Rebuilding Sam's BBQ: Day 1

The first day of cleaning out and rebuilding Sam's BBQ in Humboldt Tennessee went extremely well. Volunteers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina showed up to lend a hand to help rebuild history. As the day began we were visited by members of the local Chamber of Commerce who told us of a man who showed up at the Chamber looking for information on Sam's BBQ. The director of the Chamber noticed that the man had a strong accent and asked him where he was from. "Australia" he replied. He went on to explain that he had read about Sam's in Garden and Gun magazine and had come to see it in person.

Food historian and Food Network personality John T. Edge with the Southern Foodways Alliance brought several volunteers from the Alliance with him.

The crew was extraordinary in digging in and going to work immediately on ripping roofs, tearing floors and shoveling debris. Nick Pihakis of 'Jim and Nicks BBQ' brought a crew and began constructing roofs and stability for the structures. Angela and Paul Knipple, authors of 'The World in a Skillet: A Food Lover's Tour of the New American South' came from Memphis to give their time and energy to rebuilding.

As you can see in some of these photos, the building suffered great damage as the result of the fire.

The building was going to have to be cleaned out before it could be rebuilt. The pit had been cooking for over 20 years. We began by ripping off roofs and cleaning out debris.

An amazing lunch was donated by Clark Shaw and the Old Country Store. The Shaw family showed up in person to serve a southern meal of fried catfish, spaghetti, slaw, fresh tomatoes from the Farmer's Market, watermelon and homemade pecan pie. During the lunch, the Southern Foodways Alliance presented the Donald Family with a portrait that one of their members had taken several years ago of 'Sam' Donald, founder of Sam's BBQ. As you can imagine, it was a touching moment for his daughter and granddaughter who both began to cry at seeing the photo.

After lunch we began on cleaning out and restoring the pit.

There is still much more to be done but in the words of the great anthropologist Margaret Mead "“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” 

Saving Sams

Readers of FITBB know my love for West Tennessee BBQ and the people that work so hard to keep this dying art alive. Our dear friends at Sam's BBQ in Humboldt Tennessee lost their business to fire and we want to help them rebuild. Please read the following from our friends at the Southern Foodways Alliance.
 

 

 Before and After

Sam's Bar-B-Q Rebuild Weekend
Friday and Saturday, July 27-28
Humboldt, Tennessee

The Fatback Collective, along with the Southern Foodways Alliance, and Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q, invites you to volunteer your time, muscle, and skills to rebuild an institution, Sam's Bar-B-Q in Humboldt, Tennessee.

Founder Sam Donald began smoking hogs in the 1940s. Through the years, Sam worked for other men, smoking their hogs and stirring their sauce. In 1988, Sam and his wife Mary Donald, opened their own place, Sam's Bar-B-Q, specializing in shoulder meat sandwiches and sweet potato pies.

Sam built a pit alongside his building, a dome-topped double-decker behemoth. Oak and hickory limbs burned down to coals on the bottom. Up top, those coals smoldered, cooking and perfuming pork shoulders.

When the SFA began its oral history work, Sam Donald was one of the first pitmasters interviewed.

Through the years his family commitment, and that of other great American pitmasters, has inspired all of the hosts of this work weekend.

Now it's time to give back.

In June of this year, Sam's, now run by John Ivory, son-in-law of Sam Donald, was hit by fire. Hard.

The family does not have the means to rebuild, without help.

That's where you come in.

From 8-4 on Friday and Saturday, July 27 and 28, volunteers from SFA, Fatback, and Jim 'N Nick's will join together in Humboldt to help put Sam's back on the path to reopening.

Toby Rumbarger from Jim 'N Nick's has done a site survey and developed a plan of work.

Peter Brigham, a construction company owner from Birmingham, stands ready to lead work crews.

Mary Beth Lasseter of the SFA just ordered two construction dumpsters, which will be in place by Wednesday.

We need 30 volunteers to do demolition and haul debris, under the supervision of skilled foremen.

That translates to 15 per day. You may sign up for a shift HERE.

Already booked for a shift are John Currence, Angie Mosier, Drew Robinson, Melissa Hall, Jill Cooley, Amy Evans, John T Edge, Patrick Brigham, Sara Camp Arnold, and Nick Pihakis.

