John Mull's Meats and Road Kill Grill (Las Vegas, NV)

When my dad invited me along to Las Vegas for this year's Safari Club International convention, I could hardly contain myself. For weeks I anxiously awaited our trip, which of course meant researching and planning some spectacular restaurants to try out. My dad has an odd fascination with eateries he's seen on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, but we saved those for lunchtime. I found John Mull's Meats and Road Kill Grill on Guy Fieri's list of Las Vegas hot spots, and I knew it was sure to satisfy us both.

John Mull's is way out by the North airport, about twelve miles or so from the south end of the strip. Needless to say, this was not a cheap cab ride by any means, so I hoped the food would be worth the trip. This joint has been around since 1954, and the surrounding suburban neighborhood you see today has grown up around them. Their "dining area" consists of canopy-covered picnic tables out on some gravel. I'd bet that gets a touch warm in the summer months.

Even at 1:15pm on a weekday, the line to order stretches outside the entrance door, and they only let people inside five or six at a time. There was a kid making his way through the line taking orders, but all he did was write it on a ticket and give it back to us. I guess that's meant to speed things up, though it didn't seem to be helping the slow-moving line. It ended up taking about twenty-five minutes for us to get inside, and another twenty before we had food in hand.

Inside things are running like an assembly line, yet somehow still far from efficient. All of the meats were pre-sliced and sitting in metal warming trays for serving. It makes me wonder why there was such a long wait for food, since the plating involves minimal effort. The guy working the line was incredibly friendly and energetic though, so I'll give them that one.

True to form, I ordered a 3-Meat Combo of brisket, ribs, and hotlinks. For my two sides, I rather brilliantly picked a potato salad/macaroni salad duo.

The macaroni salad had a high mayo content, which the southerner in me always appreciates. I also liked the plentiful pimentos. The potato salad wasn't very different from the macaroni, as if they just used the same base and substituted potatoes for pasta. Similarities aside, I liked the macaroni salad better, although I suppose I should have gotten beans or something instead.

My meat trio had the hotlinks right on top, so that seemed as good a place to start as any. The casings had a nice snap, while the meat inside was very finely ground. This is an actual meat market, so I'm assuming that the sausage is made in house, but this assumption is unconfirmed as of yet. There wasn't any smoky flavor that I could pinpoint. Even more disappointing, most of the slices weren't spicy at all either, with just one slice that had any real kick to it. East Texas hotlinks these were not.

The razor-thin brisket looked more like deli meat than barbecue. Looks can certainly be deceiving though, because this brisket had a great smoke level and was incredibly tender. The flavors I found were mostly natural beef, salt, and smoke, since they had cut away all of the delicious bark. I can't help but think their brisket wouldn't have been nearly as good had it been sliced thicker, but it was quite tasty in this form.

I saved the massive spare ribs for last. There was plenty of meat to go around here, that's for sure. The ribs were juicy and cooked just right, with only a slight tug needed to separate meat from bone. I tasted some smoke, but not as much as I expected. Smokelessness aside, the slightly sweet glaze was a great flavor addition.

Eating outdoors is something I'm rather accustomed to, but what I don't enjoy is having to spend the entire time fending off swarms of bees. I had to sacrifice my sugary soda just to get them away from me long enough to eat. Granted the presence of bees isn't the restaurant's fault, but you'd think by now they might have figured out a way to combat them.

My overall impression of John Mull's was that they're definitely lacking in terms of organization. Between the $100.00 worth of round trip taxi time (including tips) and the excessive and unnecessary wait for food, I don't think John Mull's is worth all the trouble.

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John Mull's Meats and Road Kill Grill
3730 Thom Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89130
(702) 645-1200
http://www.johnmullsmeats.com/

Center Point Pit Barbecue (Hendersonville, TN)

I had a few errands to run on the North side of Nashville, so I made the most of things and added some barbecue to my to-do list. After seeing Hendersonville's Center Point Pit Barbecue featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, I had high hopes for today's meat-filled adventure.

