Keeping my WSMs

Most BBQ Restaurants are not going to be as good as what you do. I am always disappointed

Big George's BBQ said:

Most BBQ Restaurants are not going to be as good as what you do. I am always disappointed

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Couldn't agree more. Only time I ever eat BBQ at a restaurant is the brisket at Big Shanty Smokehouse in Kennesaw. They actually do a decent brisket, and I don't have to stay up all night cooking it.
Other than that, nothing comes close to what I can do out on my back deck with the WSM or Dera.

can only agree.

The best places are 'joints' where the person doing the cooking is also doing the sellin - or at least someone with the same last name!

Seems that when a little place gets some success and the owner/founder/pit master gets some deserved time away, often all they can afford are folks who simply don't care enough about the end product - don't respect what's invested into all of the preparation - and serve it like it's slop at a fast food place.

Think about it. How many businesses today are forced to have people working for them that either don't care or simply don' know what they are doing?

I'd rather eat at McDonalds (minus the McRib) than most BBQ restaurants.

You know it's really funny how we look at Bar B Que, I'm sure at some time "Famous" Dave was a good ole boy smoking ribs and brisket and chicken just like us, then they got all wrapped up in that franchising chit and making a chit load of money "going national" and good quality bar b que got left by the roadside (pun intended). If and when my wife talks me into going to a "chain" Bar B Que restaurant, I usually get a burger, I never get disappointed. Give me a "local" point with a pitmaster who's not afraid to show it off.

And you know McDonald's "BOILS" the McRib before slow roasting it over infrared heat!

I have found that the best Bar B Que from a restaraunt is from a little hole in the wall place you might not feel like eating at.

Glad to hear you're keeping your bullets bro! I agree 100%...backyard Q is the best...:razz:

The weird thing is that small chains CAN still put out some real BBQ... well I guess the only tasty chains I know of are based in KC. Outside of my trips to visiting the inlaws in Kansas the best BBQ I eat is made myself. That says a lot as I'm still a full on Q rookie.

I suppose it's because the average Joe doesn't know what good BBQ actually tastes like, so any piece of meat with a tiny bit of smoke flavor is seen as good.

It's pretty bad in florida, there are a bunch of BBQ chains here Sonnys, Bonos, Sticky fingers, smokey bones (the best of the bunch for what it's worth), but all are to BBQ what your high school cafeteria was to hamburgers.

My daughter was in Austin a few years ago. She wanted to hit some of the legendary BBQ places there. She hit 2 or 3 and told me the food was at best okay but they had just gone corporate. Her words still ring in my ears.."Anything you cook Dad was better than anything I had out there." She's 24 and still the enter of my universe.

Big George's BBQ said:

Most BBQ Restaurants are not going to be as good as what you do. I am always disappointed

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George, If i cooked 1/2 as good as you and Josh I wouldnt eat anywhere else either!! you guys got it goin on!!!

Some of my favorite bbq comes from some of my favorite places to eat though!
The nostalgia of walking into Center Point BBQ in Hendersonville TN to me is something I just can't get anywhere else, even home.

I keep going back to the chains somehow hoping against hope that I will get greAT Q. But alas.

If you take them for what they're worth though, hey its a decent meal sometimes.

smooookin said:

I'd rather eat at McDonalds (minus the McRib) than most BBQ restaurants.

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No I can not say that

Smokin' Gnome BBQ said:

George, If i cooked 1/2 as good as you and Josh I wouldnt eat anywhere else either!! you guys got it goin on!!!

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You would not say that if you had tried what we have done so far this year. Hope to see ya soon

Famous Daves serves nearly the worst BBQ I have ever had. When I ate there, I actually became angry...thats how awful it was. The problem is that, since they are a national chain, a lot of people in places where bbq is not "big", and who don't know any better go there and think that is what bbq is supposed to taste like. The food sucks, and they get it in their head that they arent fans of the whole cuisine. This may sound extreme, but I think it damages our sport. Especially when you consider where these horrindous restaraunts tend to pop up. Here in KC, they put a Famous Daves out by the Nascar Track, and one in the middle of the main downtown tourist area. Everyone in the country knows that KC is about Q, so when they travel here, one of the big things they want to do is to try some great BBQ. Since Famous Daves is right in the main tourist areas, they catch a lot of that traffic. I have actually heard people say things like, " well, if that is what bbq is about, then no thanks." That is not good for the city or bbq in general. I'm sure the same thing happens in other major centers of BBQ. I know this is not realistic, but I think Famous Daves needs to stay out of areas where real BBQ is prevelant. It would be the responsible thing to do. And now i shall step down off of my soap box.