20 slots remain.

Join us.

One more thing: We know that barbecue restaurants burn fairly often. It's a hazard of an industry that relies on fire for smoke. We realize that we can't come to the aid of every barbecue restaurant that burns. But we can help this time. And we hope, that by lending a hand, we can inspire others to do similar good works to sustain our great American folk food.

John T Edge and Nick Pihakis


LOGISTICS

Humboldt is 16 miles northwest of Jackson, Tennessee, just off I-40 between Memphis and Nashville.

Sam's is located at 500 West Main Street in Humboldt.

Lunch will be provided gratis on site each day at 11:30 by Clark and Juanita Shaw of the Old County Store in Jackson.

We'll eat barbecue from Helen's in nearby Brownsville on the night of July 27.

After you sign up for a shift, SFA office manager Julie Pickett will email you with contact information for the hotel rooms we've reserved in Jackson. You will pay for your own hotel room.

If you volunteer, you should bring heavy work gloves, a hat, a mask, and a six-pack of water bottles. If you can, please bring wheelbarrows, crowbars, and large shovels.

If you try to volunteer and all spots are already taken, we'll put you on a wait list for this weekend, or, as needs are further defined, check with you about a future weekend.

Food Trucks come to Memphis!

Ten years ago the words 'food truck' concocted images of moving greasy spoons serving triangle shaped sandwiches and the equivalent of Mel's chili. (Children of the Eighties holla!) Affectionately known as 'roach coaches' these rolling concession stands left a bad taste (literally) in most of our mouths.

Several years later a food revolution has started. No longer are food trucks the lower species on the culinary evolution scale. They are now chic rolling kitchens that frequently serve up gourmet food in a mondo artistic fashion. The food truck revolution has taken a hold in cities like Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland where literally thousands of customers flock to these chow wagons on a daily basis.

Many of the food trucks do all of their advertising through social media outlets. One food truck owner stated " We can send out 144 characters and get 1,000 people to our truck!"  While you can find American standards like burgers and hot dogs on these trucks, there is a truly eclectic buffet of foods that you can find in the modern day food truck scene. Korean short ribs, Shepard's Pie, Indian curries and a host of diverse dishes are now being served out the side of the trucks.

So you can imagine my surprise to hear that Memphis is now home to a growing food truck scene. Yes foodies, there is a Santa Claus! On Sunday June 24th there was a 'Food Truck Rodeo' held on Broad street in Memphis. A host of food trucks were there serving up hot and fresh dishes. Each one having their own unique taste and approach to street foods.

Food trucks from Revival, Fuel, Tamale Trolley, Yolo, Marks Grill, B&B, Quincy's, Crumpy's Square Meal on Wheels, Kona Ice, Sleddogs and Memphis Munchies all made an appearance. The temperature was hot, the crowds were plenty and the food was tasty!

I had heard about Revival for quite some time and decided to try their Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. If your thinking to yourself "What can be done with buffalo chicken that hadn't been done?" then please hold that thought. The chicken was pulled (not a patty) nicely marinated and served with a wonderful slaw on fresh baguette. It had just a hint of spicy but not too much to kill the flavor. Really nice. The lady running Revival advised me that their menu is ever-changing which means I can try a completely different dish every time I see them!

My second dish to try was from Fuel.  Fuel specializes in using fresh ingredients including meats and poultry that are all grass fed with no antibiotics. Their menu was quite varied with items ranging from Bison tacos to veggie tacos. I chose to try the 'Grilled Cheese and Berkshire Bacon'. Holy mother of God, this simple yet complex heatstopper was made with heavily buttered country white bread, stuffed with baby swiss, cheddar and provolone and bacon. I gave my friend a bite and he looked at me and said "that is just wrong." Aaaamazing.

My friend Brian decided to try a barbecue bologna (Mississippi prime rib) sandwich from 'Scooter's Bar-B-Que'. It was a hunkin chunk of delicious pink pork slathered in a rich brown bbq sauce. He followed it up with a plate of tamales from the ever popular 'Tamale Truck' which he assured me was quite delicious.

