Alabama meets Texas
You sometimes have to wonder what possesses people to do the things they do. I mean, what would posses a person to open a Texas BBQ joint in Madison Alabama. Right in the heart of North Alabama BBQ country. Especially given that people from one BBQ region DO NOT, as a rule, like BBQ from another region. But....there it is, Chuck Wagon BBQ not 10 minutes from the legend, Big Bob Gibson's. It's a recipe, no pun intended, for disaster.
But what if I told you that at lunch time, you can't get near this place. That lineups start before the doors open. That ya, it's that good.
Owner Mike Holley, a genuine transplanted Texan is churning out what could very well be the best Texas Q East of the Pecos. Using recipes handed down from his Grandfather, George Washington Gray he's found enough room in the BBQ saturated landscape of Madison and Limestone Counties. While he toiled in the oil fields of Texas for many years, Mike had cooking in his blood. His Great Grandfather was a chuck wagon cook on the Goodnight-Loving Trail.
Located just off I-565 Chuckwagon BBQ is a sight to behold. An honest to goodness joint. Decked out in weathered barn board with a bright red roof and big BBQ spelled out it's a stand out. Smoke stacks and catering pits pop up like mushrooms in a damp forest.
Inside it mirrors the outside with more barn board and is decorated with many things Texas. You enter around back and go through the outdoor dining area. Food is served to you cafeteria style from a large serving station inside and the cramped main dining room seems to accommodate many more than you'd think.
So let's get a look at what's got Alabamians betraying their roots shall we??
The Beans were much better but seemed to be lacking something. It seemed to be an acid of some sort. I added a bit of BBQ sauce and that seemed to brighten things up a bit. So I added more. I found that there was a level that was perfect and one that was too much. So easy does it.
I quite liked the Tater Salad. Nothing special about it, it’s just good old solid tuber goodness. Nothing wrong with that.
A 2 Meat combo of Brisket and Sausage is a nice match. Smoked pork sausage and Texas style brisket are as ubiquitous in Texas as cows it seems. While both were terrific, they both lacked that great smoked flavour that I love. Otherwise, the sausage was incredibly tasty and perfectly cooked. When smoking sausage the casing can become rather rubbery and downright unappetizing. This wasn't the case here. The brisket also hit all the appropriate buttons but the smokey one as I mentioned. The meat was fork tender, juicy and great tasting. Gven that these are the two house specialties, they’d better be good.
They do actually do pork products as well. This horrible photo is of ribs. Given that we showed up 5 minutes before close and I got the last order of ribs they were needless to say, not very photogenic. Not to worry, the taste was pretty much everything you’d want. As you can tell by the pink in the meat, the smoke flavour was spot on.
For dessert there are some options but Mrs. Sippi was all over the Fried Pies. The apple was terrific but the peach was just slightly better.
So there you have it folks, terrific Texas BBQ in the Heart of Dixie.
You can find Chuck Wagon BBQ at 8982 Madison Blvd. in Madison, Al.
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You can also find them on facebook.
Well that's all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Follow the Smell of Hickory
Kelly and Libby Webb were born to cook. Kelly grew up at his fathers side, tending the smoker for family gatherings. Libby meanwhile was in the kitchen cooking for the large family in which she was raised. These skills meshed perfectly when the couple, since met and married, took over New Market BBQ in, conveniently enough, New Market, Alabama.
Opened in 1995 by Virginia and Darrell Day, the business would find a “For Sale” sign in the window a little over a decade later.
It had been Kelly’s dream to own his own BBQ joint and when a co-worker of his at Boeing (yes the airplane people) informed him of it’s availability, the couple pounced. Leaving the corporate world would be more than just a change of jobs. It would be a radical change of life for the couple as the restaurant came with a house (where they now live) and property as well.
While Day stayed in the picture to make for a smooth transition, as the years passed, so too has the torch. NMBBQ is now completely a Webb operation. The business has stabilized and the menu has been shored up. Q standards like ribs and shoulder are bolstered by specials such as BBQ spaghetti (‘sketti). They’ve also augmented the main part of the meal with the reward for clearing your plate, dessert. All prepared on site in either the pit by Kelly or the kitchen by Libby.
NMBBQ sits at the edge of this tiny little town less than a half hour drive from Huntsville. It is that kind of town that qualifies for “Blink and you’ll miss it” status. As such, there’s just not the traffic to be a full time venture so their hours are confined to the weekend. Even with it’s proximity to the “Big” city.
