So, if you already have the best Chipped Ham BBQ recipe of all time, you may want to try this absolute garbage pile of over-processed comfort food.
I posted it on a few spots, but it garnered the most attention in a private food group. It also got me Zucked by Meta AI bots for calling it “ωнιтє тяαѕн ηα¢нσѕ.”
I also posted it on Threads but haven’t got the widget to embed that here, yet. Hopefully it just becomes a feature soon. Maybe BlueSky too?
The following is from an old Facebook post, but it still applies. Please, spread the word.
~🦶~
Dear parents,
This is a PSA: Flip-Flops are terrible. 👣👟 If your kids (or you) are going to summer camp, church camp, day camp, play camp, rec camp, bible school or any activity that isn’t the beach, a pool, or a shower, leave the flip-flops at home. They are unacceptable footwear for just about every activity that involves placing one foot in front of the other.
Relay races, kickball, volleyball, archery, hikes, creek walks, night games, and even campfires become dangerous when flip-flops are involved. Please, douse them in gasoline, set them on fire, and never purchase another pair. 🔥
Sent with love,
Signed every camp counselor your child will ever have. 😬
I’m going to leave some proof below. Please share your Flip-Flip hate in the comments. This does not extend to sandals or Crocs, as they can be somewhat more acceptable footwear. You have to be ready to adventure at camp, and Flip-Flops are not the vehicle to that destination.
Here is an excerpt from my last letter to campers/parents:
We do have a few notes from past experience on attire. Please remember to have shoes appropriate for games and outdoor activities at a moment’s notice. Flip-flops or sandals are good for the shower, and that’s about it. It would be great if you had shoes appropriate for hiking, running, and maybe an old pair for a possible creek walk. Also, though it is sure to be hot, some long pants for hikes add an extra layer of protection against ticks and a hoodie or other light jacket will help for cool nights around a campfire. In addition it can help to have a sleeping bag and/or sheets blankets for the bunks appropriate for warm or cool nights.
And, from past checklists I usually include to remind kids & parents what to bring & what not to bring…
□ Sneakers – 2 pairs of sneakers if possible (Flip flops or sandals don’t count unless you want Eric to have some more campfire fuel!)
□ Walking shoes (bring an extra pair, if possible) Flip-Flops are never acceptable for any type of camp activity be it a game, archery, a creek walk, kickball, or anything other than being used as fuel for a campfire.
Let’s start a list of why we should hate flip-flops!
Can you keep the list going in the comments?
Please, post more flip-flop fail videos or stories, too!
Apparently the newest annoying word for some time away is Babymoon. It’s better than Daycation or Staycation, but still annoying. The word is annoying, but the actual time away isn’t. With the impending arrival getting closer and closer, many online pregnancy-related websites & email lists suggest taking a babymoon. This goes especially for first time parents, as a nice little last fling before all of your apparent freedoms disappear.
We decided a while ago that a nice little getaway to a cabin would be the way to go. We have been tent camping at Forest Ridge Cabins and Campgrounds before, but had never tried out the cabins. They always looked quite inviting. The campground itself is always clean, and the owners are quite hospitable. The prices are competitive with other places that we checked out online, and really quite affordable. Important for the babymoon aspect, it’s not that far away. Cabins are our thing now I guess… since we honeymooned in one in Gatlinburg, TN. It all just seemed to make sense.
We booked the date a while ago, assuming that since it was spring we’d have a nice warm weekend. It was a nice weekend, but there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground, and the temperature never got much above freezing.
We stayed in the Allegheny cabin, and it was warm & cozy inside. We brought along some DVD‘s, cooked some s’mores (with peanut butter cups) around the campfire, and just had a nice relaxing weekend. The kitchen was stocked with all kinds of cookware and utensils, we made a nice steak dinner on Saturday. I also made a friend in Oliver, one of the campground cats. He strolled up as I was waiting for the last log to burn out on the campfire, then followed me up on the porch to hang out a but on top of the hot tub cover. He liked to look in the window at us, then look away when he saw that we were looking at him.
I think we’ve decided that Forest Ridge is “our place” as far as camping when we’re not going camping at Living Waters.
Check out Forest Ridge on Facebook, Twitter, & Yelp, and check out some of our photos…
So, one of the Recreation campers this week was new to the group. Tod is 23, and he wowed us all with is flag collection & knowledge. He had over 150 with him at camp… some full sized, some miniatures. He could name the flag and the time period. (For example the Imperial Japanese flag & the current one.) He sorted the flags by continent. He named some countries that I didn’t know existed. He also had a thing for cool military hats, and a bunch of those as well… from French to Russian to Australian.
