I was not a huge fan of the Monday Night BBQ at P'cheen. I had a few bites here and there and it just wasn't all that. Once you're spoiled with Heirloom's Q, it's hard to find another that can compete (even Fox Bros fell off my radar because of their smugness and declining quality of product). But I had a really decent meal at P'cheen recently so I figure why not keep the good streak going and check out their new Bone Lick's brick and mortar spot. After all, they proudly state on their single page website with the quote- "Bone Lick BBQ Named "Best BBQ in the City" - Atlanta Magazine". No one in their right mind would ever put that claim in print unless it's twue (Bill Addison ranked them back in 2010). Not even if their PR pushed them to do it, it's a bold claim to live up to. Let's hope they are doing just that and delivering the goods as stated. I'ma hunnngarree... Pouchy need food.
Let's go take a first lookie...
Sweet Tea, a giant mason jar of it. Tis was surprisingly good but maybe a little too sweet after a jar or two. I'm trying to work up an appetite not diabetes or a fatter ass... Lord knows I need a bigger shitter than what I'm sporting now.
The Fat Ass Sampler, ribs, brisket, sausage, pulled pork, 1/4 cheekan. Oh, fuck, I spoke too soon... What does my fat ass order? Well, of course the namesake combo platter with every piece of meat in the house. There was a moment of terror that I walked into the wrong place because the staff yelled out "FAT ASS" in the same fashion at Moe's when they delivered it in front of my snout. It was a handsome amount of manmeat but lacking a bit in the presentation sector but does that really matter when it comes to BBQ? It also came with two sides which I picked the good old standby mac n cheez and pork n beanz. The Texas Toast was plain old sliced white bread, it was thinner than my hairline. The sliced brisket looked like it had promise, nice bark and smoke ring but it was dry, it needed a desperate bath in it's own juices. The ribs were decent and prolly the best meat of the night, they didn't fall off the bone with the usual light swipe of the fork, it needed some muscle to tear and rip the meat off. It chewed better than it looked coming off the bone. The pulled pork were tender and stringy, pretty much standard issued grade pulled pork. The chicken was a mess, over cooked and dried up, I think it shrank as well, this was a tough one to finish. The sausage sounded great when described but it came out mealy and tasted like a mouthful of sawdust, there was no fat in it, no flavor, not one bite. It was pretty disappointing... Until Alex came out with another one that just came out of the smoker. This one was 100 times better but it still needed a lot more fat and I would liked it to have more texture vs a pink slime consistency. BTW- there's 4 difference sauces, a SC style mustard based sauce, a SC style vinegar based sauce, a KC style heavy tomato based sauce and another vinegar peppery sauce which I assume is Memphis style. All the sauces work with the meats here but the vinegar sauces were a little too thin.
Jalapeno Mac, garnished with 2 large slices of jalapenos on the bias were made with standard elbow pasta but it lack that creamy, gooey, cheesy, and oh-so-bad-for-you macciness we've have come to expect from a top notch BBQ joint. Mac n cheez is prolly the most ordered side in any Q joint but they seriously need to work on this before it can even be considered to be on the menu. I think it needs to go in the oven and toasted a bit before being sent out. I like the top browned with a little crunch to it for contrast. But that's just me though.
Pork-n-Pork-Beans, definitely no lack of beans in there or pork. But once again it was just too sweet, I want to taste the smokiness of it. The sweetness seems to be trying to cover up something. I'm just baffled right about now.
Brunswick Stew, smoked pork, corn, lima, okra, tomato stew. Yeah, this picture looks like shit but I wanted to give y'all at least some type of visual. B-Stew has to be made perfect or else it's just meat soup. It was too sweet, the flavors and ingredients were jumbled and clashing. Add all that into a pot and none of it made sense in my mouth. What a shame, I was hoping for some really kick ass B-stew without driving to Heirloom or even to Fox Bros.
First impressions are hard to erase from your mind and taste buds... But given that it was their first week in operation, I'm gonna cut them some slack. My advice for them which they should already know, is to taste your food and taste it often before you send it out to paying customers. They got the talent here and hopefully with a little time they will produce some prize worthy and crave worthy Q and sides. Was it that bad? No, but it needs a good bit of work. They are on the right track... But as of now, I'll stick with Heirloom and make another visit here in a few weeks when they have their routine down.
C'mon, guys... Don't die on me but make me fatter instead! The pouch begs of you.
Developing...
1133 Huff Road
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 343-6574
http://www.bonelickbarbecue.com/
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