Archibald’s BBQ

We needed to stock up on groceries, and since this is a home football game weekend for the University of Alabama, along with Thanksgiving coming up next week, we knew if we didn’t get to town yesterday we would regret it because the crowds would only get worse.

A while back Terry and I were chatting with a young lady who told us that her family owned a good barbecue restaurant that we should try out, and since we really like barbecue we made a note of it. But then things got busy and we never got around to doing so until yesterday, when we went to Archibald’s BBQ in Northport before we did our grocery shopping. Now we’re wondering why we waited so long.

George and Betty Archibald opened their little restaurant in a small cinderblock building tucked away on a side street in 1962 and quickly made a name for themselves serving delicious hickory smoked ribs basted with a special sauce that created a crispy outer layer while leaving the pork underneath moist and tender. They raised their kids cooking ribs, and today the third generation of the family is still using the same recipe in the same location, and draws fans from far and wide. The little family business has been featured in both the New York Times and Southern Living magazine.

If you’re looking for fancy dining, this isn’t the place. They have a small area with a few tables inside, but most folks sit on the picnic tables outside of the small unassuming building. The temperature was about 70, which made it very pleasant while we enjoyed our food.

Terry wanted pulled pork, but actually wound up with sliced pork, which she said was very good.

I chose some ribs, along with their wings, which I had heard were absolutely delicious. No question about it, both the ribs and the wings were excellent, even though the wings were very tiny. I laughed and told Terry that no one said they were chicken wings, maybe they came from sparrows.

Judging by the crowds of people that were there ordering food to eat or take with them, I think Archibald’s is going to be keeping future generations of the family busy cooking for a very long time.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an audiobook of Pirate Trials: Dastardly Deeds & Last Words by my friend Ken Rossignol. These are tales of real pirates, not Hollywood in the Caribbean, but actual bloodthirsty pirates, who, when captured and put on trial, confessed to their brutality in shocking detail to the horror of all those in the courtroom. These accounts of real crime on the high seas committed by pirates who were brought to justice in England, Scotland, Canada and the United States are true and provided precise narratives of their actions in the courtroom, including the drama of the high seas barbarism and the death march to the gibbet and gallows.

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 90 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – Happiness is not a place; it’s a state of mind. You can have it anywhere.