At Arlene Williams BBQ, smoke sinks into sausage and sauce seeps into slowly roasting cuts of pork, beef, and chicken. In the dining room, the spicy sauce drips from ribs, drawing nervous glances from the novelist writing the last line on their 432nd napkin. Steam and the sound of clattering pots drifts from the kitchen, conjuring images of the steamed okra, collard greens, and blackberry cobbler within.
