By Sonny Ashford

 

It’s Tuesday night, and in fact it’s the second Tuesday of the month. Oh yeah, we “got” to go eat barbeque, and for our April dinner we’re going back to Skeeter Barnes over in Council Bluffs. 

 

Now there are some of you that haven’t been to Skeeter Barnes before, and you are really missing a taste treat. I want one thing when I walk in the door: sausage. Yeah, smoked sausage that are habitually, habit formingly good. 

 

First off, Glyn Lacy, owner of Skeeter Barnes, brings a full fare of mouth watering, over indulgently scrumdiddilyumtious food to each of our tables, and from where I sat there was no shortage. The barbeque restaurant is located near the east end of the Mall of the Bluffs and has entrances from the Mall and from the outside as well. The local “Boss Man”, Josh Divis, General Manager, had all the tables set with platters of addictive sweet potato chips and a great creamy dip. I stayed by the wayside to watch the people as the official GOBS meeting was administered by the under-priest of BBQ, Monty Hoyle. It was lengthier than normal as one of our new members wanted to promote the Council Bluffs BBQ Contest on May 8-9^th. Monty brought Josh Divis to the front to give us a description of the fare for the night.   Josh told the group that there was plenty of food and that it would be served in big metal food containers. Now these containers are generally seen in chicken houses, but they were clean and they had a lot of food in them. Remember, I was watching for sausage. 

 

Josh said that we were having:

Spare Ribs

Chicken

Brisket

Pulled Pork

and oh yeah, Sausage

 

WITH

Coleslaw

Beans

Potato Salad

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Bourbon Mashed Sweet Potatoes

French Fries

 

And for dessert we had Bread Pudding with Ice Cream.

 

When the business meeting was over most of the sweet potato chips were gone and the raffle winner picked it turned out that our table was pretty much last to go through the buffet line, so I stood and watched as people went through the line, and hoped that there would be an extra sausage, or two, at the end. The food started to run out, but like a miracle there was more to replace what had vanished. By the time I got to start my way through the line I was tempted to just take one of the big Chicken Feeders and clean up the scraps, but the sausage was gone, and I hung my head for a minute wondering how I could praise that great sausage, when two suddenly appeared on my plate. No, I didn’t take one of the Chicken Feeders because the plate held quite enough. I barely had room for the sides but with all the sideboard training I’ve had over the years I made the room.

 

All of the meats were tender and succulent. They had the moisture that allowed the flavor to escape in your mouth and leave you with nothing but a smile. Of course the first thing I went after was the sausage, and it lived up to the reputation I have tried to spread around the community. It is made in Texas and shipped up especially for Skeeter Barnes.

 

Glyn Lacy has done a good job of mixing the menu items offered so that there is something to please everyone.

 

I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention the wait staff, Mike Heatherly - Mr. Mohawk, and Shayne Mihalenko, our Redheaded Dynamo. They were great to work with and were always willing to engage you in conversation as they kept the beer glasses full and bussed the tables so that everyone had a great time. They pretty much took over as Josh had other duties, and they were great representatives for Skeeter Barnes.

 

Now, it is one thing to get with GOBS [this is a subliminal hint that you should join GOBS] and go have great barbeque, but that is only once a month. However, you can always drop in at 1751 Madison Avenue Suite 643, Mall of the Bluffs in Council Bluffs, or you can call them for a To Go order at 712-323-0338. Whether you eat in or carryout, tell them that GOBS recommended them and the scores below show that.

 

 

 

For our friends in and around Lincoln, you can always stop by that store at 5800 S 58^th Street in Lincoln (phone (402) 421-3340), and when you go by this store ask to speak to Glyn Lacy and tell him directly how good the food is.

 

Earlier this year the GOBS board had a meeting with our friends from the Nebraska Dry Bean Commission at the Lincoln Skeeter Barnes location, and Glyn made sure it was a meal to remember. Everyone there ate till there was no more room and then we had some great desserts. What I’m alluding to is that when you have people from out of town, consider treating them to a visit at Skeeter Barnes. You will all be glad you did.