Tod also has an incredibly creative imagination. He told many stories and wrote songs and stories in his pile of composition books. He told us bout elves that lived in the woods, that shot lasers to make you grow tall, vampire princesses, mermaids that had nests under our cabins, purple giraffes that laid eggs, werepigs, four-headed frogs, poisonous porcupines… and so many other fantastic creatures.
Tod shared readings of song lyrics & the story of Esther all hand written by him in his books. He also drew us many pictures. One of our counselors Laurel took home a pile (he seemed to take a liking to her & handed her a lot of them), and I have some photos of others, but I did bring one home that he handed to me. Tod told me it was a song. I’d like to share it with you:
You Will Remember My Name (Tod Elbridge Johnson)
Here it is typed out if you had trouble reading it:
Living Waters You Will Remember My Name
by Tod Elbridge Johnson
It was at Living Waters
The wind blows, the flags fly,
And the campers come!But you should not doubt me,
You will remember my name.Oh Living Waters you will remember
Living Waters one thing remains.Living Waters warm and tender
You will remember my name.Your heart,
Your heart had ventured with Jesus.Nothing but ashes from the campfire remain.
Oh Living Waters you will remember
Living Waters one thing remains.Living Waters so warm and tender
You will remember my name.Yeah you will remember my name.
Yes, Tod, we will remember.
I might try to set this, or some of the lines to music. I hope Tod likes the result!
This was a few years ago at camp, and years before the wife & I realized that we kinda liked each other. Ha ha.
So, if you’ve known me for a while, you know camp Living Waters is a big part of my life, and has been for a long long time. It was near & dear for my family and many friends growing up, it’s where I met the girl that eventually became my wife. It’s where I have made friendships that defy logic and are somewhat closer to a family than being mere friends. It’s actually close to the feeling you have being in a band… it’s a sense of belonging, not quite a gang mentality, but there is a strong bond that goes beyond mere friendship that’s hard to explain.
This is where I stayed for the week.
I have been lucky enough to not only be a camper, but a counselor for many many camp functions, eventually inheriting the director title for Jr./Sr. High Camp that we had this past week. Luckily for me, all of our counselors have their duties and functions where they take charge, and I think we pulled it off. I don’t think we’ve had many direct discussions on who needs to do what… it amazingly all just falls into place and we understand what needs done and who’s best suited to do it. We dive in & do it as a team.
Church camp may scare some people. Those that know me from outside of camp may be surprised or questioning of my affiliation with such a thing. I try to take all the things that I have been taught, and lead life by example. I’m generally not preachy about religious subjects (or at least I try not to be), but I will delve into the subject if someone asks me about it. I have a respect for all religious beliefs or non-belief, and ask that in a conversation I am shown that same respect. (I have some good friends that should also be able to tell you that it’s pretty hard to offend me on such subjects.)
This is where we hung out for most of the week.
I feel like I have been called to work with the camp that has given so much to me, to provide campers with their own version of the experiences I had over the years that have helped make me into the person that I am today. I hope to be a good example to the kids on how go out into the world and be good examples to others themselves. You don’t have to run around spitting scriptures, knock on people’s doors, or force others to believe what you believe or feel what you feel. You do need to treat people with respect and kindness. We discussed being a good seed this week, and how we’re planted in the world to serve others around us. Serving can be as simple as listening to a friend’s troubles, cutting grass or washing a car, or just telling someone that they are important to you. We don’t often pause for the simple small things, yet they can have such an impact. Sometimes I had to be goofy with the kids to get the gears turning, but turn they did. Once we were able to get into discussions & past answers that were perhaps subconsciously what they thought I wanted to hear… I got some fantastic examples and ideas on how you can do small things to help those around you.
Some of the activities at camp besides bible study in the AM were Archery, a night game pattered after an one one called Get Smart & a flashlight tag game that has morphed into one we call Star Wars, a terrarium craft, a creek walk, a trip to Shawnee, team-building games, orienteering, making mountain pies, lots of singing, vespers every night headed up by Laurel, science time making bandanas with Kirby & Kaylyn, and a campfire where we talked about everything from what we’re thankful for to what our hardships are… and how we can help each other through them.
Archery!
