Wildside BBQ & Grille - Orlando, FL

Wildside BBQ & Grille feels more like a sports bar than a BBQ joint inside with TVs everywhere you look. But the BBQ I had was pretty tasty, so don't judge a book by its cover. Although anyone looking for good Q knows better than that.

I broke with first-time visit tradition and did not get a pulled pork sandwich. I went with the brisket plate instead.

I got BBQ beans and mac-n-cheese for my two sides. Don't usually do mac, but did tonight. Must be the humidity getting to me already (just flew in tonight).

I am sorry to say the meat was barely warm on my plate. I kept the sides (which were hot) and once I was able to find someone that would look up so I could catch their eye, I sent it back.

I am glad I did. Very tender and very tasty. I was disappointed when I added sauce - to me this meat is best as it comes (assuming it is hot...), don't kill the taste with extra sauce.

For my taste the beans were too sweet. Some had a bit too much tooth to them and could use a longer soak.

Not generally a big mac-n-cheese fan (other than my wife's of course!!), but I enjoyed this dish quite a bit.

We visited on a Monday evening - rainy too. Not that busy. If you visit on such a night sit front and center so you can get service if/when you want it.

I would come back here.
Lots of options on the menu too.

Wildside BBQ & Grille
700 E. Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801
407-872-8665
http://www.wildsidebbq.com/

Kinder's Meats Deli BBQ - Fairfield, CA

Two new BBQ joints in two nights, and two posts to match.

Tonight found me in Fairfield, CA. After a trying day with a critical computer failure I wandered into Best Buy to by a thumb drive in the hope that my computer awakes long enough for me to pull a bunch of data off the local drive. Curses for not backing up regularly and/or saving critical files to the cloud.

What does this have to do with BBQ? Well, I asked the guys at Best Buy for a BBQ recommendation. They both said to go to Kinder's. Bonus points for it being really close to my hotel.

Cut it close by getting there at 7:45 - they close at 8. They didn't have any issue with me ordering that close to closing and eating there.

Got the pulled pork of course. Their standard sando comes with mayo on the top bun. Never had that, but rolled with it. Added coleslaw and baked beans. Plus a beer and it only set me back $14.34.

Not my favorite coleslaw - but I am really picky - still ate most of it. Enjoyed it added to the sandwich. Beans were good and hearty.

They pork was tender and had a nice flavor. The Kinder sauce added a nice touch of flavor without overpowering he meat.

I would come here again for sure. Who knows, maybe I'll head back tomorrow to try the BBQ Beef sandwich. 

They actually have three locations - Fairfield, Danville and Pleasanton.

In Fairfield they are at:
1363 Oliver Road, Suite C
Fairfield, CA 94534

They even have an Android and iOS app. Looks like they are on Facebook & Twitter, but no account info is on the menu.

A New Joint - Dickey's Barbecue Pit (Lodi)

Mobile post.

Tonight I find myself in Lodi, CA on a business trip. Whenever I find myself overnight somewhere I seek out BBQ. Here I was only able to locate two locations, and one closed at 4 pm so that was out.

So I heard from a few people that Dickey's is the place to go for BBQ. I didn't think much about the name at the time. When I pulled up I recognized it as a chain because there is one about to open in San Marcos near us.

Truth be told I was disappointed because I really like to find those classic, single-location joints that do some catering on the weekends. But I was ready for BBQ so in I went.

I grabbed a menu and got in line. My go-to item for the first time at a location is the pulled pork sandwich. But I didn't see one on the menu. Well, turns out the "Big barbecue" is a sandwich with your choice of meats (not that you'd know that from the menu).

So I got that with pulled pork (which he pulled right there) with the Dickey's BBQ sauce. They also have a sweet sauce and a spicy sauce. And I got two sides - coleslaw to add to the sandwich and barbecue beans. Add a bottle of Coors Light and the total came to $14.26.

Well, short review - I am looking forward to stopping by the San Marcos location and eating at Dickey's again.

I don't care for most coleslaw. I like theirs. I might like it more with a few raisins and a few chopped nuts, but good just as it is. Just a little sweet.

Enjoyed the beans too. Lots of other sides to investigate during future visits.

The pork was nice and tender. Sauce has just a little spice. Good flavor. I did enjoy the sandwich more with the coleslaw on it.

If you ever find yourself in Lodi and wondering what to do for lunch or dinner, swing into Dickey's at 1379 S. Lower Sacramento in the Lowe's shopping center.

