BBQ Across America: 2011

Monday, June 20, 2011

Stay Tuned

The BBQ Across America trip portion has ended, but Stay Tuned.

Anthony and Shingai are going to attack the Annual Capital BBQ Battle on June 25th to use our highly tuned BBQ palates to determine the best BBQ joint in Washington DC. We will taste them all and then report our progress next week.

AB & SM

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Moonlight BBQ Inn

After an exhausting all day drive from Kansas City, stopping briefly in St. Louis to drop Nick off, I pulled into Owensboro, Kentucky to refuel. There isn't a whole lot going on in Owensboro, KY, however, every year this little town plays host to an International Bar-B-Q Festival, drawing BBQ lovers from all over the world. Owensboro also is the self-proclaimed burgoo capital of the world.

Owensboro is also home to my next stop, Moonlight BBQ. Voted as the best BBQ joint in Kentucky, Moonlight opened in 1963 by a husband and wife team with their 4 kids, originally seating only 30 people. Due to their success at serving up the 'Cue, they have grown the restaurant to over 300 seats and many accolades for their most famous dish, BBQ mutton. In fact, they pride themselves on cooking more BBQ mutton than any other place in the United States.

Moonlite pit cooks all their meat, "slow and low" over hickory wood in custom built fired pits, imparting all the meat with a distinctive hickory flavor. Unfortunately, I arrived at Moonlite 30 minutes before closing and I missed getting a tour with the pit masters, who just went home. Maybe next time.

In addition to the mutton, Moonlight offered our first BBQ buffet experience. When I learned, I could eat anything I wanted at the buffet, I damn near did a little jig right on the spot.

Needless to say, I tried everything. I was VERY impressed with the mutton, it as perfectly cooked with good smoky flavor and hints of spice, it was simply delicious. The waitress explained, they take the mutton and let it baste in spicy vinegar au jus sauce before serving. The result is a deliciousness that cannot be explained. After, the mutton I moved onto the burgoo, which is their take on a Brunswick stew. It is chocked full of mutton, chicken and whole lot of vegetables which equals AWESOME!

Ratings:

Burgoo - 9.5 - rich, thick, spicy and smoky. It put it's cousin Brunswick to shame.
Chopped Mutton - 9.5 - if I had 3 thumbs, this would get 3 thumbs up.
Ribs - 8 - crispy exterior, very juicy interior, hickory wood flavor throughout, perfect smoke ring
Pulled Pork - 6 - the meat was tender and smoky but the house sweet BBQ sauce made them a little too sweet.
Pulled Beef - 6 - too sweet because of the BBQ sauce. They should consider tempering the sweetness with some of their hot BBQ sauce which was very tasty.
Sweet Corn - 8 - creamy and sweet and made completely from scratch - no frozen corn here.
Okra - 8 - okra in a tomato stew from scratch- nice that it was not fried
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole - 4 - this was just not good. Very dry and didn't taste very good at all. * When I told the waitress that it fell short, she told me that it wasn't their best batch. In the words of Anthony: "Why serve it then?"
Baked Beans - 8 - these did not come out of a can. They were made from scratch as well and therefore tasted like real beans. They add BBQ sauce, sugar and spices.
Mac-n-Cheese - 8 - perfect cheese crust on the top and creamy cheesy sauce below. Best mac n cheese I have had in a while.
Corn Bread - Good - one of the owners asked me to try their corn bread and give my feed back - I thought it was good but not great.

Ambiance - 8.5 - this felt like a 1963 restaurant.

Overall - 8 - would have been higher but the pulled pork and pulled beef pulled the overall rating down.

Quotes:

Shingai to Pamela (the waitress): "Do you mind if I have a picture taken with you?"

Pamela:" No I can't do that."

Shingai: "Why not? "

Pamela: "Because, the camera will break?"

Shingai: "I don't understand."

Pamela: "Every time, I have a picture taken with people, they don't want to show me the picture because they say their camera broke."

Shingai: "And you believe them?"

Pamela: "I can't prove any different."

Shingai: "Well if you have a picture taken with me, I'll show it to you."

Pamela: "Do you want me to do anything for it?"

Shingai: "Just stand and look pretty."

Pamela: "See that's part of the problem."