I feel like Archery is such an incredible activity for teens… it seems like something that is hard to do, but if you listen to the instruction given by Kirby & Adam, you are consistently hitting the target within a day or 2, and you can become a great shot by the end of the week (when we start putting things like playing cards & water balloons on the targets for fun). It’s an incredible self-esteem builder, and teaches great discipline and focus. It’s easy to understand that you must do things correctly or someone can get hurt. The kids encourage each other and commend each other without any prompting from us old people. It builds a positive environment easily & organically. It’s amazing to see them light up when they hit a bullseye, hit a playing card, or pop a water balloon.
We of course sometimes had problems with losing attention quickly… and I blame social media. We’re luckily able to reel them back in. I think it helps that most of our staff are smart-asses. I try to show & tell the kids that you don’t have to conduct yourself differently at camp than you do at home, or vice versa. Also, I find it fascinating how many of the younger kids constantly asked me if they could go to the bathroom. It must be from school. I feel that they’re all old enough to conduct themselves responsibly & can take care of such things without disruption to whatever’s going on.
Some of my personal highlights for the week were when one kid had told us how he had never experienced any kind of group or camp setting before & couldn’t believe how all the other kids had been so accepting of him. In fact, I didn’t hear a negative word from any of the kids to another. They would instantly take to the kids that seemed to be outsiders and make sure to include them in the group. It was an awesome thing to see. It’s also great to see the kids that have grown up together in various camps form friendships that will last a life time.
We Are One Big Happy Family – Living Waters 2012 – Jr./Sr. High Camp & Recreation Camp
Camp Flags
The big highlight was our interaction with the other camp there this week… Recreation Camp is for special needs adults to come enjoy a camp setting. We did several activities with them besides our 3 meals & singing in the dining hall each day. We had science time where they learned about chemicals that make up ink and the separation, and we made easy tie-dye-like bandanas with Sharpies and rubbing alcohol. Our campers mixed with & assisted the rec camp, and it was fantastically fun. We also mixed again with our trip to Shawnee, singing on the bus and swimming and relaxing together as one big group. Campers from both camps expressed the need to do it more often. It was enough to move me to tears to see how the kids accepted the rec camp group who were so different, and made their day by just spending time with them, sharing a laugh, a splash, bouncing a beach ball, and lots of good-natured teasing. Then there was our campfire sing-along, our seeing one of their campers’ collection of over 150 flags I’ll have to talk about him in another post), and them visiting us on the archery range one day. It’s a feeling of great joy to see all of our campers make such connections. My wife & mom are directors at Rec camp, and I feel like that helps us bring the camps closer together.
That feeling is why I was moved to make this a while back…
Check out my photos and my wife’s photos on Facebook if you’re interested. If you’re a camper or counselor & want to share your photos too, please paste the link in the comments below!
The sign outside of Sheffield Lanes/The Fallout Shelter in Aliquippa, PA this weekend.
I’ve noticeably slowed down with blogging. Perhaps I was blogging too much before. Real life has been happening lately. The band played twice this weekend, my real job has been taxing, etc. Perhaps I’ll find inspiration more often in the days to come.
Like this…
Groupon has successfully shown me what I believe to be the absolute dumbest product ever:
Car Lashes …Wait, car-freaking-lashes?
I could rant about it, but do I really need to? There would a a Herbie/Love Bug joke, pointing out that putting them on a BMW decreases the value/classiness of the car, maybe a joke about truck nuts & just maybe a reference to the movie Cars even though I’ve never seen it. Maybe even a joke about the dude I saw on My Strange Addiction who makes love to his car for the crowd who likes it blue. Maybe even an Optimus Prime humping your car joke. I have finally found something more annoying than flags on cars & more decorative than the mysterious stickermobile. If you’re going to glue stupid stuff to your car, go all the way.
If there are any people out there with money to waste on stupid things, I’m taking donations so I can buy a Flycaster.
A while back, a friend of ours who is a teacher invited my wife & I to a Learning Festival that’s happening at her school this Saturday (May 12th). I can’t wait to go check it out! All of my favorite stuff is going to be in one place. Garrison Carida of the 501st Legion will be walking around in Star Wars attire, there will be a dude showing his guitar collection (there’s 50 of them!), they’ll be raffling a Fender Stratocaster from Moonlight Music, there will be free appraisals of collectables, and much much more! Looking at the flyer, it’s like I put the thing together with all of my favorite stuff.
Our friend is taking her 7 year old nephew, my wife is taking me. Ha! At any rate, I know other geeks read this that may be interested. Here’s the official flyer:
Apollo-Ridge Education Foundation Learning Festival – Sat. May 12th, 2012 (Click the image to go to their website.)
