Friday Night Videos

Mmmmmmmmm… sausages?

Guest Post: Charity BBQ

I've been waffling back and forth about allowing guest posts on this here Bar-B-Log. Most folks seem to have strong opinions regarding BBQ, and I'm here to spout my own ideology and document my own personal barbecue journey. I don't want to muddy the waters or set a bad precedent. That being said, I'm posting this for the following reasons: 1) The guest is my wife. 2) The photo is excellent. 3) The guest is my wife.

from Moxie Dynamite

One thing that is great about living in Memphis is that if all the BBQ joints in town suddenly closed, you could still find decent barbecue pretty much anywhere. You might have to drive down streets you don't normally travel, such as 3rd Street south of downtown, which is where I was driving yesterday when I came across a sign that said "Support the Work of the Lord! Charity Car Wash & BBQ."

When I stopped to take a picture of the sign, the nice man doing the cooking came over to hand me some flyers advertising barbecue plates for $5 and $7, and sandwiches for $3 and $3.50, in addition to rib tips, turkey legs, chicken, hot fried fish and bologna. Not to mention a hand car wash for $8! According to the flyer they would be there through Saturday so I made plans to come back today to get a sandwich and maybe a much-needed car wash.

One of the problems with living in Memphis is you can't always count on a guy you meet on the street to be there with barbecue when he says he will. I went back today ready to put in three orders and equipped with a shiny $20 bill to cover the food and the car, and there was no one there, as if I had imagined the whole thing! Luckily I at least took a picture of the sign. Since I had promised my friends barbecue, I drove to Tops and got us all some sandwiches that were so delicious they were worth the trouble.

Friday Night Videos

What goes great with BBQ? Did you say french fries? Did you say potato salad? Well, do I have a deal for you! Tater Mitts! Order yours today.

Say It Ain't So

Smokey Bones is shutting down. A lousy chain barbecue restaurant closing up shop in Memphis isn't particularly surprising. However, they had few non-BBQ items that were OK, and the service was always interesting. One thing is for sure, I am sure as hell gonna miss the bag of donuts. I don't care if I've got The Sugars. If they're still open this week, I'm risking a spike in my glucose.

Update: No more donuts. According to their answering machine, the Memphis location has closed.

Friday Night Videos

Nonsense. Absolute Nonsense.

Too Much Information

As part of the continuing series, "Get to Know Your Blogger," I was interviewed Dick Cavett style by überblogger Stacey Greenberg. You can read my hilarious responses at Fertile Ground.

More on the series here and here. And of course, here's a list.

National BBQ Month

How did I not know that National BBQ Month starts today? And, how did I not know there exists an Official Website of the National Barbecue Association? And, why in the world isn't it based in Memphis? And, is Butch Hofferbert really the "nicest credit card guy on Earth?"

For only $50 a year, I feel almost obligated to join. I missed this year's conference, but I think I might have to check that out in 2008. Who's coming with?

Chatswood BBQ Kitchen

Those Aussies have a strange definition of barbecue joint.

Barbecue Opportunity

Our friends at Mothership BBQ are going through some financial struggles and looking to take on investors. If you were ever interested in owning a piece of a BBQ joint in Nashvegas, now's your chance.

Here's the story.
Update.

Friday Night Videos

Homer is always good for a laugh. Homer speaking a foreign language is always good for a bigger laugh.

The Rules

Click over to WhiteTrashBBQ today for Al Roker's 5 Rules of Barbecue. I'm down with all 5.

Friday Night Videos

This clip speaks for itself.

Pick up, Dingy!

OK , it ain't BBQ, but how could I visit Phoenix and not order a big bowl of chili at a diner? OK, I'm technically in Scottsdale not Phoenix. OK, the 5 & Diner isn't much of a diner. It's more like a Steak n Shake. OK! OK! I ordered a cup of chili and some crazy concoction called a Maximillian. I can't find it on their website menu, but it's a tortilla, folded and topped with tomatoes, peppers, hashbrowns and covered with a three egg omelet. It probably has green chiles in it too, but who the hell can tell? I ordered mine con chorizo. Strangely, it doesn't come con queso. But, it was alright, and it gave me an excuse to post a picture of Mel Sharples.

No, E. I did not eat all of that food. I promise. I didn't.

OK, I ate most of it.

Did Someone Forget to Pay the Google Bill?

I have a magnificent bit of writing just waiting to hit the Interweb, but it seems I can't upload pictures right now. I don't think I'm alone there. What's a blog entry without pictures? Words? In the meantime, you can read my guest post on Listwork.

Historic Reata Pass Steakhouse

As mentioned, I am in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a week with two things to do – jack and shit. Tonight I drove myself out to the ass of nowhere for a steak at Reata Pass. It's one of them there famous southwestern cowboy steakhouses. I was prepared for something annoyingly touristy and obnoxious, but it seemed authentic enough. I'm guessing this is one of the places all the others try to imitate. Think Huey's in midtown versus Huey's in any other part of Memphis.

The service was good if a bit no nonsense. I ordered a couple of beef ribs as an appetizer and a sirloin, medium rare, with a side of cowboy beans. Of course, I needed a little Fat Tire to wash it all down – diabetes be damned. The ribs were well-prepared and came slathered in a very sweet BBQ sauce. I've come to the conclusion that barbecued beef ribs are just silly. The bone-to-meat ratio is absurd, and they just don't have enough flavor. My steak was cooked properly, but was a little tough and lacked flavor. I shouldn't judge because I don't normally order sirloin. In fact, that it is normally tough and lacking in flavor could be the very reason.

I do not like cowboy beans.

At this point, I would normally just refrain from giving the place a thumbs up or thumbs down. I didn't care too much for my meal, but I really just ordered the wrong things. However, near the end of my visit, someone cranked up C.W. McCall's epic song Convoy on the jukebox. Yes, they have a jukebox. Yes, Convoy is on the jukebox. Yes, that's enough to make Reata Pass my favorite Arizona restaurant.

Oh, I plum near forgot! I'm pretty sure this guy was sitting at the bar.