Ramblings

This section is a storage place for some of my blog entries that are longer essays, thoughts on barbecue and other tangential topics.

(02/03/08)

O Say Can You See?

Some time around 6:00PM tonight, before the Super Bowl kicks off, more Americans will hear those words collectively than ever before. Today I'm wondering how many restaurant owners and managers take that phrase to heart in their everyday running of the business.

One of the great things about going to RUB in New York City, besides the food, is watching owner Andrew Fischel in action. I usually sit at the bar and chew the fat with him while I eat. Although I'd like to think he's fully absorbed in our sparking conversation, I know better, and I wouldn't have it any other way. That's because his eyes are on every plate in the dining room in front of him, verifying that there are no problems and looking to anticipate problems before they happen. Pacing behind the bar like a caged tiger, Fischel pounces on the servers as they emerge from the kitchen, checking every plate for proper meat doneness and proper presentation before they can be brought to the table. In this era when restaurant managers and owners are all too quick to ask how everything was at the end of the meal, it's refreshing to see someone who takes a proactive approach during the meal.

Ask yourself how often your restaurant manager is seeing and acting on the following:

• Whether the meat is cooked properly. I've had ribs that were over-charred, I've had ribs that were frightfully pale and I've had brisket that was embarrasingly dry and looked it, all plainly visible to management. I've even had a manager himself run a plate of woefully undercooked chicken wings to the table. How could he have not noticed that they weren't cooked?

• Whether the portions are consistent. Ray and Robert Barone aren't the only ones who are envious if the other gets a bigger portion. It's human nature. I've been at restaurants where a person at the table next to me ordered the exact same ribs I did, but his were literally twice as thick. I recognize that dealing with the meat supplier is a challenge unto itself, but making sure everyone gets the same portion avoids discontent. I know one restaurant that switched from racks and half racks to ribs by the pound because customers complained about bigger portions at the next table. But getting the sides portions right should be a slam dunk. Do you really want to risk losing a customer over 10 cents worth of mashed potatoes?

• When the lettuce on the salad is brown. Or for that matter, when the peppers are slimy and moldy. Or when the tomatoes aren't ripe. Or when there are tomato or cucumber stems in the miscut pieces. I've received too many salads that were guilty of all of the above. You'd think someone in the kitchen would do a spot check before bad vegetables even made it to the plate.

• When a customer sends food back. This can be a simple mixup of the wrong sides being put on the plate, or it can be that the food was awful. I've been in too many restaurants where food has been sent back while the management is oblivious, watching TV at the bar or yukking it up with the help at the hostess stand. If I owned a restaurant and I saw something being sent back, I'd want to know why and I'd make sure whoever sent it back got taken care of.

• When a customer isn't eating his food. Sometimes customers who aren't happy with the food don't send it back. Sometimes it's out of fear that they'll get more than just a new plate of food. Or they just don't want to make a fuss. A little recognition and reaction can convert a one-time dissatisfied customer into a regular customer, but too often it just goes unnoticed.

• When a customer is waiting for something. Eating out isn't cheap, so when you do, you want to enjoy the experience as well as the food. If my hot chicken appetizer arrives before my wife's salad, I can't really enjoy it, knowing she's waiting. And by the time the salad finally arrives, it may be too late to enjoy it. Maybe we both received our appetizers, but I have no spoon to eat my chili and our server is out back grabbing a smoke. Or maybe we're waiting 15 minutes just to place our order, while watching our server help another server sing Happy Birthday to another table (this happened just the other night). Good restaurant managers know how to recognize when somebody needs something. Great managers have that ability and put it into action throughout the shift.

(02/01/08)

Super Bowl Thoughts

Just a few days to go until the big game. Here's what's on my mind:

• I'm rooting for the Patriots and expect them to win, but would be surprised if it were a blowout. I'd be very happy with a Patriots blowout, however.

• The Giants are on a roll now, more so than the Patriots. Yes, the Patriots have a "perfect" 18-0 record so far, but they've made too many mistakes lately to be called perfect. It's a lot like some of my favorite BBQ joints: they're my favorites, and they're the best, but perfect? No.

• Tiki who?

• Tom Brady is already one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever played the game, but a win on Sunday would place him in that best-of-the-best category. There are quarterbacks who are known for gaudy stats (Marino, Manning) and there are quarterbacks who are known for winning (Bradshaw, Montana), but Brady has the potential to establish himself as that rare QB with both attributes in spades.

• If you could be Tom Brady for one day, either on or off the field, but not both, which would you pick?

• Ordinarily, I'd be going through my Super Bowl snack menu for the sixth or seventh time by now, looking for holes to plug in the line-up, but I'm just not into it this year. I might smoke some chicken thighs, but other than that, I'm going to just take it easy on the barbecue this weekend.

(01/04/08)

Andy Husbands, Steve Uliss Trading Cards

Here are some collector cards from a series issued in 2004 to raise money for charity. Card #1 in the series is Andy Husbands, then of Rouge (Boston MA; he also owned and still owns Tremont 647 in Boston). Card #21 is Steve Uliss of Firefly's (Marlborough, Framingham and Quincy MA).

Being the nut that I am, I decided to get them autographed. I started with Steve, since I bought the card set at Firefly's. Steve told me to tell Andy when I saw him that he taught Andy everything he knows about barbecue.

As you may recall from the Pigtrip Chris Schlesinger interview, Chris claims to have taught Andy everything he knows about barbecue. If you've read the Mike Mills book Peace, Love and Barbecue, you may have seen the quotation from Kenton "Jake" Jacobs that he taught Andy everything he knows about barbecue.

When I handed his card to Andy at the kitchen at Rouge, I passed along Steve's message. Andy told me to tell Steve that he taught Steve everything he knows about barbecue.

(12/05/07)

For One More Day: The Ten Dead BBQ Joints I Most Wish I Could Visit, Part 2

Here's the second half of my list of barbecue joints I wish were alive for one more day. This list includes a few that I heard great things about but was never able to confirm in person.

Armadillo Depot, Worcester MA (closed 2007)

This joint on Park Avenue had been hailed by Chowhound.com founder Jim Leff as one of the best examples of Texas barbecue in the Northeast. I liked the way they smoked their meats but not how they reheated them, receiving cold food too many times. Now that I'm working in Worcester, I'd love to get those flavorful ribs just once, even if it meant investing in a toaster oven to finish the job back at the office.

Jake and Earl's, Cambridge MA (closed 1996)

I visited the original Jake and Earl's only once or twice in the early 1990s, but that was before I discovered East Coast Grill, the more upscale restaurant next door that shared the same kitchen (and owner, Chris Schlesinger). ECG eventually expanded into the area that was Jake's. I'd love to go back to see some of the talent who once manned that joint before branching out on their own: Andy Husbands (Tremont 647 and Rouge), Jake Jacobs (Jake's Boss BBQ), Chris Janowski (Blue Ribbon), Don Yovicsin (Jake's Dixie Roadhouse).

Pearson's, NYC (closed 2005)

From all I've heard and read about this place (as well as the pitmaster's earlier joints in Long Island City and Stratford CT), "English" Bob Pearson was ahead of his time. This former hairdresser from England had the audacity to serve a super smoky brand of barbecue without barbecue sauce, and it developed a cult following. One reader reminisced not just about the excellent barbecue but also how well it paired with the fresh Portuguese rolls Pearson obtained from a bakery in Bridgeport.

Poppa Rick's, Woodbury NYC (closed 2006?)

I'd heard good things about Poppa Rick's, including this from barbecue maven Josh Ozersky in a 2005 Newsday piece: "Crude, simple and magnificent, these monsters fairly burst with pork-fat flavor." I once spoke to pitmaster Rick Anselmi over the phone in 2005, to find out if they were open. But I never found the time to make the visit on that trip to the in-laws, and I lost my chance.

Slade's, Boston MA

Supposedly it's still operating as a jazz club, but in the 1960s, when it was owned by Boston Celtics center Bill Russell, it was the place for ribs and sports celebrities.