Shingai: "The standing or the looking pretty?"

Pamela: "Don't be smart with me."

Arthur Bryant's Barbecue

Arthur Bryant's is a restaurant steeped in tradition. First opened in the 1920s, they have been serving up BBQ in Kansas City. They have served everyone from President Carter to Steven Spielberg and Danny Glover to Wilt Chamberlain. Their sauces have made it as far as the South Pole - There is no doubt that this place is famous.

The restaurant feels like it hasn't been updated since it first opened. You order your food through a small window while the servers stand behind thick glass. The window is so low you have to crouch to be heard. The servers aren't the friendliest people we've encountered, but do based on the food they are putting out, I guess they don't need to be. We arrived just as they opened to avoid the line which quickly formed as we sat down to eat.

We ordered several of their meats and didn't bother with sides. We were eating in (so our order came on a giant platter), but we watched them package a to-go order in front of ours. With plastic gloves , they take a handful of your requested meat, throw it on a brown piece of paper, grab your requested side, throw that on top of the meat and wrap it all up together - old school butcher shop style.

We had the burnt ends (beef), pulled pork, turkey and ribs. The beef and pulled pork were smoky, tender, delicious, and down right scrumdiddlyumptious. This was our first experience with turkey and it packed a punch with an intense smokey flavor. The ribs weren't fabulous but douse them in some sauce and they were good. Two of the sauces were awesome beyond words - their Sweet Heat and the Rich and Spicy sauce. Their Original BBQ sauce was a little confused we thought. Nick said, "it tasted like it had sand in it."

We order their sauces and they wrapped them up for us.

Ratings:

Turkey - 8 - meat was moist and delicious, smoky flavor througout
Pulled Pork- 8 - rich smoke flavor paired with a rich and spicy sauce made the perfect marriage.
Burnt Ends - 8 - smokey, crunchy delicousiness in the spicy sauce
* The pulled pork and burnt ends were competing for our affection
Ribs - 6 - the ribs we had were a little dry. Keep in mind these were competing with 3 very high flyer's.

Ambiance - 7.5 - it had a rustic but charming appeal

Overall - 8 - the food was scrumdiddlyumptious!

Quotes:
Server from behind the window: "NEXT!!!"
Shingai: "I'd like to try all your meats."
Server: "All of them? For just the 2 of you?"
Shingai: "Yes. We want to taste them all."
Server: "Alright!"
Server: "yelling to the other servers: Half a pound of everything!"
Server: "NEXT!"
Shingai: "Can I...?"
Server: "NEXT!"

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue

Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue is hands down the most unique place we've visited on our BBQ tour. When you think of BBQ, you don't think fine dining, but Jack Stack turns this idea on its head. This is one well run operation.

They have 4 locations around the Kansas City area and chose their downtown location. Normally, we are turned off by places with more than one location because it often translates to inconsistency quality between locations but given it's rock solid reputation, I disregard my own preconceived notions.

Simply, the food was amazing. We ordered the sampler plate called Jack’s Best which featured one crown prime beef rib, baby back ribs, and beef burnt ends. To that we added, lamb ribs, pulled pork, cheesy corn and baked beans. Because we didn't fully understand what a crown prime beef rib was, we asked for a second for Nick. Picture this - a 10 to 12 oz piece of prime rib on a bone and that is what you are getting. It's huge!

All their meats are made using 90% hickory wood and 10% oak so the smoky flavor is unbelievable. The hickory gives the meat a sweet, smoky flavor, while the oak tempers the sweetness of the hickory. If you love hickory, you will enjoy every bite.

The lamb ribs that were divine.

Told you it was huge. It's a rib bigger than Nick's fist.

We got a tour of the whole operation from the kitchen manager, Meghan. She showed us the huge pit ovens they use and explained the cooking process. It was interesting to hear how they put the brisket, the fattiest of the meats, on the top shelf and let the juices drip and flavor the other meats. It was also fascinating to learn that from the moment the meat is taken out of the freezer, it takes 24 hrs of thawing and smoking until it finds your plate. Getting the tour was definitely the highlight of the evening, and Meghan was great!

The staff at Jack Stack are amazing - everyone from Missy our lovely waitress; James the other friendly waiter who just stopped by to chat; to Meghan, the kitchen manager who let us take up her time while she walked us through the whole operation.

