"DIXIE DINING " with Gary Saunders
JULY 2006

Three Kindred Dixie Spirits take a BBQ Trek Deep into the Arkansas Delta

It was indeed a brilliant idea: Three friends, all with a passion for fine Southern Bar-B-Q, getting together for a day trip chock full of smoked pork and fellowship. The thought had originated with Rex Nelson, who knows the Arkansas Delta like the back of his own hand. Nelson is employed by the Delta Regional Authority, which has offices in Little Rock, AR and Clarksdale, MS.

Rex’s game plan involved joining up with Jay Grelen (a columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) in Little Rock, meeting up with yours truly in Poplar Grove, AR, and then spending the late morning and early afternoon sampling as much BBQ as three humans can possibly consume in a 3-4 hour time frame. Poplar Grove is located due east of Helena, AR, and Rex had emailed me driving directions, which concluded with the instructions: “Be looking for the pig and the bright purple building on your right.” And just when I thought I might have motored too far, there it was --- just as plain as day. Our first taste of the day would come right here at JR’s Bar-B-Que.

Once Rex and Jay had arrived, we dodged the spitting raindrops and slipped inside for a sniff --- and a quick bite. We each ordered a pork sandwich and a cool beverage before assembling at a small table in the diner’s homey dining area. There was plenty good eating ahead, so we agreed that sampling any quantity of side dishes would not be a good idea on this particular journey. We spent a few minutes catching up with each other’s lives until the food arrived. It was at that time that a reverent silence filled the room much like the aromatic smoke in the air.

The sandwich at JR’s was pretty darn good, no doubt about it. The flavorful little chunks of pork were piled high and blanketed with a fresh crispy slaw. The dark sauce had a sufficient bite to it and the sandwiches were quickly dispatched. Yet we somehow knew that something even more special lay ahead. After a few photos and a brief chat with the joint’s smiling proprietor, we all climbed into Jay’s SUV and began the short drive to Marianna, AR.

Jones Bar-B-Q Diner of Marianna is one of those magical dives that seems almost too classic to be true. First of all, Marianna is not exactly a big town. Second, Jones Bar-B-Q is not on a main drag. To find it, one has to veer off Highway 49 and venture into a shady (perhaps in more ways than one) residential area. At this point, you won’t need an on-board navigation system to locate your ultimate destination. All you’ll need is a good sniffer.

Shortly after your nostrils fill with heavenly smoke, a boxy little white structure will appear on your right. Jones Bar-B-Q is a neighborhood joint that has been in business for some 100 years. And when you start asking yourself how such a sleepy, out-of-the-way dump could hang on for such a long run, your first taste of shredded pork will surely answer that question for you.

One by one we placed our order through a tiny window, and then retired to a nearby table while the proprietor worked his porcine magic. Pulling the mound of pig out from under an extremely bright heat lamp, he gave the meat several good chops. The middle-aged black gentleman then carefully assembled the pork on plain white bread (no buns used here), bathed the meat in just the right amount of the thin, vinegar-based sauce, and topped it with some not-too-creamy cole slaw. I was immediately transported to my days in the Carolinas when I sunk my teeth into the pork sandwich at Jones. It was simply delicious (as good as I’ve had anywhere in Memphis) and I must say I was very tempted to order a second helping.

After showing some incredible willpower, we were invited around back to observe the BBQ pit in action. As Jay drilled the sweaty pitmaster with question after question about the smoking process, I floated around the pit, snapping images of bellowing smoke, admiring the roaring fire and countless pounds of meat wrapped in shiny silver foil. The smell was intoxicating and the entire experience unforgettable. This is how it was done in the old days before folks got in a big hurry. This is the way it should be done today. We were just thankful that the old days had not yet completely passed us by.

Reeking of smoke from head to toe, we pressed onward to Marvell, AR and the legendary Shadden’s BBQ shack. Shadden’s, once a frequent hangout of The Band’s Levon Helm, gets high marks for its atmosphere alone. Talk about days gone by! This joint looks like the quintessential country store/filling station. A black woman was seated on the front porch as we pulled into the gravel lot out front. She slowly rose to her feet and nodded at us before disappearing into the kitchen. Her break from work was over --- if just for a while.

A young white girl sporting a ball cap greeted us as we gazed around the well-aged interior of Shadden’s. Jars of giant dill pickles, pickled sausage, and floating pickled eggs rested atop a rattling metallic cooler. Yellowed pictures of smiling families and once-young enlisted men could be seen everywhere, making Shadden’s look like a cross between a roadside grocery and museum.

The black woman soon emerged from the barely-lit kitchen with our sandwiches, each one swaddled in wax paper and pierced with a lone wooden toothpick. Remarkably, we still had the appetite and room in our bellies for this last salvo of savory smoked pig meat. Yet it was clearly the sheer character of Shadden’s that would make this stop one of the highlights of our day.

As we exited the rickety old structure, the black woman had taken a seat alongside a broken down jukebox and the young girl was back on her cell phone. Rex, Jay and myself exchanged some final pleasantries on the drive back to our original rendezvous point. We then shook greasy hands, folded ourselves back into the two vehicles, and wheeled back on the lonesome raindrop-speckled highway. But not before plans were suggested for another road trip --- next time to the Little Rock area. Today’s “work” was done, but more dining adventures were just down the road. “So much swine, so little time!”

Shadden’s BBQ Sauce

• ¼ cup oil
• ½ stick butter
• 2 small onions (chopped very fine)
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ½ bottle A-1 Sauce
• ¾ bottle ketchup
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ½ tablespoons Tabasco
• ¼ lemon (grated; including rind)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste (for added heat)

--Sauté onion in butter and oil until tender

-- Add other ingredients, mix well and cook for 30-45 minutes.

(SHADDEN'S BARBECUE, MARVELL, AR; from the book “High Cotton Cookin'.”)

-- JR’s Bar-B-Que --- Poplar Grove; 11166 Highway 49, (870) 829-3748
-- Jones Barbecue Diner --- Marianna; 219 West Louisiana Street, (870) 295-5410
-- Shadden’s Grocery --- Highway 49; Marvell; (870) 829-2255

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