Intro to Real Ribs from Floyd 'Sonny's BBQ' Tillman | Meathead of AmazingRibs.com

"One day a week, (Floyd "Sonny" Tillman) would come in with a big old beer cooler full of ribs. He would sell the ribs to the patrons. I thought this was the coolest thing.”

That first taste of ribs would leave an impression on Meathead. As fate would have it, the man selling ribs out of a cooler in a liquor store was no rookie in the game. It was the legendary pitmaster who started the big Florida barbecue chain Sonny's BBQ.

“I found out that was Sonny from Sonnys BBQ,” Meathead says of the BBQ legend Floyd Tillman on the Digital Hospitality podcast hosted by Shawn Walchef of Cali BBQ in San Diego.

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Meathead on meeting Sonny from Sonny's BBQ —

Meathead Goldwyn [00:00:01] — In fact, I'll tell you a good story. When I was in college, I worked in ABC Liquors in Gainesville, Florida, which was a chain of 60 some stores, still is pretty big, I think. And the liquor store was the front half. We had a bar in the back half. I was the assistant manager. And that meant, you know, when the manager wasn't on staff, I was in charge.

Meathead [00:00:26] — And one day a week, usually on Thursday or Friday I think, some guy would come into the bar with a pretty old beer cooler full of ribs, and they were wrapped in foil and resting. He would come into the bar and he would sell the ribs to the patrons in the bar. And I thought this was the coolest thing. And I tasted these ribs and I'd never had anything like this. This was, you know, 21 year old college kid. And these ribs just blew me away. Years later, I found out that was "Sonny" (Floyd Tillman) from Sonny's BBQ, the chain in Florida. He got started cooking ribs in his backyard and going from bar to bar with beer coolers full of ribs selling them. And he was one of my introductions to real barbecue.

Meathead [00:01:23] I would buy a slab and bring them back to the fraternity house. And the guys would all sit around and say — how do you do this — you know? (laughs)