Every now and again, you walk into a place and you know immediately that you are near to a higher power. It starts with the mouth-watering smells eminating from the smoker outside, it continues as you swing open the door to a decor so textbook Southern BBQ that it's like coming home, and when you see this menu on the table waiting for you, you know that you're going to be late for wherever it is you're supposed to be next.
Then you learn that the one guy alone in the kitchen is the owner, and the one who made the six BBQ sauces that you're about to try, and the one who smoked the meat, and the one who made the wing sauce, and the one married to the shining example of Southern Hospitality that is taking your order. A tear creeps into the corner of your eye, and despite the fact that you've got another 400 miles to drive, you see Charlottesville, VA-brewed Starr Hill Northern Lights ale on the board for only $3, after paying twice that for an inferior brew in "the big city" the day before, so you order a round. Then you open the menu and realize that you can sample everything - a pulled pork samich, a pulled chicken samich, a half-dozen hot wings, the smoked sausage, and even some slaw so you can pretend that you've eaten a vegetable, and you can do it for less than a single burnt entree in a supposedly five-star DC hotel will set you back.
This place is now the pinnacle of good eats on the trip. The owner and his lovely wife were Genuine in a way that you will only find in a family-owned and operated place. He obviously loves food, loves to cook it, loves to serve it, and loves to wash it down with a good beer. There are few things more satisfying in life than enjoying a meal like this.
A little bonus, if you fill up your gas tank here instead of across the border in North Carolina, you're going to save quite a bit of money as well. So, don't eat breakfast, and make sure you stop at 769 N Main St., Emporia, VA 23847 right off of I-95.
No comments:
Post a Comment