Thursday, December 6, 2012

BBQ in three states

Since the end of October I've eated bar-b-que in three states.

Houston, Texas
Greenville and Anderson, South Carolina
Salt Lake City and Grantsville, Utah

You might be surprised when I tell you that Utah has the best BBQ of the three locations.
I would call you a liar if you told me that, but, please believe me that Utah knows a thing or two about BBQ.

Richard's Round Up in Grantsville, Utah, has a killer pulled pork sandwich.
I went there with John (gentleman that I was training int Tooele) for lunch on Wednesday and their pulled pork was firm and juicy, not mushy or stringy. Simple potato bun allowed the pork to speak for itself.
I had their ribs on Monday or Tuesday night and they were perfectly tasty, but, and this might sound ridiculous, the meat just fell off the bone. Personally, I like to work for my ribs; ribs that make you gnaw and tear at them so you feel as though you earned it.

Pat's Bar-B-Que in Salt Lake City, Utah, has the best ribs I've ever had!
Pat's ribs were so incredibly smoky and spectacular.
They were thick and had plenty of cartalidge that you have to work around, nibble at and spit back onto your plate. They were terrificly meaty.
Holy crap! If you ever find yourself in Salt Lake City, you WILL go to Pat's BBQ!
Prepare accordingly though - they only make a certain amount of meat each day and when it's gone, tough luck.
Additonally, Pat's BBQ has the best corn bread I've had at a commercial establishment.

Moreover, the Red Iguana is a fantastic Mexican restaurant in SLC.
Check it out, get there early, order anything smothered in mole sauce.

I won't bore you with a recap of Texas and South Carolina BBQ.
It was good. Probably good like you could find in any city.

What else?
Impressions on where I've traveled recently?
OK.

Houston, Texas = sucks. Don't go there. Not worth it. Sprawling, concrete depression.
Anderson, South Carolina = Stop by on your way to Greenville.
Greenville, South Carolina = Go there, tomorrow! Great downtown, tons of restaurants, wide sidewalks. I've never seen so many people running in any city I've visited. Apparently there are tons of parks and one huge one that runs about 20 miles up a river.
Gainesville, Georgia = Skip it. Tiny downtown and sprawling strip mall paradise thereafter.
Utica, New York = Holy shit! Don't ever go to Utica. Utica should be paved over so they can start over.
Salt Lake City, Utah = Go there. Quite lovely. Temple square lit up for Christmas, wow! Stunning display of lights and presentation and what you can accomplish when you create a cult.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Revival of the travel blog--rental cars and too much food

This blog as a travel log back in 2008 with m trip to Italy.
Since, perhaps, a year ago she has lain dormant and neglected.

However, now that I have been travelling a lot lately with my job I have decided to resurrect this girl and chronicle my travels, which will most likely be rental cars I beat on and the food I eat too much of.

So far this year my destinations were:
-Boulder, Colorado (Ford Focus)
-Detroit, Michigan (utterly forgettable car)
-Chicago (Chevy Malibu)
-Hamilton, Ontario (utterly forgettable car)
-Grafton, Wisconson (Nissan Maxima)
-Cudahy, Wisconson (Nissan Maxima)
-Houston, Texas (Dogde Charger)
-Deerfeild Beach, Florida (Toyota Camry)
-Seal Beach, California (Chevy Malibu)
-Newport, New Hampshire (my car)
-Smithfeild, Rhode Island (my car)
-Anderson, South Carolina (Ford Taurus Limited)

I'll hit the highlights on what I remember in list form.
-Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach.
-Back Country Pizza in Boulder.
-Little Piggies BBQ in Anderson.

Since most of these trips are rather distant memories I won't try to rehash all the details of each trip.

So far the Nissans of Wisconson were the funnest cars I've rented.
Those cars can move! They have lots of balls. Sometimes that's all that matters, just throttling the hell out of a rental car can make any week out on the road fun.

Second place goes to the Taurus. Great stereo, great driver adjustability (even the pedals can be moved!), however, lacks lumbar support.