i mewn ‘r ardda

On the spur of the moment I wrote this review of The Wrangler, a BBQ restaurant in Escondido, CA. It is good enough to put here too, so enjoy.

The Wrangler is a symbol, indeed a bulwark that stands against the contemporary and all that change entails. The decor hasn’t changed much in 30 years and the food hasn’t changed at all.

Imagine: you drive up to a 60’s strip mall and true to form there is no vegetation in the parking lot. Apparently all the trees where cut down by The Wrangler to feed the interminable fire that smokes all their meat deep and black. It is the only place I know that smokes food only with oak. That might be by necessity since Southern California has no other plentiful source of hardwood. Carrying on, you approach the storefront and see by the cheeseball sunworn cartoon decals that this ain’t Starbucks, it ain’t froo-froo; priggery simply isn’t tolerated here.

Inside one is immediately struck by the blandness of color and texture. You sense that someone put an eight-track in a loop and it has been playing ever since. Even the radio dial hasn’t changed. There is a water spot in the ceiling that hasn’t ever been fixed. The cement block wall lining one side of the long room has been painted and repainted in the same cream–no–soft mustard hue. The knick-knacks on the walls have been updated to kitschy country circa 1983. Rafia. Pie plate art. Painted wood scrollwork.

The food is well-smoked. For the longest time it was one of the very few places in San Diego county where one could get pit-smoked authentic barbeque. Beef, ham, and beef ribs are listed as the main entrees. The beef is sometimes a little dry, but always has good flavor. The baked beans are good, dark, a tad spicy, but a little too sweet. The slaw is well done, no weird stuff in it, and not too sweet. I don’t order the other side dishes enough to recall them, but I would expect similar results. The iced tea is not overly strong. They do soup pretty good too.

For barbeque the prices are excellent. The most expensive thing on the menu is the combo platter at $10.99 (December 2008) which is a good load of all three entrees. Lunch item for about $5 include a sandwich and a side and drink.

Strangley, there is no place to leave dirty dishes even though you aren’t served at your table. This leaves you with the idea that you should clean up after yourself but at a loss as to where to leave your leavings. I’ve concluded that they want you to bus your own food, though if you leave your mess on the table they’ll gladly clean up after you.

Take the time to use the bathroom as a pretext to see the large brick lined pit in the back. It impresses me.

Eat your food at the restaurant if possible because the smells contribute greatly to the flavor.

The best part: it happened on Halloween!!! Also, check out what happened to our fridge:

No big deal, it looks like a fridge, but woah, whats this!!!

It looks like someone got their letter posted up on the fridge next to the kids’ drawings. Yayyy!

Enjoy.

Amidst all the hubbub surrounding purpose driven lives, abortion, homosexual marriage, seeker-sensitive churches and Lord knows what else there lies a common and quiet thread. I don’t know if the many of the church know about it. It may be that I am pointing out the obvious and everyone will just say DUH WE KNOW THAT! I suspect though that few are cognisant of this fact. This suspicion is rooted in the behaviour and attitude of our churches.

The main reasons humanity is on earth comes to us from Genesis 1: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Not much in Judaism or Christianity conflicts with this edict. Also please do not understand this in 21st century ecological terms, though I will not argue that now. All the world’s purpose is to rule over the earth. I suspect that means we are to make it like a beautiful garden filled with every good thing. But what precisely it means isn’t necessary for the purpose of my point.

The proximate cause for our existence isn’t to be happy, or even to be good; it is to be kings and queens over a great earth. Goodness of course is the way we are made to be. It is impossible for us to have been made for evil. Happiness is like food and sex: a great thing to possess but by no means a necessary trait for ruling. And yes food for some people is not required.

Yet don’t you think many people who are against homosexual marriage are against it merely because they are against homosexuality? At best, at least, the point should be reiterated: homosexual marriage directly conflicts with our stated purpose. You cannot be a fruitful homosexual. Homosexuality requires a great turn inward and you cannot subdue the earth when so positioned.

The Church says be happy when it should say “Rule this place the way you know it should be ruled.”

Just image a person going to work not knowing what it is they are supposed to do. They get different directions from three people, attend a meeting they know nothing about, and accomplish nothing. Imagine doing that job for a lifetime. It would confound the soul utterly. Yet we live like this.

There is more to say on this, this writing is a bit fragmented.