FLASHBACK: As our regular readers may recall, about every eight or nine months, I take a little road trip by myself. In an amusing coincidence, on the first three of these “circumnavigations,” it was the business located furthest away from Atlanta that served up my favorite of all the barbecue that I enjoyed. The third trip found me visiting the Quad Cities in northwest Alabama for the first time, and it was there that I discovered Brooks Barbeque, a downright amazing little place that serves up some killer pork and mustard slaw. Continue reading “Brooks Barbeque, Muscle Shoals AL (take two)”
Tag: barbecue – our favorites
Bar-B-Q Center, Lexington NC
Here’s another silly reason why this circumnavigation was unlike the three previous ones. On those outings, the best meal of the trip – the life-affirming, revealing, “this is better than I was expecting” visit to a legendary old place – came halfway through the jaunt, roughly at the furthest point from Atlanta. Those were Brick Pit in Mobile, Scott’s BBQ in Hemingway, and Brooks Barbecue in Muscle Shoals. However, the high point this time out came at my fourth stop, Lexington’s Bar-B-Q Center. This was an astonishing little meal. Continue reading “Bar-B-Q Center, Lexington NC”
Rodney in Exile
In the early morning hours of November 27, there was a small fire at the justifiably legendary Scott’s BBQ in Hemingway, South Carolina. Nobody was hurt and most of the property was undamaged, but even a small fire can be a very costly nightmare in the restaurant business. Continue reading “Rodney in Exile”
Circumnavigating the Tennessee River Valley – part five
Coming into Alabama on US-72, there are four large towns which are referred to as either the Quad Cities or The Shoals: Florence, Tuscumbia, Sheffield, and Muscle Shoals. As I entered Tuscumbia, I noticed that the Alabama Music Hall of Fame – it’s still open to the public, unlike Georgia’s – counts Buffalo Rock among its sponsors. I reminded myself to find a grocery store and bring home a twelve-pack, and promptly forgot. I remembered when I got home and recounted the trip to my family, slapped myself in the head, stood up and said “I’ll be back in three and a half hours…” Continue reading “Circumnavigating the Tennessee River Valley – part five”
Southern Smoq BBQ, Flowery Branch GA
It has been my experience that the very best barbecue joints tend to have some buzz. They have a reputation, built up over years and commemorated in newspaper stories and magazines and books and blogs and oral histories. These are the ones that barbecue lovers like me anticipate for years before sampling. I’ve been fortunate; every one of the old and/or celebrated haunts that have come with such high expectations have met them. Scott’s, Old Clinton, Brick Pit, Bar-B-Q Shop and so on; in every case I had read for ages that these were amazing, and every one satisfied. Continue reading “Southern Smoq BBQ, Flowery Branch GA”
Joe-Bear’s and Sons Bar-B-Que, Macon GA
I finished up my trip to Macon with yet another visit to a place that cooks their pork – in this instance called “chipped pork,” as you see around the Columbus / Phenix City area – in the sauce. I’d tried the barbecue at three places already that day and each restaurant’s offering had been a little less memorable than the one before it, so my heart sank a little when Leonard Joubert, owner of Joe-Bear’s and Sons, told me that I couldn’t get his chipped pork dry, but it turned out more than all right. This was the best meal of the day by some distance. Continue reading “Joe-Bear’s and Sons Bar-B-Que, Macon GA”
Photo Post 6: Two of Our Favorites
Over the previous seven chapters, we shared some restaurants that were new to us. It’s always a pleasure to visit new places and bring those experiences to our readers, but, to be perfectly honest, sometimes it is an even greater pleasure to revisit a place that we really love, and which has already been featured here. Continue reading “Photo Post 6: Two of Our Favorites”
Marie, Let's Eat! 