Big Daddy's BBQ

[sinanju]

R.I.P. At The Hop, ??? - 2003
The former 50's-themed burger joint a couple of blocks from our house is no more. Did they go under? Did they sell out? Retire? I have no idea. What I do know is that the roof is now bright orange and there's a big Grand Opening banner on display. It is now Big Daddy's BBQ. It's been Big Daddy's for a couple or three weeks now.

I wasn't terribly interested. Though I enjoy barbecue once in a while (brisket, never ribs--I hate eating messy foods), it's not a passion of mine. Tonight after snippy and I got home, she went thru the mail and discovered a flyer from Big Daddy's. They have a lot more than just barbecue. They do still sell a couple of burgers--the Big Daddy and the Phat Daddy. And they sell barbecue--lots of barbecue. Ribs, brisket, pulled pork, smoked turkey, hot links; as sandwiches, on platters or in a big all meat sampler, or combos, or in bulk (by the pound). They even sell deep fried turkeys.

They also have appetizers (aka "Foreplay"): smoked buffalo wings or buffalo thighs, jalapeno poppers, onion rings, fries, deep fried pickles, fried okra, fried green tomatos, deviled eggs, and (drumroll, please) hushpuppies! Oh, and did I mention that they also sell catfish ("farm raised, soaked in buttermilk, dredged in cajun seasoning, blackened to perfection")? I love blackened catfish (or blackened fish or meats of most any sort).

snippy and I immediately decided that we needed to try this place. So we stopped by Walgreens to run an errand, then drove by the place on the way back home. We made a to-go order and waited. And waited. They cook everything on demand. Eventually we got our order (and then some--we got several sides we didn't order, by mistake). We drove home and fell upon our dinner with enthusiasm.

snippy ordered a brisket platter with barbecued beans and cornbread. Twoson got ribs, bbq beans and cornbread. I ordered the blackened catfish, red beans n' rice, and cornbread. We also got an order of hushpuppies. Conclusions? The ribs were "great!" says Twoson. The hushpuppies delicious, especially when eaten with a spicy dipping sauce included in the order--we all agree that more hushpuppies are in our future. The brisket was good, the bbq beans very good. The cornbread was not a hit; it was sweet, cake-like in texture, and had actual kernels of corn baked into it. I figured I wouldn't like it--I don't generally like any commercial cornbread. I'm a southern boy; cornbread should be dense, it should not be sweet, and have a crunchy exterior. But snippy didn't like it either, though Twoson thought it was fine.

And then there was the catfish. *sigh* As catfish, dipped and fried, it was perfectly good. As blackened catfish, it was a total bust. It neither looked blackened nor tasted blackened. If they hadn't billed it as "blackened" I'd never have known that was the theory. Alas, this is par for the course in Portland. I have yet to find a place here that makes anything that even comes close to what I think of as properly blackened fish. Does NO ONE in this town know how to blacken things?

Don't get me wrong. Overall, we liked the food, and we'll definitely go back. I just won't try to get blackened catfish again.

Update: Snippy took me to task for saying that I was disappointed. "One item wasn't what you wanted, and you're disappointed?" Well...yeah. I've been trying to find a good blackened fish meal for quite a while now, and I'll still looking. The rest of it was good, though.

Comments

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

Awwww, poor man. A Southerner, up there in Maine? What were you thinking?

As a Northerner down here in the South, I must express my total appallment (is that even a word?) at what people deem "Italian food" here. And what is the shit they're calling "prosciutto" in the stores? Dead rubber? Can rubber be dead? Cause that's what this is, man.

::sigh:: We should switch. Though I love good cornbread, crispy on the outside.

Maine?

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Oh you poor, sweet, deluded child. I'm out here in Portland, OREGON, aka "Stumptown." And for the most part, I find Oregon in general, and Portland in particular, quite congenial. But they sure as hell don't understand about southern food for the most part.

Re: Maine?

[amand-r.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD! I was born in Portland. I love that city. More strip clubs per capita than any other city, yo.

RE: Cornbread

[raine-wynd.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the Midwestern cornbread I grew up with - the kind of cornbread you couldn't mistake for anything else *because* it had corn in it. (At least, I tend to think of it as Midwestern, because that's where my mom learned to make it.)

Blackened anything outside of a good Cajun restaurant or New Orleans is a hit-or-miss proposition.

On a completely unrelated note - please email me your address so I can send that Highlander ep (Timeless I believe you said) you haven't seen. :-)

Re: Cornbread

[sinanju.livejournal.com]

Blackened anything a hit-or-miss proposition? So I've learned. I'm sure, in fact, that what _I_ think of as good blackened fish would appall anyone from New Orleans and similar venues. I ate it in Virginia in a chain fish restaurant, fer god's sake. But it sure beat the hell out of anything I've been able to find out here!

The cornbread I like is the cornbread I make at home. I pour a little oil in the muffin cups and heat it in the oven while I make the batter, then pour the batter into the very hot oil. It basically deep fries the batter and then bakes it, so it comes out with a nice crunchy crust. Yummmm!

And it isn't Timeless, I don't think. It's the "Methos and Joe" show from season six, wherein Joe's daughter shows up. I'll email you with my address--and thanks!

[coffeeinhell.livejournal.com]

A few weeks ago Pat and I ate at Bernie's Southern Bistro, over in Northeast Portland. They do that "Southern, but more upscale so you can feel like you're dining" nonsense. Like, the fried chicken is two huge boneless breasts. Granted, it's battered beautifully and tastes marvelous, but it's presented so you can eat it all with a fork and not soil your tender yuppie hands. Pussies.

I ordered the blackened catfish. It was VERY spicy, very good ... but again, by no means was it blackened. When I was in culinary school we referred to that as "bronzed" ... it was seared, tender, a nice golden brown. But it wasn't remotely blackened.

At some point when the weather warms up a bit, I'm going to make my own blackened catfish. But the weather has to be nicer because I'll have to either keep the back door open to avoid smoking up the whole house or do it Paul Prudhomme style, in the back yard with my cast-iron pan on a screaming hot barbecue.