The beauty of barbeque

To me, nothing says “Summer” more than good barbeque. Whether it be traditional pork ribs, beef brisket, chicken or hot links, I just can’t get enough of that grilled, smokey flavor. Although I love all barbeque (including tofu, which if prepared correctly, believe it or not, is pretty damn good), my favorite is pork ribs. I generally find pork ribs juicier and more tender than the other meats. Pork ribs can be fattier though, but l’m OK with that since the fat is where a lot of that good sweet flavor comes from! One of my recurring day dreams has me planted at a picnic table over a slab of ribs slathered in sweet BBQ sauce, which I slaush down with an amber ale, while listening to the ballgame on the radio. In my dream there are never flies, mosquitos or bees!

To many people, barbeque and beer just isn’t enough and they have to have “the sides”:

Cornbread: It is very hard to find someone who makes good cornbread. It’s either too dry or too much like cake rather than bread. But when you find someone who can make an moist, authentic cornbread, it is not an optional item, but a requirement!

Cole Slaw: I find that only 1 in 5 places that serve cole slaw make it well enough for me to finish my portion. Many places put way too much mayonaise in it and it turns into a kind of cabbage soup. Other places make it sickenly sweet. If you find a good slaw, it can be the perfect accompaniment to que served with hot sauce as it will help put out the fire.

BBQ Beans: I love the beans, but will only eat them if I’m eating outside, if you catch my drift (which I hope you don’t). My favorite kind of beans also have bacon, onions and bits of sausage links in them.

Potato Salad: If the cole slaw looks soupy, then I opt for the potato salad. Again too much mayo can ruin a good thing.

Sweet Potatoes: Some people love these. I normally reserve eating these for Thanksgiving.

So now that I’ve got you salivating, I bet you want to know where to go to get you some good que? Here are my favorites:

Campbells: 8701 SE Powell Blvd., Portland Their pork ribs are sublime and their sausage hot links are the best I’ve ever had.

Uncle Wally’s: 27501 SW 95th Ave., Wilsonville. Uncle Wally won 1st prize in last year’s Bones and Brew competition. The pork ribs are excellent and their BBQ beans have all the goodies in them! Location is very hard to find though as they are located in an office park.

Reo’s Ribs: 17385 SW TV Hwy, Aloha. These guys make a mean beef brisket. Great for take out since the eating area is pretty spartan.

Rendezvous BBQ: Somewhere in Memphis, TN. Best BBQ pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever eaten in my life. Incredibly moist and flavorful!

Barry ‘Big-Head’ Bonds

I'm sure by now you've heard that Barry Bonds passed Babe Ruth for the second most career homeruns and all of the constroversy of Barry Bonds' alledged steroid use. First of all, the record that really counts is Henry Aaron's mark of 755 career HR's. Why should we stand up and cheer when someone moves into second place?

So question #1 is: Did Barry Bonds take steroids? Answer: Hell yeah! Have you ever noticed how huge his head is and how his batting helmet barely fits him? It is common knowledge that taking steroids leads to what is called "roid head". Sports Illustrated did a great expose where they showed "before and after" photos of players (including Bonds) where it was obvious that not only do players bulk up to incredible size within a fairly short period of time, but their heads grow abnormally large as well. Add the strong circumstantial evidence from the book The Game of Shadows and my money is on him being guilty as charged.

Question #2: If Barry Bonds passes Aaron's mark, should it really "count"? Answer: Hell no it shouldn't count. Everyone knows that taking steroids will give you more muscle mass and therefore make you stronger. When it comes to hitting home runs a large component of whether the ball goes over the fence or not is bat speed. Stronger players (i.e., those who use steroids) can swing the bat faster and with more power. I agree that hand-eye coordination and pure athleticism are the main determiners as to whether you hit the ball in the first place.  However, it is impossible to determine how many of the homeruns Barry has hit in the past would really have been just fly-outs if Barry was his normal, non-steroid self.

Ben Johnson was disqualified from the gold medal in the 1988 summer olympics for steroid use. Why should Barry Bonds suffer any less fate?

Endless Snow-Summer

While most people around the country are pulling out their bicycles from storage, setting up the barbeque in the backyard, or planning their Memorial Day weekend camping trip, a good number of Oregonians (like myself) are heading up to the mountain for more epic snowboarding or skiing! Why fight the chilly, sand blasting winds on the coast, when you can get that coveted "racoon" tan after one day of skiing under the bright mountain sun?

Mt. Hood Meadows will be open the entire Memorial Day weekend with all major lifts running! They plan on closing the June 2-3 weekend. Timberline is open almost 12 months a year and will close Sept 4 for their annual 2-3 week maintenance period and then they reopen for the new season. Mt. Bachelor will be open the Memorial Day weekend and will then close for the season.

C A R V E I T U P ! ! !