Don't Even Think About It

I have often said there are two things you don’t order in the Ozarks; barbeque and Mexican food.

It’s awfully difficult to have good Mexican food without a supply of honest to goodness Mexicans. Maybe there are a few in the Ozarks, but I’d guess they are few and far between and certainly not numerous enough to man a single restaurant.

There’s a place in Mountain View, Arkansas…population just under 3,000…called Tommy’s Famous. It’s a local pizza joint and purveyor of BBQ. Now Tommy is a hippie of sorts or at least claims to be. He says he grew up in South Memphis within sniffing distance of Leonard’s BBQ. In addition, he says his pizza is of the award winning variety.

If you go to his website ( www.tommysfamous.com/ ), you can see proof of the accolades. That’s all fine and good. I’ve eaten at Tommy’s Famous about a half dozen times. To me the proof is in the pudding and this pudding lacks a whole lot.

The pizza is reasonably good, but far from great or the best in any given territory except maybe a two block radius of Tommy’s Famous. And lordy, if anybody in the neighborhood is heating up one of the frozen variety, Tommy’s may be in trouble with the comparison test.

Now Leonard’s BBQ is a Memphis icon. We’re talking prize winning, finger licking good, smoked, tender ribs with a special sauce. Some guy from South Florida ate at Tommy’s and declared his BBQ to be outstanding. Heck, what do south Floridians know about BBQ? Really, how many BBQ shacks do you see in Florida?

Take my word for it. I have eaten plenty of Memphis BBQ and Tommy’s ain’t even close to the bottom of the list. I ordered Tommy’s ribs. Were there any smoke rings to prove it to be BBQ? Nope. In fact they tasted boiled with some kind of awkward seasoning thrown on for taste. And how about the sauce? I think it is whatever is on sale at one of the grocery stores that week.

To use Tommy’s Famous and Leonard’s in the same sentence or even on the same page should be a mortal sin.

There is a Mexican restaurant in Mountain View, but I think I know better than to try it. Likewise, I should have adhered to my own advice and stayed away from the BBQ.

My original advice still stands. Don’t order Mexican or BBQ in the Ozarks.