Who cooks better than a BBQ restaurant?


 
Tony P in Florida

Tony P in Florida

TVWBB Fan
We don't go to barbecue restaurants. But we did go to Sonny's BBQ recently. Had a an entree with a little bit of brisket, pulled pork, and wet ribs.

IMO, my pulled pork and ribs were better in terms of flavor. Their ribs, however, were much nicer in terms of plate appeal... Nice and symmetrical. Trimmed perfectly.
 
Who doesn't? JK. Seriously though, my brother opened a BBQ place last month. The commercial smokers are a whole different animal than the retail ones most of us use, even the pellet feeders. However, I can say that after taking a month off from patio smoking to support the little bro, I finally got back into the game and did a couple brisket-style tri tips on my WSM 18. I gave my brother a sample, and he was very impressed.
 
Up here in in my neck of the woods we don’t have much to choose from in the way of BBQ restaurants. Mostly chain joints like Famous Dave’s, or Dickies. But we have one place that serves up some good food. Their brisket is very very good. As far as their other selections such as ribs and pulled pork, my offerings are just as good, some may say better.
 
We're a collective bunch of folks who are trying to make Michelin starred barbecue on a Mcdonald's budget.....

I pretty much can't order barbecue out, especially brisket. I tried the brisket at a restaurant near where I grew up a couple of years ago, heard "are you SURE????" from my g/f, and I pretty much regretted my choice. The brisket tasted more like roast brisket, albeit tender enough. Famous Dave's has a spin-off chain, Old South, and I've tried that exactly once. My buddy & I both agreed that while the restaurant certainly smelled promising, none of the food lived up to the odors.

So, in short..... unless I find a small local hole-in-the-wall barbecue shack, I'll generally avoid chains. There's a Dickey's not too far away that does seem to have atypically good food for the chain that's good for a quick take-away dinner on the way home from work.
 
I agree, I have spent a very large portion of my life learning to cook. That effort may not have brought me to a professional level but, I out perform almost every place I have visited. Not all and, not every time. I have decided I’m best off only going to places that do things I do not. Given all the space in my kitchen, I don’t have much interest in learning the techniques and more specialized equipment. I’m lucky to have a brilliant Asian fusion place just far enough away that we have to make a special effort to go so, it does not get “old”.
 
I don't know what is wrong with where we live, but most BBQ places seem to come and go pretty fast.

Oh great! Before I typed in anymore, I thought I had better double-check. Apparently, there are quite a few places that serve BBQ here in Boca. I guess it is just the one a few blocks from us that can't seem to keep it going. Most places are not called by a BBQ name, but do serve it. I guess that is what confused me.

THANK GOODNESS!!! I was running out of places that had anything decent to eat. Like last night, we had KFC. It was the worst chicken we have had in quite a while. (Yes, I let DH have a night off once in a while. lol)
 
Like everything-depends on the place. We have a couple local places that do a great job. Used to be a guy that set his big smoker up in an empty parking lot on the weekend and sold until it was gone. Some of the best I have ever had.
 
Depends upon the joint, we've got some here I wouldn't bother with ................... but we've got some others that I can't touch what they're doing.
 
I'm about 10 miles south of LAX and there aren't many bbq joints around here. We have a "Joey's" chain joint that is actually edible, if not all that flavorful. We also have a Lucielle's, which is a chain southern family style restaurant, and I hate to say it, but it has pretty decent ribs consistently coming off their big rotisserie smoker in the middle of the place. But the very few independent joints are few a far between, come and go often, and run from good sometimes to terrible. It's a tough business to make a living in and I suspect its hard to dispose of expensive meat when it doesn't sell some days. But selling bad food is the dagger in the heart of the business, IMO. So I have to rely on my own bbq when I want a good bbq fix. But I'm no Aaron Franklin either.
 
Barry Karnes said:
Not just BBQ, but other foods too. I do all the cooking at my house (inside & outside) and can satisfy my desires with most cuisines. There are a few dishes I don't make well, and those are the ones I'll go out for. Who likes spending on mediocre food, just to avoid cleaning up?
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I hate cleaning up, so I guess the answer to that last question is me. Aside from that, I agree completely with what you said. Far too often I order something and am disappointed because it's mediocre at best and I know I can do better at home. And if I find something on a menu that's really good, chances are they'll have taken it off the menu next time I go there. Can't tell you how many times that's happened. I mostly try to order things that would require so much prep at home as to be impractical.
 
The thing about “cleaning up” for me is I have time to ”debrief” myself about what went right or wrong with every cook. Besides, if I let someone else do it, I have to go back and inspect the job. Sometimes I have to redo some, sometimes, I just put things away and count the day as a win.
But, I do rather like the time to listen to my family talking and laughing. I think it also helps me think about the next feast, when you go out, you are either pleased or disappointed that you spent a ridiculous amount of money for the joy of not doing dishes.
Hardly seems fair, does it?
 
Living in the KC metro area, it's pretty hard top top what the established joints are doing. Most are very good and a few are great.
But to be honest, I'm not that great of a cook like some here.
 
I live in the San Fernando valley (north west of Los Angeles) & it's not too difficult to make better bbq than what's available locally. My niece keeps trying different places & tells me that I "ruined" her for restaurant bbq.
 
We go to Nashville a lot, and I don't go for the food, I go for the drinks. Although I admit I like Party Foul a bunch. Killer hot wings
 
It's true new experiences can expand horizons. Maybe I didn't realize it was possible and want to incorporate that. Maybe it was just a change of pace.

I have gotten more creativity from this site than every barbecue joint I have stepped foot in combined - and that's been a few places.
 
I'm with other members that generally order things they don't make at home. For me, that's Indian food, or sometimes seafood (although I do grill seafood once in a while). The bbq I find in restaurants is generally not as good as what I can make around the house, and neither are the steaks. Once in while I find some good pulled pork or ribs but I usually don't order brisket. I've all but given up on finding good brisket in a restaurant. I may order it next time I'm in KC at Joes, but other than that, I've sort of given up.
 
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