Boogie's BBQ

BBQ 117 – Boogie’s BBQ
Nürnberg, Germany

Boogie’s BBQ in Nürnberg is the only show in town. Not only in Nürnberg, but it literally is the only real show in the whole country. When I moved back from Alabama, I scoured the internet to find some, no, rather any, BBQ joints in my vicinity. The closest one I could detect is this one, which is about 200 miles away – and that makes a plate of pulled pork now and then a somewhat time consuming and expensive affair. I only have time to go there once or twice a year. So, I am living in BBQ diaspora now. Boohoo, cry me a river.

Although, the real problem here is not so much the distance that makes satisfying my instant cravings so damn near impossible, at least on a regular basis. No, the real problem is that Boogie’s BBQ ranks among the best I ever had – right there with my favorite joints in Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. Those guys in Nürnberg know how to smoke a hog. No wonder, the founder and owner of this place comes from Memphis and he brought all the knowledge with him to Germany. The pulled pork is tender, juicy and has an exquisite smoke flavor. The burnt ends are marvelous as well, and the brisket is just heavenly. They serve the meat with a quite solid bun of bread, not the American style soft variety. And that is a good thing, because with the solid bun you can put more sauce on it, without having to deal with a disintegrating, sloppy mess after five seconds. And sauce you will put on – they have four flavors, one hot, one fruity, one smoky, and one vinegar based. I always mix the hot one with the fruity one, but the other two are also very good. Of course, you don’t need to eat the bun at all and just devour the meat. But quite frankly, I prefer to soak the bun with the sauces, put the meat on it and eat like a pig, including the stains on my shirt and in my beard.

They serve the usual fixins as sides, and the potato salad is just great, and all other sides are good to very good. Meals are not really cheap compared to some BBQ restaurants in the States, because it is a novelty restaurant here in Germany, but I think the items are quite fairly priced for the quality and quantity you get.

Two more bonus points for this place are the very friendly and cheerful staff, and the basic layout of the restaurant. It has all kinds of US memorabilia on the walls, the tables have red and white checkered cloths, the background music is a mix of classic soul and blues songs, and you can even purchase T-shirts with their logo on them. If that place was suddenly beamed away to the BBQ in the southern US, it would fit right in.

So, for me it always is kind of a pilgrimage when I go to Boogie’s BBQ. I just hope and pray that it keeps on serving us poor sinners for a long time to come. 

O Taste & See BBQ

Quest Log No 64 – O Taste and See BBQ
Madison, Madison County

To name a mobile BBQ stand after a Bible verse (Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the LORD is good”) is probably one of those things you have to expect here in the Bible belt. But that kind of commits you to serve a most righteous BBQ, too. Well, their motto “Experience Real Smoke Taste” is certainly a step in the right direction. Actually, if they would add the word “Strong” after “Real”, that statement would be the absolute truth. I never had any BBQ were there was such an intense and prominent smoke flavor in the meat. Not that this is a bad thing, not at all. But it makes you think – either the guys have found the holy grail of BBQ and developed a smoking process that is much superior over everything else, or … well, they found other means to infuse their meat with that kind of overwhelming smoke aroma. The pulled pork I had also tasted as if mixed with some BBQ sauce. All in all very flavorful, and very, very smoky. The meat was succulent, although with some big blotches of fat in it. But those were easy to spot and I could remove them right away. The pork plate I had came with two sauces, a mild one and a spicy one that was more like a more sour version of the former, instead of real hot. The thick red mild sauce was a very nicely balanced sweet’n’sour affair with a nice round aroma, and it was so good that I scooped the rest up with the slice of toast that came with the meal.

Also, the potato salad and the cole slaw I choose as the two sides were top notch. The potato salad had a very nice mustardy tang to it, and the slaw came with sour crème dressing and with just the right amount of vinegar and salt and pepper so that the cabbage aroma was still noticeable. The whole meal, with a can of soda, was not really cheap – I paid about eleven bucks for it. And although the portion size was not that big, the quality of the food kind of justified the price. My wife had the brisket plate with BBQ beans and green beans, and she had quite the same experience – the brisket had a lot of fat on it on the outside, which was easily removed, the taste of the meat was very smoky and very flavorful, it was succulent, and the sides were top notch.

