Author Archives: Andy Staples

About Andy Staples

Eating anything that doesn't eat me first.

It just works

Posted on October 4, 2012

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Given a brain boost, some expert instructors and a few years, I might someday grasp why Planck’s constant works. But since I have neither the intelligence nor the patience, I muddle through life happy that someone … Continue reading →

Posted in Bacon, Burgers | Tagged , | 5 Comments

An ugly condiment’s beautiful cousin

Posted on September 7, 2012

HOMEWOOD, Ala. – On my third visit to Saw’s BBQ, I finally accepted my own hypocrisy.

Posted in BBQ, Side Dishes, Sweet Tea, Value | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Pickles and biscuits? Pickles and biscuits.

Posted on August 22, 2012

NEW YORK – A night after a disappointing dinner at a carefully curated, high-concept restaurant, I walked into another carefully curated, high-concept restaurant. Other than their positions on the island of Manhattan – one in the West Village, one on … Continue reading →

Posted in Biscuits, Fried Goodness, Gravy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘Quite Lovely’

Posted on August 21, 2012

NEW YORK – SI.com college football producer Ben Glicksman, who as of this moment has a standing invitation to every forthcoming Heaven Is a Buffet review meal, stared at the raw mustard greens before him like an astronaut examining a … Continue reading →

Posted in BBQ, Fancy Pants | Tagged , | 5 Comments

From jowl to tail

Posted on July 26, 2012

CHICAGO – Even when I’ve eaten whole hog barbecue, I haven’t really eaten the whole hog. Sure, I’ve eaten snout at Petty’s in Starkville, Miss., but most of my swine dining has come from the popular cuts. Wednesday, I set … Continue reading →

Posted in Fancy Pants, Side Dishes | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

My question: Answered

Posted on June 26, 2012

WASHINGTON – Restaurant workers, take a lesson from the hardest working bartender inside the Beltway. When I asked Charles to name the best entrée on the Founding Farmers menu Monday night, he didn’t offer either of the following mealy-mouthed answers.

Posted in Bacon, Fancy Pants, Fried Goodness, Side Dishes | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Eating like it’s 1999

Posted on June 25, 2012

ATLANTA – Most Fridays in the summer of 1999, I left the Atlanta Journal-Constitution building, climbed into my Corolla, cranked Outkast’s Aquemini CD and headed for the ATM at the base of the Bank of America skyscraper in Midtown. Once … Continue reading →

Posted in Value | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The BBQist Manifesto

Posted on June 13, 2012

CHICAGO – Unwritten rules permeate barbecue culture like hickory smoke permeates a hunk of brisket. Don’t drown the meat in sauce. Use spare ribs instead of babybacks. Never sacrifice attention to the meat for attention to side dishes. Everyone seems … Continue reading →

Posted in BBQ, Side Dishes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Mad Swine

Posted on June 8, 2012

Location: A dimly lit hotel bar on Madison Avenue. Don Draper fiddles with something in his drink. Joan Harris, who will soon become Joan Holloway again thanks to the divorce papers she has just been served, looks perplexed. Joan: Is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Sauces? We don’t need no stinking sauces.

Posted on May 31, 2012

DESTIN, Fla. – It takes guts to open a cash-only restaurant with no indoor seating in a place where the temperature routinely hovers between 90 and the fires of hell. It takes even more guts to serve a pulled-pork sandwich … Continue reading →

Posted in BBQ, Sammiches, Sweet Tea | Tagged , , | 1 Comment