Way back when, I decided to reinvest the ad revenue that we earn from this blog into fun two-day trips, just driving around eating about every nine months or so. I call them circumnavigations and, last month, I went out on my fourth. I’m going to report this one a little differently than the first three (Alabama, South Carolina, the Tennessee River Valley), because when I started writing these up, I was concerned about the chapters that we post appearing much later than the visit. These days, I sort of enjoy the posts appearing several weeks later, and so there’s no need to hurry along through longer chapters incorporating several places. Continue reading “Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge, Shelby NC”
Tag: barbecue
Mary’s Old Fashioned Pit Bar-B-Que, Nashville TN
Nashville does not have a reputation as a barbecue destination, but a few years back, a competition team called Ulika BBQ decided to document the slow-smoking traditions of middle Tennessee and prove the world a little wrong. I ran across their very lengthy investigation, “Exploring Nashville Barbecue,” a couple of years ago when I was looking for additional information about Slick Pig in Murfreesboro. Fascinated, I have reread the whole shebang six or seven times. It is becoming a little less accurate as time goes on – the bulk of it was written six years ago – but it’s just remarkably entertaining and full of detail. You could cover hot chicken in Nashville over one indulgent weekend. Barbecue would take a lot more work. They have also covered Memphis, and done a fine job, but dozens of people have done Memphis barbecue fairly well. Nobody else has put in the work that they’ve done for Nashville. Continue reading “Mary’s Old Fashioned Pit Bar-B-Que, Nashville TN”
Big Marv’s BBQ, Decherd TN
A couple of years ago, we were going to Scottsboro for the ladies to shop for electronics and I looked for something to eat while they were occupied. I found a place called Big Marv’s, drove over there, had my mind blown by the amazing food, and raved about it. Big Marv picked up some other fans on the strength of our story. Vincent and Helen, who drive back and forth between Huntsville and Atlanta a whole heck of a lot, found themselves making frequent detours to Scottsboro for pulled pork and ribs. And then he was gone, back to Tennessee. Helen fumed. Continue reading “Big Marv’s BBQ, Decherd TN”
Chub’s BBQ, Ila GA (CLOSED)
Ila is a tiny little town in Madison County, about twenty minutes north of Athens via GA-106. Curiously, I did not have reason to ever put a tire on this stretch of road in my life before September of last year, when we visited Scott & BJ’s Bar-B-Q, which is located at the southern end of the little corridor. Two trips to the Classic City later, and we found ourselves driving along it for the very first time. It’s a fun little straightaway, full of rolling hills and low visibility with all the dips. This trip was between the two big winter ice storms that hit the area. We noted that this road would be impassible with slippery ice. Continue reading “Chub’s BBQ, Ila GA (CLOSED)”
‘cue Barbecue, Milton GA
In a chapter that we posted about three weeks back, I mentioned that we had wanted to take the toddler to romp around in the great big play fort at Alpharetta’s Wills Park. We finally made our way there and he had a complete blast. Before and after the madness and running around, we visited two restaurants in north Fulton County that we had never visited before. First up, we went to the town of Milton and had some ‘cue at a place called ‘cue. Continue reading “‘cue Barbecue, Milton GA”
The Smoke Ring, Atlanta GA
I had heard of the Meat Week craze about three years ago, but didn’t pay the lovably silly tradition the attention that it deserved. Then, there had been a branch in Athens, and Hillary Brown at Flagpole had reported on one of its week of barbecue activities. That was when I first heard about the excellent Big Al’s BBQ Pit, a joint that left us far, far too soon. Continue reading “The Smoke Ring, Atlanta GA”
Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q, Marietta GA
After several years hoping that time had improved the quality of the barbecue at Williamson Brothers, we made a cautious trip to the gigantic barn of their flagship store. I won’t rehash old complaints, rather, I’d prefer to learn from them and stay away from certain things on the menu that I don’t enjoy. Full disclosure: in the mid-1990s, my parents found themselves enjoying this place, and befriended the owners, and so I have been many, many times on their dime. I briefly developed a taste for it, and it took a while, and a much broader experience of barbecue, to lose it. Continue reading “Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q, Marietta GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 