Monday, July 7, 2008

July 4th...On the Road!



We left the Friendly Confines of Franklin, TN, and headed for Broken Arrow, OK.
Mrs. Stallwood made us breakfast, of course, and we were on our way at 8:22am.  
Our first stop was Memphis, TN, and Neely's Barbeque.  These are the same Neely's (Pat and Gina) who have their own show, "Down Home With the Neely's" on the Food Network.  We visited the Neely's restaurant two years ago because we were not able to get into the "number one rated bbq restaurant in Memphis, Rendezvous Ribs," as it was Monday, and they are closed on Monday.  Anyway, two years ago we "discovered" Neely's.  It is, in our opinion, the BEST BARBEQUE IN THE WORLD!  We have eaten BBQ all over...KC (gross), Nashville (good), California (good), Texas (good), Colorado (okay), even Arizona (okay).  This was definitely the best ever!!!  The first time we visited Neely's, Mr. Neely (Pat) came out of his office as we were leaving and started talking to us about his history in the food biz.  He told us about how Al Roker gave him his first break, how difficult it is to prepare food for a photo shoot like the Today Show, how he got his recipes, and even how much he had just spent on his new A/C unit!  He treated us like he had known us for years.  Very cool.  Needless to say, we became instant fans and loyalists to him and his food.  Really quickly, his restaurant is a small yellow windowless building in Memphis's "historical district," just a stone's throw from the Lorraine Motel and the National Civil Rights Museum.  Also, two years ago, there were only three servers working the floor (now there are eight), and back then we were one of only two white families in the restaurant, while this time there were only two African-American families in the restaurant.  So the show has definitely been a success for their business.
Now back to the food.  We got there at 11:30 am and put on the food bag!  We ordered their barbeque pulled pork nachos, a sampler platter, a full slab or pork ribs for Joe and barbeque spaghetti for Alison.  The food was tremendous!  I think the barbeque pulled pork nachos is still the best thing they serve.  The pitiful thing was that we were not able to even eat half of the food that we bought, so we got the rest to go.  It was great because Alison was finally able to experience this restaurant (two years ago we flew her back to SoCal for church camp).  I know I an repeating myself, but this food was just as good as we had remembered!  No. Doubt. About. It.
We hit the road at 12:10pm and headed west.  Arkansas was quick and painless.  Lou drove  through most of the state and I got a 2 1/2 hour nap.  We switched a little before OK and I drove us into Broken Arrow, OK to shoot fireworks with old friends.
We spent the evening lighting fireworks with Richard and Denise Lofton, and their three kids, Joshua, Ryan, and Danielle. 
The time spent with them was fantastic.  Richard was my best friend when I lived in Stillwater.  He and I hung out together a lot and we played on the same intramural league basketball team.  Richard was also in our wedding.  I really love this guy because we are like two peas in a pod.
 All of the kids really hit it off.  We shot fireworks well into the night (Richard had warned me that Broken Arrow is like a war zone for the 4th of July, and he was right.  He added to the War Zone by buying a ton o' fireworks and letting the kids shoot them off.), had ice cream, and watched the kids play Wii while we talked.  Denise and Richard are great people.  Once again, we were super blessed to spend time with this family.
It was a happy Fourth of July for all.
-Dave 

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