Our book club debate turned into a food fight over symbolism

We were talking about that novel where the author uses apples to mean temptation. Someone brought real apples to make a point, and it got silly. People started tossing them gently to show different interpretations. I ended up with apple slices in my hair, and we all cracked up. Now we call it the fruit salad meeting.

Pitmasters around here are forgetting what makes BBQ special

Honestly, I've watched local BBQ spots and contests for a long time, and now there's a push to make it too fancy. Tbh, all these new twists are taking away from the real skill of slow smoking. Last weekend, a guy at a cook-off used some fancy glaze on his pork that tasted like candy. It hid the smoke flavor completely, which is the whole point. Even my buddy who runs a smoker truck is talking about adding avocado to his plates. Ngl, this move towards gourmet toppings and sauces just feels wrong. Good BBQ should stand on its own without all that extra stuff.

That special order for arched bricks held up the whole job for weeks.