The restaurant itself is a quaint little place. It has most of the trappings of a BBQ joint. Piles of hickory, obligatory pig picture, smell of wood smoke and pig fat, etc. Most of it’s footprint is dedicated to food prep. One area houses the smokers and another the kitchen. There’s a small area for expediting orders and a very nice screened in porch with about a dozen or so chairs facing outward.
There’s also a nice picnic pavilion (pictured above) across the parking lot.
So let’s get a look at what Kelly and Libby are serving.
For sides we have BBQ Beans and Tater Salad. Both are solid if unspectacular. The beans were of the doctored up canned variety with bits of smoked pork. As I've mentioned before, many competition teams do this and there is nothing wrong. So long as their good. These are. The Potato Salad is your typical mayo based style and all in all, about what you'd expect and more over, what you want.
As far as Brisket Sandwiches go, this is one of the best I've had. Brisket is not a beginners cut. It takes time and is quite easy to dry out. So to find a place that knows how to make good brisket is great. NMBBQ does it right. I ordered it sandwich style and it was excellent plain. No sauce or slaw required. It was as juicy as brisket will be, smoky, meaty and with just the right amount of the salty rub. One of the best things I had here.
Not to be out done by the brisket is the Turkey Breast. Again, not an easy cut for novices as it too is easy to dry out. Again not so here. This is moist and as flavourful a piece of breast meat I've had. Nicely smoked and served up in slices. No need for the White Sauce on this and in fact, it detracted. It's not that the sauce wasn't good, it was fine, it's just that it covered up the subtle turkey flavour.
The ribs, served dry, are pretty much perfect. Smoky, meaty, juicy and the right amount of chew. They yielded the bone when tugged on just as they should be. I can’t say these are the best ribs I’ve had however they were more than satisfactory.
There are a few options for dessert but I couldn't resist the Peanut Butter Pie. Peanut butter flake (like what's in a Crispy Crunch) topped with custard and meringue, crumble. It's baked into a standard pie shell and is absolutely fantastic. I hemmed and hawed about but in the end, I made a great choice.
So there you have it folks, one of the best examples of North/Central Alabama BBQ in a quiet little historic town.
You can find New Market BBQ at 5601 Winchester Rd, New Market, Al.
You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.
Well that's all for now folks, see ya later in the food court.
For Chuck Baker, BBQ isn’t just a passion it’s his life. Almost literally. Chuck is there in there in the evening putting pork butts in the pit. I can only assume he goes to bed sometime after that. First thing the next day, the butts come off and the ribs go on. Thus begins another day for Chuck. If you’ve ever smoked at home, you know that BBQ is a painstakingly long endeavour. If you’ve ever owned a restaurant (or any business for that matter), you know that it’s life consuming job. Marry the two vocations and it pretty much is your life. Good thing Chuck loves what he does. It shows too. Chuck is cranking out some high quality Q from his little smoke shack just off the square in Lynchburg proper.
Barrel House BBQ is really two separate buildings. The big one is the restaurant. Complete with a kitchen and dining room it even has a small section for souveniers. The smaller building is the smoke house and where pigs go to become delicious.
Chuck makes everything himself. Including the restaurant. He remodeled it and even built some of the furniture. Repurposing spent barrels and such for some thematic tables and chairs. The whole restaurant, as you can imagine, is decked out as much as possible in Jack Daniels.
One of the neatest things at Chucks place is the "Post Cards." Chuck has flipped over some acoustic ceiling tiles and uses them as pseudo post cards. Different tiles for different countries. That’s me in the very top left obviously. As you can tell, this is the Canadian tile.
So let’s have a look at some of what Chuck has to offer.
I should start off by saying that the general feeling among locals is that the meat is top notch while the sauce leave a bit to be desired. My mileage differed as you are about to find out.
There are two house made sauces, both of which are fantastic. The vinegar sauce is really that. Vinegar. It's pumped up with BBQ flavours and hot peppers for a little bite if you like. The other, a thick, slightly chunky sweet sauce that's the complete antithesis of the vinegar sauce. Equally good IMHO. For me though, a 1:1 mix of the two proved awesome. The sweet and tart from the two performed a beautiful balancing act that when used as a dipping sauce for the ribs was perfect.
The Pulled Pork was very tasty although had a bit of a stewed flavour to me. Perhaps it was over steamed in a warming tray. That's one problem with pulled pork is it can lose a lot of it's goodness if it isn't fresh. Not that it loses so much it's not good. Far from it. All in all it's just good solid pigness.