Famous Dave's BBQ for Family Dinner

We have almost always enjoyed our visits to Famous Dave's BBQ in Vista, CA. Tonight was no exception.

My brother-in-law Eric is in town and staying with us for a few days. After a day working in the yard we were treated to dinner out with mom and dad. We had all been to Dave's before, but it was Eric's first time. So we decided to go for it!

We had the...

ALL-AMERICAN FEAST
A full slab of St. Louis-Style Spareribs, a whole Country-Roasted Chicken, 1/2 lb. of either Texas Beef Brisket or Georgia Chopped Pork, Creamy Coleslaw, Famous Fries, Wilbur Beans, six pieces of Fresh Sweet Corn (farm fresh when available) and four Corn Bread Muffins. Served family-style for 4-6 people.

Wow. That is a lot of food!



Mom had her usual pulled pork plate (we did the brisket on the trashcan lid, oh ya, it is served on a trashcan lid!) - so that left four of us to work on a meal that can feed six or more. We did OK, but we still left with three takeout boxes!

You have to give it to Dave's, they have a wide selection to pick from, and it is consistantly good. We never hesitate to go there because of worries about the food.

If you haven't been to a Famous Dave's BBQ, I recommend you get to one and see what you have been missing!

I've been bad...

I have been a very bad blogger (on more blogs that just this one I am sorry to say).

Not that I haven't thought about it. I continue to love going to BBQ joints, eating BBQ and taking photos and mental notes about the food and atmosphere with full plans to go home and make a review post. But... it just hasn't been happening. Well, the last step hasn't been happening.

So I thought it was high time I dug up all those photos and did what I should have done some time ago - get those reviews posted. Many of these barbeque restaurants I have been back to one or more times. Which is actually good!

One, it means it was good enough to go back, and two, it means I have more than just one trip to base my thought and feelings on.

 I am, however, having trouble locating all of my photos. Bummer. Or...is that a good thing since I will just have to "force" myself to go back and eat more que...

Question of the day. With sauce, or without??

What a Lovely Trip to Costco

Post Christmas trip to Costco to ready for our annual New Years Day open house was a boon for my scotch collection. We had a little left over gift money and Jen wanted to be sure I got a few of the bottles that they aren't going to restock.

The Blue Label - yeah, that was on sale so it came home too!

The Current Scotch Selection

Just in case you might be wondering... here is the current scotch selection at my place.

Tonight I am drinking some Dalmore (love the bottle).

My favorite here? I'd say the Dalwhinnie. Tasty, easy to drink, with a slight sweetness.

Down below are also a bottle of JW Black and Dewar's white label.

And hiding in my office is a big bottle of JW Blue that has yet to be opened. Waiting for a special occasion for that one.



The three Dewar's on the right are from Christmas 2012 - Costco package. After the holidays the price kept going down and down on the 3-pack. By the end I had the one Jen bought me for X-Mas, and then three more after the price dropped! So they are all hiding in a closet and as a bottle is finished it magically gets replaced with a full version (gotta love that)!

Oh ya, and had a lovely grilled ribeye for dinner (this is a BBQ blog after all).
 

BBQ map (mostly San Diego)

Not only have I been bad about posts to my blogs, I have also failed to update my BBQ Joint Reviews map. You can also view on your iOS or Android device.

I will have to make some time for some reviews, photos and meal reports!

Let me know about any locations I should add to the map & review!

Dusting off the Smoker for July 4th

Can you guess what I am doing on July 4th?

The Butt is trimmed and rubbed

Like a ton of folks, I will be firing up the smoker tomorrow and slow cooking some pork butts.

I am trying a new flavor base this time. For years I have used molasses as my base, but from the start I have wanted to use honey. So in honor of the birthday of America I am trying honey.

Sticking with my old standby rub, Bad Byron's Butt Rub. Best to just mess with one thing at a time. I love Bad Byron's tagline - "A little Butt Rub makes everything better" - ain't that the truth!  =)

I picked up 14.84 pounds of Butt at Restaurant Depot in San Diego on Monday. It was hard to not get more Butt and toss in some Ribeye (on sale!) as well. But I was good. Lots of other supplies yet to get for the party on the 7th.

I trimmed up the two butts a bit. There was some serious fat on the larger of the two. Coated with honey. rubbed with Butt Rub, wrapped and back into the refrigerator.

