ARY's Cousin, Barbecue, And 700 Miles

All in all it was a great day of travelling. I set off a little later than I wanted, but still busted out almost 700 miles. I'm now somewhere in between Nashville and Memphis. Not much around here but at least the Days Inn has free internet in the rooms. (I realized 150 miles into the trip that I forgot my sprint internet card at home...d'oh.)

Saw some funny stuff today and ate some incredible barbecue.

First of all, somewhere in Virginia I found that the ARY has a cousin. The CAMR!


I didn't make many stops except for gas, but by about 6:00pm I was starting to think about dinner. Suddenly my Dad called. He was hanging out with my brother and grandfather and they wanted to say hi. Ends up my dad had been doing some consulting recently in Knoxville, TN which was about 20 minutes further up the road. He said there was a really great barbecue joint, but he didn't know if they were open on Sundays or not. He gave me directions and I just smelled my way there.

Chandler's Deli Restaurant Bone Sucking BBQ

When I first saw the sign I was a little skeptical. Was it a deli? Was it an ice cream shop? There were even cones on the side of the building.

Not to worry, this place was all Que. I parked the car and started to walk in and a lady pokes her head out of the carry-out window and informs me that the restaurant is closed but I can still order from the window.."oh, and there's no more meat left except ribs."

"Do you have any sides left?"
"Oh yeah, we have all the sides."
"Works for me."

So I back the car up and pull in front of the window. The lady takes my order, but I'm having a really hard time understanding her. She had some kind of inner city Knoxville accent that I just wasn't getting. I do manage to communicate that I want ribs, with green beans and potato salad.

"How many ribs do you want?"
"Uh, I don't know. A bunch..a whole rack or slab or whatever it's called?"
"You want a whole [words I couldn't understand]?"
"Yeah, I'll take that."

The good news is I ended up with about 3 pounds of tender, fall-off-the-bone, slow smoked ribs.

There is no bad news.

Copious amounts of barbecue having been procured I got back on the highway. I didn't want to park the car there and eat because the neighborhood seemed pretty sketchy. Especially the gangsta pimp midget guy that was pumping gas across the street.


Off I headed westward again, to the peaceful tranquility of the great smokey mountains wilderness.....rest stop.


And now for the main event. Never mind the fact that I forgot to make sure I had any silverware or wet naps. I did have a few napkins left over from lunch. That and my fingers would have to do. Drumroll.......



I couldn't finish them, so I have more to eat tomorrow. Sweet.