Late March. Northern California. My mother-in-law flew to town and watched our son, as my wife and I spent our first large chunk of time away from him. It was emotional, of course, but he was in great hands. Our vacation got off to a wonderful start. We were delayed by about five hours. How can airline travel be the most efficient and least efficient process at the same time? We connected in Denver then flew on to Sacramento. From there, it was another two hour drive out to our first destination. 13 hours of travel time, but it led to some of the most fun I've ever had. We spent time on the coast eating seafood, walking beaches, and watching beached sea lions. We eventually moved inward and spent some time in Napa and the Napa Valley. We ate and drank our way through northern California. It was a high time.

You're not here to read about how I unwind. You want the beans, damnit.

One day of the trip included my wife and I having a two part lunch. One being from a taco truck in the parking lot of California's Old Glory geyser. Not as majestic, but still very fun to watch. The truck was cranking out some of the best Mexican food I have ever had. We ate there twice. You're still not talking about beans, Messerole. Here we go. Part two of our lunch that day included a stop at Buster's Southern Barbeque in Calistoga, California. This place was super unqiue with indoor and outdoor seating and you could watch their pit master cook over an open fire right outside in front of everybody. It was nearly fast food, too. You ordered what you wanted at a window, and they piled it on and met you at the next window with your order. In and out in minutes. We grabbed a hot link plate with a side of potato salad. And beans? Yes, and beans. These baked beans were served up loose on the plate. There's something fun about that slapdash approach to serving them. However, I'm not one that loves to have their foods touching. That's my problem, not yours. This dish appeared to be a single bean variety and that single bean was cooked down pretty well. Tender, but not overly soft. These beans were served up in a mostly sweet, thick sauce. Unfortuantely, with all that great meat they were smoking, none of it made it's way into the side dish. Nor did any vegetables, or fruit for that matter. I don't want to say they came from a can, but this side was very underwhelming for such a neat restaurant. Just a single bean in a thick sauce. A one trick pony, if you will. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 2
Flavor: 2
Mouthfeel: 3

Total Score: 7

For what it's worth,
Keef Original Cola: 5

The weather is so infrequent in the Midwest during these transitional seasonal periods. In late February, my family found a mild Sunday afternoon to go for a walk and have dinner. We have a pass to the Blank Park Zoo so we decided to load our son into a stroller and take him through the zoo. There is something wild about starting at a pair of lions who are walking through snow covered ground. The zoo was a delight and we decided to stop somewhere for a drink and a meal. We decided on Exile Brewing Company. They have a nice kitchen, and though their tap selection isn't as numerous as other local breweries, each of their styles is perfectly crafted.

The weather, lions, and beer. What you'd expect from a baked bean blog. Onward.

I ordered a delicious Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich and had it sided with their Tico Time baked beans. Using their beer in a side dish is a delightful combining of both their brewery and kitchen. I paired this meal with a Fernando's Revenge, which is their barrel aged version of their nut brown ale. Wonderful. These beans were delivered in a small ceramic dish, which is very common place. I would have loved it to be a larger dish, as these were pretty great beans. From what I could tell, this was a single bean dish. Though, those beans were cooked to a great consistency. These well cooked beans were served up in a thick sauce that would have allowed you to eat them with a fork. The sauce had a mild sweetness that was balanced well with a tempered heat in the dish. To create some diversity in each bite, the kitchen has included bell peppers, onion, and bacon in this dish. Each of the vegetables are cooked down well enough that you notice their presence but aren't labored with the crunch of an undercooked vegetable. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 3
Flavor: 4
Mouthfeel: 4


Total Score: 11

For what it's worth,
Taking your child to the zoo: 5

Time spent on the road has been minimal during the late winter months. Add in the newborn boy and that keeps me, happily, at home a little more often. You may or may not know that I spend my weekdays at home as a stay-at-home dad. You also may not care. My wife has recently made the adjustment of going back to work after her maternity leave expired. There are highs and lows with that new separation. As a result, we try to celebrate every milestone and victory during this period. No matter how big or small. After a particularly difficult Wednesday for all three of us, we decided to go out to eat as a family. To enjoy the time and eliminate the extra work of making and cleaning up dinner. That's not so special. It's why everyone goes out to eat. We chose one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Flying Mango is out of this world good and it sounded like the place to shake off our difficult day.  Besides, Theo has been on this earth for 4 months and he still hadn't been there. I felt like we were doing him a disservice. I knew their ribs were out of this world and, for shame, I hadn't tried the cowboy beans. 

