Dinosaur Barbeque - Rochester and Syracuse, NY

Dinosaur BBQ

Rochester, New York

June 21, 2010

Those who know me, or at least those who read my political blog, know that I don’t shy away from controversy. In fact, I enjoy throwing out a provocative piece and engaging in the back and forth discussion that ensues. Yet, the next sentence that I write may be the most controversial thing that I’ve ever written:

The best barbeque in the world may be in upstate New York.

At this point, I can imagine my Southern friends wailing and rendering their garments. But I have eaten barbeque all over the South, and I can say with certainty that none of that barbeque, no matter how delicious, could touch that of Dinosaur Barbeque in Syracuse and Rochester, NY.

I first read about Dinosaur Barbeque in a sidebar in one of my barbeque cookbooks several years ago. Shortly thereafter, we were traveling through upstate New York, for some reason, and I decided to stop at Dinosaur Barbeque in Syracuse. It was as close to a religious experience as I’ve had in a restaurant. I wrote about it on my barbeque review blog and suffered the slings and arrows from my Southern friends, who were convinced that I had gone utterly bat-guano insane. It wasn’t long afterwards that my entire blog went “Poof!” and I lost that review to the ether of the internet. (Sabotage arising from Alabama? Hmmmmmmm.)

I have since been back to Dinosaur Barbeque three more times – once to the original Syracuse location and twice more to Rochester. In each case, at each location, the experience has been equally as sublime.

Dinosaur Barbeque started out as a biker bar in downtown Syracuse, NY. Both the Syracuse and Rochester locations retain much of that original atmosphere. In a previous paragraph, I referred to Dinosaur Barbeque as a restaurant. That was not entirely correct. Dinosaur Barbeque is definitely a “joint”.

The Dinosaur Barbeque in Rochester is located in a great setting, overlooking a river and small dam. As you walk across the bridge (unless you are very lucky, you will not get a parking space close to the joint) you begin to smell the wood smoke emitting from the smokers. The first time we went to the Rochester location, a guy was in the parking lot, actually splitting wood for the smoker with an axe. Both times I’ve been, the front parking lot has been filled with motorcycles.

Walking into the place, there is no doubt that you are in a barbeque joint. There is no other type of food it could serve. The floors and walls are wood. The walls are hung with posters for blues concerts and Harley-Davidson paraphenalia. The men’s room of the Syracuse location is covered with graffiti – much of which is definitely not family friendly. The Rochester location retains less of the biker bar feel than the Syracuse location. The wait staff is much less scary in Rochester than in Syracuse where biker chicks man the bar and bring your food. But the food in each location is equally as good.

As with most barbeque joints, if you leave Dinosaur Barbeque hungry, it is your own fault. You will receive an oversized platter heaping with big piles of meat and sides. A single platter is enough to feed a third world family for a week, or a pair of Americans for lunch.

Every piece of meat I’ve eaten at Dinosaur Barbeque has been perfectly smoked, retaining a definite, but not overpowering, smoky flavor. The meat has been perfectly tender and moist, but not mushy. (“Falling off the bone” barbeque is a pet peeve of mine. Ribs should be tender enough to pull away from the bone cleanly and easily with the teeth, but if it falls off the bone when you pick it up, it is overdone and too soft.) While I am partial to pork ribs and pulled pork, the beef brisket and chicken are also very well done. They also have smoked turkey, which I love, but have never tried because I can’t imagine not getting the pork and even I can’t eat enough to get turkey on top of that.

While there are a number of pepper sauces (Tabasco, etc.) on the tables, there are two Dinosaur labeled sauces. The regular sauce is sweet, but not too sweet, and flavorful. It compliments the meat well without overpowering the smoky taste. My favorite sauce, however, is the Wango Tango habanero sauce. It tastes much like the regular sauce but has a little bit of a bite without making your mouth feel as if you’ve just ingested hot lava.

