Smoki O's Barbecue - St. Louis, MO

Smoki O's Barbecue
1545 N Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
http://www.smokiosbbq.com/

Smoki O's serves St. Louis style barbecue from a small walk up location in St. Louis that Minnie Walker son's (Bruce and Otis Jr) started in 1997 to honor their mother's back yard cooking.

They serve Hot Links, Beef Polish Sausage, Beef Hot Link, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Rib Tips, Beef Brisket, Snoot, Chicken Wings, Pork Steak, Ribs and more.

 We had the sampler plate with snoot, brisket and rib tips along with cornbread, greens, mac and cheese and more. 

 Now if you are thinking this is just slathered with sauce, you would be right.  Now I'm not normally a fan of this much sauce but it actually worked within this environment.  It's a cultural thing.  With the simple, low brow atmosphere there was nothing pretentious about this place.  Just a simple barbecue restaurant born out of love for their momma's food and to help serve the neighborhood.

The snoot was the thing that interested me the most.  It was hard crunchy and flavorful.  A lot like a stiffer pork rind.  The brisket was very good...just hard to evaluate the subtleties with all the sauce.  The rib tips were great and the chicken wings were just fine.  All the sides enhanced the experience and the corn bread was spot on.

It was a great food experience and it felt like walking through a door to different culture from a different time.

Very enjoyable evening.

Pappy's Smokehouse - St. Louis, MO

Pappy's Smokehouse
3106 Olive St
St. Louis, MO 63103
http://www.pappyssmokehouse.com/

Pappy's serves Memphis style barbecue right in St. Louis and have a loyal following.  They smoke their meats for up to 14 hours low and slow using apple and cherry wood for a light smoke flavor.

Their house specialty is Dry Rub Ribs but they also have Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Beef Brisket, Turkey Breast, Spicy Sausage and Burnt Ends (which often sell out first).

Some of their specialty items are Frito Pie (Fritos topped with your choice of meat, baked beans, cheddar cheese and onions) and these amazing combination plates...

The Big Ben – A full slab of Ribs, a Beef Brisket and a Pork sandwich, 1/4 Chicken and 4 sides.
The “Adam” Bomb – In honor of our friend Adam Richman from The Travel Channel’s show Man vs. Food. It's A Big Ben with a Hot Link Frito Pie.

I had a combination plate of ribs, brisket, green beans and fried corn on the cob.

After several meals of wet ribs, these dry rub ribs were a welcome diversion.  They are actually similar to my ribs and I just loved them.  Good light smoke. Layers of rub and good flavor.  The brisket was sliced too thin and didn't have enough smoke but the meat was well prepared..  The green beans were very nice and I like the light batter on the corn.  It's almost like a tempura.

There were 4 different sauces to choose from...
PAPPY'S ORIGINAL - The classic BBQ sauce, tangy with a kick
JANE'S SWEET SAUCE - In honor of Mike’s granddaughter and as sweet as Jane herself
CAROLINA VINEGAR - fit for the pulled pork of the same region.
HOODOO SAUCE - a spicier version of their original sauce.

I found the original to my liking but the heat did build up a bit so I cut it with Jane's Sweet part way through the meal.

Overall this was a very good meal and one that I would be happy to repeat again.  Only, I would hope to get there in time to try the burnt ends next time.

City BBQ - Raleigh, NC

City BBQ
1305 Kildaire Farm Road
Cary, North Carolina 27511
https://www.citybbq.com/

City BBQ is a chain that lays claim to Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and North Carolina where they serve authentic and inspired barbecue.

I found the place cheery, clean and inviting.  In fact, they were handing out 4 oz samples of the rib rub for all customers.  A very welcome surprise.

They offer brisket, pulled pork, Lo Lo's Pulled Pork (special recipe), turkey breast, pulled chicken with 'Bama sauce, smoked sausage and a special called More Cowbell (beef brisket topped with peppers, smoked provolone, onions and creamy horseradish sauce piled high on Texas toast.

I had a combo plate.  Ribs, pulled pork, greens (with pulled pork), hush puppies (off picture) and Texas toast. (the rib rub sample is in the lidded container top left).

While these ribs are sauced, it is baked on at the end and adds a nice layer.  Now this is pulled pork country and they do it well.  It's moist, tender and ready for sauce.  

Speaking of sauce, they have many available.  Brush Fire Sauce, Swine Wine Sauce, Piedmont Pride Sauce, Sweet City Sauce and the Original.  I find the original works well for me although they also have a vinegar based sauce that is just spot on for adding onto the pulled pork.

The hush puppies were fresh and hot, the greens were not overcooked and well balanced with the pork inside.

Overall, you could do a lot worse for a barbecue meal...especially from a chain.

Rudy's BBQ - Arlington, TX

Rudy's BBQ
451 I-20
Arlington, TX 76018
https://rudysbbq.com/

While Rudy's BBQ is a mainstay in Texas chain barbecue, understand that every Rudy's Country Store is not the same.  There are different owners of many of their restaurants and that give the opportunity for a variation in quality and taste.  Some might think this is an opportunity but only your taste buds will determine if this is good or bad.

