JimCo

What a coincidence. Looks like he was there today. In a reply to this tweet, he said he would put in the Texas Monthly Top 50 if it was located there. That is high praise indeed.

Why, why, why do servers not write down orders? Within minutes of sitting down, our server took my family's order while maintaining eye contact and not writing a word of it down -- Half pound of moist brisket, half pound of turkey, one beef link, a plain cheeseburger, large mac and cheese, small corn, and small brussel sprouts. It was like being forced into a low stakes game of Chicken that was bound to end with two losers. And so I waited ten minutes wondering what would come out incorrectly, and I wasn't disappointed. Strike that. I was disappointed. Just not surprised. A runner soon arrived with a mostly correct order. I immediately stopped him from putting down the corn muffins and told him we actually had ordered the corn. Everything else looked correct when he walked away. Then I noticed the brisket was clearly not from the moist end, and was several nice cuts of the lean instead. After finally flagging down our server, who had never noticed my empty beer glass, I pointed out the error. Fortunately, they were quick to correct both mistakes. (Though the bill still tried to charge me for the corn AND the corn muffins until I pointed it out.) The upside was that the brisket was very good. It's not quite as smoky as the brisket at Hill Country which remains my favorite in this area, but it was reasonably moist and easy to keep eating. The beef sausage had a nice snap to it and a fair amount of spice. The turkey was cut into nearly one-inch slices which usually indicates something is going to be dry. It was. But the sides were all great. It was nice to be back here after almost a year, and see that the barbecue is still quite good. They were slammed last night with what looked like three very large parties (each table had 20+ people to it). That certainly makes service issues understandable, though not entirely forgivable when it probably could have been avoided with a pen and paper.

I have heard a lot of good things about it. Daniel Vaughn, the BBQ Editor for Texas Monthly, listed it as one of the places he is most anxious to try outside of Texas. I also just listened to a recent podcast that interviewed the husband and wife who started it. You can find it here: https://kevinsbbqjoints.podbean.com/e/ep-16-chris-fultz-alex-graf-zzq-barbeque-richmond-virginia/ They seem like great people with a real appreciation for getting things right. I'm anxious to try it, but don't get down to Richmond very often.

Vague but promising post on Instagram.

I was in Austin this weekend and arose early Saturday to make the trek to Snow's BBQ. Snow's is located in Lexington, Texas - a very small town about one hour east of Austin. It has also been named 'The Best BBQ in Texas' by Texas Monthly magazine on two occasions, last year beating out Franklin's for the title. They are open only on Saturday mornings and are typically out of meat by noon. For those few who haven't ready about Snow's, their story is as remarkable as their barbecue. Snow's pitmaster is Tootsie Tomanetz, an 82-year old woman who arrives at 2:30am every Saturday morning to smoke meat for the masses. During the week, she works in the maintenance department at the local school district. This spring, she was nominated for a James Beard award. A reporter who reached out to her after the nomination had to explain to her what it was. We pulled up at 6:30am sharp, and I was the 11th person in line. In front of us were a group of five men from Los Angeles who were doing a BBQ tour of Texas, hitting several places in a single day. By the time Snow's opened at 8am, there were roughly 60 people in line. The line provides a good view of the open pits, and I noticed Steven Raichlen was there, following Tootsie around and taking lots of notes. I wanted to say hello, but he was gone by the time we got our food. Entering a small shed, you have a choice of ribs, chicken, turkey, sausage, pork butt, and brisket. I went with the brisket, sausage, pork butt, and some chicken to share with my companions. There is coleslaw and potato salad to buy, and free barbecued beans. I tried none of them, not wanting to waste valuable stomach space. There are a few tables inside, but ten picnic tables outside next to the pits are where you want to sit. The brisket was great, with good smoke and nicely rendered fat. Some of the lean parts were a tad dry but that is to be expected. I've read they use small briskets (5-6lbs) and only cook them for about six hours. The pork butt is the real star. They cut it into steaks about an inch thick, then cook it about 4-5 feet over hot coals for about six hours. Then the meat is carved into slices before serving. This is not a tender cut, but is salty and fatty with a nicely caramelized crust. I had read many people say the chicken is their favorite, and it is very good. It has the 'bite through' skin that is so important on the competition circuit, is nicely crispy and seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I thought I detected a hint of citrus in it (maybe lemon pepper?). The sausage was good as well, though not particularly noteworthy. Was it the best barbecue I've ever eaten? It was up there, but probably not quite the best. Was it the best barbecue meal I've ever had? Unquestionably. You arrive in a tiny Texas town at sunrise. Exiting your vehicle, you can hear the cows rustling and mooing in the nearby cattleyard during the coolest part of the day. From your seat, you can look over the nearby fields while feeling the heat and smelling the smoke from the fire and watch these pitmasters at work while enjoying the fruits of their labor. It is an encapsulation of everything about Texas barbecue, and a reminder that meals are about experiences as much as food. I can't wait to return.