(12/04/07)

For One More Day: The Ten Dead BBQ Joints I Most Wish I Could Visit, Part 1

Sportswriter turned author Mitch Albom has created a cottage industry out of his series of books revolving around love and death. His most recent is called For One More Day, and it's been adapted into a TV movie that will air this Sunday night on ABC. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?

Here are the ten barbecue joints that I'd most like to be alive again, if only for one more day:

Holy Smokes, W. Hatfield MA (closed 2007)

This converted church was a fun place, with stained glass windows, pews turned into picnic benches, and hanging painted sculptures of flying pigs. But what made this place really fun were the pig and other meats that flew out of the smoker. Their beef shortrib topped my list in that category, and their pork ribs and chicken were both excellent. Add artisanal made-from-scratch sauces and some of the best sides I’ve ever had in a barbecue restaurant, and you’ve got a winner who’s run was cut too short when the place burned down last summer.

Rouge, Boston MA (closed 2006)

This upscale New Orleans style eatery with a bordello vibe gradually morphed into a barbecue joint for the hipster set, with memorable cocktails and special event dinners. I liked this Andy Husbands restaurant in all its incarnations, whether I was there for the chiles rellenos, the New Orleans BBQ shrimp, the Wedge salad, the Rhode Island style calamari, the sage rubbed skirt steak or (usually) the barbecue “Samplah” plate. Their cherry glazed pork rib prompted an awed 2005 dining companion to blurt, “So this is what a good rib tastes like!”

Jake’s Boss BBQ, Jamaica Plain MA (closed 2005)

Located across the street from Doyle’s, the oldest bar in Boston, Jake’s was the most recent joint run by Kenton "Jake" Jacobs, the man Chris Schlesinger calls the “living legend of barbecue.” For a long time, their pulled pork shoulder was the best you could possibly find in any Massachusetts city not named Newton or Arlington. The ribs were about as reliable as their HVAC system, but every third visit, they were on a par with the best I’d tasted, with an assertively spiced thick crust that yielded to a tender, smoky interior. I’d heard good things about their brisket, so I’d love to try that.

Porterhouse Café, Cambridge MA (closed 1999?)

At one time Jim Fahey (now at the Forest Café, a Mexican joint a little further south on Massachusetts Ave) was one of the Boston area’s leading practitioners of ribs. This dimly lit dive in Cambridge’s Porter Square served a rack of “monster babybacks” that hung off the edges of a sizeable plate. It’s the first place that ever served me fried pickles, and it's the first joint I fell in love with. I’d love to go back to see if I’d hold Porterhouse Café in the same high regard now as I did more than a decade ago.

Spitfires, Canton MA (closed 2007)

Located just a few miles from where I used to work, Spitfires started out as a poor man’s Blue Ribbon and ended as more of a homeless man’s Blue Ribbon. They usually had serviceable ‘cue, but the thing I’d go back for is their elusive Tex-Mex potato salad, created by their first pitmaster who's now back at Blue Ribbon. It's still the best potato salad I ever had and the only one I've ever craved.

(11/21/07)

Famous Dave's in Saugus Closes: A Win?

Yesterday I read on the Boston Chowhound board that the Saugus outpost of the Famous Dave's chain had closed. I wonder whether it's a reflection of the highly competetive restaurant ennvironment on Route 1, a backlash against an outside chain (a la Krispy Kreme), or simply a backlash against bad barbecue.

Within the thread, there was a mini-debate over whether one of the first responders was right for "cheering" this closing, claiming it as a "win." There was a heaping helping of guilt, with the moral highground poster citing that people were out of jobs, taxes were being lost, etc.

I'm sorry, but I'm on the side that's cheering. It's not a win simply because a corporate giant failed. It's a win for all the little guys who save up their own money, buy a little shop and smoke the meats on site, with no vacuum sealed, pre-smoked assistance. Restaurants are the most competetive of all businesses, with more than half failing in the first year. A new restaurant opens, another closes. If it were up to me, none of them would close. But with only so many diners and dining dollars to go around, there'll be closings all the time, it's just a matter of who. So when Goliath closes and David is left standing, I call that a win.

the Chowhound thread on Famous Dave's

(10/24/07)

My 12 Favorite Bowls of Chili

Since October is National Chili Month and we're past the halfway point for the month, I'd say it's time for a list of my favorite bowls of chili at New York and New England barbecue joints. As with all of my lists, note that I say "favorite", not "best," because I haven't tried them all and because your mileage may vary. One other thing: slots #1 and #2 are rock solid, but rankings #3 through #12 are prone to flip-flopping, depending on my mood or my most recent experience.

#1 All Star Sandwich Bar, Cambridge MA
This isn't a full-fledged barbecue joint, but on a part time basis they offer pulled pork and brisket sandwiches made with the meats smoked a few doors down at East Coast Grill. This "no beans, no cryin'" chili, available full-time and containing the brisket from these same pits, is the best combination of meat, heat and spice I've ever tasted. You might say "heat and spice" is redundant, but it's not. There's plenty of heat from the chiles and there's plenty of savory flavors going on thanks to the liberal use of cumin and other ingredients that hit you from a different angle entirely. The cornbread that accompanies it is pretty good too.

www.allstarsandwichbar.com

#2 Big W's, Wingdale NY
There are two chilis available here, and both are excellent. Whether you choose beef or chicken, you'll get a tremendous amount of meat and a mildly spiced broth that enhances the meat without overshadowing it. The nice thing about the brisket chili is that the fat has already been trimmed from the slices. The nice thing about the chicken chili is that it's healthy enough—and good enough—to eat every day. The nice thing about both chilis is you can include as a side on your combo platter.

www.bigwbbq.com

#3 Jake's Dixie Roadhouse, Waltham MA
This is one of the few chilis out there that's pure, unadulterated pork, with a very spicy broth.

www.jakes-bbq.com

#4 Hill Country BBQ, New York City
The other flavors kick in too, but what you notice most about this chili is that it's made with beer, and lots of it. There are no beans and though there's an adequate portion of beef, there's plenty of that beer and chile pepper-studded broth. If they used larger chunks of the same brisket available in the meat line, I'd rank this a slot or two higher.

www.hillcountryny.com

#5 Daisy May's, New York City
This chili is widely regarded as the best in the city, and not just among barbecue joints. It's pure beef, served in big, tender chunks, with just enough broth to serve as a lubricant. The spice level is fairly mild, but the flavor is very pleasant.

www.daisymaysbbq.com

#6 RUB BBQ, New York City
This is my highest-ranking chili that has beans, and it's because they blend nicely with the more abundant similar-sized chunks of very smoky brisket. The heat level is medium.

www.rubbbq.net

#7 Waterfront Ale House, New York City
Here's another joint that's not quite a barbecue joint, but still has barbecue on the menu. It's also a joint that has two varieties of chili. I haven't tried the venison and black bean version, but I'm looking forward to it. The beef and pork version, with medium-high heat, is a basic straightforward chili, but one of the best basic straightforward chilis out there.

www.waterfrontalehouse.com

#8 Little Danny's Taste of Texas, South Windsor CT
This bowl of chili is also basic and straightforward, but it's made with buffalo meat. Different texture, different flavor, and it's good. If buffalo isn't your thing, they have beef chili too.

www.dannyslittletasteoftexas.com

#9 Buck's Naked, Freeport ME
It seems as though they take an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach here, because this chili has beef, pork, chicken and a couple of different beans. I've only had it once, so I wonder if it changes from day to day.

www.bucksnaked-bbq.com

#10 Chili Head BBQ, W. Bridgewater MA
For a Texas style barbecue joint, the beans in the chili are a little out of place, but rather than being unwelcome intruders for texture only, they actually supply much of the flavor. The meat is a combination of ground beef and large brisket cubes. But the really unique thing about this chili is that you can customize the heat level when you order it, on a scale of 1 to 15. Anything over a 10 requires a signed waiver. You can also use El Yucateo hot sauce at the table to add even more heat if necessary.

www.chiliheadbbq.com

#11 Redbones, Somerville MA
There are so many appetizers on the Redbones menu, it's easy to forget about the chili, but theirs is pretty memorable. It's made with large cubes of beef and the broth is very thin, like beef stock. A little unorthodox, but it gets the job done.

www.redbonesbbq.com

#12 Firefly's, 3 MA locations
The chili here—a mix of brisket, sirloin and pork—is like a microcosm of the restaurant as a whole. Sometimes there's beans, sometimes there's not. Sometimes it's thick, sometimes it's thin. Sometimes it's mostly beef, sometimes it's mostly pork. More often than not, it's good, and when it's on, it's very good.

www.fireflysbbq.com

(10/22/07)

Loud, Louder, Loudest

There comes a time when you realize you're getting old, and for me that time is now. Packs of high scool girls, dressed scantily for their weekly Friday night mall appearance, no longer make me turn my head. Some of their tattoos and piercings, and the places they put them on, actually make me shake my head. Much like the generation before me, I can't understand the appeal of some of the music they listen to, but I can at least understand that it was bound to happen. What I really can't understand is how, when or why loud became equated with cool. Have you been in an Abercrombie and Fitch lately? It's not a store, it's a loud disco that just happens to sell clothing (and obnoxious cologne). And the kids love it. And they love it so much they'll go there and call their friends on their cellphones, making sure they're in the loudest part of the store (disco) before placing the call. I wouldn't be able to hear anyone on the other end if I tried that, but hey, different strokes for different folks.

