BBQ in the South

My wife had done her research to find a bona fide homegrown place in Savannah that would give us an unfiltered experience of BBQ in the South.  She scoured the internet, but her break came from an employee at Trader Joe's whom she interacted with regularly.  This person described a "hole in the wall" type place that was sure not to disappoint.  We drove down from Hilton Head and started the day with a horse and carriage ride through the historic downtown before looking for the restaurant J had found with her grocery store ties.  I locked its location into my map app to follow, but as we neared the spot indicated I could not identify any parking or even a building that might be a restaurant. I decided to park in a nearby parking lot for some other stores and approach the area on foot with family in tow.

We passed an alley and then turned onto the street identified in the address.  It was just a row  of little rundown houses and we stopped in front of the one that had the correct number of 515, but there was nothing to suggest it was a place of business, just an overgrown porch.  Next to the door was a little black number 5 made of tin nailed to the wall and scrawled next to it in black marker was "15" to complete the house number.  

It seemed we'd hit a dead end, but I kept going and circled around and passed the alley entrance on the opposite side of the block we'd passed earlier.  The alley was gravel and spotted with mud puddles and trashcans in back of their respective houses.  Somewhere about half way down the length of the alley I spied a red bench which struck me as being out of place.  "What the heck" I thought, "why not check it out?"  Jennifer stayed in place while I ventured down and the kids strung themselves out between us.  As I approached the bench, avoiding the puddles of water, it started to take shape as a possible place of business.  A largish window had bars crisscrossing it and stickers of the Visa and Mastercard logos.  A homemade wooden sign came into view under a shallow porch overhang, "Wall's BBQ".  I'd found it!

I waved for Jennifer and the kids to join me.  The door had some neon-colored signs taped to it giving the days and hours of business.   We had arrived just at 12pm which the sign said was their opening time.  Trapped in the screen door was a piece of paper that fell when I opened it to knock.  I picked it up and saw that it was a standard form letter notice from the City of Savannah with some information hand written in places.  It was notifying them that there was a problem with the front of their house being overgrown with weeds and other such aesthetic concerns that needed attention.

I tried the main door but it was locked.  I could hear people moving around and talking inside and so I knocked, but no one came to the door.  I checked my watch again and it was now a few minutes past twelve.  Jennifer and I looked at each other like "now what?"  I sat on the bench and noticed a pair of glasses dangling from a metal decorative piece on the window.  I laughed, "Hey JB, I found my glasses!"  (I'd lost my glasses on the beach a few days prior).  She said she would call them and see if she could get ahold of anyone.  She dialed the number and then we started giggling because we could hear their phone ringing inside.  After a few rings someone answered and Jennifer asked if they were open.  

"Are you standing outside?" they asked.  

"Yes, we are."

"Oh, I thought I unlocked the door."  Then the door opened and an African-American lady ushered us in and sat us at an old diner-style booth.  The eating area was no more than ten feet wide by about twenty to twenty five feet long and included one long table in back and three of the tables that we sat at.  She gave us some photocopied menus and told us what was not available on it to include collard greens.  Jennifer asked about their BBQ offerings while the table was being set with styrofoam plates and plastic forks wrapped in a napkin.  We ordered pulled pork and ribs to share.  The BBQ sauce was of two varieties in red ketchup squeeze bottles sitting against the wall with the salt and pepper shakers.  

After we got our food, others began to show up to include a food tour group or two with their very own guide who came up to the kitchen door several times to coordinate things for his group who he'd thought had had reservations, but didn't.

We feasted on the ribs and pork as well as healthy portions of mac & cheese, black eyed peas, and coleslaw.  It was a unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience.


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