Pappy's Bar B-Q, Monahans, TX (March 26, 2012)

When I had a few hours to kill in suburban Midland-Odessa, TX, my thoughts immediately turned to "what's for lunch?"   Several months back, I discovered the Texas Monthly BBQ app so I consulted the Oracle for food choices, in terms of distance from MAF.   The app is fairly straight forward and I looked for the closest place with a review that didn't suck.  Being Texas, the closest place was 46 miles from where I was.  But it was at least in the right direction.   Odessa is 10 miles from MAF, and as I headed that way, Pappy's Bar B-Q got closer.  

There were several places listed in Odessa or Midland, but none of them had reviews within the app.   Since I was on I-20, and Monahans was on I-20, and I had three hours before my meeting, I drove the half-hour further West.

When I pulled up, a little after 11:00, I was underwhelmed.  It looked a lot like a Bob Evans.   I went inside and my "whelm" level didn't rise.  There was a steam table on the left side with tables and booths filling the rest of the space.  Old western movie posters on the walls.  And two other people there.  Not the best sign.

I decided on a three meat sampler.   When he reached under the counter and pulled a slab of sizzling brisket out of the warming oven and started slicing, my hopes raised.  Then he reached into the next oven and pulled out a slab of ribs (narrowly averting dropping a whole rack on the floor with a deft move of the fork in his left hand) and sliced off an end - they looked pretty good, too.  Then he pulled out a smoked sausage and started slicing that, too. 

The brisket was okay.  The ribs weren't very good either.  The smoked sausage was the best thing, but wasn't stand-out.

Two days later I was back at Thompson Brothers in Atlanta, GA (1,169 miles east on I-20, plus a short drive on I-285, of Pappy's) and ALL of the beef products beat the Texas version, hands-down.  Take a look at the feast that three of us shared there:

(These Oklahoma folks can show those Texans a few things about beef barbecue!)

The highlight of the visit to Pappy's, was actually the sign for their drive-thru that I saw as I was leaving.  I had to pull over to take the picture.

Woody's Famous Philadelphia Cheesesteaks - Atlanta, GA (March,2012)

So for about the last four or five years, I've driven by this giant sign for Woody's Famous Philadelphia Cheesesteaks on Monroe Drive and told myself, "Self, you've got to get one of those cheesesteaks." But every time that I drove by there (mostly on Thursdays, mostly between 7:00 and 8:00 pm), it was closed. The more times that I couldn't have this sandwich, the better I imagined it would be. So after hundreds of weeks, this cheesesteak had grown into a thing of culinary wonder. 

And then, the magic day finally dawned. I had been to the old time jam at Manuel's and was heading bank towards the Druid Hills area and I saw Woody's looming through the windshield - and the open sign was lit. [Trumpets blare] I tried three of their mini-parking lots before I finally found a space, but eventually saw one behind the giant sign.

From my table, on the porch

I went inside the screened in porch in front of the counter / window, which serves as indoor seating, and perused the menu. Cheesesteak. Turkey cheesesteak. Add mushrooms or peppers. Grilled sausage. Fat Dog Lay's chips. Drinks. And Jake's Ice Cream (this is a good thing to know. Jake's used to have 4 or 5 stores around town, but I thought they were down to the single location on Irwin. Good to know there's a back up, although the hours seem even odder.)

I decided on a simple cheesesteak, no onions. Gave the young man my name, found a seat on the wrap-around porch and waited. About ten minutes later I heard him call my name and went and grabbed my sandwich, wrapped in white butcher paper.

I'd been waiting five years to unwrap this sandwich, so I did so with great expectation. 

I took a bite   -   "Nyeeh"

Took another   -   "Kind of dry"

And a third   -   "Mediocre"

I guess good things don't always come to those who wait....

Honey Pig - Duluth, GA (March 2012)

In my never-ending quest to visit as many of Atlanta's 50 Best Restaurants (according to Atlanta Magazine last summer), before a new list comes out, this week's adventure took me to the Honey Pig, in Duluth.   First off, I didn't have nearly the issues that I had with the language at Myong Ga Won so I definitely started from a better place.

After conferring with the waiter, I ordered Honey Pig Samgyupsal (the house special and eponymous dish), with an assortment of sides.  Had I been with someone, or likely demanded it, I could have had my meal cooked on an iron pan right here

at my table (Hibachi-style).  Because I was alone (and it would look fairly pathetic), the waiter asked me if he could prepare my meal in the kitchen. 

About 15 minutes later, two guys came out of the kitchen carrying plates and bowls and laid this all out before me:

Left to right, clockwise, starting with the obvious:

• White rice
• Bean paste, jalapenos and pepper paste *
• Green onions *
• Kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage) *
• What I swear they told me was cold kimchi soup
• Bean sprouts* 

* Re-reading the menu, I learned that these are, collectively, "seasonal Korean side dishes".

and

• Lettuce 
• Radish wraps, marinated in wasabi.  These deserved their own photo.  These things were nasty.   How can you make radishes take worse?  Apparently, you marinate them in wasabi...
• Sesame oil, and
• Honey Pig Samgyupsal - basically thick slices of grilled pork belly meat (uncured bacon)
  

After a few minutes of staring at all of this and studying my silverware (two really skinny steel chopsticks and a giant spoon - I now realize that seeing this combo on the table should be some type of harbinger), one of the servers came over and asked if I'd ever eaten there before.   I had no problem saying, "No", with a very straight face.  So he points at the lettuce, the radish wraps and the pork belly and says:

"Eat it like a burrito!"

Revelation!!  Sadly, my celebration was short-lived as with every bite, something fell out of the other end of my lettuce wrap.  So I did the next best thing.  I asked for another bowl of rice and more hot pepper paste, and ate two bowls of pork belly and rice, with hot pepper paste.   It was good, but a REALLY expensive lunch.   I don't know that I feel the need to go back, but it was a much better meal than my last attempt at Korean food.