When BBQ isn't Roadfood

Ok, maybe these food shows ARE ruining roadfood tradition. I voted that all the attention is good, but what about BBQ places opening that are more white linen than brown paper?
 
I get it, smoked flavor is good. Nay, it's great! So I guess it stands to reason that high end restaurants are coming on board, hiring pit masters, then shaving the delicate meat to put into delicate meals, presented in stunning fashion. I do, I really get it. It's smart. It does extend classical food prep to include the pit cooked meat...but, the name "Fatty 'Cue" - seems to infer the traditional pithouse, brown paper table covering, bbq beans and slow cooked greens, rather than this place.
 
So, is Fatty 'Cue "roadfood?" I dunno. How about "Smoke Restaurant" in Dallas with it's signature appetizer of duck foie gras and chicken liver pate with "ham jelly" topped with smoked red onion marmalade? Or Woodshed Smokehouse, with red piquillo peppers stuffed with smoked brisket served in a beef-bone broth sprinkled with cotija cheese? It certainly is a different direction than Chubby's, Dinosaur Bar-be-cue, Lexington #1, and the pit house movement.
 
on washingtonpost.com comment board, jhtlag1 wrote: "...It's just wrong, like paying a lot for blue jeans." And that was most positive comment.
 
Or perhaps, instead of the question of whether it's"roadfood," better to first ask, "is this still BBQ?"
 

I don't know. Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Pate with Smoked Red Onion Marmalade & Grilled Buttermilk Dill Toast works for me.

well, I never said it wasn't good food.

Scorereader


Ok, maybe these food shows ARE ruining roadfood tradition. I voted that all the attention is good, but what about BBQ places opening that are more white linen than brown paper?

I get it, smoked flavor is good. Nay, it's great! So I guess it stands to reason that high end restaurants are coming on board, hiring pit masters, then shaving the delicate meat to put into delicate meals, presented in stunning fashion. I do, I really get it. It's smart. It does extend classical food prep to include the pit cooked meat...but, the name "Fatty 'Cue" - seems to infer the traditional pithouse, brown paper table covering, bbq beans and slow cooked greens, rather than this place.

So, is Fatty 'Cue "roadfood?" I dunno. How about "Smoke Restaurant" in Dallas with it's signature appetizer of duck foie gras and chicken liver pate with "ham jelly" topped with smoked red onion marmalade? Or Woodshed Smokehouse, with red piquillo peppers stuffed with smoked brisket served in a beef-bone broth sprinkled with cotija cheese? It certainly is a different direction than Chubby's, Dinosaur Bar-be-cue, Lexington #1, and the pit house movement.

on washingtonpost.com comment board, jhtlag1 wrote: "...It's just wrong, like paying a lot for blue jeans." And that was most positive comment.

Or perhaps, instead of the question of whether it's"roadfood," better to first ask, "is this still BBQ?"

 
Far from being Que, it's down right blasphemous!
 

I would say you would have to still call it BBQ, since it is a wood-smoked meat, just as the Kobe-beef burgers topped with truffles and foie gras costing $175 are still called burgers. 
 
But Roadfood, it certainly is not!  Roadfood is defined by the restaurant (mom and pop), not by the menu, and the super expensive la-ti-da restaurants run by well-known chefs featured on TV shows are about as far from real Roadfood as you can get.

There are numerous high-end restaurants reviewed right here on this site and included in the Roadfood books.
Peter Luger's in Brooklyn, Harry Caray's here in Chicago, anda  whole slew of higher priced "la-ti-da" (I always thought it was "la-di-da"...oh well, I guess we can start a separate thread to argue over that one) places in NOLA.
 
Quoting from this site's definition of Roadfood:
"Roadfood is almost (bold and underline mine) always informal and inexpensive; and the best Roadfood restaurants are colorful places enjoyed by locals (and savvy travelers) for their character as well as their menu."
 
My interpretation of that definition is that Roadfood worthiness is defined by the soul of the restaurant in question.  Price and plate presentation don't enter into it.
 
Buddy

The thing about steak houses is, you tend to get what you pay for. You won't find top-quality beef at bargain prices, and the cost of the meal reflects the cost of the ingredients.
 
BBQ is different. I enjoy the occasional BBQ meal in NYC-type places, but you are paying for real estate, not ingredients. Since a NYC BBQ place has to charge so much, they are forced to fancy the food up some to justify the cost to urban dwellers. The result can be good food but it's just not the same, at least not for me. I'd much rather go to L C's in KC or McClard's in Hot Springs.

I should point out, though, Bruce or Susan, that two of the restaurants I mentioned in my post are located in Texas (of all place), who are also doing that "NYC-type" thing as you describe it.
 
In many ways, I think calling a restaurant "BBQ" or "cue" or "smoke" and then featuring fois gras pate is disingenuous --an attempt to try to coy the public into thinking it's getting something it isn't. It's not BBQ. Sure, the meat has been prepared by low and slow, but the meat isn't the feature, the presentation is. In a true BBQ joint, the meat is it. There are sides, but the meat isn't dolled up into haute cuisine.
 
