Southwest Pit BBQ

Before moving to Lincoln, NE, I went to Restaurant.com’s website while they were having a Christmas sale to stock up on gift certificates to restaurants I wanted to try.  The first one on my list to try was Southwest Pit BBQ on P and 16th. 

Given that Lincoln is the home of Ribfest, I figured any bbq places in town have high standards.  So, I was pretty excited to get to load up on all the different smoky options that Southwest has to offer.  Because of having to spend $35 to use the gift certificate, Dennis and I got an excuse to try a lot.  Given the very reasonable prices on the sandwiches and sides, getting to $35 was a little tricky to do.   To get a full sample, we ordered a full slab of ribs, 10 wings, one brisket sandwich, one pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw, and potato salad. 

After sampling everything, I had rather mixed feelings. All the meats are incredibly tender.  The ribs and wings just melt off the bone and the brisket and pulled port are incredibly moist.  There is a nice touch of smoke and that helps give the meat a little depth. 

The con is the sauce and flavor.  Everything felt a little under seasoned.  The sauce, that was on all four meat options, simply lacked depth.  Even so basic as a tad more salt and pepper and spice would have gone a long way to bring out more of a savory quality. 

All in all, a good deal and not a bad place to pick up a pulled pork sandwich in a pinch.  However, for the most have bbq in town, I think I’ll keep looking.      

Best Dang BBQ in Virginia

If you have driven Highway 81 from Staunton to Lexington, you may have noticed a large yellow sign boasting, “The Best Dang Barbeque in VA.”   I’ve seen the sign many times and been intrigued, but have never gone.  Last Sunday my boyfriend and I decided to go to Hull’s Drive-In and wanted to pick up something for a picnic.  We had intended on a place in Staunton, but on finding it closed I asked Dennis how adventurous he was feeling.  When he was intrigued, I suggested we go on a Down Home Foodie quest. 

Smiley’s Fuel City and Barbeque is located in Raphine off I-81 exit #205.  Tucked in the back corner of the store is the window for BBQ.  They offer pulled pork plates and sandwiches, brisket plates and sandwiches, wraps, sides, and other usual convenient store fast-fare.  Dennis ordered the brisket sandwich and I got a sandwich with pulled pork that was North Carolina style (Smiley’s also gives a “Texas” option).  For sides, we got coleslaw and sweet potato fries.   Sandwiches, sides, and two drinks all came to around $15. 

We took are BBQ to the drive-in, but upon realizing they didn’t start letting people in till an hour later, we drove around and found a bank with a nice bit of grass.  I had expected the pulled pork to have sauce on it because most bbq sandwiches in the area are covered in sauce.  Although initially disappointed, this was a great way of trying it for the first time because you really get a sense of what the meat tastes like.  Although I do love bbq sauce, that can hide a lot of sins and it is with a lot of faith in your product when you let the meat speak for itself.   Smiley’s faith in its product is well earned.  Both the brisket and pulled-pork was moist and juicy with a great smoky flavor. 

The sides were also pretty fantastic.  The coleslaw is not for amateurs.   It is pretty much just cabbage, a hint of onion, and a tangy sweet dressing.  I usually end up trying my best to bring a lot into my coleslaw, but Smiley’s just let the coleslaw rely only on the cabbage while having a dressing that was neither too sweet, too vinegary, or had too much mayonnaise.  The simplicity and purity of the flavors stand out in a way that some might find too much, but I was a huge fan.  The sweet potato fries were crispy and had good sweet potato flavor with a savory quality. 

If I had been sitting in Smiley’s eating my meal, I might have said it was darn good.  But, sitting on the bank lawn with a wonderful man, the satellite radio playing classic rock, the effect of the golden hour of sunset on the green horizon, and the soft glow of the Dollar Store sign, the romance of the moment swayed my opinion.  I’d say it just might be up there with the best dang barbeques in Virginia. 

BBQ/Picnic Sides Tip #4: Try a Little Pizzazz

There are lots of ways of giving a little something surprising to bbq/picnic salads.  These are my three favorites. . . .

