Barbecue Restaurant Reviews
 When
you think of The Haight in San Francisco, images of tie died t-shirts
and other eclectic clothing, black light posters, the Grateful Dead,
and Janis Joplin might come to mind.
When I
visit The Haight it’s smoke that I think about! Not the kind of smoke
that is typically associated with that bohemian part of town, the smoke
that comes from a little barbecue joint called Memphis Minnie’s
Bar-B-Que Joint & Smoke House. You can’t
help but to notice the little red building with its windows ablaze and
the cartoon like sign featuring a jolly chef toque adorned porker. We
actually came across it as if by mistake. After being smacked in the
nose by the aroma of wood smoked meat we frantically looked around
wondering where the intoxicating BBQ smells were coming from. When
you enter you find yourself transported instantly to the Deep South.
The smell of barbecue is heavy in the air and there is row of tables
occupied by a wide variety of patrons clearly enjoying their meals.
There is a small pie case that displays some of the regional desserts,
the sauces that they make, and some piggy influenced chachkis, which
can be found all around the restaurant. At
first I found the menu board to be a bit complicated. I don’t mean to
say I didn’t understand what the items on it were; I wasn’t sure why
some of the items were on it. I guess when I really
think about it one item kept distracting me; Premium Sake. As it turns
out I am not the first to point out that Sake and barbecue are an odd
combination. Their official position on the sake is that there are
similarities in the long standing traditions and artisanal approach to
both, and besides, the Sake tastes great and so does the barbecue so
together they are doubly good. Ok, I’ll buy that. Some people drink red
wine with fish and white wine with beef, and some people will drink
Sake with barbecue. Since we just happened to
end up at Memphis Minnie’s and this was not a planned review I was a
bit unprepared to order the variety of foods that I would for a typical
menu sampling. Since I was with a couple of other people I just let
them know that I would be eating off their plates for the sake of the
review. They hesitantly agreed. I ordered the
Minnie’s Taster; three meats with a choice of two sides. On my plate
will be the Texas Big Bones, the 18hour Smoked Texas Brisket, and the
Memphis Sweet Smoked Pork. Accompanying those meats will be the
Potlikker Greens and the Tart ‘n Tangy Slaw. In addition to those I
will also be sampling the St. Louis Smoked Pork Ribs. I really had my
mind set on the Andouille sausage, alas there was none. In all fairness
it does say “Not All Items Are Available All The Time” right on the
menu board.  I
prefer to start with the sides, let’s get the supporting cast out of
the way so that we can get to the main event. The slaw is crispy and
tangy. There are slivers of red onion and bell pepper which compliment
the shredded salad. This is not your typical California creamy mayo
slaw. The dressing is on this is vinegar based and has a distinct twang
to it. There is a sweetness that follows as your taste buds snap back,
but it is well balanced and not sugary.
The
Potlikker Greens are prepared in a classic down south manner, with
onion and vinegar and slow cooked tender greens. I found these to be
quite delicious but a little sweeter than I like. I did put about half
of them down before the sweetness got to me. Center
stage was a battle for the best and quite honestly I find it almost
impossible to pick the best of these incredible smoked delicacies. The
beef ribs are rich and dark with a zesty bark. The meat comes away from
the bones cleanly and they are the most tender beef ribs I have ever
experienced. Next, the pork shoulder, buttery soft and smoky with just
the right amount of spices. The outside pieces are sweet and sticky
from the slow cooking process. No knives are needed here. The beef
brisket was juicy and tender. The flavors were mesmerizing and the
texture was perfect. There was a quarter inch smoke ring on the tender
beef slices. The St. Louis Ribs also came away from the bone cleanly.
The outside was crusted with spices and slightly charred meat while
inside; the tender pork, pink from smoke was juicy and sweet. I struggled with the idea of putting sauce on this perfectly cooked meat but the variety of sauces on the table was intriguing. On
the table were three sauces Red, Vinegar, and Mustard sauce. First the
Texas Red; Bold, tangy, and sweet, the flavor of ginger and clove stood
out. The North Carolina Vinegar Sauce is tangy but not sour. I think
the word vinegar in the name of this sauce is a bit misleading. It is
fresh and herbal and really wakes up the meat you sprinkle it on. South
Carolina mustard sauce is a just little sweet and has a delicate
nature. It is a perfect accompaniment for the any of the pork dishes.
All of the sauces were balanced and enhanced the meats. They were
delicate enough to let the meats natural flavors come through, yet bold
enough to stand up to the rich smoky meats that they adorn. In
Northern California where you find barbecue restaurants with no pits,
and heavily sauced meats cooked in ovens, Memphis Minnie’s is a whole
new world; like walking through a portal to a land where barbecue
matters. The meats are perfectly prepared and the sauce is optional if
needed at all. If you can’t go to the Deep South to experience the real
barbecue culture, go to Memphis Minnie’s and experience real Bar-B-Que! Memphis
Minnie's. 576 Haight (at Steiner), S.F. (415) 864-PORK. Tues.-Sat., 11
a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Beer, wine, and sake. American
Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa. Wheelchair accessible.
