BBQgeek

Quick Bite - Bu-Ba-Q - Woodstock, GA

Location: 10020 Georgia 92, Woodstock, GA 30188-6428     (678) 402-1662                    

Parking: Located in a Ingles strip Mall on Hwy 92 just east of 75. Parking is no problem.

Menu: Bu-Ba-Q menu

Service: Table service for the main dining area and take out counter.

Cooking on:  Old Hickory cooker

The Vibe:  When I first visited Bu-Ba-Q a couple years ago they had recently moved into a former Slopes BBQ space and had not really made the space their own.  Since then, Bu-Ba-Q has doubled the space of the dining room to accommodate roughly 120-150 diners.  Every spare inch of the restaurant is decorated with scads of Bubba's competition BBQ trophies.  Currently #6 in the National BBQ competition team rankings, Bubba walks the walk and talks the talk.  Of all the restaurants that claim to serve competition style BBQ in Atlanta, Bubba is certainly the most active and successful competitor in the city.  My family ate at Bu-Ba-Q  just a little before 1pm on a Sunday, so we caught the after church crowd.  Families of all shapes and sizes were having a nice Sunday lunch and the dining room was easily three quarters full.  Servers were challenged with keeping up with their tables, seating new guests, and busing finished tables.  Bu-ba-Q could use a little front-of-house consulting to help them iron out the service kinks.  If you are going to go full service, dedicated hostesses and bus boys are a must.  Waiters should be focused on tending to seated guests.  All of this to say....I'm not a fan of full service BBQ restaurants. But maybe it was one of those days when the hostess and bus boys called in sick.

 

The Food:  Truth be told, my first visit to Bu-Ba-Q shortly after they opened went so poorly that I didn't think I would be back to visit.  But a couple food friends, including a well-known magazine critic, urged me to give Bu-Ba-Q a second chance.  This day we sampled ribs and pulled pork.  I thoroughly enjoyed my ribs - properly smoked and not overcooked.  But as you can see in the picture, the pulled pork was over-pulled and dry (aka hammered).  The pork was the same for my wife and daughter's pulled pork sandwiches.  I'm just guessing, but I suspect the pork may have been held in a steam table which can quickly lead to dry pork.  The Brunswick stew did not offend but was not remarkable.  Collard greens bordered on dull with no sparkle of acid or bite of red pepper.  Out of the four sauces on our table - mustard, hot and spicy, vinegar, and sweet - I preferred sweet.  The vinegar sauce had a very strange bitter quality to it and was too similar to the hot sauce.  Bubba's  menu is extensive and wanders a bit outside the normal fare for a BBQ restaurant.  Burgers and steaks are offered as well as something called the Hog-a-changa which appears to be a BBQ riff on the mexican american chimichanga. My suggestion would be to cut the menu by at least 50% and bring that intense focus common in competition BBQ back to the restaurant.

Bottom Line:  Bu-ba-Q is doing a great job of putting out BBQ for the masses.  There's nothing wrong going on, but  with a few tweaks a lot more could be going right.

 

Slow Food International at Community Q

Pictured left to right:  Community Q owner David Roberts,  Slow Foods Atlanta founder Julie Shaffer  Slow Foods International Secretary General Paolo Di Croce,  Love is Love Farm co-owner/farmer Judith Winfrey.

Emory University hosted the Secretary General of Slow Food International, Paolo Di Croce, for a meeting to announce the exploration of uniting city and state Slow Food groups throughout the Southeastern Seaboard into a regional Southeastern Slow Foods group.    Slow Food International was founded in 1989 and is a grass roots organization of over 100,000 members worldwide united in their support for good, clean, and fair food and farming practices.  Considered by many as the origin of the food to table movement that has seized American restaurants in the past decade, Slow Food is dedicated to uniting farmers, chefs, and people that care about the quality of our food and how it is grown and delivered to the plate.  

Paolo's visit to Emory represented a shift in how Slow Food is helping organize their member groups.  For the first time, Slow Foods International is working to unite some of their smaller local groups into larger organizations capable of greater reach and influence.  Paolo's trip to the US from Italy included stops in Atlanta to organize a Southeastern Slow Food Alliance as well California, where there are a large number of Slow Foods groups.  Both regions have strong ties to farming and unique cultural and food histories that made them natural candidates for a experimental program like this regional affiliation.

Community Q has strong ties with local farmers with most of the side item vegetables coming from local farms like Riverview Farm or TaylOrganic Farm.  Slow Food values have been part of Community Q's since its inception with Community included right in the name.  The restaurant also is a CSA dropoff for Riverview farm's meat and actively participates in local events sponsored by Georgia Organics and the Southern Food Association.  Community Q uses all natural pork when the opportunity presents itself but does use commodity pork to satisfy the regular demand.  Dave looks forward to the day when all natural, sustainable farms can compete on volume and price with commercial food purveyors.

This gathering was the first opportunity for Paolo to try authentic Georgia BBQ.  When asked what he thought about the meal, he said that he "enjoyed the family style meal". He added "this is the ideal way to end two days... eating the real slow food style - slow food style 110%!"

