redd granite

Ah the BBQ road continues.  Today brings us to Jaspers, in Waco Texas.  There are a few do’s and don’ts for Jasper’s.  Do tell them that this is your first time to Jasper’s.  Do let them recommend the fare you are about to take.  Do get the bowl of ‘gravy’ when they ask if you want it. (it is a $.50 side item, but included with plates). Here are a few don’ts:  Do not refuse to take multiple pieces of bread.They will simply laugh at you when you say you want one  piece and you have accepted their offer for gravy included in your meal. Do not think about your diet, you can always resume tomorrow. And lastly, do not worry about your health, if you stroke out, well, you went happily.

Jasper's in the Old Days

Quite frankly, this is one of the best BBQ  joints we have reviewed on Redd…..first, let me explain that Jasper’s BBQ is in East?, North?, Northeast?, I cannot get the directional designations in Waco neighborhoods.  Speaking of the neighborhood, Jasper’s is in a rather desolate one. It also happens to be across the street from one of my favorite named businesses in the whole world:  Nappy Roots.  Love it!

The story on Jasper’s is that it started in 1915. They started as a fruit stand and wandered into the restaurant business.  Back then, as in now, they would sell you beef and sausage, serving it on butcher paper.  Today, they continue this tradition even though the current ownership seems far removed from the origins of this BBQ Joint. In fact, I believe they just reopened under new ownership.  I can recall cars outside only for the last several months; but what caught my eye was how many cars during lunch. So I observed. The clientele was mixed between races, worker types, and levels.  A truly good sign. I had to try it. And the new ownership was on site, and quite nice.

Service was friendly and fast.  I followed my own advice above and let them new I was a virgin.  They quickly steered me to the ribs, and the gravy.  Well, as you readers know on this site when we review BBQ, we always get at least the two meat plate with brisket and ribs.  Today was no different. The sides here are limited.

A quick glance on the sides menu also got my curiosity up.  Here they have a side of a loaf of bread for $2.00. Was not sure about that one, but about to find out. That, my friend is for the gravy.  So they take the drippings from the meat they slow cook, and mix it into some recipe that I am sure they are unwilling to share, and have it as a side item.  The bread is for dipping. No wonder they chuckled when I said one piece of bread while accepting gravy. They knew I would be back. This you just have to indulge in. The gravy is so good, not BBQ sauce, but a mother of god liquid that has the smoke flavor of the meat. Please try it with much bread.  If you have to purge later, just go beyond the parking lot please.  No one wants to see that.

The star here were the ribs.  These were meaty and large pork ribs that were cooked to perfection.  They had a beautiful charring on the surface, and underneath, juicy pork meat that had a rich taste of smoke.  Not sure what wood they use here, I assume mesquite, but interestingly and unlike other BBQ joints like this, you do not smell the wood from the street as you pass by.  The smokey flavor had a slightly hint of sweet to it. It was just heavenly.  They were tender fall of the bone great.  The two meat plate had three sizable ribs included. Truly a star.  Please, please, do not put BBQ sauce on the ribs.  It is not like the sauce is bad, quite the contrary.  The ribs are just that good. The brisket, was a little less dynamic.  They state they usually chop the brisket instead of slice.  I asked for mine sliced so I could observe the characteristics.  I did not observe an appreciable smoke ring.  The smokey flavor was hinted, but not in your face dynamic like the ribs.  Truly the clientele enjoyed the chopped brisket, based upon observations of what was ordered, but I was seemingly less impressed.  It was middle of the road brisket in taste, tenderness, and quality. That said, there were alot of orders for a sort of open faced sandwich where the chopped brisket was layered between bread and served on the butcher paper.  Unique. The clientele augmented the open face brisket with the BBQ sauce.  This was a good sauce with modest texture, slightly sweet, but lacking any heavy smoke flavor.  For the brisket, it complimented the meat well.  But for the ribs, as I indicated earlier, please do not use on the ribs, the sauce, while good, cannot live up to the stellar quality taste of the ribs.

The sides are limited to potato salad, slaw, beans, gravy, and deviled eggs which I did not order but wished I had. Two sides come with the meat plate which you can combo what ever you wish for a super reasonable $6.95  Next time I will have to try the sausage, as it looked good as I coveted other guests plates. The sandwich plates run $3.50-$4.00. For a BBQ joint, which most are grossly over priced, you cannot beat Jasper’s value. Drinks are a little steep to make up for it, so if you are a cheap ass, then order water.

