Monty's Sandwich Company (St. Louis, MO)

The wifey and I were in St. Louis for a couple of days, so of course barbecue was on the agenda. I'm always in the mood for smoked meat, but she's more of the soup and sandwich kind of gal, at least for lunch that is. Monty's Sandwich Company was perfect because it had menu options to satisfy both of our differing palates.

Monty's was right downtown, which put us in a great location to visit the Gateway Arch after lunch. There were a few cafe-style tables outside, though all of them were empty given the chilly temperatures and gusty winds. Inside, we found a pretty standard deli atmosphere. The big windows were fun for watching passers-by.

Today's lunch special was a Brisket Burger. I wasn't clear whether the brisket was supposed to be in addition to or in lieu of the hamburger patty, but it didn't matter because they were somehow already sold out by 12:15pm. I guess it's a pretty popular special 'round these parts. Disappointed, I settled on the Carolina Grilled Cheese instead: smoked pulled pork, bbq sauce, and Swiss and cheddar cheeses (the online menu lists only Monterrey Jack cheese) on Parmesan-encrusted white bread. I also added on some fries and a drink for a nice combo.

The fries were of the handcut, homemade variety, which are infinitely better than frozen. These were nicely seasoned with just a hint of salt. Maybe it was the handmade nature of them, but many of the fries were sadly a little tough and chewy.

As for the sandwich, it had its ups and its downs too. It was kind of messy to eat, but worth the trouble. The pulled pork was nice and tender, though a tad dry in some bites. I caught a few sauceless pieces of pork and found them to be severely lacking in the flavor department. The sauce itself was tasty but perhaps a little too potent. I thought the sweetness of the sauce worked well with the gooey cheese, especially the cheddar. The Swiss/cheddar combo was actually a better barbecue pairing than Monterrey Jack would have, so I guess this substitution was a blessing in disguise. Although the menus both in-house and online advertised Parmesan-crusted white bread, Parmesan was nowhere to be found - just plain white bread. My sandwich was good, but could have and should have been better.

The sign out front of Monty's Sandwich Company says that they smoke all of their own meats. I'm assuming this means an electric smoker, because I couldn't taste any smoke at all. Monty's would be a great place to go for a pastrami on rye or a Reuben, but barbecue might just be a little out of their league.

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Monty's Sandwich Company
200 N. Broadway
Suite 110
St. Louis, MO 63102
(314) 241-7900
http://stlmontys.com/

State Fair of Texas 2013 (Dallas, TX)

While barbecue is my all-time favorite, fried food comes in at a very close second. It was time once again for the State Fair of Texas, and this weekend I eagerly made my way down to Fair Park to experience all of the deep fried goodness the fair has to offer.

This is Texas, so of course the fair has a wide selection of the standard barbecue sandwiches and platters. I can get barbecue like that any day of the week, but today I was on the hunt for something less run-of-the-mill.

My first stop was at Little Bob's Bar-B-Q, unfortunately located in the densely-populated Midway. Little Bob's offered most of the usual barbecue selections, but they also had a Bar-B-Q Bologna Sandwich on the menu that seemed worth a try. I know barbecue bologna isn't too far out of the box, but it isn't something that I come across too often either.

The sandwich was pretty simplistic: a half-inch thick slice of smoked bologna on a hamburger bun, topped with barbecue sauce. The thick-cut bologna had a lot more substance to it than the deli-cut bologna I'm used to. I caught a little bit of smoke, though not as much as I'd hoped for. The sauce had a pleasant taste, and was just enough to add some flavor without overdoing things. I would have liked a homemade bun instead of the grocery store variety I received, but that's a lot to ask for at the State Fair. All in all, this was a good first pick.

One of my favorite fair foods from the past two years were the fried ribs, and I couldn't wait to try them again. Fortunately for me, it seems that this recent innovation is here to stay. I braved the lines at the Midway's La-Kam's Bar & Grill for an order of Cajun Fried Ribs.

Although my memory could be a little fuzzy, I seem to think the fried ribs I'd eaten in years prior were baby back ribs. This time around I received chicken fried spare ribs, but I certainly wasn't about to complain. The chicken fry batter had a good amount of pepper and seasoning to it. It was hard to pinpoint any smoke with all of the flavor from the batter, but I'll let that one slide. Despite the frying process, the meat was still very moist and tender. The one downfall was the decision to include frozen cafeteria french fries, which could have been left off and replaced with an additional rib as far as I'm concerned.

