How Dreamland Got its Name

A Southern Barbecue Favorite serves up an otherworldly eating experience. By Debi Lander There's a little joint in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that just seats 68, but its reputation is known far and wide. Dreamland BBQ boasts the motto, "Ain't Nothin' Like 'Em Nowhere," and I reckon that's true. I recently visited the place and met Jeannette Bishop, the current owner and daughter of now-deceased originator John C. Bishop and his wife, Lilly. The Bishops opened their establishment back in 1958. John had purchased the land and considered building a cafe and funeral home. He figured if the food gave his patrons high blood pressure, he'd end up burying them. His wife flatly refused that notion, so John built the drive-thru rib joint. Wonder if the name came from his funereal plans or, as Jeannette (pictured at bottom) says, "God just whispered it into his ear." No matter, the barbeque sauce is so renowned and tasty that a plate of white Sunbeam bread comes to every table, just so you can sop it up. The slabs of barbeque ribs are cooked in an open pit for 45 minutes or there's smoked sausage and pulled pork. Up until a year ago, that was the extent of the