punkerque

If find it really strange that while most resturants have names that do everything to hide the fact that you will actually be consuming food (and probably food that is not good for you), BBQ joints go out of their way to remind you that you are going to eat PIG. As someone once said, "pork fat rules!"

Punkerdoo and I had to head to Ohio to attend cousinofpunkerdoo's Big Fat Greek Wedding (no relation to the aforementioned fat pig.) We had just purchased a Mio C220 so we thought it might be fun to drive by a completely ridiculous route just to piss off the GPS. We decided to call our GPS "Guy" (Think French..Ghee).

We were going north on 441 and wanted to do whatever was necessary to keep from driving through the Park and into Gatlinburg. When we hit Franklin, NC we decide to have lunch. We asked Guy about where to eat some Q and he started spouting directions that led us through some residential section of town, down what looked like an alley and suddenly we were in the back lot of a strip mall. About the time Guy said, "you have arrived", we saw the sign for Fat Buddies. Guy rules!

Anyway, being the suspicious and doubting type, I try to avoid stipmalls in practice and stripmall BBQ on ethics. However, we were here and we were hungry, so we went in. The place is big and was very busy. We noticed when walking up that there was no tell-tale scent of hickory or oak in the air, so my alarm bells were going off.

We were seated immediatley and looked at the menu. This place has many things other than Q, but they also seemed centered around ribs (as if the t-shirts stating "I sucked bones at Fat Buddies" didn't give that away). They did have several options on "smoke cooked pork" so we went for the standard pork plate (.50 extra for pulled rather than chopped)

Husband had pork plate with slaw and potato salad (no stew on menu)
Punkerdoo has pork plate with fries and potato salad

HEY! The meat tasted like smoke cooked pork. Wood cooked BBQ that actually has some essence of smoke in it! Weird. Then I remembered that we noticed no signs of a pit. Maybe this Q was cooked in an oven that had a sawdust smoker attached..... The purist in me hopes not, but damn the meat was proper.

At any rate, give Fat Buddies a try, they have 3 locations.

Ambiance rating: 3 Squealers

(Nice, clean, many "country" and NASCAR things on the wall. Looks just like a BBQ place in a NC strip mall)

Food rating: 4 Squealers

(good smoke, several sauce choices, meat moist)

Beer rating: 3 Squealers

(Beer & Wine)

Labels: BBQ Tour, Fat Buddies, food dinner, North Carolina, Things we Did

If you head south on I-95, you are bombarded by Sonny's BBQ billboards. While they do tend to make one hungry, the thought of having to eat at one keeps us looking for local BBQ eateries. The problem with looking for M&P food while driving on an Interstate is that they tend not to advertise. As we were just about to cross over in Florida, I spied a small sign near Brunswick, GA "GA Pig BBQ". We we got off I95 and turned left onto Route 82 into a swath of gas stations and fast food joints. We were encouraged by the sudden appearance of what looked like a large shack that had been ripped from its life in the swamp and deposited amid some weeping willows and pine trees. Perfect! The parking lot was dirt and gravel and there were no sidewalks other than pine straw. It was 3 in the afternoon, so the lot was empty; however the OPEN neon in the window was lit. Several signs on the outside warned against 4-legged animals on the porch and cameras on the inside. Better and better.
It was nearly 100F outside and not much cooler inside even though there was a window unit or two cranking away. Once inside, you realize that this shack had never been moved as the ceiling doubles the roof and the exposed rafters and beams were actual pine trees. Their open pit is inside and next to the counter which makes for a hot and smoky atmosphere. Enough about the building, on to the food.

Husband ordered a pork plate with stew and potato salad.
Punkerdoo had a pork plate with stew and slaw.

The pork plate is served open faced on toasted buns and is pre-sauced. Personally, I prefer to sauce my own food, so this was a strike against the pig. They did have an amazing assortment of hot sauces available, but the only BBQ sauce on the table was the same ketchup based sauce as what was on the plate. We also don't really like ketchup based sauces, but when in Brunswick.....

We found it really amazing that there was so much smoke and flavor in the air but none in the pork. The meat was fresh and moist (we watched the guy chop it up), but the lack of smoke made us realize why they slather their sauce on the meat.

The stew was really good though, you could actually pick out recognizable vegetables such as lima beans and corn. So many times stew looks like it has been run through a food processor, so this was a treat. I guess if you want good Brunswick stew, you need to order it in Brunswick, GA.

I had ordered a bottle of water, but Punkerdoo ordered lemonade which was served from a communal thermos at a center table. There must be some heavy concentrations of sulfur in their local water supply because the lemonade smelled so much like rotten eggs that it was undrinkable.

We are not sure what the deals was with the meat, they had obviously been doing this for quite some time, maybe we just expect too much flavor? We would still pick it over Sonny's though.

Ambiance rating: 4 Squealers

(Looks and smells EXACTLY like a proper Southern BBQ shack

Food rating: 1 Squealers

(no smoke, no sauce choices, meat moist but pre-sauced, stew was excellent!)

Beer rating: 0 Squealers

(No beer, and stick to bottled drinks)

Air Quality rating: 3 Squealers

(if you are a piece of meat)

Labels: BBQ Tour, food dinner, GA Pig, georgia, Things we Did

I know, 2 BBQ places in 2 days. Too bad! We will probably try Bill's BBQ (just outside of Athens on N29) on Monday. Hell, I think we might just smoke our own butt for the 4th.

Jot Em Down BBQ is in our minds (and mouths) the best Q in the Athens area. That is, aside from our own :) Actually, it is the best commercial BBQ we have had.

It is consistently moist and smoky. The sauces are varied and good and the banana pudding is always tip-top.

We keep wondering why the more established places in the area can't get as much flavor in their pork. I guess that Jot Em Down just pays more attention.

Jot Em Down is based in the old Williams' Grocery on Whitehall Road near the Barnett Shoals Road intersection. The building was built around 1924, and operated "as a country store serving everything from fresh cut meat to hardware, toys and gasoline." Today, they sell Q, ribs, and white bread. They also have their own line of Chow, tomato relish and other pickled BBQ requirements. The interior looks just like a 20's grocery with rough hewn floors, trap doors and Redneck Greece head shots.

Try them out, you won't be disappointed. Order the pork plate with slaw and stew (potato salad if you are feeling perky). I prefer the hot sauce (vinegar and cayenne) Punkerdoo goes mild. I have not tried the XX-hot as i prefer my green sauce to be on my enchaladas.

Ambiance rating: 4 Squealers

(We have never eaten in, but the place just oozes cool. Then again, we are quite fond of loud music in old grocery stores)

Food rating: 4 Squealers

(good smoke, several sauce choices, meat most usually moist, stew & slaw are good)

Beer rating: 1 Squealers

(No beer, but you can tell they are really sorry about it)

Labels: BBQ Tour, Jot Em Down, Things we Did