The Good Stuff

As promised - a post about the GOOD food I ate while gone.

I love BBQ. Must take after my dad, when I get a "hankerin" as he would put it for ribs!? LOOK OUT.

So! You couldn't imagine my delight, while spending the night en route to Fort Sill, in Sullivan, MO, the dining recommendation by the hotel.

Had just gotten back from a hot run, and I asked at the desk for the best place in town to eat. She said, "Homer's BBQ! I'll have to call him though, because he closes at 8 pm." I think it was like 7 pm.

So she calls, and says, "Sure! He'll stay open for you, shower and hussle up though, because he's an old man and doesn't like to be made to wait."!

So I dashed to shower, gathered up a crew of drill people and we walked on over.

Walking along this frontage road, you can imagine my surprise when we approached:

It's really almost impossible to do this place justice. A tiny little room. Smokehouse in the back. A small open kitchen. Homer, the owner is famous apparently. And after eating his ribs, it was not a stretch of my imagination. Here is Lisa, holding up the Ozarks travel guide, with a full feature on this place.

The BBQ was just the beginning! There was homemade potato salad, coleslaw, HANDCUT, FRESH FRENCH FRIES, and my favorite, a piece of white Wonderbread, in an individual baggie. Never has bread tasted so good.

But so! This BBQ. The most tender meat ever. Fell right off the bone, no fat, gristle, none. The sauce, sweet, smoky and just a little spicey. I think I ate 40 ribs. I just couldn't stop. Dad, I thought of you the entire time. If we ever have a reason to be in Sullivan, MO together sometime, we are going to this place.

And after you get your food! 74 year old Homer joins you in the dining area, parks it, right in his recliner, to make sure you are enjoying your meal. He says, "If you leave here hungry, it's your own damn fault! " Love it.

Completely on his own, to end your meal, he brought out plates and plates of fresh watermelon and peaches.

I ate so much I was ill.

Bonus! Homer loved our crew SO much, that when we traveled BACK through MO on the way home. He packed his tiny place with the ENTIRE UNIT and fed us all for free. His only stipulation, that we pay what we felt the meal was worth, and he would then donate the money to charity.

This was an amazing memory. I can still taste that BBQ. I'm ready Homer! I just wish you'd deliver to Chicago. :-)