So, that’s Saturday 10:00am to 4:00pm at Apollo Ridge School District. Admission is free, and it’s located at…
1825 State Route 56 East
Spring Church, PA 15686
Check it out, maybe we’ll see you there!
So, I bought a guitar this past Saturday. I wasn’t looking for a guitar. This guitar was looking for me.
...and SO MUCH MORE.
Some of my extended family had rented out the lodge at our church camp for the weekend. My cousin & I were out killing time and exploring while the ladies stayed in for their main objective; scrapbooking. When in the area with time on my hands, a trip to Hoke·E·Geez is an absolute must. It’s located right on Route 30 in Bedford PA by the Sheetz. (Sheetz is a good bright red & yellow landmark, right?)
In what was once (perhaps obviously for people my age and older) an Ames department store, rests the one of the craziest/coolest places I have ever been. My first trip there was in search of antiques… I collect old Coca~Cola & other glass bottles. I had no idea what I was in for. Hoke·E·Geez is full of …Everything.
"Help! I'm not dead! Some redneck just stapled my nuts to this driftwood!"
It’s got crafts, antiques (from old pop bottles to the machines), furniture, a weird leather biker-jacket section, a hardware section like someone emptied a Harbor Freight in 1978 and dumped it there, of records, new stuff made to look old (think the store in Cracker Barrel), toys, tools, books, records, a section chock full of cassette tapes (mostly hair metal), musical instruments of all varieties, a stuffed squirrel that my cousin photographed with his phone, nunchucks, swords, toilets, knives, flooring, gun parts, cabinetry, pistol crossbows, stuff you’d see in a thrift store or at a garage sale, a Weinermobile pedal car, … and other scattered oddities/treasures.
Yeah, I said musical instruments. Of course, I flock nearly immediately to the old guitars. Hoke-E-Geez also serves as an aged acoustic graveyard. They have several dried out yet beautiful acoustics ravaged by time & strings that pull the neck past the point of no return. They would be great as decorations, or for this…
 Guiar Fail | Acoustic Guitar Recycling |
 There I Fixed It | First Smash, Then Season |
In fact, if I ever find one for the right price, it might make a cool antique bottle shelf… with some glass shelves & a light or 2.
Back to the story at hand though… There we are strolling through the wonderland that is Hoke·E·Geez, like a bee doing its “tell the others where the honey is” dance. We were exclaiming “Woah!”, “Look at that!”, or “What is that?” with each erratic hop to the next section.
I can already play "Iron Man" and "Happy Birthday" (very poorly).
The first beauty I spied was this toy accordion for $12 and change. It seems ridiculous and awesome. Maybe I’ve seen The Bloody Seamen one too many times lately. Looking online, it seems to be a fair price… and not difficult to master. I’m not sure of the name brand. I have no idea if it’s a Hohner, Schylling, Barcelona, First Act, or something else. I have found a bunch online that look similar. This doesn’t match the colors of any others exactly, and of course it has no brand/name/logo in it. Also, it appears that I have been shorted a book. Also, is this really an accordion, or is it just a button box? What’s the difference? Are the butterfly-like designs up top too girly?
The next thing of interest that I saw was this beautiful New York Pro Strat knockoff…
New York Pro - Strat Copy
Well, the photo to the left is the photo that I sent to my wife along with the price, asking (only half kidding) if I should buy it. There was some other black no-name Strat copy behind it. The body on that black POS wasn’t nearly as solid, hefty, or well-cut.
My cousin pointed it out I believe, & remarked on the natural finish. I was stuck drooling over the $95 price tag since the neck was straight, there were no cracks, and it was nice solid body. This was about the time we got into a conversation with a local cat who was into weird guitars and punk rock… and actually in a punk rock band up that way. I can’t remember the name of the band. I need to pop stuff like that into my phone. The guy stopped & asked if I really had an accordion in the box marked “Accordion”. I showed it to him & he’s the one that remarked that it was a button box & not an accordion. After talking forever about weird guitars, rocking out, and goofy venues… we moved on. He mentioned that there were other guitars “over there” pointing to a little music store-like area within the hallowed walls of Hoke·E·Geez.
This is where we happened upon some beast, made by a local cat that goes by Merle Kegg or Merle R. Kegg. One of his custom-built axes had the letters “M R K” on the headstock. The first one I spotted was a doubleneck… one 6 string guitar & one mandolin neck. Yeah. You read that right.
