best bbq

Surely I'll sing the praises of Ridgewood BBQ until the day I die or the day they go out of business, whichever comes first. Ian and I drove to Bluff City on Wednesday for dinner. They close at 7:30 and if you're not in the door by then, you don't eat there. We arrived an hour or so before they closed.

Ian wondered why it wasn't busier. I reminded him that it was Wednesday night. Most good folks were in church. We heathen were out dining at that hour. My answer satisfied him.  He commented that they weren't in a hurry to serve you there. And we've noticed that the service has declined in the past few years. At least the food is still divine, and modestly priced, and those are two very good reasons to keep coming back.

Their pork bbq is the best. My favorite. What I grew up eating, really, and so their special recipe is what I consider best of all. I've tried other bbq sauces and found them lacking. Ridgewood's is tomato-based. There must be molasses in there. All sorts of other things, too. I lack the skill and knowledge to analyze the ingredients.

Coleslaw was off. Sometimes it is. Mom always said it depended on it's position in the crock. I didn't think it aged enough. Ian said it had aged too much. Lots of salt and pepper didn't season it up enough for me. So I buttered, actually margerined, up the crackers that came with. Next time I'll order the bleu cheese bowl. That's right. A big bowl of bleu cheese dressing that comes with crackers. You dip 'em and eat 'em.

And the fries? They were especially good. They don't come from a bag. And they aren't frozen, either. Sometimes they aren't deep-fried enough. They're still hard and a pale golden color. Fries are probably the only thing I liked cooked crisp, oh, bacon, too. Last week's fries were near perfection. That's right. Last week. I've worked on this entry for too many days. One of the problems is with photo uploads. Don't know what's up with that. But it stymied my progress in sharing this bbq manna.

Glorious beans. But I didn't capture their likeness on memory card. They were down the hatch and in my gullet lickety-split. I think most folks fix beans okay even if their bbq isn't great. Recall that adage about not saying something at all if it's not nice? Well, that's what I do with beans. There are other local bbq places, and even a Louisiana-style restaurant, whose food doesn't suit my tastes. But the nice thing I say about both places is: They've got good beans.

And the best thing about this bbq id that I'll eat the leftovers. I'm the Queen of Thrown Out Leftovers. I take them home with good intentions. Look at them in the fridge and decide that I'm not in the mood for that. By the time I'm in the mood, the food is out of date.  Their sandwiches are so big that I usually only eat half, and that equals a lovely lunch the next day.

Comments

[LLA]

This post made me weep a little....

love. the. ridgewood....

[Renee' Trivette]

I love Ridgewood BBQ.. I always showed up and ordered the BBQ pork sandwich immediately. I haven't tried the beans and I am not the beans' fan. Today, the workers from Ridgewood BBQ saw me walk in the door and brought me the BBQ pork sandwich immediately, thats funny. I don't like waiting. They r very good people. Try best BBQ pork sandwich is tasted much better than beef.