"A bajillion years ago when we moved to Alabaster, back before there was the shopping center, a state championship football team, and just about any chain restaurant you can name--including the big boy barbecue joints, there was Buddy's Bar-B-Que. It sits back from the road, so you might miss it were it not for the wafting smells of smoked ribs et al. billowing forth from the little smoke stack. There's only a small table or two outside, unprotected from the elements, so best just take your plates, and pounds, and pudding and enjoy them at home, if you can wait that long to dig in. I've gotten Buddy's burgers several times, and they're very good. But so is the pork plate--chopped or sliced, ever how you like. Most recently, I got the pork plate with fries and potato salad. Now the potato salad was a little wetter than I like, but it had okay flavor, and of course, the fries are always good. We went back later that week when they were open on a usual off day for the holiday weekend and got some ribs, smoked sausage, and baked beans. Lots of folks think they're the best baked beans around since there are bits of meat in them. The ribs were perfectly cooked, and we were glad we went early, because they were almost out before lunch had gotten swinging. If your eyes are bigger than your stomach, or you want to enjoy a little something sweet later, there's always banana pudding available or a homemade cake."
