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what's up with BBQ joints?

armedoldhippy

armedoldhippy

Well-known member
Veteran
every time i find a really good BBQ joint, i rush to tell friends about it to spread the good news. they tell me "man, that food is GREAT! service is excellent etc." had one open not two miles from my house last year. son got ribs, i ordered the "big pig" sandwich, as i'm a damn hog when it comes to pork. while waiting for our food, waitress brought out a basket of BBQ pork rinds that were still cracking and popping, straight out of the grease. best i've ever eaten, anyplace at any time. food came, killer! son gave me a rib to sample. wonderful! went back two weeks later with buddy to show it off. nothing. :badday: even the damn sign was gone from front of building. we have two BBQ places here that continually underwhelm me with their "food". the better known one does not even smoke their own pork! it is delivered daily, and their ribs are kept under a heat lamp, drying and ruining them as the day progresses. you couldn't close THAT hole in the wall by burning it down, and i have thought about that option...rant over, sorry. :cuss:
 
armedoldhippy

armedoldhippy

Well-known member
Veteran
madalasatori said:
Most of the restaurants around here have trouble finding people to work after being shutdown. No way would I want to risk my money on starting a business today.
Click to expand...
some local places to eat are paying more than local counties pay their patrol officers for a starting wage. seriously, burger-flippers get higher pay than LEO that risk their lives daily dealing with crackheads, tweakers, drunk drivers, armed robbers etc. WTF? my favorite doughnut shop is only open M-F because nobody wants to work weekends. in a way, i understand the problem local paper has getting delivery drivers. who in hell wants to work seven days a damn week? i don't care if it's only 3 hours a day... how do you go on a trip or anything doing that? just a matter of time before they shut the doors or only print 5 papers a week. Monday & Tuesday are only 4 damn pages as it is. :shucks:
 
RobFromTX

RobFromTX

Well-known member
Theres this bbq restaurant here in Texas named City Market. Pretty famous place. They've been on the travel channel a few times. Back in the day they didnt even have plates or forks. You just had to make a big mess of yourself and the ribs were simply fantastic, it would just fall off the bone. Then the owner died and his idiot daughter sold it to some silver spoon yuppies from Austin. And ofcourse they jacked up the prices, tore out all the knotty pine and put aluminum pink pigs all over the walls, and complained about the locals hanging out in the parking lot after eating, even once calling the police over it. But the worst thing they did was ruin the bbq. Good bbq has to be tender and greasy. Its just so easy to overcook ribs and destroy the experience. Ofcourse this is whats happening everywhere. Mom and pop are getting weeded out. Even the black owned doughnut shop where i live, which opened its doors in 1982, is going under since Krispy Kreme waltzed into town. I know nothing stays the same but my god its so sad to watch. Pretty soon the only bbq left will be Bill Miller :confused:
 
pop_rocks

pop_rocks

In my empire of dirt
Premium user
420club
✓
good bbq isnt cheap but cheap bbq isnt good, i will pay the extra few dollars for some well made ribs and pork!
that sux that these good places close down so quickly in your area aoh while the shitty joints get by
like you said
the encomomy is a joke right now, thanks brandon
hey man, my only qualifications are i might show up to work, not high, and i dont really do a very good job, plus i wont work on weekends or beyond my scheduled shift, but f'you pay me!
-yeah you deserve to get ahead
/but a person with a professional certificate like an emt or police officer who is eating shit sandwiches working 12 hrs shifts 8 days a week gets sh!t , smae goes for a lot of other skill positions but hey gotta keep those snow flakes happy
/end of rant!! :mad:
ill be the first to say robfromtx, beef taste better in tx
ive had the fancy california beef and it just dosent compare to what i got in herford and the surrounding areas
that sux about the girl selling out her family biz, but that the way it goes a lot of time
the new kids dont want to be in that line of work so she took the easy payout and let the name go down the drain
we have this doughnut place we like to stop by when we are in the area
they open a kk in the same parking lot but the locals still stop in and the place is going strong!
they have these sesame doughnuts that are off the wall good
we have decent bbq spots near by but they are so spendy (like 20-30$/person)
i like some vriety every now and then plus its noce not having to make your own food the food, but i almost always leave thinking i could have made it better myself for almost half the cost
/dont get me goin on the cost of groceries now!

