And that went better than I thought it would, so having some free time, I decided to tour some pawn shops in Wichita. Ya just never know what you'll find in those things. Anyhoo, it was well after noon and I asked the guys at the last shop where a good bbq place would be. They directed me to the Fire It Up Pit BBQ on S Seneca - there were others closer, but they said this little place piled on the food, everything was great, and it was well worth the trip over there. So, I went.
This is the combination platter - three meats, two sides, Texas toast and a drink - with tax I got change back from eleven bucks. I had brisket, turkey, pulled pork, potato salad and baked beans.
After I ate the sides - then you can see just how much meat is piled on there. And it was delicious - the plastic hardware was all ya need to handle this stuff - moist and falling apart tender. There is a roll of paper towels on each table along with three kinds of sauce in dispensers - mild, hot and Memphis. The mild and hot are variations on typical KC style sauces, and the Memphis is more Southern with apple cider vinegar. A far hotter sauce for those who find the "normal" stuff too tame is available, too. I was happy with the Memphis.
Everything is homemade - the sauces, the sides, the dry rubs - all of it except for "what gets dropped into the fryer." So the breaded stuff - okra and pickles, and the fries are from a supplier, but all the rest they make right there. And it tastes like it, too. Fresh. Of course, they didn't slaughter the meat or make the Texas toast, either, but there you go. Heh.
And you may have gathered they treated me pretty well while I was there. They went out of their way to make me feel at home and welcome, and answered any questions I might have. I was curious, so I asked about all this stuff.
So, when people talk about how the best bbq comes from some little hole in the wall place - this place is tiny, and there is nothing fancy about it. All the quality is in the food. Boy is it ever.
I just don't do reviews of restaurants - not sure why, but not too many jump right out and make and impression like this little joint did.
So, if you are ever in Wichita, you simply have to go. It's in the SW part, mostly south. Southbound on I235 - get off on Seneca and go south. On I135 catch 47th St South - its the last free exit - and head west til Seneca, hang a right and it's just up the block on right side. If you were coming up I35 on the turnpike, get off at the I135 exit and immediately after paying your toll look for 47th. I've got their webpage linked with their name up above, but here it is again anyways.
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8 comments:
Mmmm-mmmmm. Up here BBQ means slathered, make that drowned in sauce. Me no likey drippy food. Unless it's soup. Or ice cream. Ok, me no likey drippy meat food. Got it?
I'm drooooooling!
Yep, hole-in-the-wall places that have been there forever always seem to have the best food.
CVPH - as you can see, the meat comes sliced right out of the smoker. Ya add what sauce (if any) that ya want.
drjim - I guess these guys have only been there a little over a year - there are four owners who have all been involved in the food bidness in one way or another - some of them were with Papa Johns. I'd really like to see them succeed and start franchising out so I don't have to drive so far.
I had bbq yesterday too - but I went here, a local hole-in-the-wall where everybody knows my name.
It disturbs me even to look at it.
Especially at those two slices of brown meat, whatever it is, with blackened burned edge.
No, wrong. There is no "especially" about it. Every detail is equally troublesome.
@Tatyana! Snork! Ahhh, but the burnt edges are just indicators of the flavor locked within!
I guess I never thought of bbq as being an acquired taste - the foodstuffs I've leaned towards considering for that role are generally organ meats and such, all of which (as a farm boy) I have eaten and enjoyed.
Beef brisket is a cut of meat so loaded with connective tissue that in order to tenderize it, it should be cooked slowly at a lower heat. Which is what bbq does, but with smoke as well. The turkey is just turkey breast cooked the same way, and the pulled pork has been cooked cooked the same way and then pulled apart. All are coated with a dry rub before cooking, and some are coated with a sauce repeatedly during the process. Barbecue (bbq) has historically been a flavorful way of cooking a whole hog or poor cuts of beef (including ribs), but sausages, chicken, and fish are all meats that are used. BBQ is different from grilling - most backyard cooking is actually grilling where the meat is cooked at high heat in a short time. BBQ is at a lower heat for a long time, usually with some provision to add moisture or the process is more or less sealed. When one makes a fire pit by digging a hole, filling it with burning coals, puts a whole hog in (generally coated with spices and sauce,then covered with foil), burying the whole thing, then dig it all up after several hours.
The way the food was cooked and presented at this place would be considered traditional, because the meats are without sauce, allowing one to select one's favorite, and the food is delivered on disposable plates and eaten with disposable cutlery, plus the side dishes are what one would eat on a picnic or other traditional outdoor meal.
So, if someone were to be concerned about the aesthetics of the presentation of bbq and make it more visually appealing in an artistic sense, it would more than likely offend the traditionalists who would insist that the taste was all the art necessary!
After your explanation my one time in BBQ place suddenly makes sense (http://www.hillcountryny.com/)
they use butcher/craft sort of paper instead of plates, every table has selection of small shabby-looking bottles with sauces and instead of glasses there is a self-serving tray with washed jars...
I didn't risk eating red meat there, ordered chicken - and it was not awful, just a regular not particularly juicy roasted chicken. By advice of my companion I also tried their house specialty side; Sweet Potato Bourbon Mash. That WAS godawful terrible.
More than food the entertainment was provided by the clientele. 95% were men of corpulent complexion, some exhibiting dangerously purple backs of their necks (or what passed for a neck...it was more like a slight curve from the top of their head to the mass of their shoulders). Good times.
Beer is a preferred beverage as well, as you have more than likely ascertained by now!
every table has selection of small shabby-looking bottles with sauces
Yep, generally they are the plastic dispensary squeeze bottles associated with ketchup and mustard. If you ever find yourself in a similar eatin' joint again, I do strongly suggest trying the beef brisket or the pulled pork, or perhaps even the ribs, which are always messy to eat - which also explains the paper towels on each table.
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