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Full Service BBQ – Knoxville, TN

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Name: Full Service BBQ
Date: 10/20/16
Address: 104 Cedar Ln, Knoxville, TN 37912
Order: Big Boy Box (pork, brisket, ribs, sausage, chicken) with fries and beans (link to menu)
Price: $18

Monk: On this year’s annual guys trip, Speedy and I (no Rudy this year, unfort) and the crew coming up from Atlanta were passing through Knoxville around lunchtime, so I solicited the advice from Grant of Marie, Let’s Eat!, the perfect man to ask for barbecue recommendations around the southeast (seriously, he knows his stuff). His first choice, Sweet P’s Barbeque and Soul House, was too far south and out of the way, so we went with his #2 in Full Service BBQ with their Knoxville location being perfect for us just off I-75 on our way to Lexington for a weekend of the bourbon trail and horse racing.

Speedy: And let me tell you – if we didn’t know we were in Tennessee before we got to Full Service, we sure as heck knew it when we got there. There’s no inside seating at Full Service – just places to park your car, picnic tables (complete with napkin logs), and a walk up order window. I thought I was in heaven. That is until I found out that we had just missed smoked wing day (Wednesdays) and were a little too early for burnt end day (Fridays). So while that was a bummer, I was still pumped to try the aptly named Big Boy Box, which I split with Monk, since we’re only medium sized.

Monk: You know I always like a good napkin log. Instead of going meat by meat and offering up our critique, let’s focus on the best meat at Full Service. That ok with you, Speedy?

Speedy: I like it when you spice up our relationship, Monk. So the best meat at Full Service is the brisket.

Monk: By a country mile.

Speedy: By a Tennessee mile. Or maybe a Texas mile is more appropriate. We didn’t get offered a choice of fatty or lean briskets, but what we got seemed like the flat, or lean side. Even so, it was moist, flavorful, and cooked nearly perfectly. It had the tug that you want, the peppery bark, and the juices flowing throughout. All in all, a great brisket, especially from outside of Rudy’s hood.

Monk: It was pretty clear to us from speaking with the person who took our order that the brisket is what they take the most pride in at Full Service. Maybe “after thought” is too harsh for the other meats, but in descending order they ranked ribs, chicken, pork, sausage. And all far, far below the brisket. As for the sides, the fries were fresh with a nice seasoning salt and the beans were solid.

Speedy: Totally agree. I actually thought the sausage and pork weren’t even passable. Had we only tried those two meats, this would rank as one of the lowest we’ve reviewed. But you know what they say, Monk – it only takes one good meat to make a good barbecue restaurant.

Monk: Who says that, exactly?

Speedy: We do, Monk. We do.

Monk: Fair point…Speedy recalled that Full Service BBQ had been mentioned in Johnny Fugitt’s book The 100 Best Barbecue Restaurants in America, listed as part of the other 75 (though he, like Grant, went to the Maryville location). And when I went back to the book, I realized that the brisket was #3 on his list of “10 Best Briskets Outside of Texas (better than 99% in Texas)” (FYI Midwood Smokehouse which was #6 on the list). That might be a bit high for me, but it was a good brisket nonetheless.

Speedy: Overall, I would go back to Full Service BBQ for one reason and one reason only: brisket. And to try the burnt ends. So, maybe two reasons. But I’d recommend that anyone get the chance head through to try that beef.

(For another review, check out Marie, Let’s Eat!)

Ratings: 
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 2 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Sausage – 1 hog
Ribs – 2.5 hogs
Chicken – 2.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 3.5 hogs
Full Service BBQ Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
Full Service BBQ

Linkdown: 1/13/16

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– Now open as of this past Monday:

– Some jerk stole Ashley Christensen’s smoker (a  gift from  Nick Pihakis) and here’s how to spot it if you happen to come across one similar

This one has bright red, heavy steel latches on the front that my uncle Marty fabricated and installed after the cooker arrived and we discovered that the existing latches were a little light duty for the hard-core nature of the cooker.

It has a large handle on one side that allows a single person to flip a 200-pound pig (which comes in handy in the middle of the night when all of your whiskey-drinking “assisting” pals have passed out in lawn chairs by the fire barrel). It also has a wood compartment on the trailer, sick-shiny chrome rims, and three chimneys.

– Marie, Let’s Eat! visits Peak Brothers Bar-B-Q in Waverly, KY and has his favorite meal of his Kentucky trip

– In praise of barbecue chicken, the so-called “second fiddle of the barbecue world”, by Robert Moss

– The Panthers are selling a 15-1 burger topped with 15 oz of pulled pork for $15.01 at this weekend’s game (h/t)

– You can earn $1000 and help Home Team BBQ of Charleston by finding and turning in a missing notebook with key information on their upcoming location

Bitterroot BBQ – Seattle, WA

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Name: Bitterroot BBQ
Date: 8/21/15
Address: 5239 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
Order: The Cowboy Killer platter with pork, brisket, chicken, baby back ribs, 2 links of sausage, couple of beers, flight of whiskey (link to menu)
Price: $125

Monk: So for the first time in over a year, all three bros were reunited. Last July, we gathered at Lexington Barbecue (our collective favorite joint) and gave it a 5 hog review. This time around we were all in Seattle for our high school friend Boomsauce’s bachelor party, dubbed the #legionofboomsauce. And, spoiler alert, the barbecue was not anywhere near as good. Not even close.

Speedy: Yeah – I guess I wasn’t expecting much from ‘cue in Seattle, but with all three bros together, we had to at least give it a shot.

Rudy: I was a bit apprehensive, however it seems as though there has been a big migration of good barbecue places across the country recently. Good barbecue is not just reserved for the traditional locations, which gave me some hope.

