainly have enjoyed more some other time. Continue reading “The Noodle Shop, Asheville NC” →

Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ, Asheville NC (CLOSED)

I admit, concede and confess that it is really, really unfair to judge a restaurant based on its performance during a giant downtown festival that brings a couple of hundred thousand people right outside and keeps the wait staff and kitchen working overtime, all the time. However, the northern Alabama-styled white sauce at Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville is really, really terrible. It’s the worst, the pits, the lousiest, and I was so looking forward to it that I am aggravated enough to mention it first and foremost. Continue reading “Ed Boudreaux’s Bayou BBQ, Asheville NC (CLOSED)” →

Krispy Kreme’s Cheerwine doughnuts

Word had filtered down the pipeline that Krispy Kreme, purveyor of thousand-calorie snacks, had teamed up with that other North Carolina institution, Cheerwine, for a special month-long treat at their Carolina stores. Faster than anybody was able to connect to the internet five years ago, I already had the location of a Krispy Kreme store in Asheville pulled up on Google Maps and was phoning them to confirm that store was participating in this promotion. Several people in our circle of friends found the news and forwarded it my way. “I heard about that,” I wrote a half-dozen times, anticipation rising. “I can’t wait ’til we go to Asheville.” It got to the point that I was looking forward to a damn doughnut almost as much as the rest of our vacation. Continue reading “Krispy Kreme’s Cheerwine doughnuts” →

Green Acres Restaurant, Carnesville GA (CLOSED)

Marie had one of those bad feelings that work often gives you. We were supposed to get out of town around ten Friday morning, and suddenly there was a one-hour meeting scheduled at ten. I suggested we just leave half an hour early, my son and I would drop her off for the meeting and play some mumbledy-peg while she made sure the corporate world survived another week. Then she concluded she should probably go in at seven and get some work done. Before she knew it, she’d be talking like that fellow in Clerks about how she wasn’t even supposed to be here, and we didn’t even leave Atlanta until most folk were coming back from their lunch hours. Continue reading “Green Acres Restaurant, Carnesville GA (CLOSED)” →