BBQ Deluxe - Baby Back Shak

I don't often rhapsodize about BBQ here in Dallas. I guess the fact is that I've never really supped at the table of any truly great BBQ joints in this burg. Oh yeah, there's always been a myth that Texas' greatest contribution to international cuisine is BBQ but despite the PR and the locally-based chains, most of the stuff in this city falls pretty flat.

Let me eat my words. Or rather, let me eat these ribs. I found the mecca of Dallas BBQ. Hell, I found the best restaurant IN Dallas. Yes, folks, I'm talking Akard St's incredible BABY BACK SHAK. Caveat -- this shak bills itself as "Memphis-Style" BBQ. And that's obviously not in Texas. So what? Sink your teeth into the tender, dry-rubbed meat and you'll get a glimpse into what a crack-addict might feel like. You gotta get another bite. Somehow. Someway. Soon-to-be-wife told me I was moaning and dreaming about ribs the other night while I was biting the sheets -- had to be Baby Back Shak.

Boudain is a side dish. The Shak Beans are fierce. Three people could fill their bellies up with a two-meat meal. Food comes "To Go" (read Styrofoam container) whether you eat inside the claustrophobic interior or take away. I like to eat there. There's plenty of paper napkins. Not open at night. It's behind Lee Harvey's. Go. Love the BBQ.

PAPA MICHIGAN - EMPRESS BY MY SIDE

PAPA MICHIGAN
Empress By My Side
2011 - Rashanco Music

Foundation artiste Papa "Baddingo" Michigan teased fans with the release of "Woman I Love You" earlier this year. The track boasted a vocal on top the vintage "Johnny Too Bad" riddim and reflected a lovers side to the legendary Jamaican deejay -- one half of the immortal Michigan & Smiley. He follows up that promise with a new full-length CD, Empress By My Side, his third solo endeavor. You wouldn't really call it a "concept album", but there seems to be a central lyrical concern in the first half of Empress revolving around that subject. Lovers Rock? Maybe. Michi addresses it in the liner notes so it's obviously an intentional artistic decision. He dips further into the classic reggae songbook with a ska version of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross" and comes up with a track that could've fit snugly into a Johnny Nash LP. The latter half of the release features more reality content than Lovers material with appearances by Luciano and Mikey Spice for good measure. I walked into a record store recently (what are they?) and heard them playing a track off this CD. It made my day. Nice to hear the legends grow musically and Papa continues to impress -- or is that Empress?

Get it from EB Reggae

NYC 2011

Moodies on White Plains Rd.

Mucho thanks to all my friends in NYC. Got a chance to travel there March 24-28 and I had a great time. It's been three years since I last visited the Big Apple and this time I was determined to visit as many reggae spots as possible. Ate dinner at The Islands on Washington Av in BK the first nite and took the 2 to The Bronx the next day to visit the world famous Moodies Records @ 225th and White Plains Rd. Had a nice time with the staff who played me some vintage chunes on repress vinyl. Bought a stack of 45s which I ended up carrying with me the rest of the weekend.

Masisson Premiere oyster chug

Enjoyed the Deadly Dragon show at Happy Ending on Broome. Struggled with the time table at the Amazura Dance Hall Nice Again show Saturday nite and Sunday morning and downed oysters and fancy pants drinks at Maisson Premiere in Willamsburg. In between I played with a friends children in a true Park Slope moment and got happy in a subterranean rehearsal space in the Lower East Side before catching some half-price drinks at a St. Mark's gin joint. The weather, of course, was freezing but I was somewhat impressed with my lodgings at the Sleep Inn at 22nd and 3rd in Brooklyn. I paid less than $90 a nite and the room was small but clean.