After two entree selections, it was time to break things up with something sweet. No State Fair outing is complete without funnel cake, so we headed over to the aptly-named Funnel Cakes in the Midway to try their Apple Cinnamon variety.

The gooey apple topping seemed like nothing more than standard apple pie filling, but it was still tasty. The large apple slices were a little hard to eat, so perhaps diced apples would be a better choice. All of the cinnamon and powdered sugar piled on top fit perfectly with the flaky funnel cake dough. It would have been nice if they'd provided me with a plastic knife to dice up the massive dessert, but my hands worked just fine too.

With my sweet tooth thoroughly satisfied, I was on the hunt for more unique barbecue, but that hunt came to a screeching halt when I came across the Eat Crispies stand and their Fried Chicken Skin. That's right, chicken skin. No meat, no bones, just skin. Where have you been all my life?

I just wanted to sample the Fried Chicken Skin, but a single order comes with a massive amount of artery-clogging deliciousness. It should have come in a bucket with some antacids and a gym membership. The chicken skin was everything I hoped it would be. It actually reminded me of pork rinds, just with a lot more batter. The pepper-laden batter added a good flavor to the already tasty skin. It was very crunchy, so I had a continuous cascade of batter crumbs falling down onto my shoes the entire time. This was far too much skin for one person to consume, so I donated half of my order to a random bystander.

We needed a break from the heat, so we wandered inside the Tower Building to check out the food booths there. BW's Famous Fried Ribs had two things that sounded too good to resist: BBQ Brisket Egg Rolls and Fried Banana Pudding.

My twin egg rolls were loaded with chopped brisket. The wonton wrapper that housed my brisket was nice and flaky. There wasn't much smoke to be had, but at least the meat was good and tender. The egg rolls come pre-loaded with a light slathering of sauce, which added a nice sweetness to the meat. You are also "treated" to a cup of some kind of barbecue sweet and sour sauce. The sweet and sour was just awful and left a bad taste in my mouth.

Banana pudding is one of my absolute favorite desserts, possibly due to my rural Southern upbringing. The addition of fried dough elevated the pudding to a restaurant-quality palate cleanser. The warmed banana pudding made this much more like a pie than a standard pudding. It almost seemed like a banana pudding crepe. The whipped cream and powdered sugar on top was just what this dessert needed. I wish there had been a scoop or two of vanilla Blue Bell ice cream to round things out.

As would be expected at any large-scale festival, the food at the State Fair had its highs and its lows. That being said, my biggest disappointment was with the public transportation to and from the fairgrounds and the absolutely despicable planning and management thereof. The entire experience was too infuriating for me to get into all of the details (it would take another 5 or 6 paragraphs), but suffice to say that it was enough for me to ditch my pre-paid train pass in favor of a $25.00 taxi ride home. If you have enough Xanax to deal with the crowds and the hassle, the State Fair of Texas is a culinary experience that's hard to pass up.

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State Fair of Texas
Fair Park
1200 S. Second Ave
Dallas, TX 75210
http://www.bigtex.com/

Lefty's Colorado Trail Grille (Denver, CO)

I generally have a rule against eating airport barbecue, mostly because there's no possibility of the meat being properly smoked on-site. That being said, I wasn't in the mood for fast food or Chinese, so Lefty's Colorado Trail Grille would have to do.

There are several Lefty's options scattered through the Denver airport, although only Lefty's Colorado Trail Grille can be found within Concourse A. Regardless of my skepticism for the quality of their food, it was nice to sit down for a while, especially with an hour and a half until our flight. Lefty's had a small bar area, but was otherwise just the average airport functionality you might expect. On a side note, there was no way I was paying $5.50 for a Coors Light when the airport is literally 30 miles from the Coors brewery in Golden, making the transportation costs almost nil. Take your price gouging elsewhere.

Despite my better judgment, I ordered their Pork Sliders: 4 buns of chopped pork and barbecue sauce. I also tacked on an order of fried Onion Rings for good measure.

