I Should Have Known...

Pyle's BBQ said:
Honestly, I think some start average and fall from their. The restaurant business is a tough business to start with and add to that trying to cook the most difficult way possible. Everyone thinks it is easy to run a restaurant and that anyone can do it. If you are not willing to sell your soul to your business you will not succeed. I know what good BBQ is supposed to taste like and that is what I try to put out every day. One problem I have is that not everyone shares my passion. I would like to train someone else to cook meat at my place, but I don't feel any one understand how BBQ has to be cooked. They are all about time and temp and none of them have that much of a culinary background.



This is why most restaurants fail. People won't tell you the truth to your face. Give them an anonymous place to tell the truth and they will. Everything I do is a reflection on me. I am lucky I do have people around me that will let me know if something is not up to our usual standards. I am not there every hour we are open and this may be a source of cutting corners for places that are not fully staffed.



I think a lot of the bad places over charge for their fare. We have a place near us that is an institution and has been around for years. They do not produce the best BBQ but they charge like they do. People are in the habit of going there for BBQ. Hell I worked there for a while 20 years ago.



What I find funny is that when people come into my place they look at the menu and are surprised that I only have BBQ. I do have a few salads and a grilled cheese sandwich. I am not trying to reinvent the wheel. I am trying to produce the best BBQ I know how too. People have been conditioned to expect to get anything they want. I don't believe that the customer is always right. I will accommodate them as much as possible. What bugs me is they come into the restaurant and want to change my recipes, they want french fries, they think they know how to run a restaurant.

Thanks to all that have commented. I know most of these comment were not directed at me, but reading them here makes me aware of things I need to look for.
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Even if they do know how to run A restaurant, that certainly doesn't mean they know how to run YOUR restaurant.
 
Some very good points made in this thread. I'm not sure I can add anything that hasn't already been covered. But I know in my area there are several BBQ joints that are simply dirt cheap and like many here have said. Our society has gotten so conditioned on getting a lot of something for little of nothing.

If the plate doesn't come with food literally hanging off the side they feel like they are getting ripped off. On the other side of the spectrum I don't like going into a BBQ restaurant and getting an order of sides that after two bites is gone. As a consumer I feel like I am being ripped off.

But overall I think most people in this country haven't eaten enough bbq to know there is a difference between high end bbq and low end bbq. They are so many bbq restaurants out there who skimp on quality that the average person has gotten used to that being "real bbq".
 
I hear you Tony. After I started really cooking we simply do not eat out anymore, and not just BBQ joints but restaurants in general. The rare occasion that we do end up having to dine out I usually find myself more disappointed than satiated. About the only place we make a point to hit anymore is a local Thai food place which is absolutely killer, and that's the type of food I typically don't cook so it also gives me a night off in the kitchen.
 
Look for restaurants that run out of bbq on a regular basis, it is going to be the freshest. This means they are not cooking a ton of food Friday to last the rest of the week. I would rather be disappointed they are out, instead of putting out money for bad, or a so so meal.
Dave
 
Mo-Dave said:
Look for restaurants that run out of bbq on a regular basis, it is going to be the freshest. This means they are not cooking a ton of food Friday to last the rest of the week. I would rather be disappointed they are out, instead of putting out money for bad, or a so so meal.
Dave
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Amen!!!! :clap2:
 
There is a little place between Portersville and Cranberry PA called Muddy Creak BBQ they run out of food if you dont go soon enough and the food is good. I haven't been in a few years as where i live now while still in the area is to far out of my way. We got a trailer over by Trader Horn on 422 butler more towards Prospect anyways there is a BBQ trailer their bbq meat is great but the cornbread is nasty totally bad product and you pay premium price for it. Only buy their meat as that is what they are good at Great pulled pork. Meat great their sides are nasty most of the time If you hit it right with the cornbread it is a real treat but like I said you have to go there at the right time and you never know when that is. So just avoid it. For some reason I got it once and loved it and the second time I got it and it tasted like dish soap literally it tasted like dish soap. Great BBQ from both places but seriously avoid the cornbread from the one on 422. Talk about something that can make your skin crawl. I mostly cook the BBQ at home since June because I finally got my own kettle grill and can smoke with it and grill and well its my new hobby. It really is nice to have friends over and show off a bit. Especially since I have never been able to cook on gas I was a meat prep cook for a food service place at one of their show case dining halls. I could prep very well but cooking with gas not good at all. Now I have charcoal and my food turns out top notch. I always love the comment from my friend and former boss that he is shocked how much better my food tastes than in the old days lol. I still have not tried burgers again truthfully a bit afraid to since they were nasty on the gas grill got to love when you turn your back at work and they crank the heat all the way up burns the outside of the burger black and inside is raw sounds totally yummy. NOT! Anyways thanks to my wife and in-laws buying me my kettle I can finally cook what I prep to perfection at least in my eyes and I get complemented on it not ripped for being terrible at it.
 
I stopped at Boston Market the other day. I really like their chicken and sometimes the pot pies hit the spot. Get some veggies and I'm feeling good about my choice. Quick and reasonable priced food. Well, they are sporting a BBQ menu these days. Big pictures in the windows of BBQ. I knew I shouldn't. I knew it would be bad. But, it was spare ribs and not BB like most places. Maybe there is some hope. I got the rib and something combo. Oh man, it was worse than I imagined. The rib meat was dry and falling off the bone buried beneath a sauce that I thought was just dread awful. I thought I might be being punked it was so bad. I really really would like to meet the executive at Boston Market who tried this food and gave it the green light to be rolled out nationwide.
 
