I'm pleased to announce that I've found Waldo! It's located in Midland, MI. While I realize this might not be the Waldo for which everyone's used to looking, it's certainly the one that's worth finding - especially when you find it intersecting Bay City Road. On that corner is Bone Daddy's Real Pit BBQ, a little "joint" that's worth the drive no matter how far you're coming! But, I get ahead of myself...
Midland, Michigan is about 125 miles northwest of Detroit. Taking I-75 to exit 162B, toward US 10 west, then to the Bay City exit and Bay City Road will put you there in about two hours. However, do yourself a favor - take some back roads. Driving expressway wherever you go is fast and efficient. However, it's also dull and predictable (even considering Michigan's construction season!) Taking the back roads is none of those things. You'll need an extra hour or so round trip, but you'll enjoy the expanses of farmland and orchards, livestock and small towns that getting your V-6 off the eight lane will provide.
A suggested route is north from Detroit through villages such as Armada and Almont, then west past towns you may never have heard of, like Lum and Clifford. Where E. Ohmer Road joins State Route 15, you'll find the town of Vassar. This city has hundreds of flats of petunias decorating the easement between sidewalks and street and the appearance and feel is old-fashioned and welcoming - certainly not something you'd see flying by at 70 mph. Also in Vassar is a starting (or ending) point for a "rail trail", one of the truly great recycling ideas to come out of the last years of the 20th Century. Railroad tracks, no longer in service, were developed into bicycling, jogging, and walking paths through small towns and countryside that are difficult to see any other way. The paved or blacktopped trails make for a smooth ride and their winding routes provide solace without the tedium of traversing over rocks, through mud, and into confusing directions.
The ride toward Midland treats the traveler to acres of corn fields and apple orchards. Alpaca can be seen grazing in corrals and horses pose at split rail fences. Things along this route are quiet, peaceful, and calm. Signs on the roadside advertise Frankenmuth and Birch Run, but those are destinations for another day. Today, we head for barbecue!
Bone Daddy's, owned and operated by Bill and Kim Wall, is (and I hesitate to say this, as the word "best" is so often overused) the best barbecue I have ever eaten - and I've eaten a great deal of barbecue. The menu is extensive and, while we didn't sample everything offered, everything we did try was superb. The ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender,moist, and flavorful even without their signature sauce (more about the sauce in a moment.) The pulled pork is lean and juicy, caramelized to perfection. The fat and gristle often found in other restaurant's fare is happily missing here. The food comes by its flavors honestly, from the smoker and the seasonings and is given the time necessary to cook to perfection. Even the baked beans have a smoky, fresh-from-the-grill flavor that never overpowers, just compliments, the main course. The list of side dishes ranges from standards like potato salad to the unexpected, such as blue cheese coleslaw.
Perhaps the most prevalent, as well as the most addictive thing offered at Bone Daddy's is the sauce. It shows up on the ribs and the chicken, mixed in with the pulled pork and in bottles on the tables to add to nearly everything they serve. Wall says, "We've used the same manufacturer for twelve years. We tweaked our recipe over and over and tried gallons of sauces to be sure we had exactly what we wanted. Then we kept trying samples from our shipments, month after month, comparing them to the one we'd finally decided on, to be sure the consistency was there. We're pleased with what we came up with. People count on that kind of consistency - they don't want something off-the-wall. People want to be able to count on quality."
And the quality of his sauce has proven itself time and again. The Walls have won barbecue competitions all over the U.S., even claiming the coveted 1st place trophy at the National Barbecue Championship in Reno, Nevada last year. They'll be defending their title over Labor Day weekend this year at The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off.
Bottles of sauce, even five gallon buckets of the heavenly stuff, as well as dry rub, hot sauce, and every item on the menu are available for purchase or carry-out. Bone Daddy's caters parties in many Michigan locations, including the Detroit area. More information can be found on their website, which is currently undergoing a facelift and will be up and running in its new and improved version soon.
The restaurant, small and cozy, seats forty-nine inside and several at outdoor tables. Their hours are abbreviated on Mondays and Tuesday, closing at 2:00 p.m. in order to prepare for catering gigs large orders. Be sure to call ahead to be sure that you'll get in!
Wall also told us that Bone Daddy's name is getting around fast - in more ways than one: the boat that they sponsored in the Bay City River Roar race last weekend won first place and his sauce will be featured through product placement in a new film, due to be released in September. Titled, "Minor League", it's a Lion's Gate comedy, a spin-off of a Will Ferrell film. (If the actors were smart, they'd have negotiated a supply of the sauce into their contracts!)
The trip to Midland and a visit to Bone Daddy's is an ideal way to spend a quiet afternoon. Plan to enjoy the journey and feast on the scenery, as well as the barbecue, along the way.
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