DC & DelMarVa BBQ Club

[otello]

So what is the plan?

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Let's meet at 11:45. Preferably in DC. I have to head up to Philly for a wedding. Wherever you want to meet is fine with me in DC. From there, we hit the road. I can take one other person with me.

[otello]

Let's meet at 11:45.  Preferably in DC.  I have to head up to Philly for a wedding.  Wherever you want to meet is fine with me in DC.  From there, we hit the road.  I can take one other person with me.

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I have recommendations for T&J's or George's. Any others? If you make a recommendation, please make sure that you know how to get there (as I don't know Charles County that well).

I plan to picnic, if we can find a place to do it. I'll be checking in later.

Edited October 2, 2004 by otello (log)

[mktye]

Meet in DC to drive to Charles County for BBQ or meet in DC for BBQ?

[otello]

Meet in DC to drive to Charles County is what I had in mind. what do you think?

[mktye]

Thanks for the clarification! (Hard night--up late, up early with thunderstorm--brain still fuzzy).

Since we live in Alexandria, we would much rather meet you all down there than drive into D.C. to meet up first. George's would be easy to meet at since it is actually in the town of Indian Head (on the left as you are driving south on 210, if you get to the Navy base, you've gone too far) and we would be happy to lead the way to T&J's (or pick some up first and meet you all with it).

Also, we can take 3 other people in our car and would be willing to pick them up at either the King St. or Braddock metro stations.

[mktye]

Also, wanted to add that if people would rather go to T&J's, there is an easy-to-find gas station/mini-mart on the corner of 210/225 where we could meet.

T&J's is a bit difficult to give directions to, but I could make the attempt if neccessary.

[otello]

Let's meet at George's at 11:45 then, ok? What is the address/directions?

[otello]

gotta go. I'll check back later tonight. Wherever you want to meet, I will meet. Just give me an address and directions. Let's try to meet at 11:45 for sure. Bbq4me, you better come with us!!!!!! This is gonna be a good one!!!

[mktye]

How about we just meet at that mini-mart in Indian Head and then we can decide between T&J's & George's (or both!) at that point.

From D.C., go south on 295 and then follow the signs to south MD-210/Indian Head Highway (I think they are still working on this interchange, so you'll just have to trust what the signs tell you to do, but basically, if you stay to the left and don't get on 495 in either direction, you'll end up on 210 heading south). From the beltway, MD-210/Indian Head Highway is the interchange just east of the Wilson bridge.

Follow 210 for ~18 miles. The gas station/mini-mart will be on the left on the NE corner of 210 and Glymont Road, just before you get to the town of Indian Head. Glymont Road is one block before the intersection of Hawthorne Road, MD-225 & 210 (which is the next traffic signal after the intersection of 210 & 227 in Bryan's Road).

Or better yet, here is a map.

Anyone who is interested in riding with us or needs further (or better! ) directions, please PM me.

simdelish -- if you are still joining us, I suggest making your way over to MD-301 south towards Waldorf and then taking MD-228 west over to MD-210 south and following the directions above.

See you all tomorrow at 11:45!

[eunny jang]

Pictures, people, pictures!

[otello]

Pictures, people, pictures!

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thanks for all your help. I'll see you there.

[mktye]

Something to drool over until otello does his write-up...

(all I will say for now is mmmm!)

T&J BBQ 2nd Generation

The Menu

Ribs (1 slab)

Whole Chicken

BBQ Sauce (we learned our lesson and got it on the side this time!)

Coleslaw & Potato Salad

Baked Beans

Picnic-ing eGer's (l to r, otello, Mr. mktye, Mrs. S & Mr. S)

For those who want to get some of this BBQ, T&J BBQ is on MD-225 (Hawthorne Road) ~6.5 miles east of the intersection of MD-225 and MD-210 (Indian Head Highway). It is on the left just past Heaven's Garden Nursery. T&J's sits behind "Sartik's" which is a large dark brown building. If you reach the traffic signal at Rose Hill Road, turn around because you've gone too far. 7670 Hawthorne Road, La Plata, MD, 301-392-9933.

Edited October 3, 2004 by mktye (log)

[simdelish]

oh geeeez, you guys! what torture!!!

SO ............ NOT................. FAIR !!!!!!!!!

I promise not to miss the next one!

p.s. to Jason P: When will eGullet get smell-o-rama?

[spaghetttti]

I keep staring at that chicken, it's got me completely mesmerized.

must. stop. typing. must. go. back. stare. at. chicken.

[Chef Shogun]

Ack, guess I should have queried, but if I knew you would have been back that early I would have gone. I have stuff going on Sunday evenings and I assumed it would be an all-day thing! Oh well, next time!

[bbq4meanytime]

Sorry to have missed this one. looks great. Next time!

