Joe’s BBQ, Blue Ridge GA

Aha! I knew that TripAdvisor list would demonstrate a hiccup eventually!

You remember all the hoopla, right? TripAdvisor said, correctly, that Georgia was the best state in the nation for barbecue, and that we were home to three of the ten best barbecue joints in the country. Texas and North Carolina, after collecting their jaws from sawdust-covered floors, bitched and bellyached and those of us who know better smiled and said, “Darn right.” Then Marie and I went to Wylie’s Championship BBQ in Savannah, one of those three prize-winners, and just got knocked off our chairs by how good it was. Continue reading “Joe’s BBQ, Blue Ridge GA” →

Mike’s Trackside BBQ, Blue Ridge GA

This was the first time in possibly forever that I was stymied twice in a search for barbecue and had to take a third choice. I’d call it ridiculous, but when we eventually made it to Mike’s, everything turned out okay. Continue reading “Mike’s Trackside BBQ, Blue Ridge GA” →

Mercier Orchards, Blue Ridge GA

Over the last few years, Marie and I have really enjoyed visiting some of the big farms and orchards around the north Georgia mountains, but until last month, we had never stopped by what is probably the biggest of all of them. Mercier Orchards was founded in 1943, and if anybody in the region isn’t familiar with them, they’re, flatly, not paying attention. They have a presence at farmers’ markets from Atlanta to Chattanooga, a big interstate billboard campaign to promote their fall season, and a line of hard ciders that gets a lot of people talking. Continue reading “Mercier Orchards, Blue Ridge GA” →