Jasper’s BBQ in Waco Texas is a unique place.  The new ownership apparently tries to keep the old tradition alive.  The butchers paper serving is one of these traditions.  You can still just order the meat and be served on the paper. Jasper’s BBQ Waco is a great place.  Very reasonably priced.  If ever in Waco, give it a shout.  It is right off of I-35.

I give Jasper’s a 8.0 out 10.  If they end up making the brisket the way they do the ribs, you will have perfection

Today’s establishment asking for entry at the gates of BBQ heaven is a well-known Austin restaurant known as “County Line Barbecue”.  As noted previously, I generally stay away from chains, even small chains, but a friend asked me to dinner there to compare it versus some of the better spots I have encountered on the mission to find great BBQ.   County Line’s website lists 8 locations, plus their sister establishments Cannoli Joe’s, an Italian buffet style place, and Side Door Liquor Store in El Paso.   Eclectic corporate grouping, so far.  Started in Austin in 1975, the County Line has two locations in the Capital City, the original on The Hill, in an old “speakeasy” and the other overlooking a portion of Lake Austin.  This visit was to the lake location.  The huge parking lot had a half-dozen cars parked in front. The large restaurant is cool, the wood interior very relaxing and soothing.  The staff was friendly and helpful, but seemed to be in a hurry to rush us taking orders, checking up numerous times for status and tea refills.  It seemed the vibe was to turn the tables over quickly and get more customers in, and it wasn’t especially crowded.  After the meal, we strolled out to the huge wooden deck, to chat and watch the sun on the immense limestone cliffs looking down on us, and keeping an eye on several dozen turtles lazily hanging around the water.  They have spots for boaters to tie up when they are ready for a break from the lake.  Very cool.

As usual, I ordered the two meat plate, Brisket and Sausage, with Potato Salad, Cole Slaw,  and “baked beans”.   Hot bread, as dark as pumpernickel came first.  Slathered with sweet honey butter, was delicious.  But we weren’t at a bakery, we were there for some serious BBQ.  As our plate dinners came out I was baffled.  The Brisket serving was minimal,  the sausage quite large.  The potato salad was cold, crisp, with just the right amount of mustard.  A winner.  The Baked Beans were hot, but tasted like canned pork-n-beans heated on the stove with a touch of brown sugar.  The coleslaw was fresh but bland, merely acceptable.  The brisket itself, was moderately tender, with a small  smoke ring.  We had the option to use the sauce on the side.  The sauce was well made, moderately dense, a little peppery.  The sausage casing was very thick and difficult to cut through even with silverware.  Plastic knives and forks would have failed miserably.  The sausage flavor was mildly smoky, with some interesting spices.  I did not try the turkey, which several people have raved about.

The County Line Has Nice Surroundings

Overall, I give The County Line a “D” .  This was the most expensive BBQ place I have sampled, and from the amount and quality of the food for the price, a major disappointment.  Maybe they had an off night, it does happen from time to time, but for what they charge, the quality of the food should be the paramount focus, not getting people in and out.   The problem with chain restaurants is often they sacrifice the time necessary to make really great smoked meats and delicious sides, for speed and expediency.  The parking lot was packed when we left, which I could see for the ambiance, but not for the food.  Austin should expect and demand better.

Editors Note:  I too have opinions on this establishment. A location opened in Garland Texas, on Lake Ray Hubbard. Seems they stick with their water view.  Unfortunately, this establishment did not make it even two years, even with a killer unobstructed view of the lake.  The only positive I can say is that the County Line is one of the few BBQ  joints that serve beef ribs.  Not sure why these are not more popular in the bayous of BBQs. But they do a decent job with the beef ribs.  So if you do try one of their locations, I highly recommend those or you will be very dissatisfied.

The BBQ Road goes ever on…….

Chisholm Trail BBQ Lockhart Texas. So everyone boasts to have the best BBQ, especially here in Texas where everyone brags about anything and everything. So when our roaming correspondent and local BBQ expert hit the road once again to ingest some serious calories, they ended up in this central Texas town of Lockhart, about 30 miles southeast of Austin, Texas. Here, they claim the best BBQ in the state.  Truly, some of the joynts he mentions go back to the early 1900′s, and Chisholm Trail BBQ to the 70′s, the ‘new kid’ in town. So are they the best?  Well, read on……

Last holiday weekend brought a quick lunch trip down to Lockhart, TX, proclaimed “The BBQ Capital of Texas”.  Pretty strong words, there pardner, but can they back it up?  The answer is…Hell yes!

