Rose, me and two of our friends have started a new winter initiative here in freakin' freezin' Boston - sampling one Boston area BBQ restaurant a month. Tonight was our second tasting. Just to catch everyone up, I'll tell you about restaurant #1 first.
Brookline Village Smokehouse
Rose and I enjoy the Smokehouse. It's got a good vibe, good cornbread and ribs (that's my reason). We hit Brookline in November as BBQ Tasting #1. I got ribs, Rose chicken, Jill, our supportive vegetarian, got something not worth mentioning, Stevie got a meat sampler of sorts.
The Smokehouse is cool because the kitchen is open and they bbq right in front of you. Overall the ribs were good and I love the cornbread.
Stevie was not blown away by the Smokehouse. I can't remember her specific issues but she raised some valid concerns.
Blue Ribbon BBQ - Arlington
Tonight we went to Blue Ribbon BBQ. The restaurant itself is mostly for takeout with a few seats.
I liked the feel of the space though - minus the fact that it was freezing. But I guess I can't hold BR accountable for the "Arctic Blast" in New England right now.
I liked the menu b/c everything was a platter - a meat + cornbread + two sides. I ordered pulled bbq chicken, greenbeans, mashed potatoes and cornbread. Rose ordered pulled pork + double green beans. Stevie went for another meat sampler - ribs + brisket + sausage + mashed potatoes and cole slaw. Jill, again our supportive veggie friend, ordered the "side sampler" with mashed potatoes, rice and beans, collard greens and cornbread. She was thrilled to be able to cobble together a real meal!
Overall, we were all in agreement that BR was better than The Smokehouse. The sauce was better and the sides were better. Also, they had a "sauce bar" of various bbq sauces and their hottness and some vinegars, pickles etc. I liked that everything came on a cafeteria style plate with divisions. However, I did not like that the cornbread was placed with the meat - meaning that the "au jus" soaked the bottom of my cornbread. I thought it would be awesome but it was not. The greenbeans were good and spicy and the mashed potatoes were yummy as well.
Stevie seemed to enjoy all her meats and also got some crazy pudding that looked amazing. Sadly, she ate it at home so unless she posts a comment on this blog, we won't know how it was.
So that's it for BBQ Tasteoff. Next up... Red Bones in Somverville. Cannot wait for fried pickles!
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1 comment:
nice!! good blogging!!!i'm hungry from reading it which is a good sign. how hard was that???why can't people just write down what they eat? what is wrong with you people?? also, i'm drunk.
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