That's what this is all about. The beans.

I'll give you a summation of the dish before it's specifics. These things are phenomenal. As far as I could tell there were at least 4 types of beans in this offering. How ever many there were, they were all cooked to a perfect consistency. Enough texture to make the side dish substantial. There were a handful of different vegetables and peppers to rival the beans of the dish. Hunks of perfectly cooked tomato, tender celery, jalapeno, and fresh garlic. These additional ingredients worked well to give the eater a variety of textures in the dish. All of these ingredients were stewed in a delicious sauce. It was sweet, spicy, and possessed a great smoky quality. Outside of the sauce being delicious, there was a perfect amount of it and it was perfectly thickened. These beans were stew-like without being soupy. I couldn't imagine there being a better way to prepare an order of baked beans. There menu is not large, but everything on it is done very well. Despite all of the incredible options, you have to make room for an order of these "cowboy beans". Mike and his team make great food and provide great service. Get in the door, if you can, and get these things.

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 5
Flavor: 5
Mouthfeel: 5
​(Perfect score!)

Total Score: 15

For what it's worth,
Being a dad: 5

In early June of 2022 I took off on my Appalachia and Back Tour. I was invited to come perform in a great little club in Sparta, North Carolina and that was the impetus for the whole trip. Upon leaving the first morning, with little time to spare, I received a call from the rental car company that they did not have a car for me, but might by 10:00 am. I had a six hour drive and a time change to contend with. I could not wait until 10:00 am to leave. Which I told the staff member in less than kind terms. I hadn't wanted to put these nearly 3,000 miles on my personal vehicle, but was left with no choice. I loaded everything into my old Ford Escape and everything went smoothly. I was touring through portions of the country that I had never visited before, let alone played in. Fortunately, the receptions were warm, where it was received. There are always highs and lows when you spend that much time on the road. Especially by yourself. Especially if you have to leave behind a wife that is nearly six months pregnant. However, the highs surely outweighed the lows and the tour was a great time. I am optimistic to get back out to that part of the country for more performances and more sightseeing. The New River Gorge Bridge and it's associated National Park were a beautiful site to a flatlander like me. The hills and mountains of West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina made for an incredible backdrop. I also hit some less natural sites. My first stop in West Virginia ended up being an unscheduled stop at The Moth Man Museum. A quirky little spot that had some great history and an interesting story, if you're one to believe it. The Moth Man legend in this area is predicated upon being seen perched atop a bridge moments before it collapsed into the river and folks lost their lives. An unwelcome story after you drove over two similar suspension bridges to get to the museum. I'm not sure I've been converted, but I do know that valley had more turkey vultures than I had ever seen. The other strange spot I had been planning to visit was The Mystery Hole. An out of the way attraction that will disorient you beyond belief. Black lights. Uneven floors. The defiance of gravity. A mystery indeed. I should have made a better attempt at getting more baked beans in on this trip. For the sake of the blog. But, the areas I went through had so many regionally famous dishes, that I felt obligated to try those too.

You don't care about a Kentucky Hot Brown (though you should), you're here for beans.

