To BBQ

[Tom writes about a Texas staple. I've had his BBQ, along with our brother Kyle's, and I'm sure it's better than Sonny Bryan's.]

I'm not sure when it began, my love affair with BBQ and smoked meat. It may have been in my 30's when I found places like the original Sonny Bryan's or the now defunct Lorias near my first corporate job. How I had missed the smell and taste of good BBQ for so long is a mystery to me, but now, it is the reason I am not even close to being a vegetarian. 

Smoke transforms meat - elevates it to another dimension that is irresistible. The combination of pork ribs and smoke are akin to the perfect game in baseball. Nothing else can be done that is that simple and that delicious. You want them with just enough chew to remind you of the texture of meat but once it hits your teeth and that smoke envelopes your taste buds - I know what crack addicts feel like. 

Is it something primitive? Does it remind us of a time when we knew where our food comes from? Maybe. Whether that's the reason or just because it hits you in your gut literally and figuratively, it is sublime and exists in my head long after that last bite goes down and I go out in search of the next place.

The best BBQ places are not fancy - they aren't places with white table cloths - that would be ridiculous considering the food. They are salt of the earth places with people who want good food and usually more than they can eat - usually.

Next time you are on Inwood road, check out the original Sonny Bryans. It looks like you will not want to be in there when there is any kind of wind but you will see the most interesting people and have some of the best BBQ ever to pass over a pit of hot coals.