When Southerners have a hankering for banana pudding, they can always count on a barbecue joint. Something about the combination of salty, smoky pork and cold, creamy pudding just works, so it’s no surprise that the state’s favorite version of the dessert is made by a legendary barbecue restaurant.
History of Dreamland Bar-B-Que
Most people in Alabama know Dreamland Bar-B-Que for its slow-cooked, hickory-smoked ribs, created by original owner John “Big Daddy” Bishop at Dreamland Cafe in Tuscaloosa in 1958. A brick mason, Bishop built the crimson-colored cinderblock building, as well as the original barbecue pit, himself. In the early days, Dreamland not only sold barbecue but hamburgers and hot dogs, too. But it was their meaty, hickory-smoked pork ribs that had people clamoring for more and soon it became not only the most-ordered item at the restaurant but something of a regional phenomenon.
As the restaurant expanded with multiple locations over the next 35 years, the menu stayed the same: ribs, barbecue sauce, Sunbeam white bread, chips, and soda. Until Mobile came along in 1995.
“The people of Mobile basically said, ‘We have to have sides, or we’re not coming back,’ ” CEO Betsy McAtee recalls. “They would actually bring their own sides into the restaurant.”…