The Great Space Camp and Barbeque Tour of 2005

The genesis of these reviews is the Chesnut Great Space Camp and Barbeque Tour of 2005.  We needed to figure out a way to get our son, Noah, to Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.  After considering the options, we elected to drive him during a week I had off.  We decided to combine that with something that I’ve wanted to do for a while – a trip to various barbeque places around the south.

The concept was simple; I’d eat in as many barbeque joints as I could, then write up a review of each place.  And it was simple.  I researched barbeque places beforehand and had a definite list of places I wanted to go.  This included Owensboro, KY, who bill themselves as “The Barbeque Capital of the World”, though I think that is only believed by the denizens of Owensboro.  One place I definitely wanted to go was Memphis, a place many people say is really the barbeque capital of the world.  While Kansas Citians and St. Louisians, among others, would vigorously protest that honorific, pretty much everyone agrees that, at the very least, Memphis is very important to barbeque.

The execution of the reviews was easy, also.  Dawn and I would walk into a barbeque joint, each order something different, preferably a combination plate to get as many different tastes as possible, and then set about to eating.  I took notes at the table as we ate, the exception being the Greenbrier Barbeque, where we were eating with friends.  I figured it might be a little tacky to take notes while we were trying to converse.  When we got back to our hotel room that night, I’d write them up.  I tried to give a narrative, then “pros/cons” of each place and then a star rating.

I tried to taste the meat and the sauces independently, before trying them together.  Sometimes, the meat would come already sauced, which made this impossible.  We tried to order a variety of things, including sides, though once or twice, especially with the sides, we just ordered what we were in the mood for.

So what does it all mean?  Well, that depends.  If you like what I like in barbeque – pork over beef, a thin peppery sauce over a thick, sweet sauce, a strong smoky taste over a milder or no smoky taste, etc. – then the ratings might mean something.  But barbeque is a matter of taste and there are so many different tastes in barbeque that an objective rating really isn’t even possible.  I thought about scrapping the ratings, but they were kind of fun for me, so I decided not.

One of the problems I had, and a rating that truly should be taken with a grain, make that many, grains of salt, is that of ambience.  Honestly, in a barbeque place, ambience doesn’t mean that much to me.  If I were going to a nice French restaurant and spending a gazillion dollars for a couple of snails in sauce, or something, then I’d put a higher premium on ambience.  One of the problems with ambience in barbeque joints is what is desirable?  Sure, some places are very nice and pretty, but is that really what you want in a barbeque joint?  I picture barbeque joints as more rustic.  I don’t really care about eating barbeque on linen tablecloths.  To me, barbeque should be eaten in a place that has seen better days, a place where the waitresses call you “honey” and the next table over seats a big bubba with a beard and the sleeves ripped out of his flannel shirt.  But, again, that’s just me.

I hope the narratives, at least help a little if you plan on visiting any of these places.  And, if you do, please drop me a line and let me know what you thought.  

I would like to do this again.  Maybe next time we’ll go into Texas or east of where we went this year.  If you have any recommendations of any barbeque joint anywhere in the US or, for that matter, the world, please let me know.  Maybe I’ll make it there someday.

Good eatin’,

Jeff

Update:  My original barbeque blog went "poof" a year or so ago.  I did save some of the reviews, so I am re-posting those, and I will post new ones as I try new places. Unfortunately, some of the reviews are irretrievable lost. Please be aware that some of these reviews are several years old, so I make so guarantees of whether these places still even exist.  Please call ahead before you make a long trip.