Buz & Ned's Real Barbecue, Richmond

[DonRocks]

It’s over, call off the dogs and come home from the hunt: Buz and Ned’s Real Barbecue is the answer to any problem you can possibly have.

Lack confidence when performing a pancreaticoduodenectomy? The glazed chicken skewer will set your nerves at rest.

Finding it a challenge unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity? Try the pulled pork mounded on a bun with cole slaw and hot sauce.

Trouble solving the halting problem? The beef brisket and sour-cream redskin potato salad will do it for you.

Feeling like Sisyphus trying to balance the boulder? Let it roll and order a full rack of baby back pork ribs.

Visualizing dark matter proving elusive? The homemade chocolate chip brownie brings it within reach of the eye.

At the intersection of Broad Street and The Boulevard in Richmond (1119 N. Boulevard), Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue is everything you need to achieve enlightenment.

Last night, Buz's brother (a good friend of mine) stopped in with a care-basket full of goodies, and I gorged like a tick on what may just be the best barbecue I've ever eaten. Is it always this good? He says it is, and he's a huge Perlow, one of my most trusted food friends. Based on what I had last night, this is worth a special trip to Richmond.

Cheers,

Rocks.

[bbq4meanytime]

Jeez Rocks, what did you get for your shameless plug, a lifetime supply of hushpuppies and pork shoulder?

Any self-respecting BBQ loving gourmand would know that the mention of chicken skewers, pulled pork and brisket in the same sentence (let alone in the same BBQ joint) is suspect and can't hardly be taken seriosly as "the best in the world".

You make our North Carolina brethen threaten secession by mentioning pulled pork and brisket together. The Texas folk are ready to rumble, remember the Alamo?

Was it really that good?

[DonRocks]

Nobody on DCDelMarVa wanted to bite this one, so I'll move it here and let you guys can pick apart the pig - dissenting opinions encouraged.

Cheers,

Rocks.

P.S. I'm feeling a bit "exposed" moving this into the Southeast forum - having spent six years in the Carolinas, I'm fully aware of how much you guys know about barbeque. But regardless, this place is good!

[mighty quinn]

this was the first "q" i had in richmond and i whole heartedly agree w/ the esteemed mr rocks... and this from a north-cackeylackian!

[Varmint]

Let us see the pits (in action, of course) and woodpiles before we offer our initial reactions. If up to snuff, only then will we move on to issues of taste!!!!

[mighty quinn]

the cool bonus at buzz and ned's was the pork bones for $1 (about 6 in a bag) my dog worked on those for about a month. also decent wine/beer selection-maybe a little unusual in a bbq joint.

[TGTyson]

Dang, Son - I don't know but that I'm going to have to go there for lunch today and see what all the fuss is about.

I agree with bbqmeanytime that REAL BBQ is about pork, juicy, dripping fat and smoky. I grew up watching generations of old time pitmasters plying their trade slinging hickory logs into the fire. NOT the stuff you get at Extra-Billy's or Bills.

My time in Memphis was interesting what with all the tomato/molasses based sauces covering well smoked pig, but BBQ life in Austin was just plain STRANGE. I mean BBQ GOAT??? (Excuse me, Cabrito). Of course, to them the only reason you'd BBQ a pig was because you couldn't afford a steer - I guess things balance out.

OK, I'll try your find and report back. This better be good . . .

- Tom

[TGTyson]

Um ... I don't think so - Sorry.

Let me pontificate on my personal bias about pork barbeque (actually ALL barbeque, be it pork, beef, turkey or even <gasp> *goat*). After that I'll tell you about my lunch at Buz & Ned's.

To me, really good Barbeque is about the marriage of succulent meat, the subtle taste of the spices introduced in a dry rub and the smoke (I'll also accept the flavor of sugars and seasonings introduced in a brine if it's done correctly.) So I guess I would have to say that it's all about the meat, juicy, dripping fat and smoky. Really good barbeque doesn't need to be slathered in sauce, but can stand alone if desired.

That said, lunch there started off great – the look and the smell of the place, even the look of the kitchen and the 12 times coppied xerox of the menu shouted “Attention - Serious BBQ Ahead”.

I ordered a pulled pork plate with cole slaw and barbeque baked beans, sauce on the side and a lemonaide – all good standard fare.

My named was called, I wend back to the counter, and the food looked great, though the guy behind the counter apologized that the sauce was already mixed with the meat beforehand – OK.

Back to the table. Nice big chunks of meat, some darkened to “crispy bits”, others pink and brown – great.

