The List

After much deliberation, we bring you The List.


Best Overall BBQ Experience

1. Jack's
2. Rendezvous
3. Neely's
4. Corky's


Best BBQ - Ribs

1. Corky's (Bing's fav)
2. Rendezvous (Rach's fav)
3. Jack's
...
9,896. Wildhorse Saloon (gross, don't do it)


Best BBQ - Pulled Pork

1. Carl's Perfect Pig
2. Jack's
3. Rendezvous


Best BBQ - Other

1. Neely's BBQ Nachos (Bing's Fav)
2. Jack's Beef Brisket (just as good, if not better than any brisket we had during our Texas Tour)
3. Hog Heaven's Pulled Turkey w/ White Sauce (Rach's Fav)
4. Neely's BBQ Spaghetti


Best Non-BBQ Foods

1. Dixie Stampede's Slow-Roasted Herb Chicken
2. Aretha Frankenstein's Waffle of Insane Greatness
3. Smokey Bones' Donuts


Overall a very successful trip, we look forward to our future BBQ Tour of the Carolina's!

Thanks for joining us on our tour!

The Road Home

In the shopping center near our Roanoke Hotel, we discovered a Smokey Bones BBQ. That's right, we're not done yet! Now, of course, Smokey Bones is a chain restaurant, but we thought it quite appropriate for our BBQ Tour to end with our familiar favorite. If nothing else, it would be a good comparison to Sonny's the other large chain frequented by the Bings on our tour...plus, we just had a hankerin' for those little donuts! (The diet starts tomorrow...not today ;-) )

On the way home, we decided to stop at the Natural Bridge. Bing had been wanting to check this out for years after passing the exit driving back and forth to Blacksburg for years. It was a great day for a detour and yet another chance to test out the new camera. After splurging one last time on BBQ, we needed to walk a bit anyway.

Bing got to drive his two FAVORITE interstates today. I-81 and I-66, although he didn't get to travel with the rest of the world (he only prefers these two roads when EVERYONE else gets the chance to share the road with him) it was everything he hoped it would be. Once we arrived home it was time to play with Kitty and take one last picture...

Rain + Blacksburg = Bleaksburg

As was the case everyday of this vacation, today it rained. Since we were headed to Blacksburg, it seemed appropriate though since it's almost always rainy in Blacksburg...at least in Bing's memory. We left Gatinburg by way of Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, part of the Apple Barn Cider Mill and General Store complex. This place was huge! It's part of a working apple orchard/farm and boasts many menu items made from the local apples. With every meal comes homemade apple fritters, apple muffins, apple butter and an "apple julep" to wash it all down. These were definitely the highlight of our breakfast! The portions were huge and the meal was everything a good ole country breakfast should be; it reminded us of Lancaster, PA a lot. The rest of Pigeon Forge reminded us of a beach town, without the beach - tons of mini-golf courses, go-cart tracks and random "must-see" attractions (e.g., Ripley's Believe It or Not, etc.). Apparently in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area they LOVE pancakes, we counted over 30 pancake houses of some sort along our drive...there were probably more, but we got tired of pointing them out.




Once we got to Blacksburg it was time for Bing to revisit the VT campus. We figured it has been 4 years since he has been on campus for a visit. Most things were as he remembered them, down to the distinctive smell of Owen's Dining Hall (Rach paused at Losta Pasta to reflect on how much that little stand contributed to her Freshman Thirty-Five). We walked through a few buildings, and of course took in the April 16th memorial on the drill field. We drove through Blacksburg and past Bing's old house. Lots of reminiscing and lots of wishful thinking for the future.


The Home Place was one of Bing's college favorites, so we headed there for dinner. Home Place features all you can eat family style country cooking, right up our alley! The food was everything we remembered it to be, if not better...and we even ran into an old lab partner of Bing's (who now lives in NOVA too). We tried to pick favorites, but between the chicken, mac & cheese, roast beef, mashed potatoes, pinto beans....and blueberry cobbler a la mode for dessert, it was too difficult to choose just one thing we liked best! We ate our fill and then it was off to our hotel in Roanoke for our last night on the road.

