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

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.