It can never be said that I let distance stand between me and the next great Bar-B-Que. Saturday morning my son James called informing me of the best BBQ just outside of Murfreesboro. I took notice for two reasons; one because it was note worthy enough for a phone call and secondly he is not a BBQ fan. His phone call bore further investigating, even if it was going to take me forty-five minutes to get there.
With my best friend Sally, we headed south on I-65 to 840E; a beautiful Saturday afternoon drive through the gorgeous Tennessee countryside. The route also gave us a great view as we passed the Freeman Castle, the site of our annual Renaissance Festival that runs each weekend in May.
We took the Almaville exit off 840E, turned left and a short distance on the right was Almaville Volunteer Fire Department and Auction House. Beside the fire house, stood an open air shed with four picnic tables and a pick-up truck hooked to a large smoker with a sign that read “BBQ”.
Up to this point, the best BBQ sandwich I’ve ever eaten was in 1966 at a tractor sale in Joplin, Missouri. Since then, I have been on the quest to equal that experience. Here we were in the middle of rural Tennessee seeking this delightful dish. As we parked, I opened the car door and was momentarily frozen by the aroma. I could not get to the food fast enough. We ordered our sandwich, anticipation building as I wondered, “Would it be any good?” Once I took that first bite, it was 1966 again and I savored the moment as long as possible. We finished the first one and split a second.
We sat for two and a half hours visiting with the locals discussing the wildlife among other things; as a hodge-podge of vehicles pulled up to get their BBQ. Rubins also told us of the time growing up in the area while attending school, now the Volunteer Fire Department, were three to four grades in one class.
Every Saturday and Sunday Kimberly and Rubin pull their smoker to the Volunteer Fire Department and do what they do “best”. Should you find yourself in our beautiful state, traveling along Almaville road, just outside Murfreesboro, it would be worth your while to stop and visit Kimberly and Rubin. Try the sandwich and take home a rack of ribs to go—I did.
Rubens Ribs 615.944.6513
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