Rick, Most of the list knows the reason for your trip. In many ways, I envy you, and that envy has nothing to do with the BBQ you tasted along the way. I'm sure this is a trip that both you and your son will savor always. To your son, tell him thank you for serving his country. To you I say, I think you did fathers everywhere proud. Semper Fi.
Scott Parrish IT Prophets, LLC (770) 653-5203 www.itprophets.com _____ From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Cook Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2008 6:29 PM To: arslist@ARSLIST.ORG Subject: BBQ Trip - Results ** Well, it was a great week. Spent lots of quality time with my son, drove a nice rental Mustang, had a few surprise stops, and ate lots of BBQ. Trivia question after reading this - how much weight did Rick gain over the week? We started in Dallas, drove North to Kansas City, then down to Memphis, through Tennessee and North Carolina, down the Atlantic coast to Charleston, SC, then through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana before returning to Dallas for the trip home. We went to some famous places, some that you and others recommended, some the Garmin GPS told us about, and a few we just happened to drive past. Almost without exception, we had at least good, and in a few cases, great, food. Here's where we ate: * Dallas, TX: Baby Back Shak, Sonny Bryan's, and Dan's Smokehouse. * McAlester, OK: Ball's Hickory BBQ * Kansas City, Mo: Arthur Bryant's * St. Louis, Mo: Smokin' Al's BBQ * Memphis, TN: Interstate BBQ * Asheville, NC: 12 Bones * Greensboro, NC: Stamey's * Charleston, SC: Melvin's * Beaufort, SC: Sgt. White's * West Point, GA: Roger's Pit Cooked BBQ * Tuscaloosa, AL: Dreamland BBQ * Shreveport, LA: Grady's Smokehouse Here is the "Best Of" list. After the "Worst Of", which will be a short one. Stamey's in Greensboro, NC was the only place that gave us no reason to come back. Marginal food, poor service, no atmosphere. It alone scored a 4 (1 to 10 scale), the only score lower than a 6 on the trip. Now the "Best Of", which I am happier to recall. Best Pork Ribs: 3 way tie. Arthur Bryant's in KC, Melvin's in Charleston, and Sonny Bryan's in Dallas. All scored a 9 for tenderness and flavor. Best Beef Ribs: Baby Back Shak, Dallas. Dry rub made them amazing. Tender meat and good flavor helped, too. They alone scored a 10. Best Brisket: Dan's Smokehouse, Dallas. Most briskets were kinda tough, though lean, and not very flavorful. This one had amazing flavor, was tender enough to cut with a plastic fork, and worked just as well with and without their sauce. It also rated the only 10. Best Pork: Melvin's, Charleston, SC. They use a Mustard-based sauce that they mixed into their pork (not on top), and it totally worked. I wanted to be able to rate the pork without the sauce, but that was impossible. We couldn't get enough of this sweet stuff. The only 10 in this category. Runnerup was Arthur Bryant's, with an 8. Best Chicken: Melvin's deserved consideration, but no one beat Dreamland in Tuscaloosa, AL. Was so good it didn't even need their amazing sauce - just the light rub on it made it perfect. Best Specialty Meat: The Burnt Ends at Arthur Bryant's. Absolutely amazing. Worth making a trip there for. Interstate BBQ (Memphis) had a BBQ Spaghetti that I thought was awesome, too. Best Sauce: Dreamland. Arthur Bryant's and Sonny Bryan's were very, very good, none could top the sauce that we felt guilty NOT licking off our fingers. It felt like a sin to use a napkin (seriously!). It worked on all of their meats equally well - even made plain white bread taste great! The easiest 10 we gave the whole trip. Best Side Dish: Dreamland's BBQ beans. Amazing mix of sweet, smoky, and spicy, with some meat and onions in there, too. Best Dessert: Dreamland. Both their signature banana pudding and the Apple cobbler were an awesome end to an awesome meal. Best Service: Tied, both with 10s. Dreamland, and Smokin' Al's, in St. Louis. Best Atmosphere: Sonny Bryan's, Dallas. The only 10 in the group, but several others scored very high, too. 12 Bones actually had a new/old mix that was very different - RC cola and microbrews, Old South dishes with stickers on the walls like an all-night diner. It is as if a diner in a trendy big city neighborhood decided to do BBQ. And now, for the Best of show: A tie between Dreamland and Melvin's. Both scored 9. I'll give the nod to Dreamland for winning more individual categories. Thanks so much for all of your recommendations. We could only hit a few of them in a week. Answer to the trivia question: I actually LOST 1 lb. Rick __Platinum Sponsor: www.rmsportal.com ARSlist: "Where the Answers Are" html___ _______________________________________________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at www.arslist.org Platinum Sponsor: www.rmsportal.com ARSlist: "Where the Answers Are"
