2-20-2009 Ranch House BBQ

This visit started out as a run to Olympia to meet up with my bank to talk about a home mortgage. Well, to make a long story endless, I called my buddy Wookie from the parking lot of the bank and invited Him and Her Majesty to lunch at the "new" old location of the Ranch House BBQ out on Kennedy Creek Road, midway between Olympia and McCleary on Highway 8. Didn't take any more than a half a second and I was on my way to their house to meet up. I've never been to the original location and if you have paid any attention to this blog you will remember that this has been one of my consistent issues. It was a very easy find, especially since I was letting Garmin do the navigating. The 3 of us spent a little time gazing at Kennedy Creek and the still visible signs of cleaned up destruction. The Ranch House itself was in great shape and we proceeded inside.

Taste: Little to no perusing of the menu occurred as we all ordered the brisket sandwich, cole slaw for Wookie and I, potato salad for Her Majesty. And as before, we all ordered the garlic fries as the additional side. Diet Pepsi for my lunch partners and a iced tea for me. After a very short wait we each had a plate of some really great looking BBQ with sides sitting in front of us. I dug straight in and couldn't find hardly any fault with the food. The cole slaw was my only concern. It was crunchy, just as I like it, but at first, second and third plus fork full it didn't seem to have any dressing at all. I found out a bite or two later that it was all pooled at the bottom of the cup the salad came in. Oh well, next time I'll remember to stir it first. The fries were piping hot and loaded with garlic. The brisket was super tender, moist, very plentiful and topped with a kiss (a sloppy kiss) of tangy BBQ sauce. Our lunch time conversation was interposed with the sounds and happy looks of three hungry BBQ lovers. For dessert I had the cheesecake with wild mountain blueberries. Wookie and Her Majesty shared a peach dessert (I can't remember if it was cobbler or pie) with a scoop of ice cream. Only problem was that it was apple. Those 2 didn't even notice for the most part though, the way it disappeared could only suggest that it was just as wonderful as my cheesecake. 9 very deserved stars for this excellent fare.

Value: The bill came to 55 greenbacks. This was not a bad exchange for the wonderful food and fellowship. 9 stars

Staff: Folks, the people that work here are really some of the friendliest you will ever find. They seemed so happy to be back home and I can't blame them one bit. Our waitress was a delightful breeze as she took care of our hungry bellies and checked back often with refills. 9 stars here

Ambiance: Finally I get to rate the establishment on their home turf and not as homeless waifs. I didn't fail to notice the pit area back in the kitchen. The interior of the place was decorated with BBQ awards and other stuff (including a big bronze pig). It reminded me a lot of a typical road side diner, but with the look and feel of a BBQ joint. I couldn't smell the pit, but I knew it was there. I would guess that with a few more months of "seasoning" the new building then I'll be able to detect the pit with my nose. The outside of the restaurant had 3 towable pits parked ranging in size from gigantic to really large. I mentioned to Wookie and Her Majesty that they could arrange to get me one for Christmas. LOL! Gotta give these folks credit for getting back on their feet. 9 stars

Friends: Even at the temporary location I recommended this joint. I certainly can say with all confidence that I would take any of my buddies to their "new" old place. Today I got to spend a couple of hours with 2 of my PGR family. The time spent at the Ranch House just flew by as I enjoyed a wonderful meal with 2 wonderful people. The wait staff and the casual conversation all around us (some even included us) was the tonic for this ol' farts soul. John and Becky....Thanks for your companionship today, thanks for your undying friendship and a big thanks for all the hugs. 9 stars

Overall this day truly was firing on all cylinders. I will try to patiently wait for my next visit to the Ranch House and spread the BBQhunter around a little. But, it won't be too long before you find me back to enjoy some more great BBQ. A very well done and a highly deserved 9 stars out of 10 for the Ranch House. Don't take my humble word for it though, get your lazy derrieres out there and try it for yourself.

Later...

2-19-2009 Southbay Dickersons BBQ

"Have you been to a BBQ?" was the words I heard inside Gravity Beer Mart in downtown Olympia. I turned to see the owner of the store standing next to me. "Yes" I replied; "Why, am I wearing any?" As I said this I was combing my beard and moustache with my fingers. She said; "Nope, I can smell it on you, you smell smokey in a good way!" As a matter of fact, I had just left Southbay Dickersons BBQ less than 5 minutes ago.

