Kentucky – Page 2 – Big Surf Daddy's Pix, Tix, and Licks

Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start—Anthony Bourdain

I love good barbecue.

In the past few years I have associated good barbecue with going on vacation. I would seek out the best barbecue joints on the way to the beach or wherever we were going. Sometimes this took a lot of research and extra drive time, much to the exasperation of Mrs. Big Surf.

Now I just have to cross the bridge from West Liberty into Index, for the barbecue gods have looked down on Morgan County, KY with big messy, saucy grins.

Larry Lewis and his wife Julie have opened Blaze BBQ & Wings. This is a small food trailer. They will be set up at Fannin’s Market in Index..The days of operation will be Saturdays. I think the menu may vary from week to week. This past Saturday was the opening of this new venture. There hasn’t been this much buzz about town since the Freezer Fresh reopened after the tornado. Consequently, so many folks came to Index that the food was consumed too quickly. This was a great testament to Larry’s reputation in our small community.

We joined the line on Saturday for a later lunch, hoping the line would not be as long. This strategy back-fired because the wings had already been eaten up. However, those of us in line did get a sample. Larry sent what was left of the wings out into the line for a sample. It was a good gesture on his part. The wing I ate was soooo good. The barbecue sauce was thick and sweet. I can’t wait for the full order next time.

My other strategy was for my wife and I to order meals that came with two meats and two sides. We would each get a pork portion and one of the three choices of wings and we could sample all four sides (this looks like one of those statistical probability problems I had in college). Since the wings were gone, we could not do that, so we split up the sides. She got home fries and regular cole slaw. I got the Cajun slaw and Nannie Mae’s baked beans. All sides were really good, but I highly recommend the Cajun slaw. The pulled pork and pork loin was delicious and the sauce was sweet and tasty.

I am so glad Larry and Julie are starting out on this endeavor, boosting the food presence here in Morgan County. I hope I can eat this wonderful food for many years. My only advice for Larry and Julie is get a bigger trailer to hold more food, they will need it.

Pulled pork, pork tenderloin, Cajun slaw, and Nannie Mae’s baked beans.

Same meats with home fries and regular slaw.

Larry Lewis served up some really good food. As David Letterman use to say, “It was a good kind of tired.”

I mentioned Fannin’s Market earlier. Sarah Fannin has owned and operated Fannin’s vegetable market in Index, Ky since 1995. She has a large vegetable farm and sells the produce in the market, she also sells vegetables from a grower in another county. The produce is always fresh and tasty. And it always looks appealing, which is important for me when I look for produce.

Fannin’s Market has provided a really nice place for folks to settle in and eat or mingle in a beautiful location overlooking the farm.

I stopped growing my own veggies a few years ago. The deer and groundhogs were better fed than me. So I let Sarah grow my vegetables for me. I still grow some herbs and a few banana peppers, for some reason the varmints don’t like them.

We have been fortunate to have Fannin’s Market for a number of years. So before you get in line for some good barbecue, stock up on veggies, fruits, and melons at Fannin’s Market.

Always great produce at Fannin’s Market.

Nicely decorated gathering area at Fannin’s, for eating or just good conversation.

Cozy tables overlooking the farm.

Never be so focused on what you are looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.—Ann Patchett

I have been trying to get the Missus to accompany me on a lunch date to the Red River Gorge. I have been curious about the Red River Rockhouse since I heard about it from a friend about a year ago. I asked him what is so good about it and he said, “the cheeseburgers”.

Now I love a good burger as well as the next self-proclaimed foodie with a palate similar to eroding blacktop after a tough winter in Eastern Kentucky, I just didn’t know if I wanted to drive the necessary forty-five minutes for the consumption. I realize most of us will drive even farther to proclaim a dining success.

The Red River Gorge is a gorg-eous place. It draws tourists from across the country, most it seems come from Ohio. On any given weekend, the population of Powell and Wolfe Counties is inflated with folks from north of the Ohio River.

The planets must have aligned last week because I got my lovely wife to agree to that lunch date. We met some out-of-town friends (who amazingly were not from Ohio) through a planned consequence. Now I know you are not familiar with this term, so I will explain. We talked about meeting for lunch the next day and I would send a text to confirm. However my friend, who was staying in the lodge at Natural Bridge State Park, did not have cell service and did not get my text saying we would meet them at 1:00 PM that day. The plan did not materialize, however they showed up anyway and we had really nice time.

Now the important stuff. If you are going to the Red River Gorge to hike, camp, canoe, kayak, bird watch, or just get out of Ohio, you need to stop in at the Red River Rockhouse for a simple meal of good food. The menu is not exhaustive, it is written on a chalkboard. The food is simple but the taste is not. Evidently the Ohioans love a good burger or the selection of craft beers, because it was a busy place.

We started with guacamole and chips, both house-made. I highly recommend this as a starter. One order was enough for the four of us.

Next I ordered the aptly named Heavenly Cheeseburger. The menu says it is local grass-fed beef topped with cheese made with milk from a local dairy. I don’t know the difference in grassfed and grainfed beef as far as the taste (I refer to the previous description of my palate), I just know this is one of the best cheeseburgers I have ever eaten. It came with a side of hand cut fries, or should I say a hillside of fries. There were a lot of fries and all of them were good.

My wife ordered a burrito. On the menu, it is described as “a fatty burrito”. Hello Captain Obvious. It was the size of a small sombrero. It took three people two days to eat it all.

Don’t let the unassuming exterior fool you, this is high quality food served by a friendly staff in a beautiful area of Kentucky.