ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210008
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG
SERIES: Taste of Virginia
SOURCE: LAURA MOYER THE FREE LANCE-STAR
Customers of Allman's Bar-B-Que are as loyal and true as a troop of Boy Scouts.
For many locals, Allman's is a weekly indulgence, while some have even been known to come for lunch and dinner the same day. Students come across the highway from Mary Washington College seeking cheap alternatives to dining hall fare, then return in later years when they're in town for alumni functions.
It's not Allman's decor that draws the faithful. It's the tender pork shoulder with the restaurant's beloved sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, the crunchy coleslaw and the homemade milkshakes.
Allman's is easy on the budget. Grilled cheese or a hot dog can be had for $1.25. A barbecue deluxe sandwich, sauce, slaw and fries costs $3.65. The most expensive item on the menu is the barbecue plate, featuring more meat with a roll, fries and slaw on the side, at $6.75. Milkshakes are $1.50.
Allman's was started in 1954 by James E. ``Pappy'' Allman and his son-in-law, E.W. ``Pete'' White. Current owner Wayne Parrish bought it in the mid-'80s.
It has stayed in the same little building off the U.S. 1 bypass at Augustine Avenue for 41 years, and appearances haven't changed all that much. A stuffed boar's head and a collection of ceramic pigs are the main decorations. Furnishings are anything but fancy. Eight stools line the long counter, and eight tables sit on the plain tile floors. The only physical change in the past few years has been a new screen door.
Changes in the food have been subtle, too. Mary E. Brown, who has cooked at Allman's for most of its existence, remembers peeling and cutting potatoes by hand for the restaurant's french fries. But even though Allman's now uses frozen fries, the customers still seem satisfied. The pork is prepared in electric ovens, Brown said. The lemonade is Country Time, and some customers make special trips in to get it.
Allman's would undoubtedly be a different place today if Brown hadn't gone to the city's employment office looking for a job more than 35 years ago. She was told of two openings, one for a baby sitter and one for a cook at Allman's.
She had her 5-year-old daughter, Lucille, with her, and the two spent 50 cents on a cab ride to the restaurant. Brown started work for a weekly salary of $25 and has ruled the kitchen ever since.
At 63, she still makes everything herself. On a busy Saturday, that means preparing as many as 25 10- to 12-pound pork shoulders, then mincing or slicing the tender meat. It means mixing up ar least one 6-gallon batch of barbecue sauce. It also means grinding up to two bushels of cabbage for the slaw, made from Brown's mother's recipe. All recipes are closely guarded secrets, Brown said.
There are more than a few family relationships at Allman's. Some of Brown's granddaughters work there, and one is learning Brown's cooking methods. And the daughter who came to work with Brown the first day, Lucille Pendleton, has managed the restaurant for the past eight years.
Customers feel comfortable at Allman's, in part because of Pendleton's and Brown's easygoing attitudes. When the restaurant isn't too busy, customers seem as happy to chat as they are to eat.
Homemade Milkshake
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
3 tablespoons Hershey's chocolate syrup
10 oz. of milk
Combine ingredients in blender. Serves one.
Recipe supplied by restaurant; tested by members of the junior element of the Tidewater Chef's Association, American Culinary Federation and Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts.
Price range: Sandwich $1.95; deluxe $3.65; plate $6.75
Allman's Bar-B-Que
Address: 200 Augustine Ave., Fredericksburg Phone number: 373-9881 Specialty: Pork barbecue Hours: 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday; closed Sunday Reservations: No Dress: Casual Payment: Cash and checks only Alcoholic beverages: No Nonsmoking section: No Handicapped accessible: No
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Allman's has fed its hungry faithful for 41 years.by CNBcolor.