Home... Home Again.

Greenville, SC

We ate Saturday night in Greenville. Joined by my Uncle and some of his family, we went to a local place call Harry's Smokehouse! It was a tiny little place where you order at the counter and get a ticket with a number. 

I enjoyed the BBQ Hash on Rice with a good potato salad and tasty macaroni and cheese and a sweet tea to wash it down. I topped the hash with delicious mustard sauce that was different in taste and color than the mustard sauce we experienced at The Bullpen in Atlanta. It was a little less robust in flavor, but still had a bold mustard taste all on its own.

The potato salad was wasn't anything too sophisticated, but it was a quality side. The same goes with the mac and cheese. It definitely wasn't anything fancy, but good nonetheless.

I washed it all down with a delicious sweet tea and had a hefty helping of a tasty peach cobbler for dessert. I would definitely recommend Henry's if you're in Greenville!

Asheville, NC - Okie Dokie's Smokehouse

Ribs, Mac and Cheese, Hushpuppies

We used Sunday to take a bit of a break from BBQ. We also wanted to make sure that we'd have enough room for Monday's lunch feast - "Hogzilla" from 12 Bones BBQ in Asheville.

We showed but at 12 Bones very hungry and VERY excited about our chance to take down one of the most famous BBQ sandwiches in the country. Aaaaaaaand it was closed. So we had to go with a back up plan. Luckily, an Asheville native friend of mine, Ryan Folks, took us to a place in East Asheville called Okie Dokie's Smokehouse. 

The ribs were good, but the highlight for me was the hushpuppies and fried pickles. The fried pickles weren't too heavily battered, but very greasy. This worked really well with the BBQ Ranch Sauce. Apparently, Okie Dokie's fried pickles have been featured in Southern Living. So were their hushpuppeies! The Hushpuppies were fluffy and light. They served for an absolute perfect balance between the house sweet BBQ sauce and the heaviness of the ribs! If you ever make it to this smokehose, DON'T FORGET THE HUSHPUPPIES!

BBQ, BBQ and more BBQ...

So I left my computer at home, which is completely unhelpful when you are trying to keep an up to date blog. Luckily, I found a computer and I'm ready to tell you about my trip so far.

Atlanta, GA
1) The Yacht Dog (a.k.a. "The Georgia Dog") - Euclid Avenue Yacht Club

This was our first stop on our Tour de Q and OH MAN was it a good first stop! The staff was super friendly and very unpretentious, which was a surprise.This place was kinda dark with kinda dingy wooden tables and chairs. Although uncrowded at the time we were there, the pictures on the walls show that it was/is a biker bar. The wall hangings are fun and quirky. Fake fish hang from the walls, accompanied by nets and various nautical equipment. EAYC has a great atmosphere!

Now, for the food! The Yacht Dog is a 1/4 pound all beef hot dog on toasted poppy seed bun! On top of the dog was relish, onions, and BRUNSWICK STEW! It is absolutely impossible to cleanly eat this dog, but it's SO worth it! The stew adds something that can only be understood by eating a Yacht Dog yourself. I can say without any hesitation that this is THE best hot dog I've ever had!

I left the EAYC feeling full and satisfied, but not over-stuffed and miserable, which was a huge plus considering I cleaned my plate. Everything about this place was better than it had to be.

Sides: Tater Tots - golden and delicious!


2) 1/2 Slab of Ribs - Bullpen Ribhouse

Friday night we went to the Bullpen Ribhouse, a sports bar and grill across the street from Turner Field. We were thinking that it was be a convenient spot to get some overpriced ribs and and a few overpriced brews before the game and that would be it - no big deal. Little did we know that these ribs were actual well above average and the sauces were OUTSTANDING! There was a number of sauces to choose from: a couple of different hot BBQ sauces, a very solid/no frills house sauce, and our favorite... the Carolina Mustard Sauce!

 These ribs were the surprise of the trip so far! The ribs were tender and very flavorful! Add to that the choice of delicious sauces and great moist cornbread to sop up the leftover sauce on your plate and you have yourself a very satisfying and succulent feast! One of the best parts of the ribs at the Bullpen was the simplicity: good ribs, good sauce, good stuff! Helpful Hint: 1/2 rack is PLENTY for two people.

Sides: Cornbread!

After dinner we headed across the street to see the Braves play the Nationals. It was a great way to end a great day of delicious food and drink. Maybe a bit overpriced, but the experience is worth it!

Intro and Vacation Plans

So, I've never blogged before or ever been good at keeping any journal of any kind, but I figured I'd give it a try anyway.

My vacation starts in a couple of days and I'm going to be traveling to a  a lot of cool places and eating a lot of good food. Since these are two things I'm especially fond of, what better way to document my vacation than taking pictures/videos and writing about it... right? Right!

So here's the plan for vacation...

PHASE 1: BBQ (and Beer) Tour... On Friday, Mr. Daniel P. Strandlund and I will embark on a tour that he found in an issue of Garden and Gun (or at least our version of it). The idea is to travel to different cities around the southeast eating at some of the best BBQ places along the way and checking out some of the coolest local watering holes along the way. 

Here are the tour stops: 

Friday... Atlanta, GA

Saturday... Greenville, SC

Sunday... Asheville, NC

Monday... Chattanooga (time permitting), Birmingham


I'll be posting pictures and such of all the fun we encounter... Well, maybe not all.


PHASE 2: New York City!!! That's right! I'm headed to the Big Apple for a few days to see the sights and, of course, eat good food. This will be my second time visiting NYC, although my first time was for only about 8 hours, so I'm not really counting it as a for real visit. I'm super pumped about getting up there and can't wait to spend some real time in the big city!


See you on the road!


-Worth