Friday, March 14, 2008

Friday BBQ run: Woody's Smoke House in Centerville

So this Friday offered me the chance to stop at an old favorite to get some good Q and jerky. I was heading to Fort Worth to attend a riding workshop, so of course I stop off at exit 164 of I-45. That's right, I know the exit number.

At noon I was sitting on the bike making last minute checks before pulling out. I was right on time to get to my destination near Fort Worth by 6pm. I headed west on Alt-90 to 99 where I turned north. At FM1093 I turned left to go to Fulshear. A right on FM359 had me going north again. Once in Brookshire I decided to take FM 362 for some reason, the GPS did not like this and kept trying to route me back to 359 so finally at FM 529 I turned left and headed over to pickup 359 and continue north.

In the back of my mind I knew there was a reason why I wanted to go up 362 and when I got to Hempstead I realized what it was. The GPS was routing me up HWY 6. At this point though it wasn't worth the hassle to track east to 362. My goal was to pick up FM3090 on my way to Centerville. So I stayed on 6 until Navasota where I turned right onto FM3090. After the fun of the twisties the road ended at FM244 so I turned left. When I got to Iola the GPS wanted to route me through the high school parking lot so I stayed on 244 until I reached HWY 39. A left turn onto 39 and I was once again on my way. Along this stretch of the trip is when something happened...

I'm happily riding along when all of sudden I hear a metallic knocking sound coming from below in the engine area. Oh oh.... At first I thought maybe I was running out of gas very early but the bike had power. Then I squeezed in the clutch and rev'd the engine a few times. Nope, the noise wasn't related to RPMs so it probably wasn't in the engine. When I slowed down the knocking would become less frequent, speed up and the knocking sped up. OK, so I started looking for a driveway or somewhere to pull over. A little ways up the road I found a good spot and pulled over. Upon inspection I realized the front bolt of the skid plate had fallen out and then the front rubber bushing separated so it was flapping in the breeze. A wrench in my tool box made quick work of the situation and I was ready to go again. There was a nice guy who stopped to ask if I was OK. I like the friendly-ness of country folk.

Upon arriving in Normangee I turned right onto HWY OSR (Old San Antonio Road), this took me on a more north-easterly track toward Centerville. When FM 2485 came up I turned left to run parallel with I-45 a few miles away. Unfortunately when I got to FM 977 the GPS decided I should go east toward I-45 so I followed. When I got to Leona I decided to fill up at the Exxon since it wasn't crowded and really easy to get in and out. I ended up getting on I-45 at exit 157. Seven miles later I was pulling into Woody's smoke house.

Woody's has a store on both sides of the freeway so it's easy to get on and off regardless of your direction. I went to the north bound store which is the original I believe. They were crowded which was probably due to spring break. I picked out some long beef sticks, smoked cheddar cheese and pork jerky. Then I headed to the bar-b-q counter. Since it was almost 3 o'clock I didn't want to eat too much but I wanted some bar-b-q. I ordered a freshly made sliced beef sandwich, no sauce. I then got a small bowl of sauce and some beans. Iced tea is free with a Q purchase, so I had some tea.

The Q is consistent at Woody's. The meat falls apart when lightly tugged on but stays together when you pick it up. The flavor is nicely smoky without being over powering. It's good with and without sauce. The sauce compliments the meat so you can enjoy both. The beans are tasty although I wouldn't say they are exceptional just good.

With a full stomach, I stored my purchases on the bike and continued north on I-45. In Ennis I took 287 toward Fort Worth. The first stretch of 287 was a little slow since it's a 2 lane road with plenty of large trucks on it. But once I got to where the road opens to 4 lanes it was smooth sailing. The loop around Midlothian has been completed so there's no longer a slow down there. I finally turned right onto hwy 360 which the GPS wasn't so happy with it. It wanted to take me all the way around Ft. Worth to get to Colleyville. When I got to HWY 183 I decided the GPS might know better so I let it lead me west onto HWY 183 at 5 o'clock. Nope bad move as traffic was completely stopped. So much for my handy XM traffic service.

I got off the freeway and took North Industrial Blvd to Harwood Road where I turned left. Past HWY 121 and then right on Central Drive. Left on Cheek Sparger Road and then right on Bedford Road. Then I was in Colleyville and ready to see my friend and his couch. It was a good day's ride.

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