Merle R. Kegg - Guitar/Mandolin Doubleneck
I apologize for the horrible quality cell phone photos, but I’m sure you get the point. I find it an odd placement for the pickups… but then again some people like that neck pickup sound. I generally stick as close to the bridge as possible. The custom cases are pretty cool. Then I came upon this one…
Merle R. Kegg - White Guitar
It caught my eye, and I believe the price was only $64 or $65… but I didn’t even take it out of the case once I got a closer look. If there was a Regretsy-like site for homemade guitars, this may top them all. I mean, I love the shape… and I respect the intent and the labor that went into this beast, but… wow. The placement of the bridge directly up the neck’s ass is crazy. The pickguard looks like flooring or wall tile. I’m hoping this cat is Amish or 97 years old or has 7 fingers total or something. I hate to be so harsh, but when I think a guitar is ugly, we have a problem on our hands. There was no attempt to smooth out the edges or anything… the paint is applied like it’s the side of an outdoor shed… not a guitar. Wow. I’d like to see more of his work, maybe these were the odd ones out. If you know anything more about his work, please post in the comments! There were some other cool guitars (not made by Merle), ukuleles, mandolins & other stuff in that section.
I still hadn’t received a reply from the wife. I got the accordion, my cousin picked up a few things, and off we went.
When we got back to camp, I asked my wife if she had seen the text with the photo. She hadn’t. She checked it out & liked it. She asked that if I got it I could place it on the stand in the living room instead of my Batman Logo guitar. She liked the wood (which I have since come to learn is mahogany). We talked it over and she suggested that I go get it. I told her it would need new guts, but she was still behind the idea. After lunch, my cousin went to a nearby farm to hunt coyotes, and I went back to Hoke·E·Geez to hunt that guitar.
I came back with my prize:
New York Pro - Stratocaster Copy
I also managed to stop by the Bedford Banjo Shop. It was small but very cool and reasonably priced in there. They had banjos, guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, & more. They were also very friendly and quite busy. I tried to stop by another store nearby, but they were closed as it was after 2:00pm.
I have plans for this guitar… GFS Lil Killer rail pickups, some wooden knobs, a leopard-print pickguard, black hardware (& bridge & tuners), and I guess a leopard-print strap. As soon as I put away some money, I hope to get all this stuff & have it all set up nice & pretty. My go-to guitar guy has been Aaron at Lawrence Music lately. He helped set up the Batman Logo guitar… and dropped in my Seymour Duncans.
Oh what I'm gonna do to this guitar...
You didn’t think I’d leave it alone did you? It needs something in order to fit in with my other guitars.
I’m still at a loss with any concrete information about the New York Pro brand. I’m not sure if it’s pumped out of a Chinese factory that puts many different brands on the same guitars? They do have an odd cut in the top of the headstock that seems to be on every NY Pro guitar I’ve seen online. I’ve seen them as kit guitars, for $99, for $149.99 and for $279.95. Maybe they’re made by Galaxy Guitars and the same as their Starfire line? It looks like they might call it the “Galaxy New York Pro Star Gazer”. They may be distributed by Lou Capece. I may have to write to them for more information.
If you have any comments/stories about Hoke·E·Geez, any information about the accordion/button box, any info on that other guitar store in Bedford, any information about the New York Pro brand, or any comments/suggestions about my plans for the guitar… I’d love to hear ’em! Please share in the comments below!
This is how we had chipped ham BBQ when I was growing up…
It was put in a pot on the stove & just heated until it was ready. It has to be Heinz, it has to be Coke. (No Pepsi, RC Cola, or Faygo.)
None of the pre-made sauce either.
It needs to go on a nice roll, like Cellone’s. I never added cheese as a kid, but I like it with a nice Swiss or Brick cheese these days.
I’ve done a large amount of this in a crock pot… several pounds of meat, then eye the ketchup & Coke.
Pittsburgh Style Chipped Ham BBQ
My PCP is going to hate this post.
I love barbecue, or BBQ or Bar-B-Q or whatever you want to call it. This isn’t going to be a blog about what you think the “real” definition of barbecue is (wet/dry, smoke/no smoke, slow & low/fast & hot, sauce/no sauce, charcoal/gas, grill/pit)… the purists all claim to be right, and the term can be applied to the meat (or veggies I guess), the cooking, the spices, the sauce, or the gathering. If you want to argue/learn about the differences, check out Wikipedia.
Since I’m just a fan of barbecue, not a professional BBQ cook, and live in Pittsburgh not the south*… I won’t take a stand on the issue. I like all varieties. (Although, would chipped ham barbecue be “Pittsburgh Style” BBQ? I’d support that.)
