Them There's Good Eatin'!

So, it turns out you can get good barbeque in Madison. Smoky Jon's isn't the Dinosaur, but we were pleasantly surprised.

We got the first sign that it might be as good as it claimed was when we pulled up outside. It's out on Packers Ave, which is a 4-lane divided highway through an industrial neighborhood. (The Oscar Meyer plant is maybe half a mile from there.) The place itself is half of an old warehouse. The other half seems to be an auto repair shop or something. Anyway, sketchy enough to presage good barbeque. Stepping inside, the decor is more "log-cabin bunkhouse" than "dimly-lit biker den", but they were playing some good blues over the PA. There was also a roll of paper towels on each table. So far, so good.

I got a combo platter with a third of a rack of ribs and a smoked brisket sandwich, with fries and chili on the side. Anita got a spicy chicken sandwich with fries and cole slaw. It's St. Louis-style barbeque, which seems to mean a fairly sweet tomato-based sauce with a lot of vinegar in it. It was pretty darn good. I have only good things to say about the meat. Very clearly slow-smoked and more than tender enough to slice with the plastic knife. The chili was short on beans, oddly enough, and could really have used some cheese, but it was passable. We'll be headed back, that's for certain.

Anyway, I hope y'all are having a nice holiday weekend. We've been pretty successful in avoiding the Holiday Cheer this season, thank goodness. I should have time to record some music tomorrow (since there's nothing else to do), so stay tuned...