Speedy: Walking in, I was a bit encouraged. The smoker was a big gasser inside the restaurant, but there was a fair amount of wood lying around (and one guy working stated they went through quite a bit of wood daily) so I was hoping for some nice smoky flavor. I also was glad to see a large combo meal on the menu, especially one with a name like the “Cowboy Killer.” And we ended up spending a little more because we were not allowed to sub out the chicken for sausage, so our solution was to add on two links.  

Monk: The other great thing about the “Cowboy Killer” platter was that it got the song “Psycho Killer” stuck in Speedy’s head for the rest of the afternoon. On to the meat…the pork was unanimously decided to be the worst of the meats we tried at Bitterroot. Zero smoke and no flavor. I’m wasting no more words on it.

Rudy: I agree about the pork. I was really craving some good pulled pork, so to say I was let down is an understatement. I’ve had crockpot-cooked pulled pork that was 10 times better and more flavorful than what they served.

Upon first sight I had reservations about the brisket. The biggest red flag for me was that there was NO smoke ring.  If they have a smoker and go through all that wood each day, as they stated, they would at least stumble onto a smoke ring. The pieces that I had were slightly dry, however they did have a decent bark and most importantly it was really well seasoned, giving the meat a good flavor. It may not have looked the part, but it tasted close to the part. It was the best of the meats, but it also wasn’t having to clear a high hurdle with that.

Speedy: The ribs were better than the pork, but a step down from the brisket. They were cooked decently, but I couldn’t taste a rub at all, so I was left wanting more flavor. I understand the idea of letting the meat do the talking, but sometimes you need some salt and pepper to give the meat a bigger voice. Overall the ribs are a pass.

Rudy: We ordered the sausage separately because there were no substitutions.  It was basically alright. I thought it was a bit dry and crumbly. I prefer sausage where the casing has a snap to it, which this one didn’t have. It was also a little bit spicy for my taste. I like spice, but I thought it the sausage was too overpowering and distracted from any flavor that it might have had otherwise. They could have taken some of the seasoning from the sausage and added it to other meats and improved them all. Speaking of which…

Monk: I’m not the biggest fan of chicken at a barbecue joint, but I think I tolerate it more than these other guys. Also, there were no substitutions for the cowboy killer. I found the chicken to be tender and juicy but – stop me if we’re starting to sound like a broken record – there just was no seasoning and I found the meat to be bland.

Rudy: Bitterroot offered several traditional and nontraditional sides.  We tried the greens, cauliflower, cornbread, and hushpuppies. The greens and hushpuppies were pretty good and the cornbread wasn’t bad. The cauliflower wasn’t anything to write home about.  I liked the selection but everything was just ok to a little above average.

Speedy: By far the best thing about Bitterroot was the Whiskey menu. They had an EXCELLENT selection, including some very hard to find stuff, at very reasonable prices. We took part in a flight from High West (one of my favs), but I would’ve liked to have gone back to sample some more. And the beer list was not shabby either. It was also nice that they were able to seat our group of ten easily.

Monk: Beyond the whiskey and beer selection, that huge farmhouse table that sat our party of 10 was another highlight of the meal. Notice what we are highlighting here…nothing about any of the meats or actual food.

Rudy: I think the biggest indictment of the barbecue at Bitterroot BBQ was that we had plans of trying another Seattle barbecue place the next day, and based on what was claimed to be good Seattle barbecue, we changed our plans and ate at a French restaurant instead.  That’s when you know the terrorists have won.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 0 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Ribs – 2 hogs
Sausage – 2 hogs
Chicken – 1.5 hogs
Sides – 2 hogs
Overall – 2 hogs
Bitterroot BBQ Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que (food truck) – Charlotte, NC

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Name: Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que (food truck)
Date: 6/18/15
Order: Smoked chicken platter with slaw, mac and cheese, and a drink (link to menu)
Price: $12.98

We’re clearly on the record of being anti just about any barbecue sauce other than our beloved Lexington-style vinegar sauce (or dip, as we prefer to call it). Thick ketchup-y sauce? Nope. Mustard? Definitely not. A mayo-based white sauce? We (mostly Speedy) don’t prefer a mayo-based slaw and definitely don’t want that stuff anywhere near our pork. The thing is, a white sauce isn’t meant for pork – its really meant for chicken. And at some point I knew I had yet to try it during my barbecue travels. Though the prospects of my first chicken and white sauce coming from a food truck on a 99 degree day could have disastrous results, I figured I’d go for it.

I tried Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que’s Matthews location solo a little over two years ago within a few weeks of it opening and had recently been thinking it would be worth a revisit as it’s not too far from the new casa de Monk. Their food truck in Charlotte began operating just about a month ago and had started making its rounds at the food truck rodeos and local breweries. It operates a limited menu of pork, turkey, and chicken with a handful of sides.

Back to the chicken and white sauce. I had my reservations but they were pretty much erased once I bit into the coarsely pulled chunks of smoked chicken. The white sauce complimented the chicken really well. My one complaint was that I would have liked it to be pulled into smaller chunks. I’m not about to turn my back on my beloved chopped pork, but for a change of pace more of this could be nice.

In terms of sides, the vinaigrette slaw and mac and cheese were just fine. Collards, beans, black-eyed peas, fried green tomatoes, chips, and banana pudding round out the rest of the available sides. More southern than barbecue, but that’s in line with their slogan of “southern soul food revival.”

The Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que food truck has quick service, puts out a solid product, and is worth checking out if you see them around town.

Update: Editor’s note (full disclose – Speedy is acting as editor): This review is the opinion of Monk and Monk only and does not represent the view of the entirety of the Barbecue Bros. At least one of the bros barely even considers chicken barbecue and would never, ever use a mayo based white sauce under any circumstances.

–Monk

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – N/A
Chicken – 3 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

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