The Crossroads of Ida
Writing now from Interstate 30 across…Texas. The best part about today so far is that we left Shreveport [hereafter referred to as Mos Eisley – for those of you not familiar with Star Wars, this is referred to as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy” by Obi-Wan Kenobi; if you don’t know who Obi-Wan is than you are a Communist] – I cannot believe that people would choose to live there. There is a hospital there and Josh informs me that they must pay doctors about $1 million a year….or else people must just use voodoo and other local methods to deal with the ailments that result from poverty and malnutrition.
Okay. I’m done talking about how much I dislike Mos Eisley, but understand that it is the “bitter” juxtaposed with the sweet of the previous locations and [as I will soon divulge] future locations.
But first…a detour. A big one. As many of you know, we [Josh and I] loathe some parts of Texas, particularly Houston. Also, as you know, we have been in the car a great deal and the secondary highway between Mos Eisley and Houston is approximately 240 miles long, passing through such gems as Nacodoches, Texas. As a few of you know, I have actually been to Houston and a worse place I cannot think. [In fact, while we’re on the metaphor, think of me as Han Solo and Josh as an Ewok that can drive]. Finally, a notable omission on our initial map was the state of Arkansas, what you might call a Democratic oasis on the Dune Sea of Republican ideology. Sadly, some Republicans make good BBQ.
This is a long explanation to say that we cut Houston from our route and drove to Texarkana, Arkansas instead. We are very, very glad we did if for no other reason than the road leading north from Mos Eisley to Texarkana somewhat redeems northern Louisiana. There are cattle, immaculate homes, anti-immaculate trailers on blocks, and the oldest/smallest oil derricks we have ever seen. They look like something you would see in Futurama or the movie Robots when someone was trying to caricature an old robot.
The Crossroads of Ida signified a great shift culture and, dare I say, aura. Just within the first few miles of Arkansas Josh and I notices some strange feeling of familiarity – sort of like when we see a gun rack in a pickup with a Union Yes! sticker or eat a piece of huckleberry pie. Indeed Arkansas has many similar features to the great state of Montana – pine trees, smoke shops in gas stations, and empty freeways. In fact, many of you already know this, the world record brown trout (a favorite of mine from the Ruby River back home) was caught in AR. I believe it was 40 lbs. 4oz. Texarkana is like Kalispell [our home town in the Treasure State] 20 years ago…so, I guess it is Uncle Owen’s farm? Maybe Taschi Station [which is…never mind…in Star Wars]. Anyway, it is sort of trashy (giant tire plant, logging, agriculture) but not completely worn down. However, unlike Kalispell it has some pretty good Texas style BBQ at Big Jakes.
We ate our lunch at 11 AM. This is pretty early for many of you….but…we are sort of unaffected by time. Big Jake’s Texarkana, AR location [there is a Texarkana, TX location] is a bit newer than we would normally like, but the business has been around for over 25 years. There is an appropriate wooden décor, a number of ceramic animals that you are about to or are currently eating, a tin roof, and some very nice [and pretty] staff. We each got a two meat plate
with cole slaw, sweet potato fries, and two pieces of white bread served in a Ziploc bag. Josh got the brisket and hot links; I got the brisket and ribs [I have eaten many of these now…]. Sauce is served in plastic cups on the side; mild and hot. I got sweet tea (I have not drank anything else on the trip with a meal), but it was commercially produced so I won’t mention it here. It tasted very similar to the tea I had in Mos Eisley and at White Lightening in Macon.
The verdict is quite positive. The brisket is tender, though not particularly smoky and matches quite well with the BBQ sauce. As we progressed through the meal, the heat from the hot BBQ sauce steadily climbed until we doused it with the large chop cole slaw. On its own, it wouldn’t stand, but it works with the other flavors on your plate. The hot links also have an afterburn that is pleasantly surprising – dipping them in the hot BBQ sauce is playing with fire. My ribs were excellent – they were very similar in texture (tender, fall of the bone) and taste (good bark, dry rub with some paprika) to how both Josh and I cook our ribs. This is not necessarily how the purists eat, but it was a nice, well-cooked familiar taste. I must say that the sweet potato fries were excellent – clearly fresh and, in a strange twist, they were dusted with powdered sugar. This was particularly well played given that that cole slaw was not sweet – otherwise the cole slaw would have overpowered the mildly sweet fries.