The ribs, dry (aka Memphis Style) were good. Nothing special other than a flavour to them that I couldn't quite place. Mrs. Sippi didn't care for that flavour, I didn't have any opinion one way or another about it. It was just there. Where they did really well is with the sauce. The golden rule is "If the "Q" good, it doesn't need sauce." I'm somewhat in this camp. I can however attest, sometimes the sauce can make it better. This is one of those times. Especially since I'm a sauce guy. As I said above, the two sauces combined were magical with these ribs.
The Tater Salad and Beans were run of the mill if not very solid sides. These didn't jump off my plate as seminal additions however that doesn't mean the weren't very enjoyable. The beans were nicely balance in that they weren't sweet, savoury, spicy, BBQ'y (is that even a word??) or any thing. They were smooth and tasty and there isn't anything wrong with that. Add creamy to the description and that's what you get with the other side here. Just good old BBQ style potato salad. Well done.
So there you have it. Good food in the Mecca for Tennessee Whiskey aficionados.
You can find Barrel House BBQ at 105 Mechanic St S. Lynchburg, Tn.
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You can also find them on facebook
Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.
Davwud
It’s a funny thing about barbeque. Long known as a southern staple it’s also very regional within that geographic area. Sometimes only a few neighbouring counties will have a certain style while outside that area it’s different. Be it someone from Owensboro, Austin or the Triangle in North Carolina, they’re fiercely proud of their own special take and roundly dislike other varieties.
Perhaps this, as much as anything, is what plagues Q in non traditional areas. In Memphis you have a certain style and everyone likes it. If you try to do Memphis BBQ in a non traditional area, only Memphians will like it. That can lead to a pretty small demographic. So people tend to generalize their product. Trying to satisfy everyone. Most often, if you try to make everyone happy, you end up pleasing no one.
So it came as a nice surprise in a land of poorly done Q to see Paul Kocukov serving up some real deal smoky goodness. One time insurance salesman Paul’s love for love for Q started over 30 years ago with a pulled pork sandwich in Tennessee. It led him on a journey that would culminate in a small west end Toronto restaurant. Along the way, he and his wife Sandy toured some of the South's great BBQ havens, sold brisket's and shoulders to friends and eventually opened a BBQ sandwich stand at the Orangeville farmers market. This is where Paul really road tested and honed his craft. Playing around with sauces, rubs, woods and cook times all the while perfecting his techniques. In 2010 it was time to open Paul and Sandy’s Real BBQ.
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You can also find them on the web and facebook.
Well that’s all for now in the Big Smoke. See ya next time.
Davwud
It’s always interesting where you’ll find a good meal. I’m not talking about the obvious spots but the more obscure ones. Like in gas stations or drug stores or in the case of Puckett’s, a grocery store. 
Perhaps you remember Puckett’s from this earlier post. The name is the same but it’s no longer associated with the other two stores. This Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee location has seceded and remained more true to it’s roots. It’s still a grocery store and the menu is BBQ and southern comfort food. No bar or bistro fare here. Unlike Kleer-vu in near by Murfreesboro, the restaurant hasn’t pushed the groceries out yet. They still sell gasoline and have a good selection of household staples and at holiday time they even smoke turkeys and hams for lucky customers.
Opened in the 50’s by the Puckett family, Puckett’s Grocery served the many small communities in Williamson County, Tennessee. Located on the main strip (like there’s much more) in Leiper’s Fork for decades it’s played multiple roles but perhaps most importantly, meeting place. A visit anytime is great but the seafood boil and open mic. night on Thursdays has the joint jumpin'. Get some creole style shrimp or crawfish and check out the next great country music star. So popular is the music that it’s streamed online and you can live message while you watch. Mrs. Sippi got a shout out after posting that she was watching all the way up in Canada. You never know who you’ll end up rubbing elbows with either. Country music legends, producers and movie and TV starts alike stop by for a bite to eat or to see a good show.
The building from the outside is pretty non descript. It’s fitted out with a smoker, patio tables and gas pumps.
Inside grocery shelves and dairy cases make up about a third of the store with an open kitchen, stage and a dining room with mismatched tables and chairs. There’s plenty of antiques and kitsch adorning the walls and ledges.
So enough of all that, let’s get to the goodies.
The Fried Baloney is, well, fried baloney. It’s like a large, round hot dog. It’s good of course but I think it would’ve been better on toast or grilled. Maybe even a slice of American cheese as well.