Ratings:

Lamb Ribs - 9 - these were just "Wow" - only thing I can say is just get them.
Crown Prime Beef Ribs - 8.5 - unbelievably good, meat fell off the bone and smoky flavor made through 12 oz . all the way to the bone
Baby Back Ribs - 5 - a little dry and didn't match up to their cousins.
Burnt Ends - 6 - tasty, great smoky flavor, our batch included too many burnt bits.
Pulled Pork - 7.5 - great sweet BBQ taste, smoky flavor, best of all not overly saucy
Cheesy Corn - 6 - If you love cheese, you will LOVE this. Nick and I LIKE cheese but don't LOVE cheese so this didn't score highly with us.
Baked Beans - 4 - way too sweet for our liking.
Sauces - mild & hot sauces were amazing, sweet sauce was a little too sweet

Ambiance - 1 - It had white table cloths. This was NOT a hole-in-the-wall.

Overall - 7.5 - good food and even better service made for a great evening.

Quote:

Nick: "So when you and Anthony decided to do this, you should have thought about investing in shares of PEPTO. With the amount of BBQ you guys have eaten, their stock is going to soar."

Oklahoma Joe's

After a grueling 8.5 hour drive from Memphis to Kansas City, I met up with one of the other Balestrieri boys - Nick. With Anthony gone, he sent his replacement, his younger brother who trained in from St. Louis.

We took KC by storm with our first stop being the legendary Oklahoma Joe's.

Located in a gas station... - do I really need to continue. People come in droves to eat here. Upon our arrival the line was 40 people deep but by the time we left, there were about 70 people waiting to order. Selected as "1 of the 13 Places to Eat Before You Die" by one of my favorite people Anthony Bourdain, this place had to be included in the tour.

The restaurant was opened by a competition BBQ team called the Slaughterhouse Five, after years of dominating the Kansas City Barbecue Society competition circuit. They guys are onto something as Oklahoma Joe's immediately became a hit and has gained a national reputation.

It was no accident that we stopped in at Oklahoma Joe's on a Wednesday, we were there for their famous burnt ends, served three days a week. Burnt ends are the flavorful pieces of meat cut from the pointy end of a smoked brisket. Oklahoma Joe's burnt ends are smoky, fatty, melt-in-your-mouth pieces of brisket covered in the legendary OK Joe's sweet sauce. Touchdown!

The legendary burnt ends

"Beans, beans, the musical fruit..."

Ratings:

Burnt Ends - 9 - these were little juicy and truly melt-in-your mouth good. If this was your last meal ever, you would die happy.
Ribs - 6 - these were a bit of a disappointment. They were a little drier than we would have hoped. We expected so much more from them after having tasted the burnt ends.
Brisket - 7 - great smoky flavor; lovely smoke ring; tender - these would have received a higher rating but we felt that the brisket could not stand alone, i.e. it had to be paired with one of the sauces to achieve it's full potential. - Author's snooty commentary: The mark of excellent BBQ, is it ability to delight without help from the sauces.
Beans - 9.5 - best beans EVER! Try them. They had pieces of pork, bacon, onions and black beans. They weren't too sweet, they were perfect!
Spicy Slaw - 5 - creamy slaw with seasoning. The slaw was not spicy as advertised. Overall very average.
Texas Toast - Good - they make this with real butter which was a pleasant surprise.

Ambiance - 10 - Honestly - It's in a gas station.

Overall - 7.5 - Burnt ends and beans were outstanding but didn't make up for the ribs being fair.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Charles Vergo's Rendezvous BBQ

Legend has it all Memphis BBQ trails must go through Charles Vergo's Rendezvous BBQ located in an alleyway basement in the heart of the business district.

The dining area is a cavernous maze of rooms packed with fascinating bric-a-brac and Memphis memorabilia. Picture your grandmother's living room with years and years of collectibles.

This place has been delighting customers with their ribs since the 1940s and people just cannot get enough of them. Legend has it Bill Cosby once visited and after tasting the ribs insisting on getting a regular shipment directly to his house, now they ship them to hungry mouths all over the country.