Waffles and Horses

Today was rather random, and did not really include BBQ. It all started out in Chattanooga when we awoke in our Choo-Choo hotel (located in the old train station of "Pardon me boys, was that the Chattanooga Choo Choo" fame...yes, that's right...) The hotel reminded us of a dormitory; Rach thought it was like living in the movie Clue and Bing was impressed that it came complete with the musty smell of "old". The lobby was impressive though, so we took a few pictures.

Onto breakfast, thanks to Rachael Ray and her show $40 a Day we were pointed in the direction of Aretha Frankenstein's for "The Waffle of Insane Greatness", since we are the Bings and we do LOVE waffles, we thought this highly appropriate. Finally, our first meal without a meat (shocking!) The waffle was "insanely great" and did not disappoint in the least. Aretha's was definitely different than we had expected though, only boasting 5 tables inside the restaurant (and about 8 bar stools) and then some outdoor seating on both the porch and in the yard. Tiny, but tasty was the general consensus.

Next up was a three and a half hour drive to Gatlinburg, TN and a trek through the Smokey Mountains. Once we arrived, we took a hike (yes, Bings + Nature does happen...who knew?!) to a waterfall for some pictures. Bing really got to test out the camera on this trip!


Our "hotel" for the night was not so much a hotel, but a condo complex about a half hour from Gatlinburg. The view from our back porch was fantastic (and on such a dreary day, which makes us think it would have been insane if we had seen it on a clear day!) We tried to get a few pictures, just so we could remember the view.

Tonight was Rach's choice and it was Dixie Stampede night! This had been making Rach smile for weeks, just thinking about all the horses and the four-course feast! Although a mechanical malfunction occurred disrupting the show a bit, it was still a good time had by all. Since they did not allow cameras, and since Bing is such a strict law-abiding man (or was just excited to get out of having to get his picture taken) we don't have any pictures inside. The slow-roasted herb chicken was to die for, and Rach ate the entire thing, it was the size of her face. Our side (the North) won the tournament, and even got to see a pig race.

Heading East

Time to make our way back east. Our first stop, less than 15 minutes from our Memphis hotel was Corkey's, which has locations all over Tennessee, but we thought perhaps Memphis should have two BBQ reviews...




Corky's felt like a chain restaurant inside with all their real plates, real silverware, and "service". But they also had Bing's favorite wet ribs so far on our tour--meaty ribs so pink from the smoke you'd think they were raw, and basted with an excellent sauce. Rach had a huge loaded baked potato with pulled pork, cheese, and BBQ sauce. Good pork, but a few dry hard chunks. Portions were enormous (we also got a half-order of onion loaf that was supposed to serve 1-2, but turned out to be about the size of a bloomin' onion). Great food at Corky's, but the ambiance was definitely lacking--you wouldn't have known the difference between it and a Logans or Texas Roadhouse. Jack's still tops that category.


Back to the "open road" this time with Rach at the wheel!

Pretty soon it was time to eat again...




Carl's, the place that raises its own hogs, had some of the best pulled pork we've tried, but being situated way out in White Bluff, TN, it was definitely a bare-bones small town joint in a tight-knit community. Rach likened it to eating at Lindy's back home in Cumberland. The ribs were good, but not the same lean meat we saw at Corky's or Rendezvous. Carl apparently teamed up with someone named Bill and used Bill's sauce, which was a perfect vinegary matchup to the pulled pork, but less so on the ribs. Carl's was good, but probably not worth going more than 30 minutes out of your way. (It was on our way from Memphis to Chattanooga, so we didn't feel bad).

While Rach was driving, Bing discovered the "cool stuff" in Nashville that we had forgotten/missed out on, so we took a brief detour back to the massive Opryland Hotel. Inside we found 9 acres of indoor gardens, complete with San Antonio-style riverwalk weaving in and out of a bunch of walking paths. We were kicking ourselves for missing out on this the first time (considering our hotel, the sketchy one, was RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!) We are now on the lookout for any relevant conferences that will be housed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Conference Center...count us in!