To my surprise, there was only one other vehicle in the parking lot when I rolled up at 11:30am. Oh well, more barbecue for me. Center Point has been in operation since the mid-60s. They have a rather interesting setup inside, which probably made more sense back in 1965. There is a combination of soda shop counter seating and a raised bistro-style section up front, with a small traditional dining room in the back. The front section has a good view of the kitchen, so I sat there to observe these guys in action.

One of Center Point's specialties is the Fried Green Tomatoes appetizer, which comes topped with yum yum sauce, sour cream, and chives. This seemed like a great way to warm up my palate. I had no idea what yum yum sauce was, but I was sure it would be amazing.

As expected, the fried green tomatoes looked spectacular. They were piping hot and fresh from the fryer, complete with crisp seasoned cornmeal batter. Center Point's yum yum sauce was as delicious as its name suggested, but I'm pretty sure it's just a close cousin of remoulade. The sour cream tempered the heat of the yum yum sauce nicely and also paired well with the acidic tomatoes. This was definitely a good way to get things started.

The only combo plate on Center Point's menu was a Pit Master Special, which comes with three meats of your choosing. For mine, I picked brisket, pulled pork, and ribs. There was a note on the menu which said that smoked hot sausage could be added for only $2.00 more. As tempting as this was, an appetizer and a three-meat plate was already sure to push my appetite past its tipping point. Maybe next time. Center Point's plates also come with a cornbread patty and two sides. The Southern-style potato salad and the white beans both sounded like good additions.

I generally start with the side dishes before diving into the meat, so why break with tradition? The potato salad was very good. I could really taste the pickles and onion, both of which added a pleasant crunch. It was also mayo-based, which I greatly prefer to the mustard variety. This was only my second time trying white beans. Thankfully, these were far less soupy than my first encounter. The beans were cooked just right: past al dente, but not mushy. I also enjoyed the mild seasoning, which let the natural bean flavors stand out.

Sadly, my brisket came out chopped. Well, that's not entirely accurate. The brisket on the very bottom of my pile was still in slice form, so I guess the rest just crumbled during the plating process. I'm not sure which is worse. At least I could see plenty of chopped red smoke ring scattered throughout, but I would have liked some bark, too. There was only a slight smoky flavor to be found. Some pieces were decently tender, but most of my thin, lean pieces were a little dry. The meat fell apart at the slightest touch, which told me that it was likely overcooked. Clearly this wasn't a Texas brisket.

Unlike the brisket, the pulled pork was rather monotone. I couldn't find any bits of bark anywhere here either. It was also quite bland and a little stringy. I didn't taste any smoke, so I decided to try some of their barbecue sauces out of pure necessity. The Sweet Surprise sauce definitely jazzed things up a bit, with a good kick on the back end. The Mild Barbecue Sauce was ok, but not as good. I left the third barbecue sauce alone and just moved on to the ribs.

When I ordered, I had asked for barbecue sauce on the side. My waitress assured me that all of the sauces were just on the table to be added as I saw fit. You can imagine my confusion and disappointment at being served sauce-covered ribs. Thankfully they provided an actual knife so that I could cut them apart. It took more effort than expected to slice through the crust, but the meat below was surprisingly tender. The ribs were cooked well, with just a slight tug needed to remove meat from bone. The thick sauce was rather spicy, such that I couldn't taste any smoke there might have been, or really anything else other than capsaicin.

In my opinion, $31.00 is too expensive for an iced tea, an appetizer, and a three-meat combo, even if the portions were fairly large. My three-meat combo plate was almost $20.00 by itself, while most places I've been charge somewhere in neighborhood of $14.00-15.00. Interestingly, the menu link on Yelp.com has outdated pricing, and the menu on Center Point's own website has the prices redacted. Chalk this up to inflation or the ever-rising cost of meat if you like, but I managed to find a menu picture from 2011, and the price of their three-meat Pit Master Special was $16.99 even back then. I'll end my pricing rant with a suggestion. Perhaps if Center Point wouldn't remove all of the delicious bark and fat from their brisket, then it wouldn't take nearly as much beef to fill up a plate, and barbecue lovers like myself would be much happier, too.

