Brad Olson
TVWBB Diamond Member
A couple of weeks ago I was meeting some friends for lunch in Burlington, WI and my route took me through Whitewater, so I thought I'd check out the body-shop-turned-restaurant known as Casual Joe's
Joe's is located on the eastern edge of a residential area but as the winds around here are more likely to be westerly the neighbors probably don't mind too much. Or maybe they do.
When the concept for Joe's was being worked out the owner and an associate took a 17-day barbecue-themed road trip for ideas, and their route is shown in the map on the wall.
Even though I had lunch plans I broke down and ordered the 3-meat plate with pulled pork, brisket, and Joe's unique jalapeno-cheese sausage with mac & cheese and cornbread as my sides. The pork comes Carolina-style with a little vinegar for flavor, but I would've liked a little more smoke. The brisket was a nice mix of fat and lean and had a good beefy, lightly smoky taste, and the sausage was moist with cheese and had a definite kick from the jalapenos. The mac & cheese had broken a little bit but still tasted good, and the crumbly cornbread was perfect as a carrier for butter.
The sauces are homemade and while I didn't use any on my barbecue I did give them a try. The sweet was what I usually expect from a red sauce, the spicy had a different flavor thanks to sriracha, and the stout (my favorite) had an earthier, less sweet flavor.
Even though Whitewater isn't all that big in terms of permanent residents (~15,000) it has some decent places to eat, and Casual Joe's fits right in.
Joe's is located on the eastern edge of a residential area but as the winds around here are more likely to be westerly the neighbors probably don't mind too much. Or maybe they do.
When the concept for Joe's was being worked out the owner and an associate took a 17-day barbecue-themed road trip for ideas, and their route is shown in the map on the wall.
Even though I had lunch plans I broke down and ordered the 3-meat plate with pulled pork, brisket, and Joe's unique jalapeno-cheese sausage with mac & cheese and cornbread as my sides. The pork comes Carolina-style with a little vinegar for flavor, but I would've liked a little more smoke. The brisket was a nice mix of fat and lean and had a good beefy, lightly smoky taste, and the sausage was moist with cheese and had a definite kick from the jalapenos. The mac & cheese had broken a little bit but still tasted good, and the crumbly cornbread was perfect as a carrier for butter.
The sauces are homemade and while I didn't use any on my barbecue I did give them a try. The sweet was what I usually expect from a red sauce, the spicy had a different flavor thanks to sriracha, and the stout (my favorite) had an earthier, less sweet flavor.
Even though Whitewater isn't all that big in terms of permanent residents (~15,000) it has some decent places to eat, and Casual Joe's fits right in.