Kevin's BBQ Joints

The line at Franklin Barbecue is almost as mythical among BBQ circles as the BBQ being put out by Aaron Franklin. I didn’t get a chance to wait three hours for brisket, pulled pork, or sausage, but Eater Austin sat down with Mr. Franklin to get the scoop on the what day and times to show up and how to potentially order ahead.

Photo of line at Franklin Barbecue courtesy of Man Up: Tales of Texas BBQ

You can check it out HERE

Photo of Franklin Barbecue courtesy of Man Up: Tales of Texas BBQ

Check out Franklin Barbecue yourself here:

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Here are 5 great BBQ Joint pics to whet your BBQ appetite.

Bar-B-Q King – Charlotte NC via Marie, Lets Eat!

Louie Mueller Barbecue – Taylor, TX via Man Up: Tales of Texas BBQ

Baby Blues BBQ – Venice, CA via Bun Boy EATS LA

Smoque – Chicago, IL via Full Custom Gospel BBQ

The BBQ Shack – Paola, KS via Pigging out and about

You’ve got to hand it to Guy Fieri. Not many people could parlay winning The Next Food Network Star into a budding empire. Just head over to his online store and you’ll be amazed at what he’s selling. The choice that really made Guy Fieri the powerhouse that he is, is the show Diner’s Drive-ins, and Dives. This highlighted his ability to interact with restauranteurs and put their restaurant ahead of himself. What’s most interesting is that he’s touched a nerve with all food lovers (from young to old) who get hooked by the show (and subsequent re-runs of this show), then they make the proverbial trip to try what Guy has gushed over.

Owner Rick Schoenberger of The Shack BBQ in Paola, KS with Guy (business jumped 3-5 times after being featured on the show)

Since I’m a sucker for anything on TV about BBQ Joints, I’ve always been excited when he featured one. I knew he had visited a good number, but didn’t realize he had featured 34 different BBQ joints. Below are links (and video) for ALL of the shows that included BBQ Joints in the order they aired.

Check them out below if you want to get hungry:

Bar-B-Q King – Charlotte, NC

Baby Blues BBQ – Venice, CA

(more…)

I am going to write up a review of my new visit to Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas Bar-B-Que in Van Nuys, California (haven’t been here in over 15 years), but wanted to post some photos to get reader’s reaction. What are your thoughts on the brisket and sausage in the photos below? Have you been here before?

You can find Dr. Hogly Wogly’s here:

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Our Bakersfield correspondent sent us a photo from his meal a few days ago at Rancho Nipomo BBQ in Nipomo, California. It’s their BBQ pulled pork sandwich:

He said the meal was ‘awesome’, but haven’t received a blow by blow review nor have I been myself. Have you been? What are your thoughts?

Check Rancho Nipomo BBQ here:

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I have good and bad BBQ joint news from a source close to Southern Soul Barbeque. The legendary Georgia Pig BBQ is closing down after some 30+ years as the current owners have decided to retire and relax after a great run (that’s the bad news).

The good news is Southern Soul Barbeque of St. Simons Island, Georgia is taking over operations at the I-95 south Georgia landmark and are in the process of preparing for a grand opening/relaunch by April. Officially it will operate as Southern Soul Barbeque so folks can expect the high quality hardwood smoked meats, Brunswick stew, and dedication to BBQ tradition SSBBQ is known for.

You can see their new location HERE. As I get more details from the guys at Southern Soul I’ll pass them along immediately.

Black’s Barbecue, the oldest family-owned barbecue restaurant in Texas, was my second stop during my trip to Lockhart, TX.

I have had a good relationship with the Black family (doing a few contests) and wonderfully and unexpectedly they provided the meal pictured in the photos that follow at no charge. As such, I can’t give a review that isn’t tinged with that appreciation. Know that all of my thoughts are straight forward.

When you enter Black’s you are immediately presented with a serve yourself sides bar. This was not common with most BBQ joints that I went to, but seemed to work well with the overall set up where you get your sides on a tray then head to the meat cutters.

