Baltimore!

Arrived alive, full of barbecue and still married. The smart car beat us here. The moving van with our stuff arrives in the morning. I still owe you all a report on North Carolina BBQ.

Traffic Calming Area

This is what people in Chapel Hill call road humps

No blogging today. We're resting in Chapel Hill. Baltimore tomorrow. Full report on North Carolina BBQ soon.

Road Food-- Day 3-- Bagel's Favorite BBQ Restaurant

Kind of grumpy today. I just could not wake up, my belly still full of Dixson's barbecue. I managed to outwit Bagel and eat my Egg McMuffin despite her good efforts this morning but it did not help. Even the triple shot Venti latte from Starbucks failed to cut the fog. Dozed most of the way from Knoxville to Asheville waking only for the most extreme curves.

We've made it to Pat and Bob's in Chapel Hill. Ate at Allen and Son. They had smoked pig leg dog bones. Bagel approves.

Bagel Votes Allen and Son Best Smoked Dog Bones

Tired. More later...

Road Food-- Day 2-- BBQ at Dixson's in Knoxville, TN

The Very Definition of a BBQ Joint

Located in not the nicest neighborhood in Knoxville is Dixson Bar-B-Q. Run by a mother and her son, this tiny shack puts out some of the finest Southern style 'que I've ever had the pleasure to eat. Locally famous for their pig burger, it was sold out when we were there and at least 5 other customers were told that there would be a 45 minute to an hour wait for more. So we settled for the pulled pork sandwiches.

The meat is drenched in a unique brown BBQ sauce that has a hint of cloves. I wolfed down my sandwich, as did Maddy with most of hers. We also enjoyed some very good potato salad and OK beans.

They sell 50 cent sodas from an old, beat up Coke machine, but not any brand you've ever heard of. Big K brand soda featuring a Dr. Pepper knock off called Dr. K. I think it was named after the character K in the Kafka novel, The Trial.

After the excellent meal at Arnold's, the surprisingly good pork from Dixson Bar-B-Q ended a day of great regional food. Adam Richman of Man vs Food has eaten here and so should you.

Bagel Chills in Knoxville

Does room service offer canned dog food?

Bagel caps a very good day that began when she discovered an Egg McMuffin that was briefly left unattended.

Road Food-- Day 2-- Lunch at Arnold's Country Kitchen, Nashville

Best Southenn Cookin' Ever at Arnold's Country Kitchen, Nashville, TN

Arnold's Country Kitchen in Nashville has the best Southern Style food I've ever eaten. The place is a tiny dive near downtown. The walls are covered with pictures of many celebrities who have enjoyed their food. Besides the usual Nashville music legends from Chet Atkins to the Dixie Chicks ("You can't beat Arnold's meat [+ 3]" reads the Chicks signed photo), there are pictures of Richard Nixon and Chuck Colson and a very young Brooke Shields. 

The place reminded me a lot of the old Candy Stripe Kitchen that used to be in Kingsland back when Maddy first brought me to her family cabin 27 years ago. The outstanding chicken and dumplings was made with the flat kind of dumpling that Maddy is unable to recreate and definitely is superior to the delicious plump kind of dumpling you can make with Bisquick-- just like the long gone Candy Stripe Kitchen used to make.

And Arnold's Chess pie was as good, if a bit different, from the kind I fell in love with at Lake LBJ.


Maddy had fried green tomatoes, corn pudding, a couple of other veggies, grit cakes and corn bread.She was in heaven.


The staff there was incredibly nice to us. They made a fuss that we were from "that whole other country, Texas." They really made us feel at home. Tried to buy the t-shirt, but they were sold out in my size. Guy Fieri of Diners, Dives and Drive-ins has been there and so should you. 

Road Food-- Day 1-- Dinner at Rendezvous Memphis

A late dinner in Memphis capped day one on the road. Where else could we eat but the Redezvous? Ate the ribs, bought the t-shirt. World class Tennessee style dry rub. Justly famous.

