I know what you're thinking. What on earth is Lolly doing? She's on an Alabama BBQ tour. But she's at a bakery?? Yes, yes, I am.
Imagine my surprise when a post came across my FB feed about a bakery in Marshall County that's now serving BBQ. Yes, I was intrigued. So we made the 45 minute drive to Marshall County to check it out. Yes, there was a smoker/trailer in the parking lot.
And yes, there was the required visible hickory ready for use in the smoking.
When we entered the door, we were greeted with case upon case of baked goods. It is a bakery first after all. But more on that later.
Right now, we're going to focus on the BBQ. We were greeted by a nice young lady at the counter where we reviewed the menu and ordered. No sweet tea except for bottled tea, so we opted for water.
After we ordered, we were invited to select our table and told that our food would be out shortly.
The dining area has five four-top tables. As you can see, business was a little slow for a Friday night at 6:15, but maybe soon people will realize they are open until 8 and serving BBQ.
While waiting for our food, the owner came through the dining room and offered us a sample of jalapeno and cheese smoked sausage. The sausage slices had loads of flavor and a nice amount of heat.
Our food was served on a paper lined metal tray. The bowls were carboard, the sauce cups were plastic, and the utensils were the napkin/salt/pepper/knife/fork/spoon in a plastic bag variety.
Harold was happy to see brisket on the menu so he chose the brisket plate which comes with two sides. The "plate" options also include a slice of toasted bread or cornbread, a dill pickle spear, and your choice of a cookie. He selected the baked beans, collards, and an oatmeal raisin cookie.
First, the brisket. Two above average slices of beef. According to Sweet Harold's assessment, the brisket had a good flavor, but was slightly overcooked (read dry).
The menu stated that collards are "smoked." There was a definite smokiness to the collards and they were delicious! It made him a little sad that he chose the toast instead of the cornbread.
The baked beans were disappointing. Instead of being baked, these were more like the popular canned BBQ beans which had simply been heated and served. No extra onion, peppers, or smoked pork. SH did add some of his cup of BBQ sauce and that helped somewhat.
His cookie of choice was oatmeal raisin. Thumbs up.
My turn. Pulled pork plate for me with macaroni and cheese and potato salad with a lemon crinkle cookie.
As you can see, the pulled pork was a very conservative portion size. The slight smoky flavor was surprising. I had hoped for a more distinct smokiness. The sauce had a very familiar flavor of the bottled variety that I've used for years so I'm going to assume it's not house made.
The potato salad was an average version as well, not the best or worst I've had.
But the menu item that saved my meal? This absolutely out of this world, served searing hot (yea!!), baked, cheesy, macaroni and cheese! Everything about this bowl of heaven I loved.
Toasted bread and pickle spear. They are what they are.
My cookie choice was lemon crinkle. It received a thumbs up from me.
Overview: As for the food, the BBQ has the potential to be very good. But both our selections were slightly overcooked. With slight minor adjustments to the beans such as adding some pork or brisket to increase the smoky flavor or even some BBQ sauce and onions would elevate their flavor greatly.
As for the atmosphere, when you're in a nearly empty dining area, a little music would help alleviate the awkward feeling.
Standouts: Collards and Macaroni and cheese!
Our score 0 - 100: 74
I would be remiss if I didn't include pictures of the bakery selections. By the way, we brought 6 different flavored cupcakes home with this and they rated 100s across the board!
I'd probably would have skipped the BBQ and filled up on sweets :)
ReplyDeleteI was tempted!
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