On the 7th we are having family and friends over to hang out, eat, drink and spend some quality time together. Serving pulled pork sandwiches and hotdogs. If people know what's good for them we will have a lot of leftover hotdogs...

Well, now that I have that done, I'd better finish cleaning up the kitchen and get to bed.
After the butts are done tomorrow we are heading out for a date - San Diego County Fair or dinner and a movie. We shall see...

Impulse Buy...

Impulse buy at Costco.
Been thinking about trying this for some time. Imagine my (happy) surprise when Jen walked over and put it in the cart!

Will let you know what I think!

"Faux-be" Beef - Maybe You've Had This "Kobe Beef"

Thanks to Bigmista Neil Strawder for pointing out on his Facebook feed this article from Larry Olmsted in Forbes Lifestyle section.

From the article:

Despite the fact that Kobe Beef, as well as Kobe Meat and Kobe Cattle, are patented trademarks in Japan, these trademarks are neither recognized nor protected by U.S. law. As far as regulators here are concerned, Kobe beef, unlike say Florida Orange Juice, means almost nothing (the “beef” part should still come from cows). Like the recent surge in the use of the unregulated label term “natural,” it is an adjective used mainly to confuse consumers and profit from that confusion.

It's an interesting read, so take a few minutes to read it here. There is a lot of explanation of the real Kobe Beef process, rules and regulations that I found very interesting.

I like that Olmsted points out that there are many US based beef products that are of superb quality, some may be even better than true Kobe. Search these out next time you are going to a BBQ Competition or cooking something for a special gathering.

Bottom line, find the best product that you enjoy the most and can afford. And get that!


This is actually just part one in a series of three stories. Also take a look at:
Part 2: What about "Wagyu" and "Domestic Kobe beef"? Sorry, more meaningless labels.
and
Part 3: Why the U.S. Government wants you to eat fake foods.

From Part 3:

Twelve decades ago, the highest profile of the many foodstuffs to come out of the Treaty of Madrid protected was Champagne. Every major power in the world at the time elected to sign the treaty, with the exception of the United States. As a result, the term “Champagne” has been protected in almost every other first-world country since 1891. The Treaty has been revised many times, and in every case since, the U.S. has adamantly refused to sign. This is not an issue forgotten by the rest of the world. The European Union alone has a list of over 600 geographically designated products it protects under law, almost none of which the US agrees with. Despite repeated requests dating back more than a century from the French, and in recent decades the World Trade Organization and European Union, the U.S. has stubbornly and purposefully refused to become party to this treaty or dozens of others like it.

"Don't worry, I'm with the Government and I'm here to help." - Sure...

Just another example of how more government and more laws doesn't mean we citizens are better off.


Follow Larry Olmsted on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/TravelFoodGuy
and Bigmista at: http://twitter.com/bigmistasbbq and his website at: http://bigmista.com/

Spring is here, Summer is on its way!

The clocks have been changed, the days are longer. It is warming up. You know what this means...it's time to get outside!

This includes more grilling at home, or at the beach, or wherever you may go. But it also means it is better weather for sitting out by the smoker while your meats cook low and slow in the smoker.

Time to stop going to the local BBQ joints. Why do that when YOU can do it better, and enjoy the whole experience?

It's a good day when you can keep watch over the smoker while getting all those little jobs done around the yard that have been nagging at you. Need a break? Check on the smoker for a bit.
And the best part? At the end of a productive multitasking day you get to relax with a beer and your freshly smoked BBQ! Oh ya, now that's a good day.

Here's to you and your BBQing passion.
 I am looking forward to BBQing some pork butts, and my first brisket this year. I'll share notes and photos as I go. Hope you enjoy learning some from my mistakes and testing.

What I got (or didn't get) for Christmas 2011

Well, truth be told I didn't get anything for BBQ for Christmas, at least not directly. But I did get some cold hard cash from the in-laws (Thanks!!). Always a welcome gift.

I have purchased a few items so far. I got a nice carving knife at the Costco Business Center. Have never had one - big gap in my knife collection. Haven't BBQ'd anything to try it out with yet, so I totally used the wrong tool for the job and used it to slice pepperoni for pizza the other night. Yeah, a bit like taking a tank to a duel, but I tell you what - I've never been able to slice pepperoni so thin and clean ever before!

A bit more was spent at the "regular" Costco on some Single Malt Scotch Whisky that I haven't tried before. I've been moving in the single malt direction in my drinking preferences - a wee dram (OK, a bit larger than that) or two are quite welcomed in the evening.

I'd say that's a good start!

