We were in the middle of nowhere Alabama on a two lane highway heading north from New Orleans to Chattanooga, Tennessee last May. We were about mid-trip and had already enjoyed the most amazing food.
We tried our first BBQ in Texas with its beef brisket and beef ribs. We had food in New Orleans that made our knees weak because it was so good with flavors we had never tasted before. What a trip! When it was over, we had eaten BBQ in Memphis and Amarillo, too. Note: Amarillo, not so great.
But now, we are still on a two-lane road in the middle of Alabama. “Try to find us a BBQ place for lunch,” Michael said. I had bought an iPhone for the trip and did a search. “There is one several miles off the road.”
We followed the directions, which drew us further and further into the back roads of rural Alabama. Our destination: Dreamland. Really. I’m not kidding. Dreamland BBQ.
It was very rural and we decided it was going to be either very good or very bad.
We walked in. It was dark inside. Very dark. Soon our eyes adjusted and we found our way to picnic tables with rolls of paper towels proudly stacked on each table. A waitress came by and gave us 10 (!) slices of Wonderbread with a bowl of BBQ sauce. We looked around. Everyone one else was dipping their bread and eating it with gusto.
The southern accents were very thick and I had a hard time understanding the waitress. Michael understood her better and was a good translator.
As I had just had the surgery, I could not eat much food throughout the trip. We had become proficient at ordering sample plates, I would take a small bite of everything and Michael would eat the rest. I lost weight on the trip and Michael gained a ton of weight – rare for him.
So, we began our routine of ordering. Michael asked, “What do you recommend?” She pulled back, put her hands on her hips, looked him up and down and said (spelling to try to catch the accent), “Ribs. Dat’s alls we’s gots is ribs!”
Michael replied, “I guess we’re having ribs!” And we did. And they were amazing. And we did have a great conversation with her. As in so many places we visited far from the freeways and interstate highways during this trip, she told us that we were the first people she had ever met from California. She gave us some bibs to take home as souvenirs and wished us a good trip.
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