Market Street Deli and BBQ

I really wanted to hate this place - I really did. I felt I'd been lured in on false pretenses, the '& BBQ' part of the sign being exposed as a lie when the gal behind the counter took a cup of pulled pork OUT OF THE REFRIGERATOR!! and popped it IN THE MICROWAVE!! to make my pulled pork sandwich (which did not come with slaw - thank you very much - for $5.95). Add to this inattentive service and I was all set to write a scathing review.

Then I bit in. Mmmm . . . smoky, porky meat; spicy sauce, tender but not fatty. Damn good actually. Won't win Memphis in May but better than some BBQ specialty joints around town.

Lesson learned; you never know until you bite in.

Pappy's

I took a return trip to Pappy's today and introduced Steve to this terrific restaurant.

No recession here - they point you to the back door and the line runs about 15 minutes for lunch. We both had the brisket which was a little tougher than I remember but a ton of smokiness and the Original sauce on the table gave the meal the sneaky heat that made the wait worthwhile.

With luck, we'll get to Dee's Best Q4U and play these two off in the continuing battle for best BBQ in St. Louis next week.