its taco tuesday here in socal but man i could go for some good ribs, burnt ends, brisket, pulled pork, et.al
 
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RobFromTX

RobFromTX

Well-known member
pop_rocks said:
good bbq isnt cheap but cheap bbq isnt good, i will pay the extra few dollars for some well made ribs and pork!
that sux that these good places close down so quickly in your area aoh while the shitty joints get by
like you said
the encomomy is a joke right now, thanks brandon
hey man, my only qualifications are i might show up to work, not high, and i dont really do a very good job, plus i wont work on weekends or beyond my scheduled shift, but f'you pay me!
-yeah you deserve to get ahead
/but a person with a professional certificate like an emt or police officer who is eating shit sandwiches working 12 hrs shifts 8 days a week , smae goes for a lot of other skill positions but hey gotta keep those snow flakes happy
/end of rant!! :mad:
ill be the first to say robfromtx, beef taste better in tx
ive had the fancy california beef and it just dosent compare to what i got in herford and the surrounding areas
that sux about the girl selling out her family biz, but that the way it goes a lot of time
the new kids dont want to be in that line of work so she took the easy payout and let the name go down the drain
we have this doughnut place we like to stop by when we are in the area
they open a kk in the same parking lot but the locals still stop in and the place is going strong!
they have these sesame doughnuts that are off the wall good
we have decent bbq spots near by but they are so spendy (like 20-30$/person)
i like some vriety every now and then plus its noce not having to monitor the food, but i almost always leave thinking i could have made it better myself for almost half the cost
/dont get me goin on the cost of groceries now!

its taco tuesday here in socal but man i could go for some good ribs, burnt ends, brisket, pulled pork, et.al
Click to expand...
Taco Tuesday :love:. Yeah a lot of the best mexican joints here are disappearing too. And youre right, the kids dont want to mess with it because you never get that wealthy running a restaurant. But damnit i just wish they would be more cautious who they sell out to. Ive never been to Hereford but i know their reputation for good beef
 
armedoldhippy

armedoldhippy

Well-known member
Veteran
we had a Krispy Kreme downtown here, they were there as long as i can remember, family run. well, KK thought they should spend a million or so on a new building at a new location. the folks said "go fuck yourself!" so KK pulled their franchise & sold it to someone more malleable that bought the bigger lot on edge of town & a shiny new building. i don't know if they're making more money there or not, but there's never a line, and the "red circle" that tells you that fresh doughnuts are coming off of the line is NEVER lit up. the family that used to have the franchise just kept right on making doughnuts in the same place as always, and that's where we go...
 
Cactus Squatter

Cactus Squatter

Well-known member
Where I live it seems if you aren’t a corporate chain slop house you don’t make it.
You can only get served mediocre BS like Rudy’s or famous Dave’s… 🤮
They’re set for life wherever they open it seems.

We occasionally have some amazing bbq joints pop up but they’re all closed again pretty quickly. There’s really only 1 killer place in town that opens for lunch and goes until they’re out of meat. There’s a line around the shop and weaving through the lot usually. I’ve waited for over a hour just to hear “that’s all folks” before I got mine.
That place is damn good but is a hassle to go to due to their random hours.
 
Cactus Squatter

Cactus Squatter

Well-known member
RobFromTX said:
Taco Tuesday :love:. Yeah a lot of the best mexican joints here are disappearing too. And youre right, the kids dont want to mess with it because you never get that wealthy running a restaurant. But damnit i just wish they would be more cautious who they sell out to. Ive never been to Hereford but i know their reputation for good beef
Click to expand...
Just got done with my Tacos!!!
I’m lucky and have some fairly good Mexican joints around us. I’d go insane otherwise since it’s probably 80% of my diet 😂 We don’t have the awesome food culture that the Tucson area has though. That place has some off the hook little mom and pop shops. Some very traditional from niche areas of Mexico and others are amazing fusion places.