The barbecue was almost passable, although I'd honestly say that the best parts of my meal were the meatless appetizer and sides. I really agonized over my rating for Center Point Pit Barbecue. When I find myself struggling to find enough positive attributes to justify even an average rating for a barbecue joint, that speaks for itself. The fried green tomatoes and the side dishes were all fantastic, but the carnivore in me just can't overlook subpar meat.

UPDATE (January 26, 2015): Just to satiate my own curiosity, I decided to investigate pricing at other Nashville-area barbecue joints which offer three-meat, two-side combo plates of brisket, pork, and ribs. Of those joints whose menus I was able to find online, only eight offered this sort of combo. One of those offered the combo as a full pound of meat and specifically stated that it was meant to be shared by two people ($24.00), so I took that joint off my count. The remaining seven barbecue joints had three-meat combos which ranged in price from $11.50 to $20.00, with $15.18 being the average price. I also found two other joints offering four-meat combo plates for $16.29 and $18.99 respectively, both of which would be cheaper than a meat trio at Center Point. Although Center Point didn't have the highest priced three-meat combo, it came in a very, very close second and outpaced the third-highest joint by about $3.50.

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Center Point Pit Barbecue
1212 W Main St
Hendersonville, TN 37075
(615) 824-9330
http://centerpointbbq.com/

Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Que (Gatlinburg, TN)

Mrs. Barbecue Fiend and I were in much need of a short vacation. Gatlinburg is only a 3.5 hour drive from Nashville, and even though I pictured it being a city-wide Country Bear Jamboree, it does have beautiful scenery. There's also moonshine and barbecue, so she didn't have to twist my arm too much. My wife's one request in allowing a barbecue lunch was that I select a place with a few non-barbecue options for her. Bennett's was the best option to suit both of our appetites.

According to Bennett's website, it's "the best bar-b-que in the world." They've also apparently won a TripAdvisor "certificate of excellence" for the past four years, as well as some sort of People's Choice Award for having "the award winning taste of Texas." No doubt these are all embellished claims, but I still hoped for some tasty 'que. After all, they've been in operation for over two decades.

Strangely, Bennett's is housed in the same building as Big Daddy's Pizzeria. In fact, the only thing separating these two eateries is the entrance-way. Both establishments are owned by the same parent company, which also owns nearby Alamo Steakhouse, Mama's Farmhouse, and Mad Dog Creamery. They've got quite the monopoly on Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge restaurants, so I suppose sharing space makes sense.

Bennett's wood-covered walls matched the general Gatlinburg ambiance perfectly, as did the antique nicknacks scattered about. They have a large soup and salad bar if you're so inclined, but I came for meat not vegetables. Our waitress was very friendly and gave great service. She was a sweet lady and struck me as a local gal.

Since we were on vacation, we indulged ourselves with an appetizer. I had my eye on the brisket-stuffed mushrooms, but my wife wasn't in the mood for fungi. The potato skins sounded equally delicious though. They come loaded with cheddar, scallions, and bacon. We also added some pulled pork for good measure.

The potatoes themselves were crispy and warm, and the gooey cheese and salty bacon were a great combination. To my surprise, Bennett's pulled pork was extremely flavorful. It had a great smoke level and was quite tender. The few bits of bark I found were also really tasty. I enjoyed them better without the accompanying sour cream. This was a great start to the meal.

As much as I wanted to try Bennett's Texan Sampler (generous portions of pulled pork, brisket, sausage, chicken, and baby back ribs), that sounded like way more food than I needed, at least for lunch anyway. Plus, I had just eaten a big pancake breakfast a few hours earlier. I ordered the three-meat Bar-B-Que Combo lunch platter instead, picking brisket, ribs, and sausage for my three meats. The platter comes with two sides. Normally I get potato salad, but that seemed redundant considering our potato skins appetizer. I settled for macaroni and cheese and bar-b-que beans.

When my order came out, I immediately noticed pulled pork instead of my requested sausage. Our waitress was very apologetic and quickly struck off to remedy the mistake. Rather than taking away the pulled pork, she brought out a plate of sausage and left me the pork as an amends. What a sweetheart.

