Best Barbeque (Regional) (1 Viewer)

[Dome Vongvises]

I will have to make a small trip to Owensboro. Otherwise, I think I can manage a trip to Memphis as well. Kansas City may be pushing it though for a random road trip.

 

[Todd H]

Vienna is practically right down the road from me. I'll have to try Jack's when I go to the Pig Jig this year.

 

[Jan H]

I like 'Dr. Hogly Wogly's' brisket in Van Nuys. The Valley's got a lot of great food and Zen and Jack need to check out Wogly's if they haven't already. The proprieter is a transplant (who isn't) of Tyler, Texas. The portions are gargantuan and the sauce is awesome, if you even need it.

 

[DanaA]

Jan,

Thanks for bringing up Dr. Hogly Wogly's. I was going to ask about it earlier, but never got around to it.

Haven't lived in the L.A. area since '85 since we moved to Northern California, but, before we moved, we did quite an extensive search for the best BBQ eatery in the area, starting with all of Elmer Dill's recommendations (if he's not still around, he was the dining guru at 790 AM back then).

Dr. Hogly Woglys was by far the best. Great sides too. About the time we left, I had heard that it was sold to new owners and wondered if the quality was still the same or if it was still in business.

Back then, lines to get in could be a half block long and the aroma could waft a good two blocks.

Still the best I've ever had.

I've yet to eat at a BBQ in the Sacramento area that matches even the top 10 I visited in L.A. Gave up trying.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Not to start the second Civil War or anything but

What do you prefer?

Gas, charcoal, or wood?

Dry or wet rubs?

BTW, is it even remotely possible to barbecue with a conventional oven?

 

[Jack Briggs]

Wood, baby, wood. It's all in the wood. Hickory, in the Deep South.

As for this Hogly Wogly's, where in Van Nuys? Because my sister once took me to a pretty darn good barbeque joint in the Valley years ago, but I forgot the name. Ordered a pork sandwich on the bun. It was so much I couldn't eat it all. I remember it being very tasty, and the real deal.

 

[Jan H]

It's on Sepulveda. Address is 8136 Sepulveda. Check it out, you won't be sorry. Killer smoked chicken and sausages, too. No need to go Texas, Texas came to L.A.

Wood is definitely where it's at, but it's so damn expensive out here in SoCal. We don't grow hickory, mesquite or the other great woods. Charcoal is the fuel of choice for me, with a generous amount of wood chips. I believe gas grills to be an abomination. Why not just
stick your meat in the oven? Comes out tasting the same.

 

[Zen Butler]

Wood

 

[Henry Gale]

Lew already mentioned Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas. I'd like to encourage anyone to visit their original location, now called "Smitty's".
Why Kreuz's is now just north of town and Smitty's is in the old building is too long a story to get into now, but you can get great meat at either location.
But, as to atmosphere...I've been taking visitors to the old bulding a block from the Calwell County Courthouse for 30 years now, they never forget the experience.
You're entering a 19th Century commercial building, high stamped tin ceilings, every surface seeming thick with the residue of a hundred plus years of smoke. Down a long hall, lined with articles about the place, and then you enter, the inferno. On a summer day it's really an out of body moment, or maybe you just wish you were out of your body. You are inches from a pile of burning logs laying right there on the floor. Luckily the draft of the fire is pulling the flames away from you. As your turn comes to make your order, you are not isolated from the action by a counter and a clerk, no, you are standing in front of the butcher block talking to the man with the big knive. That's probably why I always order too much.
The selection is VERY simple. Beef, sausage or pork and do you want that with crackers or white bread? They then hand you your feast on butcher paper.
Then you're through another door into the dining room, a series of long tables and rattlesnake art on the walls. At this point you can buy a beverage from a separate concession.
You eat with your fingers, there are handy rolls of paper towels nearby.

 

[Jed M]

My type of thread. My two biggest hobbies are HT and Smoking (BBQ).

I'm all about KC BBQ, wood and dry rub. I am also of the belief that although direct can be tasty, real bbq needs to be cooked indirectly. Memphis style would be second, Texas third and Carolina would rate better just because of the coleslaw on their pork sandwiches is so darn good, but the sauce down there is way too vinegary for my tastes. Although Carolina does have tasty mustard sauces also.

