Tuscaloosa County's history spans from Native American settlement to its role as the Alabama state capital. The area was inhabited by Native American tribes, including the Choctaw and Creeks, who had a village known as "Black Warrior Village." Tuscaloosa County was officially established in 1818, and the town of Tuscaloosa was incorporated in 1819. Tuscaloosa served as the state capital from 1826 to 1846, and the University of Alabama was established there in 1831. The county experienced economic growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fueled by industries like coal mining and the expansion of the University of Alabama. All that being said, I'll add a "Roll Tide" to the introduction.
We've had several recommendations to check out Archibald's in Northport. We headed out for the 2 hour drive with a positive vibe that we were going to enjoy some delicious BBQ. Mind over matter, right?
Our positive attitudes paid off in a delicious way. Archibald's is definitely classified as a "BBQ Joint" in my opinion. It's been in business since 1962.
After parking and exiting the car, I went down my mental checklist:
1) do I smell and see smoke? Yes.
2) Is hickory wood present? Yes.
Even better, I could actually see the hickory wood burning!
And upon entering to order, I could see the OTHER side with the meat being tended to very carefully!
Look carefully under that metal grate. See outside? That's where I stood to take a picture of the fire.
Now look carefully at the close up picture of the meat smoking. See that cast iron pot? It's full of sauce that's used to "mop" the meat while it cooks to keep it moist and to add flavor.
This is true Southern BBQ.
Check out the menu board.
While ordering, we met some of the nicest people yet on the FDL2025BBQtour. These guys were so friendly, treated us like we had known them for years, and suggested things for us to try.
Now to the food!
Sweet Harold ordered the smoked chicken with baked beans and cole slaw.
As you can see from the photo, this is a large half chicken! The color is gorgeous, the meat was tender, and there was ample sauce in the container to enjoy with the chicken.
In his opinion, this chicken is in the Top 3 of the ones he's tried so far. High praise.
The beans were also some of his favorites. They were well seasoned with a cumin/chili powder flavor and were nice and smoky. There were many layers of flavor in that cup of beans!
The slaw was on the sweeter side which isn't his favorite, but he ate every bite, so there you go!
Both of our plates were served with several slices of white bread. Not Texas Toast, not toasted or seasoned with garlic and/or butter; just sliced white bread. Again, old school Southern BBQ. That's perfectly fine with me.
I ordered the small plate of pulled pork and ribs with okra and fries as my side dishes. I wonder how much food is included on the large plate??
The ribs were really large and meaty. Tender, but not mushy. There was a great smoke flavor and the sauce was served on the side.
Wait for it......
There's that perfect bite!!
The pulled pork was served without sauce as well. It was chopped, more than pulled, but had a nice flavor. It was a tad chewy, but I'll forgive that due to the wonderful smoke flavor.
The fries and okra were both your regular garden variety, but both were freshy cooked and served piping hot.
My description of the sauce is somewhat difficult to describe. Here goes. It was a thin sauce, vinegar based, but had a lingering heat that wasn't spicy, but more of a gentle warmth from the addition of hot sauce. No thick, super sweet, smoky sauce here, just a good mop sauce that carried over from the smoking process to the serving plate.
I noticed on the menu that catfish was served. You could order a plate or sandwich and, if you wanted, a single piece could be added to your order.
I knew I wanted to try theirs, so I ordered that single piece. When the "single piece" was delivered, the nice young man said, "I just went ahead and fixed you a sandwich....you'll love this." He was correct.
The catfish was (I believe) coated with yellow mustard before battering. The coating was a light, well seasoned, cornmeal. The catfish was perfectly fried, not the slightest bit greasy.
I told them as we were leaving that I'd drive back to Tuscaloosa just for this catfish. This was divine.
The dining area is an adjacent built on room. You order at the counter in one place, go the dining area, and your food is brought to you.
Standouts: sweet tea, chicken, beans, ribs, catfish, wonderful staff
Point Takeaways: counter service, styrofoam/plastic
Our Score: 94
Yay, a good place to go.
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