This small town of approximately 14,000 people, the county seat of Caldwell County has one of the most picturesque County Courthouses in Texas, completed in 1894.  This town was on one of the main trails of the Chisholm Trail, with Cowboys riding herd to drive beef to the railheads in Kansas.  That history of handling beef has taken hold with four BBQ places (and counting) that would be considered among the best in Texas.

After previously trying the better-known BBQ “joints” in town, like Blacks, Smitty’s, and  Kruez, we were determined to try “Chisholm Trail BBQ” right on Hwy  183 in town, but well past the other places mentioned above.  The low-slung, but long building is unimpressive outside, with signs advising of a wide variety of foods including chicken-fried steaks and fajita plates. We found one parking spot available out front—the place was packed. Walking in , there is initial confusion, no real directions to the service line—indeed there were two lines.  After watching a minute and then asking a local, we learned that the left hand line is for “to Go” orders and the right line was for either eat-in or to go.  The floor was commercial tile, the tables, old worn Formica, scattered about several divided rooms.  Old pictures and the occasional stuffed bobcat/coyote were the decorations.  A wide variety of choices then presented themselves—what to eat.  You can order a plate with 1 or more meats and sides, or just order various meats by the pound.  You can get a Styrofoam container to eat in or go, or just have them put it on butcher paper like other places in town.  We quickly decided on the plate lunch, either the 1 or two meat plate came with 3 sides (most places offer two sides) along with bread and onions (which I think must be offered by law in Texas).  In order to compare “apples to apples” when reviewing BBQ,  I usually get the brisket and sausage as I did here.  The sides had over a dozen choices, cottage fries, green beans, pinto beans, potato salad, coleslaw, fried okra, mac and cheese, black eyed peas, green salad, were among those offered.  My companion got green beans and black-eyed peas, and I got the ‘tater salad and coleslaw. (again, pretty standard for comparison sakes).

The green beans tasted like home-grown picked and slow-cooked with ham bits-very good.  The black-eyed peas were met with approval.  The potato salad was delicious, crunchy, firm, with celery and pimento bits included.  The only disappointment was the coleslaw.  While the presentation was good, with carrots chopped and added to the mix for good color, the slaw was bland, almost warm, vinegar-based.  The sweet tea was especially refreshing after a  busy morning.

But let’s talk about the reason for the visit—the slow-cooked meats.  The brisket was very tender, with a beautiful pink smoke ring.  Juicy but lean, it almost melts in your mouth.  The flavor both with and without sauce was close to the best we have had on the BBQ road. (Country Cousins in Centerville—watch out!)  The sausage was very good, the casing was tough to cut, but the meat inside was smoked, with interesting spices.  Not the best sausage we have had, but certainly in top 3 territory.   The brisket could be cut with a small plastic knife with little effort.  BBQ sauce was available on the side(Bonus Points!).  We bought two pounds of sliced brisket to take home with us, something we seldom do.

We found that having three sides with the BBQ plates to be a great value as well as delicious. The prices were the best we have seen on The Barbecue Road.    Great food, great prices, great value—no wonder the locals pack the place! Overall, The Chisholm Trail BBQ gets an “A”, better grades than most of the more famous BBQ brethren in town.  The food is better, the attitude is better, the place was packed with locals—all the visitors hit the other places…but the food—mmmm…..great job, folks, great job.  We will be back!

The Barbecue Road beckons…..

PS: A trip to their website indicates they will ship you meat across the county. Several of the better BBQ joints in Texas have begun to do this.  This is a way, although not the best like being there, to try some of the meats written about regularly on our bohemian site.

