Hazel Green Bar-B-Q

Quest Log No 59 – Hazel Green Bar-B-Q
Hazel Green, Madison County

Although BBQ is a serious affair here in the south, usually there is also some mild eccentricity involved. Typically, the quirkiness revolves around pigs, with all kinds of statues, posters, photos, metal and neon signs displayed in the restaurant.

But if there is a ten foot long smoker in the backyard that has pig’s ears, nose and eyes out of metal attached to it - that is the definition of eccentric quirkiness.

And that is what I found outside of the Hazel Green Bar-B-Q. It actually fits very well the rustic atmosphere of the restaurant, which is built in a kind of pseudo-log cabin style. Inside, there is a big room with only four tables with two chairs each, which are metal patio furniture out of the home improvement store. The window we were sitting at had just a fly-net and no glass in it, the ceiling was covered with old tin plates, and the floor looked like the victory circle of a NASCAR speedway, with black stains all over it. Most of the business, from Friday to Sunday only, is done as carry-out, so I guess there is no need for more places to sit down, or better furniture, or a non-stained floor. So, it is very rustic, but also very clean.

As usual, I had the pork plate with three sides, potato salad, baked beans, and slaw, and my wife had the brisket with baked beans and slaw. The plates come with a slice of white untoasted toast bread, and we both had sweet tea, which comes in 16oz plastic bottles from Milos. For all that, we only paid about twenty bucks, which is a very fair deal in regards of the amount of food you get.

The quality, however, was no reason for jubilation.

They claim that all sides are home made, and I truly believe that. But that in itself is no guarantee that the taste is something special. In this case, the potato salad and the baked beans were rather pedestrian, taste-wise. Not bad, don’t get me wrong, but if it says “homemade” my expectations are a bit more demanding. The slaw, on the other hand, was kind of sweet, but with a spicy note in it. Very interesting, very tasty.

The pork was a bit oily, and had some fat in it, but it was very tender and had a deliciously smoky aroma. While one sauce comes with the plate, I allowed myself the luxury to add a second kind of sauce for a small amount of money. I chose the mustard based Sweet’n’Spicy and the tomato based Kansas City BBQ Sweet. They also have a white sauce and a vinegar based Hot and Spicy sauce.

I must admit that I have a soft spot for mustard based sauces. Mustard and pig just naturally belongs together in my culinary world, and while this variety here was not bad at all, the mustard aroma was too strong for my taste. Give the sauce a hint of mustard, make it the key note in the aroma, but don’t let it take over the show. It was just too much, almost like pure mustard. And the Kansas City style sauce was just boring, a concoction with no outstanding features besides its sweetness.

My wife’s brisket also had a very nice smoke flavor and was very tender, too. But about half of it was pure fat, and while fat certainly is a carrier of flavor, it is also not very healthy and too much of it should be avoided. She had the white sauce with it, which we will deny vehemently if the BBQ police ever get wind of this sacrilege. The sauce is a thin mayonnaise and vinegar based concoction with, again, no outstanding features.

In summation, I liked the rustic but very clean environment, and also the price was very good. The food had some highlights in the slaw and the flavor of the meat, but also had too much fat in it, and the other sides and the sauces could use some re-work. No bad BBQ here, but also certainly not one of my go-to places.

Biffle's Slow Smoked Barbeque

Quest Log No 58 – Biffle’s Slow Smoked Barbeque
Madison, Madison County

BBQ out of a trailer – that does not immediately garner my confidence that I will get something decent to eat. On the other hand, during the almost three years of my quest I had BBQ at some permanent locations that was also somewhat dubious, to say the least. So I guess the old saying, don’t judge a BBQ place by its cover really has some truth to it.

In Madison, on Sullivan Street just behind the train tracks, opposite the Downtown area on Main Street, stands a brand new red trailer that hosts Biffle’s Slow Smoked Barbeque. The Biffle’s are a retired couple who were looking for something to occupy their time with, so they decided on a food truck operation of sorts - only that their trailer remains stationary and does not move between locations.

