When I started this Quest three years ago, my goal was to visit about 20 new BBQ places in the counties of Limestone, Morgan, Lawrence and Madison each year. Given that there are about 70 BBQ restaurants in those counties at any given time (some will close, others will open ...), it would take about three and a half years at that rate to visit them all.
Well, I did not quite make it to the bottom of the list - time ran out when I was sent back to Germany in June 2014, and the count was 67. So there are a few that got away - around half a dozen, I'd say, that I still have on the list. Whereas, for most of those I do not even know if they still exist - I got their addresses off a Google-search, and they may have faltered since. That happened to me occasionally, when I showed up and only found closed doors instead of BBQ.
I also visited over 40 BBQ places out of the Quest area - Florida, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and even New Mexico. There will be one additional in this category - I found a BBQ place in Germany, the only one in the whole of Europe as far as I can tell. They do Memphis style BBQ, and they take it quite seriously. That will then be the final entry in this blog.
The Quest was a lot of fun, I ate a lot of very good, much to much of adequate, and some few bad BBQ. I met interesting people and actually was only approached twice in more than a hundred times by staff members about the photography part of it - and that not in a threatening kind of way, but out of sheer curiosity.
So, the last question at a point like this is always "Would you do it again?". The answer is a very certain "Yes, in a heartbeat". Actually, I will miss this in Germany - I will need to find another food item to follow there. :)
Thanks. I followed your blog for places to eat.
ReplyDeleteAw, shucks, I'll miss your blog; read each and every entry, some multiple times, to try to bring the flavor to my place. You got me started in a real barbeque fix, especially with those pretty pics you put near the end of each review, and really, how to do it right as a Yankee, since we ain't got no good or authentic spots this side of the Mason-Dixon. Made me want to come down to your grand old state of Alabama; some day.
ReplyDeleteLike you, it's the pulled pork that, when done right, that I believe makes barbeque, well, barbeque, so I know now where to go to get some good stuff. As you said it enough; let us sauce it ourselves, unless they want to drown the poor pig.
Save travels, well doing, and God bless, y'all, in Germany. :)
Oh yes, food to follow; I'm Jessica from above, the Yankee New England gal. My food suggestion would be the Frankfurter Würstchen sausage. It's pure pork, and smoked as kind of a kind of a reference to your days in Alabama, though the casing is mutton intestines. If you're not too keen on that, maybe the knackwurst, also a pork sausage; lots of garlic flavor though. And hey, as a fellow SC mustard barbeque sauce lover, it's supposed to be paired with mustard (and/or with kraut, if you prefer).
ReplyDeleteLove your style; as such, would love to read a blog about you chasing the best food of your choice out there in Deutchland.
I shall miss your well thought out reviews and will continue my sampling of the Q-joints you have already reviewed and maybe some of those you've missed.
ReplyDeleteHaving been inspired by you to create the Shoals Barbecue trail, I embarked on the same style journey over a year ago and lack only a couple of local Q-joints to complete my quest.
My next endeavor will be even more fun when The Shoals Hamburger trail gets under way and we search for the best burger in NW Alabama.
Good luck to you in your new location and may your fork and pen be always at the ready.
footnote: post the names of the q-joints you've missed and I'll be sure to check them out for you and post them at thebrownbagreview.com (The Brown Bag Review.com)