Jammin' Joe's Bar-B-Que (VA - New Baltimore)

Tucked away on the side of Route 29, a scant seven miles south of Route 66, is some outstanding Bar-B-Que. There, amid children's jungle gyms and storage sheds, sits a trailer and two large smokers, humbly turning out delicious pork, chicken and trimmings.

At first, Jammin' Joe's flew under the radar screen - kept afloat primarily by the New Baltimore Fire Department and a few locals looking to outsource their Sunday dinners. I have been stopping at Jammin' Joe's for years and it has been a pleasure to watch them grow, but the secret is now out.

For a roadside Bar-B-Que stand, the menu is a bit confusing. It consists of just ribs, chicken, pulled pork sandwiches and trimmings (baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, etc.), but in a dizzying array of combinations and permutations.

Do I want the pulled pork sandwich for $6.95 and a side of beans for $1.95, or should I just get the pulled pork sandwich platter - which comes with two sides - for just $8.95?

If I got the 1/2 chicken and pulled pork sandwich platter (with two sides) for $10.95, would that be enough food for my wife and I?

Put away your Microeconomics textbooks, stop trying to break the pricing and just order whatever you think you can eat. Then order some of the baked beans as well - they're amazing.

I have never had Joe's ribs, but everything else is as authentic as it comes.

The pulled pork is tender, juicy and just a little bit tangy - not at all to be confused with that briny Carolina stuff. Order it as a platter or as a sandwich, but please, if you order it as a sandwich, get the cole slaw ON it - you are, after all, in the Commonwealth now, so try to act the part.

Joe's chicken is excellent as well. He uses real wood and slow cooks them, applying the sauce close enough to the end that he doesn't burn it all off. Inside, the meat is perfectly pink and moist (you will, occasionally see the "ring" that comes from proper BBQ technique). For those of you looking to save your arteries, the chicken is cooked skin-on, but it pulls away easily.

Finally, the crown jewel of Jammin' Joe's, the baked beans. I feel somewhat guilty devoting so much time to a side dish, but these are some of the best and most unique baked beans I have ever had. They are a combination of kidney, black eye and lima beans, all swimming with chunks of bacon in Joe's great sauce. I don't know if they make them in small batches, or just bring them up to temperature in small batches, but somehow, every time I have had them, the various types of beans are all cooked perfectly - like al dente pasta - not too hard, but not turned to mush yet either.

So the next time your travels take you down Route 29, remember to set your odometer as you get off Route 66 - Joes is just seven miles ahead, on the right.

Soon enough, you will be just like me - making excuses to head down that way on the weekends.