I was excited about getting into a different part of the country to see how they handle their barbecue and their baked beans. I will say, that if this place is an accurate depiction of how West Virginia does barbecue, they need to go back to the drawing board. This isn't a rack of ribs blog, but that was my main course to go along with the beans. It feels worth noting that these were probably the worst ribs I've ever had. In a restaurant or done by a home cook. The back skin was completely in tact, making the bones hard to separate. They were also drenched in a "barbecue" sauce that tasted more like pizza sauce than anything else. But, the side dish is what we're rating, so let's get to it. These beans were served up in a small, ceramic cup. A very small offering and they were luke warm at best. This was a single bean offering and those beans were swimming in sauce. I'd have been more apt to call this a soup than a side dish. The sauce was cloyingly sweet. Aside from being lukewarm, there was also no heat when it came to spices or seasonings for this side dish. The beans also lacked any sort of smoke flavor or aroma, which I'd expect at a barbecue restaurant. In terms of consistency, these beans were completely over cooked. There were no veggies or meat added to this dish to break up the sweet, mushy dish they call "House Baked Beans". It is unfortunate that this was my one stop for beans, because these were definitely a generic, industrial sized can of beans poured into a holding pan and served up to unsuspecting visitors. I can picture the cans now. A gallon in size. With a plain, white label that just says "BEANS" in black, block lettering. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 1
Flavor: 1
Mouthfeel: 1
​
Total Score: 3

For what it's worth,
Laconia Brewing Company in Sparta, North Carolina: 5

I've found myself in the middle of a six day run. It started off with some excitement. I arrived to the first venue and asked about live music for the evening and the person I had inquired with let me know they weren't having any live music that night. An answer that caught me off guard, being I was scheduled to work that room that night. In the last show of the run, I was given an introduction after my set break. In an attempt to help shift focus back on me for this listening room experience, one of the employees nearly demanded that everyone stop talking and listen, stating that they work hard to bring in great artists that deserve to be listened to. Great artists and not just, in his words, "Joe Schmoe and the Dick Suckers" before promptly walking away from the microphone and leaving me in the wake of this...most aggressive introduction. To cut the tension in the room, I reintroduced myself into the microphone at the beginning of the second set. A reintroduction as, you guessed it, Joe Schmoe of Joe Schmoe and the Dick Suckers. Fortunately, that got a laugh and allowed everyone to relax a little. Six shows in just as many days, bookended by two very memorable experiences. I believe that to be the longest streak of shows I've had. When Casey Joe Collins and I did the "Western Dust" tour in May of 2021 we played eight shows in nine days with the day off being after the fourth show. This personal best won't last much longer. In June I've got a tour out to North Carolina and back which will provide me with nine shows in a row, and a total of twelve shows in thirteen days. This job looks fun, but it's not for the faint of heart. But, I digress. I'm working towards the tail end of a longer run of shows. I've been able to drop in at home from time to time, but there's been a fair amount of time spent in hotels and killing time in coffee shops. With scattered focus, I'm continuing to write each of the five novels I've got in the works. I hope they become novels, anyhow. I started writing a trio of western novels ten years ago, none of them are anywhere near completion, but I feel an obligation to write them as my home office is filled with my grandfather's collection of Louis L'Amour novels and novellas. I'm also working on a crime drama, tentatively titled "Devil's Den" which also has some elements of horror. Lastly, is "Cross Family Colors". Another crime-driven-family-drama that I am wildly excited about and can't wait to share it once it's completed. I just have seven chapters left. Then rewriting, proof reading, edits, proof reading again. It's going to be a while. Coupling that with writing songs as often as I can, I am happy that coffee shops across the country allow for such freeloading. In my defense, I do get an oat milk & honey latte and some sort of baked good at each one I visit. Though that's more of a fuel and less of an impulse buy. This transaction of a few dollars worth of much needed caffeine and sugar for hours of WiFi and seat occupation doesn't seem to end in anyone's favor but my own. There was a Caribou Coffee in Rochester, Minnesota. On the same day, and just a few hours later, it was Jitter's in Mason City, Iowa. A couple of days later, I'm at The Coffee Belt in Muscatine, Iowa. However, these aren't the beans you're here to read about.

I didn't realize until now how bean-centric my life has become...