There are two canopies in front of the trailer, where you can sit on a few chairs around a table or at a bench-table combination. The trailer itself is equipped with a smoker and a full kitchen. Due to the limited size of the smoker and the storage space in the kitchen, at times they sell out some items before their official closing time. As I was there, they only had some fruit punch left to drink, which was not a big deal, but don’t expect everything to be available at any given time.

As usual, I had the pork plate with potato salad and slaw. The plate also comes with either a bun or two slices of sandwich bread, and all together it cost me seven bucks.

Not a bad deal for a sizeable amount of food.

Alas, the quality was not up to par. The meat was rather oily and lacked the tenderness I would expect from slow smoked BBQ. There was no real smoky flavor, and the sauce, while apparently home made, was just a variety of the typical St.Louis-style supermarket sauces. It had some spiciness to it, but was mostly sweet. The potato salad had a mayonnaise dressing and was quite tasty, with a sour tang, but the slaw, while certainly fresh and crispy, had no taste at all.

I certainly had much worse BBQ in the last three years, but also distinctively better. So, I guess, it really is not so much the building you do it in, but how you do it that determines your BBQ. This is, of course, not really a brand new discovery, but rather a known rule. And while this peculiar style of BBQ certainly will find its audience, I do not see myself stopping by that trailer again anytime soon.

John's Bar-B-Que

Quest Log No 57 – John’s Bar-B-Que
Moulton, Lawrence County

I like it when small businesses are successful and expand, opening satellite stations. That usually means that the public approves of the product they sell, which is a fairly good indicator of quality and price. And as long as the expansion does not compromise those attributes that have made the product a success in the first place, the future might even bring further success and expansion.

There are two locations where you can find John’s Bar-B-Que in Moulton. One is a log cabin that I already visited half a year ago, and one is in a typical boring small strip mall on Highway 157.

Since I could not remember what I had the last time, I made the mistake to order the exact same thing again, although one of my rules is to order something different at each satellite location of a chain. Mea culpa.

So, let’s just concentrate on the differences between those two places – which should be minimal.

As before, I got the two meat plate with pulled pork and chicken, with potato salad and Jailhouse Slaw. But contrary to the Log Cabin, this time there were no hushpuppies served before the meal. Bummer!

The pork was very tender and lean, with a nice smoke aroma, and that was also the case at the Log Cabin location.

Same goes for the chicken, which was again a bit dry and with a lesser smoke aroma, but with a nice pepper infused crust that I did not register the first time.

As fort the sauces, there was no difference. Their white sauce is sour and peppery as it should be, and very fresh tasting. Top notch, and still one of the best I ever had.

The other sauces, a boring mild sauce and a mildly spicy red vinegar and pepper sauce, were acceptable for the pork if mixed together.

The Jailhouse Slaw is one of the most interesting and tastiest side dishes I ever encountered at a BBQ place. It comes drenched in a mustard based sauce with enough spiciness to give you a recognizable kick in the pants. It can double as BBQ sauce, and they should really sell it in bottles (I’d take a case or two …).

The potato salad had a hint of cinnamon in it, but not as pronounced as the first time.

The meal, including sweet tea, was not the cheapest I ever had in a BBQ place, with about fourteen and a half bucks. But the quality of the food, and the very nice atmosphere do actually justify that price. The dining area has the usual red faux-leather benches and chairs, and some tables. The decoration is a whimsical mixture of BBQ related paraphernalia, like posters, pigs, and neon signs, and also some fishing related things like fishing poles and a stuffed fish. There is also the model of a three-mast bark, which is kind of odd at such a place, but speaks to my maritime past very much. The walls are wooden panels, and the counter is made out of brick. This all contributes to a cozy atmosphere, and the place is very clean, too. The Log Cabin is just a bit more authentic and quirky, and they serve fantastic hushpuppies, so all in all I would prefer that to the location on Highway 157. But if you just want excellent BBQ, and don’t care about the surroundings, either location will fit the bill.