A friend insisted I could not leave without trying the pulled pork nachos. I obliged not realizing they would be the size of my head. They are a sensational creation which include nacho chips, nacho cheese, pulled pork, their sweet BBQ sauce, dry rub seasoning and jalapenos. Fat free too!

Next up were the ribs. They are direct grilled with no seasoning or rubs over charcoal, not wood, so there isn’t any smoke flavor. The ribs go into the giant grill frozen and broil on the top shelf for 45 minutes then they are moved to the bottom shelf for an 1 hr 45 mins. Finally, they are removed, basted with a vinegary solution, dipped in their special dry rub seasoning and served. And with that simple formula, they are able to create the most amazing dry rub ribs I have ever had over and over and over and over again. They estimate that they make 800 slabs a night. Mindblowing right?

Their slogan is, "Not since Adam has the rib been this famous."

This is one of the 4 ovens where they make their dream creation.

Ratings:

Pulled Pork Nachos - 7 - delicious and a very creative use of the pork, however under all the sauce and cheese and jalapenos, the little morsels of pork which were delicious, got a little lost.
Ribs - 8 - best dry rub ribs I've ever had, although they have the texture and flavor of a grilled pork chop due to the relatively quick cooking time and the lack of the smoky flavor.
Brisket - 7 - got a little to taste and it was tender and juicy (and covered in mountains of sauce - a theme with Memphis Q)
Baked Beans - 5 - very average
Coleslaw - 7 - quite yummy - made with mustard, vinegar and hot sauce. this was an interesting spin on coleslaw

Ambiance - 7.5 - it scored well because the knick knacks gave it an old feel, like your grandmother's living room.

Overall - 7 - Not your typical BBQ but the ribs were impressive

Central BBQ

After Graceland, next up was the Cozy Corner BBQ. Unfortunately, a hard lesson learned the BBQ Across America trail is always call ahead. Hole-in-the-wall BBQ joints close for the most random reasons like - running out of meat; owner goes on vacation; or other randomness. The Cozy Corner received an impressive 4.5 stars on yelp and a rave review from the folks at A&R, so I was dying to try it.

I called and was told that normal closing is at 9 but on today was 6 because someone stole the copper cables for the AC unit (yes, I am not making this up). Because it was 105 degrees in Memphis the Cozy Corner got so hot one of their customers fainted. So unfortunately, they closed early.

In a pinch, I found my way to Central BBQ. Having opened in just 2002, it's a fairly newcomer to the Memphis BBQ scene, however, it is very popular amongst the locals. The place was full except for the deserted outdoor deck, which had to do with the temperature being a trillion degrees.

A fellow patron recommended the pulled pork with "extra bark" (the dark, heavily smoked crust), so I ordered the pulled pork and ribs combo with 2 sides - baked beans and pork skins. An interview with the staff revealed they smoked their meat with hickory and pecan wood (an interesting twist). It gave the meat a smoky flavor like nothing I've tried before - a nutty soft smoke flavor. I should also mention that in keeping with the pecan theme, I order a Southern Pecan beer which was simply delicious. It needs to find it's way to the east coast.

Ratings:

Pork - 4.5 - The extra bark gave it more flavor but the meat was just plain dry = not good. Sauce didn't help much in that regard. The meat had an interesting smokey flavor from the pecan wood but overall, it wasn't that memorable.
Ribs - 6.5 - you have the choice of doing these wet or dry. The dry bones are served with their signature dry rub and you can add sauce if you wish. The seasoning used was really good. I ate them dry but they work well with their hot and mild sauces too.
Beans - 4 - Bland
Pork Skins - 9 - WOW!!! These deserve a 10. Easily the best I've ever had. These alone would be worth the visit. They are crisp but not too crunchy and they use their signature rub on the pork skins. Like I said - WOW!

Ambiance - 1 - They were playing J-Lo's On the Floor on a thumping system most clubs would be jealous of. This is NOT a hole-in-the-wall.

Overall - 5.5 - the pork skins could not lift this place's rating any higher.

Graceland - Memphis, TN

The second Memphis restaurant is located on Elvis Presley Blvd, so is Graceland. That's right, Graceland, of course I had to see it. FYI -if you ever decide to go be prepared because this place will milk you for everything you've got! Parking is $10. Entry is $31. Car museum is another fee. Plane museum is another fee. And the beat goes on.