Quick thoughts:

• Knife is great
• Oban 14 year old is on the stronger side, but not too strong
• Singleton 12 year old is mild, maybe too mild. But good. Hoped for more after memories of first tasting this at a distillery in Scotland (not the distillery this bottle came from)
• Lagavulin 16 year old is too strong and peaty for my tastes. But great for others from what I've read

Check back here for reviews of various bottles (full disclosure - I'm no expert!) as I build up, and then drink down, my collection.

And hopefully I'll get that smoker fired up here again real soon as well!

New BBQ Joint - Mike's BBQ in Escondido (mobile)

Grabbed a quick full rack of baby back ribs to go after an afternoon with friends at Stone Brewery & some shopping.

Will report back later with a mini-review.

Will go back again later (unless this rack totally sucks) for a more traditional meal & full review.

I can report that this place is huge. Plus a bar where you can eat off the full menu while watching the 15 foot (yes, 15 foot - this is a big TV) tele.

Visit Mike's BBQ on the web.

Map the BBQ

I'm going to play around with adding a map to this blog. Figure I will include locations of all the BBQ joints I know, links to my reviews, etc.

Hopefully this will be useful for folks looking for a place to eat some good Q.

I was going to focus just on San Diego. But decided to go further since I am lucky enough to travel a bit too.

Phil's BBQ - San Marcos, Our First Time

OK, so Phil's BBQ has been open in San Marcos for a number of months now. Finally had a chance to get in there and check it out a bit. Was returning home from running some errands with Jen, and decided it was time.

My standby, go-to meal at any new BBQ joint is the Pulled Pork Sandwich. It is what I judge a BBQ restaurant by. I have loved the BBQ Broham pulled pork from Phil's since the first time I've had it. That is one huge sandwhich. That being said, the last two times I've had it at the Sports Arena location I have been less that overwhelmed. Chucks of fat big enough that they should have been pulled once. And the other I think it was some just nasty hard edge meat that shouldn't have made it to a sandwich - it was pretty big.

So, today it was ribs. We decided to split a full rack of baby backs and get two sides. I wanted the beans and Jen wanted some french fries. We ordered the fried well-done, and were glad we did. Jen had seen someone's fried on the way in and she described them as "anemic". The 'well done' ones were just perfect!

The ribs. Cooked very well. Close to over cooked, but not quite. I jumped for the ones with little to no sauce on them. Why? Two reasons. I'm not a huge fan of vinegar based sauces - Phil's are. Also, I want to taste the meat and the Q, not just a bunch of sauce. So what's the verdict? Tasty ribs those are!

I motored through 3 then remembered the beans. I forgot that his bean has a bit-o-spice to them. Not much, but I don't do heat that well, so I noticed it. Good though. And we thoroughly enjoyed the fries.

Would I get them again - oh ya. Maybe I'll remember on of these days to ask for the sauce on the side...

It was also fun to try to remember the way the restaurant used to look. We had eaten there twice when it was an Italian place (can't recall the name). Was that area expanded? Etc. I can tell you for sure that I am much happier having that location be a Phil's!

Visit Phil's in San Marcos at 579 Grand Ave, San Marcos, CA 92078.
And if you are in the San Diego area hit the Sports Arena location at 3750 Sports Arena Blvd, San Diego, CA 92110.   Both are close on Monday's.
Be forewarned - there can be LONG lines at Phil's. I am looking at the Point Loma (Sports Arena) location live cam right now - it's packed! Check out the BBQueue Cam (cute play on words guys) if you are in a hurry.
It's hard to beat Phil's for BBQ - well, unless you come to my place...

Oh ya - here's a pic of the ribs plate. Totally sorry about the picture - I only thought to snap a quick one for Foursquare before I got lost in eating. Plus I didn't even realize we were sitting under a neon light - that's why the color is so odd!

Check this out too. First Time I've seen this - what a simple, but useful idea. Just hook your arm under this and pull - door opens and you don't loose the work you just put into cleaning your hands. Now then - go get them dirty again with Que!!

It Has Been WAY Too Long - Time to Smoke

Well, we are in the new house. Still have a bunch of boxes to empty. Still trying to figure out just where it makes the most sense to put things. Still trying to pick which painting/photo to put on which wall. Still trying to figure out the irrigation system and fix broken PVC pipes. Good thing we have many years left to figure this all out!

