Archive for April, 2009

From Jefferson City, we drove over 400 miles to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Along the way, one of the boys from Boston saw his first oil well.  A black rig, undulating like a seesaw.  Gee, how exciting.  We also saw lots of rain.  After the 6-plus hour drive, we crashed in a random hotel then hit the road around 9 a.m. the next morning.

In Oklahoma, we experienced a culture shock of sorts.  You see, in this part of the country, the employees at McDonald’s actually ask how many creamers you want in your coffee AND pour them in the coffee for you.  Back home in cantankerous New England, you’re lucky if  anyone gives a damns about how many creamers you want in your coffee and they sure as hell don’t pour them in your coffee for you.  Instead, you might get a handful of creamers tossed into a bag, shoved in your face with a “Here, do it yourself!” dispensation, as the  employee begrudgingly shuffles along to the next person in line.  We also learned that in this part of the country a “regular” coffee means black.  Seems logical enough, right?  However, thanks to the Dunkin’ Donuts chain, in New England, a regular coffee has come to mean “light with sugar.”  Hmmm, the things you learn when you travel.

Our destination this day – Lockhart Texas.

Like everyone else, we heard “Everything Is Bigger In Texas.”  And pretty much right away, we learned it first hand when we noticed that the police in Texas drive pick up trucks instead of cars.  Oh, and they have bright, flashing lights, too.  I’ll let your imagination roam…

We rumbled along highway 35 for what seemed like forever.  No big deal…unless you realize that Smitty’s, one of our targeted venues, closes at 3 p.m…..and we were still over six hours away.

As we got closer and closer to Lockhart, we realized there was no way we could make it to Smitty’s before closing!

Ghastly!  Shameful!  Just plain wrong!

How could we have come so far and missed out on Smitty’s legendary morsels?

We called the folks at Smitty’s and informed them of or plight.  Since they’d still be cleaning for a short while passed closing, the good people at Smitty’s were kind enough to take an order over the phone, so long as we could pick it up by 3:30.

The race was on!

Quite literally in fact.  Around 3:15, with only about 3 miles to go, Texas police brought highway 183 to a stop for a bike race.  Now I don’t have a problem with a bike race….but damn, we’re 2,000 miles from home, racing against the clock, 15 minutes to go, and we got burned.

Up in smoke.

Lost our chance.

For 3 agonizing miles we pressed on, hoping and praying, to get to taste Smitty’s barbecue.

3:37.

We finally arrived in the neighborhood, but weren’t quite able to find the place.

Sadness set in.

Along with tinges of guilt and frustration.

It was hopeless…

And then, oddly, a phone call came….

from Smitty’s!!!!!

They were checking in on us to make sure we were coming, as our order was prepared and waiting.  They also provided us a sniff of the direction in which to travel.  When we arrived, the staff at Smitty’s greeted us with laughter and open arms.  They couldn’t believe we drove all the way from Boston just for a taste of their barbecue.  While the staff put the finishing touches on the day’s tiddyings, we got a complete tour of the establishment.

Well, like they say, everything is bigger in Texas. And it just might be.  Including our memory of the good people and great service at Smitty’s.

Thanks guys!

The next part of the journey brought us to Jeff City. Before this trip, we had no idea that Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, is referred to as Jeff City.  Now we do. So we’re learning on this trip as well as eating.  Good times.

And since we were blessed to have served as judges at Jeff City’s Capital City Cookoff, we also got to learn about our favorite thing – barbecue! Now, to be honest, seeing things at the fairground like the sign stating firearms are not permitted and the firetruck that was converted to a smoker, I have to admit, the guy from Boston was a little concerned at what he might be in for.  But one of the things we noticed about this barbecue contest and the ones back home, like the New England Barbecue Championships, is that there really weren’t really any strange characters running amuck, wearing outlandish hats, or screaming “BaaaaaahBEcue.”  Instead, Jeff City had good, friendly people and serious eats.

Overall, the food presented to our judging tables was fabulous.  We’d like to thank all of the teams for learnsing us on what real Kansas City barbecue is all about.  Likewise, we’d like to congratulate the following teams for placing in the top five of the following categories:

Overall Score

1 Four Men and a Pig
2 4 Mile Smokin Crew
3 Smokin Triggers
4 Pellet Envy
5 Great Grills O Fire

Chicken

1 Four Men and a Pig
2 Smokin Triggers
3 Meyos Southern Grillin
4 The Heat is On
5 The Slabs.com

Ribs

1 Smokin Triggers
2 Pellet Envy
3 Contracted Cookers
4 Dr. Porkenstein
5 Four Men and a Pig

Pork

1 Emerald Buffalo
2 Blues Hog
3 4 Mile Smokin Crew
4 Hammer Boys Tag Team
5 Joey Macs Smoke Stax

Brisket

1 The Def Dumb & Blind Boy
2 Twyford’s BBQ
3 Buffalos BBQ
4 Will Roast
5 Four Men and a Pig

We’d also like to give a shout out to some of the people we met, among them our fellow table judges and the event organizers: Phil, Wally, Floyd, Don, Jim, Steve, and Gloria.  A special thanks goes out to Phil and Gloria.  One of the higlights of the day was meeting members of various pit crews, including: Sweet Chipotle, Double Smoke, and Blues Hog, who provided treats ranging from ribs and brisket to sauce.  Good luck to all of you this season.  Lastly, we hope Bruce is well underway to recovery: BullyLife, Bruce!