Venezuelan Rum

Today’s entry into the sweepstakes of the World’s Best Rums is “Pampero Aniversario”. This dark rums sails in from the tropical clime of Venezuela where it is blended from 100% Venezuelan rums. The bottle advises that this rum-style was first made by the Pampero Family of Rums in 1963 to celebrate the 25th year of Pampero Rum. This was an “exclusive” reserve bottle with a wax seal on it and individually numbered. The distillery was established in 1938, which is quite encouraging, in the central plains area of the country. I will not comment on the current political issues of the country. Pampero was the first rum from Venezuela to be declared “Anejo” (aged). The distillery has been awarded several prizes from the international community most recently 2007. The company is not Venezuelan-owned anymore (political comment here? Tempting, but no) but is part of Diageo, the world’s largest liquor holding company. Well, if you have to hold something, I think liquor is a good choice—especially rum. Now, let’s talk rum….the bottle is pleasantly squat, the wax stamp gives it gravitas, while the label itself is not overly impressive. From a marketing side, the bottle comes in a beautiful, soft brown, handmade leather bag, quite distinctive and unique. When the cork top is removed, the rum aroma is reserved, soft, low-key like a 3 piece jazz group playing old standards on a deck overlooking a harbor. The texture is smooth, with a nice finish. However, the flavor is smoothed almost to the point of blandness. Like filing off rough edges until you are left with just a sliver and a pile of shavings. There is no “there” there, to quote Dorothy Parker. Drinking it straight brings the thought, “Is that it?” It almost disappears mixed with Coke or Coke Zero. It fares a little better with fruit juices. For approximately $28 a bottle, I was not greatly impressed by this rum. It is not a bad rum, just not a good value for the price. The Rum Road goes ever onward….. The Rum Guy

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We truly hope never. Wow, our man about Texas continues with the BBQ….he is literally giving you his waistline so you may enjoy these great reviews.  OK.  First a note to Google:  Dear Google, please do not cancel my adsense account. Some of the recipes in adds that you have posted as a result of your excellent search engine has literally made me click on my own ads.  Please forgive me, if you search engine was not so great, I would not have pulled off several cool recipes for one of my favorite foods…….on the BBQ Road.

Now to the review.  This place had no photo I could find, so it better be good, but read on……

My last experience on this trip was the next afternoon for a late lunch.  Mike’s Barbecue House in Nacogdoches.   Opened in 1986, the family had worked in another BBQ place across town before going out on their own.  The small parking lot was actually encouraging, but the electric sign out front worried me.  Once we walked in, though, the smell of BBQ and a little smoke was very promising.  The décor was standard Texas BBQ—wooden tables, pictures of country landscapes.  The semi-antique items hung on the walls were at a minimum, thankfully.  Really, people.  We know we are in the country, at a BBQ joint/place.  We don’t need washboards, and old rusty plows and farm implements and pictures of a Marketing Major’s version of Ma and Pa and Uncle Ernie nailed to the walls to remind us.  We know.  Now the food?  Our party ordered several different items, Pork Ribs, tasty and smoky even if not falling-off-the-bone.  The brisket had a very nice smoke ring, tender, the sausage was perhaps underdone.  The sauce was added without asking and it appeared and tasted as if a rub was placed on the meats before the sauce was added. This was similar to another BBQ place we had tried in the same city.  The result was a medium-spicy mixture, quite tasty but unusual.  We had seen that only in this town.   Some in our party did not care for the mixture, I found it different and quite good, even though I am not a spicy-foods person.  The potato salad was outstanding, in the top 3 of what we had tried in all our travels, the Cole slaw was unfortunate. Soggy, vinegar based, not encouraging.  The stuffed jalapeno’s were very spicy. The baked-bean style beans were good with chunks of beef and sauce cooked in.   The staff was pleasant and focused.  The tea was sweet and refreshing.  The blackberry cobbler was also very good.  Mike’s gets a solid B from me, although the rest of the party may not have graded so generously.  But after all, I am writing this, not them, so my grade goes….

The Barbecue Road goes ever on….

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We do not normally review chains here.  However, if you are part of the Texas landscape, you cannot avoid Dickey’s BBQ.  Hell, if you are paying attention to the Google ads that appear to the right of this post, you will likely see an ad to buy a Dickey’s franchise. Now anyone who sells franchises starting at $59K, well, one wonders about the BBQ quality. Read on.

I am happy that our BBQ expert, (and Rum expert, and Low Budget Review, everything cheap expert) was willing to try Dickeys BBQ Pit.  But make no bones about it, this is not a “BBQ Pit”  OK. With that, we let the true expert lead on with his review.

