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Restaurant Review Dilemma

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    Restaurant Review Dilemma

    I finally went to the hot new BBQ restaurant that opened up near work. Celebrity Chef, cookbook author, and KCBS multiple Grand Champion, etc. Between my son and I we ordered ribs, wings, pulled pork, brisket, and hot links and a variety of sides. Our dining companion ordered a vegetarian dish (which was apparently quite good). Everybody, including the local media, has been giving the place rave reviews.

    My review? Meh.

    I'm not sure if my expectations were too high or what. The hot links were very good, but the ribs were of the fall-off-the-bone variety without much texture or flavor. Same with the brisket...flavor was ok but not memorable and my son, the brisket hound, told me mine was better (what a good son!). Wings were very good, but not the kind of thing that makes you have to go back. Sides were interesting but serviceable. Service was very good, and when I requested the ribs with sauce on the side the waiter commented that I must know BBQ. They were able to answer questions about the menu items and were very helpful.

    Have you people ruined me for less-than-great BBQ? I know my husband and father like their ribs of the falling-apart variety, so are they catering to local tastes? Was it just an off night? Quite frankly, with all the hype, I expected better. I've omitted the restaurant name and location in case I'm totally off base here.

    Thoughts?
    Confused in Cambridge.

    #2
    Well....
    How new was it? If its too new, it could just be adjusting for restaurant as opposed to competition. We've been to new restaurants that got better as they settled in to what they were doing.
    Could have been an off night. If you're willing to consider that, then go back and see if things are better.

    I'm fussy about wings. The local place we go smokes and I swear they deep fry the wings later. They're still good, but I'd much rather they didn't. They also have fall-off-the-bone ribs with great taste. We get everything sauce on the side, IMO sauce can hide too much.

    (if it's the place I'm guessing, the yelps aren't all that favorable)

    Comment


      #3
      You are probably spoiled once you cook your own BBQ. Maybe give it a try again and a few months. I always try a place 3 times before i really make up my mind! Hard to do it with BBQ though cause I always compare the restaurant cost to the quality of meat I can buy at costco and cook myself and cooking yourself almost always wins. The better half almost refuses to eat BBQ that I don't make.

      Comment


        #4
        You may be correct, but a one time visit may be a fluke. There is a local chain in my area that is owned by one of the big names in Q and competition. He's on tv too, but I'm not impressed with any of the meats I have had at his places, and I have been a number of times, (not always my choice ).

        Comment


          #5
          I hadn't read the yelp reviews, just did. Yes, it's the Smoke Shop in Cambridge. Some of the reviews are right on the money as far as the food goes. The service when I was there was excellent and we were acknowledged both on our way to the table and leaving by multiple folks, so not ignored at all. I really wanted to like the place. The presentation was good, just the taste and texture weren't all that great.

          Given I work in the area I'm willing to give them another try, but I wouldn't drive out of my way.

          Comment


            #6
            Since I have gotten serious about my BBQ I find myself not enjoying restaurant Q as much as I used too. To be honest it's taking a real special place these days to get me excited about their food. The site should come with a warning label. Warning: Joining this site may lead to you finding yourself looking down on most BBQ restaurants.

            Comment


              #7
              In my experience, most BBQ restaurants cook for the masses. The vast majority of us will eat BBQ just a few times in our lives - not, obviously, the vast majority of Pit members. So, the food is cooked for mass appeal and that means fall off the bones ribs, flavor can't be strong, everything is sauced to appeal to the "coca-cola palate" .... I have always found that I hated sugary tasting foods, liked strong, robust flavors, and completely detest soda flavors. I prefer a genuine steakhouse to most BBQ joints because steakhouses don't try to cater to the masses.

              If I opened a BBQ joint, my goal would be to produce "true" Texas beef and "true" southern pig. I would only serve a few meats, not every BBQ meat under the sun. Most likely spareribs and butt for the pork side of the house and short ribs and brisket for the beef side. On Fridays, I would add tri-tip and pinquito beans, so that people could enjoy Central California BBQ. Corn bread, crusty sourdough bread, green salad, beans, corn on the cob and home fries would be the only sides. Beer and wine. Iced tea. Water.

              Oh yeah, I'd offer 3-4 sauces .... All on the side. A mustard sauce, a whiskey sauce, a KC sauce and a vinegar sauce.

              Comment


              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                sorry about the home fries ... I could be convinced to offer another form of potato.

              • Potkettleblack
                Potkettleblack commented
                Editing a comment
                potato salad. But seriously, consider... you're gonna do a griddle or a frier just for potatoes when nothing else in the restaurant uses either? Here's how to think about a Q stop:

                And they do fries... but they explain it.

              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                Well, so far it is just imaginary. But potato salad probably makes more sense, even though fries is my personal preference.

              #8
              Yup. Same thing here only I went to Stanley's (world famous comp. winning) and not only was the food lackluster the service was that much worse. There is no way that a place starts out small, wins competetions, gets a lot of business and expands, then sells multimillions a year and can sustain the same quality that got them there. I'm certain the pitmaster that won those comps isn't doing all the cooking still. Anyway - I got jumped on and cussed out by not only the owner but "fans" as well.

              Comment


              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                No different than Famous Dave's. Same issues.

              • LangInGibsonia
                LangInGibsonia commented
                Editing a comment
                ecowper Our local Famous Dave's got shut down by the health department. Apparently they were re-plating bread and sides that were left on tables. Yuck!!

              • ecowper
                ecowper commented
                Editing a comment
                I only eat leftovers at home!

              #9
              So, Charlie McKenna operates a pretty good place in Chicago (that I haven't been to because it kind of burned down without updating their webpage at one point) called Lillie's Q. I believe he got the big trophy for Pork Shoulder at Memphis in May this year, so good restaurant, solid competitor.

              Any rate, he was on a podcast I listen to a month or three ago: https://soundcloud.com/thefeedpodcas...harlie-mckenna

              He talks about why competition is different than restaurant. You can also apply the difference between competition vs restaurant to backyard vs restaurant. Unless you're catering, you're not doing 2-300 covers a day. And, unless you're catering, you're not watching cost and profit margin as closely as you would in a restaurant situation. IIRC, Charlie says in the podcast that he'd have to charge north of $20 a sandwich to offer the competition pulled pork in the restaurant.

              So, I don't find trophies to be a disqualifier, but I don't find them to be a mark of excellence, either. Now, while I don't think Chicago has a great BBQ culture, it certainly has more than the northeast, by dint of our history of meat packing and aquarium smokers. so, when Smoque opened in Chicago, people were ready for a better BBQ. When the wave of places that followed followed, again, the market was ready to rate them fairly accurately. I'm not sure that base exists in New England (I grew up in New York City, and am surprised to read that a lot of folks think it's a new BBQ hub... I also spent a few years in Connecticut, where the only good Q place was run by a carpetbagger from South Carolina). With a lack of clientele in the know, with the cost of doing business what it is, I don't think what you've seen from them should be out of line with expectations.

              Comment

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