In addition to the main course of barbequed meat, Dinosaur also has a full range of appetizers and sides. We ordered the fried green tomatoes, which I’d never had before, but certainly will have, again. Appetizers also include such items as Cajun deviled eggs and fried salmon strips. There is an abundance of sides, including such things as cucumber and tomato salad (excellent), mac and cheese (which I would have gotten had I not been on a diet – don’t laugh), rice and gravy and a number of others, including the traditional French fries and baked beans.

The drawback of Dinosaur Barbeque is the prices. While they seem quite reasonable for the amount and quality of food you get, they are higher than a number of other barbeque joints. Most of the barbeque platters run around $12 - $22, but the platters can be easily shared and the quality is tremendous. Sandwiches may be purchased for around $7 - $8, but why would you do that?

Dinosaur Barbeque is a perfect combination of smoke, food, and atmosphere. So if you are looking for possibly the best barbeque in the United States, start looking north.

Pros: Simply the best barbeque I’ve found. Great ambience.

Cons: A touch pricey.

BBQ: ***** Service: ***1/2

Sauce: ***** Sides: *****

Ambience: ***** Overall: *****

99 Court Street
Rochester, NY 14604
585-325-7090

246 W. Willow Street
Syracuse, NY 13202
315-476-4937

http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

Sonny's Barbeque, Knoxville, Tennessee

Sonny’s Barbeque

Knoxville, Tennessee

June 17, 2005

Sonny’s Barbeque is a chain of barbeque joints throughout the south.  I originally hadn’t wanted to review chain barbeque joints, but I’d already eaten and reviewed a couple of joints that were part of a small chain, Corky’s and Dreamland.  But I guess that the reason that chains are franchised is because they serve good food that people want to eat.  All chains have to start somewhere and I don’t suppose there is any more reason not to review a larger chain like Sonny’s than there is a smaller one like Dreamland.  Besides, when we asked our hotel clerk for a recommendation, this was the only one he knew of.  As it happened, on our way back to the hotel, we passed another barbeque joint that appeared more “local”.

Sonny’s in Knoxville is located on chain restaurant row and has the appearance of a typical chain restaurant.  The interior is attractive with antique (or, more likely, faux-antique) farm implements and license plates on the walls.  They were so perfectly, un-cluttered, that you know a designer had to have done it.

Dawn ordered the baby-back ribs for $12.49 and I ordered the pulled pork for $8.49.  Of note, was the opportunity for all-you-can-eat St. Louis ribs and pork for $12.99.  In fact, any of the barbequed items on the menu could be converted to all-you-can-eat for only an extra $1.50.

While waiting for our meals, we sampled the five different sauces on the table.  The sweet sauce is their basic sauce.  When you order ribs, they automatically come “wet” with sweet sauce, unless otherwise specified.  The sweet sauce is thick and has a rich molasses and brown sugar flavor.  The Smokin’ sauce is semi-sweet and of medium thickness with a bit of a bite from chipotle.  The mild sauce truly is mild and is, in fact, bland.  It is not very sweet, not hot, not very spicy, and not particularly flavorful.  The sizzlin’ sweet sauce is of medium thickness and is truly a cross between the sweet and smokin’ sauce.  It is moderately hot, with a little bite and moderately sweet.  The mustard sauce was moderately sweet mustard of medium sweetness, not as thick or sweet as honey mustard.  It did not taste particularly good as a stand-alone, but did very well on the pork.

Speaking of the pork, it was very tender with a slightly smoky taste.  The only complaint was that it was just a little oily.

The ribs were great.  It is not really a fair comparison, since these were baby-back ribs and not spare ribs, but these were some of the best ribs we sampled on this trip.  They were served wet with the sweet sauce.  They had a nice smoky flavor, but were just a touch salty.

The meal was served with garlic Texas toast and a choice between baked potato, sweet potato, French fries, or corn on the cob.  We both chose the corn, which was overdone.  We also had a choice between coleslaw or baked beans and both chose the beans.  The baked beans were good – meaty and smoky with a real brown sugar flavor.