Although there are about a million, I'd say my favorite places for BBQ in KC are Gates and Sons and Sneads. Arthur Bryants is overrated and don't ever get me started on that suburban made junk, KC Masterpiece. I don't know anyone in KC that actually eats that Ketchup w/liquid smoke.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Jan, I believe that was the restaurant. I think it was on Sepulveda.

On another note, I remember back in the 1980s during a visit back to Tennessee, my relatives were picking up trays of something called Byron's Smoked Barbeque in the frozen-food section of Kroger.

Damn, but even it was good. After heating in an over for around thirty minutes, just scoop a portion on a heated bun, add a touch of a good store-bought sauce and maybe a dash of Tabasco, and — voila! — a damn good barbeque pork sandwich.

One thing I like about Memphis (and, to a lesser extent, Nashville) is the ubiquity of barbeque stands. They're all over the place. I remember a chain store called Coleman's Barbeque. And another chain store called Loeb's Barbeque (former Memphis mayor Henry Loeb started the chain).

Don't think they are still around. Haven't been to Tennessee since 1987; no plans on returning.

 

[Jeff Pryor]

No, Jack, sadly those are no longer around. I just did a double-check in the Yellow Pages and counted 30 individual BBQ franchises just in Memphis alone, not considering the outlying areas.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Wow. Now, that's heaven. Here, you have to search just for those people who really know what barbeque is in the first place.

 

[Chris]

The original Gates & Sons is one of the better places, with all the right atmosphere for a real bbq.

If you can make it once a year anywhere, though, come to the Great American Lenexa BBQ, in a suburb of KC.

If you are willing to eat in a gas station (NOT KIDDING) some of the better BBQ in town is at a place called "Oklahoma Joes" ( http://www.oklahomajoesbbq.com/ ) which is a trip to go to. Some of the best sauce (IMHO) in the metro.

Here's a resource on KC BBQ.. I love travelling, and really enjoy BBQ in different areas of the country, but there is always something special about BBQ here..

http://www.rbjb.com/rbjb/bbq.htm

 

[Chazz_S]

Wow, just what I was looking for. Thanks for the recommendations Jack.

What I'm looking for is just that tasty, juicy BRISKET that I see on foodtv all the time with their damn barbeque specials on joints in Tenn, TX etc.

So I've got a hankering for some brisket and some sausage, will Huston's or The Pig get me there?

 

[Lew Crippen]

BTW Jan, you can use wood chips on a gas unit, just as you can using charcoal. This (for me) is the way to do acceptable barbeque using gas.

BTW, you can be thankful that there is no mesquite around you. Mesquite is a big nuisance in Texas. Personally I like mesquite best for grilling—it burns with a very high heat and lends a very distinctive flavor to the meat.

 

[Zen Butler]

I love adding a few dashes of hot sauce.


The once regional Tapatio is a very nice substitute for Tabasco. The very cheap Loiusiana Red Rooster is also good.

I have never gotten Tabasco and where I grew up, it was Tapatio or Cholula on most restaurant tables.

I'll have to add, the state of Kansas also is no slouch when it comes to barbecue. Man, do I miss that state.

 

[Randy Tennison]

Jed Said:


I truly despise KC Masterpiece.

I still remember my first taste of KC bar-b-que. It was a little crappy shack downtown called "Richard Francis" (across the street from The Savoy . . .it's now a parking garage). You placed your order, the one guy working there (Richard) grabbed the meat with his hands, sliced it, and threw it on some Wonderbread. Then, a handfull of fries into the fryer. Damn good stuff. I was hooked after that.

My best guess is that any bar-b-que place that asks if you want "Smoking or Non-Smoking" is going to be crap. If you've got a waitress, it ain't real. Just sit down and eat.

 

[Zen Butler]

Jack, is The Pig that you mentioned the one on LaBrea and Clinton?

 

[Adam Tyner]

In my neck of the woods (Upstate SC), I lean towards Henry's Smokehouse. Their menu is a little slimmer than I'd like (I miss not having macaroni & cheese as an option), but their pork is just killer. Their fries have a really distinctive taste as well. I try to eat there once a week.

When I'm back home in Charleston, I always make it a point to stop at Melvin's in Mt. Pleasant. Their combination baskets come with an onion ring, and though "an" onion ring might not sound like much, it's bigger than an average doughnut. When I was younger and didn't like the taste of onions, I used to yank out the thin strip of onion and just eat the batter.

I used to be in the red-based sauce camp, but now I'm a mustard devotee.