Yer Fave BBQ Spots!

[KatieLoeb]

Though the guy in the chicken outfit outside the door (I am not kidding) should have been warning enough...

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Y'think??

[MarketStEl]

We dropped by Bebe's on saturday afternoon to see what they had.  They were just about out of ribs, but we snagged a quarter-rack, just for a taste.

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Clearly not St. Louis-style there.

Think I'll have to check this place out next time I'm on 9th Street.

With all these new places opening, it struck me that we seem to have developed a wavelike barbecue cycle here: A raft of places open, and suddenly, barbecue is on everyone's lips (and the sauce is on their fingers); then, the weak fall by the wayside and the strong survive and either continue to prosper or fall into a comfortable rut.

Tommy Gunn's (remember them?) and Sweet Lucy's are the residue of previous waves. Another wave appears to be cresting right about now. Anyone care to predict which places will survive when it recedes? Or will it recede?

Edited May 21, 2009 by MarketStEl (log)

[shellbellc]

Anyone ever try Bridgeport Rib House?

http://www.ribhouse.net/default.aspx

[Alec Hart]

I'll just note that Q BBQ & Tequila, where Philly Fish & Co used to be, is unremarkable. I had the pork and brisket platter for lunch. It was $14 and left me hungry, but worst of all the brisket was dry and the pork had virtually no smoke flavor. The sauce had some promise, so maybe it will worth another try in a few months.

--Alec

[Bluehensfan]

I'll just note that Q BBQ & Tequila, where Philly Fish & Co used to be, is unremarkable. I had the pork and brisket platter for lunch. It was $14 and left me hungry, but worst of all the brisket was dry and the pork had virtually no smoke flavor. The sauce had some promise, so maybe it will worth another try in a few months.

--Alec

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Funny, when I went there the brisket was the only good thing I ate. It was thinly sliced, juicy, and smoky tasting. The chicken was so-so. The baked beans had an odd spaghetti-o's taste...for baked beans? The pulled pork was pretty dry and nothing to write home about and the mac and cheese was pretty generic-tasting. The cole slaw suffered from too much mayo and the fries with the chicken were woefully underdone...soggy and greasy. The ribs were pretty bad. Extremely dry and tough...at least they were not too fatty. Even with a knife, I could not navigate through one of them. The sauces that are served with the stuff is pretty average too. For dessert, the bread pudding was pretty deviod of flavor and had a distinctive hot pocket in the center of it that screamed "microwave" to me.

To put it in perspective, it's no better than Famous Dave's and that's not saying much... I think the bite of napkin that I accidentally consumed when devouring a Bebe's pulled pork sandwich was better than the pulled pork at the Q...

[Rich Pawlak]

Having just sampled them last weekend, I've gotta give serious props to the ribs and shaved pork at The Station Bistro in Kimberton. Expertly smoked, finished on a grill and killer sauces. Until I get to Dante's, Sweet Lucy's and Station Bistro are on the top of my short list.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Rich Pawlak (log)

[Mummer]

Heading to a musical weekend in the Poconos for Memorial Day, I stopped at J&R Smokehouse in Wind Gap for lunch.

I knew I wasn't gonna get food like we shared at Dean and 'Cella's pig pickins in Raleigh, but it was easy to look at the menu and know my choices were pulled pork, brisket or a half slab of ribs.

I chose the first, and soon appeared a huge sammie of reheated meat with an equally huge portion of fries and a small, whole deli pickle. I suspect that a from the grill meal would be really good. There were traces of wow among the "eh!" The fries were double cooked, but the oil was "mature."

The portion was large enough that I saved a quarter for my buddy Marinade at the jam camp. He was a happy camper.

I knew I wasn't in Philly with $2.50 lagers in one of those beehive mugs.

Not a destination, but mucho better than chains (or Yoccos) on your way to the "mountains." The waitress said I should try the brisket, confirming that we were on the same page. Next time.

[Andrew Fenton]

According to Michael Klein, Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov are going to open a Texas-style barbecue spot at 9th and South this fall. That can only be good news, I think.