Not that there's anything wrong with haute cuisine. But, IMO, smoked quail is hardly "barbecue" - even though it's a commonly hunted animal in Texas. Whether the meat is smoked or oven cooked, cailles en sarchophage is cailles en sarchophage.
 
On the other hand, these "la-di-da" chefs, as described earlier, are helping to legitimize the art of the pitmaster, as the meat is tranformed by Chef La-Di-Da from finger food to dinner food, from messy to dressy, from bib to jacket,....well, you get the point.
 
What I find interesting, is when you combine this concept of making higher end food out of "commoner" ingredients, or just making higher end food, with some of the places we see on Diner, Drive-In's and Dives, we start to see a changing landscape in everyday restaurants. More and more, the everyday restauranteur is committed to very fanciful plating, out of the ordinary ingredients, and pushes technique in the kitchen. This new-diner offering stands in stark contrast to the old greasy spoon, trucker diner presentation. A good example, is the new local family diner on 8th Street, in SE DC. The street is commonly known as Barrack's Row - because it sits along the tradition-laden Marine Barracks. Ted's Bulletin has managed to elevate the twinkie and pop-tart, and of course, there's the adult milkshakes, not suitable for young ones. It truly is family friendly, and is my 3 year old son's favorite restauant...he calls it "The B" because out front is simply a large letter B on the facade. Yes, even roadfood is getting fancy. So, maybe the "fancification" of BBQ is just the next logical evolution?
 
Of course, I started this thread in an attempt to get others to read an article I found interesting on the Wash Post website, and to spark conversation aong fellow foodies, so I'm glad we're getting a variety of angles on this.
 

BBQ in NC is pulled pork, beans, slaw, a roll or bread, tea, and a bag of chips for 7.00 - 8.50.

If there is not smoke pouring from the building, it ain't Q and ain't roadfood!
 

What isn't kosher is putting some meat in a stovetop smoker with  a teaspoon of chips, closing the lid and 1/2 hour later calling it smoked meat! That just ain't right, right there!

Agreed

6star


I would say you would have to still call it BBQ, since it is a wood-smoked meat, just as the Kobe-beef burgers topped with truffles and foie gras costing $175 are still called burgers. 

But Roadfood, it certainly is not!  Roadfood is defined by the restaurant (mom and pop), not by the menu, and the super expensive la-ti-da restaurants run by well-known chefs featured on TV shows are about as far from real Roadfood as you can get.

I agree. if the price point is too high, it isn't Roadfood.
 
 
 

LOL....if it tastes good it's ok.......but yes, maybe not "Roadfood" in the typical use of the word.  I can get fried clams with a white table linen and a nice wine pairing, but if I'm in Roadfood mode (99.9% of the time), I prefer a wooden table outside, maybe a bottle of beer (sometimes purloined), a view of the water and even a few pesky seagulls just waiting for me to try and run for an extra napkin

Looks like I need to get to work on a perfect pulled pork foam with a fusion of Rib marrow! LOL! I believe it will be a fad! If not, I could care less, what I'm doing here, has been and always  will be done in the traditional style, with traditional cuts and qualities of Meat and vegitables, in a traditional setting IMHO!

there IS a difference between "Smoked" foods and BBQ--ie,lox may be smoked--but it aint BBQ---and and i LOVE cold smoked pork chop which are cold smoke and "Grilled" to finish--but--they aint BBQ! i would eat most of what these folks are selling--and enjoy it immensly--but--It aint BBQ.:)
 

I have no opinion on this since I am guilty of last having BBQ at Famous Dave's. So I yield to the esteemed gentleman from Rhode Island for the definitive opinion on Roadfood if he ventures into this thread.

Scorereader,
Great topic. My last two BBQ meals were at the Brick Pit in Mobile, AL (with the esteemed Glee Club) and Joel's BBQ in Flatonia, TX. Great BBQ----absolutely. I do think it would be great, though, to find a pit master who thinks out of the box, smoking a few items that are not normally smoked. I have seen places smoke jalapeños, but I wonder what else a creative pitmaster might come up with. Like Tiki said, not all smoked foods are BBQ. On the other hand, a nicely smoked prime rib, served on a white linen tablecloth, might still be BBQ. 
As far as presentation, I think that's the toughest part of the discussion. Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ, a chain of very good, upscale BBQ houses, does a nice presentation. I don't see anything wrong with that. And making a nice presentation out of pulled pork, smoked quail or even a smoked pork belly seems OK to me. 

Oooh.  I had forgotten that the dearly missed Jot Em Down BBQ in Athens used to do barbecue quail.  That was very interesting.  By no means my favorite, but I loved that they sold it.

Different opinion here. 
 
If I have to drive to the only place in existence that serves red piquillo peppers stuffed with smoked brisket served in a beef-bone broth sprinkled with cotija cheese, then that is a destination restaurant making it Roadfood to me.

Ed, I must agree. I dont think I have ever had anything smoked prior to Brick Pit( in Milwaukee bbq is pretty much grilled directly or indirectly)but I think lots of food would be fantastic smoked. Besides the obvious, seafood comes to mind.....

Ann,
 I do smoked shrimp in my cameron smoker a lot. You have never had as moist and tasty shrimp as the large ones (the under 12 size) that have been smoked. 

Yum, Ed!