The stand is really mobile, setting up at the East Madison Shopping Center on Hughes Road from Tuesday through Thursday, at Jordan Lane in front of Trees n Trends on Friday, and at the Corner of Winchester Road & Naugher in the Sunoco Parking Lot on Saturdays. That is certainly a lot of work for the really nice folks who own this business, and I hope they can establish a good customer base and make a good living with that nomadic life style. But they seem to love what they are doing, and it shows in their quality food. It is righteous BBQ, after all.

Arby's

Non-Quest BBQ No 41 – Arby's

Madison, Alabama

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

So, once in a while one or another of the national fast food chains decides to spice up their menu with a BBQ-themed item. It should go without saying that those ventures cannot be compared to our local BBQ – they are worlds, no, strike that, they are universes apart. But as an alternative to the regular menu items, it might just work.

Next in line is Arby’s, your friendly neighborhood slicer of luncheon meats. They claim that the brisket they serve now on their new Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich has been smoked for thirteen hours. Sounds good at first, but what does that really mean? That their marketing department knows how to play the numbers game? That they have a portable smoker attached to each store now? That they read a book or two about BBQ? That they are really trying their best to bring us authentic brisket?

Well, let’s give them a few breaks. First, it goes without saying that smoking the brisket each day in every store appears to be very impractical. So they smoke it elsewhere, pack it in cellophane, truck it around, and cut it fresh at the stores. I have no reason to doubt their claim smoking it for thirteen hours. But that in itself does not say anything about its tenderness and flavor. It only tells you that their marketing department indeed read a book or two about BBQ, especially the chapters about how much time it generally takes to prepare the meat for consumption. Bravo. You get an A for reading skills, now sit down and listen to the verdict about tenderness and flavor.

Since the brisket meat is not really sliced, but rather shaved, it comes with a kind of default tenderness, for it is very tough to really chew hard on paper thin meat. As for the flavor, I have to say that there was something that resembled smoke aroma, but just for a brief moment. It was immediately overwhelmed by the extreme saltiness of the meat. As I write this, about eight hours after eating the sandwich, I still have heartburn. The sandwich comes with fried and battered onion rings, liquid Gouda cheese, mayonnaise, and Arby’s own BBQ sauce. Of the 610 calories that monster tries to stack directly on your hips, a whopping 320 are from fat. 1230 mg of Sodium more than explain the salty taste, I think. And there are more ingredients that read like an advertising brochure for a cardiologist. So, from a nutritional standpoint, you better stay away from this conglomerate of irresponsibility. But does it at least taste good, so you could order it as your last meal on death row, if you ever came into this conundrum?

Don’t bother, die hungry instead. There is no discernible influence the smoked brisket has on the taste of the sandwich. The prevailing aroma is that of cheese and BBq sauce. And salt. I need a Pepto. Now.

Hazel Green Bar-B-Q

Quest Log No 59 – Hazel Green Bar-B-Q
Hazel Green, Madison County

Although BBQ is a serious affair here in the south, usually there is also some mild eccentricity involved. Typically, the quirkiness revolves around pigs, with all kinds of statues, posters, photos, metal and neon signs displayed in the restaurant.

But if there is a ten foot long smoker in the backyard that has pig’s ears, nose and eyes out of metal attached to it - that is the definition of eccentric quirkiness.

And that is what I found outside of the Hazel Green Bar-B-Q. It actually fits very well the rustic atmosphere of the restaurant, which is built in a kind of pseudo-log cabin style. Inside, there is a big room with only four tables with two chairs each, which are metal patio furniture out of the home improvement store. The window we were sitting at had just a fly-net and no glass in it, the ceiling was covered with old tin plates, and the floor looked like the victory circle of a NASCAR speedway, with black stains all over it. Most of the business, from Friday to Sunday only, is done as carry-out, so I guess there is no need for more places to sit down, or better furniture, or a non-stained floor. So, it is very rustic, but also very clean.

