Welcome to my written journal of hunting down great BBQ. "Just who does he think he is?" you may find yourself asking. Well, I'm a retired USAF veteran, currently working for the State of Washington, who is looking for a BBQ that I can rate a 10. My passion is to ride the back roads and sometimes not so back roads of the PNW on my Goldwing enjoying life and the road ahead. Everyday I get to breath the air and straddle DiDi (my 2008 GL1800) and partake in this adventure is a testament that the big guy in the sky is looking out for me. My many roads traveled could only have been accomplished with God riding by my side, whether I knew he was there or not.
So why BBQ and why the Pacific Northwest? I'll answer that in reverse order. I am a native of Washington State. I was born here and by the grace of god I'll die here. 4 years in the Coast Guard and 20 years in the Air Force never left me wanting to call anywhere else home. Some places come close, most places fall short of the beauty that makes up this part of the country. I've always had a way about the kitchen and I love to work magic on the grill. Much of my experiences of a "world" traveler has shown me that no matter what culture I'm exposed to, there is always some sort of grilled and/or smoked food available. I've had authentic Korean BBQ in the back alleys of Seoul, pork sticks outside the main gate of Clark Air Base (Philippines) and roast mutton from street vendors in the Middle East. I have enjoyed Texas and Oklahoma style BBQ in each of those states. I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to grilling and smoking. Over the years I believe that the only 10 BBQ comes from my smoker/grill off the back deck of my own home. So that is the ruler of measurement I will use on this trek. As this journal develops I will most likely revisit many of the BBQ joints over and over again, adjusting scores as I see fit. I'll take recommendations for your favorite spot.
I've tried to come up with my own definition of what BBQ is and what makes the criteria for inclusion or exclusion in the months and years ahead. I have to admit that I am very opened minded as it pertains to BBQ. Slow simmering a roast in BBQ sauce is BBQ to me. A rack of ribs cooked low and slow in the smoker is also defined as BBQ (by me). Burning hamburger patties in a 10 trillion degree charcoal grill is yet another version of BBQ by my own standards. BBQ is wet and dry (dry rub that is), hot or cold (as in Chinese BBQ pork) etc. So therein lies a dilemma. By my own standards Burger King, being flamed broiled, is BBQ. Whoa!!! Back up the chuck wagon there partner. Burger King is BBQ? Well....no it isn't. Burger King and its like minded chain restaurants have their place in my life, but they are not what I want this blog to be about. As a minimum a BBQ restaurant should serve pork (as in pulled), chicken (smoked or grilled), ribs (duh), brisket and maybe a sausage or two. Sides should included slaw, salad (potato or macaroni) and of course BBQ beans. A good BBQ joint should be stuffed with customers, offer ice cold tea (not sweet please, I'm not from the south) and have a beer selection. Good BBQ is some place I would take my friends to and make it the final destination after a days worth of riding. Good BBQ makes me full, yet wanting more.
BBQ in some form or the other is mankind's oldest cooking style. I would guess it dates back to...well....hmm...the discovery of fire, when grilled mammoth was the blue plate special. My other passion, home brew, was discovered by ancient man when the right series of events led to wild yeasties invading honey or berry juice and made a nectar (yuck, have you tried naturally fermented beer?) and it was further discovered that when fed to your enemies it made them happy and not dead (well, some of the time anyway). But that is a different topic all together. The only reason I brought it up is that I enjoy a good beer with BBQ and will rate a restaurant partially because of its suds selection.
As a starting point I'm going to use my Garmin GPS as a general guide to BBQ. I've discovered that its internal database includes BBQ restaurants (and many other millions of POIs) and their distance plus driving directions from my home. Plus no matter where I am at, if I'm hungry for some grilled smokey goodness all I have to do is whip it out of my trunk and off I go. As a disclaimer I realize that BBQ restaurants drop off the face of the earth and new ones appear right around the corner all the time. So, like I said, its just a general guide and not all inclusive. Who knows, maybe the Garmin corporation thinks that Joe's Italian Sub Shop is BBQ. I have discovered a couple of errors in just relying on it to navigate from point A to B.
Well, thank you for reading this far. I hope that my words and opinion will make you laugh, cry, think or just plain wonder who this nutcase thinks he is. Send me a quick email if you have a favorite BBQ joint that I should make it to. No guarantees I'll ever actually make it there, but who knows. If I decide to rate your place I'll leave a card stating that you have been hunted down by the BBQhunter. If you like what I've said let me know. If you don't like what I've written, also let me know. Just don't be an ass about it. I'm always up to revisiting a place to give it a second (or third/forth) chance to make things right by me. AND.....I'll never revisit a place I've given a low rating to in the hopes of free food for higher ratings. You won't know I was there unless I decide to leave a card. I may even send a friend instead. My opinion is just that....ITS MY OPINION.
