Following the Smoke: Biscuit Row in Helena-West Helena.

I tend to follow my nose when it comes to barbecue. During the summer of 2024, I spent several weeks in the Arkansas Delta. I was heading to one barbecue restaurant on the 8th of June - a restaurant that wasn't open (I'd find out later the owner was on vacation). But a sniff of the air told me there was barbecue to be found nearby.

That scent lead me down off Cherry Street to an old gas station at 321 Phillips Street, where it connects with Walnut, where pecan smoke drifted lazily out of onto the road. This was the pit for Biscuit Row BBQ, just a short walk from the Delta Cultural Center.

Inside, I met Frank Clancy, the owner, whose stories came as naturally as the smoke rolling off his pits. I wasn't there to take in an interview. I just had questions and a hankering for something to eat - and the restaurant's chicken thigh heavy menu on a chalkboard nearby got my interest quick.

I ordered a sandwich, had a seat, and Frank came and joined me. He didn't know me from Adam, but he was eager to talk.

Frank started by telling me how Biscuit Row’s sauces were created by his son Todd - or Tyler, I gotta be honest, my hearing isn't perfect and Frank talked up a storm - with a long series of trial, error, and some ruined cookware.

“I’d come home at night and smell burnt pots,” Frank told me. “And I said, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m trying to make a BBQ sauce. I want to make my own BBQ sauce. I’m not going to buy some BBQ sauce.’”

He walked me through the three sauces they make in‑house, each tied to family and place. The mild sauce, Sweet Sippy, nods to Mississippi roots. The hot sauce, much loved by Razorback fans, is unapologetically bold. And then there’s Delta Shine, a mushroom sauce with a name borrowed from his son's dream that didn’t quite pan out.

"He always wanted to be in a rock‑and‑roll band,” Frank told me. “The name was going to be Delta Shine and the Pounding Heat. When he realized he couldn’t sing or play music, he just dropped the Pounding Heat and made Delta Shine.”

I laughed, but what struck me most was what wasn’t in the sauces.

“There’s no vinegar in none of this,” Frank told me.

While I was waiting for my plate, Frank offered to show me the smoker. Of course I took him up on the offer. We went out the side door and across a new deck to the repurposed service station, where the old service pit had been filled with concrete. The garage now houses smokers fed with pecan wood.

"The pecan comes off my family's land," he said. "It's a good 70 years old. No one else can get anything like that around here. "

I could taste that flavor, once I got my plate and had a minute to absorb what was in front of me. The smoke shows up beautifully . I started with a chopped chicken sandwich, which Karen - Frank's partner behind the counter - told me was their best seller. The chicken was laid across the bread in generous pieces, not over‑pulled, not mushy, and was topped with mustard slaw made from a family recipe.

I couldn’t resist experimenting. I tipped a little of each of the sauces over to the side and dipped a little chicken in each one. I found I liked it with a couple drops of the Sweet Sippy sauce and a couple drops of the hot sauce. It’s a good combination.

Then came the brisket. I’ve eaten brisket all over Arkansas and beyond, and this one was absolutely stupendous - pink on the edge, about an eighth to a quarter inch all the way around. Good bark. Falls apart well. You don't need your teeth to eat this meat. The pepper came through clearly, the smoke was present without being aggressive, and it didn’t need sauce, though I tried it anyway, because research is important.

The sides told their own story. Frank explained that everything from the potato salad to the slaw comes from family recipes, something I later found customers frequently praise in reviews.

As I sat there eating, people came and went. Biscuit Row is only open Fridays and Saturdays, and when they sell out, that’s it. No shortcuts.

I'm going to have to make my way over there again, after this barbecue-seeking journey comes to a close. Frank and Karen and the crew are too interesting not to speak with again, and those chicken thighs are going to be calling me back.

EXTRA NOTE: I picked up one of Karen's brownies to take with me... it was still warm, and so gooey but with a really crisp top, Gonna have to get more of those, too.