"Pulled Pork" Wheat Belly Supper

Last night's Wheat Belly supper was some BBQed "pulled pork" I made from some ham we had frozen since Christmas! Yes, and it was delicious!

I cut up some onion, cauliflower, broccoli, and red potatoes and roasted them in the oven.  It was so simple, and so good that we wished we had made more!

FOOD IS PROBABLY TOO IMPORTANT TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY...

…but, hey, there are worst things to be addicted to I suppose!

As soon as my friend Jeff Wilson arrived in Harriman, we began his visit with a lunch feast at Midtown, Tennessee’s “Good Ol’ Days Diner” with hot dogs and burgers. The hot dog I had, pictured here was a delight with a sweet tasting slaw and corn nuggets. If you travel through this area (Intersection of Hwys 29 and 70), you must try any of the treats here!

After a day of hiking and sightseeing, we took Jeff to Big Ed’s Pizza in Oak Ridge, TN. Big Ed (Jr.) had expanded the draft beer selection to include two of my favorite pal ales, Fat Tire and Yuengling. I was absolutely thrilled and will go there twice as often now for sure. The pizzas were made to perfection, as only Big Ed’s staff has been making them since 1970. It is a must if traveling through East Tennessee – it’s an institution!

At breakfast the following morning, I started the day with a Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwich at Mimi’s Café at Turkey Creek in Knoxville. Between the great bread is an egg, grilled ham, bacon, garlic spinach, tomato, cheddar cheese, and citrus remoulade!

Jeff picked out the huge Chipotle Breakfast Burrito, which was stuffed with scrambled eggs, shredded beef, green onions, cilantro and black beans, all topped with chipotle sauce and melted cheeses, and served with red skin potatoes!

Jeff and I met Judy, Neena, Ron, and Corey at the Wild Wings Café that evening to cap off a wonderful day of shopping at the Smoky Mountain Knife Works, Bass Pro Shop, and Gander Mountain. Man, we were so hungry for some wings!

As I have documented, Judy and I went to Memphis with Jeff on Wednesday morning. GO HERE for two post on the wonderful time we had last week! In Memphis we treated ourselves to BBQ!

Our first outing was at Charles Vergo’s Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs. The Rendezvous has been in Memphis since 1948. If dry-rub ribs are your weakness, then you must drop by there and pig (on pun intended)! You can see the guys working the BBQ beef and pork in the kitchen from your table. You’ll notice that there are just as many orders “to go” as dine-in! The place is a bee hive of activity. Oh yes, they ship too!

On Thursday night, we made it over to Neely’s Bar-B-Que (west). In February 1988, four brothers (Gaelin, Tony, Mark and Patrick) launched into the barbeque business. They opened their first restaurant in downtown Memphis, with only tables, chairs and one BBQ pit. The brothers started building a reputation of hard work, great BBQ and consistently good service. Four years later after a huge demand we expanded to an East Memphis location, which was opened in October of 1992.

To our delight, these “wet” ribs were sweet and delicious. We also tried the pull-pork and BBQ spaghetti! The spaghetti was a wonderful surprise for us all.

Well, I’ve made myself hungry, so I have to go now. I think there is some “chicken-chili” ready in the kitchen!