After pondering on how much more bread, butter and other healthy ingrediants we could take in, we decided to step up and try Revival's 'Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding'. Let us pause.................................................

If you could eat heaven. If you could sample Utopia. If you could digest world peace....let me just be blunt with you....IT'S DOUGHNUTS AND BUTTER AND CARAMEL....should there be any more questions? I just got a shiver thinking about it. This dessert will probably go on my list of last meal desserts. Amen, halleluiah, so let it be done....

I was very encouraged by the number of people who came out and ate in the heat! The food truck movement is growing in Memphis and it will continue to help the local food culture grow. Support your local food trucks and preserve foodies in the Bible Belt!












 

Tacos under the Arch: A Hispanic community in St. Louis

When most of us think of St. Louis we use think of Cardinals baseball, the Arch and toasted ravioli. But did you ever think of St. Louis as being the home to a thriving Hispanic food scene? Talk a walk down Cherokee Street in downtown St. Louis and you'll see 'Cherokee Row', a district of thrift and antique shops, Anheuser Busch brewery and dozens of eclectic indie shops.

But walk a little further down Cherokee and you'll begin to see it. Wonderful pastel colored signs and painted images of women preparing tortillas amidst colored jars of green and red salsa. The smell of grilled meats sauteed with citrus juices permeates the air as smoke rises from behind little Mexican cafes. Welcome to little Mexico in the heart of the gateway to the West. 

Cherokee street is home to a bustling community of markets, shops and cafes. One of our first stops on Cherokee is Diana's Bakery. Diana's is a traditional Mexican bakery that serves homemade breads, cookies and assorted desserts. Diana's is so highly acclaimed that it was awarded St. Louis' newspaper 'The Riverfront Times 'St. Louis Best Bakery Award' in 2010.

Diana's serves many traditional Mexican cookies called 'galletas'. Colorful sugar cookies covered in sugar and cinnamon.  As we walk in a sign catches my eye 'Cream Cheese Empanadas'....Tasty golden flaky pastries filled with sweet buttery cream cheese. They will hurt you...

Across the counter a group of elderly women are working on a tray of cinnamon covered churros. Stocked shelves adorned with cakes, pies and tarts fill the room. Diana's is a dessert lover's palace.

But perhaps before you indulge in sweets you would like to scoop up some lunch? There are a number of cafes and restaurants throughout the district that serve fantastic traditional Mexican faire.  Open air cafes selling freshly fried pork rinds called 'chicharones'. Thirsty? Try a glass of 'horchata', a sweet concoction made of rice, almonds, cinnamon and vanilla.  And there's then there's the classics..deep stuffed pork tacos, grilled arrachera (skirt steak) and steaming bowls of menudo.

We decide on eating at Taqueria El Torito. El Torito is part grocery and part restaurant. As we enter the grocery, a man is covering fresh roasted corn with  Mexican sour cream, lime juice and chili pepper. A little old lady presses fresh homemade corn tortillas at a small table.

As you make your way into the restaurant you can't help but notice the tall stretching architecture covered in murals of Aztec daily life. A large Hispanic family laughs and enjoys piles of food at a table next to us. I order Tacos Al Pastor, Tacos Lengua and Carnitas. The waitress brings us a woven basket filled with warm flour tortillas. Puffed pastry like tortillas with little brown dark spots where they have almost burned. So good.

The waitress brings our dishes to the table in a display that could only be called 'epic'.
I make my friend MaryJo try a tongue taco before I tell her what is in it. "It's good isn't it? It's like really good roast." She smiles and lifts the taco to her mouth, chomping away. "Know what it is?" I ask. She stops. " What? What is it? Oh boy..." I tell her that it's tongue. She makes a face and continues eating.

The waitress brings us several different bowls of salsas. There is a brown soupy salsa made with poblano peppers. Smoky and spicy. One is green made with tomatillos and jalapenos. Citrusy and spicy with a little bit of lime juice. As the table begins to crowd, she places bowls of chopped onions, limes and cilantro amidst the heap of food.

We round our trip of Cherokee street with a tour of some of the many markets. Fresh spices, cooking utensils, clothing and various foods all from Mexico. If your looking for something really different to do in St. Louis, check out the Mexican food community on Cherokee.