These days, all six Trailheads rarely gather to hike. People have silly conflicts, such as being out of town, attending meetings, suffering injuries, or Zooming. But this week, we all punched in and went to work hiking.
George was back from Bend, disappointed he could not connect with the esteemed leader of Hikerbabes. She had recently married, so maybe it wasn’t at the top of her mind to connect with a stranger from Atlanta on her honeymoon. George is charming, but honeymooning hikers might find him a little chatty. As he enjoyed his Atlanta homecoming, George welcomed people to meet for an early coffee at his house. It's such a civilized way to begin the day. Thanks, Barista G.
We began on the mean streets of Druid Hills. Trailheads gave a confident swagger as residents called the cops to rid their neighborhood of the roaming rabble. Now you know why we usually begin hikes in the woods.
We stopped to get a selfie in front of a Halloween cemetery (fortunately, no hands reached from beneath the earth to drag us down). Also, it was lucky that the homeowners didn't turn us in for trespassing in a graveyard.
Onward, we went into the lush woods surrounding Emory University. This is a beautiful part of the city. Atlanta has some exceptional in-city hikes. Check them out on AllTrails and go.
We explored the trails. A large tree had fallen across the creek, and we dared each other to cross it to test our courage and medical insurance after the inevitable fall. No one was stupid enough to accept the challenge.
Fortunately, Roy said he could use Photoshop and make it look like we crossed on the tree, so Steve and Patrick posed and now have photographic proof they are brave hikers who know no bounds. Hooray, technology.
Despite Brad's commands, Elvis went for a dip in the creek. Brad shouted, “No, Elvis, no!” and Elvis heard, “Go, Elvis, go!” This exchange is typical on every hike. What Brad and Elvis “got here is failure to communicate.” (TRIVIA QUIZ: What movie contains that famous quote?)
We hiked the path and came to a paved road. Trail Master Guy saw a KEEP OUT sign across the road. “Come on, boys,” he said. “Let’s do it.” We surveyed the jungle and decided it looked dicey. George was up for the adventure and went into the overgrown area with Guy and Fio.
The rest of us hung back and talked. Soon, George shouted, “Come check this out. It’s the largest spider I’ve ever seen!”
We suppose he thought being around ginormous spiders was our idea of fun, but it’s not—snakes, maybe—bears, certainly—but not spiders. We would bust our eardrums with our high-pitched squeals of terror as we ran.
Brad decided to punt on the hike, take Elvis, and go home. He had projects due, and Elvis had a Zoom call with a dog psychologist about his rebellious nature and obedience issues. We waited, and after a while, Guy and George returned, like Lewis and Clark, with reports of the mysterious lands they had discovered.
“You guys aren’t going to believe what’s down there,” George said, pointing into the thick vegetation. “There’s all kinds of art.” We took his word for it, but he showed us pictures as undeniable evidence. Or did he do these in Photoshop?
George was courageous as he and Fio hiked on a large pipe spanning the water. Steve and Patrick were unimpressed.
“Big deal,” they said. “Roy’s going to make it look like we went across a fallen tree.” George was shaken, realizing he had risked his life to cross the pipe when a simple cut and paste could have accomplished the feat.
With five Trailheads reunited, we continued hiking into the Emory woods and campus. We went by the ballfields as Patrick regaled the gang with his delusions of having once played for the AAA Columbus Clippers.
“It was part of the Yankees organization,” he said with a faraway look. “My manager Hal Weskins used to tell me, ‘Scooter, you’ve got more heart than the rest of this entire team combined. But son, you can’t turn every single into a triple––those wheels of yours are gonna fall off someday.’”
The rest of the crew walked faster, leaving Patrick behind gabbing. The old ballplayer looked at the diamond, and a tear trickled down his eye. “Weskins was right,” he said. “My wheels eventually came off, and I never made it to the show. Who knows? I could have been playing this weekend in the Series against the Dodgers if I hadn’t hustled so much.” He sighed as another tear trickled.
When he turned around, Patrick wondered where everyone had gone. He wanted to discuss the recent death of baseball legend Fernando Valenzuela. That fellow could outpitch even Patrick. He then spied Trailheads on the horizon and hobbled quickly to catch up.
We came upon some curved mirrors and took more selfies. Upon further reflection, we are truly shameless.
Then, as we emerged from the Emory wilderness, our hike was done.
Since some of us were going to a rally that evening, so we made plans to go home, clean up, and meet for a late lunch at Fox Bros. in Brookhaven. You can read about our first visit to this barbecue joint here.
Patrick’s lovely wife, Donna from Texas, joined us for a brisket fix. Trailheads admit we are enthusiastic fans of Fox Bros., especially its original location on DeKalb Ave. We arrived in Brookhaven with high expectations and empty bellies. But unfortunately, on this day, we left a little disappointed.
The pulled pork was delicious, as usual. Steve especially liked the toasted bun, which gives the sandwich stability and added flavor.
Roy and Guy sampled the daily special of chicken salad sandwiches. While they appreciated their toasted potato buns, the chicken salad could have used more mayo or sour cream. The fried onions were a nice touch. The sandwich was huge. It looked like there was an entire chicken between the buns.
The jalapeno cheddar sausage needed to be at a hotter temperature and was a bit tough. It may have been sitting around for a while.
Donna’s brisket was also not hot and had little smokey flavor.
However, Patrick’s brisket chili was well-spiced and flavorful. Pure meaty goodness.
And the smoked wings were good but not as tasty as usual.
Sadly, the sides also weren’t up to Fox Bros.’s usual high standards. The collard greens were shy. They needed more seasoning.
The mac & cheese was okay. It's very creamy, but we’re fans of a crispy cheese crust on our mac & cheese.
The Brunswick Stew was stewy but may have needed a splash more Brunswick, whatever that is. The flavor was not as savory as usual.
And the fries were fine. Guy pronounced them superior carriers of ketchup goodness.
The star of the show was the dessert of Caramel-Chocolate Bread Pudding. It is as decadent as it sounds and worth whatever calories it packs. Did we get a photo of it? No. We were all gobbling it too quickly.
While we hate to be critical, consider this constructive criticism. We would be more forgiving if this had been our first visit to an unknown restaurant, but we, and many local barbecue fans, love Fox Bros.
Let’s hope it was simply an off day. We all have them.
We disbanded, and Patrick choked back tears as he continued remembering his semi-pro ball days. His wife Donna rolled her eyes. She’s used to his gibberish. At least he wasn’t telling her about when he was a boxer and “coulda been a contenda.” Can you name the movie that quote is from trivia fans?
Rating: Four Ribs*
Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
4058 Peachtree Road NE
Brookhaven, GA 30319
470-450-0305
*About Our Barbecue Rating System
Trailheads do not claim to be food experts, epicureans, or sophisticated palates. We are hungry hikers who attack a selected barbecue venue and ravage our way through whatever smoked fare and fixings they're dishing out.
Our reviews feature what we believe are the highlights of the menu we sampled. So our intent is not to trash talk the saintly folks who tend to smoldering smokers on hot, humid summer days. They are sacrificing themselves in the noble art of smoking meats and feeding the drooling masses. Many are independent entrepreneurs who are the backbone of this humming American economy.
Now that you know our standards, you may wonder why every barbecue place gets a four-ribs rating. The answer is easy: our group has acclaimed designers, and they think the ribs graphic looks cool.
Who are we to argue? Enjoy.
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