The beans had a good sweet flavor, but there was too much goop for my liking. They were also a little al dente. Conversely, the macaroni was a tad overcooked, but not quite mushy. At least there was more flavor here, including a touch of black pepper mixed in. It was also nice and creamy, and was great comfort food in 20 degree weather.

I generally like to ask for a fattier cut of brisket, but this didn't seem like the kind of place to make requests of the pitmaster. What I received was certainly a leaner cut, though still nice and tender. It also had a strip of fat down the edge which had soaked up a decent amount of smoke. It's a shame that the meat itself did not have quite the same smoke level, despite the pronounced smoke ring. The bark was seasoned well, but the seasoning pretty much stopped there.

My accidental pulled pork was even better than it was atop the potato skins. It was juicy, full of flavor, and by far the smokiest of the meats. The big pieces of red and black bark here were exceptionally tasty. Just for kicks, I tried it with their "Mustard's Last Stand" barbecue sauce. It had strong mustard and vinegar flavors, with a slight bite of pepper on the back end. The sauce was ok, but I preferred the pork on its own.

The sausage was disappointingly not homemade. It was very finely-ground, reminiscent of the grocery store. I didn't find much seasoning, but I did find plenty of grease. As my wife said, "It tastes like a hot dog." She nailed it perfectly.

Ribs are generally my last meat to sample, mostly so I can jot down blog notes without messy fingers. I'm more partial to St. Louis spare ribs myself, but baby backs will do in a pinch. This was the only one of my meats that came sauced, and it was a bright red sauce clearly full of ketchup. I also found hints of vinegar and honey. The crust was sweet, but not very crisp. They were pretty thick for baby back ribs. One bone had meat an inch or so thick. The meat was fairly tender, but had almost no smoke. Oddly enough, these ribs reminded me of the soft, tomatoey, Aussie-style barbecue I found in Scotland, not Texas-style ribs.

Our lunch at Bennett's satisfied my hunger, but it didn't impress me all that much. As a Texan, it pains me to say that the best part of my meal was the part I didn't even order: pulled pork.

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Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Que
714 River Rd
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
(865) 436-2400
http://www.bennetts-bbq.com/

Smokies BBQ (Nashville, TN)

I've been trying to cut back on my barbecue outings for both financial and health reasons. Today, however, I decided to splurge and treat myself to some birthday barbecue for lunch. Smokies BBQ finally opened their doors a few weeks ago on the day before Thanksgiving. I was hoping to be there for the grand opening, but we were out of town visiting family. Better late than never.

Smokies is an offshoot of Mack + Kate's restaurant down in Franklin, which generally gravitates toward more contemporary, upscale Southern fare. Their new barbecue operation is located in a run-down and easy-to-miss shopping center in south-Nashville. I arrived at 11:15am, and despite the advertised 11:00 opening time, the doors were still locked. I waited out in my truck and tried to be patient. By 11:20, Smokies was finally open for business.

The decor at Smokies was as trendy/rustic as you'd expect from Mack + Kate's. They also had their fair share of holiday decorations out and about. It felt more like a Southern bistro than a barbecue joint. I was fairly cold the entire time, especially when employees were coming in and out of the cooking area. Granted it was 45 degrees outside, but still.

Since there weren't any combo plates on the menu, an appetizer seemed in order. I decided to try out their Smoked Deviled Eggs to start things off. For my entree, I ordered the Beef Brisket Platter. Although I wanted to sample several meats, in my experience, as goes the brisket so goes the rest of the barbecue. I asked for a fatty cut of brisket, which was met by a rather perplexed stare from the girl at the counter. She acquiesced, but still seemed confused by my request. Clearly she's not a barbecue aficionado. Their platters come with two sides, for which picked potato salad and macaroni and cheese. $14.00 sounded a bit steep for a one-meat plate, so I expected the food to blow me away.

My smoked deviled eggs came plated with an unnecessary assortment of tomatoes and sliced cucumbers, which I felt no compulsion to eat. The eggs were good, but all I could taste was whole grain mustard. I was also disappointed by the complete lack of smoke. Some of the best deviled eggs I've had from barbecue joints come with a little smoked meat mixed in, which is what I was expecting here. I was glad to have them either way, since my main course was taking much longer than it should have.

