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1958 was a big year for Tuscaloosa. Not only was it the first year that Paul “Bear” Bryant starting coaching at Alabama, but it was the year that John “Big Daddy” Bishop opened his first Dreamland Café. Big Daddy was a mason for many years, which is some hard work. One night he got on his knees and prayed for another way to make a living. That night, he dreamed of opening a café and he made that dream a reality.
The original Dreamland Café is located about two miles from the intersection of Hwy 82 and Interstate 59 just south of Tuscaloosa . In the beginning, it wasn’t just ribs and white bread. Big Daddy cooked a lot of different things, but what made the customers keep coming back was not only the warmth they felt every time they passed through the door, but Big Daddy’s ribs and secret recipe bar-b-que sauce.
Dreamland is still eminently known for bar-b-que ribs. The décor 
inside the original café is warm and inviting with a big bar, a few tables and booths and a pot bellied stove. It feels like you are attending a family picnic indoors and the ribs are delicious, cooked the same way for the last 50 years. Inside you will meet customers whose family has been coming to Dreamland for generations. Big Daddy always said, “You should be good to the grandparents” and his own children would help customers to their cars and open the door for them. The point is that John Bishop didn’t just open a café- he made a place that was home to his children and his family and extended that feeling of love to everyone that came by.
RIBS & PORK THRU MAIL ORDER? HELLS YEAH!!!
If you are unable to visit one of their 8 Alabama restaurants, you can still enjoy the legendary taste of Dreamland Bar-B-Que ribs, pulled pork, bar-b-qued chicken, hickory smoked sausage, and baked beans delivered right to your door. They ship their USDA inspected ribs and sauce most anywhere. Order online or call them 1-800-752-0544 for more shipping information.
Check This Out…
50th Anniversary Package!
Celebrate Fifty Years of BBQ greatness with asampling of all their products! You’ll get 1 slab of ribs, 1 lb of pork, 1 lb of hickory smoked sausage, 1 quart of our legendary sauce and 1 bottle of dressing. Also included are wet naps, bibs, a loaf of Sunbeam bread and heating instructions.
Good god, I’m ordering five of these. Now what is everybody else gonna eat?
Visit www.dreamlandbbq.com and get some of your own, dammit!
February 27th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
And in 1958, Herfin Bigdog was born! Of course that pales in comparison to the birth of the first Dreamland Café.
DAMN! My mouth is watering after reading the article.
Thanks Z’! Now I’m starving.
March 1st, 2010 at 8:39 am
Living in the Atlanta area and having worked over by the Roswell location, I have had the opportunity to eat their BBQ quite a bit, to excess. You can smell the smokers long before you arrive, and it really serves to whet the appetite. There are a lot of “chain” BBQ places, but Dreamland really preserves the feeling of the one-off hole-in-the-wall type of rib shack. Good find Tommy !
May 21st, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Zman, you hit it out of the park on this one. I “discovered” Dreamland many years ago when visiting Tuscaloosa to work football games. It is truly an incredible place and success story; the ribs are the best I’ve ever found (so far), and the ambiance incredibly authentic, virtually unchanged in the many years of existance. It looks like an old homestead that was expanded a time or two. The staff is INCREDIBLY friendly, and the service very fast. Of course, you had three choices: rib sandwich, 1/2 rack, or full rack of ribs. In the old days a sign said “No beans, no slaw, don’t ask”. I think they offer a few sides nows
One “legend” is that Bear Bryant asked his driver one evening “Where are the best ribs in Tuscaloosa?” “Mr. Bryant, I know where that is, but you don’t want to go into that neighborhood…”. The Bear insisted they go, loved the ribs, and began going regularly. Well, as soon as Alabama fans found out that’s where The Bear went, the rest is history. On game day one expects a 4 hour wait, whether waiting for a table or takeout. Lord knows how many hundreds of pounds of ribs they do at a home SEC game.
Thank you for bring back many fond memories.
May 21st, 2010 at 9:52 pm
There was also a hand-written sign on the wall: “No Farting”
)
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:07 am
Great comments, Turtle! But you’ll NEVER get me to hold back the air grenades!