[philadining]

I got an absolutely spectacular brisket sandwich from Jimmy Barbecue in Malvern this weekend. I don't know if I just got lucky, but it seemed like it was all crusty corners and edges and burnt ends, so the flavor of both the spice and smoke was very intense, but it was still very beefy and moist and tender. i couldn't even bear to put any sauce on it, it was so delicious just plain.

The roll, in classic barbecue style, is nothing special, basically a plain-old hamburger roll, but you could probably serve that brisket to me between two pieces of cardboard and I wouldn't notice.

Please please please PLEASE don't let that be a fluke! I want another one right now...

[Tim Dolan]

There's a new place near me called Holy Smoke that I'm itching to try, I'll report back when I finally do. I did notice a big pile of chopped wood out back last week, so that can't be a bad start.

[MarketStEl]

According to Michael Klein, Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov are going to open a Texas-style barbecue spot at 9th and South this fall.  That can only be good news, I think.

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In the space most recently occupied by Crescent City.

Funny, but I didn't find the ribs I had at Q late last month dry and tough -- and I did smell smoke coming from somewhere in the restaurant's bowels, though there was no telltale smoke ring on the ribs. Maybe the cook was having a rare on night? (The waitress wasn't, at least not at first, but then again, this was a Philadelphia Speaks meetup, and we are a large and unruly bunch.)

[Holly Moore]

According to Michael Klein, Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov are going to open a Texas-style barbecue spot at 9th and South this fall.  That can only be good news, I think.

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I recently spent a week eating Texas barbecue at the rural smokehouses and "markets" that surround Austin. I will try to approach this with an open mind. Nope, I can't.

Southside Market, Elgin TX

While Steven Cook's and Michael Solomonov's new venture may offer decent barbecue I just can not accept it will be Texas class Texas barbecue. A Texas pit master is bred into the job and has been working it since he was a kid. Texas barbecue isn't just a trendy concept, it is generational - as much prairie culture as it is smoking. Just like a an Austin restaurant shouldn't be attempting a cheesesteak...

Here's hoping I am wrong. But, if it were my place - I wouldn't raise expectations by boasting "Texas Barbecue." Great barbecue is a sufficiently lofty goal.

[mod*betty]

Has anyone tried Pig Out in West Chester? Just drove past it last night. According to their website they have been there for 2 years and just recently won a "2009 Best North Carolina BBQ" award but they haven't yet revealed who gave the award.

http://www.pigoutwestchester.com/

[Holly Moore]

If you mean Glen Mills I stopped by last year. It was good, not great. In that area I prefer Mabel's in West Chester or Pig Daddy's in Drexel Hill. I was a little put off that the smoking is done for them, off premises.

They do offer a "Redneck Cheesesteak" using smoked brisket. Sounds interesting but haven't tried it yet.

[shellbellc]

Anyone try Smoke n' dudes in I believe Bryn Mawr, NE Philly anyway...as a comp team they have previously been PA State Champs. They just opened a second spot across the bridge.

[mod*betty]

If you mean Glen Mills I stopped by last year.  It was good, not great.  In that area I prefer Mabel's in West Chester or Pig Daddy's in Drexel Hill.  I was a little put off that the smoking is done for them, off premises.

They do offer a "Redneck Cheesesteak" using smoked brisket.  Sounds interesting but haven't tried it yet.

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Actually I noticed after I posted it that they have 2 locations, Glen Mills & West Chester, we'll maybe check it out, but thanks for the heads up Holly!

[Holly Moore]

Ya gotta try the banana pudding at Bebe's Barbecue n the Italian Market.

[Bluehensfan]

Ya gotta try the banana pudding at Bebe's Barbecue n the Italian Market.

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For those cost-conscious BBQ afficionados, Bebe's now has gift certificates at restaurant.com They run you $10 for a $25 certificate or $4 for a $10 one.

[boggah]

I used a $25 restaurant.com cert last week and whileh Mark did make good on the offer, was seriously disapointed about the deal he made w/ restaurant.com, it sure doesnt sound that that will be arouond too much longer, by time i paid for the food, he really almost made me feel bad about using it. However the bbq was pretty good, i thought the vinegar sauce was great. Mark is a very nice guy, it just seems that they are still in over there head a few months into operation.

[philadining]

We dropped by Bebe's over the weekend and were very happy, and perversely full, a short time later...

