Four Trailheads (Steve, Roy, Brad, and Patrick) gathered on the muggy last day of June 2022 and hiked East Jones Bridge Trail. Trail master Guy was off to his lake mansion, nibbling caviar canapes, sipping Dom Perignon, and skeet shooting Faberge eggs, and George was on the injured reserve list. He strained his hip upon receiving the prestigious Pierre de Coubertin Medal from the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland. Baron Coubertin, for those not in the know, was the founder of the modern Olympic Games.
We don't think the medal was the cause of his hip injury, but it is a heavy honor bestowed upon him, and his fellow Trailheads salute our comrade in hiking boots. George joined us after our hike for barbecue––and that's the winning spirit we love. We had walked Jones Bridge Trail long ago––way back in 2021. But we have short memories so everything was new to us. AllTrails described this hike as "easy" and "flat." Being wimps, we thought it fit the bill.
But AllTrails fudged the facts. We found some steep elevations along the way and climbed the hills like Billy goats on a ski lift, then marched down by the river where Neil Young sang a shocking confession: "down by the river, I shot my baby." Sure enough, The Hootch looked like the scene of a shooting. It was spooky, with fog hugging the waters (covering Neil's victim?).
We didn't want to get involved with a crime scene, so we kept walking and talking politics, pickleball strategies, NBA off-season wheeling and dealings, shows streaming on TV worth watching, and the fall of civilization. You know, the usual stuff. Elvis was bored with our inane chattering and went for occasional dips into the Chattahoochee.
After a couple of hours of hiking the spider's web of trails, we punched out and went for lunch at 'cue Barbecue in Peachtree Corners. Trailheads visited this location early in our travels (before we began our reviews) and we were mightily impressed. 'cue has five restaurant locations and brandishes the slogan, "homemade everything, y'all." And the joint delivers the goods.
George was waiting for us and forgot to bring his fancy medal. Patrick said he had forgotten to bring his three Nobel Peace Prizes, five Oscars, and seventeen Tonys. Trailheads ignored his blathering and drooled as they read their ‘cue menus. George claimed that everyone in the restaurant recognized him from the AJC feature article on his honor. He said the folks stood, cheered, and offered rounds of drinks until his fellow diners arrived. We imagine they were just cordial and offered him a seat at the bar to wait.
'cue serves everything you could ever want and some items you never knew existed, like Pittsburgh Slaw (vinegar slaw, marinated with diced red peppers, onion, and turmeric). It's delicious, and we later found out the name has little to do with Pittsburgh. A staff member said, "We could have named it Wisconsin Slaw." No, not unless there's Old Milwaukee Beer in the recipe.
Our server was named Llona from Latvia. She was friendly and gave us a quick geography lesson about her homeland. After dealing with us she probably wished she was back there. The place sounds beautiful. Maybe we'll do a future hike there. Brad is starting to design Trailheads lederhosen.
Let's talk 'cue Barbecue.
The pulled pork and brisket were fork-tender with a savory, smoky flavor. George got a half rack of baby back ribs, and those babies carried the weight of a full meal. They are as meaty as an Elmore Leonard novel and fall off the bone if you give them a hard stare. On the table was a six-pack Corona Beer holder carrying four barbecue sauce varieties: sweet, hot, Carolina vinegar, and mustard. They're all tasty meat additions; you can mix your combo for a personalized flavor enhancement. Nice.
Brad was a big fan of the pork sausage and liked his brisket. Roy had the pulled smoked chicken and said it was moist and tasty, adorned in sweet barbecue sauce. He meant to order the "Half Bird" but hey, chicken's chicken, right? And who knew they would have two chicken platters?
Billy Bob Thorton's 'Slingblade' (remember him?) would have loved 'cue's French-fried potatoes. They were fresh-cut and fried crispy with a light dusting of salt. The Texas Toast was not Texas-sized, which is a good thing. Instead of a thick slab of white bread, this was a thin slice, grilled crispy brown and delicious. The sweet potato casserole was also excellent, with melted marshmallows giving it a sweet topping. The collard greens were good, but Alabama's sons (Roy and Brad) said they have had better. Of course they finished them.
Steve raved about the Brunswick Stew and was appreciative of the generous portion. Speaking of generous portions he also got the daily special stuffed baked potato, and two other sides to go with his pulled pork sandwich. Had he not gotten a to-go box, he would still be at ‘cue eating.
Following our lunch, Trailheads were happy as Elvis in water. We warbled our ways back home, fighting the urge to nap... and dream of Latvia.
Rating: Four Ribs*
'cue Barbecue 5260 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Peachtree Corners GA 30071 470-299-5117 cuebarbecue.com/peachtree-corners
*About Our Barbecue Rating System
Trailheads do not claim to be food experts, epicureans, or sophisticated palettes. We are hungry hikers who attack a selected barbecue venue and ravage our way through whatever smoked fare and fixings they're dishing.
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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