Now I've eaten at a lot of Rudy's locations so I think I have a pretty good idea of what to expect and I was a bit surprised at the Rudy's in Arlington. I selected some of my usual favorite options of sausage, brisket (lean), and ribs.  The sausage was very good. This is what I come to expect.  The brisket was fine but not over the top.  Now this was at dinner so I expect that it won't be quite as fresh as it was at lunch and that was essentially what I found.  However the ribs were the biggest surprise.  They had an artificial "chemically" taste that I have never experienced at Rudy's and must say that it was a disappointment.  

So as you dine out, just remember that every location is not the same and there are some Rudy's that are better than others.

Sugarfire Smokehouse - St. Louis, MO

Sugarfire Smokehouse
9200 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63132
http://www.sugarfiresmokehouse.com/

Sugarfire Smokehouse has a lot of specialty burgers and sandwiches.  From the Big Muddy (brisket, smoked sausage, horseradish sauce, BBQ sauce, lettuce, and pickles.) to the PBLT (pimento cheese, house bacon, lettuce and tomato on toasted bread).

I selected something a bit more traditional, their 2 meat dinner that comes with 2 sides.

I selected brisket and ribs (baby backs...not spare ribs), green beans and au-gratin potatoes.  The brisket had an average smoke to it but nothing to right home about.  The ribs were tender with a nice layer of sauce sealed on for taste.  The green beans were cooked southern style (with garlic) which means they were over cooked.  The au-gratin potatoes were quite good.

Then there is the sauce.

There are several different kinds of sauce...

St. Louie Sweet BBQ, Texas Hot BBQ, Carolina Mustard, White Horseradish, Sugarfire 47, Coffee BBQ, Special Sauce, Ranch, Cider Vinaigrette.

I  found the Texas Hot the best (it's not that hot).  I even tried the coffee even though I don't drink coffee myself.  It definitely has a coffee flavor which is why I don't like it myself.

If I ever find myself in downtown St. Louis again, I might try one of their sandwiches as the regular BBQ was a bit forgettable.

Parker's Barbecue Restaurant - Greenville, NC

Parker's Barbecue Restaurant
3109 S Memorial Drive
Greenville, NC 27834
http://www.parkersbbq.com/

 

Parker's Barbecue Restaurant is all about old school Eastern North Carolina barbecue.  I walked in and was greeted by a dropped ceiling with florescent lighting, diner style tables and chairs and a welcoming and friendly staff.  A young black guy waited on my (looked like the local football star wide receiver earning his pay for a tankful of minimum wage.) and I was directed to any empty table.  A minute or so later, he came over asking for my order just assuming I knew what I wanted without looking at the menu. That told me that mostly they get locals. He was a bit surprised when I said I needed a minute.  (Kid thought I was a local...that made me smile).

Parker's has been around for 40 years or more and is well respected but very old fashioned. Notice the sauce.  That's vinegar based folks and you just sprinkle this on. Don't treat it like a tomato based sauce.  You'll likely get more than you bargained for.

Looking at the menu, I focus in on the following...

Large BBQ Plate
Small BBQ Plate
Large BBQ Dinner
Small BBQ Dinner

I ask my waiter about the difference in the plate and the dinner as I didn't really see the contents on the menu.  One had more sides than the other.  I said fine but what about the entree items..."Oh" he says, "They both have BBQ". I ask, "What kind of BBQ?". This is where he looks like me like I just asked him if this place was vegetarian.  He said..."...uh...BBQ".  I said..."But what kind of BBQ?"  He didn't understand.  I said, "It's pork right?". He said "yea..." Like...is there any other kind.  And I asked if it was ribs or loin or shoulder and he said "...uh...pork".  I said great....I'll get a Combination Platter as that has both pork and fried chicken.  A combination that I had been inundated with the last few meals while in Eastern North Carolina.

So It turns out, that in this part of the world, there is only one kind of BBQ (at least to Parker's) and that's roasting the entire pig and shredding it for consumption.  THAT'S what they call BBQ and it was tasty.  Nothing fancy here.  The green beans were old fashioned and over cooked by today's standards.  The fried chicken was fresh and hot and tasted more home cooked than restaurant prepared (and yes that's a good thing).  The beans were just average.  The cole slaw was too processed and fine in it's grain.  The color was off too...Looked processed.  The hush puppies were fresh, hot and tasty.

While Parker's may have kept things the same way for 40 years, that's not always bad.

Smithfield Chicken and BBQ - North Carolina

Smithfield Chicken and BBQ
121 Wakelon St # 121
Zebulon, NC 27597
http://www.scnbnc.com/

Smithfield Chicken and BBQ is a North Carolina chain that's been around for over 30 years.  Let's call it what it is.  It's definitely a chain.  It feels like and chain and acts like a chain.  However the staff is very friendly (we are of course in North Carolina) and the menu is very comfort food oriented.  But what about the food...

I got the Chicken and BBQ Combo.  Which means fried chicken and pulled pork along with a side of baked beans and hush puppies.

Remember how I said that it acted like a chain...we'll it also tastes like a chain too.  However it is still southern comfort food and that means it's not all bad.  Just not much above average.

The fried chicken was typical for a local fried chicken chain which actually means it's a step above the national chains like KFC.  The beans were very typical for this type of restaurant.  Tastes like it came out of a can.  The hush puppies were just average.  However the pulled pork was good.  Nice and tender and fresh.  There was no sauce on the table...a real let down.

Overall it was an average chain lunch but it had the distinct advantage of being barbecue.

While I would recommend it over a chain hamburger for lunch, I would rather have a local lunch spot for barbecue any day.