• Alcohol--My brother did this for his coleslaw once and now I don't make coleslaw without it.  Cook the onions and then when the onions are almost done, add about a scant fourth of a cup of white tequila. Let the alcohol cook off and then mix it into the coleslaw dressing once it has cooled.  I also add a small splash of tequila to the coleslaw and add substitute lime for lemon juice for a better flavor pairing. When using alcohol the main two things to remember are to cook off the alcohol so it isn't too strong and adjust other acids in the dressing.
• Horseradish—I love adding horseradish to macaroni, coleslaw, and potato salads.  Especially potato salad.  The biggest tip with it, a little goes a really long way.  With horseradish you want the heat and the hint, but not enough that you clearing out your guest's sinuses
• Caramelized onion puree—For this you just caramelize some onions and puree it in the blender with your other dressing ingredients.  This works well with macaroni salad. 

Hope these hints inspire you to rethink picnic salads.  Stay tuned for tomorrow for my favorite potato salad recipe to get you started. 

BBQ/Picnic Sides Tip #1: Honor the Classics

Over the next week, what you are going to notice is that all of my tips are about taking the components of coleslaw, macaroni salad, and potato salad, and just “upping the ante” or providing a slight modification.  This is because what I have learned is that ultimately every picnic side is someone's favorite.  They came to your bbq looking forward to it and are going to be a little sad when it is there in an unrecognizable form

The time I really learned my lesson in terms of trying too hard at revamping a classic was an experiment with replacing potato salad with sweet potato salad.  I made what I thought was a great sweet potato salad, a savory/sweet play on the classic vinegar based potato salad.  It pretty much tanked.  Although a thoughtful combination of sweet potatoes, apples, celery, peas, and an apple cider/apple juice/balsamic dressing, I didn’t get nearly the compliments that I normally do.  Although sweet potatoes are trendy in foodie circles, that doesn’t mean that someone hoping for potato salad is going to be particularly thrilled with its oranger, healthier, cousin.  

However, honoring the classics doesn’t mean that you have to follow the rules completely--the classics aren’t perfect.  Also, as someone once said, “The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a new star.”  If you can present a potato salad that no one has ever tasted the like of, you will have one memorable foodie accomplishment. 

So, when making your mark on coleslaw, potato, and macaroni salad, think “reinvent,” “update,” and “tweak,” but avoid “metamorphosis,” “overhaul,” and “transformation.”  If you ever start getting too crazy just imagine yourself having to single-handedly eat sweet potato salad made for a crowd.     

Barbeque Week with Down Home Foodie

Last Sunday my boyfriend and I celebrated the recent warm front with the first barbeque of the season.  His apartment has a great balcony and we got in the habit last summer of having people over on a regular basis to eat, drink, and grill.  These are great social times because everyone usually brings some contribution, whether it be food or stories.  One barbeque a friend brought beer can chicken, which I had never had before.  Another time, my friend Erin made this amazing marinade that made anything it touched a million times better by just enhancing the natural flavors of the meat or vegetable it soaked in.  This Sunday, my friend Ellie brought an incredible homemade ice-cream made from ricotta, cardamom, and lemon and a bag of ginger snaps to eat with it.   

My boyfriend is a mean griller and likes experimenting with marinades and soaking methods.  The big hit from Sunday was that he soaked the brauts in beer overnight and then grilled them.  The brauts were juicy and smoky. He also made some amazing chicken legs that were marinated in buffalo sauce. You always have to bring a big appetite to our barbeques because you usually will end up with several different meat courses.  On Sunday, it was perch, chicken legs, brauts and Italian sausages, and then pork.

 Although I normally don’t hold to gender stereotyping, the quote “Men cook outside. Women make the three-bean salad,” is somewhat true in my relationship.  My contribution to the bbq event tends to be in the supporting cast role of sides and alcohol concoctions.  The tricky thing about bbq side dishes is that one of the odd things about being a foodie is a desperate need to make your mark on the old standards.  I'm fortunate in having an audience that allows me to experiment on them, and some experiments are better than others. 

Over the next week, I’m going to post one tip every day about insights I’ve had about reinventing picnic and bbq sides.  Then, on Thursday, I’ll give you my favorite bbq sidedish recipe, “Loaded Baked Potato Salad.”