Cow Town BBQ

I've been craving good BBQ for a couple weeks now and I think the latest episode of America's Next Great Restaurant (my new love-to-hate it show), may be the culprit. That coupled with this past week's weather being in the upper 70's, sunny, with the distant growls of lawnmowers being heard around the neighborhood. It's time, I thought. Time that I satiate my urge for brisket that has turned pink from the smoldering hickory chunks that kept the meat company overnight in the glowing belly of the BBQ. Time for pork ribs with meat so tender that you don't have to look like your neighbor's pit bull gnawing on a milk-bone at the table. Time for serious BBQ sauce. Homemade stuff. Sauce that makes you want to lick your plate clean, not to mention your fingers. But I'm in Sacramento, California. Not Kansas City, South Carolina, or Texas. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people who think there is no good BBQ to be had west of Texas. California is a mere blip on the BBQ radar, even with the popularity of Tri-tip in this state. In fact, most people outside of California have never heard of tri-tip. Sure, Sacramento has been called a "cow town", but they were not referring to a place to find great BBQ, rather they might have been referring to the number of men AND women who wear boots, tight Wranglers, and drive 92' Ford F-150's with "Cowboy Up" stickers all while living in the suburbs. So what's a guy got to do to get some meat pulled from the smoker, doused with an addicting sauce and wrapped in butcher paper to go?

For being labled a "cow town", Sacramento doesn't really support a booming BBQ economy. There's a few "mom and pop" type places around, and a couple of larger gigs scattered here and there, most leaving a lot to be desired. One does stand out from the rest - D. Miller's Famous BBQ, a small place that's in one of those typical "if you blink you would miss it" locations. My good friend and I head over there on occasion to catch up over some ribs or a hot link sandwich. True BBQ. Not swimming in sauce or emblazoned with artificial grill marks. You can tell they use skill and love amongst their ingredients. It's not exactly close, and the proprietor keeps odd hours, so I wasn't able to visit my first choice. Instead, I headed over to a place I had eaten at a long time ago, to see if I could get a quick fix. Texas West BBQ has been established in Sacramento for a number of years. I visited the Roseville location, on a cold and rainy night - hoping the warmth of mesquite wafting through the air would shake the chills. As soon as I opened the door, I was met with disappointment. No wood smoke in the air, just the faint smell of sanitizer being used by the dishwasher. We were seated quickly, next to a foursome of college-aged students that were busy devouring chicken strips and a "BBQ wrap". I started to feel worried. Where were the truck drivers, mechanics, and other blue-collar workers that are sure sign that the comfort food is good? The place has been rated "Best BBQ" by Sacramento magazine for what seems like eons, for what that's worth. Oh well, let's get on with ordering I thought.

My wife ordered the pulled-pork(ha!) sandwich, while I ordered brisket, and junior had the chicken strip basket. A pair of iced teas and we were back to anticipating our meal. We didn't have to wait long before we were presented with our orders. Immediately I noticed that they use gigantic white plates, which made the food seem dwarfed and alien. If you're going to give a customer a plate the size of a manhole cover, you should probably fill it up. Remember this is BBQ, not sushi.

The pulled pork sammy did not score great marks. The sauce was tasty, spicy and sweet, but it definitely overshadowed the pork, and the smoke flavor was missing. The meat came piled on a standard enriched-flour burger bun, and it wasn't toasted. So you know what happened next: sauce makes cheapo burger bun soggy, causing entire sandwich to fall apart into a pile on the giant plate. The brisket did not fare much better. It had spent some time in the smoker, judging from the 1/8th inch layer of pinkish meat on the outside. However it was extremely dry. Brisket itself is a tough cut of meat, one that renders itself perfectly in the slow-and-low heat environment of a BBQ smoker. So I was baffled as to why this meat was so stiff and for lack of a better description, tough. I will say that the side dishes were good, the ranch beans especially. You could taste that they had been made fresh, with chunks of tomato and green peppers dancing merrily with the pinto beans. The coleslaw was on the sweet side, could have used a bit more vinegar. And that leads us to the sauce. Again I was let down. The sauce was a thick, pasty mix of brown sugar, tomatoes, and spices. Resembling creosote, it came in a portion cup on the side. It lacked a decent spice profile, and the consistency almost required a paintbrush to get it to spread. It pains me to admit, but the best thing we ordered was the chicken strip basket for my 2 year old. The fries were average, getting soggy quickly similar to In-N-Out fries. The chicken strips were on the other hand, fantastic! A thick, crunchy, peppery buttermilk batter coated the breast strips, which made for a delicious textural combination.

Alas, you don't want to go to a BBQ joint for the fried chicken (at least in theory), but if you have any little people along with you, this is what you want to order them - even if you eat half of their basket like I did. And if you visit on a Monday or Tuesday, kids eat free, which will make you feel a little better while you carve and slash at that $12 dollar brisket plate.