Now that the Ranch House is back in operation at their original location, I was in the "market" for another BBQ joint in downtown Olympia. A buddy of mine had said that he heard of a new place in downtown somewhere in the vicinity of the Fish Tail Brewery. Not being sure of the exact location, I cruised the streets of downtown Oly looking for this "new" place. Eureka!! I had found it, but alas, this trip which happened a couple of weeks ago found them closed. Today was a great day for a ride, so I saddled up DiDi and off I went to see what I would find. As I approached them on Legion way, there wasn't a parking spot in sight. Just in the nick of time a truck pulls out and I hang a quick U-turn straight into the vacated spot. Still had 30 minutes left on the meter, but I fed it another quarter just to make sure. I entered the establishment and was hit right across the face with the succulent smells of a pit in operation. Right behind the order counter was a huge steel door, which I assumed was the BBQ pit. I made my order, left a tip and a card in the jar, took a seat and 5 minutes later was eatin' some pretty darn good grub.

Taste: This was my first visit, so after perusing a well stocked menu I ordered the pulled pork combo with beans and slaw. The beer selection was nice and I asked for a Hefeweizen to round out the fare. Ladies and gents, make sure you are HUNGRY when you get the combo. A massive amount of just right smoked pork with a kiss of sweet & tangy sauce, sitting upon a bun, awaited my first bite. Wow.....very good and oh so very tender. Just ever so slightly dry. The beans were spicy and went great with the BBQ. Big chunks of onions graced them too. The slaw was a big mound of crunchy vegetables with not much dressing. Could have used just a bit more. All in all it was really quite good. Hefe is usually my beer of choice, but next time I'll choose something with a little more bite to counteract the sweet BBQ. 8 stars

Value: Nothing wrong here. A veritable mountain of food and a beer for a tad under 15 bucks. I could have easily made 2 sandwiches from the pork included in this lunch. 9 stars

Staff: Very friendly. They made sure I was greeted and promptly answered any questions I had with a smile. The place was hopping with a lunch crowd and as I waited for my food I noticed that the staff make all the rounds filling drink orders, delivering food and checking back in a efficient matter. They never seemed to be in too much of a hurry and radiated cheerfulness. Another 9 stars

Ambiance: What a cool place. During my lunch I found myself wondering what sort of history this location had. It appeared to been a garage (as in service station) or maybe the loading dock of a long closed store sometime in the past. The front wall was mostly made up of 2 huge roll up doors. The ceiling was solid wood and the beams were enormous. It definitely had the feel of a building that was built a very long time ago. The walls were covered in a mish mash of things that celebrated old Olympia, logging and up in the rafters I even spotted some Rainer Beer stuff. Behind the counter was located the pit. It was faced with a giant steel door that you could have driven a small car into. I got a peek once and although I could not guess the depth of the pit, every rack had something big and meaty sitting on it. 9 stars

Friends: I might hesitate to take suits and ties into here as you could get messy eating this BBQ. So its not quite the place for a business lunch (that is not a deduction BTW), but I would highly recommend Southbay Dickersons BBQ as the joint in downtown Oly to get some great food. I will be back here and hopefully next time I'll have a friend or two along. 9 stars

Overall I award 9 stars out of 10. Very well done! Its sometimes said that first impressions are the lasting ones and believe me when I say that I am very impressed. Keep up the good work.

On a side note, Its my understanding that this restaurant used to be located in the Safeway building. I have no idea of actually how long they have been in operation in the downtown Olympia area and their website offers no insight on this matter. So, they may not be a new BBQ joint after all, just new to me.

Later...

2-07-2009 Smoking Mo's Kitchen

Another long dry spell as the BBQ Hunter is yet foiled over and over again. Either its snow that just won't go away, a failure to hook up with friends at the right time or perhaps the fact that I can be just plain lazy at times. I'm not saying that I haven't gone out to eat, but it just hasn't been BBQ. It is my loss too with Smoking Mo's just a quick few minutes from the house and a "new" BBQ place in downtown Olympia that I want to try.

