Restaurant Name: Pappy’s Smokehouse
Address: 3106 Olive Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE 

Day #2 of the 2018 Bang Bang BBQ Tour had lunch return me to the champion of the very first BBQ Tour I did back in 2014…Pappy’s Smokehouse! Pappy’s was the baby back rib champion in the 2014 BBQ Tour, let’s see how they’ll stack up for their overall experience.

Located just north of downtown St. Louis and near St. Louis University, Pappy’s Smokehouse has been featured on Food Network and in many BBQ magazines and online articles as one of the best BBQ places in the country. The restaurant sits at a corner and is easily seen from the street. ARRIVE EARLY! A line will form very quickly, but it is worth the wait. We were fortunate to only have about 40 people ahead of us. We reviewed the menu and were thinking of getting a bunch of individual stuff but it was recommended to us to order the “Adam Bomb”. The combo meal included a full rack of baby back ribs, a 1/4 chicken, a pulled pork sandwich, a burnt end sandwich, three ears of deep fried corn on the cob, a side of BBQ baked beans, and a dish called the Frito Pie with hot link sausage. 

The food is served once again on a plastic basket with wax paper. A typical staple for a BBQ joint, but I’d still like something a little classier but I digress again. First look at this meal is yet again “LOOK AT ALL THIS MEAT!”. The ribs and chicken look amazing. You could see moisture and the juiciness of the meats from the very beginning. The deep fried corn on the cob had that charred look and was coated with a nice amount of butter and salt. The Frito Pie with the hot link sausage looked the absolute best. It was a great presentation with the very balanced layers of Frito corn chips, bbq baked beans, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced red onions. This dish had some serious pop and eye appeal and looked absolutely DELICIOUS!

A quick rundown of all this delicious food. The baby back ribs were as I remembered from 5 years ago. Smokey, tender, and tasty. Near perfect competition style tenderness. A very visible smoke ring on the meat. Didn’t really need sauce as it had a thin coating on it already. The two sandwiches (pulled pork & burnt ends) were very well sized. The pulled pork did get a little bit dry but it was most likely due to waiting when to eat it as we had so many decisions and it’s so difficult where to start. The burnt ends were a little larger than expected but super tender and flavorful. The deep fried corn on the cob has a very unique texture. Party crispy yet juicy and buttery and salty all in one bite. The beans were good too. Too small of a sample to really get in depth with it though. 

The Frito Pie with the Hot Link Sausage is gonna get its own paragraph. This dish was the highlight of the meal. It was just awesome. BBQ, salty, sweet, tangy, and a super wide array of flavors in every bite. I think the red onion was a super smart choice as it added some sweetness to the dish and some really eye catching color to the plate.

Once again the plastic basket and wax paper presentation was tough to see but was easily overlooked as the food was awesome. I would’ve liked to have seen the buns for the sandwiches have a little bit of toasting to them as they got a little soggy. The pulled pork was surprisingly a little dry so it needed some sauce.

SUMMARY

Overall, Pappy’s Smokehouse exceeded my last visit and will continue to be a staple place to eat at everytime I’m in St. Louis or when friends ask me where to go in St. Louis to get good BBQ. For only being in business 10 years they’ve grown into a local staple with national notoriety. 

Restaurant Name: Bogart’s Smokehouse
Address: 1627 S. 9th Street, St. Louis, MO 63104
FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE 

The first dinner of the 2018 Bang Bang BBQ Tour took me to the south side of St. Louis, MO which appears to have gone through some recent renovations and looks to be turning the neighborhood around. Reminds of the recent redevelopments of Fountain Square and Irvington districts in Indianapolis. Bogart’s Smokehouse is a fairly new place but has become a staple of solid BBQ in St. Louis.

Located in the subdistrict of Soulard in St. Louis, Bogart’s Smokehouse is the real deal when it comes to BBQ. Taking up a corner lot in the heart of the district with a bright yellow and white painted trims on the exterior you can’t miss this place. Inside you see a lot of decorations of the city of St. Louis and a lot of history of the city which was really cool. Props to the manager when we visited as he took us to the back of the restaurant to see the cookers: Southern Pride BBQ Cookers. Great pits. Propane heat but still wood smoke capable.

