Smokey’s BBQ, Wytheville, Virginia

We recently drove down to Birmingham for the wedding of my niece, Anne Rain Tanner, and Hunter Brown.  They are both lovely people and I was excited about the wedding, even though it would conflict with the Alabama-Texas A&M game:  I had discovered a work-around only the week before:   http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/10/sec_shorts_-_bama_fan_with_no.html.  Anne Rain and Hunter are living in Texas now, and there was a fair chance there would be at least one A&M fan there.

We got an early start and stopped in Wytheville, Virginia, for lunch.  Nancy, who probably wanted a salad but maintains her position as perennial winner of the Real Trooper Award, suggested Smokey’s BBQ.

Smokey’s is a good looking place: no frills.

And they have a frequent customer program: punch a pig with each visit.

I like that.  They also have a choice of sauces, as you can see.  I did not try the sweet sauce.   The hot pepper vinegar sauce was good.

I ordered chopped pork with green beans and macaroni and cheese.

It was close to 1:00 when we got there, and people eat early in the country, so the pork had been sitting around for a bit.  It wasn’t bad — not much smoke taste, especially considering they  claim to use hickory — and the vinegar and pepper sauce livened it up.  I had it with green beans, which were good, and the macaroni and cheese.  As you can see, it’s not a classic church supper macaroni and cheese, but it was pretty good.  It came with a choice of a bun or hushpuppies.  Always thinking of my readers, I chose hushpuppies, which vary in quality much more than buns.  Good choice.

Nancy had the chicken — a breast and wing — and red slaw and potato salad.  The breast was on the dry side, but once again the vinegar and pepper sauce helped.  Nancy doesn’t eat dark meat, so I got the wing.  It was very good.  It had a distinct hickory taste and that lightly leathery textured skin.  The meat was moist and flavorful.

I was facing a Major Food Weekend, so I passed on dessert — even on the German chocolate cake, which really looked good, and only cost $1.99 per slice.

I suppose I might stop in Wytheville again, and I don’t know where else I might eat while there.  I would go for the German chocolate cake in a heartbeat (perhaps his last heartbeat, some of you will be thinking), and I’d have the pork again if I got there earlier in the day.