A couple of years ago, we visited Jackie Hite’s in Leesville SC and had a really good meal at their buffet. In 1957, another member of that family, cousin John D. Hite, opened a little weekend-only takeout shack about twenty miles closer to town. Hite’s BBQ is just a hop, skip, and a jump from US-1, and, like many restaurants with a lot of hype and a hint of legend about them, it gets really busy during the two days of the week that it’s open. It is still in family hands – John’s grandson David is in charge these days – but the business is still as no-frills as it was almost sixty years ago. Continue reading “Hite’s BBQ, West Columbia SC”
Tag: barbecue
Barbecue Street, Kennesaw GA (take two)
A couple of months ago, I posted a chapter about a barbecue place in Columbus GA called Chicken Comer. This seems to be the origin of a very interesting mustard sauce that is occasionally found in Atlanta’s western and northwestern suburbs. It’s lava-hot, laced with cayenne, and I wondered how Chicken’s sauce, which was developed in Phenix City AL around 1929, had become standard on the tables of restaurants in places like Austell and Douglasville GA. Continue reading “Barbecue Street, Kennesaw GA (take two)”
Bar-B-Q Hut, Heflin AL (CLOSED)
When Governor Bentley released the initial list of Alabama’s Barbecue Hall of Fame, I was very pleased to see some terrific old favorites of ours who made the cut (most especially the excellent Brooks Barbeque in Muscle Shoals, which everybody should visit), but as I looked over the list, the biggest standout to me was the Bar-B-Q Hut in Heflin. This was a huge surprise, because I’ve made the quick little detour off I-20 to Heflin a half-dozen times in the last five years, and was aware of the pretty good Marie’s BBQ House in the area. I even got behind their catering truck once! But I had no idea that there was another barbecue joint in that small town, especially one that opened as long ago as 1946! Continue reading “Bar-B-Q Hut, Heflin AL (CLOSED)”
The Rocket, Jacksonville AL
In our experience, quite a few old “drive-ins” all around the southeast offer barbecue on their menus, but almost every one of them emphasizes burgers and milkshakes, and possibly a little nostalgia in their architecture, more than they emphasize smoked pork. Then there’s The Rocket, which doesn’t look or feel like any drive-in that we’ve run into, and which is much more like a proper barbecue shack than anything else. It’s also phenomenally popular. It’s a tiny little building completely packed with people, and I was afraid we’d have to eat in the car until a table opened up at the last minute. Continue reading “The Rocket, Jacksonville AL”
Pruett’s BBQ & Catfish, Gadsden AL
For the second stop on our mini-tour, I picked the closest place to me on the Year of Alabama BBQ app that I had not previously visited: Pruett’s in Gadsden AL. It opened in 1976 and a wonderful blog called The Great North Alabama BBQ Quest paid them a visit in the spring of 2013. Sadly, this blog is no longer being updated; the writer moved back to Europe last year, but it is a terrific resource. Continue reading “Pruett’s BBQ & Catfish, Gadsden AL”
Ray’s Bar-B-Q, Atalla AL
I really got a kick out of how the Alabama Department of Tourism declared this to be “The Year of Alabama Barbecue,” and so I resolved to make one more swing through the state to sample some good chopped pork. I looked around for the best opportunity for a quick day trip with four or so places I’d not been before and home by sunset. I picked pretty well. One of the four was on the state’s list, and two more were on the inaugural edition of Governor Bentley’s Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame, as announced in June. The newest of the four is thirty-nine years old. A lot of history on this drive, as you’ll see. Continue reading “Ray’s Bar-B-Q, Atalla AL”
Rib & Loin, Hixson TN
Our June trip to Chattanooga was not on a very hot day, but after we ate at Zarzour’s, we cooled off anyway, with a trip to Coolidge Park to play in the fountain. Our son got good and drenched and had a terrific time. After about an hour of that, we drove north to Red Bank to visit Dub’s Place once again and dig into one of their “crumble burgers.” (We just updated that original post with a few lines and pictures rather than writing a new post, so check that out!) Continue reading “Rib & Loin, Hixson TN”
Marie, Let's Eat! 