Skinny's Barbeque is a great little joint. It's inside of the Pearl Plaza in downtown Muscatine and it's operated much like the traditional barbeque joints of the south. You place your order and it's plated as you stand in line. You pay. You get your tray. Fill your own drink. Get your own sauce. Find your own seat. It's a small prep kitchen and a smaller staff, but the three people working that small kitchen have barbeque figured out. The brisket nachos were delicious, as seen in the picture below, but again, we're talking about the beans. To start, this was a serving size I can get behind. No small Styrofoam cup. Not a dollop on the corner of your plate. This dish was served up hot in a cardboard boat filled to the brim. The "Pit Beans" were made up of at least three different types of beans and all of them were cooked to a perfect consistency. They were cooked in a sweet sauce that had a slight tang on the back end and hint of smokiness. This bean recipe had plenty of sauce to keep the dish from being dry, but not so much that they became sloppy or soup-like. You could eat these things with a fork and not spill. If there was a downside to these beans, it would be this. While the beans were cooked down well, there was no additional meat or vegetables to be found in this side dish. With all of those beans cooked to tender, the complexity of the dish was...uncomplex. Having the chew of some hunks of pork or brisket would have gone a long way to making this dish more dynamic. The addition of cooked bell peppers or onions would have also helped in this regard. That isn't to say these ingredients weren't in the "Pit Beans", I just didn't find any in my serving.

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 4
Flavor: 4
Mouthfeel: 3
​
Total Score: 11

For what it's worth,
Cheese Delight from Awe'z Sandwich Shop in Mason City: 5

Kansas City has been a spot I've longed to play for some time. My current circumstances allow for a simple trip. I-35 South for 2 hours 45 minutes and there you are. The first 45 minutes of my trip were driven through a torrential downpour that had the interstate slowed down to about 45 miles an hour. The windshield wipers couldn't keep up. Fortunately, there were enough "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" podcasts to keep me occupied for the near 6 hour drive. To be frank (Reynolds), there was something in the neighborhood of 25 emails sent to venues throughout the city. Two responded. Two were booked. It's...not a great percentage when you look at the overall numbers, but a booked show is a booked show. That's the job I've signed up for, and now I'm fortunate to find myself in Kansas City. Making friends and playing songs. Cinder Block Brewing was a packed house. I think that was due to the ambience in the taproom and the great beer they had on tap. Being honest, as I always try to be, it was almost too busy for me to have an impact. I was nervous to play in the larger Kansas City market, but it turns out they'll ignore you down there just like they sometimes do around here in these smaller markets. Talking honestly. Now, I hadn't realized until the weekend was over that it happened to be the weekend of the Iowa State Girl's Basketball Tournament. Famous in my home state for cultivating some of the worst weather we see during the year. Saturday brought higher than average temperatures, thunderstorms, hail, and, most unfortunately, a deadly tornado. It looks like Iowans are responding to that tragedy, the way Iowans always do. I arrived home after midnight and didn't know anything about what occurred until I woke up Sunday morning. To below freezing temperatures and pancakes, thanks to my wife. That cold weather gave way to snow on Sunday evening and over night. Snow that is melting away quickly on this warmer, sun-filled, Monday. Weather as unpredictable as can be. 

What was predictable? Great BBQ in Kansas City.

The North Kansas City neighborhood that I played in also had four BBQ restaurants within a couple of miles from one another. I picked Hawg Jaw Que & Brew based largely on their name. But I was also drawn in by these loaded, pulled pork french fries. Pictured below with the beans. Of course I got a side order of beans. This side dish was served in a small white styrofoam cup. The industry standard. They were also served up steaming hot. Not always the industry standard, but it should be. It is a warm side dish, after all. These beans made contact with multiple senses. You could feel the warmth. You could smell the tangy sauce. You could see the single bean profile of the dish. One type of bean, but they were cooked to near perfection. With a side dish that likely sits in a warm pan or pot throughout the day, you run the risk of the ingredients breaking down and losing consistency. That did not occur here. There didn't appear to be any vegetables in this offering, but there were small pieces of smoked meat mixed in. They were too small and infrequent to determine if they were pork of beef. I would posit the assumption it was pork. I would have preferred to see a second type of bean or a meat or vegetable to give the bites some variety. Overall, though, the beans had a good consistency. There were stew-like. Enough sauce, but not too much to make it runny. These could have been eaten with a fork. The sauce itself was a great mixture of sweet and tangy flavors and there was a mild heat backbone to the dish. It worked great in concert with the other flavors. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 3
Flavor: 4
Mouthfeel: 3
​
Total Score: 10

