Category: Alabama

It's not remarkable to find ribs at a blues festival but only one blues festival features Bob Sykes' glorious ribs.

Live Blues with a Side of World Class BBQ

May 20, 2016 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

We love outdoor blues festivals, for the music, yes, but also because many of them feature some form of barbecue on the menu as well — barbecue and blues go together like baseball and hot dogs. But very, very few can claim to serve some of the best barbecue in the country. That’s what you’ll find at tomorrow’s (May 21st 2016) Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival in Bessemer, Alabama. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the music kicks off at 12:10 p.m. The forecast says 83 and no rain. Best of all, there’ll be plenty of local Bob Sykes pit-cooked pork. Find all the details here.

Poke Salat Festival, Arab AL, May 20th and 21st 2016

May 16, 2016 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 2 Comments

The name of this festival is really for historical significance and atmospherics as you are not likely to find actual poke salat (or sallet) at this or any of the other poke sallet festivals held in Southern communities. What is poke salat? You may know it as pokeweed. It has been treated as a vegetable in the rural South, much more so in the past than today. Only the young leaves are eaten, and they must be boiled well – some say in several changes of water. The plant is considered poisonous, particularly the root, stems, and berries. Continue reading

Hot Chicken and Waffles, served at Joella's Hot Chicken of Louisville, KY. A second location is coming to Lexington next week.

Is Nashville Hot Chicken Going Viral?

January 20, 2016 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

Super-hot-spiced fried chicken has been percolating along quietly in Nashville, TN for, oh, about 80 years. Through the decades the fiery bird received little national attention nor, for that matter, all that much local attention. Suddenly, within the last two or three years, the yardbird has flown the coop and is nesting in spots like New York City, Lexington, KY, and Birmingham, AL. Why now? Or, more to the point, what took so long? All it takes is a taste for a lifelong love affair. We know; we’re addicts as well. Continue reading

Here's your chance to sample the notorious Krispy Kreme burger.

Greater Gulf State Fair, Mobile AL, October 30th through November 8th 2015

October 27, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

What began in 1955 as a civic project by the Mobile Junior Chamber of Commerce has over the decades grown into today’s Greater Gulf State Fair, Alabama’s largest fair (still run by volunteers from the Jaycees). The Greater Gulf, for those unfamiliar with the region, refers to South Alabama, Northwest Florida, and Southeast Mississippi, all, of course, along the Gulf of Mexico. This year’s theme: ““Lions, Tigers, The Fair , Oh My!”. Continue reading

Grand Bay Watermelon Festival, Grand Bay AL, July 3rd and 4th 2015

July 3, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

It was 1973 when Grand Bay, Alabama revived an early 20th-century local tradition and put on the first Grand Bay Watermelon Festival of the modern era. The festival is courtesy of the local Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and it begins today, with free admission, at 3 p.m. On the 4th, there’s a $5 per vehicle charge for the 8 a.m. till 4 p.m. festival but admission comes with all the locally grown, ice-cold watermelon you care to eat! Continue reading

A Bob Sykes BBQ pork sandwich with a sausage link chaser

Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame

June 23, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

The Alabama state tourism department has declared 2015 the Year of Alabama Barbecue, and as part of the promotion they have created the Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame, which features 29 veteran barbecue restaurants in its inaugural class. From Golden Rule Bar-B-Q in Irondale (which is the oldest barbecue restaurant in Alabama – they opened in 1891!) to Whitt’s Barbecue in Athens (opened in 1966 – they bent the rules slightly) all 29 inductees have been smoking meat for 50 years or more. I see a road trip in our future! Check out the entire list here.

Interview with Van Sykes, Owner of Bob Sykes BBQ of Alabama

May 17, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

Bob and Maxine Sykes opened Bob Sykes Bar B Q in 1957. Today, their son Van runs the restaurant with Van’s nephew, Jason, using the exact same recipes and methods that were used in 1957. The Birmingham News talked to Mr. Sykes about the restaurant, his parents, and the blues and BBQ festival he holds in town each year. Some things we learn: you want to order the most popular meal at Sykes? Get a BBQ pork sandwich with homemade O-rings and red velvet cake for dessert. And: when he was 12, he burned a pit full of pork, and his father made him pay for the burned meat!

Poke Salat Festival, Arab AL, May 15th and 16th 2015

May 14, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

Tastes just like (gulp!) chicken - get your fried rattlesnake at the Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo!

Rattlesnake Rodeo, Opp AL, April 11th and 12th 2015

April 9, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 1 Comment

55 years and counting: that’s how long the Rattlesnake Rodeo has been held in the town of Opp, state of Alabama. Gates open Saturday, April 11th, 2015 for the rodeo, and the bands begin at 10:30 a.m. There’ll be snake shows and snake races, a 5K run/walk, a greased pole climb, a buck dancing contest, the introduction of the 2015 Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo Queens, and plenty of musical performances, headlined by Gary Allan and NewsBoys. The rodeo continues Sunday the 12th. Over 20,000 people are expected to attend. Continue reading

Elberta German Sausage Festival, Elberta AL, March 28th 2015

March 25, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

In 1953, a man named Alfred Stucki began managing Elberta’s Locker Plant in Alabama and it was there he originated the famous Elberta German sausage. Mr. Stucki died in 1973, and over the ensuing years the recipe for the sausage has evolved, but its roots can be traced back to Mr. Stucki’s 1953 original. And it’s that sausage that is celebrated twice a year in the town of Elberta, on the last Saturday of March and October. One of those days, March 28th, 2015, is almost here! Continue reading

Jim Lahey of NYC's Sullivan Street Bakery is a finalist for the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Baker award.

James Beard Award Finalists Announced

March 24, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

The finalists for the annual James Beard Awards were announced this morning. Some of our personal favorites among the nominees include: Continue reading

“What Slow Smoked Pork Should Taste Like”

March 16, 2015 / Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle / 0 Comments

The Brick Pit of Mobile, Alabama begins by “loading up the massive smoker with 30 or so 8-9 pound Boston butts that will undergo some 25-30 hours of smoking at about 225 degrees.” Pitmaster Bill Armbrecht uses no seasoning at all, other than that which the smoke from pecan wood provides. The pork is hand-pulled and served with sauce on the side. That’s what David Holloway of al.com named The Best Thing I Ate Last Week. Read his writeup of The Brick Pit here.