Hold the phone...grab a snack...and put your fat pants on

If you've ever watched the travel channel you may have seen the show Man vs Food and on one of the episodes Adam walks into a place in St Louis, MO called Pappy's. He then orders the Big Ben (a full rack of dry rubbed ribs, a 1/4 Chicken, a Beef Brisket Sandwich, a Pulled Pork Sandwich, and 4 sides) AND a Frito Pie (a bed of Frito's covered in pulled pork, sweet baked beans, and cheese). If you can't imagine how much food that is just check out the picture b/c that's exactly what we got! The sides we ordered were 2 Deep Fried Corn on the Cob, sweet BBQ baked beans, and sweet potato fries. That concoction is called the "Adam" Bomb and dang is it a meal for 2 (actually recommended for 4 but no one 'met me in St Louie').

• The ribs were AS good if not slightly better then the one's I got at Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ in Memphis, TN. As the owner Mike "Smokey" Emerson states: “We’ve got nothing to hide so the sauce is on the side!” They're a dry rib rub style not crusted just dusted, and claim to be a Memphis style BBQ joint. They're rated number 1 in St Louis so I'm not sure why they don't just claim St Louis style for themselves.
• The sauces were just ok (I think Neely's has the leg up in that department as theirs was better balanced). You can choose from three different sauces: Original, Sweet, and Hot. The original I didn't really care much for, the sweet was very thick and very sweet (I think this is what they cooked the beans in and why they claim to be Memphis style), and the Hot had some heat was slightly sweet but nothing on the heat level of a Texas BBQ sauce and didn't really have the flavor to back it being such a medium sauce.
• The Beef Brisket was pretty good (they could at least hangout in Texas...maybe), but when your comparison is Smitty's Market in Lockhart, TX and the City Market in Luling, TX it's hard to really soar to the heights of Texas pit BBQ.
• The Pulled Pork was very succulent and smokey and went well with the Hot BBQ Sauce...I don't think they were trying to give North Carolina a run for their money b/c I didn't taste nor see any vinegar in the place.
• The Chicken was good but didn't really seem very special and was slightly ignored b/c we wanted to make sure the rest of the meat was handled with care.
• The Deep Fried Corn on the Cob was good, but I think a properly handled and grilled sweet corn on the cob is where it's at.
• The BBQ Baked Beans were tasty and very very sweet. I don't have a sweet tooth so I didn't desire to gobble them up.
• The Sweet Potato Fries were good and sweet even crusted with a little suga, but not too sweet and not too crispy or too soggy.
• The Frito Pie was pretty good, but I think I would have desired more of it if the beans hadn't of been so sweet.

I didn't however forget about the meal that I had last night, I just forgot to take pictures of it. (Sorry) Eun Young made Korean lettuce wraps that had bean sprouts, rice pasta, kimchi, roasted garlic, and marinated bacon; which rocked the house. She had also made some Vietnamese summer rolls that were appropriately nicknamed Vietnamese burritos b/c of her conquest to place a lot of good stuff inside of them.

It was nice to get to spend another night with John, Eun Young, Donna, and the twins Anna and Jenna. I really hope I get to see more of them while their on this side of the pond. We also spent the morning at their house and then headed into Kansas City on the Missouri side to visit with my friend Jess who I met around the same time as Eric and Logan doing ministry at All Saints. Jess is volunteering with a new organization called A Simple House, which started a couple years ago in DC but has since branched out to Kansas City this past January. A Simple House serves project and Section 8 neighborhoods. That involves meeting people in their neighborhoods and in their homes, and it is focused on the parents instead of the children. Primarily through home visits by pairs of volunteers, and the visits usually include counseling, prayer, bible study, or delivering groceries. Check them out if you're interested as they're still a fairly budding outreach to the poor, but a great group from the people I got to meet today.

We're off to get a view of the city tonight from the Gateway Arch and then checkout the City Museum tomorrow morning before heading down to Bowling Green, KY to meet some of Chip's extended family.