For what it's worth,
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: 5

I have been living in our state's capitol city for about a year and a half now. To my shame, I've only had BBQ at three establishments. All of them have been great, but I've only had beans at two of them. The last post being the first, and this post being the second. I am fortunate that so many rooms in the metro area are hosting live music and I was able to catch a show at ShortE's BBQ in January of 2022. We had been having pretty great winter weather down here. Warmer than I'm used to, and certainly mild. Only a couple of measurable snowfalls. However, this day, it was brutal cold. The kind of cold that makes having "auto start" mandatory. The kind of cold that requires you to use that "auto start" more than once before you head out to your vehicle. Something I absolutely would not have gone out in, save needing to go to work. Upon setting up, I was happy to see a few familiar faces that came to the show on purpose. That's been happening lately, and I can't hardly believe it. It was less common in the smaller towns of northwest Iowa where I had been living previous to this. Though, maybe I've just gotten better. A week before this show I was back in one of those towns playing a set at a nice little festival with Boone County's second tallest guitar player, Matt Woods. That sound check went smoothly, as did the show. However, after sound check we ran across the street and grabbed dinner before the show. Upon returning to the venue and preparing to start playing, I discovered that the battery in my guitar's pick up had gone dead. Even in this small town, we were some distance from any place that would be open this time of night and sell batteries. Being the consummate professional that he is, Mr. Woods retrieved a used, but functioning, 9 volt battery from one of the pedals on his board. A pedal he wasn't going to use, or so he said. I slipped it in my guitar and we were ready to go. Disaster averted. Now, I'm back at ShortE's. All plugged in and getting ready to sound check. Twenty minutes to show time and what happens? My borrowed battery fails me and I'm hung out to dry. Despite the cold, I run to the nearest gas station and buy a supply of 9 volt batteries so this won't happen again, and returned to the show. I had learned my lesson. I keep that first, spent 9 volt in my guitar case as a reminder. 

A reminder that you're here for beans. Not boring stories.

Part of my compensation for the evenings show is a meal from ShortE's BBQ. By the time I am finished, I'm delighted to learn that they still have burnt ends left and I had to have baked beans as a side, of course. I took this order to go and the crew at ShortE's provided me with 4 different sauces to try. Without me even asking. Going above and beyond. Naturally, this side was served in a Styrofoam to-go cup and they were still warm by the time I got home. For a side, this was a healthy portion. There were at least two different types of beans in this dish and they were all cooked up perfectly. They were served up in plenty of sauce. Not too dry and stew-like, as many places are. The sauce. Oh, the sauce. It was a delicious smoky sauce with a pronounced vinegar kick. A smoke flavor that is so often missed in BBQ baked beans. There was a mild brown sugar sweetness to bring the sauce back towards "balanced", but they weren't overly sweet. These beans had to have been made from scratch. In addition to the perfectly cooked beans and the delicious sauce, these were served with large chunks of diced white onions, cooked to perfection. They were also cooked with hunks of beef. Brisket, I assume. The white onion, brisket, and beans were all provided a variety of mouthfeel that kept the side dish interesting. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 4
Flavor: 4
Mouthfeel: 5
​
Total Score: 13