The Pimento Cheese was great. Made right in house it was more cheesy than the others I’ve tried. Again, I’d like to have tried it on toast but I get scolded for such thoughts.
I’m sure if you’re scoring at home you’ll know by now that just about every time I try Pulled Pork I note that it’s not as smoky as I’d like. Well not here. This is the closest thing I’ve had to my own home made and thus, outstanding. The fact that they don’t sauce it and allow you to do it at the table makes it that much better.
The Fried Chicken is awesome. More like the Colonel’s with a herby, crispy crust. It was just fantastic. I’d suggest waiting for it to be straight out of the fryer. They make batches and they can sit for a little while. It didn’t affect the taste or crispiness but it wasn’t piping hot.
The Fried Okra on the side was very good but sadly the Mac n Cheese really lacked a good cheese punch. I mentioned it to Rob (the owner) and immediately one of his employees said she thought that batch was sub par. So it may be better on another visit.
The Chicken Fried Steak was of course fabulous but even better was the gravy. Some of the best white gravy I’ve had. The Johnny cake was nice and so was the fried okra. The corn casserole was really tasty. A bit light on the corn flavour but very creamy.
The ribs are outstanding. I’m not as much a fan of baby back ribs as you know but these among the best. Fully smoked and pull apart tender. Great when topped with the tangy BBQ sauce. The tater salad was good IMHO but Mrs. Sippi loved it.
Deserts are made by Rob’s wife right on the premises. A cooler full of these tasty treats sits off the dining area. We opted for Chess 
and Pecan pie slices. 
Both were just as good as they could be.
The cinnamon buns are baked fresh every morning but need to be consumed early. I had one after lunch and it wasn’t as fresh as it needed to be. The early bird gets the good cinnamon bun.
A trip through the country side is a beautiful drive and a stop for lunch at Puckett’s is a great way to top it all off.
You can find Puckett’s at 4142 Old Hillsboro Rd. in Leiper’s Fork, Tn.
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You can also find them on the web and facebook.
Well that’s all for now. We’ll see you next time in the food court.
Davwud
Say one thing about Southerners. They’re nothing if not colourful. Never mind all the “Redneck” humour and interesting engineering feats for which they’re famous. And as we all know, even the the most fiendish of insults can be hurled without fear of reprisal with the simple preface “Bless their heart…..” They also have their own signature expressions. Bathed in meanness they’ve long endured. “Beat them like a red headed step child” for one. “So good it’ll make you wanna slap your momma” for another.
Just off I-65 in Munfordville, Kentucky Big Bubba Buck’s Belly Bustin’ BBQ Bliss has adopted the “Slap your momma” saying. Offering up food worthy of the maternal clubbing adage. Road weary travellers and locals have been enjoying Bubba’s porky goodness and fried catfish for almost 10 years now. The audience Buck’s is really tapping into though is the trucker. Their expansive parking lot out back offers up plenty of room for the big rigs and their location a half mile off the interstate makes for a quick stop. Daily specials are broadcast every half hour over a CB and orders are frequently radioed in for pick up. To keep the wheels turning as they say. Heck, all they need is a pick up window and a driver would never have to leave the cab.
Bubba’s is really not much more than a shack on the side of the road. From the outside it looks like little more than shed with a handful of smokers and various and sundry items littering the grounds.
On the inside it’s as basic and “Divey” as it can be. Simple paneled walls, rudimentary chairs and tables with plastic table clothes. In other words, scary to one. Oozing cred to another. Yep, other than the lack of smoked pig amoma (the smoker is outside so the smell of greens hung in the air) this place is a true BBQ joint. 
Now keep in mind that Kentucky, just like every other state has health inspectors and they do pay visits to Buck’s. Rest assured, it’s clean. That said, Mrs. Sippi and I have debated the notion that, bless its heart it’s the dumpiest restaurant we’ve been in. It may be, it may not. One thing there was no debate over. The food was top notch. There was plenty of it too. So let’s have a look.
Mrs. Sippi’s catfish was excellent. Buttery and juicy with a nice flour and cornmeal breading. I didn’t even bother trying the tartar sauce.
The fried corn on the cob was, well, interesting. While I always maintain that taste trumps all I’m gonna make an exception here. The taste was indeed good but the texture ruined it for me. Mrs. Sippi agreed. The kernels were mushy on the inside with gummy skins that got caught in your teeth. Give me a nice steamed or roasted ear any time. Where the golden nuggets burst when you sink your teeth into them.
