9-19-2008 Bunk House BBQ and Burgers

After a super day of riding to the Salmon Hatchery on the Cowlitz river and then taking the back entrance into Mt. Rainer it was time for some food. I had casually suggested that the Bunk House in McKenna would be a great dinner. Wookie teased me that he and Her Majesty thought it was kinda funny that the self proclaimed BBQhunter hadn't eaten any BBQ at the Bunk House yet. You know what? Its true. Although the Bunk House is more known for their great hamburger menu, they do offer up 3 items for BBQ (beef, pork and chicken). Plus, the restaurant usually smells like a pit is in operation. So what the heck, I'll go for it. Now for the meat of the matter (pun intended).

Taste: I ordered the BBQ beef brisket sandwich with fries. This was duplicated by Wookie. Doug (another rice burner) ordered the pulled pork sandwich and Dave, our lone Harley rider (from California to boot) ordered the fried chicken basket. Iced Teas around, except for Wookie who had to have his diet "whatever". The BBQ beef sandwich was very impressive to look at. Piled high with meat, which was pretty darn tender. The downfall is that I couldn't taste the meat at all because of the amount of tangy BBQ sauce. One of my firm beliefs about BBQ is that too much sauce hides the meat defects. So what is going on here Bunk House? What are you hiding? Doug thought that the pulled pork was good and Dave said the same about the chicken. I'll give you guys a 6 out of 10 stars for this category.

Value: No problem here. A BIG (and I mean really big) sandwich with a bunch of fries and a drink for less than $15 dollars is very nice. 9 stars.

Staff: No complaints here. The waitress was efficient and had our drinks out to us in no time. The food was just a short wait and us macho retread, leather encrusted bikers gave her a bunch of our usual lip. 8 stars.

Ambiance: Not quite the look or feel of a BBQ joint, but sure is a great hamburger place. The smell from your pit was incredible when it blew in my direction (we were eating outside). 7 stars.

Friends: I ask myself if this is a place to bring my friends for BBQ. Nope.......Would I bring my buddies here for a great hamburger. Yep..... Unfortunately, this is a blog about BBQ. If you want a writeup about what a great hamburger joint this is, go to www.robsnet.com and read all about it. 6 stars.

Overall I award the Bunk House BBQ and Burgers of McKenna 7 out of 10 stars for their BBQ menu. If I was to make a side award for their hamburgers I would say 8 stars out of 10 would be the final score. You guys are a great place to stop after a day on the road. Being just a short stones throw from Stewarts Meats is a plus too. Your hamburger menu is extensive and I would love to see the Trail Boss challenge done some time when I am in your establishment. Your BBQ is not bad, but it doesn't compete against your burger menu. For all of that, keep up the good work and you will see me again with my buddies.... for burgers.

9-18-2008 Ranch House BBQ

On this day DiDi was due her 12K checkup, which South Sound Honda said was 5 hours long. So at 1000 hours I dropped her off at the service department and and met my buddy Gery for a bit of bike drooling and lunch. After an hour of driving to the various shops in the Olympia/Lacey area and checking out the motorcycle selection we headed into downtown Olympia and the Ranch House BBQ. As a side note, during our travels I spotted 2 other BBQ joints that my GPS doesn't know existed. Eureka! More BBQhunter travels ahead!

Taste: It didn't take much convincing (OK......no convincing at all was required) to choose the lunch special. A BBQ beef brisket sandwich, hotlink and 2 sides. We chose the slaw and beans as my previous visits has brought me to the realization that these guys really know their sides. We also ordered a glass of Whistle Pig Hefeweizen from the taproom to go with lunch and it was a great beverage to enjoy with BBQ. The brisket sandwich was piled high with savory chunks of brisket with a kiss of sauce. The hotlink was juicy and very flavorful with grill marks that gave it a great "just off the BBQ" look. It was split lengthwise and served on top of the sides like it was a garnish. Nice touch! The beans were spicy and sweet. The slaw was crunchy and had that great honey dressing. A very deserved 9 stars. You were really hitting on all cylinders this visit.

Value: 32 bucks for 2 identical lunches. Not bad. We were both pretty darn full walking back to Gery's truck. 9 stars.

Staff: All cylinders were firing in order here too. The gentlemen had us quickly seated, served up some ice cold water and had our Hefe back to the table lickity split. We no more than had started to sip at the brew when our orders were whisked out to the table. He was very attentive and made sure our lunch was to our liking. 9 stars. Very well done!

Ambiance: Maybe it was the cool overcast day that put visions of a broke air conditioner out of my mind. Maybe it was spending the day with a good friend and a great lunch. I know getting to do some window shopping for bikes (with the exception of the dirty feeling I had leaving the Yamaha shop) had me in a great mood. Somehow being a hotel bar with a BBQ menu didn't just to seem so important this visit. 7 stars. Not perfect, but today it didn't matter.