The big glob of potato salad didn't really look that appealing. As with the deviled eggs, the only flavor I found was an overpowering amount of mustard. There was only a minimal crunch to break up the creamy texture, so I moved on. The hard crust of cheese atop my macaroni meant it had obviously been baked in a pan. I could see some specks of black pepper, so I had higher hopes for this side dish. It was a little lukewarm for my liking. I also would have preferred more gooey cheese, but at least I could taste the pepper. There was absolutely no reason to serve either of these two sides on butcher paper, when a small plastic or styrofoam container would have sufficed. It gave me the impression that they were trying to imitate the serving style of a small-town meat market, though sadly playing a game that they didn't quite understand.

Honestly, I wasn't really sure what this brisket-themed monstrosity was on my platter. Best I could tell, it was a cornbread pancake, topped with sliced brisket, topped with coleslaw, topped with barbecue sauce. The cornbread itself was moist and pleasantly sweet, though the parts directly beneath the meat had turned to complete mush. I pulled apart the tower-o-food and managed to find a little bit of plain brisket to sample. It was a thick slice with good black bark, but it was a tad dry and had sort of a pot roast quality to it. The meat was also fairly lean, despite my initial request. The bark was tasty, but I found only minimal smoke, most of which was masked by the molasses-heavy barbecue sauce. And when I say "molasses-heavy," I mean that molasses was literally the only flavor I could taste. The coleslaw was nice and crunchy. However, I feel like the slaw should come without dressing (or at least with significantly less) if you're going to cover it with sauce anyway. Otherwise there's a weird mayo-molasses thing going on, which doesn't work any better with brisket than it does with coleslaw. If this is how they're going to serve their barbecue, then perhaps the menu description should say something other than just "beef brisket platter" so that patrons know what to expect.

Out of politeness, I tried to exit clandestinely so as not to draw attention to the fact that I left over half of my food uneaten. Despite my sneakiness, I somehow managed to knock over my chair in the process, causing the entire restaurant to stare. Figures.

I feel really bad giving Smokies BBQ such a negative review because I understand how much time, money, and effort it takes to open a new restaurant. That being said, I found nothing to justify a higher rating. It seems like this place is too focused on reinventing the wheel, when all you really need is four or five spices and some care and love at the smoker. I'm sure the food at Smokies BBQ would play well with the posh Williamson County crowd that likely frequents Mack + Kate's other establishment. Fans of traditional barbecue, on the other hand, are sure to be disappointed. I know I was.

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Smokies BBQ
212 Thompson Ln
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 292-3838
http://www.smokiesbbqtn.com/

Shorty Small's (Little Rock, AR)

I've driven past Shorty Small's every time we have come to Little Rock to visit the in-laws, but the group consensus for dining out is typically in favor of Whole Hog Cafe or Larry's Pizza. As much as I love our usual eateries, I was itching to try someplace new. On this trip I managed to coax us out of our comfort zone and into Shorty Small's.

Whoever decorated Shorty Small's seems partial to garage sales and flea markets. This place is more along the lines of a TGI Friday's or a Chili's rather than a true barbecue joint, but it seemed worth a shot nonetheless. The interior was dimly lit, covered in wood from floor to ceiling, and all in all a little divey. For some unknown reason, their menu is in the form of a newspaper. In terms of ambiance, the only saving grace was a small gameroom with a skill crane and Street Fighter.

There were several barbecue combos on the menu, but nothing beyond a two-meater. I picked their Ribs and Brisket Combo, which the menu describes as "shorty's favorite combination! jumpin' off-the-bone tender. ribs and bbq brisket served with all the fixin's!" According to our waiter, the default "fixin's" consist of coleslaw, beans, and fries. I politely requested loaded mashed potatoes instead of slaw and also asked for my sauce on the side. Potato salad would have been my first choice for a substitute, but it was nowhere on the menu. Oh well.

