Close Enough for Barbecue

That's our new twist on the old saying ("Close enough for government work"), now that we're living where barbecue is a verb and/or a grill. Just for fun, we've included one of our favorite educational videos about barbecue:

We finally found a decent BBQ place: Famous Dave's. They have a combination of different styles of barbecue. It's a chain, but (as far as we know) it's the best we've got up here.

Pros

• They actually serve real sweet tea (i.e., brewed--not from syrup or powder). In the Midwest.
• Their beef brisket is excellent.
• They have the perfect variety of sauces. On the table. In a caddy. That's how you do it.
• They let us sample the sauces (using BBQ-flavored potato chips) while we waited for our food.
• Their "Georgia mustard" sauce is really good. It has just enough vinegar in it to make it interesting.
• They don't refer to vinegar as "sauce".
• They offer mashed sweet potatoes in addition to regular (actual) potatoes.
• The service is great.
• They send coupons via e-mail.
• They totally used the word "hankerin'" on their web site.

Cons

• They have chopped pork--not pulled. Close enough. Tastes the same but doesn't soak up as much sauce.
• No fried okra.
• No hush puppies. But they do have very good (and sweet) cornbread muffins. We'll accept that.

We know where to go now when we get a hankerin' for something a little more southern (i.e., when they send us another coupon).