Close my eyes, first bite, and I taste – ??Green Pepper?? Not pork, not smoke, but the distinct taste of peppers. I quickly tried a different piece, same thing. Understand, the meat tasted good, but I was looking for serious “Q”, not a pork dish cooked with peppers.

I dug through several of the larger pieces of meat and managed to extract several portions of internal meat untouched by sauce. Tried them and was rewarded for my effort with no taste at all. And dry, almost like chewing on compressed cotton thread. Hmmmm.

the baked beans were very good, and the cole slaw (the pickled coarsely shredded cabbage variety) was also very good. But the meat… <sigh>

Every place has a bad day now and again and I’ll go back again another day and try the same meal again – maybe then my eyes will roll back, my toes will curl and all will be right with the heavens. I hope so, I really do.

But next time I’ll order water - $2.00 for a 16 oz plastic cup of super-sweet Countrytime just doesn’t seem worth it.

- Tom

[DonRocks]

Close my eyes, first bite, and I taste – ??Green Pepper?? Not pork, not smoke, but the distinct taste of peppers. I quickly tried a different piece, same thing. Understand, the meat tasted good, but I was looking for serious “Q”, not a pork dish cooked with peppers.

Interesting, and your observations are amazing in their detail.

Give me credit for willingly walking into the lion's den!

Rocks.

[TGTyson]

Absolutely! <grin>

- Tom Tyson

[buzandneds]

Um ... I don't think so - Sorry.

Let me pontificate on my personal bias about pork barbeque (actually ALL barbeque, be it pork, beef, turkey or even <gasp> *goat*). After that I'll tell you about my lunch at Buz & Ned's.

To me, really good Barbeque is about the marriage of succulent meat, the subtle taste of the spices introduced in a dry rub and the smoke (I'll also accept the flavor of sugars and seasonings introduced in a brine if it's done correctly.) So I guess I would have to say that it's all about the meat, juicy, dripping fat and smoky. Really good barbeque doesn't need to be slathered in sauce, but can stand alone if desired.

That said, lunch there started off great – the look and the smell of the place, even the look of the kitchen and the 12 times coppied xerox of the menu shouted “Attention - Serious BBQ Ahead”.

I ordered a pulled pork plate with cole slaw and barbeque baked beans, sauce on the side and a lemonaide – all good standard fare.

My named was called, I wend back to the counter, and the food looked great, though the guy behind the counter apologized that the sauce was already mixed with the meat beforehand – OK.

Back to the table. Nice big chunks of meat, some darkened to “crispy bits”, others pink and brown – great.

Close my eyes, first bite, and I taste – ??Green Pepper?? Not pork, not smoke, but the distinct taste of peppers. I quickly tried a different piece, same thing. Understand, the meat tasted good, but I was looking for serious “Q”, not a pork dish cooked with peppers.

I dug through several of the larger pieces of meat and managed to extract several portions of internal meat untouched by sauce. Tried them and was rewarded for my effort with no taste at all. And dry, almost like chewing on compressed cotton thread. Hmmmm.

the baked beans were very good, and the cole slaw (the pickled coarsely shredded cabbage variety) was also very good. But the meat… <sigh>

Every place has a bad day now and again and I’ll go back again another day and try the same meal again – maybe then my eyes will roll back, my toes will curl and all will be right with the heavens. I hope so, I really do.

But next time I’ll order water - $2.00 for a 16 oz plastic cup of super-sweet Countrytime just doesn’t seem worth it.

- Tom

Wow! I don't know where to begin. Maybe at the top is best.

I have hand crafted each batch of our pork BBQ sauce for the last 12 years. Never has any ingredient, remotely close to the flavor of green peppers, ever been incorporated. And unless you can show me how hickory smoke, sugar, molasses, garlic, black pepper, Lea and Perrins and Spanish paprika can inpart that flavor, with all due respect, maybe you confused the BBQ with our baked beans which do have a fair amount of the stuff.

You write that the meat was "chunky" (i.e. hand pulled), that it contained "darkened crispy bits (i.e. slow cooking with smoke allows the heavy hickory smoke from fresh cut hickory logs, our exclusive heat and smoke source, to combine with our pre-cook paste rub to create a crusty/smoky exterior). And the "pink meat" you refer to is an indication that smoke has penetrated the meat. (we are proud to boast an exterior red smoke ring of from 3/8" to 1/2" , with secondary (pink)penetration clear to the bone.) These are all indicators of serious BBQ. Thanks for noticing.

