Smokin' Clones bobble head soon to be available

Recently, while at one of my barbeque hot spots (I won't name names, but it sounded like Smokin' Guns BBQ), I stumbled across this Darren Warth prototype bobble head doll. Just sitting there at the bar, minding my own business, I could feel these beady little eyes trained on me. To my surprise, while seeking the source of this tension, I spied a 10" spittin' image of Smokin' Clone himself staring right at me, taunting me that he always beats me in ribs when I supply him at a contest. Upon inquiring, I discovered that is guy is really supposed to resemble the owner, Phil Hopkins. Sorry Phil, this thing is a dead ringer for old Smokey D! Look for these at finer barbeque competitions everywhere in the spring! Darren has been a bit scarce since inventing the Clonesicle and hanging up the reins as a desk jockey. Word has it business is hoppin' at his new place, Smokey D's/Absolute Flavors. Surely Shad is keeping him lined out. By the way, that's my lunch special there in the background. If you haven't tried Linda's special recipe potato or broccoli and cheese casseroles with your brisket on bun, you'd don't know what you're missing. Both awesome and both award winning! Also, I incorrectly reported their hours of operation in a previous post - Smokin' Guns BBQ is open from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Big Bob Gibson

We all have this list of places where we'd like to eat if were ever in that part of the country. Well for me, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q was right there at the top. Since watching my first Chris Lilly video sometime in early 2002, I've wanted to dine at the home of the barbecue white sauce. With our class scheduled for Huntsville last weekend (more on that soon), Decatur, Alabama, home to Big Bob Gibson, was only thirty minutes away. So, we scheduled a lunch meeting with Chris at his location last Friday.

I want to tell you that Chris is a very gracious host. He took time out of his very busy schedule to sit with us and talk about barbecue while we ate. When you go to a barbecue place with the history the likes of Big Bob Gibson, it would be immoral to try just one or two of the menu items. Oh no, you want to sample everything. Well, that's exactly what we did! We tried everything except the ribs. Chris told us the ribs just weren't ready to come off of the pit quite yet. I expected nothing less from a man as particular about his barbecue as Mr. Lilly. My favorites were the turkey and pulled pork, and I want to tell you, I'm not a turkey fan in general. The turkey served here was thick slices of real breast meat. It was moist and flavorful. The pulled pork was moist also and had plenty of bark mixed in. Honestly, it was the best pulled pork I've ever eaten in a restaurant. The beans and potato salad were very good as well. Oh, and Chris served us this huge loaded bbq baked potato piled high with cheese, bacon and more turkey. That thing must have weighed over two pounds BEFORE the toppings. My only disappointment was that we didn't get to try the cream pies they have available. Honestly, that's okay because I was stuffed. I already know that on my next visit I'll be ordering a pulled pork baked potato, a big slice of the lemon pie, and a tall cool glass of that southern sweet tea, and you' heard it here first, it won't take me five years to get back there! A special thanks to Chris for his hospitality.