In Nacogdoches that night, we tried a BBQ place that semi-broke the rules for The Barbecue Road—a chain BBQ restaurant.  Historically, the chains do not match up with the joints, shacks, mom-n-pop, and family-run places we love to try.  But, it was close to our hotel, so, we gave it a try—Dickey’s Barbecue.  Dickey’s is a chain with approx 120 outlets, mostly in the Great Plaines states. With a number of them in Texas.  I believe it may have started in Dallas.  Many years ago, “Back in the day”, a local Dickey’s in Plano was one of our favorite dinner spots.  It had been over 20 years since our last visit.  This Dickey’s was similar to a lot of BBQ places, wood tables, checkerboard plastic tablecloths, bric-a-brac on the walls.  The young staff seemed more interested in quickly getting us served than making sure the order was correct.  Perhaps paying more attention to the customer may be in order, not just paying attention to the plate that is being filled.  Smoke hung heavy in the air—too heavy, they need better ventilation.  We literally had to shower that night to get the smoke smell out of our hair and clothes.  But the food—not bad.  The brisket was good, had a small smoke ring, the sauce was tomato-molasses based, sweet but rich, and melded with the meat very well.  The sauce was poured on the meat entre without asking if we even wanted sauce.  The traditional pickles, onion, and white bread accompanied.  The sausage was OK, smoky with a mild aftertaste of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, jalapeno, maybe, or red pepper.  The potato salad was bland, pureed to a texture like vanilla ice cream.  Potato Salad should be chunky and funky with mustard.  I want to taste that I am eating actual potatoes, not rehydrated potato flakes.  The Cole Slaw was OK, vinegar based, and chopped very fine.  The tea was commercial brand bland.  Dickey’s gets some extra points for having some unusual items on the menu—pulled pork, not that frequent in the Beef-Universe that is Texas, loaded Baked Potatoes that looked awesome, Virginia-Style Ham, Polish Sausages… They also had a Smokehouse Salad that was the best bargain on the menu. The plate was very  large, with lots of chopped brisket, fresh greens, cheese and fixins.  Very impressive and a great price.  So here is the dilemma, I give them bonus points for some unusual sides (okra) and the salad and taters, for being a great bargain and well presented and prepared. Delicious.  But then I have to penalize them points—for offering a salad in a BBQ place.  Really, a salad?  In a BBQ place?  No matter how good it is… there’s a saying in Texas, “That boy just ain’t right”……Dickey’s gets a C+.

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In our travels over the great state of Texas seldom do we get a chance to revisit some of our previous BBQ joints and restaurants.  Sometimes, you look at that with trepidation.  Will it be as good as you remember? Did you catch the cooks on a good day or a bad one? Did the cook hate his wife that day or did he get some? All of this counts in Texas, land of the big, best BBQ and triple wide mobile homes. Yes,  consistency is extremely important with good ‘Cue, but there are so many places to try, and so little time….and with the lack of time, it is sometimes difficult to return and check on consistency

Last week, however, we were traveling to East Texas for business and made a point to stop in Centerville, a town of about 900 at the intersection of State Hwy 7 and I-45.  Back in late January we had stopped mid-morning on a cold, rainy day on the way home and shared a sliced beef brisket sandwich, from a semi-permanent trailer/shack called “Country Cousins”.  The sandwich was wonderful and we had promised ourselves that if we ever came back that way we would try more of the menu.  So now the pressure was on.  It was after lunchtime and we were hungry travelers hoping our previous stop was not a mirage.  The place was busy when we pulled up, always a good sign.  We tried the two meat plate, with sliced brisket and sausage, with two sides and tea.  The first mouthful soothed our anxiety. The brisket was melting in our mouth, the sauce, dark, thick and smoky.  It was tomato based with some molasses perhaps, with a touch of kick.  The meat had a good smoke ring and was outstanding.  The sausage was thin sliced and mild, just OK.  The sides were very good, tasty, crunchy potato salad with good texture and flavor, not bland at all.  The beans were pork n beans style with some beef and thick with a sweet cooking sauce, hot, just off the stove delicious.   My companion declared “Country Cousins” the best BBQ found so far on The Barbecue Road.  It was very close to that.  It rates an “A”.  The only reason it didn’t get an A+ was the sausage needs more character, something to make it stand out and not just seem it was Elgin Sausage thrown on the grill for a few minutes.  We may be going back that way in June and will make a point to stop again.  Well Done, “Cousins”, well done!