You know the best thing on the menu at Hank's Old Town? The fried fish sandwich. Seriously. I believe it's 2-3 small filets of haddock. The breading has just a bit of kick to it, and it's served on a potato roll with a little tartar sauce and greens. This sandwich is in need of better marketing, but I've turned several people on to it who now order it regularly.

We were there last night. There was a sign posted near the front dining room that said it was temporarily closed, and will be reopened as something new that will allow diners to enjoy Ray's in a more casual setting. No idea what that means, and doubt we'll be getting any hints. The food was solid as ever. Their dry-aged ribeyes on special are my favorite steaks in this area.

I had the opportunity to try the food truck today, and interestingly found it to be significantly better than what I had at the restaurant. The pulled pork platter was full of large chunks of shoulder with plenty of bark that had just a hint of pleasant kick to it. The pork was covered in its own jus, so it was very juicy. It was also a huge portion, much larger than what I got at the restaurant. To be fair, I hit the restaurant in its first week of business so I'm sure they were still getting their footing. Also, I hit the restaurant just after the lunch rush and hit the food truck just before. But I would definitely give the restaurant another shot after having such a good experience at their truck.

Stopped by Smoking Kow for a late lunch today. They opened earlier this week. The place is pretty small, with about four picnic tables to eat at inside. They didn't have wings, tacos or ribs today, which was too bad. I ordered the two-meat platter with pulled pork and brisket, along with barbecue beans and mac and cheese. I also tried all of their sauces. I believe they were: original, vinegar, mumbo, chipotle, and gold. I thought the pulled pork and the brisket were both good, though they didn't provide a lot of it for a platter. I also thought it strange that the brisket only comes chopped. It made me suspicious that they're trying to cover up something, because that's why I do when my brisket turns out dry. Of the sauces, I enjoyed the chipotle the most, especially with the brisket. I really enjoyed their barbecue beans. They're red and white beans with a vinegary sauce that has a lot of interesting flavor to it. Can't wait to try that again. The mac and cheese was creamy, fine, nothing to really write home about. Overall, I'll definitely give this place another chance. I think the transition from food truck to restaurant will probably give them some growing pains. The menus (and meat portions) seem more geared toward sandwiches, which makes sense for a food truck. Hopefully they'll have brisket slices and ribs in the near future.

Happy Opening Day! I am excited to watch this team with a full season from Eaton. They're going to be fun to watch hit.

Felt like Indian food last night so decided to give London Curry House a try. Bombay Curry Company is usually are 'go to' spot, but thought it might be nice to try something new. I'll be sticking with Bombay Curry Company in the future. I started with the Dahi Porri - yogurt, tamarind and chickpeas inside a puffed lentil shell. The filling was overly sweet to the point that it tasted more like a desert than an appetizer. I also thought the filling was served too cold. It felt like it came right out of the coldest part of the refrigerator. For an entree, I went with the Lamb Vindaloo because I felt like something spicy, paired with the Gobi Paratha - cauliflower stuffed bread. The vindaloo was bright red, almost glossy. It was spicy, but there was no real flavor or complexity to it. All the spice was on the front end. It was like eating lamb chili... bad lamb chili. The Gobi Paratha might have been good, but they cut it into four pieces before it gets to the table. The result is that the bread quickly gets soggy. I always wondered if I was missing something with this place. So at least my curiosity left satisfied...

Minority of two. I thought the sauce made the breading soft and didn't really enjoy it.

