Tommy Gunn's

[Sfuffy]

Walking down South Street today, I saw a papered-over storefront in the 600 block with a newly-painted sign above reading, "Tommy Gunn's". The place was being renovated with no indication of when they might be opening.

[mrbigjas]

my wife reports that this is open now. she walked by today.

[WHT]

In Chicago we have a place by the same name that is a mock speakeasy, gangster show, eatery.

[deprofundis]

Hi folks, I just ate at the new Tommy Gunn's on South Street. Had the barbecue sampler and a soda, which set me back only about $16 (roughly $6 cheaper than the Smoked Joint for their sampler + soda). The sampler comes with spare ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and sides of cole slaw and baked beans.

Ribs - Excellent. Moist and yummy, nice smoky flavor. Better than the smoked joint's, which I found to be very dry.

Brisket - Excellent. Light smoky flavor. TG's brisket is served shredded, as opposed to TSJ's, which is thinly sliced. I give the edge to TG's.

Pulled Pork - OK. A little dry. I didn't detect much smokiness. Very slight edge to TSJ.

Sauce - TG's has excellent sauce. It's slightly spicy, too.

Sides - Tommy Gunn's sides need work. The baked beans were average. They're gloppy, with sort of the consistency of refried beans. They also have shredded pork mixed in, which is nice, but doesn't really add anything IMHO. The cole slaw was good I guess, but how good can cole slaw get, right? They also gave me some free corn bread. Their corn bread is very sweet, but not really memorable.

Portion size - Big enough but not huge. I have leftovers.

Service - You order at the register and they call out your order number when it's ready. Orders come out pretty quick. Service was very good.

Summary - Definitely a place I would go back to, and reasonably priced. There is no reason to go to The Smoked Joint, unless the sides are that important to you or you like to waste money. ;-) I think LaBan's review was off the mark.

[mrbigjas]

thanks deprofundis. did you try the greens? when i had them last summer (the last time i went to tommy gunn's, because after all it's kind of outdoors), i thought they were some of the best i've had.

[deprofundis]

thanks deprofundis.  did you try the greens?  when i had them last summer (the last time i went to tommy gunn's, because after all it's kind of outdoors), i thought they were some of the best i've had.

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I didn't try the greens, but I'm sure I'll be back there soon!

[MarketStEl]

Hi folks, I just ate at the new Tommy Gunn's on South Street.  Had the barbecue sampler and a soda, which set me back only about $16 (roughly $6 cheaper than the Smoked Joint for their sampler + soda).  The sampler comes with spare ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and sides of cole slaw and baked beans.

And did they serve the soda in a glass or in a pitcher?

Ribs - Excellent.  Moist and yummy, nice smoky flavor.  Better than the smoked joint's, which I found to be very dry.

Glad to see I'm not alone in this assessment. I didn't detect much smoke flavor in TSJ's ribs either, again unlike LaBan.

Sauce - TG's has excellent sauce.  It's slightly spicy, too.

Tomato-based, I assume?

Aside: Belmont Bar-B-Q -- the place at 55th and Baltimore that I have mentioned here on occasion -- is the only Philly 'cue joint I've yet run across that uses a vinegar-based sauce. It's also the most pungent local sauce I've yet run across, though it's not as searing as Gates' Extra Hot.

Second aside: What I identified as paprika in TSJ's sauce LaBan says is chipotle. On further reflection, he might be right.

Portion size - Big enough but not huge.  I have leftovers.

I will give TSJ this much: Their sampler platter, though pricey, gives you enough meat for two people. The sides that come with it are skimpy, though.

Summary - Definitely a place I would go back to, and reasonably priced.  There is no reason to go to The Smoked Joint, unless the sides are that important to you or you like to waste money. ;-)  I think LaBan's review was off the mark.

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Agreed on LaBan, and I know at least one other eG'er on this board who was similarly unimpressed by TSJ.

Then again, LaBan came here from New Orleans. They do Creole and Cajun down there. They don't do 'cue. You gotta go upriver at least to Memphis for that.

