Bar-B-Yum

In our past 6 duty stations we have always enjoyed searching the area for the best barbecue joint--it's our way of finding a little taste of home. Luckily we have usually not been disappointed (however they are definitely not all equal).

Dayton, Ohio 1994-1998

Burbanks -- yummy, yummy. We really loved Burbanks. Probably my favorite part was their music. They always had good blues playing. They also had some fantastic barbecue potato skins (remember that Jeffy?). We returned to Dayton several years later for a visit and were eager to return to Burbanks, but, alas, they had gone out of business in that location. Who knows, perhaps they were not as good as our memory of them was.

Las Vegas, Nevada 1998-2000

Memphis BBQ -- This restaurant was located right outside of one of the Nellis AFB gates. After Riley was born we would often meet there for lunch. I don't necessarily remember it being too noteworthy, but it was BBQ and it was convenient.

Fort Walton Beach/Destin, Florida 200-2003

Loggerheads in Niceville -- This was a cute little place right along the bay on our way to and from church. They had these fun stone loggerhead turtles at the entry. Again, I don't necessarily remember anything noteworthy on this place's food, except that it was decent BBQ and they had fabulous sweet tea.

Washington D.C. 2003-2006

Red Hot and Blue -- There were several of this chain in the area, and one just up the street from Ted's office building. They served their sodas in miniature pitchers, and the potato salad was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! No one's has ever compared.

Dayton, Ohio 2006-2007

City Barbecue in Beavercreek -- This location opened while we were there, and we couldn't have been more excited. After our first visit we knew it was a winner. They have the absolute best BBQ of any places we've been to. And the sweet tea was to die for. Yum. Yum. Yum. Last summer I went to Ohio for a visit just before Ted came back, and a stop at City BBQ was paramount. Oh my, it was even better than I had remembered it being, and it made the BBQ we found in Boston just pale in comparison.

Boston, MA 2007- ?

Tennessee's BBQ -- We went to Tennessee's BBQ last night for the first time and were actually quite impressed. They had won several awards, but then again their competition up here is probably less than stellar. First and foremost, they offered sweet tea. That's a must. There's a BBQ joint called Lester's that has a little stand on base. It's okay. Ted and I have never been to their actual restaurant, and we suspect that their food would be better from there. It has to lose some of it's goodness being virtually catered to the base everyday. I think we might need to take a little field trip and get back with you on that one.

I don't know that we really qualify as food critics, but there's our 2 cents (or in my case, 5 cents).