This week is Meat Week here in the US, and yesterday marked the first day of my participation this year: the deliciously smokey and creative Bone Lick BBQ.

My friends and I were greeted with open arms by our friendly Meat Captain Tracy Galasso and her First Mate Jeff Thorton, who told us about the day’s specials, asked us to take lots of pictures, and generally got us pumped up for for an evening of revelry.

Let the revelry commence!

I’d already looked at the menu ahead of time, but after hearing that one of the night’s specials was “The International Special” – lamb ribs in a curry sauce – I knew there was really no other option for me that night.  I’d been craving ribs all week, and fancying-up the party with lamb was like icing on the cake.  Besides lamb ribs, other people in our party got the rack of pork ribs, a pulled pork sandwich, and, hilariously, “The Fat Ass Sampler”, a sampler of spare ribs, brisket, pulled pork, chicken and (my favorite) a sausage wrapped in bacon.  Adam and Emily shared that meal together (and traded me a rib for a rib, of course); it was pretty epic.

The International Special

Also, whenever the waiting staff brought out a Fat Ass Sampler they shouted “EVERYBODY!” to which we responded “FAT ASS!”.  It was a classy joint.

We’re so happy to be here! Let us eat!

But hey, I almost forgot to talk about the appetizers!  In honor of Meat Week, ScoutMob had set up deal for Bone Lick giving meat-eaters a free appetizer of either boiled peanuts or truffle-bacon popcorn.  I didn’t try the peanuts – boiled peanuts are not my “thing” – but wow, that popcorn was nuts.  With a strip of perfectly-cooked bacon floating around your grease-soaked bag, the popcorn was addictive and a great way to whet the appetite.

Oh god Bacon-Truffle Popcorn

The main courses themselves?  Amazing.  I didn’t run into anyone who disliked their choice of meal, and I was impressed both by the meat and the side-dishes.  My lamb ribs were wonderful, falling off the bone and just a little spicy in their curry sauce.  Erin, who decided on the pork ribs (which were also smokey and appropriately easy to eat from their bones), shared her side of tater tots with everyone; I don’t remember the last time I had ‘tots cooked so perfectly – hot, and crispy on the outside, perfect on the inside.  And the jalapeño macaroni and cheese?  Not super-spicy (unless you actually eat one of the jalapeños, of course), but creamy and delicious.

More Noms.

After gorging ourselves Emily and I played a few rounds of skee ball on their antique skee ball machine.  The restaurant actually has its own retro-style arcade (Galaga, Mortal Kombat, etc), but the skee ball machine is wedged in the corner, smelling of dust and old metal parts – no coins required.  It was awesome.

Free-Ball!

Suffice it to say, everybody had a great time, and the poor harried waiting staff handled our huge group pretty well.  Oh, and they were gracious enough to give each of us a $5 gift certificate!  Hands-down, I’ll be back for another round of delicious, smokey barbecue.

Check out Bone Lick’s Web Site, Facebook Page, and Twitter Feed!  Eat there or be square!

YAAAAAAY!

Mary Gezo

Formerly of both n00bcakes and !Blog, the two magically become one on Spatialdrift; expect some lazy baking and serious nerditude. Also, I love semicolons.