At 9012 East Brainerd Road up past the Hurricane Creek neighborhood is a cute little barbecue place called Bones’ (not to be confused with Smokey Bones on Gunbarrel). It looks like it has been there for a while and I don’t think it’s a franchise.

After the last barbecue place left my taste buds flat, I had it in my mind to try again somewhere else and I am glad I did!

There was plenty of booth seating and there was a country feel to the place. When I was led to my table, it had spilt salt across it and so did the seats. I don’t think my server saw that or I am sure she would have wiped it down. I was less afraid of salt on the table that I could brush away, rather than have her get a rag to wipe it down.

I don’t know how this place cleans their tables (and it looks like they didn’t this time) but some places will take a germy rag across the table and it just makes it worse. I like when a restaurant uses a spray bottle and paper towels - to me that is more sanitary in the public food business. Call me old-fashioned, but I like clean tables.

I brushed aside the salt, sat down and looked over the menu. They specialized in barbecue but they had other items on their menu too - chicken pot pies, enchiladas, stuffed potatoes, salads and more.

I wanted to compare their food with the place in Ooltewah that I didn’t care for so I decided to order a platter just as before but I almost gave in to ordering a sandwich! They had one sandwich with pulled pork and jalapeño sausage called The Big Pig for $7.59. I liked the thought of the marinated pickles in jalapeño vinegar they described, but I felt the two meats would just be too much on one sandwich.

I did get the pulled pork platter for $8.39. To me, barbecue isn’t barbecue if you can slice it or shave it! Especially pork, where the meat is cooked so tender it just falls right off the bone!

I also saw that they had fried pickles. Now I am just about through with fried ‘anything’, never cared for it much but have been having fun with trying these places and writing about them. And since another place had fried pickles that I didn’t like when I tried them for the first time; I had to see if these would be any different.

I tasted the pickles and dipped them in the sweet horseradish sauce. They were salty but not so much where my blood would dry up like the place in Trenton. In fact, I must say, that even if I am not a fried pickle fan, I liked the pickles they used and the way they were prepared. Crisp pickles, not soggy and they were not greasy at all. I only had to have a few to taste because I knew I had two sides coming with my BBQ.

I had asked how the okra was breaded and the gal told me they hand bread it. It certainly made all the difference! I ate a few of the okra nibblets and they were good.

I tasted the pinto beans and they really perked up my taste buds! It reminded me of my mother’s when we used to eat them in a big bowl as a meal with cornbread and onion on the side! The pork was tender and the smoked flavor was delicious. There were four sauces on the table, Mild (no thank you) Sweet Georgia Mustard, Hot …and another one I forgot.

Y’all know Willie Mae likes it hot but even if something doesn’t make me call the fire department, I at least want it to wake up my tongue! Their hot sauce was not hot at all.

The cornbread was on the sweet side and was fine, but there is nothing like buttermilk cornbread and I don’t know of any place that makes it that way.

I really enjoyed my meal at Bones’. I felt as if I finally got my Southern BBQ! I would only suggest they get out their spray bottle and a roll of paper towels and please remember to wipe down the tables often. I would also love it if they made a specialty hot sauce that was hot!

But overall, I would definitely go back and even use them for catering …make no BONES’ about it!

Bones' Pulled Pork Platter