White Sauce and Rendezvous

Our last morning in Nashville was spent at Centennial Park near Vanderbilt where there is a replica of the Parthenon on the premises. We took lots of pictures while waiting for our first BBQ joint of the day to open it's doors!

Sketchy on the outside, but good BBQ comes from inside. Hog Heaven was basically a concession stand in Centennial park. Bing tried the pulled pork platter with their sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, while Rach got a pulled turkey sandwich with their unique white BBQ sauce (mayonnaise
based, we guessed). Both were very good, although the white BBQ sauce seemed an especially perfect match for the turkey. Overall, a great option for a quick lunch. If you see the old bearded guy riding the little pink girl's bike, say hi.

Next up was a three-hour drive to Memphis...we stopped at an Old Country Store along the way, but it was strange, so that's all there is to say about that. They did have ice cream which made for a lovely afternoon snack. April Fool's phone calls to Grandpa were also on tap for the drive. Apparently Kitty is getting both a bear and a hog to play with when we come home ;-)

Back to the BBQ...

We had heard so much about Rendezvous that we figured all the hype would leave us only disappointed. Hidden back in an alley off a quiet street, it was difficult to find, but still a constant stream of hungry folks kept wandering down the alleyway to the Rendezvous entrance. Rendezvous is known for only one thing: their ribs. We were rather surprised that it did not disappoint. The ribs are served dry, completely covered with the seasoning also used as the rub. Our ribs also didn't have an ounce of fat on them. We also ordered BBQ nachos with pork, but we both preferred the nachos from Neely's.

Tomorrow we're headed back east to Chattanooga. And yes, we drove all the way to Memphis to eat ribs at Rendezvous...and no, we don't think that is strange.

Nashville Redeems Itself

Bright and "early" we were ready to give Nashville a second chance. Our first BBQ location was opening at 10:30am, we got there at 10:25am, and watched the "open" sign light up...

Finally, a real BBQ joint! As soon as we stepped out of the car in the parking lot, you could smell the hickory wood burning and see the stack piled high outside. Inside, we watched from our booth as one of the BBQ masters entered with a pile of wood in his arms and loaded the smoker to keep the fire burning. This was real BBQ. Everything we tasted was amazing--the pork ribs, the pulled pork, and the beef brisket. The three sauces they had available weren't even necessary (but their Kansas City sauce was excellent on everything). Jack's non-sweet cornbread was delicious, too (even Bing, who insists cornbread should always be sweet, agreed).

After our early lunch it was onto the Grand Ole Opry for a backstage tour. Rach had a blast and Bing got to try out the new camera. A good time had by all. Right next to G.O.O. is Opry Mills...an outlet mall...complete with a large movie theater. Excited to see the cheap ticket prices, Bing decided a movie would be an excellent mid-afternoon detour. Vantage Point was the pick of the day, and it turned out to be even better than we had anticipated. After the movie we were on a quest, a shoe quest to be exact...only, not what you might think...Bing needed new shoes and Rach was too tired to even take off her shoes to try on new shoes. After a few hours of unsuccessful shopping, Bing finally found not one, but two pairs of shoes. Rach found zero pairs of shoes. Wow.

After returning to our hotel to look over our spoils and relax a bit, it was time for some dinner. Neely's BBQ was on tap.

We had somewhat high expectations for Neely's, given their new fame on the Food Network ("Down Home with the Neely's"). We had also heard to try out some of the more uncommon items on the menu. Rach, who is a sucker for pasta, decided to try their one-of-a-kind BBQ Spaghetti, and Bing got their house specialty, a pork rib platter, ordered "wet". We also ordered some BBQ Nachos with pulled pork--another Neely creation. Our opinion: While Bing found the ribs to be rather uninteresting and bland (Rach liked them for their simplicity), we absolutely loved the BBQ Nachos--we would come back just for these. Rach also loved the spaghetti, which had pulled pork and a BBQ/tomato sauce mix instead of meat sauce.