We are now on our way to Texas. Yea-haw.
How to tell when you are in Texas:
Monster Truck hummer with a missile on the roof
Army surplus store with Jeep and F-4 Phantom for sale
A billboard advertising Cooter Brown’s Liquor Store [next to, appropriately, an adult novelty shop]
Writing now from Interstate 30 across…Texas. The best part about today so far is that we left Shreveport [hereafter referred to as Mos Eisley – for those of you not familiar with Star Wars, this is referred to as a “wretched hive of scum and villainy” by Obi-Wan Kenobi; if you don’t know who Obi-Wan is than you are a Communist] – I cannot believe that people would choose to live there. There is a hospital there and Josh informs me that they must pay doctors about $1 million a year….or else people must just use voodoo and other local methods to deal with the ailments that result from poverty and malnutrition.
Okay. I’m done talking about how much I dislike Mos Eisley, but understand that it is the “bitter” juxtaposed with the sweet of the previous locations and [as I will soon divulge] future locations.
But first…a detour. A big one. As many of you know, we [Josh and I] loathe some parts of Texas, particularly Houston. Also, as you know, we have been in the car a great deal and the secondary highway between Mos Eisley and Houston is approximately 240 miles long, passing through such gems as Nacodoches, Texas. As a few of you know, I have actually been to Houston and a worse place I cannot think. [In fact, while we’re on the metaphor, think of me as Han Solo and Josh as an Ewok that can drive]. Finally, a notable omission on our initial map was the state of Arkansas, what you might call a Democratic oasis on the Dune Sea of Republican ideology. Sadly, some Republicans make good BBQ.
This is a long explanation to say that we cut Houston from our route and drove to Texarkana, Arkansas instead. We are very, very glad we did if for no other reason than the road leading north from Mos Eisley to Texarkana somewhat redeems northern Louisiana. There are cattle, immaculate homes, anti-immaculate trailers on blocks, and the oldest/smallest oil derricks we have ever seen. They look like something you would see in Futurama or the movie Robots when someone was trying to caricature an old robot.
The Crossroads of Ida signified a great shift culture and, dare I say, aura. Just within the first few miles of Arkansas Josh and I notices some strange feeling of familiarity – sort of like when we see a gun rack in a pickup with a Union Yes! sticker or eat a piece of huckleberry pie. Indeed Arkansas has many similar features to the great state of Montana – pine trees, smoke shops in gas stations, and empty freeways. In fact, many of you already know this, the world record brown trout (a favorite of mine from the Ruby River back home) was caught in AR. I believe it was 40 lbs. 4oz. Texarkana is like Kalispell [our home town in the Treasure State] 20 years ago…so, I guess it is Uncle Owen’s farm? Maybe Taschi Station [which is…never mind…in Star Wars]. Anyway, it is sort of trashy (giant tire plant, logging, agriculture) but not completely worn down. However, unlike Kalispell it has some pretty good Texas style BBQ at Big Jakes.