The stars of the day were the ribs:

Crusty, juicy, smoky, really quite excellent. That thick bark is really quite distinctive, and while I wasn't entirely sure about it the first time, I've decided that I like it. Of course it helps that these ribs were just better overall... We like them unsauced, with maybe just a little dip or drizzle to accent the great inherent flavors.

The brisket was not too far behind in deliciousness.

It was super-juicy, and very tender. This particular batch didn't taste all that smoky, nor did it have an especially crusty exterior, but it was quite good nonetheless. Apparently Mark experiments a bit with the wood that goes in the smoker, so there's bound to be some variation, but we got the impression that he's working hard toward getting the products fairly consistent, and more consistently available.

The pulled pork looked pretty awesome, so we couldn't resist doing an east vs. west sauce comparison. The vinegar-based eastern Carolina sauce is on the left, the more tomatoey western Carolina sauce is on the right. We were a little surprised to decide that we liked the tomatoey one, which is their default sauce. The pork itself was not all that smokey that day, it's been more so in the past, but it was still tender and flavorful.

Collard greens were very good, just the right level of tenderness, but not mushy, and a little spark of hot pepper perked them up nicely. I also liked the potato gratin, the creamy, tender potatoes were a nice partner for the tangy meats.

He forced a sample of the rotisserie chicken on one of our party. I would have exploded if I had a single bite, but the reports are that it was excellent; very juicy, with a nice crisp skin, and a mild smoke flavor.

OK, the real reason I couldn't eat the chicken is that he forced some chocolate meringue tarts on us. I started to protest, but come on, if there was one of these staring you in the face, would you be able to say no?

Underneath that perfectly-done meringue was a creamy, still-warm, chocolate custard.

I know I guy that ate two of them, after protesting that he couldn't eat another bite of anything.

I think these guys are hitting their stride, the food seems to be getting more consistent in quality, and they're running out of stuff less, but hey, they're still new, and small, and summer business is always slow, so it's not quite at it's full potential yet, but they're getting very close!

And hey, these days I can't blame anyone for wanting/needing to save money, but Bebe's food is not all that expensive, and they're constantly giving stuff away, so I'd skip the restaurant.com coupons, just buy some barbecue, it won't cost all that much.

(I'm not sure why restaurants agree to those coupon deals, they never seem happy with it... )

I'm really eager to go back, those ribs are calling me. And I think I need a chicken. Oh, and we saw some biscuits that looked really awesome - it's impossible to predict when they'll have them but they look pretty promising! Next time I see them, I'm grabbing one. And Mark was talking about warm banana pudding...

Edited July 30, 2009 by philadining (log)

[Holly Moore]

The pie looks good. But you have to do the banana pudding. Beats any I've had in the south except, perhaps, Mama Dips.

[Bluehensfan]

The pie looks good.  But you have to do the banana pudding.  Beats any I've had in the south except, perhaps, Mama Dips.

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I wonder if that was me who philadining was referring to who ate both of the pies over the weekend?

I agree with Holly. The banana pudding at Bebe's is to die for. Better than Magnolia Bakery in NYC. Even after two pies, a BBQ pork sandwich, half of a brisket sandwich, a little mac and cheese, part of a biscuit, and a piece of cornbread. You can always find room for something good.

Mark and Tamara are great people, always giving you a bite of this or a rib to try (oh yeah I ate part of one of those too). And the food (with the exception of the cornbread which does not seem quite sweet enough for me) is really top notch. Much, much better than anything else in town from where we've tried thus far and just as good as the Smoked Joint (RIP).

Edited July 31, 2009 by Bluehensfan (log)

[Bluehensfan]

Mark is going out of town to help out a relative build a deck in Alaska. Because of this, Bebe's will only be open from Thursday through Saturday for the next few weeks or so and someone else will be handling the cooking.

We stopped in again last week and took out some fabulous pulled pork and juicy brisket. They did have the mini chocolate pies but unfortunately none of the out-of-this-world banana pudding because of the upcoming vacation.

[Tim Dolan]

OH. YES.

Click.

[Andrew Fenton]

He's calling his casual concept "punk rock BBQ."

Okay, I hope the food is good and all, but this is just about the stupidest thing I have ever heard.