I say different strokes, but the fact that this whole "loud is cool" phenomenon is affecting restaurants is really annoying me. Walk down any "restaurant row" (Moody Street in Waltham MA, Hanover Street in Boston's North End, dozens of equivalents in NYC) and you'll notice that there'll be a few restaurants that seem to be where the party is. The music is loud, the conversation is louder to overcome the music, and everything is magnified by the acoustics specifically designed to enhance the "loud is cool" mystique. It draws people in like the Pied Piper, as if they're going to miss something by going to the quiet little restaurant a few doors down that actually serves good food.

These "loud is cool" establishments are the food version of Lindsey Lohan: unable to catch your attention through culinary talent, they'll make you notice them through cheaper, lazier means. Sadly, this strategy seems to be working. I hate these places and I hate Lindsey Lohan.

Can you tell I didn't have barbecue this weekend?

(10/08/07)

Rule #1: Say When You're Open

I have the day off from work today, so I was toying with the idea of a small-scale pigtrip later to parts unknown (not likely, but it's fun to toy). Just as Sy Sperling is not only the president of Hair Club for Men but also a client, I not only maintain the Pigtrip Joints directory, I'm a client as well. As I was using it to view about a dozen candidate joints' websites, I was amazed at how many restaurants don't bother to list one of the most important pieces of information they can provide: when they''re open.

Attention restaurant owners: I like your cool Flash videos, I like your explanation of what a smoke ring is and why I should choose your joint over the next guy's (I really do). But aside from the menu, what I really want to know is what days you're open and what hours. A lot of people travel on Sundays and on half-assed holidays like today (Columbus Day) and would be more than eager to give you a try if they know you're open.

(10/03/07)

Things I'd Like To See, Part 1

I'm always thinking of barbecue ideas, so here's what I'm thinking there oughtta be:

BBQ at Gas Stations?
It sounds odd, but it makes sense. It’s expensive opening a restaurant nowadays, so unless you have a sugar daddy, making the leap from barbecue competitor to barbecue restaurateur isn’t as easy as you’d want it to be. In 1930, Harlan Sanders (before he was known as the Colonel) got his Kentucky Fried Chicken empire off the ground by selling his soon-to-be-legendary poultry at his gas station. Maybe that’s the route some future legend in the barbecue world will take to get started. “Twenty dollars of high test and two racks of ribs, please.”

Wesson Bread
I can still remember those commercials of my youth, where (even before Florence Henderson), they’d take an unsliced loaf of bread, square it off to remove the crust, then deep fry it in Wesson oil. It always looked great. I bet some enterprising restaurant owner could showcase this as an “amuse” before the meal, as an appetizer (maybe with a spicy dipping sauce) or as a housing for an even fattier rendition of a chopped brisket sandwich.

Two Kinds of Pulled Pork
Why not? If KFC offers regular and extra crispy chicken, why can’t a barbecue restaurant offer both a traditional pork shoulder as well as a Jamaican jerk-rubbed one? Or an out-there coriander-caraway-rubbed one? Or Sichuan peppercorn and basil? The oddball offshoots don’t have to be available regularly, but could rotate as second choice specials.

BBQ Breakfast
You can get Sunday brunch at joints like Duke’s (NYC) and LJ’s BBQ (Pawtucket RI), and Redbones (Somerville MA) is probably the best of the bunch, but this is a largely untapped market. Sausages are easy to smoke, and briskets coming right out of the smoker after an all-night smoke would go perfectly with eggs. I’ve seen some creative things done with potatoes and sweet potatoes at grilling contests, many of which would be ideal as a breakfast side.

Chili Tank
At some Starbucks locations, I’ve seen Ghostbusters-like backpack contraptions that mobile baristas wear to dispense hot coffee outdoors. Why not chili?

A Flay-McDavid Reunion
If Eddie Van Halen can come to his senses and tour with David Lee Roth again, it’s high time Bobby Flay came to his senses and reunite with his Grillin' and Chillin' television partner, Jack McDavid. Flay has since done other Food Network shows with other co-hosts and solo, but the best television he ever did was with McDavid, the yin to Flay’s yang. City slicker Flay liked gas, high heat and cutting edge vinaigrettes, while bumpkin McDavid was strictly old school. We need more Jack McDavid nowadays.

(08/17/07)

BBQ Joint Pet Peeves II: the All Quotes Edition

Here’s another assortment of pet peeves, this time a collection of things people say that cause me to bristle. Sometimes they’re said by servers, sometimes customers, sometimes owners and sometimes even me. Most of these are service-related and most are just as likely to happen at any restaurant in America. I’ve arranged these in chronological order, from the time you’re greeted to the time you leave.

“I'll be taking care of you.”

The full version of this one is something like, “Hi, my name is Jen and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I start you off with a drink?” Unless it comes out hyper-rehearsed, it doesn’t become a peeve until Jen lets 20 minutes go by without taking our food order. Or lets my beer glass reach the empty mark. And remain so for 20 minutes while she compares nail polish styles with another server. Or forgets to check back to see if everything was ok after our entrees were served by a runner instead of her. If that’s taking care of me, I’d hate to see what not taking care of me is like.

“Is this your first visit?”

This often gets squeezed in between “I’ll be taking care of you” and “Can I start you off with a drink?” It’s also not a peeve as long as they have something informative to offer other than “Welcome back!” if I say no or “Well, you’re in for a treat!” if I say yes. I’m looking for helpful nuggets like whether salads are included or whether you can make substitutions or what the house specialty is.

“We’ve got the best pulled pork on the Island!”

This is an actual quote from a restaurateur on Long Island, responding to my question on which sandwich to order. Sometimes statements like this are the result of an inquiry like mine, and sometimes they flow naturally as a follow-up to the “Is this your first visit?” question. Either way, it’s a peeve on too many fronts to count, but I’ll offer a few. 1) It’s too self-serving to be taken seriously even if you honestly believe it’s true. 2) Unless you’ve tried every pulled pork on the Island (and you probably haven’t), you have no basis to believe it’s true. 3) Not only did it not turn out to be the best pulled pork on Long Island, it was one of the worst I’ve ever tasted. I know, I know, I was the one who asked, but he could have simply said, “I’d go with the pulled pork, it’s our house specialty!” (Although he should have said, “I’d go with the pulled pork, it doesn’t suck as much as our brisket!”)

“How was everything?”

I’ve often found myself in a sit-down joint where the owner makes the rounds, marching down the aisle, asking customers how everything was. In most cases, it’s apparent that this is merely an exercise, because he’s going so fast, there’s only time for a 1- or 2-syllable response before he asks the next table. “How was everything?” “Great!” “How was everything?” “Awesome!” “How was everything?” “Incredible!”

If you’re going to ask how everything was, be prepared to respond with something meaningful when a customer who’s not going along with the routine says, “The ribs were miniscule and cold, the pulled pork was the driest I’ve ever had and this brisket I wouldn’t even feed to my dog!”

