Saturday Eats

Emmo and Connor by Finijo

Connor and I went to a BBQ cook off at Tom Bass State Park today today with some friends. The food was great, but not as plentiful as we expected, because many of the BBQ team booths were closed to the public. It seemed strange, but I guess that's how it's done. We saw a lot of interesting booths and got to people watch, as well.

Pig Pit by Finijo

There were a lot of inventive barbecue pits. These guys are not only proud of their barbecue, they are very creative in the presentation of their booths. We liked the pig pit pictured above (how's that for alliteration?), but the actual pig inside the pit was a little off putting.

Colt 45 Cookers by Finijo

We saw a lot of interesting booths and colorful people - barbecuers are an interesting lot. People watching in the park on a gorgeous day is a good way to spend a Saturday. It was not only beautiful today, it was hot, so we got snow cones. It's been years since I had a snow cone, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed the Tiger's Blood flavor.
We went to Vargo's for dinner with Mom and Dad. It was for their 30th wedding anniversary. I had heard of Vargo's growing up, but never went there. We were fascinated by the peacocks. I didn't realize they could fly until we saw them in action tonight. Peacocks are hilarious when they run (we saw one chase a squirrel) and they seem to have no fear of cars, as these peacocks had the run of the parking lot and we found one very close to the entrance on Fondren.
Many of my high school friends went to Vargo's for prom. Judging from tonight, things haven't changed much, because there were many prom couples at the restaurant. Marilyn and I had not thought of Vargo's in such a long time that we were surprised to find it was still around.

Vargo's is an old school restaurant with attentive waiters and a piano player who takes requests. Mom told the piano player that it was her 30th anniversary and we laughed out loud when he took Marilyn's advice and played "The Way We Were" as a joke. He was not only talented, but had a good sense of humor.

The food is good, but pretty standard fare. It's the beautiful view from the dining room that really makes the dining experience memorable. I wish I had taken my camera to get some shots of the grounds and the peacocks. I pulled these pictures of Vargo's from the Internet.