 

Meridianville Pit Bar-B-Q

Quest Log No 56 – Meridianville Pit Bar-B-Q
Meridianville, Madison County

A while ago, I debated the question, whether dead flies on the window sill belong to an authentic BBQ place. The conclusion was that I did not mind them and that in certain circumstances they actually could contribute to the special atmosphere of a place. Living flies, on the other hand, are still a total no-no.

And that is the problem with those places that are primary take-out restaurants, with maybe just a few folding chairs and a table outside. You are usually better off to eat in the car, unmolested by pesky insects, or take the stuff with you at home, if this is not too far away.

The Meridianville Pit Bar-B-Q in, ahem, Meridianville is one of those places. There is one table with  four chairs outside the order window under a little roof, but since the trash cans are right next to it I would suggest using this offer – unless you like sharing your meal with winged pests.

Other than that, there is the occasional spider web with insect carcasses in it to be found in some corners, and a grimy substance covers most outside surfaces. That is, of course, coming from the US Highway that runs just a few yards away from the building. The building is also wedged between two gas stations. That all, and more serious violations inside once have led to a score of 75 (of 100) at a health inspection. You must score an 85 to get off the re-inspection list. So before I tried this place, I wanted to wait until the health score was in a region where I did not have to reserve a hospital bed before eating there. Now, they have a 94 and so I went.

First of all, the meals are really inexpensive there. I paid nine bucks for a large pork plate with three sides and a large sweet tea. Well, they do not have any overhead costs for maintaining a dining area, so it should not be pricey.

My pork plate came with baked beans, potato salad and slaw, a bun and a cup of sauce.

The meat was very tender and lean, not very moist and with a very subtle smoke aroma. Together with the simple vinegar-pepper sauce it tasted great, and I would say while it was not spectacular, it was how BBQ pork should be.

The sides were also nothing special, but also very good. The potato salad came with a mildly sour yellowish mayonnaise dressing, the slaw was a bit too much on the sweet side for my taste, and the baked beans were no different from what you can buy in a can. But while not one item was something special, all harmonized very well together, and the taste was extremely pleasant when one bite of the pulled pork with sauce on it was followed immediately by the potato salad and the baked beans or the slaw.

So, what you get at the Meridianville Pit Bar-B-Q is middle-of-the-road stuff for a very reasonable price. Just try to avoid the spider-webs and you’ll be fine.

Dreamland Big Daddy's Rib Shack

Non-Quest BBQ No 38 – Dreamland Big Daddy’s Rib Shack

Regions Field, Birmingham, Alabama

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd; buy me some peanuts and BBQ … BBQ? Of course, BBQ – we are in the South here, and Hot Dogs and Burgers are so Cooperstown (which is located in the beautiful State of New York, of course). So when the Birmingham Barons built their new wonderful downtown stadium, one of the concessions was claimed by Dreamland Bar-B-Que. Yes, that Dreamland, from Tuscaloosa, where at game day the Tide fans pack the restaurant tightly, to eat some fine ribs before they watch Bama roll over another hapless opponent. I tried to get in there once on a Saturday morning – no freakin’ chance in hell. But it is on my to-do-list, just not on a game day.

So then, Regions Field was finished just in time before the season started, and I was at the inaugural game there, which was kind of a transcendent experience. The architecture, the crowd, the atmosphere, the view of the lighted up downtown Birmingham – magical. Alas, no Dreamland. In early April, there was just the framework of the building where the BBQ place once should reside. So I ate a hot dog. Frustrating.

But then in early September, after a glorious season, the Birmingham Barons got into the playoffs of the Southern League – and I went to Regions Field again. In the meantime, Dreamland Big Daddy’s Rib Shack was fully operational, and so I gave it a spin.

First off, I have to say that nothing in the world beats the atmosphere of a Baseball stadium on a play-off day in late summer. And to eat BBQ there is equivalent to celebrating a religious service in a gothic cathedral. It does not get any better than this. Period.