Love is Love Farmer Joe Reynolds obliges us with the classic "gnawing on a rib" shot

BBQgeek and Community Q live on WSB's Atlanta Living this Saturday!

Please listen in this Saturday as Community Q's David Roberts and I I join WSB's Belinda Skelton on her new radio show, Atlanta Living, to discuss all things  BBQ.  The show normally airs every Saturday from 1-3pm, but due to the Georgia game will be shortened to 1:00 to 1:30pm this weekend.  Special guest will be Jonathan Fox from Fox Bros BBQ discussing the upcoming Support Charlotte event at Sweetwater Brewery on Feb 26th raising funds for breast cancer research.  Listen in or give us a call live with your BBQ questions.  We are honored to be among the first guests on Belinda's new radio show!

Help the Fox Bros Support Cancer Research Feb 26th at Sweetwater Brewery

The Fox Bros BBQ restaurant family recently lost their head chef, Charlotte, to a very aggressive form of breast cancer.  Jonathan and Justin Fox have organized an event to honor Charlotte's memory and to raise research dollars for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) and to assist Charlotte's family with medical expenses.  Nineteen local chefs and mixologists will be offering up bites and beverages at Sweetwater Brewery.  The entire list of chefs can be viewed here, but participating chefs include Ryan Smith, Ford Fry, Kevin Rathbun, David Roberts, Terry Koval, Ron Eyester and Guy Wong.  Each chef will have a table where attendees can enjoy tasting bites.  Fox Bros BBQ and Big Tex Decatur will be passing hors d'oveurs.  The event also features local band, Moonwater, as well as a silent auction.  Tickets for the event can be purchased for $50 each and are available through Brown Paper tickets here.  In addition to the benefit event. the Fox Bros have partnered with Lang smokers to offer a $20/ticket raffle for an excellent 36 inch, reverse flow smoker.  Raffle tickets are available at Fox Bros BBQ, Big Tex Decatur, and Greater Good BBQ.

The Support Charlotte event marks the second time in just a month that the Atlanta restaurant community has gathered to support one of their own in the battle against cancer.  TeamHidi gathered on January 27 to help chef Ryan of Muss & Turner's to raise funds for his fight against stage 4 gall bladder cancer.  Both events reflect strongly the sense of community and brotherhood that runs deeply in Atlanta's restaurants and kitchens.

BBQ Videos Worth Watching

BBQ with Franklin - Aaron Franklin is the current king of Texas BBQ.  Customers start lining up at his Austin restaurant at 8:30am every day.  He's a judge on season 3 & 4 of BBQ Pitmasters and he has been featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.  The BBQ with Franklin web series is funded by viewer donations and Austin PBS.  Without question, this is the most common sense, valuable BBQ instructional series I've ever seen.  The videos are brief but packed with valuable tips from America's premier pitmaster.  BBQ with Franklin Youtube Homepage

First Bite - Zeiglar's BBQ - Acworth, GA

Location: 3451 Cobb Pkwy NW #13  Acworth, Georgia 30101
(770) 529-5227         

Parking: Located in a strip mall at the intersection of Cobb Parkway and Mars Hill road, there is plenty of parking available.

Menu:  Zeigler's menu

Service: Counter service with food trays delivered to the table.    Our server this day was friendly and pleasant.  Drinks are DIY with a drink station located near the counter. 

Cooking on:  Southern Pride

The Vibe:  I'm not sure why, but I expected Zeigler's to be bigger.  I guess I had pictured a larger restaurant due to some of the high accolades this restaurant has received from notable local food writers.   However I've learned over the years that in BBQ  bigger rarely equals better.  Zeiglar's websie states that the owners got into the restaurant business as a natural progression from competition team to caterers to restaurant owners.  The restaurant's homespun feeling has plenty of evidence of the Zeiglar's competition and catering history with awards and photos scattered around the walls.  There is pleasant seating and lighting, a nonobtrusive tv, and a clean feeling to the place.  

continue reading First Bite - Zeiglar's BBQ - Acworth, GA here.....

First Bite - Grand Champion BBQ, Milton GA

Location: 12635 Crabapple Rd. Suite 210, Milton, GA 30004  770-993-4227            

Parking: Located in a mixed use residential development directly on Crabapple Rd.  Plenty of parking available.  Make sure to note the address as the restaurant can be a little tough to spot on your first trip.  Milton restricts vendors ability to use roadside signage.

Menu:  Grand Champion BBQ - Milton

Sauces & Rubs:  Recently,Grand Champion made their Kansas City and North Caroline sauces and Pork and Chicken rub available for purchase at their restaurants.  My favorite is the traditional NC sauce.  The Sow Dust is a complex pork rub with a nice heat to it and a sweet finish.  The poultry rub is very different with a strong herbal flavor.  

Service: Counter service. The Milton restaurant's food service area is built into an attractive butcher block counter.  Customers are able to see their food as it is prepared.  The front of house staff is very attentive, offering refills and picking up finished trays.  

