Appropriately timed in the heart of college football season, Jack
Wilkinson writes about one of the country’s most iconic barbecue
joints, Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in USA Today
: "TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In 1958, within a week of each other, two
larger-than-life-sized men who would become Alabama icons officially
opened for business. The Bear and Big Daddy. On Sept. 27, 1958, Paul
"Bear" Bryant’s first Alabama team led LSU 3-0 at halftime before the
eventual national champion rallied for a 13-3 win. Six days later, Oct.
3, John "Big Daddy" Bishop served his first slab of ribs at Dreamland
BBQ. Fifty years later, this remains the perfect union of pigskin and
pork. "If Alabama had an official restaurant, this would be it,"
University of Alabama senior Tim Chandler said. "Look at the walls. You
see Coach Bryant’s photo. Coach (Nick) Saban. Coach (Gene) Stallings.
It’s the best ribs in the world, and it’s all from a cee-ment shack."