As expected, the onion rings were clearly not homemade. They weren't terrible, but frozen onion rings can only go so far. I was supposed to receive a side of ranch for dipping, which I only got once I reminded the waiter about it. Things were not starting off well, but I moved on to the Pork Sliders anyway.

The fact that the menu listed them as "pork sliders" rather than something like "bbq sliders" or "bbq pork sliders" did not bode well. The buns themselves looked good but were ice cold, so I cast them aside and ate the pork solo. The meat actually ended up being pulled pork, not chopped as advertised. I'm not complaining about pulled pork, I just wish they could figure out what it is they're actually serving. All four buns were piled high with meat, though quantity can't make up for quality. I wouldn't really describe the pork as tender, more mushy like a sloppy joe or nursing home meatloaf. The sauce tasted mostly like ketchup with vinegar. As you can probably guess, there was no smoke to be found anywhere. I'm not even sure I would call this barbecue.

Just before we decided to eat at Lefty's Colorado Trail Grille, my wife suggested that we just eat ice cream for dinner instead. As usual, she was right.

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Lefty's Colorado Trail Grille
Denver International Airport
Concourse A (near Gate A46)
8500 Pena Blvd.
Denver, CO 80249
(303) 342-7177
http://www.flydenver.com/fooddetails?URI=tcm:8-524

Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que (Denver, CO)

It was Day 2 of our quick trip to Denver, which clearly necessitated more barbecue. I've seen "Famous Dave" Anderson on numerous televised barbecue competitions over the years, but I've never had the opportunity to try his food. Luckily for me, there was a Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que location fairly close to our hotel.

This particular Famous Dave's is located in the Stapleton area of Denver. I immediately took note of the warm and welcoming feel to the place, especially with the fake timber on the walls. This was probably a nod to Famous Dave's Minnesota/Wisconsin origins. I took a seat at the bar since I was having lunch alone.

Famous Dave's had a full array of sauces and rubs available for purchase. Before I ordered, the bartender gave me a quick rundown of each sauce and its history, which was very helpful and informative. I really considered buying a bottle of the "Texas Pit" barbecue sauce, but I was flying home and didn't know if the liquid would do too well on the plane. The TSA has a history of confiscating hot sauce from my luggage, so I decided not to risk it.

Today's special was All-You-Can-Eat Rib Tips, which was too tempting to pass up. You also get one side (not all-you-can-eat), and I opted for potato salad.

The potato salad had an excellent crunch to it from all the veggies. I also found big chunks of hard-boiled egg mixed in. It was mostly mayo-based, but there might have been a little mustard too. If there had been just a tad more pepper, or perhaps some chili powder, the potato salad would have been perfect.

As for my Rib Tips (or rib knuckles, if you will), they looked phenomenal. There was an excellent bark-filled crust, and the deep red hue suggested a decent amount of smoke. I tried the rib tips sauceless at first to get a good feel for the meat. The seasoning blend on the crust was fantastic, though just a touch too salty. I definitely caught some good smoke in every bite. The meat also had a slight sweetness to it from the pineapple-laden glaze. Even for rib tips the meat was very tender and juicy. I actually found it really hard to stop eating once I had built up some inertia. Each variety of barbecue sauce was unique and tasty in its own way, but unsurprisingly the Texas Pit was my favorite, with its hints of hickory and chipotle. I was incredibly full after the first round of rib tips, but an all-you-can-eat order required at least one more round.

I think I had gone up a belt size by the time I was done. It's not often that I find five-star quality barbecue outside of Texas, but Famous Dave's offered up some exceptional smoked meat. I guess there's a reason Dave is famous after all.

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Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que
7557 E. 36th Ave
Denver, CO 80207
(303) 399-3100
http://famousdavesbbqco.com/

The French Press (Lakewood, CO) - CLOSED

My wife and I had to fly to Denver for business (well, business for her, pleasure for me), and we were in dire need of sustenance after the long flight. I had scoped out The French Press before we left as a possible lunch spot. Little did I know that I'd find some blog-worthy barbecue there as well.