On lines 28 - 29 you write, "understand, the meat tasted good".

On line 34 you write, the meat had "no taste at all".

Whats up with that. And as for being "dry, almost like chewing compressed cotton thread". Well, thats the 1st complaint of that kind in 12 years. With all due respect, maybe you forgot to remove the dental floss used at the conclusion of your last meal.

Our cabbage is shredded, sauced and consumed daily. Certainly not enough time to "pickle". Maybe you associate the presence of a fair amount of vinegar with the pickling process. Not necessarily so.

Lastly, call Orchid Island Fresh Juice Company of Fort Pierce, FL 772-465-1122 and ask them if they have been supplying me with Country Time Lemonade for the last 12 years. 24 oz freshly squeezed lemonade. Not so bad for $2.00 eh.

Me thinks you better come back again.

Respectfully,

Buz

Chief, Cook, Pitmaster and Bottlewasher @ Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue

[browniebaker]

Buz, thanks for taking the time to reply to the last review. I have been hoping to get to Richmond to try your bbq, but it's a two-hour drive for me, and I don't know when I'll make it. But I definitely think it's worth a try, to find good bbq.

[TGTyson]

Buz,

Sorry to be so long getting back to you, I've been off the list for a few days.

thanks for your response, and thank you for the invitation to return. I hope it's not for a lynching, though I can certainly see where you might like to string me up. As I said in my report I intended to go back and try you again, and I do, probably later this week.

As to the specifics, I have to stand by my initial impressions, flawed though they may be until I try things a second time. I'll be glad to try your Barbeque again and I hope I can figure out what it was that I tasted to make me think of peppers. I didn't eat any of the beans until I had eaten quite a bit of the pork because I could see that the beans had peppers in it. Is all of your pulled pork sauced prior to serving? It would really be nice to try some of the meat without any sauce (which was what I had originally intended to do - sauces can be all over the place tastewise, but good pork should be able to stand on it's own).

I'll be back and will report honestly whatever I find. It's certainly not my intenton to drop a bomb on anyone. I'll be delighted to be proven wrong and will cheerfully report so here.

As to the lemonaide, I didn't really notice any pulp in it, and it was super sweet and gritty which in retrospect may have simply been undesolved sugar. I just didn't think of that at the time since you use a recirculating cooler, so I interperted it as undesolved Countrytime. My apologies on this.

Regards,

- Tom Tyson

[buzandneds]

Buz,

Sorry to be so long getting back to you, I've been off the list for a few days.

thanks for your response, and thank you for the invitation to return. I hope it's not for a lynching, though I can certainly see where you might like to string me up. As I said in my report I intended to go back and try you again, and I do, probably later this week.

As to the specifics, I have to stand by my initial impressions, flawed though they may be until I try things a second time. I'll be glad to try your Barbeque again and I hope I can figure out what it was that I tasted to make me think of peppers. I didn't eat any of the beans until I had eaten quite a bit of the pork because I could see that the beans had peppers in it. Is all of your pulled pork sauced prior to serving? It would really be nice to try some of the meat without any sauce (which was what I had originally intended to do - sauces can be all over the place tastewise, but good pork should be able to stand on it's own).

I'll be back and will report honestly whatever I find. It's certainly not my intenton to drop a bomb on anyone. I'll be delighted to be proven wrong and will cheerfully report so here.

As to the lemonaide, I didn't really notice any pulp in it, and it was super sweet and gritty which in retrospect may have simply been undesolved sugar. I just didn't think of that at the time since you use a recirculating cooler, so I interperted it as undesolved Countrytime. My apologies on this.

Regards,

- Tom Tyson

Thanks for the response.

We started out selling our BBQ from a sidewalk vending cart in downtown Richmond and then at GreenTop Sporting Goods on Rt.1 in Hanover County.

In order for us to maintain the moistness of the meat, we added sauce for holding purposes. We were in business 11 years before we had a real restaurant. Our customers wanted us not to change the recipe even though I (as a foodie) would rather offer it sans sauce.

So that you know exactly how good we really are, I invite you for a back-of-the- house visit (chef's table of sorts) for a meal of our BBQ right off the pit and before it is hit with sauce. You had better be wearing your garters mister. (Call me for our cook schedule.)

All I ask from you is that you leave all of your expectations, biases and preconceptions at home. Sometimes we can experience whats in our minds, true or not.

And by the way we use simple syrup to make our lemonade. Can' t for the life of me figure out where the grit came from.