As far as getting wealthy running a place, a guy could be a very wealthy and happy taco truck owner if they took Carne asada, Al pastor and some sort of even semi decent chicken taco up to Montana. Throw in a fish taco day here and there. Probably clear a million $ your first year. That state is a flat out suck fest when it comes to good Mexican food. The best place I ate at was barely a step above Taco John’s or Taco Bell. Apparently “Carne Asada” translates to “really goofy slow cooker beef roast with nothing but cumin and black pepper on it”. I only found one place that at least flat top cooked it but they still just destroyed it with insane amounts of cumin. So freaking weird. I may still do that as my retirement gig if I move up there. 😂
 
RobFromTX

RobFromTX

Well-known member
Cactus Squatter said:
Just got done with my Tacos!!!
I’m lucky and have some fairly good Mexican joints around us. I’d go insane otherwise since it’s probably 80% of my diet 😂 We don’t have the awesome food culture that the Tucson area has though. That place has some off the hook little mom and pop shops. Some very traditional from niche areas of Mexico and others are amazing fusion places.

As far as getting wealthy running a place, a guy could be a very wealthy and happy taco truck owner if they took Carne asada, Al pastor and some sort of even semi decent chicken taco up to Montana. Throw in a fish taco day here and there. Probably clear a million $ your first year. That state is a flat out suck fest when it comes to good Mexican food. The best place I ate at was barely a step above Taco John’s or Taco Bell. Apparently “Carne Asada” translates to “really goofy slow cooker beef roast with nothing but cumin and black pepper on it”. I only found one place that at least flat top cooked it but they still just destroyed it with insane amounts of cumin. So freaking weird. I may still do that as my retirement gig if I move up there. 😂
Click to expand...
I got a buddy up in Great Falls. They would love to have more mexican food. Everyones getting priced out up there too though
 
pop_rocks

pop_rocks

In my empire of dirt
Premium user
420club
✓
Cactus Squatter said:
Just got done with my Tacos!!!
I’m lucky and have some fairly good Mexican joints around us. I’d go insane otherwise since it’s probably 80% of my diet 😂 We don’t have the awesome food culture that the Tucson area has though. That place has some off the hook little mom and pop shops. Some very traditional from niche areas of Mexico and others are amazing fusion places.

As far as getting wealthy running a place, a guy could be a very wealthy and happy taco truck owner if they took Carne asada, Al pastor and some sort of even semi decent chicken taco up to Montana. Throw in a fish taco day here and there. Probably clear a million $ your first year. That state is a flat out suck fest when it comes to good Mexican food. The best place I ate at was barely a step above Taco John’s or Taco Bell. Apparently “Carne Asada” translates to “really goofy slow cooker beef roast with nothing but cumin and black pepper on it”. I only found one place that at least flat top cooked it but they still just destroyed it with insane amounts of cumin. So freaking weird. I may still do that as my retirement gig if I move up there. 😂
Click to expand...
heck yeah! its going to be on! me and the mrs are getting tacos tonightand walking in the rain

what tacos did you get c'squat! was talking it up with the mrs and now we are going
/ i need ideas for tonight
the place i like the most is a norteno joint, family owned and pretty legit for the price
its more like socal/ baja style but you are so right about how mexican food has so many different tastes!
the food in new mexico is different than what i get here and the food in tx is a whole nuther animal!
ever had oaxacan food, this shit is the cream with super sauces (they call it mole) and lots of flavor
it sounds like the chik in the story was just out for a quick buck, because like you said, you can earna decent income from just owning a good small food joint
yeah you arent launching rockets into space but you make a good 5-6 figure income and if you have a good team its pretty passive
hahaha, food trucks; my bil and i dream of bringing a grill and loco cooker out to half dome and making all this great food for the rock climbers! we would travel to all the fun climbing/ outdoors spots and then at the end of the day (thats about 1300 for pops) just sit back and grill up!
the trekers would be creeping around out camp like racoons just beggin for scraps, oh yeah i take pay pal!
 
