Smokin' Chick's BBQ Columbia Missouri

One of my favorite BBQ restaurants is Smokin' Chick's BBQ.  It is not necessarily easy to find.  It is located in the middle of an upscale strip mall west of Rockbridge High School at 4603 John Garry Drive.  I go for the brisket.  It is very flavorful, thinly sliced and never dry.  They also has a wonderful mixed meat plate option for when I really feel like over consuming.  The fries are OK.  They have a horseradish coleslaw, but will fix me a coleslaw without the horseradish when I ask.  The service is always pleasant.  I have never found the restaurant full or really near full, most of the time when I go there are only one or two other tables in use.  They have been there for some years, so I can only speculate that they must do a lot of catering.

Today I treated myself to a meal at Smoking Chicks because I was on a mission to fix my daughters garage door.  What started as a simple broken spring, developed into a strengthening of the connection of the motor to the door.  I was amazed at the learning curve related to fixing the spring.  It all seems relatively simple, but it is a much more complex task as you balance the spring to the door so that everything works smoothly.  I found on the internet that Eddie’s Garage Door seemed to sell garage door parts.  I went there and found a very pleasant young man who sold me the spring for a lot less than I thought it would cost.  In addition he lent me a couple of metal bars that helped me in the tensioning of the spring.  He was very nice and I highly recommend him if you find yourself in need of repairs on a garage door.

1st Bikes

I started riding a bike like most kids.  I had a paper route, rode to school, and rode with/for a sense of freedom and independence.  I lived in Columbia which even in the 50’s was a relatively bike friendly town.  With the campus sidewalks and the building of wheelchair ramps the area was an easy place to get around. Drivers were use to pedestrians and bicyclists, and while I probably irritated no small number, they managed to avoid running over me.

Interestingly I bought my first new bike about 6^th grade.  I have the memory of a Western Auto bike, but that would not fit with my family’s frugal nature.  More likely it was from Sears.  I still have that bike.  It started life as a single speed with relatively narrow tires, fenders and a relatively typical gearing.  It was used heavily even when we moved into the country.  When I got my first car, more accurately when my brother got his license it got parked in the barn.  When I got in college I found that I was only using the car to get high in, so I sold it and depended on bikes and walking.  I pulled it out of the barn and added it to my stable of bikes as the junk bike.   I changed the gearing so I could carry heavy loads. I road it on rainy days and when I needed to carry large loads.  I added big baskets and better pedals.  At one point I carried a significant amount of wood, mainly 2X4’s for a building project completely on that bike.  It took  multiple trips (who knew about free delivery….)  At that state the bike was notable for the fact that it did not need to be locked.  It was just such a beaten up and ugly bike at this point, no one would take it.  After graduation I was moving to outstate Missouri and a friend asked for the bike, so I gladly gave it to him.  He made a number of modifications, including wider rims and tires, different hubs, different handle bars.  Interestingly the seat remained the same.  Some years later the friend let me know that he was ready to move the bike on, and wondered if I wanted it back.  So back it came.  It has remained in the stable of bikes (now numbering 6) that I have kept and moved.  Now it has a place in the barn.  Periodically I work it over and ensure it is in ride able condition, but it rarely sees the road any more. Lots of memories….

My brother worked at Walt’s bike shop having.  He was in Walt’s class in high school.  It was a small school so I knew Walt as well.  Through my brothers inspiration I bought several used bikes from Walt.  It rekindled by interest in the bike as a way to have independence and a sense of freedom. The first bike I bought from Walt was a Peugeot, which was my first 10 speed. It was not a fancy bike, probably the bottom of the Peugeot line.   I put a lot of miles on that bike, and developed a taste for long bike rides through the area around Columbia.  I added a small wheeled bike with three speed gearing which I really liked for commuting  (unfortunately I sold that at one point when I was low on cash).  

I had a number of jobs through high school and into college.  College was paid for by working, so a 40+ hour job was a necessity.  An opportunity to work at Walt’s came when my brother quit, moving to another job after marriage and the accompanying responsibilities.  I worked at Walt’s Bike Shop for 3 years and learned a great deal about bikes, mechanics, and got a taste of bike racing and touring.  

