I know this place has been open for years and I've just never found my way to it. I'm very glad I was in the neighborhood and D.Rough and TheArchangel and I figured we'd better check it out.
The restaurant has a really beautiful outside patio space for seating, including some cool foliage blocking it from the street/sidewalk noise. It was too hot to eat outside, but we found a table quickly and scanned the menu. Lots of delicious sounding “BBQ” items like ribs, brisket, pulled meats, wings, and the usual sides you’d expect at a place like this. They’ve also got bowls, salads, soups, sandwiches, and burgers – plenty of things for you to mull over. They also have their own craft brewery on-site with a great selection of things to try, as well.
I started by ordering a flight of beers, so I could try lots of things. Here are my thoughts on those:
· Castro’s Vintage – cigar-smoked Imperial Brown Ale aged in red wine barrels: 4 out of 5
· Bridge Hanger – Dark Belgian Strong Ale: 3.75 out of 5
· Meanwhile IPA – 3.25 out of 5
· Doppelbock – Double gold medal award-winning: 4.25 out of 5
Really a good quality of the beers I had and much better than I even expected. I was glad I tried a few different ones. Makes me want to try all the other ones the next time I go in there. Looking forward to it, in fact.
Making decisions about food is a bit harder since the menu is … robust. I ended up making a decision so I wouldn’t’ have to make decisions. Classic BBQ Platter – ribs, 18-hour porketta, Texas brisket, pulled BBQ chicken, and pickled veggies and white bread. D.Rough got the brisket philly sandwich with a side of fries. TheArchangel got the burnt ends.
The BBQ Sampler was pretty awesome. I shouldn’t have eaten it all, but I could not stop myself. The pulled chicken was really moist and not overly sauced – plenty of flavor in the meat itself and good smoky flavor that didn’t taste like liquid smoke. The brisket was solid – not the best I’ve ever had, but it was really flavorful and tender. Would definitely order that separately in the future. The ribs were really good, with excellent bark, flavor, and tenderness (without being fall-off-the-bone sloppy). Really enjoyed these. The best part of the whole plate and the meal, in my opinion, was the 18-hour porketta. It absolutely slayed. Tons of fennel flavor and deliciously tender. It was surprising how good it was and I was thinking about it all day after that. Just order the porketta and you can thank me later.
D.Rough really enjoyed her brisket philly. I had a bite or two and was really happy with it. The brisket stood up to the cheese and didn’t fall apart and the cheese and peppers didn’t take away from the brisket flavor. I didn’t get a picture of this one, but I can totally vouch that this sandwich is worth eating. Really happy with this one.
I asked TheArchangel about his burnt ends and he seemed really pleased with them. He reported good flavor and not fatty nor gristly, which is pretty much a rave review. They didn’t come pre-sauced, but they came with a dipper of sauce that he said was delicious. I didn’t get a pic of the burnt ends – I’ll do better next time.
Overall, I’m really pleasantly surprised at how amazing this place was. I wish I had been coming here all along, since I feel like I’ve been missing out on years of delicious BBQ so close to home. I would highly recommend going here for porketta, ribs, brisket, and especially the beer. These folks know what they’re doing.
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