We ate our lunch at 11 AM. This is pretty early for many of you….but…we are sort of unaffected by time. Big Jake’s Texarkana, AR location [there is a Texarkana, TX location] is a bit newer than we would normally like, but the business has been around for over 25 years. There is an appropriate wooden décor, a number of ceramic animals that you are about to or are currently eating, a tin roof, and some very nice [and pretty] staff. We each got a two meat plate
with cole slaw, sweet potato fries, and two pieces of white bread served in a Ziploc bag. Josh got the brisket and hot links; I got the brisket and ribs [I have eaten many of these now…]. Sauce is served in plastic cups on the side; mild and hot. I got sweet tea (I have not drank anything else on the trip with a meal), but it was commercially produced so I won’t mention it here. It tasted very similar to the tea I had in Mos Eisley and at White Lightening in Macon.The verdict is quite positive. The brisket is tender, though not particularly smoky and matches quite well with the BBQ sauce. As we progressed through the meal, the heat from the hot BBQ sauce steadily climbed until we doused it with the large chop cole slaw. On its own, it wouldn’t stand, but it works with the other flavors on your plate. The hot links also have an afterburn that is pleasantly surprising – dipping them in the hot BBQ sauce is playing with fire. My ribs were excellent – they were very similar in texture (tender, fall of the bone) and taste (good bark, dry rub with some paprika) to how both Josh and I cook our ribs. This is not necessarily how the purists eat, but it was a nice, well-cooked familiar taste. I must say that the sweet potato fries were excellent – clearly fresh and, in a strange twist, they were dusted with powdered sugar. This was particularly well played given that that cole slaw was not sweet – otherwise the cole slaw would have overpowered the mildly sweet fries.
We are now on our way to Texas. Yea-haw.
How to tell when you are in Texas:
Monster Truck hummer with a missile on the roof
Army surplus store with Jeep and F-4 Phantom for sale
A billboard advertising Cooter Brown’s Liquor Store [next to, appropriately, an adult novelty shop]
[Josh here] TEXAS!!! I am writing from Dawn and Larry's home in Plano TX. Dawn is the sister of my stepfather Mike. As I type Chris and Dawn are sipping Scotch. I 
had some, but I still need to blog, so I want to retain some sensibility. Plus I have a toothpick in my mouth and I don't want it to end up in my tonsil. I had that happen once. But that's another story.
had some, but I still need to blog, so I want to retain some sensibility. Plus I have a toothpick in my mouth and I don't want it to end up in my tonsil. I had that happen once. But that's another story.Since Koski has already taken up all of the attention span of our dedicated readers, I will keep it sweet and short. I can describe Texas as...hot. Real hot. We were not dissuaded from the tennis courts however. Perhaps we should have though. I am down about a quart. And the whisky is not replenishing my fluid effectively. Soooooooo....
At the suggestion of Larry and Dawn we took off to Big D (Dallas, not the Teepee) for Big Al's Smokehouse. You will note the theme of bigness developing- Big D's, Big Jake's, Big Al's, and now we are in the land of Big Hats. 
Big Al's is behind a Chicken Express store in a very run down strip mall which had closed with the exception of Big Al's. The rest was more or less boarded over. Big Al's had the beef ribs that Koski has been demanding for several hours, which is why we went. We both in fact had the beef ribs which were excellent. 
I also had the hot links while Koski opted for the brisket. Both were good- perhaps the best brisket we have had- managed to retain some pink color and flavor while still being tender and not at all chewy. The star of the show as far as I am concerned was the best creamed corn I have EVER had. I know creamed corn doesn't really sound like something that invites reflection, but it was just that good. Not the existential good that was to be found in Dreamland, but good. I even had a beer, which for those of you who know me realize is nearly a singular event. It will likely remain a singular event.
Big Al's is behind a Chicken Express store in a very run down strip mall which had closed with the exception of Big Al's. The rest was more or less boarded over. Big Al's had the beef ribs that Koski has been demanding for several hours, which is why we went. We both in fact had the beef ribs which were excellent. 
I also had the hot links while Koski opted for the brisket. Both were good- perhaps the best brisket we have had- managed to retain some pink color and flavor while still being tender and not at all chewy. The star of the show as far as I am concerned was the best creamed corn I have EVER had. I know creamed corn doesn't really sound like something that invites reflection, but it was just that good. Not the existential good that was to be found in Dreamland, but good. I even had a beer, which for those of you who know me realize is nearly a singular event. It will likely remain a singular event. I don't have much else to say. Vote for Pedro.
1 comment:
Sounds like you two are done with the south and BBQ. You both sound bored and tired. Guess you will have to come home afterall.
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