The pinto beans were good. Nothing special. Simply seasoned and cooked. I’ve had better, I’ve had worse.
My combo plate ranged from really good to excellent. Really good was the pulled pork. I didn’t like that they sauced it but it wasn’t overpowered so not a strike against. It had a really nice smoky taste that I really enjoyed. It was very finely shredded which is not my preference but I’m fine with it.
The ribs were great. They’re baby backs which is a half a strike against since I much prefer side ribs for BBQ. They had a great smoke flavour and little seasoning. They actually put them on the smoke naked. Their philosophy on this is a rub inhibits smoke flavour. One very important thing about ribs. They should NOT fall off the bone but yield when pulled gently. Leaving a clean rib. The meat should have some chew to it. Not be a spongy mess. On this, they nailed it.
The smoked pork loin was amazing. Tender, succulent, smoky and porky. A clear winner on my plate.
The mac and cheese wasn’t overly cheesy but still quite serviceable.
The greens were as good as I’d hoped. Less pork taste than I’d have expected but seemed to be super charged with “Greens” flavour. Of course when balanced with pepper sauce, that much better.
The deserts were unimaginably good. I love banana pudding. Quite frankly and not disrespectfully, it’s not hard to make a good one. It was almost as good as my home made much as I expected. 
What really got me though was the apple, black berry cobbler. A great combination of flavour with a smack of cinnamon that was right in my wheelhouse. I love a good cinnamon kick and find that most places downplay its use. An absolute home run here in my books.
So don’t let the ruddy appearance dissuade you. This place serves good food that has the CB radio waves humming.
You can find Big Bubba Buck’s at 1802 Main St, Munfordville, Ky.
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You can also find them on the web.
Well that’s all from off the beaten path in Kentucky. Y’all come back now ya hear.
Davwud
You sometimes have to wonder what possesses people to do the things they do. I mean, what would posses a person to open a Texas BBQ joint in Madison Alabama. Right in the heart of North Alabama BBQ country. Especially given that people from one BBQ region DO NOT, as a rule, like BBQ from another region. But....there it is, Chuck Wagon BBQ not 10 minutes from the legend, Big Bob Gibson's. It's a recipe, no pun intended, for disaster.
But what if I told you that at lunch time, you can't get near this place. That lineups start before the doors open. That ya, it's that good.
Owner Mike Holley, a genuine transplanted Texan is churning out what could very well be the best Texas Q East of the Pecos. Using recipes handed down from his Grandfather, George Washington Gray he's found enough room in the BBQ saturated landscape of Madison and Limestone Counties. While he toiled in the oil fields of Texas for many years, Mike had cooking in his blood. His Great Grandfather was a chuck wagon cook on the Goodnight-Loving Trail.
Located just off I-565 Chuckwagon BBQ is a sight to behold. An honest to goodness joint. Decked out in weathered barn board with a bright red roof and big BBQ spelled out it's a stand out. Smoke stacks and catering pits pop up like mushrooms in a damp forest.
Inside it mirrors the outside with more barn board and is decorated with many things Texas. You enter around back and go through the outdoor dining area. Food is served to you cafeteria style from a large serving station inside and the cramped main dining room seems to accommodate many more than you'd think.
The Beans were much better but seemed to be lacking something. It seemed to be an acid of some sort. I added a bit of BBQ sauce and that seemed to brighten things up a bit. So I added more. I found that there was a level that was perfect and one that was too much. So easy does it.
A 2 Meat combo of Brisket and Sausage is a nice match. Smoked pork sausage and Texas style brisket are as ubiquitous in Texas as cows it seems. While both were terrific, they both lacked that great smoked flavour that I love. Otherwise, the sausage was incredibly tasty and perfectly cooked. When smoking sausage the casing can become rather rubbery and downright unappetizing. This wasn't the case here. The brisket also hit all the appropriate buttons but the smokey one as I mentioned. The meat was fork tender, juicy and great tasting. Gven that these are the two house specialties, they’d better be good.
They do actually do pork products as well. This horrible photo is of ribs. Given that we showed up 5 minutes before close and I got the last order of ribs they were needless to say, not very photogenic. Not to worry, the taste was pretty much everything you’d want. As you can tell by the pink in the meat, the smoke flavour was spot on.
For dessert there are some options but Mrs. Sippi was all over the Fried Pies. The apple was terrific but the peach was just slightly better.