In summary, I was inclined to be skeptical of Sonny’s because of its chain status.  I shouldn’t have been, because it was one of the better barbeque places we went to.

Pros:  Great ribs; wide variety of sauces

Cons:  Chain restaurant feeling

BBQ:  ««««                                  Service:  «««

Sauce:  «««« ½                             Sides:  «««

Ambience:  «««                              Overall:  ««««

 

 

Dreamland Barbeque, Huntsville, AL

Dreamland Barbeque

Huntsville, Alabama

June 17, 2005 

The original Dreamland Barbeque was located in Tuscaloosa, AL and was a favorite haunt of legendary University of Alabama football coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant.  (Even now, Alabama barbeque joints, and even the Rendezvous, in Memphis, almost all have a picture of Bear Bryant by the cash register – often several.  He is like an Alabama barbeque deity inhabiting his shrine.)  I had originally planned on eating at the original Dreamland barbeque in Tuscaloosa, but it didn’t work out right in the schedule.  Besides, my friend, Jim “Dandy” Newman advised me that if I went there, I would be smart to carry a sidearm.  I was glad, therefore, to find a Dreamland in Huntsville.

The building was an attractive white building with green (not burgundy!) trim.  Inside, the walls were festooned with license plates and pictures of celebrities who’ve eaten at Dreamland.  There was also a neon sign proclaiming Dreamland’s #1 rule: NO FARTING!  Thank goodness for that, for there was a great smoky aroma inside.

Dreamland’s motto is, “You can have anything you want, as long as its ribs.”  While the menu is not quite that limited, it is close.  I ordered the half-slab of ribs ($9.55) and Dawn ordered the pork sandwich ($5.50).  We were first presented with a plate of white bread and a cup of barbeque sauce.

The sauce was thin, hot, and peppery, a nice change from the thick, sweet Memphis-style sauce I’d had the previous few days.

The ribs were thick, meaty, and smoky tasting, though a little fatty on the ends.  They were also the sloppiest ribs I’d had in a while, so stock up on the wet-naps.

The pork sandwich consisted of a pile of pork and a couple of pickles on a somewhat stale hamburger bun.  It was okay, but, as a chef-written book I once read said, “Don’t order the fish in a steak place.”  Likewise, when in a rib joint, you should probably order the ribs.

We were told that, should we go to Dreamland, we should order the banana pudding.  Who am I to ignore advice like that?  The banana pudding was excellent.  It was thick and flavorful, seemingly consisting of equal parts of pudding, sliced bananas, and vanilla wafers with a little whipped cream on top.  It is, quite possibly, the perfect desert to accompany barbeque.

In summary, if you like ribs, you’ll like Dreamland.  If ribs aren’t your thing, don’t bother.

Pros:  Good ribs; banana pudding

Cons:  Limited menu; average pork sandwich

BBQ:  ««« ½                                  Service:  «««

Sauce:  ««« ½                                 Sides:  «««

Ambience:  «««                              Overall:  «««

Greenbrier Barbeque, Decatur, AL

Greenbrier Barbeque

Decatur, Alabama

June 16, 2005

We were in town visiting an old college friend, Jim “Dandy” Newman and his lovely wife, Beth.  Since we’d already visited Big Bob Gibson’s, Jim Dandy suggested Greenbrier Barbeque.

The interior of the building was large and roomy.  It was clean and tasteful, though a little bland as far as decoration.

Greenbrier Barbeque was more than just a barbeque joint.  They, without a doubt, had the most varied menu of any of the places we went.  In fact, Dawn had catfish and Beth had popcorn shrimp.  Jim had the pork plate and I had a combo plate with pork and, because I can’t resist them, if available, fried oysters.  Ribs were not on the menu, though barbequed chicken was.

Jim told me that when you order barbequed pork, you should ask for some “outside”.  This way, you’ll receive some of the crusty outer shell which contains much of the flavor and smoky taste of the pork.