[otello]

In the brief life of the DCBBQ Club, we have found the real deal. In what I hope will be the first on many trips to Charles County, we yesterday went to T&J BBQ in La Plata, Charles County (directions above).

The ribs were outstanding. Juicy, tender and hot, with a nice crispy crust. They were smoked without a rub. There was a slight smoke ring on the ribs one one side of the ribs but not the other, if that matters to you. At $13 for a half rack and $18 for a full rack we highly recommend the full rack. We got them with sauce on the side (which will be standard operating procedure for the club going forward). The sauce was very good (more sweet than spicy, but not overly sweet), and complimented the meat nicely. But there were many bites when I didn't sauce at all and it was just fine. I brought back a rack for Ma Otello and even though she ate them sometime after I bought them, she loved them. She especially liked the fact that they were simply seasoned with salt and pepper.

The whole chicken, an amazing value at $9, was cooked in the same fashion as the ribs, and simply seasoned. The white meat was a little dry (stress - little); the sauce came in handy to remedy this. We discussed this while eating and concluded that it's a little more difficult to keep a whole chicken cooked and ready to go and not have the white meat get a little dry. Truth be told, I spent more time explaining the dryness of the chicken than it actually deserves. Put another way, if this place was twenty minutes from my house or work and they just sold this chicken, I'd be eating it at least once a week.

The sides we tried were the potato salad, cole slaw and beans. I liked the potato salad the least. I thought that the potatoes, which were cubed, could have been cooked a little more. The slaw was good, but not great. This slaw was too fine/watery for my taste. I prefer a coarser blend. Texture aside, the flavor grew on me and I did get seconds (or was it thirds?). I liked the beans the most. They had a nice sweet flavor (compliments of brown sugar I'm guessing). That said, I've yet to be wowed by any of the sides at the first two places that we've visited.

They had a couple of things on the menu that we did not try: minced beef sandwich, minced pork sandwich, rib sandwich and the chicken sandwich. We had more than enough food without sampling these. I also note that they do not sell brisket or cornbread, or at least they didn't have them on the menu.

Overall, we had one full rack, one whole chicken, and two each of the three sides for a total of $33.00 for five people. You can't beat that value. And we had some chicken left over.

There are a few picnic tables on site. You can bring your own drinks if you wish (though we purchased our's on-site). I'm guessing you could bring a six pack or two and no one would give you any trouble.

Mktye brought a fabulous homemade sourdough bread, which was excellent (otherwise, white bread came with the meal). For desert, Mktye's homemade creamy caramels were amazing. All I can say is that I vote for sourdough bread and caramels at all future outings!!!!

On the way home, I stopped off at a road stand and bought a 25 pound pumpkin for the house. They are plentiful down there this time of year. If anyone has a good pumpkin pie recipe, PM me with it.

Overall, I had a really great meal and great time with the group. I recommend T&J's highly.

See you next time.

[spaghetttti]

The whole chicken, an amazing value at $9, was cooked in the same fashion as the ribs, and simply seasoned.  The white meat was a little dry (stress - little); the sauce came in handy to remedy this.  We discussed this while eating and concluded that it's a little more difficult to keep a whole chicken cooked and ready to go and not have the white meat get a little dry.  Truth be told, I spent more time explaining the dryness of the chicken than it actually deserves.  Put another way, if this place was twenty minutes from my house or work and they just sold this chicken, I'd be eating it at least once a week.

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But, but, but --- the wings and dark meat were wonderfully flavorful, tender & juicy, yes?

Edited October 5, 2004 by spaghetttti (log)

[otello]

But, but, but --- the wings and dark meat were wonderfully flavorful, tender & juicy, yes?

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I didn't manage to get a piece of the dark meat, but I understand that it did not suffer from the same infirmity as the breast meat (again, not a big deal in the grand scheme). Come along next time and see for yourself.

[mktye]

But, but, but --- the wings and dark meat were wonderfully flavorful, tender & juicy, yes?

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Yes. Excellent. And Mr. mktye, the chicken fanatic, says that it would be worth the $9.00 just to eat the crispy, flavorful skin.

To add to otello's great review -- the ribs were great (& not too fatty) and the chicken white meat was only slightly dry. The sauce had a nice vinegar tang to it. Also, I pretty much second his opinions of the sides. For me, the coleslaw was a little over-sweet and missing the celery seed I personally find crucial to great coleslaw. The beans were great. Very molasses-y, but not like candy. The potato salad was nothing special. Overall, tasty food & a great value.

Looking forward to next time!

[spaghetttti]

Come along next time and see for yourself.

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crispy, flavorful skin.

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Thank you, I'd love to tag along the next time I'm in town.

Mmmm, the thought of crispy chicken skin & mktye's homemade sourdough bread is making me very hungry. Homemade caramels, too, did you say?