I was inspired to write about BBQ today because I recently had an excellent dinner form the Pittsburgh Barbecue Company. It reminded me of my three favorite barbecue joints. I was just wondering what other people thought of them, and what other awesome local BBQ joints might not be on my radar.
Rowdy BBQ
Rowdy BBQ
Tagline: “We think of you when we pull our pork!” – I swear this place used to be called Brentwood Express or have it in the name somewhere… but now the site’s commercial strictly says “Rowdy BBQ”, so we’ll go with that.
At any rate, this is my favorite barbecue sauce. I love this stuff! It’s a sweet yet spicy sauce. They have a killer menu with all kinds of fun things like “The Big Pig”, “The Whole Hog”, and the “Knuckle Sandwich”. I usually get the ribs/chicken combo with some fries and eat just enough to make myself almost sick. The ribs are always cooked perfectly, sometimes the chicken is dry, but not “ooh I can’t eat this” dry. The fries are awesome, and this is the only place out of my 3 favorites that even has fries. (They used to have excellent pierogies, but I don’t think they’re on the menu anymore.) I’ve had the Big Pig & the brisket sandwiches, they are awesome. I want to try the cheese steaks, but at pulled to the BBQ offerings every time I’m there. I want to buy the sauce to bring home, but then I won’t have an excuse to go there. The parking lot is chaos, and you’re eating about 5 feet away from the traffic on Rte. 51 when you’re on the one site… but I can never wait to get home to eat, gotta eat it there! (And, I’d miss the rowdy rooster!)
Check ’em out on the web: Website | Facebook 1 | Facebook 2 | Urbanspoon
Pittsburgh Barbecue Company
Pittsburgh Barbecue Company
Tagline: “That place on Banksville…” – This place is the closest to home for me, and is pretty damn tasty BBQ. The sauce is a little more tangy than sweet. I go for the brisket or pulled pork here more often than the ribs… but the ribs & chicken are damn good. I like their mac n’ cheese. It’s got a tasty homemade feel. They have a pretty minimalist menu, but I really like that. They know what they do, and they do it well. My wife Bethany loves their baked apples side. The cornbread is excellent too. They seem to be a little expensive here, but again, it’s worth it. You definitely get what you pay for… the meat portions on the sandwiches are huge.
The sauce is nice & peppery. I get a spicy tingle every time we dine here. There’s also a nice outside dining area, and although sparse like Rowdy BBQ, you’re not eating amid exhaust like you are on Rte. 51. It’s got a nice little log cabin/shack feel inside. They also tout a bunch of “#1’s” on their site, most recent being Pittsburgh Magazine’s “Best in the ‘Burgh 2010”. This place is no secret, even if it is hiding back off of the main road.
Check ’em out on the web: Website | Facebook | Twitter | UrbanSpoon
Clem's Cafe
Clem’s Cafe
Tagline: “Home of the nice racks, big breasts, juicy thighs, and warm buns! ” – This one is way out there, but really worth the drive. They have an excellent tangy sauce… I can taste the vinegar in it, but it blends well with the overall flavor. The best part about Clem’s is that hands down the meat is always falling off the bone on the ribs… and always always juicy with the chicken. I like the mac & cheese here, and the ability to get the Boylan’s root beer or birch beer.
The dining facilities are great, it’s always a nice place to sit & eat. They have a concise menu, again not too much, you know exactly why you’re there… for the BBQ!
[I need a YouTube video for these guys!]
Check ’em out on the web: Website | Facebook | UrbanSpoon
Which Pittsburgh (or SWPA) BBQ place is your favorite? I’d love to do a blind taste-test of all their sauces some time.
There are other places I have in mind that I’d like to try, like The Flame BBQ, Two Brothers Bar-B-Q, & No Bull Bar-B-Q. Anyone been to any of those? Thoughts?
So, where else should I try? My #1 criteria in finding a cool new BBQ place is that they don’t have shrimp (or any other shellfish) on the menu… like Rib Cage BBQ. I like the BBQ places because of the limited menu & no chance of cross-contamination. It’s nice to be able to completely relax at an eating establishment.
I would love to be able to get some turkey at a BBQ place though… either deep-fried & topped with some sauce… or in a pulled-pork style or brisket-style sandwich… or turkey legs. Man, I love turkey legs.
So, flood me with commentary!
*There are a number of people around here that do indeed think we are a southern state… “Pennsyltucky” and all…
World (and Lunar) Domination 