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Like a dog that reaches back to sniff himself, like a pigeon who delivers its message yet inexplicably returns to where it began, like a Phoenix rising from some sort of ashes, one must return to the homeland once in a while. This weekend , I flew like the Canadian geese to the north country. A goal of a quarterly trip in which I fail once again rather miserably, but when we return, the good times are always waiting in the shadows. Only this time, I did not want to just return to the same ole haunts, the same eateries, drinkeries,  the same routine.  Hell, I am old as hell, time to break out a bit and drag everyone with me.

Twisted Cuisine, Kenosha, Wisconsin

So, with a full family in hand, we headed to a differen eatery in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Lets be clear.  In this town of 10,000 bars, one on every corner…..the great, great Italian and Greek food, we branched out to something totally different. I had thought this was a new eatery, but,  enter Twisted Cuisine (And for you morons, click the name for the website.) This eatery has a vibe that is just not Kenosha. It is small and quaint, with a menu that tops over 25 items…..most really interesting. I was floored to find out from my local family that this had been open since late nineties.  Where the hell have I been beside under my Greek and Italian rock? The dinner started out with a round of drinks from the lively bar area where it was a mixture of those waiting for a table and those just doing the drinking thing. Good God.  No Belvedere.  First mistake.  OK.  I ordered Grey Goose, and will just have to put the review up on Vodkafacts.com, (again morons, you get the picture…good on ya!) The extensive menu of over 25 items ranges from Bloody Mary Salmon, Apple Reisling Port, to Roasted Duck Gnocchi. Truly interesting menu.

The place was crowded.  In fact, it was over run by patrons, leaving the management scrambling to get it all right. I had to use my sales thinking out of the box to get them to seat us and honor our reservations for 8p (truly late for Kenosha eating, by then, normally,  you have settled into your first bar stop). Afterall, we had a 88 year old family member celebrating a birthday with us, standing around was not in the cards.  The beginning drink was served in a unique, branded glass.  Not my martini shaker, but I liked it. Would have to go for two…..

For dinner I tried the Roasted Duck Pinocchio.  So I lied, every trip here I do order Gnocchi, since the rest of the world (sans Italy and Italian sectors of cities), and especially Texas with the exception of the trendy eateries that serve Gnocchi as a fru fru dish, from where I am from, no one seems to know Gnocchi. (By the way, the spell checker on this most popular blog program, knows not what Gnocchi is either, It tells me I am spelling it wrong, but offers no suggestions.  Silly, silly narrow software developers). The meal started with a choice of salad or Portobello Mushroom Soup with Italian sausage.  The small serving of the soup was excellent.  They served it with Oyster Crackers, the kind you find in the old supper club when you are trying to wake up your soup’s taste.  Save it T.C. The soup was excellent and it seemed a crime to put the crackers in the tasty concoction.  The Gnocchi was very good.  The main criticism is that the combination of foods tasted a bit too salty.  Instead of the obligatory cream sauce as most Gnocchi dishes dish, they put it in a broth…based on chicken broth.  This is what made it a bit too salty.  The Gnocchi texture was perfect. Chewy, tasty (these are basically potato dumplings).  Large tasty mushrooms accompanied the plate, topped with mozzarella cheese.  Overall, very, very good. Even with the over extended salt content.

Others at the table had: Fried Snapper Turtle in a Amaretto Sauce. Say good bye to Timmy the Turtle, and your four year old cries for three days missing his beloved pet that he never took care of in the first place.  A taste resulted in a really good  entrée…. despite skepticism that this was a novelty plate.  Others had Halibut stuffed with shrimp, Fettucini Alfredo with Udon Noodles, among others.  One plate, the Ribeye with Paremesian crust was just OK. The bone in Ribeye came cooked medium when the order was for medium rare. Eateries such as this often offer steak choices, but really, leave the truly great steaks to places like Capital Grille (morons…what does this mean?) and the like.  The other plate that was great was the Asian Sea Bass served on Cedar Plank. My god, a bevy of taste as the beautifully prepared fish was topped with an Asian Orange Sauce, but not overwhelmed with it. It truly was great, even though the plank looked more like a piece of hickory wood than cedar.