As usual, I had the pork plate with three sides, potato salad, baked beans, and slaw, and my wife had the brisket with baked beans and slaw. The plates come with a slice of white untoasted toast bread, and we both had sweet tea, which comes in 16oz plastic bottles from Milos. For all that, we only paid about twenty bucks, which is a very fair deal in regards of the amount of food you get.

The quality, however, was no reason for jubilation.

They claim that all sides are home made, and I truly believe that. But that in itself is no guarantee that the taste is something special. In this case, the potato salad and the baked beans were rather pedestrian, taste-wise. Not bad, don’t get me wrong, but if it says “homemade” my expectations are a bit more demanding. The slaw, on the other hand, was kind of sweet, but with a spicy note in it. Very interesting, very tasty.

The pork was a bit oily, and had some fat in it, but it was very tender and had a deliciously smoky aroma. While one sauce comes with the plate, I allowed myself the luxury to add a second kind of sauce for a small amount of money. I chose the mustard based Sweet’n’Spicy and the tomato based Kansas City BBQ Sweet. They also have a white sauce and a vinegar based Hot and Spicy sauce.

I must admit that I have a soft spot for mustard based sauces. Mustard and pig just naturally belongs together in my culinary world, and while this variety here was not bad at all, the mustard aroma was too strong for my taste. Give the sauce a hint of mustard, make it the key note in the aroma, but don’t let it take over the show. It was just too much, almost like pure mustard. And the Kansas City style sauce was just boring, a concoction with no outstanding features besides its sweetness.

My wife’s brisket also had a very nice smoke flavor and was very tender, too. But about half of it was pure fat, and while fat certainly is a carrier of flavor, it is also not very healthy and too much of it should be avoided. She had the white sauce with it, which we will deny vehemently if the BBQ police ever get wind of this sacrilege. The sauce is a thin mayonnaise and vinegar based concoction with, again, no outstanding features.

In summation, I liked the rustic but very clean environment, and also the price was very good. The food had some highlights in the slaw and the flavor of the meat, but also had too much fat in it, and the other sides and the sauces could use some re-work. No bad BBQ here, but also certainly not one of my go-to places.

Little Paul's Gibson Barbecue

Quest Log No 34 – Little Paul’s Gibson Barbecue
Huntsville, Madison County

There are some strange places where you can set up shop for a BBQ restaurant. A former jail might qualify as mildly funny, some old barn on a country road in the middle of nowhere would probably not raise even one eyebrow, and an airport concourse could even be seen as innovative.

But across the street from a hospital emergency bay? That has to be the most morbid place ever. Imagine, sitting there, munching on your pork sandwich while a steady stream of ambulances, with lights flashing and all, disappear into the big grey building on the other side. And then, imagine the BBQ place crowded with hospital people in their green uniforms, some even still with those paper hair caps and masks on. Scrubs meets pulled pork.

Of course, on the other hand it is a very clever move to have a BBQ place at such a place - who needs soul food more than nurses, doctors, surgeons, and relatives of the patients? My guess is that Little Paul’s Gibson Barbecue in Huntsville, across the street from Huntsville Hospital’s emergency bay, is a gold mine.

And the equally clever move to incorporate “Gibson” into the name of the restaurant will not hurt business either. After all, everybody knows about the Gibsons here in the Tennessee Valley – they are for BBQ what the Kardashians are for the reality show industry.

Well, if I wanted to be cynical, it would be easy to say that this place combines a live reality show with a unique dining experience – like a TV diner, but only real and with better food.

But since I am not cynical, only sarcastic at times, this is not how I would describe the place. Actually, the interior is quite nice; it has a certain 1950s charm with tables covered with black-and-white checkered cloths, shelves full of quirky BBQ and food related stuff, fans on the ceiling and a tiny cross above the counter.

