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hypatia42Because I vomited all over a friend's facebook post that was asking for recommendations:
KC style Q is sauce heavy. The rub takes a back seat to the sauce, sometimes being used as a wet rub while smoking but not always. The style of sauce varies significantly though I am not aware of any that don't have a tomato base.
Bryant's sauce has no sugar or molasses in it but is chock full of spices. The joke my dad used to tell was that if your nose wasn't running you didn't have enough sauce. It reminds me quite a bit of the Ethiopian dish berbere.
Jack Stack's sauce is more sweet. They have several different sauces with varying heat to them. I like them because they don't use black pepper as the only way to achieve "heat" in their sauce. It has a lot of flavor to balance out the sweet.
Joe's probably does the best pulled pork in town but their overall presentation leaves something to be desired. The sauce is good but nothing to write home about IMO. The sides are totally what you would expect of a place that started in a gas station. If your goal is pulled pork, definitely go here. Be prepared to wait in REALLY long lines.
Q39 is newish on the scene and has a bit of a hipster vibe. Kinda reminds me of the Butcher and Boar downtown here, only more economical than that. Their sauce is on point. Their meat offerings are really good. Sides vary by season and I have never had a complaint. I seem to remember that they have a good bourbon selection.
Gate's is one that no one has mentioned yet. I don't like them because they are one of the ones that use black pepper as their main spice component and I find it overwhelming yet it doesn't balance out the amount of molasses they use. My dad used to say they have better quality meats to start with than Bryant's but I feel that has changed over the past decade.
KC style Q is sauce heavy. The rub takes a back seat to the sauce, sometimes being used as a wet rub while smoking but not always. The style of sauce varies significantly though I am not aware of any that don't have a tomato base.
Bryant's sauce has no sugar or molasses in it but is chock full of spices. The joke my dad used to tell was that if your nose wasn't running you didn't have enough sauce. It reminds me quite a bit of the Ethiopian dish berbere.
Jack Stack's sauce is more sweet. They have several different sauces with varying heat to them. I like them because they don't use black pepper as the only way to achieve "heat" in their sauce. It has a lot of flavor to balance out the sweet.
Joe's probably does the best pulled pork in town but their overall presentation leaves something to be desired. The sauce is good but nothing to write home about IMO. The sides are totally what you would expect of a place that started in a gas station. If your goal is pulled pork, definitely go here. Be prepared to wait in REALLY long lines.
Q39 is newish on the scene and has a bit of a hipster vibe. Kinda reminds me of the Butcher and Boar downtown here, only more economical than that. Their sauce is on point. Their meat offerings are really good. Sides vary by season and I have never had a complaint. I seem to remember that they have a good bourbon selection.
Gate's is one that no one has mentioned yet. I don't like them because they are one of the ones that use black pepper as their main spice component and I find it overwhelming yet it doesn't balance out the amount of molasses they use. My dad used to say they have better quality meats to start with than Bryant's but I feel that has changed over the past decade.