Kevin's BBQ Joints

If it’s not already quite evident, I am a huge fan of beef, more specifically BBQ. Because of this, I feel a kinship for any other souls who are on a quest for great meat across the country (and beyond).

The guys at Beef Aficionado lead by Nick Solares (an NYC based photographer and food writer) went on their 3rd Texas BBQ tour recently and documented it below (thanks to a tweet by @BBQSnob for pointing out the video). Beware as it will make you very, very hungry.

Here are the BBQ Joints featured in the order they appear with links to their locations:
Franklin Barbecue – Austin, TX
JMueller BBQ – Austin, TX
Southside Market & Barbeque – Elgin, TX
Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse – Elgin, TX
Louie Mueller Barbecue – Taylor, TX
The Taylor Cafe – Taylor, TX
Balderas Grocery & BBQ – Waelder, TX
Gonzales Food Market – Gonzales, TX
City Market – Luling, TX
Kreuz Market – Lockhart, TX
Smitty’s Market – Lockhart, TX
Black’s Barbecue – Lockhart, TX
Snow’s BBQ – Lexington, TX
Zimmerhanzel’s Bar-B-Que – Smithville, TX

Great work guys. Check out the carnivore’s heaven of a blog site that is Beef Aficionado HERE

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que has opened it’s fifth location in Newwark, New Jersey. Gothamist just ran a nice little piece along with a bunch of great photos. Here are a few of them:

Photo courtesy of Anthony Alvarez

Photo courtesy of Anthony Alvarez

Photo courtesy of Anthony Alvarez

You can read the entire piece and see more photos HERE. Have you been yet?

This East Coast favorite is opening a 6th Dino restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut in late 2012 and a 7th in Brooklyn, New York in early 2013.

You can find the Newark, NJ location here:

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I had heard for a while now that Southern Hospitality BBQ wanted to expand past their NYC and Hell’s Kitchen locations, but didn’t realize that Denver, Colorado would be the next stop. Per this story in the Denver Post, the new location with be in the historic St. Elmo hotel in Lower Downtown (LODO) and they are looking an October opening.

From the article, “The original restaurant , which opened in 2007 on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, as well as its 2011 Hell’s Kitchen successor are both models for the 30-store franchise roll-out agenda.” Interesting to see where the next locations will be. Have you been to a Southern Hospitality BBQ before? What are your thoughts?

Here is where the LODO location will be:

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I kind of pride myself on knowing about a new BBQ Joint before anyone else (or at least among my immediate friends), but this one slipped through the cracks big time for me. Randolph’s Smoke House, nestled east of Inglewood and north of Compton is a already a gem (only over a year old) and a joint that I am dying to head out and try one of these weekends.

Photo courtesy of Yelp

Per LA Weekly, you may recognize owner Stephen Randolph from his recent job as owner of Chambers Shine Parlor and Shoe Repair. Seems he just followed his passion for BBQ and turned the kitchen next door to his business a BBQ Joint.

Photo courtesy of LA Weekly

From the LA Weekly article, “Once those heady fumes of smoke and meat have bombarded your senses, ordering anything less than a half-rack is nearly impossible. Randolph’s spareribs might be the most intense in town — sinewy bows of pig covered in a peppery black bark, gnarled by smoke until the layers of tender flesh have been cured as pink as an Ozark ham. Randolph swears against salt in his barbecue — it’s the salt, he proselytizes, that keeps the smoke from reaching total saturation. A week later you are elated to find that the sweatshirt you wore that day is still imbued with the sharp tang of hickory.”

Photo courtesy of Yelp

The article continues, ” There are smoked half chickens, thinly sliced tri-tip sandwiches, a rather decent beef link, and whole smoked tilapia on weekends, but to order any of them might be missing the point. You want those pork ribs: rubbed with spices, bathed in smoke and sauce, served in lean meaty strips or chopped up into thumb-sized rib tips, hunks of hog that spend an extra hour or two in the smoker until their stratum of gristle and fat collapses into edible bliss.”

Photo courtesy of LA Weekly

Really nice to hear of another quality BBQ Joint in Los Angeles. I’ll let you know my thoughts (and take tons of pics) after I visit. Please let me know if you’ve been and what your thoughts were.

Check it out yourself here:

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Just was forwarded this article by Tan Vinh of the Seattle Times on a new BBQ Joint in Seattle, Washington called Bitterroot BBQ.

Photo courtesy of Daily Candy

Tan Vinh writes, “What to write home about: The buttery strips of beef brisket, with the fat glistening, were juicy and tender. Don’t you dare cut off that slab of fat. Two sides that stand out: the sweet and spongy apple-pretzel stuffing and the salty fries. The pork belly ($14), cured and smoked, is one of your cheaper meat options. Some cornbread with honey butter goes well with that.”

Photo courtesy of Dan I – Yelp

Vinh continues, “Summing up: An order of mac ‘n’ cheese, a pulled-pork sandwich and two entrees of briskets and pork belly with four sides, enough to feed three people, totaled $49. The bill is higher than at other barbecue joints in the city. Food, though, is more polished, the quality of the meat better.”

Photo courtesy of Justin – Urbanspoon

I’m seeing more and more ‘high-end’ BBQ joints cropping up in major cities across the United States. I’m a little hesitant to drop a good amount of money on a dinner (BBQ or otherwise) since I’ve been burned so often by expensive meals that left me completely unsatisfied and worse yet, hungry. It appears Bitterroot BBQ has their act together and the price tag is worth it. Would love to know if you’ve been there yet and what your thoughts are.

Follow them on twitter HERE
Check them out on facebook HERE

Read the entire piece HERE

See Bitterroot BBQ yourself here:

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Here’s a nice piece by Annie Drabicky from Community Impact Newspaper on Milt’s Pit BBQ in Kyle, Texas.

Photo courtesy of Annie Drabicky

My favorite quotes from the article are, “Milt’s also offers three types of sausage—jalapeño, a more traditional Polish version and rings from Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Milt’s will go through about 1,500 pounds of meat per week, as well as 75–100 loaves of bread and countless pots of homemade sides that include beans, coleslaw, potato salad, green beans made from a recipe from Thurlkill’s mother and more.”

Have you been to Milt’s before? What are your thoughts?

Read the entire piece HERE

Check out Milt’s Pit BBQ here:

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Here’s a great video from Tribeza entitled “Behind the Scenes with Central Texas BBQ Kingpins” featuring John Mueller of JMueller BBQ, Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue, Shane Stiles of Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew, and Scott Roberts of The Salt Lick. I’d like to make a witty comment or two, but the video pretty much speaks for itself. Enjoy.

What do you think of the video? Have you been to these (4) locations? Which one is your favorite?