Mi Hungry

Steve D., Matt, & I made it for a return trip to Mi Hungry. The service was a little less enthusiastic than last year and the juke box wasn't working, but the food was as good as I remembered.

All three of us had rib tips and all three of us were mopping up the sauce with bread at the end of the meal. It's a thin but zesty sauce. The meat was well smoked but could have had a little more of the fat Q'ed out.

The sides were fantastic. I had beans & greens - both packed with flavor and the greens came with a hunk of ham bigger than has been served on some sandwiches I've had. The other guys both commented on the bold flavor of the spaghetti.

We kind of stuck out in the neighborhood with our ties. As we walked from the car, a child asked his dad, "What are those?"

"I think they're businessmen, son."

As we were eating, a woman approached asking for a donation of "fifty cents or a dollar" to raise money to bury her grandchild, bolstering her claim with her driver's license, a bill from the mortuary, a picture of the child, and an offer to send a thank you card if we'd give her our name & address. I didn't have the heart to point out the poor economics of sending a thank you card for a fifty cent donation.

But I digress. Good food. Average price. A decent joint. Check 'em out here.

Mars' Best

I revisited this south-side joint for lunch yesterday as part of the 'second chance' round and for the second day in a row, the reality of today did not live up to the memory of last year.

I pulled up with a smile on my face to see the smoker out on the sidewalk in front and nearly tore into the food on the way home as the aroma was driving me nuts in the car, but when I dug in at home, I was disappointed.

The meat is still tender & smoky, the price is still right, but the sauce, subtle to begin with, lacked flavor - no kick, no sweet, no spice.

If you want to judge for yourself, the Youngs have added a second store in Florissant, this one a sitdown at 75 Blackjack Ct.. The original is at 4064 S. Grand. The joints are open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday. To order ahead, call 352.8555 or 653.3389.

Smokemasters

Darren & I went for lunch. I have to say it was kind of a let-down from last year. I had the buffet which featured rib tips. Smokemasters seems to have gone to a mild, dry, rub since last year though Darren had sauce on his pulled pork sandwich that he described as not too sweet or too spicy.

Service, too seems to have slipped as they were just opening for lunch and still putting out the buffet at 12:15. All-in-all a little disappointing after making it into the round one loser's bracket.

Fat Toney's

Matt & I went back to Fat Toney's for lunch today - the rest of the gang were busy. Petty much the same as last year but a surprisingly light crowd for a Friday lunch on a nice June day.

I had the rib plate, Matt the beef & pork plate. The portions were decent for the price (just under $10 w/tax) which is about par for a couple of sides - an improvement from last year as was the meat. The sauce was as tasty as I remember with options of additional hot or mild sauce at the table. The baked beans were very tasty and not too mushy or too hard. The fries - just average.

Two disappointments: Rib tips seem to have been taken off the menu and the wait staff was a bit on the inattentive side, especially for how slow it was.

All in all, not a bad joint & improving but not good enough to move on to the next round.

Smokin' Al's

The loser's bracket of Round One kicks off with Smokin' Al's. This place had the misfortune to run up against Red's in the first round, but it deserves a second chance. I had the burnt ends & beans with Wolf sauce. The meat was perfection, the sauce a very smoky burn to it. I was mopping this up with the bread and craving more even after a generous portion for only $5.45.

Lucky for me this place is on the way home. Give them a try.

http://www.smokinalsbbq.com/bbq.html