Year of the Pig

After a nice afternoon in Charlottesville, our taste for barbecue only whetted by Jinx’s, Mr. Blue, Mr. Red and I high tailed it down to Farmville, VA. We had a gig there that night, and after showing up at the venue, we dropped off our gear and asked if there was a decent barbecue place in town. We were directed to Grady’s BBQ, the ONLY barbecue place in town, but hey, that’s a start.

We found the place with no trouble and followed the signs from the parking lot, past the smokers out front, to the entrance of the building, which I believe was once an ol’ bank.

We walked into a large, empty lobby and spotted the entrance to Grady’s across the way. We walked in and although it was Saturday evening, I was surprised to see that the place was pretty dead. We had a seat and checked out the menu. We ended up ordering a mess of food for all of us to split: A pound of pulled pork, a rack of ribs, plus sides of beans and mac and cheese, which was also served with buns and cole slaw.

Grady’s was a great place, mellow and low key. The young woman working there was very friendly, and the food respectable, although not sublime. The pulled pork was good, but a stark contrast from that we had at Jinx’s in Charlottesville that afternoon. It was shredded much finer and drier. It was good, but benefited from sauce in a way that Jinx’s did not. As for the ribs, again maybe not the best I have ever had, but totally tasty, well done, savory, juicy, nicely smoked ribs. They were advertised as Memphis style with a dry rub.

We ate our fill, and still had to take a box of left overs with us. I was glad that Mr. Blue and Mr. Red seemed pleased as well:

I would like to mention that I had a great time in Farmville, and we were shown a great time by Wes, the proprietor of a new venue called the Mad Hatter where we played that night, for their opening night. We had a great time at the show, and maybe even a better time out on his farm, staying up too late playing music and hanging out with the horses under the stars.

Late at night, after drinking too much corn whiskey, I made a sandwich with the Grady’s leftovers, and it tasted all the sweeter, closer to sublime.

As for the ribulation, I had 5 Grady’s ribs, bringing the count to 138 ribs in the Year of the Pig.

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I was lucky enough to find myself in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend on a gorgeous fall day. Charlottesville is a favorite town of mine (yes, I am a wahoo), especially in the fall. I had some time to kill and what better way to kill it then to search out some barbecue? I had read some positive reviews of a place called Jinx’s Pit’s Top on East Market Street, not too far from Charlottesville’s historic Downtown Mall. My friends and I (Mr. Blue and Mr. Red) walked down Market St from the Downtown Mall, not really sure how far it was. We had walked about a half mile or so when Mr. Red spotted Jinx’s in the distance. We crossed the street and made for the place and as we got near, we noticed a figure standing by his car out front. He saw us coming too and yelled out as we came down the block, “I hope you aren’t coming here!,” to which we replied, that we most certainly were. We walked up to him, loading a cooler into the trunk of his car. He nervously and apologetically explained that he had closed the place up and was heading out to a catering job for 300. He was obviously right in the middle of getting everything together, and frankly, he looked a little stressed.

He apologized profusely, and said that he hated to send people away disappointed. He reached into the cooler in the trunk and loaded up a plate with 6 pieces of smoked chicken. He gave it to us free of charge and told us to enjoy. We were all hungry, and most grateful for the delicious smelling chicken.

We had a seat on a couple tombstones at the next door funeral dealership, and got down to enjoying some fine barbecue chicken.

The chicken was flavorful, juicy and good. We sat in the warm autumn sun and enjoyed it to the last bite, all the while watching Mr. Jinx busily loading his car. When he saw that we were done, he called over to see how we liked it, and we let him know it was delicious. We got to talking about barbecue, and I told him I was a big barbecue fan and an amateur “pitmaster” myself. He told me that chicken is not normally on his menu, which is mainly ribs (by popular demand) and his specialty, pulled pork, which he described as Western Kentucky style, NOT that Carolina style. He said the words “Carolina Style” with a sneer and then literally shoved his finger into his mouth and leaned over like he was gonna puke. Fortunately he didn’t, but this man certainly has some strong opinions on Barbecue!

Soon after, he waved me over, and he invited me into the tiny vine covered shack that is the Pit’s Top. The place has like 4 or so tables and a counter, and the wall are all covered with various barbecue ephemera. I don’t know what it normally looks like, but on this day that place looked like a cyclone had come through, and every level surface was covered with a jumble of pots and pans, and other cooking related flotsam. He had obviously been working hard to get everything done.

He pulled out another plate and generously scooped out a pile of pulled pork that looked wonderful. He didn’t offer any sauce, and mentioned that its better without. He looked around unable to find a fork, and I said I was fine to eat it with my fingers. “Even better,” he said, and we headed back outside.

Back on the gravestone, Mr. Red, Mr. Blue and I all sampled the pork, which was by all accounts delicious. Mild but flavorful, and juicy as hell. The pork was pulled in big chunks and pieces that you could really sink your teeth in. The was no shortage of tasty pork fat either. All in all, it was very very good.

Jinx called over again, and I again let him know that it was delicious. He looked pleased, and so were we. I would have loved to chat with him more, but he was obviously in a big hurry, so I guess it will have to wait til the next time I can get back to Charlottesville, hopefully soon. I highly recommend Jinx’s if you find yourself in the area. It’s a treat to have great food from someone who puts a lot of love and care into his ‘cue and takes great pride in work. Thanks Jinx!

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