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Decatur: Maddy's Rib & Blues Joint

Maddy's BBQ is embedded deep in suburban Decatur.  The decor emphasizes music.  Their favorite musician seems to be Ray Charles, the father of soul.  They seem to have live music regularly; unfortunately I haven't made it to any concerts.  Their location and decor emphasize that BBQ is now a culinary subcategory.  It's come a long way.  Barbeque is food for poor people, made with the lesser cuts of meat, cooked slowly to make them tender.  Twenty years ago, many of the BBQ places I went to were local places where most of the clientele were not like me, either racially or socioeconomically.  It's harder to find that sort of place these days.

When my half rack of ribs came, I had a flashback to 5th Street.  Their sauces look nearly identical and are served in the same type of paper cup.  The sauce gives the meat the same light red tint.  But there are differences.  The meat at Maddy's falls off the bone.  (Although I must say that the middle ribs were more attached.  I'm disappointed that the cooking wasn't more consistent.)  Very tender and tasty.  The cole slaw was good but not memorable.  The staff was very courteous and friendly.
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