Too bad then that the Q was not really that special. I ordered the pulled pork plate, which essentially was a BBQ sandwich with some potato salad. The pork came already drenched in sauce, on a standard bun. There was also a tiny cup of cole slaw hidden underneath the bun.

I struggled to find a non-sauced piece of pork, and eventually succeeded, only to find out that I had not need to bother – it was kind of neutral tasting, no real flavor in it. But the sauce, the Dreamland sauce, would certainly save the day. Ain’t so. The Dreamland sauce they serve in their location in Huntsville is a spicy, very flavorful concoction. The sauce on the pork here was your standard super-market-variety-sauce. Disappointing. The slaw was a letdown, too, it had also no distinguishable aroma.

The potato salad on the other hand was nothing short of spectacular. It came in a creamy dressing, with peppers and dill in it. The taste was more to the sour side, but the dill balanced it out marvelously.

But quite frankly, I did not come to the ballpark to have superb potato salad, I was expecting superb BBQ. And here there is definitely much room for improvement. And the price was also not to my liking - $11.25 for a BBQ sandwich and a sweet tea is kind of steep. Well, next year, I will go to Regions Field again, pack some money and maybe try some ribs. After all, it is probably called “Rib Shack” for a reason. We’ll see. In the meantime – Go Barons!

Everglades BBQ Smokehouse

Non-Quest BBQ No 37 – Everglades BBQ Smokehouse

St.Petersburg, Florida

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

The Tampa Bay Rays are playing very good Baseball this year. They are locked with the Boston Red Sox in a death-match for the first place in the American League East Division. Their home games are played in a domed stadium, Tropicana Field in St.Petersburg, which has a genuine BBQ restaurant in the food court. Everglades BBQ Smokehouse is surprisingly not part of a bigger chain, but seems to be a one of a kind place that you only find at Tropicana Field. They claim to smoke their meats there fresh every (game) day, which is certainly commendable.

Well, I am certainly aware of the limitations a stadium eatery has to overcome. Cramped space, fast service, hungry masses, rent versus profit margin, and so on. So you have to cut some corners, I get that. But $9.50 for a Pulled Pork Sandwich, with only one side (slaw)? And the only other choice is BBQ Nachos (also $9.50)?! Come on!

So together with a regular sized drink, I paid $14.50 – and felt robbed. If that would have been the best BBQ sandwich ever, a revelation, nectar of the Gods, the sandwich to rule all other sandwiches, then maybe the price would not have stuck in my throat while eating it. But it wasn’t. Actually, it was only a subpar BBQ sandwich.

The pork itself was not too bad, it was tender, although a bit dry, and did not have any discernible smoke taste. That is the typical description of the strategy “Our pork does not need to have its own flavor - that is provided by the sauce”. So, they have three different sauces: Smoky Original, Carolina Gold, and Citrus Chipotle. I only tried the original concoction, which is your typical thick red sweet’n’spicy affair. Nothing you couldn’t get at any given supermarket. I had pork sandwiches that came with slaw on it, pickles, two different kinds of sauce, and maybe even an onion ring – for less than half of the price I paid for this very basic one here.

I probably could have poured the slaw over the pork, but I refrained from that because it was more of a vegetable salad then a typical slaw. Yes, there was some cabbage, but also carrots, peppers, celery, and other stuff. It tasted very sour, which I liked, but not at all like a classical slaw.

So, to sum it up – next time I watch a Tampa Bay Rays game there, I am gonna stick with the hot dogs and the burgers.

Burger King

Non-Quest BBQ No 36 – Burger King

Huntsville, Alabama

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

So, once in a while one or another of the national fast food chains decides to spice up their menu with a BBQ-themed item. It should go without saying that those ventures cannot be compared to our local BBQ – they are worlds apart. But as an alternative to the regular menu items, it might just work.

