Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ, Birmingham, Alabama

We were once again in Birmingham for a joyous occasion--a wedding of the daughter of some of our oldest friends, people we have celebrated many a joyous occasion with over the years. The groom's dinner was hosted at this restaurant, which was a block from the hotel where most of the out of town guests were staying, so the location was spectacular.

My spouse was so excited to try this and so disappointed by the food. We have Rodney Scott's BBQ cookbook, and I really love the potato salad recipe in it. I have been making potato salad for almost 50 years, so have had a series of different recipes over that time, but this one is my current favorite. Here is what the problem was--the meat just didn't have much smoke in the flavor. There is always an issue with a buffet in a place where the food is not necessarily prepared for that delivery--but BBQ meat can be served at any temperature, and it should be great. This was not. The fries were amazing and so was the cole slaw (I like that recipe in his book as well)--but the cornbread was dry, the salad had a number of issues, and overall, we would not go back.