At this counter, you order from the quite extensive menu, pay and receive a sign with a number on it. Not that the place is actually so big that the servers would be lost without this numbering system for the orders. It has seating for about thirty customers, but I guess when it is really hectic during the lunch break of the emergency room people, it can help.

The food is then brought to your table – in our case, we only had to wait a couple of minutes, but we were there after the typical lunch time.

As usual, I had a (large) pork plate with potato salad and (vinegar) slaw. My wife had a two meat plate with brisket and chicken and baked beans and creamy slaw as sides. The plates come with a cornbread muffin and a tiny cup of sauce. At the table, there is a different sauce in a big bottle, and of course ketchup and some kind of hot sauce.

The pulled pork had a good smoky taste, and it was very tender. I found a few strands of fat in it, but not to an extend that it bothered me much. On the other hand, the pork was a bit on the dry side, so I was grateful that my wife relinquished her cup of sauce to me.

The sauce that came with the plate was a very simple mixture of vinegar, water and (cayenne) pepper. Not very spicy, but with some delightful kick nonetheless. And sour. But I actually like it that way, and it went very well with the smoky aroma of the pork.

The potato salad there is listed as “mustard potato salad”, which describes the flavor you get quite well. Also on the sour side, smothered in a mustard infused mayonnaise, I enjoyed it very much. The vinegar slaw, however, was a bit watery and of the sweet-and-sour variety. Not bad, but also not top notch. On the other hand, a third component that was “just sour” would have been probably too much, and so it was a welcomed diversification.

I am not a big fan of cornbread, but my wife is, and she assured me that the cornbread muffin that I traded for her sauce was excellent. And so was the chicken – tender and very flavorful, clearly the best meat of the three we had on our plates. Because the brisket, while also tasting very good, was a bit dry and without the layers of fat inside would not have been easy to chow. Of course, she could have poured the tiny cup of white sauce that came with the chicken over it – but that would have been pure barbarism. Plus, the white sauce was not so special, but merely okay. It needs the very flavorful chicken to shine, not the other way around.

The baked beans were a bit sticky and very thick – a clear sign that they had been sitting in the pot for more than just a couple of hours. But the taste was great, not very sweet but savory, without cinnamon but with some strands of meat in it.

The creamy slaw was crunchy and had a very good flavor.

Together with sweet tea for both of us, this meal for two cost us a bit over twenty-six Dollars. Not exactly cheap, but the food was very good, although not really outstanding. We did see some hospital personnel in the restaurant during our time there, but there was no ambulance that disturbed our meal with its sirens. And quite frankly, I do not believe the emergency room is something I ever want to connect with BBQ in my mind – let alone in reality.

David's Barbecue

Non-Quest BBQ No 21 – David’s Barbecue
Arlington, Texas

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

Since 1910, now in ownership of the forth generation of the family, David’s Barbecue in Arlington, Texas, serves Texas style BBQ. That means no pulled pork, only beef and pork ribs, turkey and sausage.

That’s fine by me, cows or pigs, I don’t care as long as it is good and tasty.

Still full after the big dinner at Bodacious Bar-B-Que the other day, I went for the two meat plate this time – only to find it to be just the same amount of food, only distributed on two instead of three different meats.

In case you need a refresher how Texas style BBQ works – it is like an assembly line. You grab a tray, and at the first station order the meat. Brisket and Links, please.

Then it goes on to the sides. Hmm, the potato salad looked kind of familiar – the also use caraway seeds as spice, so I passed on that and took the baked beans and the slaw instead. Last station, drinks and cash register. The sauce, which comes in classy glass carafes, stands on a little cart in the dining room, where you also find onions, pickles, jalapenos and the like.

The dining room is separated in two areas, which actually comes from the fact that at some time the original restaurant, which is located in an old, rather decrepit strip mall, was extended into the shop space next to it. Nevertheless, the atmosphere there is very authentic, a lovely mixture of country style and 1950s urban chic.

