This first blog post is me playing catch up from February 17th. The boys in the band and I stopped at Jethro and Jake’s in Altoona, Iowa on our way back home from a show at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City the night before. We drove through a freak snow storm, and wound up stalled on the highway for over an hour while they cleaned up a multi-car pile up. We got out of it ok. However, we pulled into the parking lot and some dude hits the door of our rig with his car, and he has the nerve to call the cops and interrupt our meal.

But, I digress. This serving had a variety of beans to it. White, red, and black. The addition of bacon helped add consistency to the dish. The beans were cooked well, not mushy but not hard. The sauce was mostly sweet with a slight vinegar kick. There was no discernible heat or smoke flavor with these baked beans. Strong. Right out of the gate.

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

Total Score: 11

For what it’s worth,
Altoona Police Department: 5

As I travel for shows, I'm going to rate baked beans as I try them at different restaurants. I will include a rating system as well as pictures. Exciting, right?