The food is served in plastic basket with wax paper again. A typical staple for a BBQ joint, but I’d still like something a little classier but regardless. First look at my plate and my first thought is “that’s a lot of meat!”. A good thought to have when eating BBQ and looking down at a plate. As I investigated a little bit more I was pleasantly surprised with the beef brisket. If you can’t tell from the pictures above, the brisket was cut pretty thin which is usually a trade secret that the brisket was undercooked. The brisket slices were actually very tasty and flavorful. I didn’t really need any sauce on the brisket slices as the beef and salt and pepper spoke for itself with a good complimentary amount of smoke. The smoke wasn’t as visible as I’d like to see on  brisket but it was able to be tasted. The tri-tip was also thinly sliced but did need some sauce to really enjoy it. The ribs were pretty tasty as well. A little too tender for my liking as they were near fall off the bone. Very balanced flavors typical for the STL area. Nicely noticeable smoke ring on the meat once I bit into the rib.

The beans at Bogart’s are AMAZING! Probably some of the best smoked beans I’ve ever had. Little bits of BBQ in it and a good balanced amount of brown sugar and other spices brings the baked beans to a smokey and sweet and traditional balanced flavor. The potato salad was good, but I would’ve liked to have had more eggs in it. The pork skins were flavorful too. 

Besides the plastic basket and wax paper presentation, only a few things could’ve made this dish over the top. The pork cheeks could’ve been served warm. They appear to have come from a bag but I’m assuming they fried them in house. The tri-tip and brisket slices were too thin in my opinion but they made up for it with good flavor. I would’ve liked to have seen more evidence of smoke on the meat too. A little bit more egg in the deviled egg potato salad was expected but not met. Still tasted good though. I would’ve liked to have seen some desserts too.

SUMMARY

Overall, Bogart’s Smokehouse was a great visit. Small, homey, and a part of the neighborhood community BBQ joint to the T! Delicious food and a good array of meats and tasty side dishes. Definitely worth a visit again! 

Restaurant Name: Witt’s Smokehouse
Address: 10325 East IL 33, Effingham, IL 
FACEBOOK / WEBSITE 

The annual BBQ tour took a bit of a twist into a Bang Bang BBQ Tour. In years past I’ve done regions of the country and have done a specific meat at each place. Twisting things up, I’m doing a city specific place and judging “best of show”. Taking into account the ambiance of the restaurant, the appearance of the food when it gets delivered, and the overall taste profile which will be a combination of smoke, tenderness, and overall flavors. The destination this year is the greater St. Louis, MO area. 

Our lunch destination took us to central Illinois and this wood cabin looking place, Witt’s Smokehouse. Tucked about 2 miles off of the interstate in Effingham, IL, Witt’s Smokehouse has a great look of it going with the log cabin atmosphere. The interior of the restaurant has some galvanized metal look along with the rustic of a log cabin so it’s pretty cool.

For my lunch I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with a side of mac n cheese. The food comes out in a plastic basket on some wax paper so pretty standard for a BBQ joint. The pulled pork sandwich has a good amount of meat on it. The meat is sauced which is a little bit of a turnoff for me but not a deal breaker typically. The basket does look a little “empty” when you get it. The pickle is a nice garnish and provides a color contrast to the basket. The sandwich bun was on top of the meat so it was a tannish bun color and the yellow of mac n cheese when you first look at the plate looks bland at first glance. 

The food itself was pretty good. The pulled pork sandwich had a really balanced flavor. I did have to add some sauce but mostly to try the array of sauces Witt’s has available. Side plug for the garlic BBQ sauce…very tasty and a noticeable garlic flavor…almost too much but I enjoy that flavor with BBQ. Very good move on the cooks to toast the buns as sauced pulled pork can tend to soak into a sandwich bun and make the bun really soggy but the toasting of the bun put a nice crust so it held up really well. The mac n cheese was probably one of the creamiest I’ve ever had. Noodles were cooked really well. My friends that joined me on this trip got sides of baked beans and they were OK. A little too sweet for my taste. 

Negatives wise, I’m not a big fan of sauced pulled pork as it can be used to mask stuff. I was a little disappointed in the lack of smokiness in the pulled pork. With it being sauced it made it very difficult to see any smoke ring and it was difficult to taste any smoke in the pulled pork. Some garnish like green onion or bacon bits to the mac n cheese would’ve been a nice eye appeal and provide some additional pop to the plate. 

SUMMARY

Overall, Witt’s Smokehouse set the bar for the 2018 Bang Bang BBQ Tour. Good flavors and some culinary skills were on display. May try to request the pulled pork not be sauced but I think that’s how they cook it. The brisket that one of my friends ordered looked really good and near burnt end style. 

It’s the start of a new year and one thing I’ve done the past 7 or 8 years with some friends is spend 21 days in January and do a fast of some sort. In the past I’ve fasted from social media, sports radio, secular music, soda, and other things. This year the challenge posed from some friends was that I should do a fast from meat. After praying, thinking, and trying to talk myself out of it I knew it would be a good challenge so I decided to take it on. 