Mark and Maddy enjoying the Memphis Dry Rub Ribs

Road Food-- Day 1-- Lunch at Bryce's Cafeteria Texarkana

Somehow we managed to pass by the local Texarkana Mexican chain, Ta Molly's, for the 76 year old institution that is Bryce's Cafeteria. Once a staple of Southern dining, the cafeteria has fallen out of favor as of late. Since the original Highland Park Cafeteria in Dallas closed over 10 years ago, we haven't had a good reason to eat at one since.

But Bryce's has a well deserved reputation for its excellent meat and 3 veg  plates and they are famous for their pies. We made it there about 10 minutes before they closed for lunch but the staff invited us in and the service line was still full of ll their selections.

Farewell to Dallas Dinner at Lucia's

For our farewell dinner in Dallas, we went to Lucia's in the Bishop Arts District in South Dallas. This place is so tiny and so great that reservations are impossible too get. So Leah, Maddy and I decided to just show up early and wait for a table.

No table was available but they knew us because Maddy's sister has tried to get us reservations as birthday gifts. So they pushed a couple of small tables out on the side walk together and took our orders. After a few miniutes they asked us to move inside to the bar in front of the kitchen where we eat while we watched and joked with the cooks as they plated the food.

We had a fried polenta stuffed with melted cheese with a lemon garlic aioli to die for. Then some ricotta gnocchi with a veal sauce. Then I had veal medallions with homemade pancetta. Leah had the quail and Maddy had (I forget, will update.)

The salumi misti featured a sage salami and the deserts disappeared before we knew it. Even the coffee was outstanding. It will be worth a trip back to Dallas just to eat here again.

Best BBQ in Texas-- Snow's vs Franklin's

The two greatest BBQ joints in Texas today are Snow's in Lexington and Franklin's in Austin. Both have smoky, moist brisket with a fabulous crust from hours of hardwood smoke. Snow's has better sausage.

Going to Snow's is a commitment. First, it is only open on Saturdays. From 11:00AM till they run out of meat. Second, Lexington, TX is on the way to nowhere. You have to drive a long way to get there. Adding insult to the trip, you inevitably have to drive through Taylor, TX, right past another Texas BBQ legend, Louie Mueller's. And if you have not called ahead on Wednesday, then there's no time to stop at Louie Mueller's to sample their 'que. Once there, it is worth the trip. And the ride home with the remains of your brisket makes for a pleasant journey.

Franklin Barbecue in Austin is very new. But the brisket might be even better than Snow's. They started selling BBQ out of a small blue and white trailer on the side of the road and were so successful that they have moved into permanent digs on 11th Street. Open Tuesdays through Sundays, from 11 till they inevitably run out of meat, people start lining up at 10AM. There were 60 people ahead of me in line when I showed up at 20 to 11 recently.

The barbecue at both places are the best I've ever eaten. I'm giving the Texas BBQ crown to Franklin simply because they are right there off I-35 in Austin and open 6 days a week.

Texas Not So Wild Life

We had this goose eating out of our hands.

Lake LBJ; Kingsland, TX

Award for Best Texas BBQ Signage

When traveling up Highway 71 from Austin and just before Highway 281 on the way to our lake house in Kingsland, TX, you drive past Opie's BBQ in Spicewood. Very good 'que and probably the best sides of any BBQ joint in the Hill Country. I also love their t-shirts.

They recently put up a new sign that has to be the best looking sign for any Texas BBQ joint I've been to.

It is equidistant to Cooper's in Llano or Opie's from our cabin on Lake LBJ. My wife has been going to Cooper's since was a small child and to her it will always be the best BBQ in Texas. The more objective among us (and I include the editors of Texas Monthly) recognise that Cooper's has expanded with places in New Braunfels and Ft Worth and the quality of their brisket has gone down since becoming a chain.

But walking up to the pit outside Cooper's and selecting your meat is a genuine Texas experience, and then as you leave you get to see this gem of Texas humor:

Free BBQ Tomorrow-- Cooper's BBQ, Llano, TX

There'll be free BBQ tomorrow for the past 27 years that I've been going there...

Poppin' Fresh-- He Is Risen!

In Dallas, between Fat Tuesday and Easter Sunday, many yards sprout empty white crosses. Then on Easter Sunday, they turn the signs around to reveal "He Is Risen" printed across the front. And then these signs sit there for weeks.

Every year I say that I'm making my our version with the Pillsbury Doughboy. This year I did.