Friends: Another one of my associates has seen the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel that is the Ranch House BBQ. I can't say much more than that I am looking forward to my next visit and another convert to your place. 9 stars.

Overall this visit was great. Your staff and food were top notch, as usual. My question is, When are you going to complete the experience and get out of the hotel? 9 stars and well deserved.

9-14-2008 D.O.C. Employee Recognition Fundrasier

The only reason I'm even blogging this is because of the singular experience of which has to be the world's worst BBQ. I can't even give these folks an F for effort, it was that bad. My employer, the Washington State Department of Corrections threw a BBQ beef dinner for a fundraiser. In the past the fundraisers that involved food usually were hamburgers, chili, nachos, salads and the like. I pulled into work last night and what the heck, its only 5 bucks for a BBQ sandwich, chips & a drink and I wasn't even paying.

Taste: I had a choice of Beef or Moose. Hmm.......moose? I'll take the beef please. Maybe I should have tried the moose because the "beef" still had the whip marks from the track. I probably would have had a more tender cut if I had tried to eat my work boot. I took a big bite of sandwich, chewed on it for 30 to 45 seconds and spit it back out. My new chompers from the dentist were no match for the under done rawhide passing as BBQ beef. 1 star.

Value: Well 5 bucks for an inedible sandwich, a bag of chips and a bottle of lukewarm water wasn't much of a bargain. I should have just given them 5 dollars and skipped this treat. 1 star.

Staff: Well, my friend and I were welcomed very nicely. The server was polite and his diligent poking around for the toughest piece of meat made it seemed like my best interest was uppermost in his mind. I'll give it 4 stars.

Ambiance: Riding into the parking lot I saw a smoker/grill in full tilt cooking mode and the smell was pretty good. The sight of meat spinning on the rotisserie fooled me into thinking that I was getting into something decent. It was a very picnic style of atmosphere. 5 stars.

Friends: I went out of my way to warn coworkers to make sure their dental insurance was payed up before trying this BBQ disaster. I actually saw other people in muster sawing at the "meat" with all of their might in vain attempts to choke it down. 1 star.

Overall I award the D.O.C. Employee Recognition BBQ 2 stars. Next time stick with the burgers and chili and leave the BBQ to the experts. Or at least leave it to someone who at least has one BBQ under their belt.

8-30-2008 The Mesquitery

Located in Hood River Oregon (I was there on the first night of my vacation), this place was a welcome 2nd BBQ of the day. Earlier in the day I had eaten some really good BBQ and still had 2 ribs from that establishment. I had spent the afternoon touring the countryside around to the south of Hood River and was ready for some food to take back to the Hotel. I was coming from downtown Hood River were I just spent a pleasant hour at the Naked Winery sampling some vino and a pint of good beer. My GPS listed the Mesquitery as the only BBQ in town (I don't count Applebees, Tony Romas and sports bars as BBQ, even though Garmin wants to). So up the road I went. It was a very easy find and I was able to park right in front of the establishment. Now for the ratings.

Taste: I perused their very extensive menu and chose the BBQ beef ribs with 1 side (garlic bread BTW). The waitress seemed a little taken aback that I wanted this order to go and had to enlist the help of a more experienced staff to actually take the order. The cook/chef came out and informed me that these ribs were boneless. Cool I thought, I told him go for it. Well, if I was a betting man, which I'm not, I would say that these "ribs" were in fact 9 ounces of succulent and moist brisket. The garlic bread was loaded with butter and garlic. Very tasty and the side of sauce I received was sweet and a little spicy. 8 stars and that is because I felt like you tried to hide brisket under the name of ribs. Just call it what it is. It was quite good.

Value: Not too bad for a sit down restaurant, which is what this place is. The amount of meat was pretty big and the side of garlic bread was sized just right. But, for $18 bucks I would expect that maybe a second side would make it a better value. 6 stars.

Staff: The waitress could not figure out a simple takeout order. maybe it was her first day, who knows? She was very gracious to offer me some water and a place to sit while I waited. Little did she know that standing was a relief as my rear was kinda saddle sore from a day on the road. I'll stand, but thanks anyway. The cook/chef (not sure what to call him) was nice enough to come out and explain that the "ribs" were boneless. I'll give you 7 stars.

Ambiance: Not much I'm afraid. Having the grill located behind glass up front was a pretty cool touch. I got to see my order and others get some grill marks put on. Otherwise the only thing that screamed BBQ to me was the name of the place and some of the menu items. 6 stars.