The pork was very good.  It was tender with as heavy of a smoky taste as I’d experienced on this trip, which I like.  It also had a generous portion of “outside”.  The pork was good in its own right, but it was well complimented by the sauce.

The sauce was thick and sweet, but not overly sweet.  It had a very good flavor, with a nice blend of spices.

The baked beans were also thick and sweet and were a nice change after some of the disappointing beans we’d had in Memphis.

For completeness sake, let me just say that my oysters were good, though scanty.

Greenbrier barbeque was the first place that served hush puppies to accompany the meal.  These had good flavor and texture, though they were a touch greasy.

Jim Dandy told us that the way you could judge a barbeque restaurant was by the quality of their chocolate or coconut pie.  In that case, we figured that we had no choice but to order the pie.  The Greenbrier does not serve coconut pie, so we ordered the chocolate.  Dandy was disappointed to learn that the Greenbrier does not make its own pie.  Still, I thought it was quite good.  The pie was served warm with whipped cream on top.

Overall, when in Decatur, I would go to Big Bob Gibson’s, but if you are eating more than one meal, the Greenbrier is a good choice.  Jim Dandy informed us that Whit’s Barbeque is actually the best barbeque in Decatur, but it is take-out only.

Pros:  Good smoky taste; wide variety on menu, if your dining partner doesn’t like barbeque; good pie, even if not made in-house.

Cons:  No ribs; not strictly a barbeque joint.

BBQ:  ««««                                              Service:  «««

Sauce:  ««« ½                                             Sides:  ««« ½

Ambience:  «««                                          Overall:  ««« ½

 

Pig Out Inn, Natchez, MS

Pig Out Inn

Natchez, Mississippi

June 13, 2005 

We went to Natchez, Mississippi to eat in the world’s most politically incorrect restaurant, Mammy’s Cupboard, a restaurant built in the shape of a large, Aunt Jemima-like “mammy”.  Unbeknownst to us, however, Mammy’s Cupboard is closed on Mondays.  So we went to the very impressive Natchez visitor’s center and asked if there were any barbeque joints in town.  We were told that there was only one, but that it was quite good.  Thus informed, we made our way down the approximately 4 blocks to the Pig Out Inn.

The Pig Out Inn has a fun, funky appearance on the outside which continues on the inside.  One whole wall is given over to a large mural stating, “What I like about the South”, including such things as catfish, Huck Finn, bayous, coon dogs, and about 30 other things.  Other walls contained posters advertising concerts by old blues and rock and roll artists such as Howlin’ Wolf and Little Richard.  The dining room is small, but there are seats on the patio.  This was not an option on the hot and humid day that we were there, as far as I was concerned.

The service is counter service and is very speedy.  By the time you pay, your food is ready.  The food was, in a word, outstanding.  Dawn had a combo plate with chicken and ribs and I had pork and turkey.  All the meats had a good, smoky taste, more so than any other place we went to on this trip.  The turkey was buttery-tender.  The ribs were a little stringy, but had great flavor.  The chicken was firm, but tender.

The sauce was thin and peppery.  It had just enough bite to warm the tongue.  It went well with everything.

As if the barbeque wasn’t good enough, the baked beans were probably the best I’ve ever eaten.  I believe that if they eat baked beans in heaven, they are probably take-out from the Pig Out Inn.   They were very smoky and contained quite a bit of pork.  Also notable was a cold black bean and corn salad which also included jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.  The potato salad was okay, but I’m not big on potato salad, anyway.

Dawn had one of their small pecan “pie” – actually, more of a tart.  She thought it was average.  I had a bite (I’m not a big pecan pie fan, either) and thought it was fairly dry and crumbly.

The Pig Out Inn is not especially cheap.  It cost $28 for the two of us.

In summary, the Pig Out Inn is superb.  The meats and sauce are very good and the baked beans are out of this world.  It is a little pricier than most barbeque joints, but well worth the small added cost.

