In this job (as you can imagine) I encounter a lot of barbecue. Most of it is pretty good. I’m fortunate enough to really be able to enjoy a good smoke on a quality piece of meat. I taste barbecue sauces like some folks taste wine… looking for notes and echoes, except I’m looking for spice and whether there’s honey or brown sugar in sauces rather than a peaty or mossy tone. And I’m always a sucker for a restaurant that has a BBQ meat filled baked potato. No, it’s not high cuisine, but it’s a favorite of mine.

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Found all three in a little place in a small town in Arkansas this week. Good, smoky pulled beef; a tangy, honey-sweetened peppery sauce; and that sought-after potato. Found them all at a little place called Allen’s Barbecue and Grill in Gurdon, the little burg south of Arkadelphia on Highway 67. The building seems a lot neater than many of the shacks which serve as barbecue temples around this state. There’s a posting of The Ten Commandments in the window and photos of cheerleaders in frames inside. You know where you stand when you walk in.

The food, after the jump.

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