[deprofundis]

And did they serve the soda in a glass or in a pitcher?

It's Burger King style. They give you a paper cup and you can fill up on soda as much as you want.

Tomato-based, I assume?

Yeah, a pretty sweet sauce with a little spice. According to their website (www.tommygunns.net) they also offer an "Alabama White Sauce" (bold bbq flavor w/o the carbs). I didn't try it, but maybe that's vinegar-based?

I will give TSJ this much:  Their sampler platter, though pricey, gives you enough meat for two people.  The sides that come with it are skimpy, though.

TSJ does have better sides, but they're double the price of TG's and TG's gives you more.

[herbacidal]

Aside:  Belmont Bar-B-Q -- the place at 55th and Baltimore that I have mentioned here on occasion -- is the only Philly 'cue joint I've yet run across that uses a vinegar-based sauce.  It's also the most pungent local sauce I've yet run across, though it's not as searing as Gates' Extra Hot.

Anyone know its hours?

[mrbigjas]

warning to those who go at lunch time when they're at work: my wife went over to tommy gunn's the other day, and said when she got back to work she and her coworker smelled like smoked meat--enough that their coworkers commented on it.

now, neither she nor i consider this a bad thing, but i understand that some people might not want to smell like that in the office...

[Andrew Fenton]

Hmm. Sounds like just the place to head before a big date. The perfume comes for free: and if yer date doesn't like it, well, they're probably not worth it anyway...

[philadining]

Tommy Gunn's has just shot to near the top of the list of my favorite places, even though the brisket in my sandwich was a little dry.... It was still very good, with a solid smoky taste, if not quite as tender as the brisket I've had at TSJ. The kaiser roll might not be authentic, but it stood up better in the hand than squishy sliced bread. Staff was really enthusiastic and friendly.

But the reason they rate so high with me is that I was able to get this sandwich at well past midnight. They're open until 3am on friday and saturday nights. The prospect of getting good barbecue at 2am has cheered me immensely. I think they're open until 10pm other days.

I'm looking forward to heading back for a more expansive test, but my quick drive-by sandwich was a good start.

[MarketStEl]

(about Tommy Gunn's barbecue sauce) Tomato-based, I assume?

Yeah, a pretty sweet sauce with a little spice. According to their website (www.tommygunns.net) they also offer an "Alabama White Sauce" (bold bbq flavor w/o the carbs). I didn't try it, but maybe that's vinegar-based?

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Vinegar-based with mayonnaise.

[philadining]

I was charmed enough by my late-night sandwich that I went back to Tommy Gunn's about 14 hours later for a bigger meal, and my review is mixed.

First, the good news: The spare ribs, fabulous; baked beans, really great; corn salad, tasty and refreshing; real sugar cola, nostalgically bad-for-you-good; prices, very reasonable.

On the other hand, baby back ribs, pulled pork and brisket were all dry. Dousing with the good tangy sauce helped a bit, but couldn't save the baby backs which were just WAY overdone to the point of being crunchy. "Spicy Collard Greens" weren't at all spicy, but still pretty decent, although I prefer greens with a bit of pork in them. Coleslaw was fine, but nothing special. Cornbread was mushy and blah.

But the whole operation was a bit of a disaster on sunday afternoon. At the register, they didn't have any change, and were pleading with customers to give them ones. We ordered one of their "Premium Sides," the deep-fried macaroni, but were told they had run out. That's no big deal, but several orders came out to the parties that sat down just barely after us. The table next to us had to chase down the staff who had delivered one order of ribs but had just forgotten about the other person's food, and a couple of sides. This reminded me that they had failed to deliver the slaw and beans that came with my sampler platter. I'm not sure what was going on at the next table over, but I heard a staff guy saying, "right, my bad, sorry about that" several times. We clearly said that we were dining-in but were served our food in to-go styrofoam.

But you know, for some reason, I didn't really mind any of that. Staff was eager-to-please even if they were frazzled, we eventually got what we ordered, and the food was good, even if not consistently well-executed.