 Catherine
and Pappy Bosley bought the Moonlite for $50,000 from Sonnie and Sadie
Bertram and J.C. & Betty Stinson. The Bosley's used the 5,000
dollar profit from selling their house to make the down payment, moved
in with Catherine's mother and entered the restaurant business with no
experience, and little formal education. Then, the Moonlite was a
fourteen year old barbecue joint with 30 seats including stools at the
counter. He was 48 and she 42, they had five children.
Pappy
drove a cab for Veterans Cab Company, and worked at Fleischman's
Distillery. Catherine was a foreman at Glenmore Distillery. It was
Pappy's layoff from Fleischman's that caused th em to reexamine their opportunities. The
owners of Moonlite were ready to sell, as they were looking to retire.
The restaurant had been around then for 14 years and was well known to
the Bosley's being near Catherine's mother's house. Their five children
grew up working next door to the Moonlite at the Big Dipper (a local
hamburger joint). In
this time of large chains and merged companies Moonlite has grown as a
family business. Hugh and Catherine, along with four children and
several grandchildren work together to keep things going and growing at
a slow, steady rate that now requires a staff of over 120 dedicated
members working various facets of the business. These areas now include
a 350 seat restaurant, a U.S.D.A. inspected processing plant, an
extensive catering department (capable of serving 15 to 15,000 with
unparalleled quality and professionalism), a wholesale division serving
the region with Barbecue and related products through distributors in a
four state area, as well as a busy carryout department. During
our visit to the Moonlite I had the opportunity to spend some time with
Pat Bosley. He was more than happy to take us on a tour and show us his
operation. Part of the tour was his schpeel about the process; it was
obvious that he had told this story more than the one time. It went
something like this; “Our Bar-B-Q is slow cooked over a Hickory log fire in our custom built pits. This method of cook ing
imparts a distinctive flavor to our beef, chicken, mutton, pork, and
ribs. Real Bar-B-Q, according to government standards, must be cooked
to lose at least 30% of its original weight. This can be done in many
ways, but the only way we do it is with our slow cook method, our pit
cooks dipping (basting) each piece several times during the process. We
don’t even put sauce on our meats until after it’s cooked. Most places
are afraid to let their Bar-B-Q be tasted unless it’s swimming in
sauce. (At this restaurant, you put the sauce on at the table.) When we
started we had 30 seats, today we BBQ and average of 15,000lbs of meat
a week.” “Our Burgoo is a thick hearty soup made with lots of mutt on,
beef, chicken, and vegetables. In this part of the country, early
settlers made a stew that consisted of any meats and vegetables
available. That often meant game meat such as deer, squirrel, raccoon,
rabbit or quail. As time passed, each cook fine tuned his or her recipe
by adding special ingredients that made their Burgoo the “best”.” Now
that you know everything there is to know about the Moonlite BBQ Inn
let’s talk about the food a bit. I wanted to try as many different
things as I could so I opted for the buffet; a steal at $8.75. It was
hard to focus on what should be a simple task of getting a plate of
food. I have never seen a BBQ buffet of this magnitude before, come to
think of it, this may be my first BBQ buffet ever. There was every kind
of slow cooked meat you could imagine, and equally as many side dishes.
Know the limitations of both my plate and stomach I realized I would
have to be somewhat selective in my sampling. Sinc e
we were in Kentucky; famous for BBQ Mutton and I had never had mutton
before, I know this was where we would have to start. I also added some
chopped beef and sliced pork to the plate. On the side was some bread
dressing, green beans and ham and beans. Oh I threw in a tiny bit of
mac and cheese, out of curiosity. So
let’s start with the sides; the green beans were sweet and tender with
just a little vinegary tang. The dressing was moist and flavorful with
little pieces of celery and onion; it was better than most dressings
I’ve had on a buffet but maybe not as good as Mom’s. The mac’n’cheese
was good as well, again better than most buffets. The bean’s and ham
were awesome. The beans were tender but not mushy, the broth was sweet
and salty at the same time and the chunks of country ham melted in your
mouth. These were without a doubt some of the best I’ve had. Onto
the meat; I found the chopped beef to be just that, chopped beef in BBQ
sauce. I was tender and it tasted just fine, but to me it lacked
excitement. I think perhaps it may have been chopped down to fine for
my preference and I found it to be a step away from pulverized. The
sliced pork should was very good, it was minimally seasoned with just
salt and pepper and barbecued to perfection. It was tender and juicy
and took to the sauce quite nicely. The mutton was definitely the star
of this show; having been unimpressed with the chopped beef I selected
the sliced mutton. The sliced mutton was fantastic; also minimally
seasoned it was barbecued to a moist and tender perfection. It was
extremely flavorful and surprisingly not gamey as I thought I might be.
