I vowed to myself, my father, Uncle Lynol, cousin Kam and even a few colleagues that I was done with barbecue until at least the Fourth of July.
That bold vow was taken immediately after I spent a smoky Saturday covering the fourth annual Big Pig BBQ Festival last month at the First Horizon Pavilion. Every which way I turned, there was pork, pork and more pork. Smoked with hickory wood, injected with pineapple juice, sauced the “Carolina way,” shredded, minced and sliced. The event, which I claimed would “traumatize a vegan,” tested my gastronomical fortitude.
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We’re still roughly a month away from the Fourth of July, and thanks to the Chatt Taste Food Tour, I’m about to break my vow.
Just like it’s done for pizza, chicken wings, tacos and burgers, Chatt Taste Food Tour is dedicating an entire week to a certain food. This time, it’s barbecue. Like I mentioned in a column last summer, “Barbecue sauce is seeping out of every square mile of Chattanooga.” Even right now, I could easily rattle several barbecue spots: Chatt SmokeHouse, Edley’s, Good Eats, Barque and Rib & Loin — which is part of the reason I believe barbecue week will have a bit more oomph than the other weeks.