Friends: If I was in town I would suggest your place as a possible eating location. I wouldn't insist on it though, just offer it up as a suggestion. I would recommend it only because you seem to be the only place in town (with the exception of the before mentioned Applebees and Tony Romas) to offer up BBQ. 7 stars.

Overall I award the Mesquitery 7 stars. The food was tasty. Your place was easy to find and I might want to try some of the extensive menu you offer.

Later...

8-30-2008 Big Lou's Texas BBQ

This date was the first day of my "big" trip on my new 2008 Goldwing. I had mulled over in my head many times about where I wanted to go and how far I was willing to travel. The closer my vacation got to be the more apprehensive I became because the weather forecast kept changing every 5 minutes, or so it seemed. So my final plan was to head straight to Omak WA and skip any extra running around. The day before my trip the weather forecast lightened up enough for me to leave a day early and that is just what I decided to do. Being the Labor Day weekend and the last minute I was pretty lucky to find a vacancy in the Riverview Lodge, located in Hood River Oregon. Of course, me being the self proclaimed BBQhunter, I had to at least make the attempt to find BBQ on this trip (little did I know just how hard that would be). My first attempt to find BBQ was in Vancouver WA. My GPS insisted that there was a BBQ joint called Joe's BBQ Bus in Vancouver. I drove around in circles before I came to the conclusion that this place doesn't exist anymore. The best I could tell is that a church resides at that address now. The next closest BBQ was located in Portland OR. No way I'm crossing into Portland. That town is nuts! So off I went east down Highway 14 (the Washington side of the Columbia River). Not a very auspicious day so far. Almost got run over by a crazy lady on I-5 and no BBQ in Vancouver. A couple of miles out of town I took another look on the GPS just in case there was BBQ ahead of me. My luck must be turning, because in Camas WA is a place called Big Lou's Texas BBQ. My fervent hope is that they still were in business and that they would be open. They were! Easy find and at the sight of that magnificent pit a big smile crept across my face. It got even bigger when I could see that they were open. Now, lets see what they are all about.

Taste: I was so happy when I walked in the joint, that when I was formally welcomed to the establishment I blurted out that I had traveled 120 miles just to eat there. Its not a complete fabrication, it really was 120 miles from my home to there. I even told them that I had tried to find another place first. Didn't matter, they thought it was still pretty cool and welcomed me with true southern hospitality. A gentleman standing behind me at the condiments bar had this great looking sandwich he was dressing up. I was told it was chopped mesquite smoked brisket. WOW, looks good, so that is what I ordered. The person taking my order said I could get the "plate" which included 1 side and a drink for 8 bucks and that is what I went with. Chopped Brisket Sandwich, Cold Slaw and Iced Tea. The sandwich was every bit as good as it looked. A giant scoop of tender brisket with a great mesquite presence. The slaw was fresh and crunchy and it was liberally sprinkled with celery seed (one of my favorites, by the way). The iced tea was super cold (not sweet - THANKS!) and cut a huge path through the road dust caking my throat. I would be truly remiss if I awarded anything less than a 9. Great job!

Value: 9 stars. All this for $8. Are you guys actually making any money?

Staff: Where do I start. From the second I walked in the place I felt like I was truly the most important person in the restaurant. From the waitress giving me a big handshake to the Owner/creator of the restaurant talking it up with me and the local owner giving me a travel bag of 2 ribs for the road gratis (that means free). These people are the definition of hospitality. Another 9 stars.

Ambiance: Big Lou's radiated BBQ from the very start. The pit was located street side where everyone could see and smell it. The building screamed "Hey dummy, look at me". It looked, felt and most importantly smelled like a BBQ joint. The menu was just what a BBQ place should be. Simple and to the point. Nothing fancy, just good old fashioned Texas Style BBQ. 9 stars! Another job well done!

Friends: I would recommend this place to my friends and even suggest it to strangers in passing if I knew they were headed to or through Camas WA. If fortune favors me and I'm in that area again I will definitely make this a stop. Don't wait for me to bring it up, just go! You won't be sorry. 9 stars

Overall: I'm sure you can guess what I will give Big Lou's Texas BBQ. But in case you just fell off the turnip truck I'll post it anyway. 9 Stars. This is one place I would consider awarding 10 stars to. I know....the sun almost stopped shining for a second. If I had 1/2 stars, then they would be 9 1/2. Folks, do yourself a culinary favor. Make the trip to Camas and try some really good BBQ and remember to say that the BBQhunter sent you. Their information is as follows:

Big Lou's Texas BBQ
1924 NE 3rd Avenue
Camas, Washington
98607

MON to THU 1100 to 2030
FRI & SAT 1100 to 2100

Phone 360-834-4114
Fax 360-833-1992

www.bigloustexasbbq.com

Later.....