Sugarfire Smoke House

A pleasant surprise in mid-county brought to my attention by Mike. The perfect spot for county folk that won't brave the city and for Clayton workers that don't have the time to venture in for Pappy's or Bogart's.

In an old Dickey's, Sugarfire is the second new joint in mid-county this season along with Vernon's and, judging from the crowd (and, quite frankly, the food), Vernon's will need to step it up to stay in business.

The focus is on the meat at Sugarfire's. The brisket was moist & tender. The pork, tender as well with lots of flavor and smoke. The meat was light on rub, but plenty of sauce choices are available, maybe too many.

The sauces and soda (Ski) & beer (Stag) choices seem to be geared towards novelty rather than flavor. We had a choice of at least four sauces at our table including Carolina Mustard & (ack) Coffee. Looking about we saw watermelon at another table and a bottle labeled with nothing but stars at a third.

I had beans for a side and they were mediocre & over-priced. Because the focus is on the meat, you can buy meat-only in 4 & 8 oz. portions for a very reasonable price but if you're going to add a side, you're probably better off with a sandwich.

Parking sucks as there are at least two other restaurants in the same strip. Seating is as crowded as any good joint should be at lunch. The wait was just between 5-10 minutes at the heart of lunch hour.

That said, I don't judge a joint by parking and only a bit by price & sides. What counts is meat (excellent), smoke (very good), and sauce (so-so).

This place deserves to stay in business. Give it a visit.

The End of Pappy's As We Know It??

There may be and end to the partnership that has owned the most successful BBQ joint in St, Louis for the last five years.

As the story above indicates, a court-ordered auction of Pappy's may be in the works to resolve a breach of contract suit filed by one of the owners.

At issue has been the launch & success of Bogart's in Soulard and the cross-staffing of the two joints.

Both sides have been ordered to meet before March 8th to hammer out a resolution.

Bogart's Smokehouse

I had a chance to visit the newly-opened Bogart's Smokehouse at the corner of 9th & Lafayette Saturday. It was Day 2 for the BBQ joint and things were running smoothly.

Day 1 sounded plenty exciting with 200+ orders and an impromptu visit from Food & Wine magazine, in town to visit the area's James Beard Award finalists.

It's hard not to think of Bogart's as 'Pappy's East', especially given the familiar faces gracing the joint, including Mike Emerson pressing the flesh. But executive chef Skip Steele has made the menu and the flavors here his own.

Because of the Pappy's link, I went with a brisket sandwich and was not disappointed. It showed that same tenderness, juiciness, and flavor that I've come to love at Pappy's. When I reached for the sauces, here's where I first noticed a difference.

In addition to the hot (Volcano) and sweet, Bogart's offers a vinegar based sauce (a la North Carolina) and a pineapple-based sauce I initially shied away from (not a big fruit-based fan) but later came to appreciate.

Your choice of sides vary as well and include pork rinds & deviled egg potato salad. I had the applesauce (excellent! chunky w/cinnamon) and the Billy Goat chips.

Skip's taken an excursion into 'exotic' (for St. Louis BBQ at least) meats, adding pastrami and prime rib to the menu. Don't look for chicken here though (I thought one of the least successful offering on the Pappy's menu). I look forward to trying the 'sausage fatty' in the near future as well.

After congratulating Skip on the new venture, he was gracious enough to give me a tour of the operation, from the smoker (old Joe) & walk-in out back to the slicer. I got samples of the pastrami (delicious) and the ribs (even more so). He insisted I try the pineapple sauce which was surprisingly low-key on the fruit. The rib glaze was based on the same principle, fruit adding flavor instead of being the flavor.

I even got to see the 'secret weapon' for the ribs: a roofer's torch that gives them that final crisp. I'll be back.

Bogart's is closed Sunday & Monday and stays open until the meat runs out (around 4:30). Street parking is easy to find during the week, but you'll have to compete with Soulard Market shoppers on Saturday (I'd park off Lafayette just over the I-55 bridge and walk the block). For Mardi Gras, they'll be selling on the sidewalk only. Prices - reasonable; Food - excellent.

Bogart's Opens Tomorrow

The Pappy's spin-off that was supposed to open in November is set to go live tomorrow. The joint is in the old Fat Toney's location across from the Soulard Market park. Watch this site for reviews.

Thanks Don for the head's-up.