I bought a frame from Walt, which I built into a wonderful road bike.  It was from M&M Cycles out of England.  It was a racing frame, but I built it as a touring bike with top grade components and four cross spokes.  It was meant to be virtually indestructible….and proved to be over many thousand miles.  It was my main bike for close to 20 years.  I still have that bike as well.  It now is unrideable because of frame rust, mainly because I used it as a bike on rollers for 10 plus years….sweat is not good for a steel frame.  I liked the stiff short wheel base.  It was not a good bike on rough roads, but I was young.  I managed to attach a variety of bags for touring, and had a variety of different wheels when I wanted to go faster, or was carrying a touring load.   

During marriage and career I rode my bike frequently.  I rode on the road or on rollers several times a week.  It was stress reduction, because it certainly did not reduce my weight.  I rode across the state many times as part of Cycle Across Missouri Parks (CAMP). I was part of Bicycle Across Missouri (BAM) the ultra-marathon qualifier for the Race Across America.  But mainly I just rode on the roads around where I live.

Now after retirement I have ridden the KATY Trail, and put several thousand miles a year on trails and roads around the state.  Bicycling became connected to BBQ when I started to arrange rides so I could ride a number of miles, ending close to a BBQ restaurant that provided post ride sustenance….

Hawg Fathers BBQ Macon Missouri

Yesterday I took a ramble to Macon.  Earlier this fall I had driven through Macon and noticed that a new BBQ restaurant had opened up.  I was not in a position to eat at that time, so it required a return trip.  It is named Hawg Fathers BBQ.  Probably a story there.  It is easy to find, located on Hwy 63.  If you are familiar with Macon it is on the "S" curve very near the school.   It is either a new or newly renovated building.  Someone really had some good sense in designing and decorating! 

I had a very pleasant young lady as a waitress.  Service was excellent, the meal was delivered very quickly and prices were good.  I had brisket, fries and slaw.  The brisket was very good, thin sliced and reasonable quantity on the bun.  The slaw had a white slaw sauce, and very likely was purchased rather than made on location.  The fries had some sort of seasoning added.  At first I thought that the fries were a little "spicy", but they were very flavorful and much better than the run-of-mill frozen fries that many places heat up for you....They had two BBQ sauces, a sweet and a spicy which is disappointing since I am not a fan of either.  

All in all I was very pleased.  Very nice atmosphere, good brisket, reasonable sides, and great service.  I would certainly go again!

A Start

After thinking about this for a long time, even years, I decided to actually write a blog.  It all started as a joke some years ago when the family was doing what we often do, taking some topic and drawing it out to its logical extreme.  In this case the topic was what I should do in retirement.  The conclusion was that I should write a BBQ review, where I could write thoughts about places I go to eat BBQ.  We even conceptualized a shirt….Bubba Browns BBQ Revue….with stains all over the shirt and the name of each restaurant where I had eaten.  Yes I know it should be “review” not “revue” I am a horrible speller, but this was intentional….and part of the joke…..

I can remember when finding a BBQ restaurant in north Missouri was relatively difficult, if not impossible.  There were of course many BBQ restaurants in Kansas City and St. Louis, but not many north of I70.  There certainly were no BBQ restaurants out in the hinterlands where I was living and working as a school administrator.  Now things are different.  There are many very good restaurants that offer a variety of BBQ…

I do not claim to have a refined sense of taste.  I do not have a great knowledge of BBQ.  I certainly do not have the any expertise in this area.  I am not a purist, I leave that to others. I tend to be a positive person, and I like to say nice things about places that I visit.  I tend to order a very limited menu…brisket, fries, coleslaw…occasionally I go wild and order pulled pork.  I prefer a plate rather than a sandwich.  If I can get a plate with brisket, pulled pork, and grilled sausage I figure I have effectively given my cardiologist the finger……. I like a clean restaurant, but it is not a necessity, the more down scale environment the better.  In the end I want to be comfortable…..and to eat in a quiet place that will allow me to read my magazine…...

More about bicycles later……