“We’re going to be opening up several of these.”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard a restaurant owner say this, I’d have enough money to buy a 64-ounce Porterhouse steak at Peter Luger. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a restaurant owner say this before he had his first house in order, I’d have enough money to buy two 64-ounce Porterhouse steaks at Peter Luger.

“I’m going to open up a barbecue restaurant that’ll put all the others to shame.”

This is one that I hear a lot, and from different camps. From competition cooks during an all-nighter at a contest. From smoker-owning friends as we leave the parking lot after yet another disappointing barbecue restaurant meal. And I’ve even said it a few times myself. The reason it’s a pet peeve is that in most cases the claim isn’t based on reality. Sure, the barbecue you cook in your back yard is great. So is mine. But that doesn’t mean you know how to run a restaurant, where you have to worry about missed deliveries and employee theft and turnover and food waste and customer complaints and equipment failures. It’s not easy.

(08/08/07)

How To Tell If A BBQ Joint is Going To Be Good

A few months ago, barbecue personality Remus Powers (Ardie Davis) wrote an article in the Bullsheet (the Kansas City Barbeque Society's monthy newsletter) talking about the five rules that determine whether a barbecue joint is worth a visit. In June, White Trash BBQ summarized these rules for What Makes a Good BBQ Joint.

I mostly agree with them, as long as you apply them loosely. After visiting more than 100 barbecue joints, I've developed a few of my own:

1. Can you smell any smoke?

If you can smell the smoke, it’s a good sign. For years I lived about a block from a Burger King and the fragrance each night was amazing, but that’s not what you want to smell. I’m talking about the sweet aroma of burning fruitwoods. When Blue Ribbon (W. Newton MA) still did their smoking onsite (it’s now done at an offsite commissary under owner Geoff Janowski’s supervision), I could smell it all the way from the treadmill at the gym next door and it would cut my workout time in half. Ideally, you shouldn’t smell the smoke as far as a block away, but notice it just before you walk in the restaurant’s front door. At Goody Cole’s (Brentwood NH) and Holy Smokes (W. Hatfield MA), I don’t always notice it that much while I’m there but can pick it up on my shirt after I get home. Burning wood means smoked meat. The joint might still not get it totally right, but at least you know they’re not cooking your ribs in an oven.

2. Do the other diner’s plates look good?

If it’s a sit down place where the hostess leads you to your table, do some advance scouting along the way by checking out the plates at other diner’s tables. Does the brisket look dry or juicy? Are the ribs meaty or thin? Is the pulled pork served in big chunk and long strings, or overmashed? Is the ‘cue too dependent on the sauce? I’m not saying you should leave based on your observations, but they might steer you into ordering the meat they do best, or possibly a fail-safe burger. I also like to look at other diner’s plates during and after the meal, as a sanity check. There’s always the chance that I just happened to wind up with a more-meaty, less-meaty, drier or wetter rack of ribs than is the norm.

3. Do they only serve babybacks?

If the restaurant’s menu says they only have babyback ribs, that’s cause for concern. Babybacks are great when they’re done right, but too often they’re just a shortcut. They’re already tender, so you could get away with just grilling them, which I’ve seen too often at barbecue restaurants. The greater risk is that they’re going to be the soggy, overcooked dreck that’s commonly served at all the chain restaurants. There are exceptions, of course. Buck’s Naked (Freeport ME) only serves babybacks and Willie B’s (Bay Shore NY) started out with just babybacks, but both joints completely defied the babyback stereotype, serving smoky, well-seasoned ‘cue that’s real and good.

4. Does the menu emphasize breadth over depth?

Barbecue joints that are heavy on breadth and light on depth scare me. By breadth, I mean a wider than wide-ranging menu full of non-barbecue items like pastas, salads, steaks, fish and the like. I understand the need to diversify the menu—it’s almost a necessity to attract the diverse customer base that can sustain the restaurant’s profitability. But straying too far from the barbecue basics can have two effects: less attention paid to the barbecue items and slower barbecue turnover. The first effect is self-explanatory, but the slower turnover could be even more devastating. Fresh ‘cue requires a large and steady volume. Adding all those other items may be good for business, but you may be hijacking your own customers and hurting your barbecue.

By depth, I mean barbecue options. Are there different cuts of pork ribs? Do they only serve beef ribs? Rib tips? Can you get sliced brisket and chopped brisket? Do they have burnt ends? Do they go beyond the basics and offer smoked pastrami, lamb or duck? Depth is a good sign, especially if they offer something out of the ordinary. What if there’s a glaring omission, like the lack of pulled pork at Hill Country (NYC) or the missing brisket at KC’s Rib Shack (Manchester NH)? If it means they’re focusing more attention on other meats instead, that’s okay. As long as it doesn’t mean more pasta.

5. Is there an open kitchen?

If there’s an open kitchen or anything close to it, that’s a good sign. I’m not saying that those who don’t have one always have something to hide, but some do. If you can follow the path your meat takes, from the time it leaves the smoker (ideally) or a holding bin (the next best thing) to the cutting board to the plate, you’ve got a high probability of getting good ‘cue. Sometimes you only get to see the last few steps, like at Lester’s (Burlington MA), Big W (Wingdale NY). Other times you have to peek through a window specifically designed for the voyeur, like at Q (Port Chester NY) or RUB (NYC). I’m a big fan of the grillside table at East Coast Grill (Cambridge MA), where you can sit within arm’s reach of the warming racks of ribs and spit-cooked chickens, observing the entire operation from the fry cooks to the grill team.

6. Is the joint near the ocean or in a tourist area?

I haven’t had good luck with barbecue joints near the ocean or near vacation spots in general, and it’s probably not just a coincidence. Restaurants in tourist areas typically don’t depend on repeat business. They know you’re probably not coming back anyway, so why jump through hoops to impress?

7. Are there more than four TVs?

Some joints have a television set or two because they know there are some customers who want to check a score during a sporting event. It also gives the lone diners something to do besides stare at the other diners. Sports bars can be a lot of fun, but if there are more than four TVs, they become less of an amenity and more of the main attraction. At a good ‘cue joint, the barbecue is supposed to be the main attraction. The most notable exception is Bailey’s Smokehouse (Blauvelt NY), which would also be an exception to a “Do they serve pizza?” rule.

(08/02/07)

Names and Concepts for BBQ Joints

I long ago stopped thinking up names for bands and now just focus on names for restaurants. Here are several million dollars worth of ideas, free for the taking:

Pulled Pork Sammy’s
The name comes from the urban slang for “sandwich,” but the concept is a pork shoulder-driven menu. It’s the cheapest and most profitable of all the barbecue meats, the easiest one to hold and reheat, and the healthiest option after chicken. There would be Carolina style sandwiches with slaw and super tart vinegar (my choice) and more Yankee-friendly versions with sweet sauce. There’d be cold pork salads with vegetables and herbs. There’d be different shoulders on display with different flavor profiles: mustard slathered, Mayo slathered, Jamaican jerk, Italian fennel seed, Sichuan peppercorns, you name it. And there’d be a nod to ice cream legend Steve Herrell: pork with mix-ins ranging from crispy smoked bacon cubes to dried apples. There would be enough choices that ribs wouldn’t even be necessary.

Embers
I don’t know why, but this is a name that requires dim lighting, white tablecloths, linen napkins and a serious wine list. The kind of a place where you’d expect to see roasted quail and smoked rack of lamb. The emphasis would be barbecue, but there would be steaks rivaling those at the major steakhouses.

Picnic
I just like the name because it’s not only a cut from the pig, but also the event at which you eat it. It’s one of those one-word-singular names you’d find in Manhattan.

Mosi Tatupu’s Big Island Luau
Here’s a combination that can’t fail: all-you-can-drink tropical cocktails, all-you-can-eat barbecue with Pacific Rim influences, tiki kitsch décor, live hula dancers and a Patriots-themed sports bar (old logo only) with a focus on Tatupu, the Samoan running back for the New England Patriots in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Pigtails
This pork haven is basically a Hooters rip-off, where the waitresses (sorry, no waiters here) would wear revealing pink shirts and their hair in pigtails. Completing the ensemble would be a pink pig tail, Playboy bunny style, at the appropriate location. The food? I haven’t gotten around to that part yet.

