Tasty Rib Shack, Madras, Georgia, August 25, 2018

The name is a little misleading because the Tasty Rib Shack isn’t a shack at all but is actually a trailer that’s set up like a food truck.  The owner sets up in a vacant gravel parking lot on Highway 29 just north of Madras, Georgia, opens around lunchtime and stays open until he sells out or business slacks off enough that he decides that it’s time to close for the day.  We see him there every Saturday and I believe we’ve seen him there some Sundays.

We’ve intended to stop by the Tasty Rib Shack and give it a try since we first noticed it in the parking lot of a former local fruit and vegetable stand a few months back.  As I was leaving the house yesterday morning to go run a few errands I told ConnieLou to think about what she wanted for lunch and I’d stop and pick something up on my way home.  As I was waiting for my mechanic to finish up the oil change and turn signal bulb replacement on my truck I remembered that it was Saturday and the Tasty Rib Shack should be in its usual spot and open so I sent ConnieLou a text and suggested that we give it a try.

I found a copy of the menu that someone had posted to our subdivision’s Facebook page and forwarded it to ConnieLou.  The Tasty Rib Shack has a surprisingly good selection for a food truck/trailer.  There’s ribs, chopped pork, chicken, burgers, dogs, wings and Brunswick stew among a few other items.

Since the turn signal replacement was taking a while to complete and ConnieLou had some errands to run herself she suggested that she run on down and pick up some barbeque sandwiches and some Brunswick stew and if she had to leave before I got home she’d put mine in the microwave to keep warm until I got back.  As it turned out I got home a few minutes before she did so we were able to sit down and have lunch together.

I tried the stew first.  As I opened the container I could see that the consistency was just the way I like my stew, thick and not soupy and everything was cooked down fine with no large chunks of anything, especially tomatoes.  I was happy to discover that it tasted as good as it looked and I didn’t feel the need to add a splash of barbeque sauce or hot sauce to it as I often do.  ConnieLou said it was a little on the spicy side for her but I noticed that it disappeared anyway.  Next the barbeque sandwiches.  Each sandwich came with a generous portion of meat on a bun.  The meat was moist and nicely smoky.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on the type of wood or charcoal that they might have used but it was quite tasty just the same.  Now for their barbeque sauce.  The sauce was a little different and almost looked more like a rib glaze than typical barbeque sauce.  It was a little sweet, a little tangy and had just a little bit of a kick to it.  I normally don’t care for sweet sauces but this one worked well for me.

So how did the Tasty Rib Shack fare on the Thumbs Scale.  Definitely 4 out of a possible four…and for only $15 for three chopped pork sandwiches and three sides of stew, it’s a pretty good value too.  I hope he stays set up on that little patch of gravel, we might just become regulars.

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Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon, Brunswick, Georgia, March 13, 2017

We Relish Your Buns!

OK, that’s their slogan anyway…

It’s good to have friends who live or have lived near your vacation destination. Not only do you get a chance to visit and catch up but more often than not you have a reliable source for restaurant recommendations. Fellow YHC alum Jeff Doke and his family live in Brunswick, Georgia, just a long rock-throw from St. Simons Island and Austin, Ashley’s boyfriend, and his family used to live on St. Simons. When I asked both Jeff and Austin for restaurant suggestions, there were a couple both recommended, one of which was Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon in Brunswick.

According to the menu Willie’s has been around since 1975. Although it’s in a free-standing building you can’t help but think of it as ‘one of those little hole-in-the-wall joints’ that you hear about. Saying its unassuming is a major understatement. In fact, if it weren’t for the building being painted bright yellow and red, one might miss it altogether when driving by. You place your order at a window on the side of the building and you can eat either inside in a small dining area or at one of half a dozen big red picnic tables outside the building. Since we had Jenna’s pup Lyla with us, we opted to eat outside…even though it was breezy and freakin’ chilly!

We had to clear out of the cottage we’d rented for the weekend by 11:00 and Willie’s was more or less on our route home so we decided to stop in on our way out of town.

As one might guess, the menu consists mostly of hot dogs, in many wonderful variations, a Polish sausage, burgers, a fish sandwich and a highly touted fried pork chop sandwich. Jeff recommended the Polish sausage and I have a hard time passing up a chili dog…so I tried both. ConnieLou went with a chili dog and Jenna tried the fish sandwich. We all split a couple of orders of fries.

ConnieLou picked up our order at the window, brought it to our table and we all dug in. Were the recommendations on the mark? Oh yeah. The polish sausage and chili dogs were quite good and Jenna was pretty happy with her fish sandwich. Even Lyla enjoyed a fry or two when no one was looking. My only complaint…yep, you guessed it. The fries…frozen, not fresh cut. If that’s the only flaw we can find they’re not doing too bad.

So how did Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon rate on the Thumbs Scale? We gave them a solid 5 ½ thumbs out of a possible six with the half thumb deduct being my standard deduction for frozen fries instead of fresh cut. Otherwise Willie’s would have had an easy 6 out of 6. Willie’s will definitely be on our return list when we’re back in the Brunswick/St. Simons Island area…

The Varsity, Atlanta, Georgia, June 3, 2016

Its time.

I’ve held off doing a review of The Varsity but sooner or later it had to happen.

Now seemed like a good time.

There’s no real reason why now was any better than some other time. It just is.

For those that aren’t familiar with The Varsity, it’s an ‘institution’ in Atlanta…and in Athens…and in Gwinnett…and in Kennesaw…and in Dawsonville…and even at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. .The original Varsity opened at its present location in Atlanta in 1928 at the intersection of North Avenue and Spring Street. A second Varsity location opened in Athens in 1932 but was eventually closed in favor of the current Athens location at the intersection of W. Broad Street and N. Milledge Avenue which opened in 1963. The other locations have been added since 1990.

OK, enough of the Varsity history lesson.

ConnieLou and I were on the way to Young Harris for a bit of a getaway. As we headed up the highway we debated where to stop for lunch. Before long it became apparent that we were going to hit downtown Atlanta right at the end of the lunch rush and a stop at the ‘V’ became a pretty easy decision.

We parked, walked in and placed our orders. For ConnieLou it was a chili dog, onion rings and a coke. For me, two chili dogs, fries and a coke. As always, our food was served quickly and piping hot. We picked a table in the upstairs dining room that overlooks the interstate (for those that aren’t familiar with The Varsity’s Atlanta location, there are five or six separate ‘dining rooms’ to choose from) and settled in.

As always, our food was fantastic, just as expected. Let me point out something here. If nothing else, the food at The Varsity is fresh and that is something they’ve taken great pride in throughout their history. Chili for the chili dogs and chili steaks, onion rings, fries and fried pies are made fresh daily. Did I mention fresh fries, as in fresh cut fries? Yes I did. Unlike most fast food joints, the folks at The Varsity cut their fries fresh every day. They cut, batter and cook their onion rings fresh every day. No frozen fries or onion rings and no fries or onion rings sitting under a heat lamp for extended periods of time. Fresh.

So how did The Varsity fare on the Thumbs Scale? One could probably guess that we gave The Varsity four thumbs out of a possible four. OK, I’ll admit that The Varsity is one of our favorite fast food joints and that we may be just a little biased but it is what it is and it was good. Darn good. We’ll be back.

Did I mention that we each for a Frosted Orange to go? If you go to The Varsity and don’t get anything else, get a FO…you can thank me later.