the J. wrote:
>I'd note that there is no shortage of funky places using down home >methods
turning out terrible barbecue, either.
Certainly true enough. Just because a place is small, funky and one of a kind, doesn't mean it's gonna be good. There are several I can think of right here in my own town of Richmond that have "the look" but don't deliver the goods. There's this place on Jeff Davis Highway on the southside of the Lee Bridge called Hank's Pit Cooked Bar-B-Que that flat out sucks. I think they boil their pork in dishwater or something, or at least it tasted that way to me. Another, Zippy's B-B-Q on the Boulevard is in a shack with a crudely hand lettered sign and I think their idea of cue is pork mixed with a can of sloppy joe mix and ketchup.
The best rule of thumb I know for good barbecue is something my Grandpa Chalie used to say: "You'll always smell a good BBQ joint before you'll see it." That theory has never failed me yet. Yep, the nose knows. cap'n ronRichmond, VA