OYNK
Kosher pork on pumpernickel or rye. No milkshakes here.

Banff
This is an almost-rip-off, basically a more barbecue-centric version of the Bugaboo Creek chain. Amid Canadian wilderness décor, you can feast on barbecued venison, spit-roasted elk and (of course) Canadian bacon. The sauces would all include maple. And the name of the restaurant would be pronounced with both F’s, just as in the 1966 episode of F Troop that featured Paul Lynde as the Burglar of Banff. I can see it now: “Welcome to Banff, is this your ffirst visit?”

The Fridge
I thought of this one at least 20 years ago, long before I got hooked on barbecue, but it makes more sense with barbecue than with anything else. Imagine small, college-dorm-sized refrigerators, each filled with a different assortment of smoked meats, cheeses, creative condiments, fruits and vegetables. I’m talking smoked turkey legs wrapped in foil, chunks of smoked ham (or SPAM), smoked gouda, a slew of macaroni and potato salads, seasonal fruit, etc. You’d order the fridge of choice based on size, sight unseen, then your waiter would wheel it to the table and plug it in. You’d get carving knives and bread to make sandwiches, but the rest is up to you.

The Vat
Everything’s fried. Fish, chicken, even burgers. Bacon, smoked then fried. Sausages, smoked then fried. You want sides? Fried green tomatoes, onion rings, shoestring fries, fried cauliflower, fried fennel or fried artichoke hearts. This wouldn’t be like the Just Shirts store that also has pants. Everything’s fried, period. At the end of the meal you don’t just get a wetnap, but Clearasil and Lipitor too.

Bar Sinister
This watering hole’s name is borrowed from Underdog’s #1 nemesis, but other than that, there wouldn’t be any tie-in. I just like the name.

Just names:

• Asian Pan (pan Asian)
• Pork Avenue
• Cracklins
• Dip (what they call sauce in North Carolina)
• Low Calcutta (Indian food for the dieting crowd)
• Cheesesteak Factory (you'd get sued but think of it as advertising)
• Belmont Steaks

(07/13/07)

"Award Winning" Barbecue at Restaurants

In a recent Pet Peeves post, I talked about “award winning” barbecue, effectively saying that you’ve got to take these awards with a grain of salt. Now don’t get me wrong (or as Roger Clemens likes to say, “make no mistake about it”), I have the utmost respect for both restaurateurs and competition BBQ chefs. Winning first place in a BBQ competition is a huge accomplishment and a testament to the skill and dedication of the entire team. I’m just saying that the ‘cue served in the restaurant at a restaurant that touts its awards will usually bear little resemblance to the ‘cue that won those awards.

But how can it?

In competition, the pitmasters know the turn-in times (one for each different meat) and structure their entire cooking and serving process around the notion that the barbecue will be at its absolute peak at its one designated time. That won’t happen in a restaurant, even by sheer coincidence.

In competition, the meats are served right out of the smoker, never having seen a refrigerator after cooking. With very few exceptions, that doesn’t happen even at the best barbecue restaurants. Unlike a steak that’s cooked to order, barbecued meats have to be cooked long before the customer even thinks of dining in the restaurant. In order to handle the anticipated volume, the restaurant needs to cook just enough product. Cooking less than that could mean turning business away (i.e., for customers who only come for the burnt ends and have no interest in the brisket). Cooking more than that results in two difficult choices at the end of the day: throw the leftover meat away (which is tantamount to throwing money away) or refrigerate it and reheat it the next day. Some joints do a really good job reheating, but it’s just not the same as meat right from the smoker.

Restaurant pitmasters usually use different equipment at their restaurants from what they use in competition, whether due to the high volume or their smoke ventilation requirements. In competition, they may be using different woods and a stronger level of smoke than is commercially viable at the restaurant. Barbecue judges like more smoke than soccer moms do, but it’s the soccer moms who may be keeping the restaurant in business.

There’s something about a competition that gets the creative juices flowing. The restaurant pitmaster may be experimenting with new rubs and sauces that are completely different from what’s used in the restaurant. If these get good responses from the judges and the friends who taste samples, they might make their way into the restaurant.

Most importantly, there’s that extra level of care and attention paid to serving that one container of ‘cue. Everything has to be perfect and everything is checked and double-checked for doneness, flavor and appearance. There will be more time spent getting the lettuce to look pretty at the bottom of the competition container than will be spent making sure everything’s right on your plate in the restaurant.

So does all this mean that you should dismiss the rows of trophies and claims of awards? Absolutely not. At a joint with trophies, chances are you’re going to get a good meal (and there's one I know where you'll get a great meal). Just don’t expect the same barbecue that won the trophy.

(06/28/07 and 6/29/07)

Thoughts While Judging in NH

Last Sunday I judged the Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) barbecue contest at the Anheuser-Busch grounds in Merrimack NH. The weather was perfect, the barbecue was good and it was a great opportunity to make new friends and re-connect with old ones. Here’s just a sample of what was trickling through my mind as I judged.

The scoring

Each of the meats is judged for appearance, taste and tenderness, on a scale of 2 to 9 (there is no such thing as a perfect 10; a 1 is reserved for disqualifications). Assigning a score is a lot harder than you’d think, because the scores typically wind up being 6s, 7s and 8s, with an occasional 9 or 5. The resulting narrow margin of actual scores makes every point count that much more.

In the sport of boxing, most rounds are scored 10-9, with a knockdown required to get a 10-8 round; 10-7 rounds are practically unheard of. This means that not all 10-9 rounds are alike. Barbecue scoring is often very similar: two ribs can both be scored an 8 for taste even though one is noticeably better, just because there’s such a narrow range used.

KCBS recently changed the way judges approach the numbers to achieve a greater separation in the scores. Instead of starting at a 9 with points taken off for imperfections, every entry now starts as a 6 and can get bumped up or down accordingly. That’s how I was trained, that’s how I judge and that’s how I think it should be. A score of 6 is considered average, so you’ve really got to earn those 8s and 9s from me. I don’t look at it as penalizing the cooks to whom I give a 7 instead of an 8. I look at it as rewarding the cooks who earned my 8s and 9s by not giving them away to everyone else too.

Chicken

Of the six chicken entries I judged, four boxes had thighs, one had wings and one had slices. This is typical, as most teams submit thighs, since they cook evenly, remain moist and fit easily into the box. I’ve occasionally seen wings, more often seen legs and a few times a combination of legs and thighs (each of the 6 judges can pick any piece in the box while still available). If I were competing, I’d always submit thighs—for the reasons stated above as well as my success rate with them.

Pork Ribs

Of the six rib entries I judged, three boxes had babybacks, two had St Louis cut and one had a meaty loin back rib. I’ve seen babybacks before, but this was the first time they were in the majority. I like when a team presents the ribs in a way that lets you see not only the sauced tops but also the unsauced sides. Spares are the longest and the meatiest, but they’re risky for competition: they cook unevenly, they have pockets of fat that may wind up in a judge’s only bite and it’s hard to fit six or more into the box. If I were competing, I’d always submit St Louis ribs—but I’d make sure what they lacked in length they made up for in height.

Pork Shoulder

Of the six pork entries I judged, four boxes had a combination of strings and bark, one box had just slices and one box had slices and strings. I like variety, because it makes the presentation look better and gives me more ways to reward you for appearance, taste and texture. One well known competitor from New York once told me that he sometimes presents five different pork options for competition. If I were competing, I probably wouldn’t offer that much variety, but I’d be sure to offer a few different looks and tastes. After all of the scoresheets were turned in, our table had mixed opinion on that box with just slices. One judge thought it was the best entry of the six, another judge or two thought it was okay and a few other judges (myself included) thought the meat was overcooked and oversauced. Different strokes for different folks, I guess, but that’s what makes it fun. And neither camp is right or wrong.

Brisket

Of the six brisket entries I judged, five boxes had slices and one had a combination of pulled brisket and smaller slices. In the past I’ve seen thick slices, thin slices, burnt ends, chunks, chopped brisket and thin brisket strings. Again, the more options you give me, the more chances you have to score well. When two kinds of meat are presented (say, slices and chunks), there’s differing opinion, even among trained judges, as to whether you’re supposed to average the two mental scores or score based on whichever of the two you like best.