So, after finding a nice secluded corner to sit down, I dug into my meal.

The Brisket, although lean and very tender, did not have any discernable smoke flavor whatsoever. Same goes for the sausage links, which were not spicy but had at least a faint smoky aftertaste.

Clearly, here was some serious sauce action needed – and good Heavens, this action was provided by a delightfully sour reddish-brown concoction with just a hint of spiciness. That really rescued my mood from the unfolding disaster of turning into a foul and hostile creature.

But what truly really saved this meal were the sides. The slaw was crunchy and fresh, with a bold sourness to it. And the baked beans did not arrive in the sweet variety one is getting all the time, until all resistance and hope are crushed under the constant onslaught of molasses and cinnamon. This one was different – sour and a bit fruity. A new taste, indeed! Brave David, you have the moxy to liberate us from the death grip of the industrially acquired taste of mainstream baked beans.

You also get a Texas Toast with all that, which for about fifteen bucks including a fountain drink is not the cheapest deal, but the value received for that makes it a fair deal, indeed.

And so, after this experience and that with Bodacious Bar-B-Que the day before, I have to admit that, yes, there is decent BBQ in Texas. Just avoid the dreadful chains and trust your car’s navigation system to lead you away to some hidden corners, and you will be able to find the occasional gem. 

Bodacious Bar-B-Que

Non-Quest BBQ No 20 – Bodacious Bar-B-Que
Arlington, Texas

During my occasional travels, I try to sample BBQ at those near and far away places outside the Quest area. I just really, really like that stuff ... 

The name – Bodacious – is a bit misleading. There are no tassels involved, no pole and no red lights. Just extremely well smoked red meat, spicy sauces and tender butts.

There is no TV, just some good ol’ country music radio station for entertainment, sweet tea that comes in a (plastic) jar, instead of a dispenser, wagon wheels and cow’s horns as decoration, and a not so subtle country style atmosphere in the dining area. Classy and classic, veritably old school.

And when in Rome … or in Texas, for that matter, do as the Texans do. So I decided to go all out and had a three meat plate with Brisket, Links and pulled Pork. A manly sized portion in most parts of the continental US, but here in Texas that’s probably what a ten year old gets for breakfast each day.

The Brisket was just short of heavenly – very tender, lean, with a distinctive but not overwhelming smoky taste. Best brisket ever for me – but also only the third or fourth time I had that, I have to admit. So the measuring stick was not too big in this case. But anyhow, a very delightful experience.

The sausage links had a good spiciness on them, which suppressed the smoke flavor for the most part. There was a hint of it, but only if you really wanted to find it. No matter, they too were absolutely delicious.

The pork was also very tasty, but not due to the faint smoke aroma they sported. Very tender and very lean, you needed the sauce to support the flavor, which was absolutely not necessary with either the Brisket or the Links. 

The sauce, which you got out of a pot at the counter, was red and thick, fruity and deliciously spicy. I am more a fan of the vinegar-pepper sauce variety, but if it has to be a thick red sauce, than this offering from Bodacious would be on my short list.

Too bad that the sides could not hold up to the lofty standards set by the meat and the sauce.

The cole slaw, though crunchy and fresh, tasted a quite bland. And the potato salad came with little dark speckles that could have been mistakenly identified as ants, but in reality it was caraway seeds. Funky tasting, to say the least. Not really bad, but also not what I would classify as “must have”. I took one bite and the affair was already done before it begun.

But all in all, because of the excellent meat and the overachieving sauce, and certainly because of the very homey atmosphere of this place, I wouldn’t mind to dine there again during one of my next trips to the region. With almost sixteen bucks for the whole meal, it sure ain’t cheap – but if the alternative is to spend half the money at one of those chain restaurants, it is a no brainer. Quality beats cheap every time, at least in my BBQ world.

Dirt Road BBQ

Quest Log No27 – Dirt Road BBQ
Trinity, Morgan County

Wikipedia says: “Dirt road is a common term for an unpaved road made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes …”.

