brisket

Sugarfire Smoke House – St. Louis, MO

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Name: Sugarfire Smoke House
Date: 10/28/14
Address: 9200 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO
Order: Combo plate with pork and brisket, collards and fries (link to menu)
Price: $14

Speedy: I recently found myself in St. Louis for a brief work trip. So of course I reached out to friend of the blog and St. Louis native Johnny of Barbecue Rankings in order to figure out where to go. Johnny rattled off a bunch of places (most notably Bogart’s and Pappy’s), but unfortunately, those are the type of places that sell out before dinner time and were too far away from my client for lunch. The only place on Johnny’s list that was logistically feasible was Sugarfire Smoke House. It wasn’t a place he had been, but was on his list (editor’s note: Johnny has since been as well), so I figured it was worth checking out. So I forced my work team to take a trip with me for a long lunch one day.

Monk: Wow, such power Speedy doth yield…

Speedy: Though St. Louis is known for its ribs, I decided to go with the pork and brisket combo plate, as I felt like that would give me a good feel for the restaurant. I added a sausage link to my meal as well, but wasn’t able to try it, as it ended up having cheese in it (which I do not tolerate).

Monk: I can attest that Speedy does not tolerate cheese. Or any dairy, for that matter.

Speedy: The brisket was solid. I had a nice, fatty slice with decent bark on the outside. It wasn’t too dry, but I wasn’t overwhelmed with the flavor. Rudy always says that a great brisket needs no sauce, but I felt like this did. Sugarfire has quite a selection of sauces, but I stuck with the traditional spicy sauce, which was good.

I felt pretty similarly about the pulled pork. It had a nice bark, but could have used a little more smoke on it. The spicy sauce went well with the pork as well, and, overall, it was enjoyable.

Monk: Though both may have been enjoyable, it seems a little dubious to me that they both required sauce. Not exactly a ringing endorsement…

Speedy: I’m not much into sides, but Sugarfire is actually known for having great sides – particularly the mac & cheese, which I didn’t sample (obviously). For my money, the collards were great. I was surprised to have such goods collards outside the South, so kudos to Sugarfire for that.

I also feel it’s important to note that Sugarfire is famous for its odd barbecue creations. For example, one of my co-workers had chorizo stuffed pork tenderloin with chorizo gravy. It looked amazing, and my co-worker confirmed as much. I think if I ever take a trip back, that’s the route I’ll take. Either way, I do think Sugarfire Smoke House is worth checking out, though there are probably better options in the area.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2.5 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 3 Hogs
Sugarfire Smoke House on Urbanspoon
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Virgie’s BBQ – Houston, TX

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Name: Virgie’s BBQ
Date: 7/17/2014
Address: 5535 North Gessner, Houston, TX 77041
Order: Order of brisket and ribs (link to menu)
Price: $13.15

Rudy: Historically, Houston has not been known for having many places to get great barbecue. There are some recent places that are getting more pub, but for the size of the city, it has been traditionally lacking. The Rudy family was driving through Houston, so I knew I wanted to see if there was any truth to the stereotype. Virgie’s opened in 2005 and has been on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list the last few years, so I figured that would be a great place to try. I was wrong.

Virgie’s is a free-standing building in the middle of an industrial park, so not the best location for atmosphere, but it did draw a decent sized lunch crowd from the local businesses.  Inside, there are bare minimum decorations, but it does have the mom & pop barbecue feel.

I should have known I was in trouble when I walked up to the counter and ordered. I wanted to try a few different meats, so I ordered a half pound of ribs, half pound of brisket, and a sausage link. The man at the counter looked at me like I had two heads. He said he had never heard of anyone ordering by the weight (which is how they do it at every other barbecue restaurant I’ve been to in Texas) and suggested that I order the “order” with ribs and brisket. I took his advice, but had no idea of how much food I was actually getting. I thought it was a bit silly how they had just a generic listing for an “order” of something on the menu.

I tried the ribs first, and they were not very good. They had a hard crust on the top, were not meaty, and were only slightly seasoned (if at all). I was hoping for something more tender and with more meat on the bone. They were ok, but nothing great. Texas Monthly had said that the ribs were the highlight of Virgie’s, so I was pretty disappointed.

The brisket was next, and it was the same as the ribs, just ok. I wanted more flavor, either from seasoning or smoke, than I got. While it was tender, it was pretty bland and unmemorable.