Here’s a closer look at the sides they offer:

Seriously, look at the size of that beef rib, it’s massive:

I had to give homage to Man Up Texas BBQ for this shot of me holding the beef rib for a BBQ porn shot (a quick side note that in any of the Texas photos of me holding a beef rib to the camera I have to say they inspired me to do this).

So I ended up getting a beef rib, a pork rib, brisket, turkey, and sausage.

The sides didn’t impress me much (they weren’t bad in the least bit, just not memorable), however to be quite honest, I really didn’t come there for them. They were beans, mac and cheese, potato salad, cole slaw, and black eyed peas.

Here’s a shot of one of their pits with briskets on it.

So what did I think? I loved the beef rib. It was the 2nd best I had during my stay in Texas. It was rich, tender, and unctuous. The brisket was pretty stellar too. It was incredibly moist and pulled apart easily (it didn’t crumble as sometimes happens when brisket is overcooked). It was definitely not overly smokey which is a concern I often had. Strangely (to me being a red meat lover), the turkey was a meat item that rose to the top. Really moist and intensely flavorful. The sausage in my opinion was mediocre. It was good, but just didn’t wow me at all.

I’d recommend Black’s without question and from talking to others that had recently been, it’s considered the most consistent on a day to day basis of the Lockhart BBQ joints.

Have you been? What are your thoughts?

I’ve been a fan from a distance of Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ, chef/owner Aaron Siegel, and his two joints in South Carolina (Sullivan’s Island and Charleston) for a while now. I know that he’s been working hard to put out quality BBQ with a sophisticated yet rustic (if that makes any sense) twist.

Here’s some additional info: “Aaron opened Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ in the Fall of 2006 with the feel of an old Mississippi juke joint. The restaurant features traditional BBQ fair with Memphis-style dry rubbed Ribs and Chicken, a Texas-style braised and smoked Brisket along with Eastern North Carolina-style Pork Butts.”

“The BBQ is surrounded with traditional Southern sides such as creamy grits, smoked gouda mac and cheese, corn bread, squash casserole, and collard greens. After two successful years, Aaron ad his investors decided to pursue the idea of BBQ and Southern cuisine at the beach.”

“The Sullivan’s Island location opened in May of 2009 with the addition of a full service dining room, an extended menu, combined with the BBQ shack/juke joint concept.”

Have you been to either of their locations? What are your thoughts? If you want to order any of their BBQ or merch sent to you you can do so HERE.

Follow them on twitter HERE
See them on facebook HERE

Here’s a great video of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in Cave Creek, Arizona by ABC15.com.

Photo of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue courtesy of @hedrives

Have you been here before? What are your thoughts?

I recently read a small write-up on Larry J’s House of Q in Chelsea, Massachusetts at BostonGlobe.com, so to learn more I instantly went to Pigtrip.net which is my go to source for anything New England area BBQ.

Photo of the beef rib courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Since I haven’t been yet, I figured Pigtrip.net could put it best, “A usual downside of over-the-counter joints is lack of appetizers, but Larry J’s is almost singlehandedly changing that paradigm with a bevy of innovative treats: rib tips, burnt ends, Fire Balls (spicy meatballs with spicier dipping sauce), wings, chili, Hawg Wings (pork shanks), catfish bites and more.”

Photo of their sausage courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Pigtrip.net continues, “The barbecue menu is equally far reaching, with both pork ribs (St Louis cut spares) and beef shortribs, pulled pork, sliced brisket, two varieties of sausage, smoked and pulled chicken. Beyond ‘cue, there’s a burger, a veggie burger, a catfish sandwich, assorted stuffed baked potatoes and four salads. Although not mentioned as such on the menu, cornbread is included with platters. I like that chili is available as one of the choices for sides. I almost like the way the combo plates (up to four meats) are configured, with different prices depending on whether ribs are included, but the only way you can get chicken on a combo is paired with ribs.”

Photo of the brisket courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Photo of the burnt ends courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Photo of the pulled pork sandwich courtesy of Pigtrip.net

Read the rest of the review HERE and do yourself a huge favor and check out his site for information on BBQ joints in New York City, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. If there’s a BBQ joint in any of these states chances are he knows about them.

Check out Larry J’s House of Q yourself here:

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