So, now Burger King, too. It is called the Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich and comes with pulled pork, Memphis BBQ sauce, sliced onion rings and a sweet southern dressing. It looks quite nice in the advertisement pictures, so I thought what the heck.

Well, the one I got did not look quite as nice. After unwrapping it, there was this squishy, slobby, moist, and chaotic mass, which looked an awful lot like road kill. I am also pretty sure that the white sticky thing on it was cheese, which was not featured in the advertisement at all. Or, if it was supposed to be the sweet southern sauce, it was one rubbery concoction of a sauce.

Of course, the advertisement promises tender hickory smoked pork, but there was no way in the world to examine that – the whole thing was drenched in this supermarket-grade Memphis BBQ sauce, which was the only flavor I could determine. Even the onions tasted like it. Which is not to say that it was all bad. Not at all, if you do not expect a real BBQ sandwich. For a fast food offering it was acceptable, even more so because the small combo with fries and a drink only sets you back about five and a half bucks. But be warned – as the picture indicates, it is a real mess to eat. Get some extra napkins.

Hickory Stick Bar-B-Q

Quest Log No 55 – Hickory Stick Bar-B-Q
Decatur, Morgan County

On the outskirts of Decatur, there is a shop where you can buy an almost life-size metal elephant with a big red Bama-A on it. It does not get any more southern than this. Well, maybe a notch or so more when you step into the BBQ place next to it and have some pulled pork.

The Hickory Stick Bar-B-Q is in an unassuming square building, and the inside too is rather unspectacular. About a dozen or so tables in a big room with black, white, and red chairs, and red or blue tablecloths, with rolls of paper towels on them plus a bottle of vinegar BBQ sauce – the basic necessities are all there, including some BBQ and pork themed wall hangings. This is not the coziest atmosphere, but it will do if the food is good.

And good it is. I had the large pork plate with potato salad and slaw, and a side order of hushpuppies, and together with a sweet tea that set me back a little more than ten bucks.

The pulled pork was moist and lean, although not the most tender meat I ever had. It was not really chewy, but could have been a bit less resistant. The flavor, on the other hand, was beyond any doubt very articulated and had a wonderful hickory aroma. Together with the very basic vinegar-pepper sauce, which was more sour than spicy, it made for a wonderful taste experience.

The slaw was also on the sour side, with the vinegar-based dressing having just enough spices in it to produce a well rounded aroma. The potato salad was very tasty, too, but reminded me of a product I once had bought in a supermarket. No biggy here, not everybody is a potato-salad wizard, and to acknowledge one’s limitations is usually better than trying and bringing an inferior product to the table. Or, if it really was made from scratch, then kudos for achieving a well rounded middle-of-the-road taste.

But now, I have to talk about the hushpuppies. Very crunchy on the outside, just moist enough on the inside to not fall into a gazillion crumbs when cut in half, with a nice corn flavor with only a very subtle sweetness – some of the best hushpuppies I ever had.

So, if you ever drive through Decatur and see an elephant with big red Bama-A’s on its sides, stop and take a picture. And then go a few steps to the side and have some good Q at the Hickory Stick place. It does not get any more authentic then this.

Whitt's Barbecue, Decatur Spring Ave

Quest Log No 54 – Whitt’s Barbecue, Decatur, Spring Ave
Decatur, Morgan County

Now, there is only one Whitt’s Barbecue left on my list. And although they are all very similar, they are not the same. Some have a smoking unit, others have not. Some have (limited) outside seating, others have not. Some are quite picturesque, others not so much. But the quality of the BBQ is uniformly the same, and differs only by nuances.

Whitt’s Barbecue on Decatur’s Spring Ave has a very sizeable parking lot in front of the building, with two red metal benches on it. If you don’t mind to share your meal with some nasty fat black flies, you can sit down there and eat. Otherwise, park your car at the parking lot, or drive home and eat it there.

I chose to try out the fresh-air version, which meant to have one hand constantly hovering over the Styrofoam box to shush away those flies.

