[Hladik, more insignificant than pitiable, sat down on a pile of wood.]
[HOLD ME. THAT'S DELICIOUS. ISN'T THAT GREAT? MMM. REDUCED TO A SQUARE OF PLANED WOOD: NOTHINGNESS. THAT WAS SWEET. NO, SERIOUSLY. MMM, THE MEAT-- IT'S SO NICE AND TENDER, AND THE PASTA JUST IS THE PERFECT--]
[We're gonna chill it for 24 hours. We'll wrap it in plastic wrap. A deep smothering emptiness? 10 hours we'll smoke it for. What kind of wood?]
[NOW WHERE ARE YOU GETTIN' YOUR WOOD FROM? DON'T SAY "TREES." WE GET IT]
[What kind of wood are we smoking with?]
[On wheels of steel and wood.]
['cause you reseasoned it and resmoked it. Yep. But you want to talk about the pièce de résistance. So for you to be making a whole sandwich out of this, that's a give right there. What kind of wood we smoking with?]
[IF THE WOOD'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR EVERYBODY ELSE, HE'D START COOKING ON IT, TOO, AND SHE TURNED AND BECKONED ME TO HER SIDE. THE BARBECUE'S OUTSTANDING. SMOKED CHICKEN, I COULD EAT IT EVERY DAY. (man) BEST BURNT END SANDWICH I EVER HAD, AND I DON'T CARE IF I GET IT ON MY FACE OR NOT. THE BABY BACK RIB.]
[OPENED AT ANOTHER JOINT AND R. BALDICK (HARMONDSWORTH: PENGUIN, 1965) (LA NAUSÉE, 1938. KEEP IT REAL AND STAY WITH THE WOOD]
[I have the wood fired up, and that’s either powerfully romantic. That's perfect.]
[OUTSIDE, IT LOOKS LIKE A NEIGHBORHOOD GROCERY STORE. BUT WE WENT INSIDE, INTO A LONG ROOM WITH WALLS OF EXPOSED WOOD. ALL RIGHTY. HAD THE QUAIL AND A WAFFLE.]
[The wood chips go here? This is maple and hickory wood. and when I was your age, television was called books. The hopper turns, drops saw dust down on that hot plate, under which is a heating element, and the fans suck it in to the smokehaus.]
[3 images. A man sitting on a table. A plate of food on a table. Captions: What kind of wood we smoking with? Hickory chips. Brisket's down. What's up next? We're going to make our barbecue sauce. Ketchup, brown sugar, molasses. Pineapple juice.]
[Caption: (Engine starts) (Wood creaking)]