#troyillinois

Barbecue is special. There is an ethos that permeates the barbecue subculture that differs from other segments of the restaurant world, foodie culture and society as a whole.  Naturally, I'm meeting some interesting people on my search for The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America.  

My meeting with Randy, the owner of Randy's House of Bar-B-Que restaurants in Troy and Highland, Illinois was proceeding with the routine familiarity of most of my tastings until I uncovered a hidden gem of a story.

Before sampling some of Randy's barbecue, I first heard about the history of the restaurant and Randy's background.  Then we discussed some of his smoking techniques and his signature dishes.  I asked about his sauces and he said that he doesn't make any of them. Instead he leaves the sauces to the sauce pros, while he focuses on the meats.  

We then moved to the food.  After sampling the brisket, pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad I picked up a rib.  I was immediately struck by the size and meatiness of the thing.  I commented about this to Randy and finally found something noteworthy about my visit.

Randy first tried these ribs at St. Louis' most well known barbecue restaurant, Pappy's Smokehouse.  Impressed with the ribs, he called to ask where they bought their meat.  Pappy's chose not to reveal their supplier, but Randy was undeterred.  "I've been in the restaurant business long enough," he said "to know to go look in the dumpster."  Randy found the boxes that the ribs were shipped in, tracked down the supplier and now uses the same ribs in his restaurant. (While the meat might be the same, you should still go to Pappy's.)