For what it's worth,
Matt Woods: 5

It took two years, but I was able to embark on my first tour. My good friend Casey Joe Collins and I started planning a 10 day run out to Wyoming and Colorado in April of 2019. An unfortunate thing or two happened in 2020 which led to us having to postpone the tour until this year. We were very fortunate that most every venue was able to hold the dates for us and we were able to book fill-in dates for almost all of the ones that couldn’t. Despite our best efforts, we ended up with one free day in the middle of the tour. We found ourselves in Colorado at that time, and ended up grabbing a motel in Frisco to relax for a day. We stopped in Denver for supplies and then headed up into the mountains. Upon checking in at the Snowshoe Motel, I was greeted by a front desk clerk who was having an...allergic reaction. I know that he was, because he told me so. Unprompted. I asked if he needed help, but he confirmed that it “will pass”. Almost as if it wasn’t an allergic reaction, or his first one. To the best of my knowledge, it did pass. Fortunate for him. We got checked in and wandered all over this picturesque town. Bars, a brewery, and restaurants. Letting our supplies do the heavy lifting. There was one brewery, and due to various circumstances, we ended up there three times. The third time was for lunch the next day. 

That’s where the blog comes in. The next day

This order was a small serving, dished up in a little black bowl. This was a single bean concoction and those beans were cooked to pretty near perfection. The mind(s) behind this side included pork fat and onions to improve the consistency of it. Having varied textures in the beans made it much more enjoyable to eat. In terms of mouthfeel, the consistency of the beans lost a point because this dish was a little more soup-like than I had hoped to see. There was plenty of sauce to this dish, and it had a unique flavor to it. There was a fair amount of smoky flavor in the sauce. One of, if not the most, prevalent smoked flavors I’ve encountered thus far. Unfortunately, there was no sweetness to it. No brown sugar. No honey. No syrup. This sauce was straight up tang. Vinegar based baked bean sauce was a first for me. I love it in a BBQ sauce, but I wasn’t crazy about it in beans. There was a generous spice note to this sauce that helped work in concert with the tangy flavor to keep it from being a one note dish. How about that? Ended on a musical metaphor. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 3 
Flavor: 2
Mouthfeel: 3
​
Total Score: 8

For what it's worth,
Dixie Citrus Blast Gummies: 5

​

Saturday, April 24th 2021 was the first live show I’ve had since the summer of 2020. There was only 4 shows, to my memory, in that entire year. I was playing in Ames, Iowa as a part of the Goldfinch Room series. It was my third time playing their great songwriter’s showcase and the third location they had hosted me at. The same went for Casey Joe Collins. He was completing the cycle as well. Together, we played on the stage of Stephen’s Auditorium on the Iowa State University campus. We had a lighting tech, a sound guy, and a wonderful green room. They had just gotten everything finished in this new backstage space. A green room that wasn’t complete when the Tedeschi Trucks Band played the auditorium a while back. Hard to believe we followed in their footsteps. I can’t imagine a better way to jump back into things than with how we were treated that night. Everything went smoothly and the crowd of concert goers were so receptive to our performances and stories. Though, I will admit, that I was a ball of nerves before the show, having not played for close to a year. I had to get my hands on some comfort food before the show. Boy, did I find it. 

That’s what I’m doing here at The Baked Bean Blog. Talking comfort food.

The entire meal was served family style on a tray lined with butcher paper and sided with sliced white bread. This was an authentic BBQ experience, right in the middle of Iowa. This little blog is dedicated to baked beans, but I feel obligated to say that the brisket and ribs were the best I’ve ever had. Their housemade sausage was also to die for. Authentic BBQ. We got two sides with our meat. The “Hallelujah Potatoes” which are aptly named. The other side was “Apple Pork & Beans”. Being family style, these beans were served up in a large enamel dish. This was a multi-bean concoction that was cooked to perfection. Aside from the beans, there were several additions that really set this dish off. Best I could tell, there were bell peppers and onions in the mix. A great textural addition were tender chunks of pork shoulder. There’s the pork of its namesake. In an unexpected, and yet unseen, addition to the dish, Cornbred included diced apples for a great sweet addition. The first part of their name. The vegetables, pork shoulder, and apples were all cooked to perfection and created a fantastic mouthfeel with different additions to this dish. All of these were served in a mild, sweet sauce and there was a noticeable smoke presence in the dish, as well. This thing was perfect and then some. 

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 
Flavor: 5
Mouthfeel: 5
(Perfect score!)
​
Total Score: 15

For what it's worth,
Tedeschi Trucks Band: 5

​