Well, here in the BBQ belt, we certainly have no shortage of dirt roads. And we are also not in short supply of BBQ places that you can only reach by that kind of road.

So, when this new restaurant by the name of Dirt Road BBQ opened a while back, I had a certain image in my mind. Trees, wilderness, red earth, a wooden shack, 4x4 trucks parked beside it … you know what I am talking about.

I certainly did not expect to eventually find this place in a posh little strip mall, with pastel colored shop facades, next to the busy four-lane Highway 24 between Decatur and Moulton.

While the location and the exterior is a bit, well, unexpected, the interior conforms more to the anticipation one might have towards a BBQ place.

There are half a dozen tables in the middle of the room, and some booths on each side of the room. All furniture is made out of somewhat raw looking wood, and there are some nice details, like the lamps being made out of zinc water buckets. That all generates a nice rustic atmosphere, which could probably be boosted considerably by adding some artifacts and pictures from the dirt roads of the region. But since they opened only recently, decorating obviously was not at the top of the to-do list. Substance over style, I reckon, is their motto until they are out of the woods, financially.

But then there is the concierge table at the entrance – yes, you will be seated by a server. And your order is taken and brought to you at the table. Haven’t had that at many actual dirt road joints lately.

The drinks are served in mason jars with handles, which some people may find a bit pretentious. But in my point of view, it fits the overall interior style of this place quite nicely. I can see this whole concept spawning to become a franchise in later years.

.

Looking at the menu and listening to the waitress, it was very clear that they love to fry things there. Fried pickles, fried green beans, fried okra, fried Oreos, fried onion straws … the decorating money seems to have gone into the deep fryer fund.

My wife ordered the fried green beans as an appetizer and that was a big mistake. One bite and we both were hooked. The actual green bean only served as carrier for the batter, and did not register that much, flavor-wise. But the batter – sublime! We used very little of the accompanying spicy dipping sauce, because the flavor of the deep fried beans was just perfect by itself.

So, after that already very nice experience, for the main course we expected the same high standard.

As usual, I had pulled pork, this time with slaw, fried potatoes and onions, and loaded potato salads as sides.

My wife opted for the brisket with baked beans, fried okra, and fried potatoes and onions as sides.

The pulled pork was succulent, tender and lean. It had a very distinctive meat flavor with a hint of smoke aroma to it. I’d say, they know what they are doing in the kitchen.

It comes with sauce already poured over it, which is always a reason to frown. But since it was just a sprinkle, and also the sauce is very good, I did not mind it that much this time.

A sticky red concoction, the sauce is slightly spicy and not very sweet, it is fruity and well balanced. I put it on the slice of toast that came with the meal and thoroughly enjoyed it even without the meat.

The slaw looked a bit iffy at first sight, some micro-sized pieces swimming in brine. But actually, the taste was just wonderful. The brine was not salty at all, but had a finely rounded sweet and spicy flavor, which tickled my taste buds in a very exquisite way.

The loaded potato salad was creamy and fresh, with a hint of Dill and only a slightly sour flavor overall – wonderful.

Unfortunately, the fried potatoes and onions were a bit disappointing – they were just bland. But with a good helping of Salt and Pepper, it also became a very good tasting side.

My wife’s brisket was just the way she likes it - a bit on the fatty side, very flavorful with a distinctive meat aroma. She also loved the fried okra, which were very fresh and very crunchy. She had a gripe with the baked beans, which were too sweet for her taste, but fortunately they did not have that overwhelming cinnamon aroma that seems to spread like a disease in some baked beans. She also salted and peppered her fried potatoes and onions, like I did.

Well, she did not finish the meal, but decided to leave some room for a desert. The banana pudding she ordered was freshly made and still warm. It supposedly is an old recipe from Granny, and it was certainly not bad, just a little too sweet for her taste.

For just under thirty bucks, we got a big amount of food of very high quality, all fresh and home made with great taste, and it was an overall very pleasant eating experience in a nice atmosphere. If only I could overlook the silly name …