I hate to complain but since the thread has gone down that road I might as well join the party. This past weekend I was with my family in KC. I decided to try one of the old school bbq joints that gets a lot of publicity. I couldn't have been more disappointed. The "burnt ends" were more like ground beef and the spare ribs were crunchy. I don't prefer crunchy ribs, maybe some people do but not me. On a positive note the hostess was about as sweet as you will find.
 
Tony, just do what I do man, I only get tips about barbecue joints from you guys. LOL aawa pointed me right down the street to Whitner's and it really was good.

Worthy of mention,we here, we're like Barbecue zealots.... Not saying that we know more about what tastes good than the great unwashed but BBQ is what we do. I only get tips on where to go from y'all for that reason. You'll probably expect what I do.
 
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DriverWild said:
I hate to complain but since the thread has gone down that road I might as well join the party. This past weekend I was with my family in KC. I decided to try one of the old school bbq joints that gets a lot of publicity. I couldn't have been more disappointed. The "burnt ends" were more like ground beef and the spare ribs were crunchy. I don't prefer crunchy ribs, maybe some people do but not me. On a positive note the hostess was about as sweet as you will find.
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Crunchy ribs? I'll pass!!!! :doh:
 
Beast Drinker said:
Tony, just do what I do man, I only get tips about barbecue joints from you guys. LOL aawa pointed me right down the street to Whitner's and it really was good.

Worthy of mention,we here, we're like Barbecue zealots.... Not saying that we know more about what tastes good than the great unwashed but BBQ is what we do. I only get tips on where to go from y'all for that reason. You'll probably expect what I do.
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Great tip! Believe me, I'm going to do just that from now on! :grin:
 
DriverWild said:
I hate to complain but since the thread has gone down that road I might as well join the party. This past weekend I was with my family in KC. I decided to try one of the old school bbq joints that gets a lot of publicity. I couldn't have been more disappointed. The "burnt ends" were more like ground beef and the spare ribs were crunchy. I don't prefer crunchy ribs, maybe some people do but not me. On a positive note the hostess was about as sweet as you will find.
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Umm, are you sure you weren't just eating the bones on the "crunchy ribs?" Was there adult beverages in the equation by chance? :razz:
 
Beast Drinker said:
Tony, just do what I do man, I only get tips about barbecue joints from you guys. LOL aawa pointed me right down the street to Whitner's and it really was good.

Worthy of mention,we here, we're like Barbecue zealots.... Not saying that we know more about what tastes good than the great unwashed but BBQ is what we do. I only get tips on where to go from y'all for that reason. You'll probably expect what I do.
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Beast Drinker if you are ever in the Greenbriar section of Chesapeake give Cutlass Grille a try. They are a Carribean BBQ joint that is built into an office building. I tried their jerked bbq chicken and brisket and they were tasty and a good price. Next time I go, I am going to be giving their pulled pork and jerked pork a try.

If you are by the Princess Anne/Courthouse area of Va Beach, give Smoke from Above. Their ribs and their smoked sausage are awesome. Their pulled pork is ok, it is too wet for my tastes.

If you make it to Smoked Out by Oceana Naval Air Station let me know how it is. That is on my places to eat list. Too bad I don't eat out a lot since I cook at home for the most part.
 
I don't eat out much well kinda a lot lately I guess, where by Oceana? Birdneck? First Colonial? London Bridge Road? I'm off Potters Rd and London Bridge right behind the base right over by the big church. Wife works in Chesapeake, I'll send her to Cutlass Grille for lunch. she's used to good Q and hopefully she'll get a little extra.
 
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Beast Drinker said:
I don't eat out much well kinda a lot lately I guess, where by Oceana? Birdneck? First Colonial? London Bridge Road? I'm off Rotters Rd and London Bridge right behind the base right over by the big church. Wife works in Chesapeake, I'll send her to Cutlass Grille for lunch. she's used to good Q and hopefully she'll get a little extra.
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If you are off London Bridge Road you are close to Smoked out. The restaurant is close to the intersection of Oceana Blvd and General Booth Blvd.

You are also close to Smoked from Above. It is in the same shopping center as Best Buy on Princess Anne Rd and Landstown
 
aawa said:
If you are off London Bridge Road you are close to Smoked out. The restaurant is close to the intersection of Oceana Blvd and General Booth Blvd.

You are also close to Smoked from Above. It is in the same shopping center as Best Buy on Princess Anne Rd and Landstown
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I wonder how I never noticed it before, I guess I been outta town a lot lately. I'll hit it up... Maybe even 2 morrow.

Spoken as i eat a pulled pork burito the size of my head....
 
thunter said:
So, there is this BBQ joint in Indy not far from my house. I hear people talking about how amazing it is, so I thought I would drop by and order a small rib tip box with sauce on the side. I won't name the place because I am not in the habit slamming BBQ joints, but if this is what people consider amazing BBQ then I would hate to have some of the stuff that is just OK! Now I'm hawngry for some real BBQ, so I will just have to break open one of my vacuum seal packs and make myself a snack.
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I live in Indy too. Can you give me a hint on the place?
 
The guys at work talk about smoked from above from time to time. BUT they aren't Brethren and I don't trust their judgement on the topic.

But if you say so I'll keep that in mind my buddy live over there.
 
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