My combo ended up being an absolutely huge plate of food, the majority of which was non-meat. The loaded mashed potatoes were quite good. They tasted like a baked potato for all intents and purposes. The seasoning was decent, but nothing exotic. My baked beans were pretty basic. Aside from the onion and a very slight spiciness, they were sort of bland. The fries were of the standard frozen variety and not worthy of further description.

The brisket came sliced razor thin, with no bark or smoke ring to be found. In my opinion, such thin slices are much better suited for a sandwich than a knife and fork. I could taste only minimal smoke, but at least I could taste it. The brisket was decently tender, so I suppose that's something. These slices weren't exceptionally fatty, although they weren't particularly thin either. I tried it with the sauce, which was way too thick and incredibly artificial, like bottled Sweet Baby Ray's or KC Masterpiece.

As advertised, the rib meat was somewhat falling off the bone, but I was pleased to find a little remaining bone retention. The crust was decent enough, and there was a nice char as well. I couldn't pinpoint any visual signs of smoke. The meat was juicy enough, but it could have been a little more tender. Like the brisket, the ribs were only minimally smoky. I did, however, enjoy the slight sugary aftertaste from the glaze.

I'm sure the enormous portions are how they justify making this a $17.00 entree, but I would rather have a smaller portion of better food. Shorty Small's wasn't world class barbecue, but it was somewhat better than I anticipated. On Tuesdays they have $5.00 off of ribs and $1.00 Pabst Blue Ribbon drafts, which I suppose might be worth coming back for.

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Shorty Small's
11100 N Rodney Parham Rd
Little Rock, AR 72212
(501) 224-3344
http://www.shortysmalls.com/

Papa Turney's Old Fashion BBQ (Hermitage, TN)

After several months of being cooped up on a temporary house-husband gig, I desperately needed a change of scenery. Papa Turney's Old Fashion BBQ (I'm pretty sure there's an "ed" missing somewhere, but I digress) isn't too far from my house, so I thought I'd give them a try. That way I could indulge my inner barbecue lover and still make it back home in time to do a few loads of laundry. Sigh.

The official address for Papa Turney's is a bit confusing. The restaurant itself isn't on Bell Road, although the turn-in for the Nashville Shores Marina is. Papa Turney's opened up this new location less than a mile away from their old spot, but it wasn't until a few months ago that the original operation shut down completely. Their new home overlooks Percy Priest Lake and the marina, which is certainly a nice change of pace. It was far too cold for any aquatic activities today, but I'm sure this location will be booming come springtime.

This seems to be a family operation. Papa Turney (aka Mike) himself came over and chatted me up for a bit. I learned a little about the history of the Turney family, which was pretty cool. He also described their quality control standards and said that he has no problem throwing away a whole rack of ribs if something doesn't look or taste just right. Papa Turney struck me as a genuinely friendly guy who really loves what he does.

By the looks of things, Papa Turney's has live music fairly regularly. I'm sure that plays well (no pun intended) with the marina crowd. The cool dude on acoustic blues guitar today was pretty decent, and it definitely livened things up a bit.

I ended up with a combo plate of brisket, ribs, and hotlinks, with potato salad and mac and cheese on the side. I also made sure to request sauceless meat, and they were happy to oblige. Part of me really wanted to tack on some of their "brisket butt" (basically the thicker end of a beef tenderloin), but $60.00 per pound is too rich for my blood. According to some old menu pictures I found online, they've raised the price of this specialty meat by $15.00 a pound. That's kind of a steep jump, but I guess they're trying to pay for the new location. Too bad.

The macaroni looked like basic Easy Mac, but it had a nice cheesy flavor. It was also great comfort food on a chilly day. I could see plenty of diced pickle scattered throughout the mayo-based potato salad, and I could definitely taste the hard boiled egg. It was a little too sweet for my liking, but otherwise very good.

Truth be told, I had originally intended to order pulled pork as part of my three-meat combo, but my Texas Trinity reflex must have kicked in and instinctively ordered "brisket, ribs, sausage." I actually didn't realize it until my order came out. Oh well. The hotlink sausage was good, though not overly spicy. It had a good crisp casing, too. The finely-ground meat was a tad mushy, almost like boudin without the rice. I couldn't pinpoint all of the spices I was tasting, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. It was definitely different than the East Texas hotlinks I'm used to.

