A little roadtrip and some BBQ tastings in Tennessee and environs

[Gore]

Originally Posted by Moose

Yes, the vid I saw was the same one you posted earlier. I'll be sure to check out the second one you linked above!

It really seemed her sauce was something special, too, which you confirmed. I also like you get the choice of having the meat on the sammich pulled or chopped.

Do you have a pic of the sausage sammich?

Unfortunately, no, it was a sloppy mess. Charred sausage on a hot-dog bun with coleslaw and BBQ sauce. As I recall the sauce was somewhat reminiscent of Arby's sauce. My wife doesn't like sweet and I don't do sour. We both liked the sauce, not too sweet or sour, I guess. There are a lot of ok sausages, but this one was the best sausage we've had in a long time, not sure what kind it was, if local or what. It was of the reddish variety if that is any help, but had a beautiful char mark going down it. The coleslaw and sauce were great. We were eating in the car and just finished the pork sandwiches and this was dripping wrapped in that same paper that you see in the videos and our hands were covered in bbq sauce and coleslaw. Would've been a chore to get out the camera for another pic, and after one bite, taking a picture was the last thing on our minds. Guess you're just going to have to go there and check it out yourself.

[TravelingJ]

Wow, I'm surprised to see many familiar places on that list!

One of my cigar chat buddies recently mentioned Ridgeway, specifically during a blue cheese discussion.

The Big Bob Gibsons trophy part had me literally laughing out loud (we ordered their baked potatoes when we went, and looooved them)

I had a similar experience at Rendezvous as your first trip, and when she went with her friends last year, it mirrored mine. I'm glad you found out they actually can make edible food.

Central is an interesting place. I went to the one on Central (I think there are 3 locations?) with a coworker, and we loved it. I sent another coworker later, and then a family friend. They both said it was the words BBQ they had ever had.

Mostly, I'm impressed you could eat that much Que. I sure love making it, but meal after meal just isn't that exciting to me. Glad you had a safe trip! Thanks for the fantastic post.

[Gore]

Originally Posted by TravelingJ

Wow, I'm surprised to see many familiar places on that list!

One of my cigar chat buddies recently mentioned Ridgeway, specifically during a blue cheese discussion.

The Big Bob Gibsons trophy part had me literally laughing out loud (we ordered their baked potatoes when we went, and looooved them)

I had a similar experience at Rendezvous as your first trip, and when she went with her friends last year, it mirrored mine. I'm glad you found out they actually can make edible food.

Central is an interesting place. I went to the one on Central (I think there are 3 locations?) with a coworker, and we loved it. I sent another coworker later, and then a family friend. They both said it was the words BBQ they had ever had.

Mostly, I'm impressed you could eat that much Que. I sure love making it, but meal after meal just isn't that exciting to me. Glad you had a safe trip! Thanks for the fantastic post.

One thing we all know is that getting a consistent product is a huge challenge, especially when you're cooking for the masses. Last night I was rewatching that second video highlighting Helen's BBQ (a couple posts up). It is a tour and the last stop was at Rendezvous. In the video you can see them adding a liberal amount of seasoning on the ribs afterward. That is what I'd had the first time I'd visited. This most definitely was not what I had this time, and it was so much better. Perhaps, a new chef who didn't know what he was doing?

[Moose]

Originally Posted by Gore

Unfortunately, no, it was a sloppy mess. Charred sausage on a hot-dog bun with coleslaw and BBQ sauce. As I recall the sauce was somewhat reminiscent of Arby's sauce. My wife doesn't like sweet and I don't do sour. We both liked the sauce, not too sweet or sour, I guess. There are a lot of ok sausages, but this one was the best sausage we've had in a long time, not sure what kind it was, if local or what. It was of the reddish variety if that is any help, but had a beautiful char mark going down it. The coleslaw and sauce were great. We were eating in the car and just finished the pork sandwiches and this was dripping wrapped in that same paper that you see in the videos and our hands were covered in bbq sauce and coleslaw. Would've been a chore to get out the camera for another pic, and after one bite, taking a picture was the last thing on our minds. Guess you're just going to have to go there and check it out yourself.

I understand the "after taking one bite" syndrome where everything else in the world ceases to exist because it tastes so damn good.

They are rare, unexpected moments, meant to be cherished and savored. Now that I understand how good it REALLY was, I'm glad you didn't try to take a picture.

[frognot]

Outstanding BBQ crawl!

Just texted my nephew Glenn (Gatordawg here) in Jackson, TN that I expect to go to Helen's the next time we're in TN.

I've been to Martin's, Puckett's, the Rendezvous and Central BBQ but would love to check out all the others mentioned.

[Gore]

I know this is way late, but the image showed up from Due South BBQ in Christiansburg, Virginia. It was hiding in the cloud somewhere.



The smoked potatoes were outstanding. I did finish the pulled pork we picked up to take home. I will say that it was some of the worst pulled pork that I ever had. Lots and lots of fat. Huge blobs of fat mixed in with the pork, I'm talking tablespoon size. My daughter and wife were disgusted. I thought it couldn't be that bad and made myself a bowl. It was that bad.

[Bill-Chicago]

Next time, please take pictures