For each the first three meats that day, my highest score wound up going to the fourth of the group, but the brisket broke that string. The fourth entry here had falling-apart brisket slices on a just few shreds of lettuce (all entries are garnished) that didn’t come close to covering the bottom of the box. If the meat looked good, the lettuce wouldn’t matter, but a half-assed garnish makes no sense. Either do it right or have the balls to go with no garnish at all (I’d score Hill Country’s sliced brisket a 9 if it came ungarnished). Another interesting entry in the brisket category looked great but was very tough. But the thing that really made it interesting was that it was sliced so thick. Thick slices are usually a ploy to mask overcooked brisket to keep it from falling apart, just as extra thin slices are a way of dealing with tough brisket. This cook did it the other way around and it cost him points.

Scoring Challenges

When I first started judging, I was always the last judge at the table to submit my scorecard. I’m still among the slower judges, because I want to do the best job I can. There’s often a lot of money at stake for the competition teams and there’s always a lot of time and money invested, so I don’t take my responsibility as a judge lightly. The hardest part of judging is having already awarded an 8 and a 9, then tasting something that’s better than the 8 but not as good as the 9. Or tasting something better than that 9. You have to judge each entry in order, without going back and changing scores. Each entry should be judged on its own merit, not in relation to the other entries. I can’t say I don’t consider the scores I’ve already given out when judging the next piece of meat, but you’re not supposed to. To get into the rhythm of assigning scores with speed and confidence, I prepare with 10 minutes of rating the photos on www.hotornot.com. The same scoring dilemmas come up, but with practice, it gets easy.

Can you fry chicken at a BBQ contest?

The most interesting entry in the chicken category looked more like something from General Gau (who’s never been seen in the same room at the same time as General Tso) than something from a barbecue contest. All of the judges silently wondered whether the six thighs were smoked or fried or something in between. They had a light coating of egg wash and flour that enabled them to retain a crisp skin. The rub was unique, with lots of cinnamon, and the faint coating of sauce had a coconut flavor. Highly unusual, but evidently legal. As long as they used wood and smoke and not oil, this was fair game. The flavor was good and the tenderness of the meat was perfect. Usually an entry does well across the board or poorly across the board, with the three scores for appearance, taste and tenderness not necessarily identical but somewhat close. This was a rare example of a 5-7-9 score from me. I don’t think it had a chance to win, but I really enjoyed that chicken and give props to the team for submitting something creative and different.

Should the scores for each entry be similar?

That chicken entry and the unusual way I scored it reminded me of a discussion I overheard the very first time I judged. One of the judges was questioning the credibility of another judge who scored an entry a 9 for tenderness but a 7 for taste, or vice versa. His argument was that if one category deserved a similarly high score, so did the other. I disagree. Take the most perfect ribs (or chicken, or whatever) imaginable. They’d deserve a 9 for taste and a 9 for tenderness. What if those same ribs were pulled from the smoker 90 minutes earlier or 90 minutes later? The tenderness would be shot either way, but the taste would be the same and still deserve a 9. Take those imaginary perfectly cooked ribs, add an extra cup of black pepper and baste them with the fishy water from a can of tuna. The taste would be shot, but the tenderness would be the same and still deserve a 9. I know competition cooks who lament that they’ve cooked two briskets, one with great taste and iffy texture and the other with great texture but a little off on taste. Taste and tenderness are separate categories for a reason.

Times and Temps

For standard KCBS contests, there’s an assigned turn-in time for each meat: chicken is due at 12:00, pork ribs at 12:30, pork shoulder at 1:00 and brisket at 1:30. For each turn-in, the teams have a 10-minute window. Chicken, for example, can be as early as 11:55 or as late as 12:05. Any later and the entry is disqualified. The order that the judges will view and taste the meat is predetermined, so there’s no advantage in trying to turn in the box early to ensure that it will be tasted while the meat is still hot. On the contrary, it’s to the cook’s advantage to turn in the box as late as possible (assuming that it was relatively hot before turn-in) to minimize the time that it sits.

That waiting time between turn-in and judging not only cools the meat but also steams it, taking the bite out of any bark and making chicken skin downright rubbery. My former competition team would always shoot for a turn-in with 1 or 2 minutes to go. It led to some high drama as the clock wound down, but it was worth it. That’s why I found it odd that the first competitor to turn in a chicken entry did so at 11:56, four minutes ahead of schedule and a full 9 minutes earlier than he had to. I then kept track of the times we started tasting each meat (after all 6 entries were judged for appearance and then distributed to the judges’ mats): chicken 12:09; pork ribs 12:38; pork shoulder 1:13; beef brisket 1:41.

Pork shoulder takes the longest to serve, because forks are required to handle the many different pieces. Although we started tasting pork 13 minutes after the turn-in time, the table in front of us started 2 minutes after that. As you might guess, some of the pork was cold; some ribs were too. You’re not supposed to take rubbery chicken skin or cold meat into account when judging. Still, it’s hard not to subconsciously reward a team who manages to keep things warm (as one team’s pork was the last time I judged) and crisp (as one team’s chicken was the time before that).

(06/07/07)

(05/22/07)

BBQ Restaurant Ordering Strategies

By the Pound

I like joints that sell barbecued meats by the pound. In the Northeast, you’ll see this at RUB (NYC), Fette Sau (Brooklyn), Wilson’s (Fairfield CT) and Bendle-Bean’s (Pembroke MA). This method gives you the ultimate flexibility to create any combo you want and eat as much or as little as you want, in the ratios you want. An added bonus, of course, is getting it when you want, ensuring that everything’s as fresh as possible: "We’ll start with a pound of the burnt ends and a half pound each of the pulled pork and pastrami. Then, in a half-hour or so, could you please bring us a pound of sausage and a half pound of brisket? Oh yeah, and Diet Cokes all around!"

Usually, barbecue sold by the pound gets served in a pan, basket or cardboard boat lined with butcher paper. It’s great for sharing, because you can just pass the boats around the way you would Chinese entrées at a family style restaurant. And nobody’s cole slaw is worse for wear.

I’d like to see different prices for different quantities, though. A half pound of pulled pork? That’ll be $7. A full pound? Make it $12. A pound of meat that’s a quarter pound each of four different meats? That would have to be $14.

By the Piece

For meats with bones, it makes more sense to go by the piece. I like BBQ joints that sell ribs not only by the rack and half rack, but also as individual bones. This seems to be more prevalent at Massachusetts BBQ joints, like Blue Ribbon (W. Newton and Arlington), East Coast Grill (Cambridge), Jake’s Dixie Roadhouse (Waltham), Redbones (Somerville) and Firefly’s (Marlboro, Framingham, Quincy). Some places, like Uncle Willie’s (Waterbury CT and New Haven CT) and Hen House (Southington CT), have separate prices for nearly a dozen different permutations of ribs and/or chicken. It makes things a lot easier for groups to order and be able to share, without anyone getting left out.

The single bone is also great as an add-on when you feel like ordering something else (sometimes not even barbecue, as I often do at East Coast Grill in Cambridge), but still want a little taste of rib. Single bones nowadays run as much as $3 per bone, which makes sense for an add-on, but I’d like to see something like whole racks for $22, half racks for $12, additional bones $2 and single bones $3. That way if you’ve got a group of 3 and you want 3 bones apiece, you order a half rack plus 3 bones.

In that vein, I’d also like to see sausages sold by the link. Five guys? Five links. No guesswork.

You could even apply the "by the piece" concept to sides, as is often done for cornbread. If you want cornbread, add it on for 75 cents or so. If not, why waste it?

Go Large

I’m a big believer in the theory that it’s best to order the largest size of any one meat that makes sense. If you order a 4-meat combo with ribs, pulled pork, brisket and chicken, you’ll probably wind up with a piece of chicken that’s nowhere near as good as the whole chicken over at the next table. And your two or three ribs probably won’t be as good as the ribs on that full rack at another table. Racks always taste better than half racks, which always taste better than individual bones. Whole chickens are better than half chickens (which aren’t noticeably better, other than for peace of mind, than quarter chickens). If you and I both feel like ribs and pulled pork, we’re probably better off splitting a rack or half rack along with a pulled pork sandwich. The "Go Large" concept isn’t about getting more food—it’s about getting better food. If you go to the same joint every week and always get that same 4-meat combo, try getting a 2-meat combo instead, alternating the meats from visit to visit. You’ll get better quality.

