Good BBQ is like a Jimmy Buffet song...

It takes you someplace you've never been but always wanted to be and makes you feel like you've always belonged.

BBQ and Buffet are simple. Neither are filled with complicated cords or overproduction but rather gentle melding of a few basics. They don't require extensive training to decipher or create, just simple views on life's pleasures. Neither will ever be accused of manufacturing mediocre for the masses, but instead they motivate throngs of followers by creating cravings using nothing more than comfort and simplicity. Generations connect, smiles ensue, and if only for a bit, Buffet and BBQ lavish us with a great gift, respite from the whirlwind we call life.

Check your pretensions at the door, pull up a chair, grab a drink and dive in. Dare to day dream...beaches, a gentle buzz, hickory smoke wafting, full bellies, people smiling in a relaxed comfort zone. Both conjure images of places that elude us or have long passed away. Hard as we try, we'll never get there. Buffet and BBQ are port holes we use to gaze on the fleeting images of these by-gone places, feelings, and attitudes we crave as we are tossed by the storm of life. Whether it's listening to the narration of a lazy Caribbean beach stroll, or carousing with neighbors at a block party pig roast, our senses steer us the that place of gentle relaxation.

So to those who create those escapes for us...the Jimmy Buffets of BBQ, don't stop. Whether its a joint in the Carolinas, a monument in Texas, maybe and iconic place in Kansas City or even a "Shed" in Mississippi, or maybe it's just your back yard, America (and Canada too!!) thanks you!

Joey Mac