Sadly, their brisket comes chopped, and it also came inside a mini slider bun. Barbecue sandwiches are fine in certain circumstances, but I feel like a combo plate should contain slices. When Papa Turney learned that I am a native Texan, he instantly told me that they serve the brisket chopped because it actually comes out too tender to slice properly. That makes sense, and even though the meat was lean, it was definitely tender and juicy. I also found a decent smoke level, as well as good pieces of chopped bark and smoke ring. The seasoning was simple, but tasty. Their brisket was much better than I had anticipated.

The pork ribs had a nice crust and a dark pink smoky hue. The rib meat fell off the bone with almost no effort, but still clung to itself nicely. It was moderately smoky and had a good amount of salt. The pork was also very juicy. Something about the texture wasn't quite right, but then again I'm also accustomed to Central Texas barbecue, so who knows.

For no reason in particular, Papa Turney offered me a free mini Chess Pie to take home. I definitely wasn't turning down his generosity.

In a word, delicious! The pie was very gooey and flaky, despite being prepackaged. It had a diabetes-inducing amount of sugar and butter, which can only be found in Southern desserts. I also noticed hints of what I think were brown sugar and vanilla. Next time I hit up Papa Turney's, I'm buying at least a dozen of these!

I'm really glad I decided to give Papa Turney's a shot. These guys truly care about their craft, and it shows.

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Papa Turney's Old Fashion BBQ
Nashville Shores Marina
3979 Bell Rd
Hermitage, TN 37076
(615) 866-8850
http://www.papaturneysbbq.com/

Hog Heaven (Nashville, TN)

After a brutal day at the DMV and running other various mind-numbing errands, I found myself in need of some serious barbecue therapy. Hog Heaven is situated fairly close to Vanderbilt University, but somehow they managed to stay off my radar during my tenure there. This was the closest barbecue joint to my current location, so I thought I'd give them a try.

The spectacular Centennial Park across the street is the only ambiance you'll find at Hog Heaven. It's basically just a shack with a screened-in porch. Their two picnic tables offer enough seating for about 14-16 people, assuming you don't mind squeezing in next to strangers. I've eaten awesome barbecue from even more run-down spots than this, so I wasn't too worried.

I normally go for a combo of some sort, but they didn't have any on the menu. The only option for beef was a pulled brisket plate, and I wasn't really in the mood for chicken or turkey. That narrowed things down to pork, which is probably the most appropriate order at a place called Hog Heaven anyway. I got their Spareribs Plate, with potato salad and white beans on the side, plus the automatic pancake-style cornbread. I made sure to ask for sauce on the side and was presented with a handful of options, of which the white barbecue sauce sounded the best. The guy at the counter assured me that it was an excellent dipping sauce for ribs.

All of the sides looked pretty good from the outset. The cornbread was ok, though a tad dry. Luckily for me, the potato salad was creamy and rather tasty. There was a good blend of spices and plenty of bite from all of the red onion mixed throughout. My beans had an interesting flavor, kind of like a bean soup without all the liquid. They also had some mild after tones that I can mostly accurately describe as sweet, but I don't think that's quite right either.

The slightly-mangled ribs appeared to have a good crust. That being said, all of the meat fell off in my fingers, which is usually a bad sign. I found a decent smoky flavor, but otherwise the ribs were kind of bland. Even the crust was devoid of seasoning. Some parts of the meat were a little tough as well. Although I'm not a big sauce guy in general, I thought the white barbecue sauce might help jazz things up a little. This was just what the ribs needed. The white sauce was much zestier than regular red barbecue sauce. It was almost like a southwest ranch dressing, but better. It also added some heat, which played nicely. I know that white barbecue sauce is generally reserved for poultry, but I really enjoyed pairing it with the pork ribs.

My favorite part of this meal was definitely the white barbecue sauce, but it wasn't enough to salvage the mediocre ribs. Hog Heaven needs to spend less time on the condiments and more time on the meat.

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Hog Heaven
115 27th Ave N
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 329-1234
http://www.hogheavenbbq.com/