The obvious drawback of the "Go Large" method is the sharing aspect, which has two components. First, you can only share food with people who share your philosophy on manners. You don’t want Saliva Sam sticking his fork into the tub of potato salad if he just licked the barbecue sauce off it. Or double-dipping his rib into the shared container of barbecue sauce. Always ask for communal serving utensils and make sure you only use them to handle the shared food. Or eat with people who don’t mind swapping spit. The second sharing drawback is making sure there’s not one guy at the center of the table hogging all the ribs. I’m lucky to have a good group of people that I go with, so neither of these pitfalls has ever been a problem.

The Sandwich Route

Sandwiches aren’t just for lunch anymore. They’re a great way to get maximal meats with minimal commitment. If the accompanying sides can be changed up with each sandwich, even better. When alone, I’ll often get a sandwich and two ribs. The sacrifice here is the cornbread (if the two-meat platter includes it), but it’s a small price to pay. With groups (especially even-numbered groups), it’s a lot easier to split a sandwich into two halves or four quarters than it is to divvy up a plate of pork. This strategy lets you sample all the barbecue meats while still leaving room for ribs or other specialties not available as sandwiches. It’s also a great way to enjoy sandwiches that are creations unto themselves, such as the BLFGT (bacon, lettuce and fried green tomato) and the Reuben Crusher at RUB (NYC).

(05/03/07)

Joltin' Joe and BBQ

There have been many times when I've been to even some of the better barbecue joints and asked myself, had this been my first visit, was it good enough to return? Too often the answer is no, but they get a pass based on previous performance.

(05/02/07)

Getting Way Too Dippy

On Sunday night I was enjoying some sushi (no, I don't always eat barbecue). Or at least I think I was enjoying the sushi. You see, I'm a big fan of wasabi, which I like to mix liberally into my bowl of soy sauce for serious dipping. I'm also a big fan of pickled ginger, which I like to use—equally liberally—as a topping. There's nothing technically wrong with doing either of these things, but it's not how a serious sushi eater would do it.

If you order five different kinds of sushi, they should all taste great but but not identical. Mine all tasted like soy, wasabi and ginger, just how I like it. Eventually, I'll ease up on the flavor enhancements and learn to appreciate the nuances of the different sushi varieties as well as the art of creating great sushi.

In summary:

1. I like to overwhelm my sushi with soy, wasabi and ginger.

2. I know it's wrong.

3. I'll try to learn to taste the flavors of the sushi.

4. I might actually like my sushi better with fewer intrusive flavors.

5. If I continue to eat sushi the way I have, that's OK too.

You probably saw the barbecue analogy coming way back in the first paragraph. It may seem that on this site I'm always putting sauce down. I'm not. I like barbecue sauce, and I some of the better ones I've tasted really enhance the flavor of the meat.

What I'm against isn't the sauce itself but a few things related to it:

• sauce being used as a crutch to rescue old/tough meat

• simply adding barbecue sauce to boiled or oven baked meat and calling that barbecue

• oversaucing perfectly good barbecue to the point where you can't taste the meat

But just like with my sushi, I'm not telling you not to use sauce. Eat what you like and like what you eat. My hope for this site is not to have everyone agree with me, just to help people find the barbecue joints that they're likely to like.

(04/17/07)

My Spring 2007 Most Wanted List

There are still many New England and New York BBQ joints I've yet to hit. Here's the 2007 follow-up to my 2006 Most Wanted List of the ten places I most want to try in the coming weeks:

#1 Big W's, Wingdale NY
Yes, I visited it two weeks ago, but when I first compiled this list I still hadn't made the trip. This is the former roadside operation in Pawling that moved on up (Route 22, that is) to a new indoor location in Wingdale last December. Food critic and Serious Eats honcho Ed Levine calls Big W's ribs the best he's had within a 90-mile radius of New York City. This joint was also prominently featured in the March 7 New York Times BBQ special.

www.bigwbbq.com

#2 Fette Sau, Brooklyn NY
This month-old joint in Brooklyn has the right look (a converted auto body shop), the right menu (Berkshire pork, limited offerings) and the endorsement of a competitor-turned-restaurant-pitmaster whose opinion I trust.

New York magazine listing

#3 Chico's, Guilderland NY
This Albany area joint comes with a strong recommendation from a fellow NEBS barbecue competitor and judge. The menu looks good and it's a much shorter drive than Manhattan.

www.chicosbbq.com

#4 Route 7 Grill, Great Barrington MA
This new joint in the boonies of Western Massachusetts comes with two recommendations from people I trust within the competition community. One said the beef ribs were the best she'd ever had.

www.route7grill.com

#5 Hill Country BBQ, New York City
This joint isn't even open yet (it may be in May), but I know it will be good. The pitmaster, Rob Richter, is a rising star on the competition circuit. I'm looking forward to sampling some Texas style clod and some other beefy bites, and I've already mapped out the barbecue crawl routes from nearby Blue Smoke and RUB.

www.hillcountryny.com

#6 Smoke 'n' Bones, Oak Bluffs MA
I've heard good things about this joint on Martha's Vineyard. As said once before, going here would be that rare day trip that's fun for both me and my wife.

www.smokenbonesmv.com

#7 Norm's, Portland ME
I like Maine and I like barbecue, so this should be a no-brainer. If it doesn't work out, there's always the fries next door at Duck Fat.

#8 Front Street Smokehouse, Elizabeth NJ
Plenty of reasons: last year's Front Street Smokehouse report in Off the Broiler looked pretty tasty; these guys also compete in BBQ contests; and who would turn down a chance to visit New Jersey in the spring?

www.frontstreetsmokehouse.com

#9 Parker's Maple Barn, Mason NH
Did you say ribs and eggs for breakfast? I'm there.

www.parkersmaplebarn.com

#10 Dallas Jones, New York City
On bulletin boards and forums, this place hardly gets a mention among New York BBQ fans, but when it does, the comments are usually favorable. Besides, I see four reasons to go here: B.Y.O.B.

www.dallasjonesbbq.com

(04/09/07)

Regular Advice from Mario, Norm and the Fat Guy

It’s already April and I’m still making my way through last month’s magazines. The March Men’s Health had a nice little feature with advice from some of Food Network personalities, and I was glad to see Mario Batali represented. Two of Mario’s recommendations were familiar mantras from the Molto Mario shows: establish good relationships with your fishmonger and your butcher to ensure getting the best available product.

By sticking with one purveyor, and not trying to simply find the lowest price at different stores, you create a rapport that translates into the freshest items and best cuts being saved for you. Maybe the purveyor will also prepare the meat or fish in a way that isn’t possible for the majority of his customers. Maybe he’ll place a special order for you or let you in on some new product before it’s available to the general public. If you’re a competition cook, having a butcher or meat supplier you can count on is a must. It’s really quite simple: if you’re loyal to him, he’ll be loyal to you.

The concept also translates to barbecue restaurants. Remember on Cheers, how every time Norm Peterson entered the bar, they not only knew his name but cheered it? You can bet Norm got faster service, better bar snacks and a better all around experience than the extras in the background. If you’re a regular, you might not only get cheered like Norm but also get treated better than the norm. You might get served ribs from the batch that just came out of the smoker even though there are still a few racks left from the night before. You might get noticeably bigger portions of the side dishes. Or you might be the first to weigh in on a new creation for an upcoming menu change, free of charge.

Yes, it’s good to be a regular. In the dining out manifesto Turning the Tables, food critic and eGullet founder Steven A. Shaw (a.k.a. “the Fat Guy”) explores the topic for several pages, starting with this:

The best restaurant isn’t the one with the highest Zagat rating, the most stars from the local paper, or the cute celebrity chef. It's the one where you’re a regular.

