RIP Smokin' Al's

It's a sinking feeling pulling up to the shell of a building where a favorite eatery stood. You hope it's just 'slow' that day, you peer into the windows, you try the locked doors, but sooner or later you move on (in our case to Pappy's).

Smokin' Al's, we found out, has been closed since January, victim, I imagine, to the dual closures of Hampton into the park and Highway 40.

I'm gonna miss that wolf sauce.

Smokin Al's vs Ms Piggies

We took a small horde to Ms Piggies today, including some newbies - no small feat considering the place only holds twelve. We had a good variety, two rib tip and one each pulled pork, pulled beef, turkey & chicken. A good variety of sides too - Paul crowned them "Best Sweet Potatoes".

After the feast, the three who had been to both Smokin' Al's & Ms. Piggies caucused. Steve M. went with Ms. Piggies and Carey with Smokin' Al's. Having the tie breaker and having had rib tips at both joints, I had to consider the following:

Meat - Big edge to Ms. Piggies. Tender and well smoked. Al's was well smoked, but you had to work that meat off the bone.

Sauce - Smokin' Al's - especially the Wolf Sauce. Ms. Piggies is more subtle and grows on you.

The winner is:


Ms. Piggies


She'll be up against Richard's Ribs in their bracket next week.

Smokin Al's Wins Loser's Bracket . . .

. . . almost by default. The joints are dropping like flies. I called Wills today and got the dreaded 'not in service' message (I am not going on a 50 mi. round trip to confirm either). Steve D. & I both agreed Smokin' Al's had Mi Hungry beat, so it makes it to the playoffs.

I'll be confirming the continued existence of the other candidates, and publishing the remaining restaurants here in a few days. Stay tuned!

Smokin' Al's

We'd planned on going to Rib City today but a call there left me with a 'number not in service' screech. I looked them up in the online yellow pages and there is a Rib City by Manchester & 270 now. I called but got no answer (at least it rang). I'll follow up to see if they moved.

Plan B:

We'd cruise by Rib City and go on to Red's if they were not open. Got a 'number not in service' at Red's!! This is much worse news. I'll reconnoiter both of these soon to see if they are still in business.

Plan C:

We packed up two cars for Smokin' Al's AYCE rib tip Tuesday. Two of us got this and were debating how refills worked. Silly us - a plateful was all either of us could down. Jackie got the regular tips and had nearly as much as we did. This was my first trip with the tips here and they were tender, meaty, smoky, and well, I'm a big fan of the 'Wolf' sauce. No one walked away hungry or disappointed.

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

BBQ in Winter

By all accounts, most of us think of BBQ as a summer treat so staying on The Quest has been a little tricky.

For the first round, we are down to about nine joints, four of them a fairly good drive for lunch (and one of those known to be closed for winter). Four others are clustered around N. Jefferson and calling ahead left me with one wrong number, one disconnected message, one fax machine, and one no answer. Whether closed for good, for winter, or for the day it's hard to tell.

Not to say I didn't get any Que. I managed a meeting at Ms. Piggie's on Tuesday, lunch with one of the regulars on Wednesday at Smokin' Al's when we couldn't find the other joints open (not a bad plan B), and treated consultants visiting St. Louis to El Scorcho on Thursday. All in all a good week's work for BBQ in December.

I tried the pulled chicken at Ms. Piggie's. Tasty but a little too fine in texture for my taste - I'll be going back to tips. The burnt ends at Smokin' Al's were spot on, not too dry but no fat at all. El Scorcho proved the brisket is not a fluke, everyone I've met who's had it raves about it.

The other place on the list is one of the newest, Call Box Inn. I drove by for lunch last week and they are closed until Jan. 2 so it's 2008 for that one.

Happy Que Year!!!

Smokin' Al's

Ah - the beginning of summer, a slow week and a craving for BBQ hits. Steve & I head for Mama's Coal Pot.

Closed on Wednesday.

Down Delmar where I think I remember seeing some BBQ joints - maybe.

Maybe three years ago - there are none there now.

We circle around Kingshighway and decide on Smokin' Al's.

A good choice. Indoor seating. A good selection of beer (and root beer). Two levels of sauce (Wolf & Pup) and damn good meat. I have the brisket, slaw and beans. Enough food to make my tummy hurt. Put this one on the list.