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Friday, October 8, 1999
Vernon's barbecue
Good smoked meats make this hangout more than a favorite beer joint
News flash! Vernon's - familiar to many for cheap pitchers of beer, free peanuts and a smoky, low-brow atmosphere - serves barbecue. Good barbecue, too.
I know it says so right on the wall, it's painted in great big white letters on the old barn.
But on suggesting to a dining companion that we stop by there for lunch, I had to explain that the visit wasn't a social call, and a good beer buzz wasn't in the plans.
"Vernon's, huh? I've been there a thousand times, but I've never eaten there. Not unless you count the peanuts," she said.
Stepping into Vernon's, it's easy to see why. It's a bar. Not just any bar, but the kind of bar you might find in 1970s Burt Reynolds film, complete with music from the era blaring, a smoky haze hanging in the air and peanut shells on a floor that once was the lane of a bowling alley. Inside the dark, long bar, the bulk of the light is cast by neon beer signs, and the click of pool balls knocking against each other occasionally rise above the music and steady conversation.
But in the back, in a small room of it's own, you can find some pretty good smoked meats.
Like many barbecue joints, the ambiance is not just casual, but tending toward rundown. Like the rest of the bar, rough-hewn wood paneled walls surround the dining area, which is about the size of a family garage. Red and white checkered table cloths cover the five or six tables that fill the back room. On one, a few pans of pickles, jalapenos, sliced onion and a sack of white bread is the garnish bar.
We stepped up to the counter and gave our order to a stern-faced, middle aged woman who stood behind the piles of smoked brisket and sausage on the steam table. My dining companion ordered the brisket plate ($5.75). I tried for the four meat combo plate ($7.50.)
Other menu selections include chopped beef sandwiches, sliced beef sandwiches, link sausage sandwiches, a three-meat barbecue po-boy and burgers. Vernon's also caters, with the barbecue going for $6.50 a pound.
Both plates came with a standard mustard potato salad, pinto beans and free run of the garnish table. Plates were piled high and heavy with meat. Mine must have weighed several pounds.
A sign at the counter informed us to get our drinks at the bar, and so we did, settling at one of the chest-high tables where my dining companion and I have pulled up a stool on many a night and stayed until they closed the place down.
The bartender, friendly as usual, quickly came over and we ordered two iced teas for $1.
Neither of us felt that we could finish the plates, and we were right. Though I tried mightily.
The brisket was excellent, charred crisp and black on the outside with a fine, smoky flavor. Beneath the skin, the meat was juicy and tender enough to cut with a plastic fork.
The sausage was juicy with grease, as it should be, split down the middle and smoked to perfection. And the several slices of ham had a nice, smoky flavor too. Smothered in a sweet barbecue sauce, it was a feast fit for any proud, red-necked American boy.
Vernon's B-B-Q
1030 Third St., 884-6552
Entrees: $2.00 - $7.50
Checks: yes
Credit cards: none
Hours: Monday to Friday, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Food: **
Service: *
Atmosphere: *
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