As you might have already guessed, The French Press is mostly a coffee shop, but it's also a decent little cafe with breakfast, brunch, and lunch options. I was still rolling on "Texas time," so eggs and crepes weren't really on my radar. Luckily there were plenty of sandwiches and paninis to choose from. Their wall-mounted chalkboard menus also suggest a rotating selection of food. The cafe itself was fairly small, but had a very welcoming quaintness to it. It felt much less granola than I was expecting for Colorado.

There were several sandwiches that caught my eye, but the barbecue lover in me refused to pass up their Pulled Pork Sandwich: pulled pork carnitas, coleslaw, and barbecue sauce on a brioche bun. The menu description suggested that the sandwich came topped with coleslaw, but I got confused when the server offered coleslaw as a potential side dish selection as well. None of the other side options (chips, french fries) seemed to match the barbecue sandwich, so I ordered coleslaw against my better judgment. I don't particularly care for coleslaw, but I figured at least I could top my sandwich with it for some extra crunch.

When my order came out, I immediately realized my mistake. As I feared, the sandwich did in fact come topped with coleslaw, making my side dish selection extra useless. I tried the slaw anyway just for the sake of completeness. There wasn't just too much flavor, and it definitely could have used more dressing. I should have ordered french fries. Oh well, live and learn.

I moved on to the Pulled Pork Sandwich, where the coleslaw was sure to at least add some texture if nothing else. My meat seemed more chopped than pulled. The pork was much sweeter than I expected, perhaps from the added barbecue sauce. Although, there was only a light drizzling of sauce, which I much prefer to having sauce run down my hands. The pork was fairly tender, but it didn't have just a ton of flavor on its own, making the sauce an absolute necessity. It's unfortunate that the sauce didn't have a little heat to it though, since that would have balanced out the sweetness really well. I couldn't pinpoint any smoke, but sometimes that's just an unfortunate result of serving barbecue in sandwich form. On the other hand, "carnitas" are usually braised or roasted, so perhaps there was just no smoke to be had. The coleslaw added no flavor (not that I expected it to), but I did enjoy the added crunchiness. I also thoroughly enjoyed the brioche bun, which gave the sandwich a much more homemade quality than the typical Mrs. Baird's buns I often find in my barbecue travels.

Overall, my sandwich was a tasty and satisfying lunch. I think it works better in the general sandwich category than as barbecue, but it was a decent attempt nonetheless. The French Press was definitely a good choice for a lunch outing, you just have to go in with realistic expectations, especially if you're craving smoked meat.

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The French Press
85 S. Union Blvd.
Suite H
Lakewood, CO 80228
(303) 984-5447
http://www.myfrenchpress.com/

Tillman's Roadhouse (Dallas, TX)

My wife and I don't get to eat or play in the Bishop Arts district of Dallas nearly as often as we'd like. There are several restaurants I've wanted to try for quite some time, and Tillman's Roadhouse is one of them. We were having a surprise birthday party for a friend, and it just so happened that Tillman's was the venue of choice. This was a great opportunity to celebrate with friends and to entertain my taste buds at the same time.

The crowds and parking were much easier to manage than usual, suggesting that Sunday night is an ideal time to eat in this neighborhood. The decor at Tillman's was an interesting mix of woodsy and hipster. Interestingly, the blank plaster taxidermy mounts and wooden plank walls were the most "roadhouse" things about this place. The fake crystal chandeliers and tall floral curtains, not so roadhouse. Overall, it was fairly posh and on par with the rest of Bishop Arts.

Rather than serve something as mundane as chips and salsa, customers are treated to bowls of seasoned popcorn for the table.

I guess it's less messy than having roadhouse peanuts all over the floor. The popcorn had an unusual and unpleasant taste, like burnt pepper. It wasn't really the best thing to warm up my palate with.

One of our ambitious tablemates ordered the Trio of Fries as a shared appetizer, which included parmesan kennebec fries, chili-dusted purple potato fries, and smoked salt sweet potato fries. It also came with housemade ketchup and horseradish pickle mayo for dipping.

Each variation was fantastic in its own way, though the purple potato fries were a clear frontrunner. They had a slight sweetness to them, but not as much as the sweet potato fries. I found a good amount of salt, which I was craving for some reason. Of the dipping spreads, I only tried the horseradish pickle mayo. It had a phenomenal array of flavors, and I ended up eating it by the spoonful.