Later...
So why BBQ and why the Pacific Northwest? I'll answer that in reverse order. I am a native of Washington State. I was born here and by the grace of god I'll die here. 4 years in the Coast Guard and 20 years in the Air Force never left me wanting to call anywhere else home. Some places come close, most places fall short of the beauty that makes up this part of the country. I've always had a way about the kitchen and I love to work magic on the grill. Much of my experiences of a "world" traveler has shown me that no matter what culture I'm exposed to, there is always some sort of grilled and/or smoked food available. I've had authentic Korean BBQ in the back alleys of Seoul, pork sticks outside the main gate of Clark Air Base (Philippines) and roast mutton from street vendors in the Middle East. I have enjoyed Texas and Oklahoma style BBQ in each of those states. I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to grilling and smoking. Over the years I believe that the only 10 BBQ comes from my smoker/grill off the back deck of my own home. So that is the ruler of measurement I will use on this trek. As this journal develops I will most likely revisit many of the BBQ joints over and over again, adjusting scores as I see fit. I'll take recommendations for your favorite spot.
I've tried to come up with my own definition of what BBQ is and what makes the criteria for inclusion or exclusion in the months and years ahead. I have to admit that I am very opened minded as it pertains to BBQ. Slow simmering a roast in BBQ sauce is BBQ to me. A rack of ribs cooked low and slow in the smoker is also defined as BBQ (by me). Burning hamburger patties in a 10 trillion degree charcoal grill is yet another version of BBQ by my own standards. BBQ is wet and dry (dry rub that is), hot or cold (as in Chinese BBQ pork) etc. So therein lies a dilemma. By my own standards Burger King, being flamed broiled, is BBQ. Whoa!!! Back up the chuck wagon there partner. Burger King is BBQ? Well....no it isn't. Burger King and its like minded chain restaurants have their place in my life, but they are not what I want this blog to be about. As a minimum a BBQ restaurant should serve pork (as in pulled), chicken (smoked or grilled), ribs (duh), brisket and maybe a sausage or two. Sides should included slaw, salad (potato or macaroni) and of course BBQ beans. A good BBQ joint should be stuffed with customers, offer ice cold tea (not sweet please, I'm not from the south) and have a beer selection. Good BBQ is some place I would take my friends to and make it the final destination after a days worth of riding. Good BBQ makes me full, yet wanting more.
BBQ in some form or the other is mankind's oldest cooking style. I would guess it dates back to...well....hmm...the discovery of fire, when grilled mammoth was the blue plate special. My other passion, home brew, was discovered by ancient man when the right series of events led to wild yeasties invading honey or berry juice and made a nectar (yuck, have you tried naturally fermented beer?) and it was further discovered that when fed to your enemies it made them happy and not dead (well, some of the time anyway). But that is a different topic all together. The only reason I brought it up is that I enjoy a good beer with BBQ and will rate a restaurant partially because of its suds selection.
As a starting point I'm going to use my Garmin GPS as a general guide to BBQ. I've discovered that its internal database includes BBQ restaurants (and many other millions of POIs) and their distance plus driving directions from my home. Plus no matter where I am at, if I'm hungry for some grilled smokey goodness all I have to do is whip it out of my trunk and off I go. As a disclaimer I realize that BBQ restaurants drop off the face of the earth and new ones appear right around the corner all the time. So, like I said, its just a general guide and not all inclusive. Who knows, maybe the Garmin corporation thinks that Joe's Italian Sub Shop is BBQ. I have discovered a couple of errors in just relying on it to navigate from point A to B.
Well, thank you for reading this far. I hope that my words and opinion will make you laugh, cry, think or just plain wonder who this nutcase thinks he is. Send me a quick email if you have a favorite BBQ joint that I should make it to. No guarantees I'll ever actually make it there, but who knows. If I decide to rate your place I'll leave a card stating that you have been hunted down by the BBQhunter. If you like what I've said let me know. If you don't like what I've written, also let me know. Just don't be an ass about it. I'm always up to revisiting a place to give it a second (or third/forth) chance to make things right by me. AND.....I'll never revisit a place I've given a low rating to in the hopes of free food for higher ratings. You won't know I was there unless I decide to leave a card. I may even send a friend instead. My opinion is just that....ITS MY OPINION.
Later...
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