On a recent trek thru the back roads and byways of the beautiful state of New Hampshire, I came across a road side emerald in the rough. As I am sure you can tell by the title and the use of emerald instead of diamond, that this weeks story has something to do with the Wizard of Oz. Well my carnivorous friends, you would be right.
While I was traveling along RT 101A thru the quaint town of Milford, NH, doing my day job and minding my own business, a cloud of smoke appeared on the horizon and it beckoned me as if Glenda the Good herself had sent this fragrant wisp of white in thru my cabin filter and directly into my olfactory. As a trained professional eater, I knew at once that I needed to follow said smoke for there certainly would be something special at the roads end. This being spring in New Hampshire, there were no yellow bricks to follow but there were plenty of pot holes to slow down my travel just enough to spot my version of the emerald castle.Okay... So truth be told, when the smoke cleared, my castle turned into the funkiest road side BBQ Joint I have ever seen. Sitting on the front end of a flat trailer was a log cabin. On the back was a screened in porch with a huge cast iron rotary smoker and the front had a sign that read "Nobody gets in to see the wizard, not nobody, not no how". Above this sign was a window (a little larger than the one the guards used in OZ) so I walked right up, summoned all of my courage and shunning the part of my brain that seems to always want to warn me about my heart, I ordered lunch. Come on! you didn't think I was just gonna ask for the wizard without sampling his wears first?
And sample I did, as it was lunch and I was technically on the clock with that damn day job, I went straight for the meat. 2 Ribs and a side of brisket and oh my, am I glad I did. You see, this crazy joint on the side of RT 101A is non other than Phil's Old-Fashioned BBQ and when they serve you a rib, you get one that would make Fred Flintstone drool. These were not your average ribs, these were center cut pork ribs that rivaled the size of a typical beef rib. Thankfully I only ordered 2, these were huge, and coupled with a pile of perfectly smoked, tender brisket- this lunch stop will keep me full for many many more miles. No wonder they call this place "A Little Piece of Hog Heaven".
After filling my ample gut, I ventured back to the window and demanded to see the Wizard! I was ready to let loose the flying monkeys if need be, but I think the guard took one look at me and thought, "this guy may have eaten the entire lollipop guild, I better do as he says."
The wizard, as in the one from Oz, turned out to be just a normal everyday person with some special talents. In this case, the Wizard turned out to be Phil Bouchard who, along with his wife Kristen (the guard at the window), have been serving travelers along this stretch of New Hampshire for 9 years.
The rig is a Southern Yankee made for Phil and Kristen at a shop in Indiana, and it really is a site to see. Half log cabin, half smoke shack and all parts fantastic. Phil is the pit master and his smoker is a custom made rotary style that will smoke more than 350lbs of meat. He fires her up every day that the weather permits sometime between 5 and 6 am to get ready for the lunch rush and the two of them serve platters of food to hungry travelers until they run out. Using only oak hardwood, the bark on the meat has a wonderful flavor and the smoke ring is deep into the meat. It does not get any fresher or tastier than that my friends.
This is a walk up window, no frills with the dining experience. They have a condiment table set up with homemade, as well as store bought, sauces. Do yourself a favor and ignore any bottle you have seen before and head directly to any one of the Phil's 4 homemade styles. My favorite was Phils Five Point Zero Mustard Sauce, but you can also choose from the tangy 7.5, the vinegar based Carolina sauce or the North Carolina Red Pepper Flake. Load up your dish with a little of each and head over to one of the picnic tables set up for dining alfresco. 
While my stop did not include sides, based on the amount of meat they served me, I'm glad I held back. Beans, Potato Salad, Coleslaw, 4 Bean Salad and Cornbread round up the available sides. As I wondered if these were as good as the meat, a young lady came up and purchased just a bowl of Potato salad. She told me it's the best around. Welp, I guess that answers that!As Judy Garland once sang, "somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high, there's a place you should go to and bring a large appetite" So what are you waiting for? Click your heels together and repeat after me, there's no place like Phil's, there's no place like Phil's, there's no place like Phil's.