It's hard not to make comparisons to The Smoked Joint, even though the vibe is very different. Of course much of this just comes down to personal preferences, but here's my take: Ribs - I give a slight edge to Tommy Gunn's spare ribs, skip the baby backs (probably a good policy everywhere.) Pulled pork I liked a bit better at TSJ. Brisket I liked LOTS more at TSJ, it was much moister and more tender. Beans were very different at each place, but I liked them both, so I call that a draw. TSJ's are sweet with big chunks of meat. TG's are more soupy, almost like an indian dal, with little strands of meat, and more hearty. Cornbread is much better at TSJ. I don't love the actual physical setting of TSJ much, but it's still more comfortable than TG's tiny, basic, cold seating area. Service was a bit more together at TSJ, but then TG's South Street location is still pretty new. The prices at Tommy Gunn's are much more reasonable, but the portions at TSJ, especially the sides, are bigger.

I'll be going back to both places.

[marinade]

Agreed on LaBan, and I know at least one other eG'er on this board who was similarly unimpressed by TSJ.

Make me another one. I thought it was just OK. I think they're uneven.

Then again, LaBan came here from New Orleans.  They do Creole and Cajun down there.  They don't do 'cue.  You gotta go upriver at least to Memphis for that.

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He know's some 'cue. I had emailed LaBan about a year or two ago and mentioned that I was a big fan of the book "Smokestack Lightning", so was he and he's real good friends with Lolis Eric Elie, the author. They were both writing for the Times Picayune in N'Awlins. La Ban told me they still hook up and do 'cue runs.

"Smokestack Lighning" reads like Jack Kerouac on the BBQ belt. It's more of a "road" than a "cook" book. It was out of print for a while but Ten Speed Press is republishing it this Spring.

(ed to provide link)

Edited April 4, 2005 by marinade (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

I went to Tommy Gunn's for lunch today. I had a brisket sandwich, a side of corn salad and a side of fries. The fries were frozen and forgettable (and french fries aren't really barbecue food anyway; not sure why I got them). The corn salad was terrific, though: basically just whole kernels with a little onion and bell pepper in a light vinaigrette. I also liked their fountain drinks: on tap, they have cane sugar cola (not corn syrup!) Yum. (Stay away from the iced tea, though: it's wretched. TG's really ought to invest in good, homemade iced tea, but that's another story.)

Anyway, the proof is in the meat, and the brisket, unfortunately, was dry and didn't taste at all of smoke. Very disappointing: it basically tasted like Grandma's brisket, and that ain't a good thing. It's a shame, because I really want to like them (for one thing, they'll deliver to my house, and for another, they're open so! darn! late!: perfect for summer debauchery). Maybe they're just inconsistent, or maybe other things are better. I'll give them another chance...

[MarketStEl]

Ribs - I give a slight edge to Tommy Gunn's spare ribs, skip the baby backs (probably a good policy everywhere.)

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I'm not going to stake my life on this--after all, Rich Davis hadn't yet sprung KC Masterpiece on an unsuspecting world by the time I left the city--but when I lived there, no respectable 'cue joint in Kansas City served "baby back ribs." Ribs meant pork spareribs. Period.

[Sfuffy]

Anyway, the proof is in the meat, and the brisket, unfortunately, was dry and didn't taste at all of smoke.  Very disappointing: it basically tasted like Grandma's brisket, and that ain't a good thing.  It's a shame, because I really want to like them (for one thing, they'll deliver to my house, and for another, they're open so! darn! late!: perfect for summer debauchery).  Maybe they're just inconsistent, or maybe other things are better.  I'll give them another chance...

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Having tried the brisket last evening, I have to agree except to say that you besmirch Grandma and Bubbes everywhere by even mentioning their brisket in the same sentence as TG's bland, dry as shoe leather version.

[MarketStEl]

I went to Tommy Gunn's for lunch today.  I had a brisket sandwich, a side of corn salad and a side of fries.  The fries were frozen and forgettable (and french fries aren't really barbecue food anyway; not sure why I got them).