As usual, I had the pork plate, which comes with slaw, baked beans, and potato salad by default. With a regular drink, I paid not even nine Dollars, which is a good deal.

The meat was tasty, although not really in a smoky-kind of way. It also was a bit soggy, but tender and lean. With the simple vinegar based peppery sauce that comes with the plate, it was quite good.

The sides were good, too, without being earth-shatteringly outstanding. The rather neutral tasting potato salad and the plain tasting beans are comparable to something you could pick up in a super market. The slaw came with a quite sour vinegar dressing and was the best of the three sides.

I would rank Whitt’s Barbecue as plainly in the middle of the BBQ-road – nothing special here, but good quality Q at a very reasonable price. Or, as I already said before – a better tasting and healthier alternative to your typical burger joint.

Quiznos Sub

Non-Quest BBQ No 35 – Quiznos Sub

Madison, Alabama

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

So, once in a while one or another of the national fast food chains decides to spice up their menu with a BBQ-themed item. It should go without saying that those ventures cannot be compared to our local BBQ – they are worlds apart.

But as an alternative to the regular menu items, it might work.

The latest foray into the BBQ arena comes from Quiznos – they put a so called “Southern” and a Spicy BBQ sub on the menu lately.

I tried them both, and they are quite tasty – for a sub. The Southern comes with pulled pork, coleslaw, and BBQ sauce. The Spicy comes on jalapeno cheddar bread with pulled pork, bacon, cheddar, cilantro-jalapeno slaw, and BBQ sauce.

Theoretically. Actually, the only difference between the two subs I had was the bread – plain white bread for the Southern, the jalapeno bread for the Spicy. Everything else was the same – pulled pork, ordinary slaw, and BBQ sauce.

For a BBQ-themed fast food sub, it was not bad at all. For a BBQ sandwich, it was sub-par. The slaw was rather neutral tasting, the BBQ sauce was your typical sweet’n’sour supermarket variety, and the pork was cooked, not smoked. The jalapeno bread gave the Spicy just enough spiciness to make it interesting. Otherwise, those two subs had no distinctive BBQ flavor, other than through the somewhat overbearing sauce. But that is to be expected – what does Quiznos, with their over 4000 shops across the USA, know about Q? For them, it’s a piece of pork with some generic BBQ sauce. For most of their customers outside the BBQ belt, this should be good enough. For us here in North Bama, well, we know better. 

Ted's BBQ Five Points

Quest Log No 53 – Ted’s BBQ Five Points
Huntsville, Madison County

Ted is spreading his wings and going places. While the original Ted’s location on University Drive in Huntsville is a small, take-out-only hole-in-the-wall affair, the new posh Ted’s in the hip Five Points area has ample seating space, booths and a bar-like area, neon lights, flat screen TV, a Ray Charles poster on the wall, and soul and blues music coming out of the loudspeakers. Quite fancy for a BBQ joint, like a Redneck in a tux.

But do they serve food that an urban redneck like me would like? I mean, real, righteous, rapacious, rousing Q? Well …

I had my usual pork plate, which came with two sides – potato salad and cole slaw in my case, and a cornbread muffin that comes with it by default.

After visits to more than fifty BBQ restaurants in Northern Alabama and more than thirty more outside of this region, I think that I have a pretty good idea how BBQ pork should be done. Well …

The pork had an acceptable, but certainly not outstanding BBQ flavor. But it was a little chewy and definitely too dry. Without a good deal of lubricant, I had problems swallowing it down. They have two choices of lubricant there, a mild and a spicy sauce, both of the thick red variety, and both with the proud label “home made” on it. The mild sauce tasted kind of bitter (do I hear “celery” out of the audience?) and otherwise not like something I would voluntarily put on my pork, other than for lubrication purposes. The spicy sauce was not especially hot, but with a nice zesty kick and a hint of sweetness. So I chose that to drench the pork in – might have also made it a bit more tender when soaked for a few minutes.

