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Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Top 5 Meals: #5

As you may have noticed, I'm big into lists. For some reason, I have the need to quantify everything (which would lead you to incorrectly assume that I was a math/science kind of guy).

One of my big sins is gluttony. I'm sure some of you chuckle at a confession of this magnitude. While this particular sin doesn't tend to affect others, it sure as heck affects me.

I digress....

All that to say.....I freakin love food. Some eat to live. Not me. I live to eat. And eat. And eat.

So much so that my sin of gluttony also becomes the sin of idolotry.

In thinking about this list, I realized that what makes a great meal isn't just the food. The people you are with, the conversation, the setting, the service; all these things are just as important.

I'll start with #5 today....

5. Dreamland, Tuscaloosa, AL

I am a BBQ fiend. I even have a video about BBQ that was done for South Carolina public television. While Dreamland has been surpassed by Colonel Poole's BBQ in Elljay, GA as my favorite, one of my favorite meals of all time was at Dreamland when I was in college. It says a lot about Dreamland that a group of Auburn students would drive round trip to dreaded T-Town.

Two particular things other than the other-worldly ribs stick out about this trip: on the way there, my friend Nick got a McRib sandwich. (tells you a lot about the weirdness that is Nick). Secondly, a girl with us kept insisting that she was just going to have a salad there. Even though we told her numerous times that they didn't serve salad, she was undeterred. You should have seen the look of scorn from the waitress when this girl tried to order a salad. I thought she was going to pull a Soup Nazi on us and kick us out into the gravel parking lot.

Maybe I have romanticized the event over time, but those were some of the largest and most tender ribs I have ever had. Most people think of ribs as being kind of fatty, but not these. The meat just fell off the bone. And to this day, Dreamland BBQ sauce is the gold standard.

Beyond the food, all of my friends at that meal (Nick, Randall, Jim, & Chris) are friends for life. Who better to have a meal with for the ages?