G'z Bbq & Catering

My first attempt to explore G'z Bbq came in June 2016. I had thought it prudent to sneak in one last dose of barbecue before the hordes of tourists descended on Nashville for that year's CMA Fest. I arrived at G'z at 11:25am on a Wednesday, a time at which they should have already been open for twenty-five minutes per their advertised business hours. Instead, the lady working there informed me that they weren't open yet because they "still had to warm everything up; the meats aren't ready." Apparently this "warming up" process was slated to take another thirty to forty-five minutes, and it gave me no confidence whatsoever in the quality or freshness of their barbecue. With a limited amount of time for my lunch break, I cut my losses and picked up a Jimmy John's sandwich instead.

Fast forward to today, when I finally psyched myself up enough to make another run at G'z Bbq, partially (ok, mostly) because I discovered that my first choice for a barbecue lunch adventure had recently closed up shop.

This time around was a completely different scene. The two guys getting everything set up were lively, friendly, and generally hilarious. We chatted for a bit about the finer points of smoked meatloaf, smoked catfish, and brisket chili. The place was empty thus far, and I hoped that it would make up in food what it lacked in ambiance. After all, who needs more than a simple table and chairs when you have outstanding barbecue?

Once again I found myself in a comboless establishment. I'm glad that I double-checked though, because they offered me an off-menu sampler of ribs, brisket, and pork shoulder. This is about as close to the Texas Trinity as you're going to find in most parts of Tennessee, so I ran with it. I picked out sides of potato salad and smoked cabbage. I'm not really a big cabbage eater, but these guys said that it was their specialty. Sold.

The plating process took a lot longer than I expected, mostly because they had to warm up the meats for my order. Sigh. Luckily, they were using a flat-top grill rather than the microwave, but still. I did notice that the smoker out front was pretty much dead when I rolled up, so maybe they smoke everything overnight? Once boxed, my entire order got finished off with a heavy dusting of dry rub.

As advertised, the cabbage was phenomenal, and that's saying a lot coming from me. It retained just enough crunch to keep the overall texture in check, and mild smoky undertones came through in each bite. Their mustard-based potato salad was also tasty. I found it a little sweeter than most, with plenty of pickles and pimentos to go around.

Despite my concerns about the re-heating process, G'z brisket was truly exceptional. It couldn't have been more tender, and the well-rendered fat absolutely melted in my mouth. The deep black bark and beautiful red ring both screamed "Smoke!", as did the flavors. I also found a great seasoning on the bark, which the extra dusting of rub helped to bring to the forefront. This was one of the few briskets I've eaten in Tennessee which was worthy of the name.

The rough-chopped pork shoulder did not disappoint either. Well, not too much anyway. The meat was very tender with quite a bit of bark mixed in. That said, it was slightly dry, but still very good. I enjoyed the moderate smoke level as well as the spice blend. Even though it was a big harder to pinpoint the natural pork amidst all of the dry rub, the end result was savory and delicious.

My meaty spare ribs were encased in a dark, beckoning crust. I don't like my ribs falling off the bone, but these took a little more effort than I'd prefer. In fact, trying to cut apart my rack with a plastic fork and knife (admittedly not the best tools for the job) was exceedingly difficult. The smokiness was immediately apparent upon first bite and the pork was perfectly rosy, so I was willing to overlook some of the flaws.

The clear winner in this meat trio was the brisket, which is no easy feat for most non-Texans. I'd really love to taste G'z Bbq fresh off the pit, because I'm sure it's absolutely amazing.

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G'z Bbq & Catering
925 Gallatin Ave
Nashville, TN 37206
(615) 953-6385
http://www.gzsbbq.com/