A number of very good KC 'cue joints are perfectly happy to sell you fries. They're not traditional barbecue sides, but they are available at some places.

The corn salad was terrific, though: basically just whole kernels with a little onion and bell pepper in a light vinaigrette.  I also liked their fountain drinks: on tap, they have cane sugar cola (not corn syrup!)  Yum.  (Stay away from the iced tea, though: it's wretched.  TG's really ought to invest in good, homemade iced tea, but that's another story.)

Anyway, the proof is in the meat, and the brisket, unfortunately, was dry and didn't taste at all of smoke.  Very disappointing: it basically tasted like Grandma's brisket, and that ain't a good thing.  It's a shame, because I really want to like them (for one thing, they'll deliver to my house, and for another, they're open so! darn! late!: perfect for summer debauchery).  Maybe they're just inconsistent, or maybe other things are better.  I'll give them another chance...

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I'm beginning to think that maybe it's genetic. Just as there is a clear line of demarcation between mayonnaise and Miracle Whip, or between where a fizzy, sweet soft drink is called "soda" and where it's called "pop", there is a line of demarcation between those parts of the country where people more or less instinctively understand how to do barbecue and those where people have to read books about it to learn it first, and then practice, practice, practice until they get it right--or close to right.

[Holly Moore]

Picking up on what Sandy just said, there are two kinds of barbecue places.

First the regional ones that only do their regional speciality - ie a Carolina place doing pulled pork, a Memphis place doing ribs or a Texas place doing brisket.

The other are the conglomerations that sell Carolina pulled pork, Memphis or KC ribs and Texas brisket.

Typically the places that specialize do a much better and much more consistent job than the places that try to be all things to all bbq eaters. More often than not they might get one thing right, or two. But not every kind of BBQ that they sell. And sometimes they have complicated their kitchen to the point that they get none right.

This is not always the case, but often enough that I shy away from the BBQ USA types of places.

[serpentine]

The other are the conglomerations that sell Carolina pulled pork, Memphis or KC ribs and Texas brisket.

[moans in memory of North Carolina pulled pork] Have I any hope in Philly?

(I try to get down to the Outer Banks once a year or so. I usually just buy five or six containers from Pigman's and freeze 'em. But that only lasts a few months, even with rationing.)

[MarketStEl]

The other are the conglomerations that sell Carolina pulled pork, Memphis or KC ribs and Texas brisket.

[moans in memory of North Carolina pulled pork] Have I any hope in Philly?

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'Fraid not.

--Sandy, Kansas City expat

[herbacidal]

'Fraid not.

--Sandy, Kansas City expat

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Optimistically, maybe in a few years. Pessimistically, maybe in a few centuries.

Edited April 8, 2005 by herbacidal (log)

[serpentine]

[sigh] That's what I thought.

To anyone who shares my addiction, the aforementioned, Pigman's in Kill Devil Hills, NC will ship. And it's damn fine barbeque.

[Holly Moore]

I hit Tommy Gunn's on South Street yesterday for lunch. The good news is that my camera and I made it in and out without involving the police.

Off to a bad start though. I stood in front of the order taker for a couple of minutes while he talked to his boss or someone on the phone about sales and such. Finally the grill guy stepped in and took my order.

Being the type of guy who isn't willing to take other people's word that a hot stove burned, I ordered the brisket sandwich. Came across more as steamed than smoked, no flavor of beef or smoke, no telltale red ring. After my meal both the cook and the order taker asked how I liked the brisket. I was honest. The cooked asked if I tried the sauce with it. I told him yes, after my first bite. The sauce helped but I shouldn't have needed it.

I also finally got to try the fried macaroni and cheese. Think of a macaroni and cheese Moon Pie. It is formed into a disc and then twice breaded to get a thick crust. It was nicely browned and super hot inside. I like it though I'm not sure if it was the novelty or the dish itself. Anyone know - is fried macaroni and cheese a regional dish somewhere?

I'm going back a couple of times to try the pulled pork and the ribs. Hopefully also for a better experience.