It was just last week and I was debating food in the local area with a buddy at work. I had made the claim that the best eatery in Mason County was the buffet at the Little Creek Casino. My point of view that it was the best bang for the buck being that they always have lots of mostly pretty good food. Its the place to go when I want to get my "sea food" on. Dave argued that Smoking Mo's was the best. I had said "No way" and that is because they specialize in one food and that is BBQ. I thought that I had won the argument and went on believing just that. Being a dry spell on BBQ, that Smoking Mo's had come up in conversation and I was returning from the PetCo in West Oly, I decided to head through downtown and get some BBQ. After a brief pause at the front door to check if I actually was carrying cash I headed in. After a hearty welcome I was asked about the missing hot link. WHAT! I couldn't believe that they knew who I was. Its not like I've darkened their doorstep everyday griping about the missing hot link. I haven't been there since the middle of last November. As a matter of fact, other than blogging about it I've never mentioned it or really even had any heartburn over it. I'm a pretty easy guy 99% of the time. I was told that they were out of links that day and had included a little extra pulled pork to make up the difference. I felt I needed to mention that in my blog as a token of my appreciation for setting things right, even if I was not aware of it at the time. They now have a smoked link to supplement the menu. Other chit chat included why Philly Bob's is out of business and other eateries in the greater & local area. I was also briefly told the story of how Tom (good grief, I hope I remembered your name right) had met Mo and how they made it here to Mason County. I know, you are probably wondering when I'll get to talking about the food. Hold on to your britches youngster, I'm almost there.......just one more thing to say. Its not a rare occurrence to meet great people. They are all around me. Its not a unusual thing to eat great food, whether or not its BBQ. Wonderful restaurants are all over the place. Surrounding us are people who are very passionate about their lives and chosen professions. Usually you only find one or perhaps two of these attributes in any given situation. The owners of Smoking Mo's Kitchen, in my opinion, have graced this area with not only themselves but with a really outstanding BBQ joint. The "salt of the earth" some might say. Tom, Mo and Smoking Mo's is that rare almost one of a kind experience that embraces everything I've mentioned and so much more.

Taste: Today I ordered the 3 meat combo plate. Brisket, ribs and a link (yep.......I finally got a link and BTW, the wait was worth it). Sides of slaw, Mac & Cheese and a slab of corn bread. I chose the Carolina Mustard to top it all off. Where do I start? The brisket was smoky and tender. The ribs were perfection! The link was very good and smokey. The sauce was tangy and a great compliment to the smokiness BBQ. The Mac & Cheese was very good. I'm not a big Mac & Cheese fan, but I glad I took the recommendation to try some. The slaw was crunchy. The corn bread.....hmmmmm.....what to say about the corn bread? If Smoking Mo's was to open a joint that just sold corn bread, then I would be a customer. Melt in your mouth and buttery goodness aplenty. 9 very deserved stars!

Value: Don't get me started here! The menu has this feast listed for $12.95 and that would be a great bargain. Smoking Mo's gave it to me for the price of a single meat combo.......$9.95! I was told it was to make up for the lack of a link the last time. I'm humbled. Very nice touch folks and a award of anything less than 9 stars would be criminal on my part.

Staff: Hopefully I said it all in my intro. 9 stars (maybe a special award of 1 thousand stars should be created).

Ambiance: Couldn't smell the pit which I knew darn well was there. No deductions though, it was enough to know that it was on the premises. 9 stars.

Friends: I have and I will continue to promote Smoking Mo's kitchen as the BBQ joint in Mason County. After today's visit I might just have to be more vocal about what a great place this is. I've got a grandiose plan in mind to really promote Smoking Mo's, but that is for another day. 9 stars.

Overall Smoking Mo's gets 9 out of 10 stars. If I ever get my lazy butt in gear and actually create the "special award of a thousand stars" then I would have to award them 1009 stars. Hmm....now that I think about it I'll just stick with the 9 stars. Good job folks.

Later...

P.S. Smoking Mo's Kitchen is the best place to eat in Mason County!