Cooking on:  The very first thing customers see as they enter the restaurant is a shiny, new Southern Pride built into the wall behind the food service area.  I really  like the idea of putting the cooker right out in plain view as opposed to hidden out back in a smoke shack.

The Vibe:  Grand Champion Milton feels very different than the Roswell location.  Natural light floods the space.  The room feels open and clean.  Three picnic tables outside provide a great outside dining option.  The walls are colorful and the blackboard menus are a great addition.  The open kitchen gives a communal feel to the room.  I really love the new restaurant.  It feels like a great step forward in terms of conceptual development and brand maturation.

Our Selection for the Day:  Owner Robert Owens put together a sampler plate that included pulled pork, brisket, sausage,and ribs.  Our sides for the day were their award winning mac & cheese, collards, cole slaw, and bbq beans.  Desert was the pear & cranberry pie pictured below.  Everything was delicious.

Fun Fact - Daniel Vaughan, prominent BBQ blogger and soon-to-be author on Anthony Bourdain's new Ecco publishing imprint visited Grand Champion in Milton the same day I visited.  Following him on Twitter that day, Daniel visited Dave Poe's, Fatt Mat's, and Grand Champion Milton and proclaimed GC's pulled pork to be the winner of the day with Poe's coming in a close second.  Check out this instagram photo of what he got at GC.  It looks like they really rolled out the red carpet.

Verdict - Grand Champion is a strong addition to the growing Milton dining scene.  Food and service are consistent with their Roswell location which is no easy feat.

Homemade pies are one of Grand Champion's secret weapons.  Pies are cooked daily at their Roswell location.  Recent pies include chocolate, chocolate walnut, apple, and pear & cranberry (pictured above). Grand Champion's pies follow the seasonal offerings available from our local Georgia farms.

This photo was taken just inside the door.  Note the Southern Pride nestled off to the left and the open service line.  

Grand Champion's Milton location as seen from Crabapple Rd.

Smoked Ossowaddle Hog Jowls at Haven BGE Party Tonight!

 

(alternate title - Come on down to Haven tonight and get a little head!!!)

Those crazy chefs from Valenza and Haven, Matt Swickerath and Stephen Herman, are hosting a patio party tonight sponsored by Big Green Egg.  The main attraction is a Ossowaddle hog head from Bev Egglestone that has been smoked low and slow for five hours on a brand new BGE.  Lucky attendees can sample smoked hog jowl while enjoying wine and music on the patio at Haven.  BYOHJ (Bring your own head jokes).

 

Taste of Atlanta 2012 - Big Grills "Grills Gone Wild" Event

For the first time in Taste of Atlanta history, the event kicked off on a Friday night with an event called the Big Grill - Grills Gone Wild.  Seventeen of Atlanta's best chefs served up smokey bites while attendees enjoyed 70's music by kitch-rockers, Yacht Rock.  The People's Choice winner for the Big Grill was David Roberts from Community Q with his St.Louis Ribs.

What does Ford Fry do on the day his brand spankin' new restaurant, The Optimist, is named Esquire Magazine's Restaurant of the year?  Well, he jams with his chef buddies Ted Lahey (Table & Main) and Gary Mennie (High Cotton) on a bunch of rockin' cover tunes for a crowd of hundreds.

Continue reading Taste of Atlanta 2012 - Big Grills "Grills Gone Wild" Event here...

 

How to order BBQ takeout like a Pro

Barbecue is one of those foods that is best consumed as soon as it is served.  It simply doesn't travel well.  Why?  Good barbecue is juicy, tender, and smoky.  The problem is barbecue begins to die as soon as it hits the plate/bun/tray.  Glistening fat begins to congeal.  Moisture begins to evaporate.  Smoky aroma begins to fade.  How to hold barbecue for service is an issue that separates the good restaurants from the bad very quickly.  My personal belief developed from years of working with several of the best pitmasters in Atlanta is that smoked meats have to be protected from the negative effects of air and temperature beginning the minute they leave the smoker. Without digging too deep into exactly how the best restaurants hold their barbecue (we will be digging deeply into this subject very soon) - I want to offer a quick and dirty photo shortcut to help you order barbecue like a pro and hold it as long as you want.  Yep.  You can order BBQ to go at lunch and serve it hot for dinner with absolutely no loss in quality - absolutely as good as if you were eating at the restaurant.   

Step 1

Order your takeout in bulk, keep it as whole as possible, and have them wrap it for you in plastic wrap.  Here I have a half pound chunk of brisket and a pound of pulled chicken.  It so happens that this takeout came from a BBQ restaurant that holds its meat for service in the exact same way.  All meats are wrapped in plastic wrap and held around 150-160 degrees in a hot box.  Each ticket is filled to order.  The wrapped meat is cut open, sliced to order, rewrapped, and placed back in the hot box.  That's exactly what we are doing here, just on a much smaller scale. 

Continue reading "How to order BBQ takeout like a Pro" here...