The first time I can really remember eating BBQ, I mean, really, really GOOD BBQ, was when I was…read morearound ten years old. Someone had recommended a place way out in the middle of nowhere to my dad, and sure enough, he thought it would be a good family trip to find this place. The place was nothing to look at. The pits were basically set up under a giant pavilion - a roof with no walls, and I vividly remember a rather large man with a beat red face, sweat pouring off his head, slopping sauce on ribs with a large basting mop. The food was incredible, and definitely set the mark for what I thought BBQ could, and should be.
My wife and I were recently up at a nice farmer's market near Brunswick, Georgia. As we were checking out with our multiple baskets of fruits and vegetables, I casually asked the woman ringing us up, "If you could only go to ONE place for BBQ around here, where would it be?" She immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at the other guy who was pulling out some new produce to put on display.
He asked if we were willing to drive a bit. I answered, "of course." In unison they said, "Scott's." We thanked them, lugged our haul to the car and Soon plugged Scott's into our GPS. It wasn't too far from the market, and pulling in? Well, again, its not much to look at. The little driveway into a big rocky and grassy area had more potholes than asphalt.
But the smell of the smoker hits you almost instantly when you get out of your car. A little pavilion with some picnic tables by the side of a building is the seating area. The menu is posted on the wall and your order from a cute little window. The staff? Funny and engaging and willing to talk about anything and everything.
My wife and I wanted to try everything. "We'll take one of each please!" But we narrowed it down to two 2-meat platters. We had the pulled pork, fatty brisket, ribs and chicken. Each came with 2 sides and we tried the fried okra, cole slaw, breaded fries and mac n cheese.
The star was the brisket. Tender, pull apart meatiness that is what you want in good brisket. The chicken was also unexpectedly excellent. The ribs and the pulled pork were good, but not quite to the level of the brisket and the chicken. All of the side were also really good. You can't go wrong with fried okra - I mean - its fried. The fries were the unexpected star of the side. Not sure what they coat the fries with before frying, but it worked really well. The portions are huge and we ended up taking a lot of it home to eat later.
The woman working the window just laughed when we told her we were from Jacksonville and got a recommendation to come to Scott's by folks at a farmer's market.
"I love that," she said.
I loved it to. Because good BBQ, like the food I had when I was 10 and what my wife and I enjoyed this past weekend at Scott's will b memories that last for a long, long time.
If you're ever near Waynesville, Georgia and you're looking for a great place to eat, go to Scott's for some excellent BBQ. Trust me.
