Wood Yard BBQ

This was another one of the out-of-the-way places now made famous by spikey-haired Food Network types. So, excuse me if I was skeptical.
We smelled the place half way down the street and salivary glands kicked into overdrive. Then, you pull into a working wood yard, selling specialty wood for BBQ-ers. A nearby train was blaring its horn, some old country was playing on the speakers, and I knew I already liked it better than half the BBQ joints in KC, and I hadn't eaten anything yet.
There was line out the door. This doesn't always mean its good. I've stood in too many lines for crap BBQ. But, I watched orders going out the door to the lovely little brick patio out front and everything looked good. I ordered the burnt-end chili on the suggestion of a trusted friend and some cheesey corn, as I am a Jackstack BBQ cheesey corn fanatic.
The chili itself (and I was a National Chili Cook-off judge for years, thank you very much) was fantastic on its own. It was three bean variety, not too sweet, not too spicy. But, throw on the burnt ends, and holy shit!
Wow, that was some good chili. The cheesy-corn was forgettable, but I dumped it into the remnants of chili and kicked it up a notch.
The other Spooners gave the burnt end sandwich a thumbs up, and that's good enough for me, sir.
I will definitely returning to try some of their other treats.

Service: 4 Spoons Long-ish wait, but once the order was in, we got it quick from a nice old lady who called me "hun".

Food: 4 Spoons What I had, I'll stack up against any BBQ place around. Congrats Food Network, you got it right for once.

Kitch: 4 Old, rundown houses for a restaurants always work for me.

Bonus: Booze, and you get to watch the pitmaster work right out there on the patio.

Greasy Spooners Odyssey: Chattanooga, TN and Dalton GA

How, you ask, did I end up in Dalton, GA, the carpet capital of US? Well, my wife had training for a new job this week in lovely Dalton and I got dragged along. The owners of her company are good ol' Southerners and they like to meet the families of all their new hires. They paid for everything, and when I met them they turned out to be some the coolest people I know. The only downside was I had to try to find something to do for 4 days. The Greasy Spooner in me accepted the challenge.
Dalton is only 20 minutes south of Chattanooga, TN, so I decided I needed some Memphis style BBQ. Readers of this blog, will know I'm a BBQ snob. I know Memphis style is different from KC's, but good meat is good meat, right? I did my research on Chattanooga, and "Sticky Fingers" seemed to be the accepted winner by the locals for ribs, despite the fact it's a chain. I was surprised that I had to explain the different BBQ disciplines to the waitress who was from Texas, for Chrissakes! I ordered the dry rub, as the any other seemed too much like something I would get from KC.
Ugh! First, the ribs were "fall off the bone". Now, that may sound great to the uninformed, but any true BBQ snob will tell you ribs should tear off the bone (he says in a snooty English accent while sipping a martini). Fall of the bone means they've been boiled ahead of time which is heresy, and the place should be burned down just for that. The ribs themselves were dry and bland even though they were covered in what I would describe as the same stuff Red Robin puts on their fries. The sides sucked, too. The bright side, really great cornbread. They were more like cupcake texture than what I'm used too.
Sticky Fingers, Chattanooga, TN: 1 spoon ( you got that for the cornbread and halfway decent service).

Besides being a conniseur of all things greasy, I'm also a Civil War buff, so before the trip to Chickamauga battlefield, I stopped in at what was billed by reviews as the best Biscuits and Gravy in Chattanooga, the New York Diner. Really, your gonna name your place the the New York Diner in the deep South. Have you seen that El Paso salsa commercial about "gettin' rope"?

I ordered 2 eggs, bacon, and a full order of B&G. Gotta say, not bad. But not as good as I would expect for Tennesee. The home fires, however, were probably the best I've had, period.

New York Diner, Chattanooga, TN: 3.5 spoons. 

Also in Chattanooga is a little dive bar called "the Pickle Barrel. This was my kinda place. Looked like Fred Sanford and some place from Harry Potter had a baby. I don't think a single stool matched, and I'm pretty sure most were dated about Civil War era. There's a ricketty spiral staircase (that I can't imagine navigating drunk) that goes up to a tree lined deck. The railing looked completely unstable and the flooring crooked. I'm in love. On the menu was the usual fair, including fried pickles. I ordered a Yeungling beer, cause you can't get 'em west of the Mississippi.  

Pickle Barrel, Chattanooga, TN: 5 spoons (kitch off the scale)

Now, actually in Dalton, GA we ate at a fantastic Mexican Place (not Tex-Mex, Mexican), called Los Reyes. The place looked like an old hacienda, and the food was off the el chickety chain. I had a burrito and chile relino platter, piping hot (both temperature and spice) with beans and rice. Worth the stop if visitng or passing through.

