Pappy's Smokehouse - St. Louis, August 2009

Happy Pappy  Pappy's only opened in February of '08, but it's most definetely an old school bbq joint. They do it right at Pappy's - low 'n slow over real wood and smoke.  Their Memphis style cooking is great.  We enjoyed ribs, pulled pork and brisket.  We had to wolf it all down in time to make the Cards afternoon game.  Eating it fast was easy.  I almost forgot to chew as I devoured all the tender meats.  Pappy's sweet sauce is great and I'm not surprised Pappy's had been voted best bbq in St. Louis only a few months after the doors first opened.  Prepare for lineups and prepare to change your typical order; they run out of menu items on busy days.  That's because it's all cooked slowly - the way real bbq should be.
http://www.pappyssmokehouse.com/

Smoque - Chicago - July 2009

Shoulder Dropping

Smoque is awesome. Another Diners, Drive-ins and Dives experience. Owner, Barry Sorkin, (see pic, bottom right) knows his bbq. He travelled throughout the U.S., (mainly Austin, Kansas City, Memphis, North Carolina) to discover tastes and techniques he could use to make real legit bbq in Chicago. He has succeeded. We got the baby backs, though I'd also try the St. Louis ribs next time, pulled pork, brisket, beans and slaw. His ribs had a visible smoke ring (something to photo next time) and were tender with bite that ribs should have - not that fall off the bone stuff. Everything else was also stellar. The brikset was pure heaven - see the pic with slaw and beans. He serves his ribs with sauce on the side - both were great and I drank the Carolina style sauce straight out of the cup. Even the mac n' cheese was incredible. With the DDD episode airing regularly (and it's available on Youtube), Smoque is very popular - and worth the wait. I have to thank Barry for giving us complimentary sodas while we waited outside - the kids and I found the wait much easier once our thirsts were quenched. The boys devoured their food and I finished what few leftovers we had for breakfast the next day. This is what I call "shoulder dropping" food because the delicious flavours release all the tension in your body - from your shoulders on down. If you're anywhere near Chicago - ever- you gotta go to Smoque.

DDD clip: www.smoquebbq.com/press.html

Website: http://www.smoquebbq.com/

Tom Jenkins' Bar-B-Q - Ft. Lauderdale - March 2009

BBQ by the Beach If I don't see a stack of wood in the parking lot of a bbq joint I turn around and eat somewhere else. Here I could see the smoke before I even saw the restaurant. The big pit is quite impressive and you can see they subscribe to the 'low 'n slow' school of bbq. The ribs were great. The collard greens were the best we've ever had - better than the collards at Melba's in Harlem. Tom puts tamarind in his sauce - very original - and his sauce is sweet and a bit thin and delicious. We bought two bottles to bring back home. Lots of chain restaurants all over Ft. Lauderdale and this place sits among them - and above them.

http://www.tomjenkinsbbq.com/