Regards

Buz

[mighty quinn]

BUZ-I DON'T SHARE TYSON'S VIEWS ON YOUR Q- I THINK THAT IT'S DELISH, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A STYLE THAT I WASN'T RAISED ON (LEXINGTON, NC/ GOLDSBORO, NC) AS A MATTER OF FACT, I MADE Q WITH SOME FRIENDS YESTERDAY WITH THEIR NEW SMOKER AND THE SAUCE MY GIRLFRIEND MADE (HER BROTHER'S RECIPE) WAS QUITE LIKE YOURS. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF COOKING THE SHOULDER AS LONG AS WE WOULD'VE LIKED, BUT WE'LL HAVE BETTER PLANNING FOR THE NEXT FETE-ABOUT 45 FOLKS. I'D LOVE TO HAVE YOUR RECOMMENDATION FOR COOKING TEMP AND TIME FOR MEAT. WE'RE PLANNING ON ABOUT 1/4 LB PER PERSON AND WILL USE SHOULDER CUTS-3-5 LB.THE SMOKER IS A GRILLMASTER (I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT SMOKERS) AND WE USED GAS AS THE HEAT SOURCE AND WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THE TEMP VERY CONSISTENT. I'M TRYING TO CONVINCE MY FRIENDS TO USE HICKORY (USED MESQUITE-TOO UP-FRONT SMOKEY FOR MY TASTES) I'D ALSO LIKE TO BRINE SOME PORK AHEAD OF TIME TO MAKE SOME EASTERN NC-STYLE Q. ANY THOUGHTS?? FROM ANYONE OUT THERE?? AND BUZ-I'D LOVE TO HAVE AN E-G EVENT FOR RICHMOND AT YOUR PLACE AND IF THE D.C. FOLKS KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEM THEY'LL DRIVE DOWN AND PARTAKE.

[dscott]

A bbq chef's table? Does it get any better?

[Varmint]

Buz-

Thanks so much for participating here, and I'd like to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about your restaurant and the cooking process you use. Could you help us out with this information, primarily the meats you use, where you acquire them, the type of wood (and dryness), the time and temperature of the cooking, etc? I'm one of those barbecue freaks, and I'm always trying to learn more of how different restaurants practice their craft. Our readers want to hear more as well!

Thanks in advance.

[TGTyson]

A bbq chef's table? Does it get any better?

No it doesn'tl, and I'm looking forward to going back there. I really do appreciate the invitation and look forward to a another meal there.

- Tom

Edited June 8, 2004 by TGTyson (log)

[TGTyson]

Cross Posted:

Hi Y'all,

I'm not sure I'm going to make it there Thursday - I have an embedded stone in one of my kidneys that is trying to punt me into next Tuesday. About the only thing I can do just now is lay on my side and drink lots of water. The thought of food, including barbeque is ... well, not good.

You all go on without me and report back to the group, OK? - I'll get back over there when I can and do a follow up - promise.

Regards,

- Tom

[buzandneds]

Buz-

Thanks so much for participating here, and I'd like to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about your restaurant and the cooking process you use. Could you help us out with this information, primarily the meats you use, where you acquire them, the type of wood (and dryness), the time and temperature of the cooking, etc? I'm one of those barbecue freaks, and I'm always trying to learn more of how different restaurants practice their craft. Our readers want to hear more as well!

Thanks in advance.

Always nice to speak with a fellow BBQ freak. Thanks for asking.

We start with only fresh Boston butts produced largely by Iowa Beef Processors The prices for fresh fluctuate dramatically throughout the year but to buy anything frozen starts you off with a product that has already lost 10% of its weight in moisture before you cook it, mloisture that is sorely needed when you cook something for 11-14 hours.

I use 100% just cut green wet hickory. Whole logs. Only a few pits are designed to keep wet hickory burning. Green wood provides that 'blue' sweet smoke so often referred to in the BBQ world.

We never boil or pre-cook anything as most Richmond restaurants do. The negative affects are obvious. Also, this can never be called BBQ. The USDA has the best definition for BBQ. Anything cooked with wood or coals derived from wood as the only heat and smoke source. It must loose at least 30% of its raw weight in the cooking process.

Time and Temperature: slow and low. 205 degrees for as long as it takes.

As I told Tom, we consistenly achieve a smoke ring penetration of a minimum of 3/8" and very often 1/2". Smoke penetration is infuenced by the 'carriers' used in your rub or marinade, the condition of the meat you're cooking, the cooking temperature, the relative humidity and the barometric pressure.

Buz