Ahh, we're getting into brains!

Evansville, Indiana has two great gastronomic specialties: Open pit barbecue and brain sandwiches! I had never been much for barbecued ribs until I moved to Indiana and discovered open pit barbecue as it is done in Evansville. Usually the ribs are covered with a lot of excessively gloppy sauce. Not the Evansville way. The restaurant will usually give you a little pot of extra sauce if you want it, mild or hot, but just as they come to the table is fine with me! Or if you're not into ribs you can get what they call "pit slices"--sliced barbecued pork--but that's passing up the fun of eating from the bones with your fingers. You also CAN (but I don't understand why anyone would) get the shredded, sloppy stuff some people call barbecue.

Now brain sandwiches: I understand that they are not for the faint of heart, but they are great stuff! The brains are rolled in egg and breaded, then fried. Wonderful!

Dave Oesterreich