Someone also ended up getting a few orders of the Truffle Goat Cheese Tater Tots, and I'm really glad they did. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snag a picture of the tots before everyone dug in. These tots come with a confit garlic aioli and chive sticks. They were absolutely delicious! The goat cheese made the tots really creamy, almost like a croquette. The garlic aioli also paired perfectly with the mild cheese.

I wasn't sure if I'd even have room for an actual entree, but I threw caution to the wind and ordered another appetizer: Crispy Pork Belly with a Dr. Pepper glaze, Appaloosa bean spread, and pickled okra.

What I received was basically an inch of solid bacon fat. The top and bottom edges were nice and crisp, while the middle stayed moist and tender. It may have been better to serve smaller cubes of pork belly that they can crisp on all sides. The Dr. Pepper glaze gave it an amazing sweetness. Unlike other soda-based glazes and sauces I've had over the years, I could actually taste the Dr. Pepper here. I probably gained 10 pounds from eating it.

Even as full as I was, I couldn't resist the call of barbecue. For my entree, I ordered their Post Oak Smoked Baby Back Ribs, which are accompanied by a citrus-chipotle barbecue sauce and bacon-cheddar mac & cheese.

The mac was really tasty, though there wasn't as much gooey cheese as I'd hoped for. The flavors were great, but it lacked that homeyness that a good mac and cheese should have. Bacon was just what this dish needed. Instead of chives, I think diced jalapeños would have added the spice this side needed to balance perfectly.

My baby back ribs came stacked up like meaty Jenga pieces. The flavors here were incredible. I found plenty of smoke and a decent amount of heat. Texture-wise, the first rib I tried wasn't so good: the meat was really mushy and it had no crust at all. Luckily, the second and consecutive ribs were much better. The ribs were bordering on overcooked, but had just enough meat retention to stay put while I ate. The barbecue sauce had a nice acidity from the citrus. It also had a natural sweetness that wasn't as overpowering as other sugar-heavy sauces.

I left Tillman's Roadhouse both incredibly full and incredibly happy. With only a few minor hiccups, the food was terrific. The ribs were really good, but with a little improvement they could be exceptional. The flavors are definitely there, it's the execution that could be better. Maybe Tillman's chefs should take a few pointers from Will Fleischman at Lockhart Smokehouse down the street.

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Tillman's Roadhouse
324 W. 7th Street
Dallas, TX 75208
(214) 942-0988
http://www.tillmansroadhouse.com/home.html

OinknMoo BBQ (Dallas, TX)

After months of anticipation, it was finally time for the Miranda Lambert/Dierks Bentley concert in Fair Park. My wife and I had eaten dinner beforehand, but when I saw the fabled OinknMoo BBQ food truck parked inside the gates, I couldn't resist.

There were 3 or 4 people manning various stations within the truck, although only one of them seemed exceptionally competent. The woman working the register appeared extremely flummoxed by the whole thing. My wait in line wasn't as long as many other food trucks I've encountered. Line size aside, food was coming out rather slow, which is surprising considering the only entrees they had to offer were sandwiches.

Although the choices were somewhat limited, a Hot Link Sandwich actually sounded pretty good. I opted to forgo the side dishes and eat my sandwich a la carte. After all, I had just eaten dinner about 45 minutes earlier.

This wasn't exactly the hot link sandwich I was expecting. My first disappointment was the Mrs. Baird's hamburger bun that it came on. By no means did I think a food truck would be baking their own homemade buns, but they could have at least bought some (Central Market has plenty). Their sausage quite obviously lacked the telltale reddish color of true East Texas hot links. I hoped that at least the sausage would have some good heat to it, but sadly I found no spiciness whatsoever. I couldn't taste any smoke either. There was a decent snap to the casings, but this was most likely store-bought sausage. The sauce had a pleasant sweetness to it, though some pepper would have added some nice balance.

There is no shame in selling a Sausage Sandwich if that's what it is. I would have probably upped my rating slightly if they hadn't falsely advertised this as a Hot Link Sandwich. Nice try OinknMoo, but we Texans know our sausage.

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OinknMoo BBQ
Downtown Dallas, TX (various locations)
(214) 548-8553
http://www.oinknmoodfwbbq.com/