Los Reyes, Dalton, GA: 4.5 spoons

One other place worth mentioning in Dalton is the Filling Station in their historic downtown. Now, when you drive up, you notice a lot of old people. This, fellow Spooners, is blessing and a curse. Old people means cheap prices, but it also means bland food. You put a $10 bill in the pickle jar and get all-you-can-eat Southern food. Mashed potatoes, fried okra, fried chicken, collard greens, etc. As suspected, all surprisingly bland. And no gravy for the taters? What planet are you from?

But the pies, oh the pies, they made up for everything. Best peacn pie "I ever et, y'all". 

Was it great? No. Did I eat till I was physically ill? Yes

The Filling Station, Dalton, GA: 4 spoons (the pies saved you)

Gates BBQ

Yes, I know, its a Kansas City institution. That doesn't make it good.
I haven't been to Gates in years, and when a buddy wanted to go there for lunch, I gave an inner groan. Don't get me wrong, I always used Gates as a control if you will, when it comes to KC BBQ. Somewhere in the middle. The meat's okay, the sauce is so-so. Everybody else is either better or worse.
We went to the "original" location at 1325 East Emanuel Cleaver Blvd. It was clean and I didn't get yelled out immediately when I came in. Good start. The menu's a bit confusing for the uninitiated, and Gates has a long tradition of the ladies behind the counter screaming "MAY I HELP YOU?!!!!"
I ordered a beef sandwich, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO BURNT ENDS. No burnt ends at a BBQ place. Yes, they have them at other locations, but really?
$11. That's what I paid for a sandwich and a drink. No sides. $11.
My friends that ordered sides walked out paying almost $20. Twenty bucks for so-so BBQ? To quote Rudy Ray Moore, "Bitch, are you for real?"
The dining room was clean, the server very attentive and helpful. The food was, as I hoped against all hope being great, was just okay. There were a few other customers. I remember when the place was packed, but now that I know it's almost $20 to eat lunch, I understand why people aren't flooding in. I don't pay that much at a decent sit down restaurant.
2 spoons. That's all.

Lonnie Ray's BBQ (Harrisburg, MO)

This was not the usual Greasy Spooners expedition. A group of guys I went to high school with, all piled into a Tahoe and drove 2 hours outside KC to Lonnie Ray's in Harrisburg, MO. Why, you ask? Well, the owner of Lonnie Ray's is Mike Whitely and a friend to most of us for 30+ years, but Mike has been off the radar so to speak since high school. So, once we found him, we had to make the trip to get caught up, and eat some BBQ.
Harrisburg is about 20 minutes north of Columbia, and the crossroads that make up the town center consists of a general store, a Lion's club hall, and Mike's place. We walked in, Mike greeted us, and set us up with some of the best BBQ I've had. I'm a native Kcer, so it's in our blood to know BBQ. We started off with pulled pork and two sauces, one hot and one sweet. I'm not a big sweet sauce guy but really like this one.
Then came the brisket, which was gorgeous and delicious. Beautiful smoke ring, and fall apart good. This was followed by ribs, a pork steak and some of the best home made tamales ever. I'm definitely going to make this a yearly pilgrimage. If you're ever on the way to St. Louis or Columbia from KC (or vice versa) make the 15 minute trip north of I-70 to Lonnie Rays.
Food: 5 Spoons
Kitch: 4 spoons (even had a picture of the now demolished 40 Hiway drive-in, which used to show porn after 3am)
Locale: 1 (wish it was closer)

Me, Dan, Andy, Mike (the owner) Ken and Brian

40 Hiway Drive-In

the Hawg Shed

This was probably the longest haul we ever made for lunch. From downtown KC to Buckner, MO was about 25 minutes. A long way too drive? Bah! When I heard from several reliable sources the Hawg Shed had a Cheeseburger to rival Hi-Boy, no amount of driving was going to keep me from disproving this obvious myth.
On arrival, I knew it was our kind of place. Literally not much more than a shed, the place offers a drive up.You place your order, drive around front, and someone will bring it out to you. We opted to sit on the porch (the only seating) dispite the fact it was about 30 degrees out. A friendly lady appeared at the window and gave the daily special, which was BBQ. I ordered the double cheeseburger.
Now, being a lifelong resident of Independence, I am a die hard Hi-Boy burger fan. It was going to take a lot to beat out my favorite. The Hawg Shed did not disappoint. I was great. Hand made daily, these burgers were the thinner patties that I like. Lots of cheese and nice crispy pickles. They use a sauce similar to Hi-Boy. The curly fries were good too.
My fellow Spooners will have to comment on the BBQ, but burger was on par, didn't beat it out, but on par with Hi-Boy.
I salute you.
Rating:

Food: 4 spoons
Service: 4 spoons
Kitch: 4 spoons
Bonus: The little pig statue out front and a little person brought me my food!
Location: