It’s true — Mike Hall, of The Pines, is truly the best barbecuer in the nation. The food was better than good. But you know what? It’s not about the food.
My good friend, Alisa, and her son, Patrick, were planning on going with me to eat today — but Patrick was under the weather and they weren’t able to go. I asked Perry to accompany me at the last minute and, of course, we rolled in long after the lunch crowd had come and gone. Not seeing Mike when we first arrived, we had our first plate of food almost finished when he walked over and had a seat with us. We talked a little business; we talked about the great food he serves; and we talked about a bunch of ‘hometown’ nothing-at-all stuff too.
As we enjoyed the conversation, I noticed that more than a few of his patrons came over to personally tell him that ‘he had outdone himself’ on the food on that day, or that they enjoyed their meal. He even got a neck massage and kudos from one customer! Hey — why hasn’t that ever happened to me??
So even though I had the best Texas-style beef brisket in the whole world …more importantly, I also had a fabulous experience at The Pines. And so did everyone else there! It’s not like going to Outback and the manager strolling around to ask if everything is ok — it takes about 2 seconds to figure out that Mike and Katie genuinely care about those they graciously serve. So thanks to Mike and everyone at the Pines for a great afternoon!
Stop back tomorrow and check out photos of Mike’s dog (which could be a distant relative of Libby)…