So I was on my own for dinner tonight. My mom’s finishing up painting one of the bedrooms in our house, and I’ve exhausted all my broke friends’ dinners out for a while1, so it was up to me to come up with something to eat.

I’m also more than sick of fast food and pizza - there are only so many times a guy can eat Chick-Fil-A, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Dominos in a given month - so it was time for something new.

About 6 months ago, there was this little hole in the wall place that I saw advertising BBQ on my way home. It’s stuck right at the corner of two streets, in a curve. One room and a little 2-person porch, with a big window in the front. A couple of nights I saw it open, and then it seemed to disappear for several months. Finally, last week I saw it pop back open.

The last time I’d seen it open, then noticed when it disappeared, I’d mentioned it to my mom, who is a bit of a skeptic when it comes to little back-woods places to eat. She’d said she wouldn’t dare try it unless someone she knew recommended it, even though she couldn’t give a legitimate reason why not2.

So before it started to rain tonight, I ran back out and stopped by. It’s run by this old guy (probably in his 60’s) and apparently his wife. The guy cooks the food during the morning and afternoon, and then runs the counter, while his wife puts everything together as he shouts at her in the kitchen.

When I showed up, there was another older guy in the front room (erm, half room) waiting on his food, talking with the guy who runs the place. I asked what was good, and they both recommended the chicken and ribs plate. I’m a huge fan of BBQ chicken, so I’d been planning on getting it anyway - the recommendations just sealed the deal. I also ordered one of their pulled pork BBQ plates, figuring that you can’t go wrong with that pseudo-BBQ3.

While I was waiting, I was talking with the old guy who runs the place. Apparently he’s smoked like a chimney for about 500 years now, and he’s on dialysis, walks with a cane, and can barely see. But my god does he know how to make BBQ. The chicken, the ribs, and even the pork were the best I’ve ever eaten. If the lightning storm outside had struck me down mid-bite, I could have died happy and content with the delightful stinging sensation left on my lips for all eternity.

Never ever dismiss the hole in the wall restaurant, especially the one with a BBQ sign out front!

  1. Apparently I’m the only one who likes to be able to go out drinking at least once a week. 
  2. You can see the DHEC rating in the window from the road, and it passed with flying colors — an ‘A’. 
  3. Which is really what people down here in the southeast think is “real” BBQ. Fortunately, I’ve had dealings with Texans and their differing definition… 
Originally published and updated .