In 1999 I was introduced to the best smoked turkey I had ever eaten. The thickly sliced turkey was moist and had that wondrous hickory taste without being too salty. In a stroke of genius, it was served on a buttered and toasted croissant.

The turkey is still smoked on-site and served at the Blue Ridge Pig, a BBQ shack that is identifiable by the pig signage that hangs over Route 151 in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and the glorious smell of wood chips. Last weekend I was lucky enough to be in the area and got to whet my turkey taste buds and test my memory.

Had the tryptophan affected my judgment a decade earlier? It had not. The turkey was just as good as I remembered (as were the mustardy baked beans).

May your long weekend be filled with BBQ. Happy Memorial Day!