Pros:  Great barbeque – both meats and sauce; fantastic baked beans; interesting and very good corn and black bean salad; funky restaurant.

Cons:  Little pricey; pecan pie is only average.

BBQ:  «««««                              Service:  «««

Sauce:  «««««                             Sides:  «««««

Ambience:  «««                              Overall:  «««««

Corky's Bar-B-Q, Memphis, TN

Corky’s Bar-B-Q

Memphis, Tennessee

June 16, 2005 

Corky’s is a famous Memphis barbeque joint which was so popular that it has since been franchised.  There are now Corky’s Bar-B-Q throughout Memphis and many other cities throughout the south.  We ate at one of the franchises on our way out of town.

The Corky’s where we ate, on Poplar Avenue, had the pleasant look of a cookie-cutter franchise.  The building was probably built just for Corky’s, but could have just as easily housed any number of other chain restaurants.  The building is attractive, however, with the ubiquitous barbeque interior decorating scheme of brick, wood, and burgundy paint.  We were among the first diners, arriving at 11:00, but the place filled up quickly.  We were seated immediately and served quickly.

We ordered the tamales at $3.99 and Dawn had a bowl of Brunswick stew.  For the main course, Dawn ordered a regular order of the ribs for $11.99 and I ordered the pork and spaghetti combo plate for $7.99.  When the food arrived, they were all portions meant to be consumed by normal humans, not the gargantuan portions often seen in barbeque joints.

The tamales were not wrapped in corn husks, as are traditional tamales.  They were wrapped in a thick corn wrapping, almost reminiscent of a corn dog, except with ground meat (pork? beef?) in the middle instead of the hot dog.  They were covered with melted cheese, probably cheddar and Monterey jack.  Neither of us cared for them but, then again, I don’t normally care for tamales.

The Brunswick stew was good – thick and robust, full of vegetables, shredded brisket and pork.  It was a little bit sweet, but didn’t have any barbeque taste.

Dawn’s dry ribs were good, much better than at the Rendezvous the night before.  The dry rub was heavy on paprika and salt.  The ribs were tender, verging on the cusp of too tender.  They were meaty and the meat practically fell off the bone.  They were good both dry and with sauce added.

The pork was pulled.  The meat was tender, but there was no smoky flavor.  I suspect their meat is cooked with charcoal.

The spaghetti reminded me of the spaghetti we used to get in our lunches in elementary school.  There was nothing to suggest barbeque in the spaghetti, but no self-respecting Italian restaurant would have served it.  You’d probably have to go to a Denny’s to get similar spaghetti.  The sauce contained ground meat of some sort.

The coleslaw was mayonnaise-based and was average, at best.  Dawn wasn’t that generous, she pronounced it “limp.”

The beans were thick and sweet and had a mild metallic taste.  I suspect they came from a can.

The sauce was pretty good.  It was thick and sweet with a fairly heavy smoky taste.  It did not have the metallic aftertaste that can come with liquid smoke.

One notable side was the yeast rolls.  Most barbeque places give you a slice of white bread or, at the most, Texas toast.  Occasionally, we would get a roll similar to those you get in a 12-pack at the grocery store.  These rolls, though, were dense and yeasty and clearly had a homemade taste.  While I like rolls a little salty, these were right on the edge of being too salty.

Since they seemed to do well with their baking, we ordered the peach cobbler.  It was a good choice.  The crust was light and tasty and the filling was thick, sweet and flavorful.

I would have liked to have gone to the original Corky’s.  The franchise we went to was pretty good with good main dishes, though they fell down on their sides.  They were the best bakers of any of the barbeque joints we went to.

