Naomi Loves

View Original

Meals on Wheels - Fancy Hank's Bar-B-Que

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhat is it about food vans and lawn bowls that make them such a good combination? There's something about portable food and bare feet and booze and bowling that adds an extra atmosphere of cheerful relaxation to any meal, I think. As the summer sun crept slowly toward the horizon and local folks kicked their shoes off to take to the smooth green, Fancy Hank fired up a barbeque that looked something like a younger sibling of the Hogwarts Express, and I lined up under the coloured string-lights for a sticky, smokey, Southern-style barbeque dinner.

The last time I tasted pulled pork I was in a small town in Arkansas, USA, on a road trip. My friend Sonya and I sat in a cafe that was lit up in neon pink and yellow and decorated with larger-than-life flamingos, and each tucked into the biggest mound of pulled pork butt you could ever imagine, with a slice of bread on the side, and tried unsuccessfully to wash it down with red wine. (This is me, crying with laughter at the sight of my still-giant mound of dry and dessicated pork butt, which had defeated me despite a good half hour of dedicated eating).

P1194403Later that night, because we didn't know what else was on, Sonya and I followed some signs to a Christian rock concert that was held in a rodeo arena. We lasted two songs. We bought matching T-shirts that said DON'T DO DRUGS JUST DANCE. We took off.

But that is all in the past.

On this night, I ordered a pulled pork and coleslaw sandwich that was moist and delicious and much more my size. Em was a big fan of her smokey BBQ chicken, and Mr B LOVED the pork ribs (although he was not to be convinced when it came to the beef link or the dill pickle I ordered for him on the side).

The real down-side to this meal, in my opinion, was that I had to take it home and eat it in the lounge room, because my darling Madeleine was already asleep. The night was so perfect, I would have loved to wile it away with a spot of bowling and a glass of chilled, white wine under the colourful cafe lights, while Fancy Hank filled the air with tasty, marinated smoke.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAP1194404OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAps. More meals on wheels in Melbourne, here.