Even if you’re not a regular, you can still get treated well just through sheer effort:

• If a combo comes with a quarter chicken, ask for the part that you prefer (white meat or dark meat). Some places charge more for white meat; some don't care. It can't hurt to ask. I’m a reformed white meat guy who now swears by the thigh quarter.
• If you’re ordering a combo with a few ribs, ask that the ribs come from the end you prefer (the short end or the long end). Manhattan’s RUB is the only joint I know that actually lists the long end and short end separately on their menu. The long end’s ribs are bigger, but I like that extra meaty last rib from the short end.
• Ask what’s fresh. You may get the “everything’s fresh” answer born from either ignorance or salesmanship, but many of the smaller BBQ joint owners will tell you. One way of doing this is to order “a combo of the ribs and whatever you think is the fresher today between the brisket and the pork.” Say it something like that and you’ll probably get better ribs too.

(04/02/07)

Play Ball! And the Elusive Triple Crown

Today major league baseball starts its season, and today every team is in first place. It's a day for optimism. With the Red Sox opening in Kansas City, I would have loved to see the game live and the celebrate a victory with a brisket sandwich at Arthur Bryant's. Maybe next year.

It was 40 years ago that the Red Sox had their "Impossible Dream" season, taking them from last place the year before to the 1967 World Series. That year, Carl Yastrzemski won the Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average, home runs and RBI. For whatever reason, it's something that no player in either league has been able to do in the 40 years since. It's hard enough to combine power and average; it's nearly impossible to do both better than all your competition.

Much in the same way, it's hard to achieve what I call the barbecue version of the triple crown—excellence in ribs, pulled pork and brisket. There are the joints that excel at ribs, and there are those that dazzle with pulled pork, and there are the rare few who know how to produce fine brisket. But doing all three better than anyone else is probably too much to ask.

OK, so how about doing all three, to the best of the restaurant's ability, all in one meal? That is, to get a 3-meat combo where all three meats are as good as they ever made them, with no comparison to another BBQ restaurant. Even that's tough. Some days the ribs are perfect and the pork is just a shade dry. Sometimes the brisket is mind blowing and the ribs are just a shade dry. Sometimes all three are really good but you can remember when it was better.

It's hard. At some of my favorite joints, it's actually harder, because the bar has been set so high from previous visits that even great isn't as great as their greatest. But someday, it will happen. It's a day for optimism.

(03/15/07)

March Madness: Brackets and Seeds

With March Madness upon us, photocopiers in offices across America are being used to record NCAA basketball picks—for entertainment purposes only, of course. Around the water cooler (I prefer a bubbler, but that's another story) there's lots of talk about brackets and seeds. With the weather in suburban Boston warming up, I’m looking at a different kind of March madness, also with brackets and seeds.

My kitchen's barbecue spice shelf only has two brackets, but there are plenty of seeds. You'll never find any ground cumin or coriander on my barbecue spice shelf. But I do have jars of whole cumin seeds, coriander seeds, caraway seeds, celery seeds, fennel seeds and mustard seeds. Don't bother trying to find any ground black pepper either, because it's not there. But you will find plenty of black peppercorns, pink peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns. I've got whole allspice berries too. Never ground.

Why whole seeds? Just like coffee beans, seeds retain their flavor much longer on the shelf in their whole form. And just like coffee beans, they supply more flavor intensity if ground right before using, even if fresh. Although it's become over-dramatized at some restaurants, there's a reason why waiters wield huge pepper mills and ask if you want freshly ground pepper on your salad or meat. Freshly ground is a quantum leap in flavor from pepper that may have been ground a year ago and lost its mojo months ago.

Sure, it's very tempting to go to your local CVS and buy several of their 99-cent jars of ground spices, but if there's no flavor in that jar, where's the value? If you’re going to invest as much as 18 hours buying, preparing and smoking your meat, why not invest another dollar or so in a spice upgrade? After investigating specialty spice shops, you might find—as I did—that there are some real bargains there. Shops like Christina’s (Cambridge MA) and Kalustyan’s (NYC) also let you add some excitement to your rubs with several varieties of fennel and dozens of different peppercorns, plus the various paprika permutations among sweet, hot, smoked, Spanish and Hungarian. Even for the most exotic items, you’ll find that whole is less expensive than ground.

Whole seeds pack more flavor than ground, but toasted whole seeds have yet another dimension of flavor. Throw some whole seeds into a dry frying pan over medium heat for a just a few minutes. Allow them to smoke, then stir and remove after they get some color but before they have a chance to burn. You’ll wind up with some serious flavor. The toasting process awakens and releases the oils within the seeds, adding a pleasingly burnt, nutty aspect and intensifying the essence of the seed. It’s a lot like roasting peanuts or coffee beans.

I like to grind the seeds for my rubs in an inexpensive coffee grinder. Unless you enjoy really unusual coffee or heated arguments with your loved one, it’s a good idea to use a different grinder from the one you use for your morning brew. Try experimenting with different textures, varying between fine powders and bumpy mixes. Sometimes after grinding, I’ll throw some whole seeds into my rub.

Using quality ingredients in a rub can take a little extra time and money, but I think the small investment has a huge payback in flavor. How many times have you heard Emeril tell you to throw away those months-old jars of spices in your cabinet? He's right.

(03/10/07)

The Sundance Head Phenomenon

Some fans of American Idol are bemoaning the loss of Sundance Head, who was eliminated from the competition last Thursday. Despite a very good first audition, he failed to sing on key in every performance since then.

Some barbecue joints are like this, which (beside varying personal tastes) explains why people argue over which joints are great and which joints shouldn't even be in business. They might be very impressive on the first visit, then fail to even come close to duplicating that level on subsequent visits.

There could be a joint you think is really good and that I think is awful. If we ate there together, our disagreement is simply one of personal preference. If we ate there on separate occasions, we might both be right. They might have produced the best plate of barbecue they ever served on your visit, and they might have been their usual sorry-ass selves on my visit. Or vice versa.

I wish there were more barbecue joints that were great every time.

(03/09/07)

The Little Things

Whether or not you like a barbecue joint mostly comes down to the quality of the meats and sides. But sometimes there are little things that just make you feel good. I’m not talking about an unusual dish, or an unexpected flair with one of the usual ones, or even the complimentary food items you sometimes get when seated (that’s another subject for another day). I’m talking about things almost unrelated to the food itself.

It’s like when you pull into a gas station and you get one of the few pumps left in America with a latch that lets you fill up hands-free. It doesn’t make the gas any better, but you get that tiny little feel-good lift.

Here’s my feel-good list for today, in no particular order:

SoulFire, Boston MA:
Speaking of pumps, the little thing I like most here is the barbecue sauce dispensers. A throwback to the soda fountain days, these pumps near the food receiving area are heated from below, ensuring warm sauce every time.

Daisy May’s, NYC:
They’re a rarity in Manhattan: high quality barbecue served from behind a counter or one of their remote carts. In Massachusetts, this approach is common, but in New York, it’s a treat to be able to get served quickly and take it into the next room and eat in peace. Another little thing I like here is the set of three communal tables. Even though we northerners sometimes bristle at the idea of sitting with complete strangers, the communal table concept is a Southern thing that adds a little authenticity. And what better way to make new friends than over a plate of barbecue?

Memphis Roadhouse, S. Attleboro MA:
The toothpicks here are plastic and have a curve to them, making them the perfect dental tool after a barbecue meal. Now if they could get these individually wrapped in plastic, it would be even better. They also serve the barbecue sauces in heated squeeze bottles.

Wilson’s, Fairfield CT:
Pickles are treated seriously here. They’re house-made, they’re thick and they have a bite to them. Okay, so I broke my own rule about not including food items. But the obligatory pickles at most places are such an afterthought, it’s worth a mention.

Incidentally, the best pickles I ever had at a barbecue joint were on my first visit to the aforementioned SoulFire (I was their first customer on day 1). Their pickles have since become more ordinary, but they’re still very good. I’ve also had very good pickles at East Coast Grill in Cambridge, whose owner, Chris Schlesinger, wrote a book on pickles a few years ago.

Tennessee’s, multiple Boston suburb locations:
You get three sides with every meat platter. If you want cornbread, you have to use one of your si