Spiced Right, Roswell.

Spiced Right Ribhouse, Roswell. This is SRR's second location with the original site being in Lilburn. There is some good and mediocre about this joint, so here goes. The place has character inside and out. It's a little hard to get in and out off busy Highway 9, but once inside, it has character and charm as a good Q joint should. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights they do live blue's music, so I bet it can be fun. To the food. You get a good whiff of smoked pork when you walk in the door. I had a pulled pork sandwich and stew. They stew is honestly as good as anyone's I've had in Georgia. It is of perfect thickness, meatiness, and taste is superb. The pork was midrange. Great consistency, but I didn't get that oak or hickory taste or smell that I personally prefer, but the sauce was great. The sauce was thick and had a perfect sweetness. Debbie tried something a little different. She got the smoked turkey at the urging of the very nice and polite waitress (though you order at the counter). In all fairness, I am suspecting that SR focuses more on their ribs than their other dishes, but if you are downtown Roswell, want BBQ, and dont want to venture too far up 9 to a couple of other options, its a good visit. Additionally, being site number 2, I have sometimes found that the second and subsequent locations don't always live up to the reputation of their parent location. Meanwhile, this is this week's bbq review...until next time!

Williamson Brothers Barbecue, Marietta. Wow. The friend who suggested Williamson Brothers was spot on. We journeyed across East Cobb following the GPS directed navigation to Williamson Brothers. When Debbie and I pulled into the parking lot (not the door, etc., we were greeted with the fabulous aroma of pork on a "REAL" smoking operation. I mean we had not even let the windows down or gotten out of the truck! Upon opening the doors and moving toward the joint, which it truly is, we were enveloped in an cloud of smoke filled with flavors of oak and pork. We walked in the rather dark but welcoming place and were quickly seated and then waited on by one of the nicest young waitresses ever. She seated us next to three bikers who were well leathered and weathered. I promise one of them looked like Charlie Daniels. We placed our orders from the expansive menu and I wandered off the men's room where I got to walk right by the open, stacked brick smoker where I saw some of the best looking pork shoulders in various stages of their fate. By the time I got back to the table, the food was already there. Now that was fast. The barbecue sandwich was of two meal size, and man it was good! It was pulled style pork lightly sauced with their famous sauce. I started first with the stew which was a great sized, well spiced, and sufficiently meaty stew that would have been enough for lunch, but the barbecue was tops. Deb's fries were just so so, but we both gave the barbecue 5 stars. When done, the Charlie Daniels looking biker (whose picture I took without finding myself thrown through a plate glass window) told the waitresss, "mam, that was the best barbecue sandwich I ever had." He aint far from the truth. I'd bet he's never been to some of of my other joints like Scott's or the Smokin' Pig, but I bet he's got a few under his leathers that I haven't hit either. Thanks Leigh Ann for recommending this place! I even have Christmas ideas for a couple of my best friends! Oh, I forgot to mention one of the great character additions to this joint is a wonderful collection of mounted animals including a full sized wild turkey, fox, and other creatures that put my mind deeply into the woods of South Central Georgia.

Battlefield Bar-B-Q, Chickamauga, GA

Battlefield Bar-B-Q, Chickamauga, GA. "Oh I Wish I Were in the Land of Cotton....". There is a stretch of highway between Fort Oglethorpe, GA and Chickamauga, GA that every American should travel, and that is the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. That stretch of highway will put chill bumps all up and down your spine as you think about the loss of lives in the American Civit War. Just at the end of it in Chickamauga is Battlefield Bar-B-Q. Perhaps the best thing about this joint is the name. Of course, everything up there is named "Battlefield". The barbecue I had was actually surprisingly good. The joint is cute on the outside, but it really is not that impressive on the inside. The barbecue, though, is quite good with a good smokey, flavorful taste. The prices are great, and the menu contains enough even to suit the non-barbecue fanatic such as myself. Nonetheless, this gets me a good little joint posted in Georgia's Northwest corner. Visit the battlefield and feel your southern roots. Visit Battlefield Barbecue and feed your hunger. A great stop in this treasure spot of Northwest Georgia.

Fresh Air Barbecue, Macon. The Rolling Stones sang, "you might not get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you just might get what you need!" Well on Friday, August 7, 2009 I needed some "Fresh Air." I'd been wanting to do Fresh Air again for some months. Actually, I was hoping to do the Jackson (original) location, but time was pressing us to keep moving and to stop in Macon at their site on Riverside Drive. When you drive up to their joint there in the strip mall behind Longhorn Steakhouse, you are not impressed. It is a "characterless" corner of a strip mall with a little adornment letting you know it is a bbq joint. When you open the door, though, you get a good smell of what you came for. It gets better from there. Their barbecue, once voted best in Georgia, ranks right up there with anyone's. Its pulled pork with perhaps a touch of sauce. You get two choices of sauce on the tables. There is the mild which is pretty much a traditional sauce. Then, there is the hot, which will make your forehead break out in a good sweat. To fix that, though, is the fact that their drinks start with, oh yeah, crushed ice. Debbie likes that and I do too. Their barbecue sandwich is one that won't have you leaving the place hungry. It's not the largest ever had (Dreamland), but it does the job. Their stew is a pretty traditional stew. It is not too thin and not too thick. You kind of have to hunt for the meat in it, but you can taste it whether you can see it or not.

What leaves you impressed with Fresh Air in Macon is that the folks there are friendly. The barbecue leaves a very pleasant taste on your palate for hours to come. Conveniently located, if you are driving 75 south through Macon and want barbecue, you have two choices: Pig in a Pit and Fresh Air. My suggestion? Catch one going one way, and catch the other one going back. You won't be disappointed in either.