Pros:  Good dry ribs; homemade yeast rolls; good peach cobbler

Cons:  Slaw was bad; small potions for the price; spaghetti was disappointing

 

BBQ:  ««« ½                                  Service:  ««« ½

Sauce:  ««« ½                                 Sides:  ««

Ambience: ««« ½                           Overall:  ««« ½

                                   

 

 

 

 

Charley Vergo's Rendezvous, Memphis, TN

Charley Vergo’s Rendezvous

Memphis, Tennessee

June 15, 2005 

This is it, the Mecca, the Mt. Everest, the ultimate barbeque experience, or so I’d read and been told.  The Rendezvous in Memphis, TN may be the world’s most famous barbeque joint.  Reportedly, Elvis had Rendezvous ribs flown into Las Vegas anytime he was playing there.  President Clinton served Rendezvous ribs on Air Force One.

Of course, there is some controversy about whether the Rendezvous really even is barbeque.  Barbeque purists insist that the fact that the ribs are directly grilled over charcoal, rather than using indirect cooking from wood disqualifies them from being true barbeque.  Nevertheless, most barbeque books and guidebooks treat the Rendezvous as barbeque, so I will suppress my purist urge and do likewise.

Charley Vergo’s Rendezvous was, in a word, extremely disappointing.  Okay, that was two words, but the qualifier was apt.

The Rendezvous is located in an alley just half a block from the Peabody Hotel and a block and a half off the famous Beale Street.  We watched the 5:00 duck march at the Peabody and then walked over to the Rendezvous, skirting dumpsters along the way.  We were seated immediately and our waiter appeared at our table as soon as we sat down.  As opposed to the service at the barbeque shop, which was just as quick, the attitude of the service at the Rendezvous seemed geared toward getting the customers in and out as quickly as possible.  One nice touch was that the waiter immediately brought us full pitchers of our drinks – water for me and diet Coke for Dawn.  The interior is nice with a lot of brick.  Menus are on top of the red and white checked tablecloths, all under glass.  A faint scent of charcoal and propane (which, I presume, was used to start the charcoal) permeates the restaurant.

We ordered an appetizer of pork nachos for $7.95 and a full rack of ribs for $16.95.  They both arrived at the same time.

The nachos were just normal ballpark type nachos with a generous pile of pork on top.

The ribs are, famously, served dry, but there is sauce on the table.  The ribs are caked with a dry rub which is said to be the secret to the greatness of the Rendezvous’ ribs.  My question upon tasting them was, “What’s the big deal?”

The regular sauce is thick and sweet with a strong molasses taste.  The hot sauce is thinner and is hot without being tongue-searing, sinus-clearing hot.

The baked beans tasted like they’d just come out of the Van Kamp’s can and warmed on the stove.  The coleslaw was mustard-based and was not very good.

In short, Charley Vergo’s Rendezvous seems to be living on its past reputation alone.  If you want to go, just so you can say you’ve been and are disappointed, don’t say that you weren’t warned.

Pros:  Proximity to the Peabody Hotel and Beale Street; quick service.

Cons:  Falls far short of its reputation; food is average, at best; felt rushed through.

BBQ:  «« ½                                     Service:  ««« ½

Sauce:  «««                                     Sides:  ««

Ambience:  ««««                          Overall:  «« ½

 

The Bar-B-Q Shop, Memphis, TN

The Bar-B-Q Shop

Memphis, Tennessee

June 15, 2005 

The Bar-B-Q Shop is housed in an unattractive storefront, but inside it is very pleasant.  With a pressed-tin ceiling (faux or real, I can’t tell the difference), a lot of brick, and a deep burgundy paint job, diners sit in old sawed-off church pews.  We were seated as soon as we walked in and our waiter was at our table only moments later.  The Bar-B-Q Shop does a brisk lunch business and the wait staff was hustling.  Nevertheless, our waiter was very attentive and friendly – our water glasses were never allowed to get empty.

One accoutrement that I might do away with, were I the owner, was the Pepcid dispenser in the men’s room.  It just seems to me that sends the wrong message.

Once again, we ordered a sampler plate, here called the Bar-B-Q Shop Special ($18.99) and split it.  While not the mountain of food we faced at Jim Neeley’s Interstate Bar-B-Q, there was still more than enough food for both of us.  The plate included chopped pork shoulder, chopped beef brisket, pork ribs, barbequed spaghetti, baked beans, and coleslaw.  The ribs can be served “wet”, “dry”, or “half and half”.  We chose the latter option.