There was the perfect amount of caramelized crust on the outside pieces
that created the slightest crunch. I also tried the mutton dip; this
sauce is basically an au jus for the meat. Its purpose is to add a
little moisture and bring out the natural flavors of the mutton. I
found the dip to be a winner. If you were to taste the dip alone you
might be disappointed, however it truly comes to life when applied to
the meat. There were other sauces on the table to help enhance your
meal; a sweet barbecue sauce for the meats other than mutton, and a hot
cayenne pepper sauce; which I would have like to have it hotter. It was
definitely a pleasant upgrade from the typical Tabasco you usually find
on tables. Overall I give the Moonlite
Bar-B-Que Inn a two thumbs way up! I truly enjoyed the food. The dining
rooms and buffet areas were well maintained and clean, and the staff
and owners were extremely hospitable and friendly. If you are ever in
Owensboro, KY make sure you go there. If you are anywhere nearby it
would be worth the detour. Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn
2840 W Parrish Ave.
Owensboro, Ky. 42301
1-800-322-8989
 When
traveling in Kentucky you will be faced with many food choices. Some of
those choices will inevitably be barbecue. The most well known places
seem to be located in Owensboro and until recently the little town of
Campbellsville had none.
Pat Blevins took care of that problem
when he built “The Smoke Pit” BBQ Restaurant for his Son. I took some
time to speak with Pat about his philosophy on BBQ. Simple seems to be
the key to his success and let me tell you it certainly seems to be
working on his wonderful food.
We sampled his ribs, a full rack
of baby back pork ribs. They were served with a rub of spices and no
sauce on the ribs. There is a selection of about five or six excellent
sauces that were available to choose from. We also sampled the sliced
pork shoulder. This reminded me of smoked pork steak, they were sliced
thin and had a nice smoke on them. The sliced pork was seasoned simply
with salt and pepper; they were excellent for dipping in the homemade
sauces.
Like the meats the sides were prepared with the same
philosophy, simple, homemade and delicious. The potato salad was made
with redskins and was creamy and slightly sweet; the coleslaw was
finely chopped and creamy. I added some black pepper to mine.
 Another
item we sampled was the Kentucky Burgoo Stew. This is a regional dish
that I have not seen anywhere other than Kentucky. The Smoke Pits’
Burgoo was fantastic, full of chicken, pork, and beef pieces; and
loaded with potato, corn, lima bean and okra. You can get either
crackers or crouton to go with your Burgoo. Get the croutons, they are
made of their homemade yeast rolls and are perfectly seasoned, buttery
and delicious. They are a perfect accompaniment to the Burgoo Stew.
Tomorrow
we are off to Owensboro, but today in Campbellsville we ate some of the
best Barbecue in Kentucky. Stop in and say hi to Pat ‘n ‘em at the
Smoke Pit Barbeque Restaurant.
The Smoke Pit
1800 New Lebanon Rd
Campbellsville, KY 42718
270-789-6686
I would first like to say Neely's BBQ in Nashville is not the easiest
place to find. As a matter of fact we actually missed it, and we had
the address programmed into our TomTom GPS nav. After making a U-turn
we saw the red neon Barbecue sign. Make the effort to find it, it's
worth it!
Walking in, Neely's is just as you would expect a
Nashville BBQ joint to look like. Lots of wood, red checkered table
cloths, and a friendly staff waiting to help you make your choice.
The choice was a difficult one, so I refused to make it; my dining
partner and I each got a two meat combo and shared them. That means
four meats, four sides, and some sweet tea that you could probably put
a string in and make rock candy.
First combo had pork ribs and
pulled pork with coleslaw and beans, the second combo had smoked beef
sausage, sliced brisket and sides which include bbq spaghetti, and
potato salad. If I had to sum this meal up in one word and was held to
just one word it would be tender. In fact the meats at Neely's were so
tender you could literally shake the ribs and the meat would fall off
the bone. The brisket was so tender and juicy I never picked up my
white plastic knife, and the pork just melted in your mouth. The side
were all fresh and delicious and the BBQ sauce was quite nice. I
usually prefer a spicy sauce but I felt the mild had a better flavor.
Perhaps if the spicy had a little more heat I would have prefered it.
If you find yourself in Nashville, do yourself a favor, find Neely's BBQ. Tell them RoJo Sent you!
Neely’s Barbecue ( Nashville TN.)
2292 Metro Center
Nashville , Tennessee 37228
615-251-8895 phone
615 251 8897 fax
|
