JONES BAR-B-Q IS ONE OF THOSE MAGICAL DIVES

Jones Bar-B-Q Diner of Marianna, Arkansas 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 my good friends Jay Grelen and Rex Nelson 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.