The Bar-B-Q Shop doesn’t use wood-smoke on their meat, they directly grill the meat over charcoal so the meat doesn’t have a smoky taste – the smoky taste comes from the sauce.  The regular sauce was thick, sweet and smoky tasting, presumably from liquid smoke.  There is a slight metallic aftertaste, probably also from the liquid smoke.  The hot barbeque sauce was tongue-searingly hot.  It is a little bit sweet, thick, and with a slight jalapeno flavor.  Dawn liked mixing the two sauces, but the hot was a little too hot for me.

The pork shoulder was tender and had a delicate taste that was almost overwhelmed by the sauce.  The brisket was chopped and was a little bit dry.  The flavor held up better against the sauce, but overall, the pork was more pleasing, at least to me.

The ribs were tender and came away easily from the bone.  The dry rub didn’t seem to add much flavor, but the sauce complimented the ribs well.

The barbequed spaghetti was pretty good.  It was warm, but the noodles were a little bit soft.  Dawn liked them, but I prefer my noodles a little more al dente.  The flavor of the sauce was fine, but not as good as Interstate Bar-B-Q’s.

The barbequed beans were good, but really had nothing to distinguish them.  They were not as sweet as some we’d had, which was fine by me.  The coleslaw was mayonnaise-based and was just okay.

Pros:  Pleasant ambience; lot of food at a good price; if you like hot sauce, this sauce is hot; good service.

Cons:  Nothing really distinguished itself; regular sauce has metallic aftertaste; no smoky flavor to the meat.

BBQ - ««« ½                                 Service - «««««

Sauce - «« ½                                    Sides - «« ½

Ambience - ««««                          Overall - ««« ½

 

Jim Neeley's Interstate Bar-B-Q, Memphis, TN

Jim Neeley’s Interstate Bar-B-Q

Memphis, Tennessee

June 14, 2005

The first stop on our planned Memphis barbeque orgy was Jim Neeley’s Interstate Bar-B-Q.  I was a little nervous on the drive in as the restaurant in not in the best section of town.  Walking in from the parking lot didn’t help my anxiety as we noticed the bars on the windows and doors.  Once inside, we were greeted by a smiling, “How ‘ya doing?”  from across the room, from the proprietor, Jim Neeley’s son.  The interior consisted of a couple of large rooms filled with tables whose tops were a laminated mosaic of advertisements.  The walls were covered with plaques, pictures of celebrities who have eaten there, and framed newspaper and magazine articles about the restaurant.  Looking at the plaque, Mr. Neeley seemed to have generously given back to the community, which made it even nicer to eat there.  One wall was devoted entirely to pictures of the Neeley family, which I thought was nice.

Dawn asked our waitress about the size of the “sampler platter” and we were assured that it was large enough for two to share.  She wasn’t kidding!  For $16.00, we received a pile of chopped pork shoulder, chopped brisket, 2 large pork ribs, 2 large beef ribs, and a large sausage.  Sides included baked beans, coleslaw, and a treat possibly found only in Memphis – barbequed spaghetti.

In a departure from typical Memphis barbeque, all the meat arrived “wet” – covered with sauce.  The sauce was thick and sweet and complimented the meat well.

In another departure from typical Memphis barbeque, the meats at Interstate Bar-B-Q are smoked with wood as opposed to being grilled over charcoal.  Nevertheless, for the most part, the smoke was essentially undetectable.  This may have been at least partially due to the fact that the meat was already sauced.  The pork shoulder was tender and was especially good when eaten on the same fork as the coleslaw (more on that later.)  The brisket was essentially the same texture, but had a little more robust taste than the pork.

