B
BrooklynQ
Guest
Scent of smoke, good ribs and affability
BY JOAN REMINICK
Newsday Staff Writer
October 27, 2006
LAURA'S BBQ ROADHOUSE
1759 Bellmore Ave.
North Bellmore
516-409-4510
CUISINE: Barbecue for the whole family
CHECK: Appetizers, $6.95 to $7.95; sandwiches, $8.95 to $9.95, entree platters, $12.95 to $55.95 (for 5); desserts, $1.95 to $3.95
HOURS: Dinner, Monday and Tuesday, 3 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Rest room not accessible.
The scent of wood smoke wafts out the door of Laura's BBQ Roadhouse. It travels through the small parking lot in front and wends its way to the overflow lot across the street. A more concentrated version of the same fragrance permeates the interior of the restaurant, a rambling warren of rooms that, on weekends, draws a crowd dominated by families with children. Sometimes, the place gets boisterous, but, hey, this is barbecue - messy by nature, designed to be eaten with gusto in down-home surroundings.
Lori Mattingly, the affable manager, says she should not be mistaken for co-owner Laura Adams or Laura the bartender or Loretta the waitress. "It can get confusing around here," she says. Because the place is new, I found service could get addled but never was less than amiable.
From the short roster of mostly fried appetizers, the highlight was an item called "Texas toothpicks," crisp shards of deep-fried zucchini and onion. "Armadillo eggs" (Cheddar-stuffed battered jalapeños) were rather humdrum, as were Buffalo wings. Still, pub grub wasn't what I'd come to Laura's for. I craved whatever was responsible for that alluring aroma.
On my first visit, our party of four ordered a platter called "the trough," a long, wood dish piled high with enough food to feed up to five, according to the menu. Included were St. Louis-style ribs and barbecued chicken plus a choice of two other meats, along with several sides and some corn bread. We left bearing doggie bags.
I was pleased with the moist, smoky barbecued chicken, its skin beautifully bronzed. Both pulled pork and sliced brisket were infused with an admirable woodsiness, but they were a trifle dry. A squirt of barbecue sauce helped. The next time, smoked sausage turned out to be a seductive revelation. Pulled chicken, never a personal favorite, also came off well - better, in fact, than the pulled pork.
But the forte of pitmaster-owner Lloyd Adams is ribs. We were told that the restaurant had run out of baby backs, which didn't matter; the St. Louis ribs were nothing short of transcendent - moist, smoky and crusted by their spice rub. The meat had that deep pink color known as a "ring of smoke," earned only by a long time spent in the barbecue pit. I wouldn't dream of putting sauce on such ribs.
Side dishes - cole slaw, creamy potato salad and baked beans - were fine, but corn on the cob was watery and flavorless. Cornbread, baked in small loaves, was rather sweet. I didn't think it wise to serve the bread on the same wood platter as the meat, since some loaves got wet with juices.
I sampled a chopped brisket sandwich, the meat much moister and more flavorful than the sliced brisket I'd had a couple of weeks earlier. A juicy burger was first-rate.
I'd come back for another. Until the restaurant comes up with more worthy conclusions than pecan and apple pies (both from an outside baker), I'd conclude a meal here by helping myself to an extra rib.
Maybe two. Or more.
If you like Laura's, you also might want to try:
Hog House Barbecue, 200 W. Jericho Tpke., Huntington, 631-271-4200
Smokin' Al's Famous BBQ Joint, 19 W. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-206-3000
Smokehouse Grill, 296 W. Main St., Sayville, 631-589-9600
Tennessee Jack's, 148 Carleton Ave., East Islip, 631-581-9657
Farmer Bar-Cutchogue Barbecue Co., 4805 Depot Lane, Cutchogue, 631-734-5410
And Willie doesn't even get a mention. Will, you need to hire a media whore.
BY JOAN REMINICK
Newsday Staff Writer
October 27, 2006
LAURA'S BBQ ROADHOUSE
1759 Bellmore Ave.
North Bellmore
516-409-4510
CUISINE: Barbecue for the whole family
CHECK: Appetizers, $6.95 to $7.95; sandwiches, $8.95 to $9.95, entree platters, $12.95 to $55.95 (for 5); desserts, $1.95 to $3.95
HOURS: Dinner, Monday and Tuesday, 3 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Rest room not accessible.
The scent of wood smoke wafts out the door of Laura's BBQ Roadhouse. It travels through the small parking lot in front and wends its way to the overflow lot across the street. A more concentrated version of the same fragrance permeates the interior of the restaurant, a rambling warren of rooms that, on weekends, draws a crowd dominated by families with children. Sometimes, the place gets boisterous, but, hey, this is barbecue - messy by nature, designed to be eaten with gusto in down-home surroundings.
Lori Mattingly, the affable manager, says she should not be mistaken for co-owner Laura Adams or Laura the bartender or Loretta the waitress. "It can get confusing around here," she says. Because the place is new, I found service could get addled but never was less than amiable.
From the short roster of mostly fried appetizers, the highlight was an item called "Texas toothpicks," crisp shards of deep-fried zucchini and onion. "Armadillo eggs" (Cheddar-stuffed battered jalapeños) were rather humdrum, as were Buffalo wings. Still, pub grub wasn't what I'd come to Laura's for. I craved whatever was responsible for that alluring aroma.
On my first visit, our party of four ordered a platter called "the trough," a long, wood dish piled high with enough food to feed up to five, according to the menu. Included were St. Louis-style ribs and barbecued chicken plus a choice of two other meats, along with several sides and some corn bread. We left bearing doggie bags.
I was pleased with the moist, smoky barbecued chicken, its skin beautifully bronzed. Both pulled pork and sliced brisket were infused with an admirable woodsiness, but they were a trifle dry. A squirt of barbecue sauce helped. The next time, smoked sausage turned out to be a seductive revelation. Pulled chicken, never a personal favorite, also came off well - better, in fact, than the pulled pork.
But the forte of pitmaster-owner Lloyd Adams is ribs. We were told that the restaurant had run out of baby backs, which didn't matter; the St. Louis ribs were nothing short of transcendent - moist, smoky and crusted by their spice rub. The meat had that deep pink color known as a "ring of smoke," earned only by a long time spent in the barbecue pit. I wouldn't dream of putting sauce on such ribs.
Side dishes - cole slaw, creamy potato salad and baked beans - were fine, but corn on the cob was watery and flavorless. Cornbread, baked in small loaves, was rather sweet. I didn't think it wise to serve the bread on the same wood platter as the meat, since some loaves got wet with juices.
I sampled a chopped brisket sandwich, the meat much moister and more flavorful than the sliced brisket I'd had a couple of weeks earlier. A juicy burger was first-rate.
I'd come back for another. Until the restaurant comes up with more worthy conclusions than pecan and apple pies (both from an outside baker), I'd conclude a meal here by helping myself to an extra rib.
Maybe two. Or more.
If you like Laura's, you also might want to try:
Hog House Barbecue, 200 W. Jericho Tpke., Huntington, 631-271-4200
Smokin' Al's Famous BBQ Joint, 19 W. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-206-3000
Smokehouse Grill, 296 W. Main St., Sayville, 631-589-9600
Tennessee Jack's, 148 Carleton Ave., East Islip, 631-581-9657
Farmer Bar-Cutchogue Barbecue Co., 4805 Depot Lane, Cutchogue, 631-734-5410
And Willie doesn't even get a mention. Will, you need to hire a media whore.