So, the pork was merely tolerable with lots of spicy sauce on it. The cole slaw, on the other hand, was quite horrible. I will never understand the fascination some people have with celery – I can’t stand this vegetable, especially not in a cole slaw with a somewhat sweet vinaigrette. In stark contrast to that, the potato salad was a pure delight. Made with red potatoes, and a mustard-mayonnaise dressing, it had a very tasty sour flavor, just as I like it. I just hope it is home made, too, and does not come out of a can. Well, if it does, then can I have the address were to buy it?

The cornbread muffin, however, was clearly home made. It came with pieces of corn and jalapenos baked in it, which gave the natural sweetness of the cornbread a spicy counter balance. I am not a great fan of this kind of “fusion” food, especially not when it comes to BBQ. Just give me plain cornbread, and leave the fancy stuff out. I am a simple guy, with a simple taste, and do not need all that fru-fru stuff.

And for about twelve bucks with a drink, the amount of food was not that big. And since the quality was also not something to write home about (Mom, don’t read this here …), this urban redneck will go to different places when the BBQ cravings come. Places with grime on the floor, stuffed animal heads on the walls, dead flies on the window sills, and Q that has no fru-fru, but the four R’s.

Johnny's Bar-B-Q

Non-Quest BBQ No 34 – Johnny’s Bar-B-Q

Cullman, Alabama

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

What’s so great about the South is that you still find those old fashioned family businesses that are handed down from generation to generation. The pressure by those ubiquitous national chains, especially in the restaurant business, has certainly been relentless over the past few decades. But since the folks in the South are very traditional and keep loyal to something once they decided to like it, small family restaurants can still survive here. That is especially true for the area of BBQ restaurants, where the biggest competition comes from a few regional chains – no real national challenger is in sight yet. And when you drive through the South, it may occur to you that each county, each bigger city, each valley usually has their favorite BBQ place. Just ask the locals, they know what’s good.

Since 1949, Johnny’s Bar-B-Q in Cullman seems to be such an institution. The have won several prizes for their BBQ and are especially proud of the home made sauce.

The restaurant is owned by the same family since 1963, so they have reason to celebrate this year. The building is clearly of that vintage, and that is no reason for celebration. From the outside, it looks quite unassuming and dreary, and the inside looks, well, like a dungeon. It is dark as the devil’s soul in there, and without the modern flat screen TV in one corner providing a dim light, you probably won’t be able to even read the menu. Of course, I am exaggerating here, but not by much. The interior could use a serious overhaul, starting with the lighting. The rest is your standard red-faux-leather booths, metal-with-faux-red-leather chairs, with space for about forty people in the dining room, with an adjacent room for even more people, some BBQ related decoration at the walls, and a big rack with bags of chips in one corner.

So, the interior design oozes the charm of the early 1960s, which can be taken as old style, or as just plain old. But at least the food is fresh there.

Because I was very hungry, coming from a baseball game in Birmingham where I was so busy taking photographs that I didn’t find the chance to eat even a hot dog, I ordered the BBQ plate with double meat. You do not have the choice of sides, it is served with French Fries, Cole Slaw, & BBQ Beans. Oh, well, no potato salad, bummer.

When the plate came, I was shocked. The fries were piled on top of the pork, and the pork was drenched in BBQ sauce. What the heck?! Why can’t you let me decide whether I want sauce over my meat? Do you have something to hide? Does your pork taste like cardboard? I had to find out.

After I carefully removed about half of the fries from the pork, I was finally able to find a spot that had no sauce on it. One bite and I knew what was going on – the pork was tender, with a nice pink ring, and with a very pronounced smoke flavor, although rather dry. Without sauce, it might not have gone down as smoothly.

The sauce itself was a somewhat strange conglomerate of tastes. It reminded me of the sweet-and-sour sauce of your typical Chinese buffet, but then a healthy dose of peppery spiciness kicked in. Together with the very smoky flavor of the meat, it was a delightful experience.