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moose eater

moose eater

Well-known member
Premium user
Restaurants in general took a beating during and after COVID's more severe and constrained period(s).

There's a place in Fairbanks (Big Daddy's), which has received numerous awards, and they have both mobile (larger) smokers on trailers, with which they can do events, and they have a restaurant, as well.

Their 'Tuesday ribs' special was originally around $1/rib, then went up to $1.25/rib, and I think now they're about $1.50 or $1.75/rib. Haven't ordered take out ribs on Tuesday there in a long while. Might be wrong on the pricing.

They do an excellent slow-smoked rib there, but it's either without sauce, or, if you ask for sauce, it's the slathered-on sweet sauce, which, in my opinion, ruins a good rib.

As you may remember, we smoke our own dry-rub ribs in my propane smoker (with my 'kitchen sink' dry rub).

My walk-in smoker is too big and doesn't quite get hot enough with the modified Canadian air-tight tin wood stove, and might burn down the 'hood if I tried to get it up that hot; geared just right for doing a large quantity of salmon, though.. The digital electric smoker doesn't produce enough smoke, and tends to dry meat out more than the propane derelict smoker I use. So we do propane for ribs.

But you know what the old adage is; "If you want a job done right, do it yourself."
DSCN0588.JPG




DSCN0584.JPG
 
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Switcher56

Switcher56

Comfortably numb!
pop_rocks said:
good bbq isnt cheap but cheap bbq isnt good, i will pay the extra few dollars for some well made ribs and pork!
that sux that these good places close down so quickly in your area aoh while the shitty joints get by
like you said
the encomomy is a joke right now, thanks brandon
hey man, my only qualifications are i might show up to work, not high, and i dont really do a very good job, plus i wont work on weekends or beyond my scheduled shift, but f'you pay me!
-yeah you deserve to get ahead
/but a person with a professional certificate like an emt or police officer who is eating shit sandwiches working 12 hrs shifts 8 days a week gets sh!t , smae goes for a lot of other skill positions but hey gotta keep those snow flakes happy
/end of rant!! :mad:
ill be the first to say robfromtx, beef taste better in tx
ive had the fancy california beef and it just dosent compare to what i got in herford and the surrounding areas
that sux about the girl selling out her family biz, but that the way it goes a lot of time
the new kids dont want to be in that line of work so she took the easy payout and let the name go down the drain
we have this doughnut place we like to stop by when we are in the area
they open a kk in the same parking lot but the locals still stop in and the place is going strong!
they have these sesame doughnuts that are off the wall good
we have decent bbq spots near by but they are so spendy (like 20-30$/person)
i like some vriety every now and then plus its noce not having to make your own food the food, but i almost always leave thinking i could have made it better myself for almost half the cost
/dont get me goin on the cost of groceries now!

its taco tuesday here in socal but man i could go for some good ribs, burnt ends, brisket, pulled pork, et.al
Click to expand...
It takes a long time to learn proper BBQ. It's not like opening up a burger joint.
 
Three Berries

Three Berries

Active member
They had a local restaurant in my tiny town. Been there for over 125 years in the same building. the last ten years the owners son, who went to Europe to learn to be a chef, ran it. Great food and people came for miles.

Then they shut everything down and paid people to stay home and now it's barely running on the weekends.
 
Switcher56

Switcher56

Comfortably numb!
I make a mean RIB, Memphis Ribs. The seed was planted in 1983. Once I was established, it took me 8yrs to perfect my recipe, and I am still tweaking it. Of course with the proper tutelage that journey would have been shorter. Everyone benefits from an apprenticeship. :) I use JD sauce, modified. The store bought shit, is shit. Same as spice mixes (not just for RIBS but in general). Mixes and blends are macerated on site (home), made from the raw ingredients.

They are not my recipes, they were collected over the years. The greatest flattery you can show some one is to copy their work and improve on it. Always own up to what you own and pay Caesar his due (for the lack of a better word), when you can :)
 
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