I ATE THE ARBY'S SMOKEHOUSE SANDWICH SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO

So this irresistible commercial came on the tv the other day about a new brisket sandwich that is slow smoked with hickory for 16 hours.

Who am I to turn down 16 hour hickory smoked meat?

So I jump in the truck and get ready to make the long 2 minute drive to the nearest Arby's.

[SCREECHING TIRES SOUND EFFECTS]

 Did I really just say I went to Arby's to eat meat that had been smoked for 16 hours? Yep. I sure did. I ate the whole thing so you don't have to. Well, unless you just want to.

According to the commercial for the Smoke House Brisket Sandwich. Arby's smokes every brisket with hickory for 16 hours. As if 16 hours is some kind of magical number to make moist and succulent brisket.

They even have the BBQ expert who says "That's longer than I smoke my meat."

Of course those of us in the know. Know that brisket is done when it is done. So I'm going to call shenanigans on this so called BBQ expert. I also didn't see a smoker nor smell any hickory at this Arby's

2012 - A YEAR OF BBQ IN REVIEW

I added 19 new notches on my BBQ belt this year and thankfully my waist line has stayed the same. After eating all that BBQ I can't afford to buy new britches.

I had really hoped to hit at least two places a month but a busy work schedule, chasing a couple of trailers for weeks, and driving somewhere just to find out the Q-raunt I was stalking was closed for the day, vacation, or for good, kind of killed my average.

I GOT GRUMPY WHEN MY WIFE WANTED SWADLEY'S

Swadley's is never my first choice for BBQ. I'm not a big fan of chain's. I can tolerate the local chain more than a regional or national chain but while I'm happy to see anyone succeeding in this current economy. I just feel like a restaurant loses a little bit of it's soul when it begins expanding.

I've eaten at Swadley's quite a few times over the years. I've had some really good BBQ from them and I've had some really bad. Tonight's visit fell somewhere in between both ends of that spectrum.

BILLY SIMS BOOMER Q AND A SHOULDER RUB

So a Billy Sims franchise opened up in the location that Smoke Shack failed in recently.

Now it wasn't that I was happy that Smoke Shack failed in the location. I tried them and they made decent Q, but I thought it was kind of bold to move in directly across the street from Dale's BBQ House.

Oklahoma City is one of the largest cities in square acres in the nation. So there has to be a vacant corner somewhere in the city that's not directly across the street from another established Q-raunt.