1400 miles.

Bston to Kansas City.

That’s how far my friend and his brother drove to pick me up at the Kansas airport.  They left two days prior to the big event.

And what was that big event, you ask?

Lunch at Arthur Bryant’s babrbecue – the first stop on our barbecue pilgrimage.

Arthur Bryant’s is the stuff of pure legend.  It’s been in business for over 75 years and has served up vittles to former U.S. presidents and celebrities, such as Jimmy Carter, Steven Speilberg and Danny Glover, among others.

It also served us, as we were BullyingLife.

The counter help at Arthur Bryant’s is separated by a Plexiglas wall, with holes cut into it.  You simply pop your head in a window and call you order.  We called for a pound of brisket, a pound of burnt ends, and a rack of ribs.

We found the ribs at Arthur Bryant’s encrusted by a bark that seals in the juice, keeping the meat moist.  When we bit into the ribs, the meat gently and cleanly pulled away from the bone.  The house sauce was tomato-based with a peppery kick.  The sweeter version of the sauce was more akin to our pallets, and used generous amounts on our food.

The brisket came thinly sliced, with a hint of flavor that only syrpy drippings of fat can provide – delicious morsels.  Perhaps the best overall item we had on this visit was the Kansas City burnt ends.  The ends were served up chunky, bathed in a sweet sauce that left nothing to be desired.

We left Arthur Bryant’s so completely gorged. It was almost shameful.  After all, we also had to pay homage to Gate’s Barbecue. As soon as we walked in to Gates, the scent of smoke wafting through the air was tantalizingly overwhelming.  Regretfully, we were so full, we couldn’t actually eat.  Instead, we ended up ordering to go: a rack of ribs, burnt ends, and chicken.  Stashing the grub in a cooler, we drove 3 hours to Jefferson City.  Pulling over for some long overdue rest, we finally settled in for another round of authentic Kansas City barbecue.

Overall, we found the chicken from Gates to be rather unmemorable.  In contrast, the ribs were phenomenal.  The heavily salted, richly layered rub, combined with the fabulous smoke flavor made these some of the best ribs the BullyLife crew ever ate.  Additionally, the finely chopped burnt ends were also a treat.  Served up on slabs of bread, that in this case had been absorbing the flavor of the meat and grease for hours, yielded a surprising benefit – the bread became so sweet and flavorful that it was almost like having baclova for dessert.

One day; two venues.  The end result: fabulous!

As of tomorrow, BullyLife takes a road trip.

A BBQ road trip.

We’re basing the locations on regional legends, word-of-mouth, and various other recommendations we’ve come across as our interest in barbecue continues to grow. The general idea goes something like this…

We’ll be starting in Kansas City, to taste for ourselves the goodness at Arthur Bryant’s and Gate’s and Sons Bar-B-Q. Some say as these long-standing venues originated, they increased the amount of molasses used in their barbecue sauce, which helped create the sweet style of barbecue we associate with Kansas City today.

After Kansas City, we’re driving about 3 hours east and stopping in at the Capital City Cookoff in Jefferson, Missouri. I mean, if we want authentic Kansas City-style barbecue, what better way to to find it than by stopping in at the Missouri State Barbecue Championships?

From Jefferson, another 3 hours of driving, brings an obligatory stint in St. Louis. After a nap in St. Louis, we’ll catch some sights, and savor more of America’s finest food – authentic, slow-cooked, funk-loving, food.

Pushing on a short stint from St. Louis, is O’Fallon Illinois. Here, Mike Mills’ 17th Street Bar and Grill is home to some legendary eats. Memphis in May championship-type legendary eats. Here, we’ll add to both the waist and the mileage as the road trip continues…

Roughly 4.5 hours south, we’ll find Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis. Shelby county. The ole stomping grounds of Henry Perry, who some consider the patriarch of Kansas City BBQ. After some sleep, some eats, some music sites, and some more eats, we’re off to Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Roughly 90 minutes south east of Memphis lies the Delta Blues Museum. After the museum, we’re headin’ further south. All the way down to New Orleans. Gotta cleans the pallet of BBQ at some point, right? Why? Because after New Orleans, we’re heading 8 hours west to Lockhart, Texas.

Painful in terms of quantity of food – Black’s Barbecue, Chisholm Trail Barbeque, Kreuz’s Market, and Smitty’s Market – Lockhart will be a delight with its range of flavors and food offerings. Lockhart, perhaps appropriately, has been dubbed the BBQ capital of Texas.

Well, that’s general the idea. After all, the plan is subject to change – we may hear of a few more venues we need to hit!