This is a sandwich the Atlanta Falcons will offer at their training camp this year. Pulled pork. Onion rings. Mac ‘n cheese. Cole slaw. Bacon. It’s reminiscent of the Barbecue Reuben.

Via the Atlanta Falcons official site

Carolina-style barbecue is pretty solid, but I’m very much a Texas-style barbecue partisan. Cow over pig, I guess.

That said, there’s a wonderful way of improving pulled pork. (YES. YOU CAN IMPROVE IT!) It’s called the Barbecue Reuben.

Grab some rye bread. Dump your barbecue on it. Now, here’s the genius part…

…Pile a scoop of baked mac ‘n cheese on top of it. Then pile a scoop of cole slaw on top of that. Complete the sandwich. Grill it. (Or, if you’re fancy schmancy, use one o’ them panini things, aka: the Rich Man’s Foreman Grill.) Supplement with sweet potato fries, if that’s your thing — healthier than onion rings, you know.

This seems excessive, but, really, it’s just a mix of savory, carby, sweet, crispy, and melty all in one handful. And who doesn’t want that?

Oyster po’ boy on Flickr.

Jake’s Good Eats, just outside Charlotte, NC, was once featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, but its segment didn’t do justice to the precision of the cooking or how adventurous the menu there is.

For example, the Oyster Po’ Boy, shown above, with pasta salad, featured a sauce spread on the roll that had a perfect kick level — enough to announce itself, but not enough to blunt the batter encasing the oysters, or to take away from the oyster meat, itself.

Not pictured: venison quesadilla with jalapeno jelly. Unfortunately, this writer and his dining companion couldn’t resist and snapped up the cheesy meaty tortillas, dragged them through the translucent orange heat, and gobbled them down before photos could be taken.