Day Two - Cullman, AL & Newnan, GA

So day two lived up completely to day one. We started the day with multiple hours of much needed sleep. We had been running two days on three hours. Not a good idea. We were staying in the town of Cullman which is where Johnny’s BBQ is located. So here is the rundown on Johnny’s.

Meat: 5 (this is both their pork and chicken)
Sauces: 5 completely unique red sauce and also they have a unique white sauce
Tea: 3 nothing to write home about
Sides: no one really tried any
Desert: too full to try
Atmosphere: 3.5 very steeped in Alabama tradition, for outsiders it may lack something.

It must be said here that Johnny’s offer’s a unique experience that cannot be explained in a mere rating system. This experience is known as the BBQ Potato. To write about this experience is Cullman’s favorite son, Timmy Moon.

I’ve been eating these pork and chicken “taters” since I was about 12, and it truly is difficult to explain but glorious to experience. Basically, Johnny’s crams all the barbeque you can handle into a potato fit for Goliath or Jack’s friend at the top of the beanstalk. These super-potatoes are stuffed to the brim with butter, cheese, sour cream, chives, sauce, and your choice of pork or chicken (I’m partial to pork since porkin ain’t easy). Upon receiving the tater, I like to mix in copious amounts of sauce. I believe the key to this potato concoction is the way the sauce melds with the potato. At most restaurants, the sauce never completely mixes with the potato, but at Johnny’s, the sauce, potato, and mixins become one. In the end, the potato magically transforms into a truly unique culinary experience steeped in deliciousness!

Well said Mr. Moon, well said.

So dinner for day 2 was at Sprayberry’s BBQ in Newnan, GA. This is the home of Trey Harper among other things. Sprayberry’s is known for its Brunswick stew. A favorite among locals and all visitors who have tried it. Here is how it broke down.

Meat: 3.5 (Good, but we’re biased towards pork that is pulled and theirs is chopped)
Sauce: 4 (very unique, it’s a vinegar base like what you would find in North Carolina)
Tea: 2
Sides: 5 AMAZING Brunswick stew and their onion rings are also off the chain.
Desert: 5 Hand made everyday fried fruit pies with or without ice cream. AMAZING.
Atmosphere: 5 Colleen, the owner, absolutely a prime example of a Southern woman, feisty, delightful, and funny. She will keep you smiling.

We’ve given you lots of stories about the places we’ve eaten, but one mission on this trip was not just to eat glorious food but meet unbelievable people. So here is a couple of bios from some of the more interesting people we’ve met.

Bill:
State: Mississippi
Looks: a mix between a dignified southerner and a crazy loon
First impressions: This guy is NUTS!
What made Bill Awesome: Claimed to have millions of dollars and that he is 300-0 in fights. “Mike Tyson doesn’t even have that good of a record”-Bill

Bill was completely crazy; we met him in Vicksburg where he was getting into an altercation with an Indian gentleman. When the other man walked away Bill told all who had ears that he has never hit someone and them get back up. He is 300-0 in his fighting. He said, “You knock em on the ground then stomp on their jaw, and the teeth just come out like a slot machine.”

Barry:
State: Mississippi
Looks: a wonderful grand-pa
First impression: Barry has been to the mountain and seen the transfiguration of BBQ.
What made Barry Awesome: Everything about him. His rich classic southern accent (the good kind), his demeanor, his story telling, the little patch of hair growing on the top of his nose, his worn skin from the many hours spent cooking amazing pork, chicken, and catfish.

Barry was the owner of The Little Dooey, the first place that we went too. Barry is a good friend with the guys from College Game Day, he has been on the Food Network, and other shows. He is a pretty big deal in the BBQ world. He’s kind of like Ron Burgundy, except instead of leather bound books he has Boston Butts. With all of the important people he is friends with and have met, why would he care about four guys from Waco, TX and what they thought about his BBQ? Well he treated us like his life depended on it. We each ordered our plate and then once we sat down he brought us out complimentary ribs, catfish, sausage, and fried green tomatoes. He gave us the royal treatment, not because we were going to give him anything but just because we shared in his passion for great BBQ. He gave each of us a bottle of sauce, something that many people pay for everyday. He told us so many stories about the place, how he cooks his pork, he basically told us everything except the secret to his sauce. He was the paramount of Southern Hospitality.

Robbi:
State: Mississippi
Looks: model of Christ
First Impression: I had the pleasure of meeting Robbi earlier but spending some time with her you realize that she is one of the nicest people you could ever meet in your entire life. She not only paid for our meal, but also made us goody bags for the road, and took us on the grand tour of Starkville. One of the kindest people that you could ever hope to meet in your life.

Crazy man (assume his name was Gene) in a bank parking lot:
State: Alabama
Looks: like he could shank us.
First impression: Dear God, DRIVE!!!!

One of the cool things about being on this tour is getting to talk to people about being on this tour. We get all kinds of questions, comments, and envious looks from married men, and apparently crazy old men coming to talk to us in bank parking lots. We were about to leave this bank when crazy, older gentlemen approached us asking us about what we were doing. He was pretty incoherent, so much so that while we were talking a bank worker had to call him back in to finish his paper work. He had just walked out apparently.

Man brushing his teeth while pumping gas.
IT WAS AMAZING!

Boys of the the BBQ Tour of the South