Now, before I get too deep into this post about my 21 day experience, if anyone reading this is unsure about fasting or doesn’t really know a lot about it let me give you a quick rundown about it. Fasting is a spiritual discipline where you simply sacrifice something that you usually do everyday and you replace the time you would be doing that thing and spend some time with God reading the Bible, in prayer, worship, or a myriad of other spiritual disciplines. Fasting is NOT about losing weight and it’s NOT about becoming a “better” Christian than others. It’s about developing self-control and discipline.

So what was my journey like? What does a meat prepper, cooker, and eater like myself do when I withhold the amazing texture, flavor, taste of meat from myself? Well, I did eat a lot more pasta and I ate a lot of breakfast foods. I had some salads. Some veggie pizzas. More chocolate and sweets.

Veggie Pizza from Blaze Pizza

Lentil Soup from IKEA

Veggie Meatballs, Rice, Quinoa, veggies, & curry at IKEA

Fried eggs and veggies

All you can eat pancakes from IHOP

Spinach artichoke dip from Moontown Brewery

Over easy eggs and hashbrowns

Mushroom & Swiss no burger at Whiskey Business

Tower of Onion Rings from Whiskey Business

Hashbrowns, over easy eggs, toast, yogurt & granola from Metro Diner

It was a really fun fast. It forced me to get creative with what I eat when I eat at home. It made me learn some new things about restaurants and making sure there was something that I could eat. I have a new and improved appreciation for spices and sauces…especially Sriracha sauce! Been a life saver for eggs and breakfast quesadillas as they all start to taste the same after a few days. 

In the times of prayer and worship and other spiritual disciplines I was able to hammer down some new goals for this year, reflect on the great year that 2017 was, and discover some new songs for praise & worship. In my years of being a Christian, following Jesus, applying principles from the Bible like pray and obey, I’ve found a great truth to be true throughout it all…GOD IS FAITHFUL! Through all the times of my life…the good times and the bad times, God has always been there for me, He’s surrounded me with awesome people, and never allowed fear to overtake me. 

Restaurant Name: Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q
Address: 2831 Greystone Commercial Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35242
Social Media: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

2 Meat Plate – January 6, 2018

The first blog post from my 10-day Christmas & New Years vacation that took place Christmas Eve 2017 and ended January 2, 2018. This years vacation I visited my aunt, cousin, and grandma in Florida for four days and then ventured back to my 2nd home of  Birmingham, Alabama to see friends there for five day.

I first lived in Birmingham back in 2005 and a portion of 2006 and it was such a life-changing experience that it always holds a special place for me. There’s always friends there to see and it’s super easy to relax and of course when in the south, there’s always going to be good food!

Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ is probably my favorite place in Birmingham to eat. It was one of the first places that I ate out at when I moved there the first time in 2005 and I’m always excited to return here every time I go back to Birmingham to visit.

When the plate comes to the table it looks very busy and looks like there’s a lot going on. It does that because this is A LOT of food! Easily a 1/3 LB of pulled pork, three pork sausage hot links, a side of mac n cheese, and a side of greens. The main thing that jumped out to me was the sausage hot links. That deep red color catches the eye so quickly. The pickle garnish on the pulled pork and the sausage is nice as well.

Flavor wise…this dish didn’t disappoint. I’ll start with my favorite dish on here…the hot link sausage. Flavorful, smokey, and a good crunch to the casing. Not a ton of visible seasoning in the sausage compared to other smoked sausage I’ve had, but it doesn’t hold back on flavor.

The pulled pork had a really solid smoke flavor to it. You could see the smoke ring “pink” color and taste it. It was moist and appealing to the eye. The pickles and the house BBQ sauce made for a very tangy, sweet, and smokey flavor experience in every bite.

When it comes to the side dishes…mac n cheese is a traditional BBQ side dish and greens is as well, but usually only down in the south. The sides tasted good and complimented the meats very well. Whether it be the saltiness of the greens or the creaminess of the mac n cheese, it was a great compliment to the BBQ. The greens had some pulled pork mixed in it for some additional flavor and the mac n cheese had some cheddar cheese sprinkled on top and melted for a nice contrasting color.

If I had to find a negative about this dish…I’d have to say the pulled pork was almost too moist. There was a good amount of juices in every bite which I guess you want, but it seemed like each bite would almost drip some juices. The mac n cheese could have used a contrasting texture of some sort like some bread crumbs or something else in the mac n cheese. Some grill and char marks on the hot links would’ve been nice to see as well.

SUMMARY

Overall, Jim ‘N Nick’s BBQ is a joint that will deliver quality and true BBQ that is full of flavor. When in Birmingham it is a MUST visit! Oh yeah…I forgot to mention they have some absolutely killer CHEDDAR BISCUITS!