Monk: From what I’ve read, it sounds like you maybe should have tried Killen’s Barbecue in nearby Pearland just north of town, though not sure how far out of the way it would have been for you.

Rudy: Yes, that was my initial thought, and one that I hope to get to soon. It’s getting great reviews and is trying to turn around the Houston barbecue reputation. But I was on a road trip, and it would have taken me about 45 minutes (each way) out of where I was going. There were two others that I thought about, but one had mixed reviews and the other one was known for having long lines, so I opted for Virgie’s.

This was my first attempt at finding barbecue in Houston, and it wasn’t too successful. The food was ok, but nothing to write home about or warrant a return trip. I will say the people at Virgie’s were incredibly nice and the service was great, unfortunately, the meat was not.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 2.5 Hogs
Brisket – 1.5 Hogs
Ribs – 2 Hogs
Overall – 2 Hogs
Virgie's BBQ on Urbanspoon
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Photo Gallery: Checking out Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen with Barbecue Rankings

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Boone showing us around the commissary and Southern Pride smoker
Wood pile
Boone’s sauces
Boone talking about his barbecue in his food truck
Pork, brisket, ribs, wings, brunswick stew
Fine dining background
Johnny (aka Barbecue Rankings) jotting down notes

Monk: A few weeks back, Speedy and I had the pleasure of welcoming Johnny Fugitt (aka Barbecue Rankings) to Charlotte for a behind the scenes look at the current #1 on our Charlotte Big Board, Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen.

We initially reached out to Boone’s via Twitter to see if they would be out on Friday, but instead they graciously invited us to their kitchen (where they do their prep and also where they will soon have a pick-up for to-go ordering) for a private tasting. Both Boone and his business partner Tom were extremely welcoming, kicking off the visit with a bloody mary before taking us to a look at the smoker (a Southern Pride that they feed with hickory and occasionally cherry wood) and ultimately out to the food truck for a tasting. Boone treated us (graciously enough, for the price of on the house) to pork, brisket, ribs, wings, and brunswick stew. You can read my thoughts on the pork and brisket (as well as sausage, which we didn’t have this time) from when I checked out the food truck back in May.

Speedy: It’s been documented that I was a bit skeptical of Monk’s original review – mainly because I had a hard time thinking that Charlotte’s best barbecue came from a food truck. However, seeing Boone’s kitchen, smoker, and truck setup showed me how this could be possible. By the time we got to the food, I was incredibly excited. Boone was nice enough to provide us with a sample of pulled pork, ribs, brisket, wings, and brunswick stew.

The pork is served without sauce. It has a really solid flavor, great bark, and is perfectly tender. I didn’t find it dry per se, but I will admit that I added some eastern style sauce, which added to my enjoyment of the meat.

Monk: One thing I hadn’t expected was that Boone uses a Southern Pride smoker for his meat. While we tend to be purists when it comes to barbecue, if it’s good it’s good. And I don’t know exactly how he does it, but there is some damn fine bark on the barbecue that Boone puts out.

Speedy: The brisket is different than I’ve had most places. It’s sliced fairly thick, finished on the grill and served sauced. We were served meat from the point, so it was very moist and tender. I would be interested in tasting it against the flat, but I overall, I thought it was quite good – certainly worth an order.

Boone serves St. Louis cut spare ribs, which are big and meaty. These ribs are not as tender as baby backs, but I was able to get a good bite and clean the bone fairly easily. I really enjoyed the flavor of the ribs. Smoke taste was apparent and the ribs weren’t too sweet, which I’ve been seeing (err tasting) a lot lately.

Monk: Brunswick stew is the dish that started it all (literally) for Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen and could very well put them on the map. So the story goes (as it was relayed to us by Tom and Boone himself), it was 2 gallons of brunswick stew requested by Tom’s dad that led to requests for more and ultimately led them to start the food truck and kitchen last fall. And damn, if it isn’t some of the best brunswick stew I’ve had in quite some time.

Speedy: The wings are very, very good. They are smoked to the perfect temperature and served in two flavors – chipotle apricot and dry rub. I actually preferred the dry rub wings – though I wouldn’t turn down either under any circumstances.

Monk: Smoked wings can be hit or miss at a barbecue spot, where they have them on the menu as an afterthought, but man these were some seriously good wings.