The same can be said about the slaw, which came in a sour crème dressing with a good crunch. The flavor had a hint of spiciness, and I could imagine this slaw on pork sandwich very well – and actually, that is how they do pork sandwiches at Johnny’s.

The BBQ beans on the other hand rank a few notches below, being of the you-can-as-well-use-a-can variety. And I still consider fries with a BBQ plate as offensive to my (acquired) southern pride. I would rather eat just plain white bread instead, and thankfully that is what they serve as an additional side item.

For all this, plus an endless refill of Sweet tea, I paid just over fifteen bucks. No really cheap, but taking into consideration how much food was involved here actually, this still is a good deal. Especially when not only the quantity is satisfying, but also the quality of the food is generally top notch. So, I am looking forward to the next fifty years of Johnny’s Bar-B-Q in Cullman, Alabama.

Chief & Snoogie's Hickory Pit BBQ

Quest Log No 52 – Chief & Snoogie’s Hickory Pit BBQ
Trinity, Lawrence County

The Captain & Tennille, John & Yoko, Bonny & Clyde, Jake & Elliot, Bush & Cheney – those are partnerships everybody knows. In the culinary world, there are usually only lone wolfs, jealously guarding their precious recipes and trusting nobody with the preparation of the works of art they put on the menu.

And with BBQ, there is no real difference. It’s like in those country songs – you can take my car, my house, my job, my wife, but if you try to steal the recipe to my secret miracle rub, my killer sauce, my mother’s cole slaw, all hell will break loose.

But in Trinity there is a BBQ place where two pals are collaborating to make a righteous cue. Their very neat, clean and homey little shack is located directly on Highway 24. They have decorated the inside with all kinds of nice memorabilia, like an old gas pump, and some pig-related things. Half a dozen tables or so provide seating space for about fifteen people. There is a small porch with a few extra tables under parasols, and a drive through window. Speaking of driving, you better approach the building very slow, because the driveway is just a patch of heavily potholed gravel. But the friendliness and attentiveness of the staff makes you forget the aching shocks on your car as soon as you set foot in the restaurant.

The menu has all the usual items you expect for a complete BBQ experience. As usual, I stayed with the pork plate, with potato salad and baked beans – slaw and a bread roll, as well as a pickle spear come with it by default. Additionally to the default mild vinegar sauce that came with the meal, I had the choice between the hot vinegar sauce, the thick red sauce, and the white sauce. In a stupid attempt to appear modest, I only chose the thick red sauce – I should have taken the offer to take the hot vinegar sauce as well.

Well, the mild vinegar sauce is just what the name says – a mild vinegar-pepper sauce, which is more on the sour side than in the peppery corner. Nothing special here, but it goes very well with the pulled pork, as it should. The thick red sauce is also nothing earth shattering, just your basic Kansas City style concoction.

With really well done pulled pork, a simple vinegar-pepper sauce is all you need as a ticket to BBQ heaven. And that is absolutely the case for Chief & Snoogie’s pork – very tender and lean, yet still succulent and with a very prominent hickory flavor. Those guys apparently know what they are doing.

So, while the pork was just exceptional, the sides on the other hand where a mixed bag.

The slaw was finely chopped and very crisp, with a vinegar sauce that made it very sour – just the way I like it. The potato salad came in a creamy sour crème dressing, which gave it a more neutral, but also a more fresh taste as with mayonnaise. It could use a bit more salt and pepper to make it really pop, though.

The beans on the other hand were just beyond salvation. Those beans were so sweet that they could have served them as dessert. I did not taste cinnamon in there, but that is quite understandable, because the sweetness completely overlaid any other flavor that might have been in there. Next time I am having a bag of chips instead.

Yes, there will be a next time. The pulled pork was just too exquisite to not return. And for just under eleven bucks with a sweet tea, the large pork plate is a big heap of food. So, if quality and quantity and price are right, we have a winner. Or, in this case, two of them.