Here's a little info: "Popular Barbecue Truck Going Brick-and-Mortar in Alexandria" by Rebecca Cooper on bizjournals.com

Enjoyed a President's day lunch at El Sol. It is a small space so I can see it getting crowded at dinner and on weekends, but fortunately it was pretty empty on the holiday. Started with the guacamole and chips. I thought it was very good guacamole but I did not notice any spice as folks above have noted. Perhaps they've toned it down. That turned out to be a good thing because the green and brown hot sauces really packed the heat. The brown sauce had a great smoky poblano flavor, but I think I preferred the green which was a little tart. I really enjoyed the gordita stuffed with carnitas, onions, cheese and chopped cactus salad. The warm, toasted and slightly crispy corn tortilla was the perfect packaging. I wavered on whether to get tacos, but at the last minute ordered the Enchiladas de Mole Rojo. Their mole was on the sweet side so I can see why it might be off-putting to some, but I loved it. I thought it was well-balanced and had a touch of spice that presents itself on the back of the throat. I'd order it again. I'd love to try Mezcalera Cocina some time, but it's a bit of a haul. And with El Sol near downtown, I'm not sure I feel any pressure.

This is literally the dumbest "story" of all time. One, who cares if Jose Andres could or couldn't get into a party? Two, the entire premise of the story (that Ivanka kept him out of the party) is apparently false by Andres' own admission. So what we're left with is a celebrity chef couldn't get into an after-party. And this has now been covered by The Washington Post, Politico, and multiple other publications. Andres should be credited for what he did in Puerto Rico, but we are all lesser for having to read about this crap. This is the height if unimportance.

Walking toward Myron’s this afternoon I detected the sweet scent of hickory smoke. I’m not sure what was on the smoker today, but it certainly wasn’t my brisket or ribs which had no smoke flavor whatsoever. The brisket looked nice but was terribly bland. The baby back ribs were barely warm, and clearly had been sitting around a while. The rub on them was decent but the bark was soft. I ordered the chicken egg rolls as an appetizer. Why? I don’t know. They were awful. Mushy on the inside and the wrapper was already soggy when it got to the table. I also got a big piece of gristle in one of my few bites of it. I don’t remember the last time I left so much food sitting on a platter. No “to go” box. This food was past its prime long before it got to the table. Unfortunately, I think the same is true of Myron’s. Back to Hill Country for me.

I think Don is right that the best is Nasime but you can't get it a la carte. I think it's only sashimi and only part of the tasting menu. We're fond of Momo as a neighborhood place. Our distant third was Kyoto in the Bradlee Shopping Center. However, we were told by some friends who were regulars there that management cleaned house last fall and that it had really fallen off (and it didn't have far to fall...). --- Nasime (Escoffier) Old House Cosmopolitan (lovehockey)

Reserve is back open, but completely transformed. They don't take reservations anymore, the tables are all high-tops and they're open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday. The menu is about 10-12 items that are meant to be shared. Unfortunately I neglected to take a picture of the menu so I can't remember everything we ate. There are a number of Asian dishes, and lots of items that really pack the spice while having great flavors. My favorite was the duck. I believe it was Pad Kee Mao with noodles that seemed homemade. It was incredibly spicy but I couldn't stop eating it. So good and so addictive. There was also a lamb chop with Indian spices. It was a great mix in that it combined my favorite Indian flavors of a blackened lamp chop but also surrounded it with a curry sauce. There was spaetzle with fried pork cheeks that was incredibly rich in the best way. We also tried the beef tartare incorporated into hard boiled eggs. I loved that the steak wasn't over-dressed (like too many places) but there were some spices incorporated that definitely added some kick while still allowing one to enjoy the cool raw beef. I'm not sure I can do this meal justice, but I can encourage people to go and I will. They said Eric is changing the menu every week so there's ample reason to go back. I can't think of another place like this in Alexandria. It deserves more attention. Seriously. Go.

Does anyone know if Uncle Brutha's is still being produced? They've stopped carrying it at Whole Foods, and their website says orders are unavailable. Do they still have a table at Eastern Market?

Does anyone know if Uncle Brutha's is still being produced? They've stopped carrying it at Whole Foods, and their website says orders are unavailable. Do they still have a table at Eastern Market?

It was the man himself. The Carvel bit starts at the 50s mark:

He's also from the D.C. area and performs here every year or two. I've been twice to see him at the Warner. He had a great bit about the old Tom Carvel commercials that I think you can find on YouTube.

I believe their jerk wings belong in any conversation about the best wings in this area.

There were a few, but I didn't get a chance to try 'em.

Great article from The Ringer about Rodney Scott and John Lewis, and what they're doing with their respective Charleston restaurants. https://www.theringer.com/2017/8/22/16180430/soul-of-barbecue-charleston-south-carolina