Wisconsin BBQ, who knew?

How can they possibly have good 'que here? Its no where nears hot enough. They have no concept of iced tea. The Wisconsin idea of spicy involves ketchup.

I ate these words two nights ago. Smoky Jon's is a much lauded institution here in Madison and apparently award-winning even in the South. So we wanted our fix. Holy crap, vinegar-based ribs that literally were cooked so long that the bones became soft. Sauce that was tangy and only a tiny bit sweet. Almost spicy, but really astringent. The ribs made me want to gnaw on bone like a dog. I don't even really like ribs, I like pulled pork or chicken bbq. Or mutton.

Crinkle fries, baked beans with the vinegar based sauce, and lame bread rolls rounded out the meal. Next time we'll try other sides.

Beer pairing: for unknown bbq, I decided that maybe an opposite flavor would work well. I was thinking spicy, smoky, or tart- so I chose a Belgian Dark Strong Ale with its high alcohol, dark fruits, yeasty malty goodness to balance the flavors. It did work well, we drank the Trois Pistoles by Unibroue and the large goblets of liquid goodness fit the bill.