The pork ribs actually did have a little bit of smoky flavor and a nice, pink smoke ring.  The beef ribs had a good flavor, but were a bit more chewy.  I finally gave up trying to get the meat off the bone with my fork and wound up just gnawing it off the bone.

The sausage link was mild, slightly sweet, and not greasy.

My favorite part of the meal was a Memphis specialty – barbequed spaghetti.  The sauce was spaghetti sauce combined with barbeque sauce with some chopped meat, probably pork, added.  It definitely had the most smoky taste of any of my meal.  I wonder why this hasn’t caught on elsewhere.  The only problem we had with it was that it was a little bit cold.

The coleslaw was a mustard based slaw.  As I’ve stated elsewhere, I’m not usually a slaw fan, but I like this slaw.  Apparently, the Interstate Bar-B-Q’s award-winning pork sandwich has a large dollop on the pork, so I tried the slaw and pork on the same fork and it was outstanding.

The baked beans were also a little cool.  They were meaty and good, but not great.

One incidental detractor – I primarily drink water in restaurants and this water was not good at all.  I realize that this is not the fault of the restaurants, but you may want to stick with bottled beverages.

Pros:  A ton of good food at a good price; great barbequed spaghetti; very good mustard coleslaw.

Cons:  Location; beef ribs were a little tough; poor tasting water.

BBQ:  ««« 1/2                                Service:  «««

Sauce:  «««                                     Sides:  ««««

Ambience: ««                                   Overall:  ««« ½

 

Woodshed Barbeque Company, El Dorado, AR

Woodshed Barbeque Company

El Dorado, Arkansas

June 13, 2005

We found ourselves in El Dorado, Arkansas around dinnertime.  Stopping at a station for gas, we asked the attendant if El Dorado had a barbeque joint.  His face lit up and he gave us directions to what he called El Dorado Barbeque.  His directions were accurate, but the name was not.  I don’t know what the locals call it, but the name on the sign was Woodshed Barbeque Company.

Woodshed Barbeque Company is housed in a converted gas station, but the owners did a nice job with the conversion and the interior was pleasant and clean.  It was a seat-yourself place.  Our waitress seemed more harried than the handful of customers would seem to warrant, but she was pleasant and efficient.  There were not more than a dozen dine-in customers the entire hour or so we were there.  There was about half that many customers who walked up to take out meals.  The stream of vehicles at the drive-up window, however, was seemingly constant.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at about 7:00 pm, they were out of pork and sausage.  Dawn ordered the ribs and I ordered the brisket.

I was disappointed with the brisket.  It was dry, though it did have a slightly smoky taste.  The brisket had been sliced with an electric knife rather than hand cut or chopped which, I believe, affects the texture, if not the taste.

The ribs were quite good.  They were meaty and tender with a good smoky taste.  The half-rack were more than enough for one person.

Portions were normal sized, reasonable for a diner, but not the gluttonous portions that are often served in barbeque joints.  Most single meat dishes were about $8.99.

The baked beans were good.  They were thick, sweet and meaty and, if I hadn’t already had the beans at the Pig Out Inn and Big Bob Gibson’s, I might have pronounced them very good.

The highlight of the meal for Dawn was the bourbon pecan pie which, we were told, had Kahlua in it.  (That shows how knowledgeable I am about alcohol – I didn’t realize Kahlua was bourbon.)  The pie was very good and quite sticky.  I’m not normally a big pecan pie fan, but I enjoyed my few bites of this one.

Overall, Woodshed Barbeque Company is a nice local barbeque joint.  I would like to have tasted their pork.  Their ribs were good, though their brisket was dry.  If I found myself in El Dorado again, I would certainly go back, but I wouldn’t drive far out of my way to do it.

Pros:  Good, meaty ribs; great bourbon pecan pie; clean, airy, pleasant interior.

Cons:  Dry brisket; ran out of pork and sausage relatively early in the evening; may be a little pricey for the portion size.

BBQ:  «««                          Service:  «««

Sauce:  «««                         Sides:  «««

Ambience:  «««                  Overall:  «««