Problems That Only We Have Dept: Whenever we take a road trip, I want to come home with at least one new barbecue joint. That didn’t happen on our Christmas trip to south Georgia, and it looked like it wasn’t going to happen on our January trip to South Carolina, either. Because I did not do the requisite research, we pulled into the place that I wanted to try too late; they close at 4 pm on Saturdays. We didn’t have time to waste; we’d spent a lot longer with our Baby Mercy Break earlier in the afternoon already, so we headed to Anderson for our last South Carolina stop, as mentioned in the previous chapter. Continue reading “Banjo’s Barbecue, Commerce GA (CLOSED)”
Tag: barbecue
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”
Tipsy Pig BBQ, Lilburn GA
There’s a place in Gwinnett County that I almost went to visit one day in late October. Review Atlanta had written about Tipsy Pig in Lilburn and made it sound very promising. However, it is so far off the beaten path as to be just about halfway to Athens. I decided to set it aside until the next time we were heading to the Classic City. Since Tipsy Pig is, happily, open seven days a week, we could even go on a Sunday. Continue reading “Tipsy Pig BBQ, Lilburn GA”
Two Brothers Pit Barbecue, Ball Ground GA (take two)
Since I’m a little less than thrilled with some of the earliest chapters that we wrote for this blog, we’ve been occasionally revisiting a few for a slightly better story. Plus, in the case of Two Brothers, which we first wrote about in March of 2010, an equally good additional reason to visit Ball Ground did not yet exist. Continue reading “Two Brothers Pit Barbecue, Ball Ground GA (take two)”
Boyd’s Bar-B-Q, Smyrna GA (CLOSED)
In early November, my daughter and I were driving along South Cobb Drive in Smyrna and were surprised to see that a new barbecue place had moved into the building that had once been the home of StaQs. It’s an old, 1960s-era Waffle House, and this stretch of road has not been all that kind to restaurants in the last five or six years. We decided to swing by the next time we were in the area. She had a doctor’s appointment nearby in early December. I figured, wrongly, that she would eat lunch at school and have a side with me once I collected her. No, I made the mistake of sharing plans and she skipped lunch at school, waiting until we got to the counter to order to hit me up with puppy-dog eyes and tell me how hungry she was, and how good those wings sounded. Dadblasted young’un.
Well, I can’t say as I blame her. I’d have probably pulled the same trick on my parents. Continue reading “Boyd’s Bar-B-Q, Smyrna GA (CLOSED)”
Glenn’s Bar-B-Que, Conyers GA (CLOSED)
For the final stop on the Eastern Suburban BBQ Tour, the children and I visited Glenn’s, a restaurant with a lot of local history which is hanging in there despite a long series of setbacks. As I enjoyed the finely chopped, hickory-smoked pork, I was reminded of the flavor and consistency of what I think of as “classic Atlanta barbecue,” as exemplified by such older restaurants as Old Hickory House. But it is not only the food; Glenn’s backstory also reminds me of that restaurant. Glenn and Jean Yontz opened the first location of this chain in 1987 and, over the next decade, various family members opened satellite locations throughout the suburbs. At its peak, there were five stores in the chain, stretching from Snellville to Stockbridge. The chain failed in 2005. Continue reading “Glenn’s Bar-B-Que, Conyers GA (CLOSED)”
Where There’s Smoke BBQ, Mansfield GA
For the second stop on our Eastern Suburban BBQ Tour, the kids and I drove further out I-20 to what Urbanspoon defines as the extreme outer edge of the Atlanta region. A little past Covington, exit 98 brings you to GA-11. Four miles north of the highway is Social Circle, the home of the celebrated Blue Willow Inn. Seven miles south of the highway is Mansfield, a very tiny town of about 400. Deer hunting is very big in this community on Saturdays. Just about everybody that we saw, either at the restaurant or at a small convenience grocery store on the town square – the only other place open for business on a Saturday in the immediate area – was dressed in wintertime camouflage. Continue reading “Where There’s Smoke BBQ, Mansfield GA”
Marie, Let's Eat! 