Have been doing a fair amount of grilling - mainly for dinners for the two of us. So a ribeye or two, burgers, more rirbeyes... We almost never grill any steak but a ribeye. Nothing else comes close, and with the good prices at Costco or Restaurant Depot why not really enjoy your steak!

But what has been missing? Smoking! I haven't put a darn thing in my lonely little smoker in forever.

Well the July 4th weekend is coming and that is all about to change! We have invited friends and family over to hang out, enjoy the pool, the company of other folks and a few adult beverages. And dinner of course. And what's the main course - pulled pork sandwiches!

I'll be making a quick run to RD this week to pick up a 2-pack of pork butt and will cook those up, pull um, and be ready to go for the next day. Jen is considering making the rolls herself. We shall see, I think we have enough to do between now and then that we don't need to worry about that.

It was great the other day when we were talking with a friend and asked her if she can join us for the 4th. She was hemming and hawing a bit - then Jen said - "and Tim will be smoking...". Our friend instantly said, "oh ya, I'll be there!".

Love it. Guess I'd better make some good food!  =)

Some Game Day Tri-Tip

It's Super Bowl Sunday. I only state that because most of you will know what day it is, not because it has any bearing on anything. We didn't host a bowl game, we didn't go to a bowl game - heck - we didn't even watch the game!

But we did have two tri-tips in the refrigerator, and this was the day to cook them up.
Early in the day I skinned about 6 cloves of garlic, and cut them into somewhat uniform sizes. I then cut slits into the tri-tips and pushed a piece of garlic into each cut. Haven't done this since college.

I then liberally covered each piece with Santa Maria Style seasoning from Susie Q's. This is the brand we learned about in San Luis Obispo during college - where we also learned about the Tri-tip. Back in those days not many folks outside of the Central Coast knew about Tri-tip. After covering them I put each into a plastic ziplock bag and back into the refrigerator.

Hours later just as the sun was setting I pulled them out to toss on the grill. Opened up a bag - oh ya, that smelled good!

I'm not sure how the timing was during the game, but mine was cutting it close... Ran out of gas just as the larger cut was done. Perfect!

We had it with a nice side salad with fig & walnut dressing. Tasty.

We did decide that next time we put garlic in we are going to use roasted garlic. The raw garlic doesn't get cooked enough and is too strong. Nice flavor, but could use a little calming.

If you haven't tried it before, do get the Santa Maria Style seasoning. And do let it sit on the meat for 6+ hours - it gives it a great flavor!

Bacon Jam – the quest continues

OK – SO we are loving the Bacon Jam. Took some to a friends house and we all loved it on yams. Really good.

We are using it a lot on burgers – the original use always seems to be the best.

We are working on finding the best mix of ingredients. The first batch we made (in the post below) has been the best. But even the “bad” stuff is really good. For example – we made a batch and split the sugar into half brown and half white. Also drained off more of the liquid. Still good, but it came out too dry and not as flavorful.

So we promise to continue to play with the recipe and work towards making it the best it can be. I know, I know – it’s tough work but someone has to do it! Plus we have a lot of bacon right now – so it seems like a good time.

Have fun cooking/grilling/smoking! If you try Bacon Jam let me now what you think. And if you tweak the recipe a bit, let me know what you do and how it turns out!

Bacon Jam Burgers

So you know we made up this recipe from the show FoodCrafters on the Cooking Channel.

• Just over 1 pound Bacon (cut up – about finger width)
• 1 Large Onion (sent through food processor – about 3/8’s pound)
• 1 T Brown Sugar (Packed)
• 1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 T Jen’s Secret Sauce (sorry, can’t tell you what this is… – but it adds sweetness)

Cook bacon in large cast iron pan over medium- to high-heat. Cook till bacon starts to leak bacon juices.

While that is happening, cut up onion in food processor. Cut that puppy up good.

Add to pan with bacon. Cook for approx 2 minutes (until onion is translucent).

Add Brown Sugar, cook about 2 minutes.

Add Balsamic, cook till done. Done being when the grease has separated from the bacon. Cook till you feel it is done for your taste.

Pour off majority of the fat.

Add it all to the food processor and grind it up – not too fine, you want it to have some small chunks in it.

         

Spread on burger and enjoy!

The first time we made this we took a few bites, then went back and doubled the serving of the bacon jam – so be liberal with it. We also used Havarti cheese instead of Cheddar. Good stuff!

We also felt like we need to add more bacon. So next time we are going to up the amount of bacon and onions and see how that changes things. Will report back here on how that goes.