I’m sure there will be world peace before there’s a consensus on the best barbeque in town, but E & L Barbeque (1111 Bailey Ave, Jackson) seems to be many people’s favorite. I didn’t let the positive internet reviews raise my expectations too much, but I started to get my hopes up when I smelled barbeque smoke (through my closed car windows) about a quarter of a mile before arriving at the restaurant. Now I know that if I am ever forced to choose my favorite local barbeque, E & L will be a contender.

On a weekday at lunchtime there was a long line that moved extremely quickly. I got the rib tips & links combo, thanks to the suggestion of one internet reviewer. I asked for my fries “with sauce,” because it seemed to be the thing to do. Both of these turned out to be good decisions.

The sauce was wonderfully sweet-hot, with just enough subtle heat to balance the sweet and leave a burn on my lips. The fries served as a great vehicle to get more of that sauce to my mouth. The rib tips were meaty, moist, and completely pink inside.

The sausage was much spicier than the sauce, with visible pepper seeds; it also had a great earthy flavor underneath the heat. I enjoyed the almost crumbly texture of the meat, which was packaged in a thick, crisp casing. Normally when I eat barbecue the white bread gets tossed off to the side, but this time I used it both for holding the drenched-in-sauce tips and as yet another vehicle for the sauce, which I couldn’t get enough of. The entire combo was about $9 and would have been more than enough for two meals.

The hours on the door were hard to read, but I think that E & L is closed on Sunday and Monday, open 10am - 10pm on weekdays, and has longer hours on Friday and Saturday.

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