Speedy: Overall, there wasn’t anything not to like about the food from Boone’s Bar-B-Que Kitchen. The man is well known around Charlotte for helping start up a couple of local joints, and I do feel the need to mention that the food from Boone’s food truck has a lot of similarities to Queen City Q (which had a less than amicable split with Boone a couple years back). That being said, I do think the food truck is better. I haven’t seen anything similar to his brunswick stew anywhere in Charlotte, and it’s clear that Boone puts a lot of himself into his food, which I really do feel that you can taste.

Overall, this was one of the cooler barbecue experiences I’ve had. Boone and Tom couldn’t have been nicer, which was really just icing on the proverbial cake. First and foremost, these guys turn out a great product, so I, for one, will be keeping a lookout for the food truck more frequently.

Monk: Agreed about the passion that Boone and Tom have for their barbecue. You really could hear just how much these guys cared about what they do now, which maybe wasn’t the case in previous lives.

As for Johnny, Speedy had a bolt to get his hair did but I was able to stick around for a few minutes to chat with him before he headed out to Greenville. Really nice guy, and we spent the time talking about our barbecue experience (his a little more extensive than mine, clearly) and traded tips on joints in various cities. I can’t wait to check out his book once it’s published (possibly as early as next May depending on which publishing option he goes with) to read his thoughts, and I have a slight hunch you may see Charlotte represented a time or two in the book.

Thanks for hollering at us, Johnny! Safe travels in your final weeks on the road!

Johnny Fugitt is finishing up his year-long roadtrip on October 21 and you can see his photos and notes from the road in the meantime on his blog, Barbecue Rankings.

Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue – Kansas City, MO

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Name: Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue
Date: 7/26/14
Address: 101 W 22nd St, Kansas City, MO
Order: Burnt ends appetizer, BBQ combo lunch with crown prime beef rib and sliced brisket (link to menu)
Price: ~$30

Speedy: I recently took a trip to visit a college friend in Kansas City, so of course had to check out the barbecue while I was there. We unfortunately had a fairly packed schedule, so waiting in line at Arthur Bryant’s or Oklahoma Joe’s wasn’t in the cards, but fortunately, there’s plenty of ‘cue to choose from in the city. Going in, I had never heard of Jack Stack, but if the smell outside was any indication, I was in for a treat.

Jack Stack isn’t your old school barbecue joint – and by that I mean there’s a hostess and waitresses. It definitely has a more modern feel. There are pros and cons to this – mostly that you can buy beer, but the barbecue generally isn’t quite as good. It’s a tough trade-off to make, but I happily ordered a local brew upon seating.

The menu at Jack Stack is pretty diverse, so I was pretty happy when our group decided to order the burnt end appetizer, meaning I could try something else as my entree. I was surprised to see on the menu that they offered beef, pork, ham, and sausage burnt ends, as I had only heard of beef (which is what we ordered). I’d be curious to know other people’s experiences with non-beef burnt ends.

The burnt ends came and were gone very quickly. They were served with a spicy and non-spicy sauce, but I’m a man so I only had the spicy. It was really, really good. Overall, the burnt ends were pretty good but not the best I’d had, which was a little disappointing. I was hoping to have been blown away. I would like to have had a little more bark to the meat, but overall, it was enjoyable. It’s worth noting that I would be thrilled to have these burnt ends in NC, but I don’t think they are better than what you can get at Midwood Smokehouse.

The brisket came sauced, which my man Rudy says is a bad sign. I don’t think it was used to cover old brisket, because there was a good tug to it – just not quite as much smoke as I’d like. In NC, this brisket would be considered good to very good, but in Texas (and I’m assuming Kansas City), it was just average.

The beef rib, however, was another story. It was fantastic. I flip flopped over ordering it due to the additional $8 cost, but am glad I did. It was amazingly tender, had great flavor, and was by far the highlight of the meal. I thought it came damn close to the best beef rib I’ve ever tasted (at Black’s Barbecue). This is definitely the order if you come to Jack Stack.

I honestly don’t remember anything about the sides, so I’ll leave that as an N/A. If you care, then you’re reading the wrong site.

Monk: So what’s the final verdict? Did you regret not being able to wait in line at one of the more well known joints or were you pleased with this taste of KC barbecue? I also want to point out that this is the first official Barbecue Bros review in Mizzourah.

Speedy: I do. If I get the chance to go back to KC, I definitely want to check out one of the more known places. To me, I feel like if there’s great ‘cue there, the wait would be worth it. Overall, it was a good meal, but I did expect a bit more.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Burnt Ends – 3 hogs
Brisket – 3 hogs
Beef rib – 4.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 Hogs
Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue on Urbanspoon
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