Adam & Eats: Slap Yo Mama Bar-B-Q

On this week’s adventure we head to your momma’s house and slap her. The end. Good eating to you and yours.

I’m only teasing. We are heading to a place that is, hopefully, more dubious than your mother’s house. And while we’re there we are going to enjoy the juicy and moist ribbons of meaty goodness that they offer us.

We are eating barbeque, of course. What did you think we were going to be doing? Get your mind out of the gutter and hop in the truck, we’re heading way down on Rogers.

Located in the parking lot of the 91st Street Recovery Room, is the home of Slap Yo Mama Bar-B-Q. Yes, it is a little trailer. And no, they don’t take debit cards. But, if you have cash (or possibly checks) they will offer you a pretty good spread of barbeque and traditional barbeque sides.

And the wait is not that bad once you order. Of course, every second that you stand out in this heat feels like a lifetime. (Or possibly like a Lifetime production of a Nora Roberts movie.) Anyways, the kind people at Slap Yo Mama are always happy to serve you their fare, just don’t expect them to risk heat stroke bringing it to your car for you. That risk falls on your own shoulders.

I’m not going to bury the lead here, overall I was a bit underwhelmed by the food. Yes, it is decent and consistent, and will do when you are desperate for barbeque (or too lazy and sweaty to drive anywhere else), but it is not the best Fort Smith has to offer.

That said, there are a few gems on the menu that make the trip worthwhile. The signature Hot Mama sandwich is one of them. What you get is your choice of pulled pork or brisket, piled high on a bun, add a sliced hot link and pepper jack cheese, and drown the bad girl in hot barbeque sauce. Dry, this sandwich is not impressive at all. But, once it is sopping wet, it is heavenly. I could make a joke concerning wetness and hot mamas and spicy sausage, but I’ll refrain.

The next golden treasure on the menu is my favorite guilty pleasure: a smoked bologna sandwich. Just ordering a bologna sandwich is always a thrill for me. Something about the connotation of bologna being gross and the frying, or smoking in this case, of a thick-ass slab of it, and slathering it in sauce and biting into it in public just sets my inner child into fits of raucous, giddy laughter. And Slap Yo Mama’s bologna sandwich is excellent.

Once again, dry equals boring, wet equals awesome.

As far as sides go, the coleslaw and baked beans are both a little unexciting, but the potato salad is pretty excellent. Also, try the smoked corn on the cob. Not because it is good, but because it is so incredibly strange. Personally, it did not agree with my taste buds. But, the weirdness of it makes me want everyone to try it.

So, if you find yourself way down on the east end of Rogers and start feeling the urge to wrap your lips around some dark, mysterious, smoky meat in tube form, head on over to Slap Yo Mama Bar-B-Q. It is sure to make for a good story.

Until next time, good eating to you and yours.