Desert was a sharing on their version of Bananas Foster. I cannot remember their ‘sound bite’ name, but OMG, this was to die for…..I think I rolled some Texan in an alley today screaming for my Twisted Cuisine Bananas Foster.  And I am not normally a desert guy.  By 9:30, the place was half full and it was time to close the tab and move on to the 10K bar scene. But I have no doubt that their night take exceeded $7K in revenue, and for a place this size with their expected decent rents, this makes for a very profitable business assuming your normal 30-35% food costs, which I expect was the case.  For those of you who never have been to this area, you may be confused on my light hearted comments on the bar scene.  Those who have been here, well, you know what I speak of…chances are you have stumbled out of one of these gems.

The menu pricing ranges from a low of around $12 to a high of $27. The $27 is for the rib eye and fillet.  Stay away from those, as mentioned before. Leave this for the great steak places or my patio grill.  Do embrace the interesting, wicked menu offerings that are offered for mainly around $17-19.  This seems to be a sweet spot for the K-town people.  Personally, since I am from larger city Texas area, I am used to paying for the same type of entrées a rate of $25-40. So for me, these prices were spot on and representing a great value to what I am used to.

Over all, I give Twisted Cuisine (Root, Lean, whatever) an 8 out of 10. If you are in the K-town area, you cannot go wrong, but I do recommend reservations. 7546 Sheridan Rd, Kenosha, Wisconsin.  Check the website above for the tele…..

Peace bro’s

An oh, we will be featuring some excellent travel logs on this site from Jason Hockney, a traveling salesman who uses his work to capture the unusual.  Look for a travel log on Kenosha shortly that features this restaurant and other fine qualities of this area….all with a twist and a fine eye guiding the camera.  Send me the links Jason……..

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Green Mesquite. Our latest entry in the never-ending search for the best BBQ leads us to the capital of Texas—Austin.  While Austin is a huge city compared to most of the BBQ places we have reviewed, the “River City” is known more for its Tex-Mex and Margarita’s than BBQ.   As a side note, Austin calls itself, “The Live Music Capital of Texas”.  With its well-known love affair with ‘Rita’s, it is only appropriate that Jimmy Buffet wrote his huge hit, “Margaritaville” when he was in Austin.  But let’s get back to the ‘Cue…

Green Mesquite Has Been Green A Long Time

Taking an out of town visitor to the downtown area, we pondered a bit before deciding on an old standby on Barton Springs Road, near to famous Zilker Park—The Green Mesquite.  I had not been there in perhaps 15 years, and they had suffered a terrible fire, but had rebuilt.  Still funky, still crowded, with a large outdoor seating area for live music—this is Austin, after all.

The menus were handed on a large laminated sheet, with the specials listed on a chalk board next to the draught beers for happy hour.  A good sign.  The staff was very casual, but pleasant and knowledgeable.  No pretense, no attitude, just “what do you need, here’s some suggestions, we’ll get it out to you in a few minutes”, then leave us alone to chat, with the exception of filling our tea glasses.

I tried the three meat plate, brisket, turkey, and sausage, with potato salad and coleslaw.  One companion got the pulled pork sandwich and another got pork ribs and pulled pork.   The meat servings were large, overflowing the plate.  The brisket was good, tender, with a nice smoke ring.  Didn’t have a large smoke flavor but one could tell it had cooked for a while.  The turkey was moist with a touch of pepper.  The sausage was a long, thin link that was disappointing.  It was extremely juicy, greasy, tough to eat, and the flavor was bland.  The ribs were not overly meaty, but had good texture and flavor.  The pulled pork was good as well, but lacked the necessary smoke kick that sets the good apart from the great.  The sauce was tomato based and was on the table in a plastic ketchup bottle.  This sauce was very good, deep, dark, smoky, with a touch of black and red pepper, perhaps?

The sides were well done.  The potato salad, while not outstanding, was good, with generous amount of mustard, which I like.  The coleslaw looked and tasted like it had just been made before being served.  Crisp, flavorful, mayo-blended.  The cabbage was cut in large pieces, somewhat unusual in my experiences so far on the BBQ Road.

For a grade, I give The Green Mesquite a solid B+.  Good Brisket, good turkey, good sides, very good sauce, OK pork ribs and pulled pork.  The only real negative was the sausage.   The prices were very good, especially for the amount of food on the plates.  They even have an “All you can eat” special, that would have been a target in my younger days.  I am tempted to bring some college students with me next time, to see what kind of damage they can do.  The Green Mesquite is worth a repeat visit!

The BBQ Road goes ever onward…..

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