CoMO does barbecue
MOVE takes a bite out of three of Columbia's BBQ joints.
Sept. 30, 2008
Neon lights and tiki torches illuminate the outdoor patio of Buckingham Smokehouse Bar-B-Q.
Jamaican Jerk Hut employee Collin Russell tends to chicken on a grill Saturday at the Columbia Festival of the Arts.
Cashier and cook Dane Wilson works the counter at Smokin' Chick's BBQ on Friday night.
When it comes to American cuisine, barbecue is an institution all its own. Whether you like your ribs, brisket, chicken and pulled pork dry, rubbed or slathered in sauce, barbecue is one of the unique traditions separating our gastronomy from the rest of the world's. In honor of next weekend's Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival, I visited three very different Columbia 'cue establishments, Smokin' Chick's BBQ, Jamaican Jerk Hut and Buckingham Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, to eat a ton of barbecue and choose a winner.
With so many factors contributing to great barbecue, I decided to create a list of criteria to help me judge the three restaurants: menu depth, house barbecue sauce or sauces, affordability and overall dining experience (including staff friendliness and restaurant atmosphere).
Smokin' Chick's offers all the basic barbecue players - ribs, pulled pork and chicken, burnt ends and brisket along with some less traditional menu items such as their Caldarello family recipe sausage. One rather unique item is the BBQ Sundae, a sundae dish filled with a scoop of pulled pork, followed by baked beans and slaw and topped with a pickle. Smokin' Chick's offers four house barbecue sauces: sweet, classic, hickory and hot. I'm a fan of heat, so I naturally fell in love with the hot, which uses Frank's RedHot as a base, though the classic and hickory are equally smoky and delicious.
As affordability goes, most menu items are in the $6-7 range, with the most expensive item a full slab of ribs at $17.99. Although the ribs might be a bit pricey for some students, the daily specials are always $5.99 and differ each day. In addition, Smokin' Chick's offers family-style carryout, party packs of 'cue and catering services. When it comes to dining experience, Smokin' Chick's reminds me of a classy, small-town barbecue shack where patrons order at a counter from a chalkboard but then are served on china and surrounded by interesting artwork. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the staff is super friendly.
Next, I went to the Jamaican Jerk Hut, which is located inside Mojo's. Jerk refers to traditional Jamaican barbecue, more specifically the spicy seasoning used with it. The jerk sauce at Jamaican Jerk Hut has been adapted slightly from traditional jerk to incorporate more of a barbecue sauce texture and flavor while still packing a signature kick, just not quite as spicy for our tender mid-Missouri taste buds. The Hut cooks up some mean jerk chicken and pork steak, but it also offers Jamaican staples like curry chicken and shrimp and brown stew chicken. Expect to be well fed for about $10.
If you are looking for an exotic island meal, Jamaican Jerk Hut offers curry goat on Wednesdays and brown stew oxtail on Thursdays. The side dishes at the Hut are also island-inspired and include coconut red beans and rice, and fried plantains, but they still offer classic barbecue sides such as slaw and potato salad. Drinks at the Hut are imported from Jamaica and include bottled sodas, Red Stripe Beer and Jamaican rum. You've got to try the "Rasta Lemonade."
After returning from island life, I visited Buckingham Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. At Buckingham, all meats are slow-smoked over hickory to achieve a rich, smoky flavor. The menu includes beef brisket, pulled pork, pit ham, smoked turkey, smoked chicken and dry-rubbed baby back ribs. Buckingham's "Sloppy Buck" includes the burnt ends of the sandwich meats simmered in barbecue sauce. Your options for barbecue sauce at Buckingham include mild and spicy house sauces and a shelf of various other sauces, mostly local and available free-of-charge to try. The mild house sauce is smoky and slightly sweet while the spicy is a thinner, peppery sauce with red pepper flakes and a lingering kick.
The sides at Buckingham include creamy horseradish slaw, smoked pit beans, potato salad, French and sweet potato fries, chips, and after 5 p.m., smoked sweet and Idaho potatoes. Monday through Saturday you can get buy-one-get-one-half-off appetizers from 4-7 p.m. Generally, the prices at Buckingham Smokehouse range from just less than $5 for a regular-sized sandwich to $18.99 for a full slab of ribs, a roll and two sides. They also offer smoked meats by the pound and catering services.
The Verdict: The best traditional barbecue joint in Columbia is Smokin' Chick's BBQ. The staff is exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable about the food they're dishin' up. I also liked the depth of their menu, which offers just about anything and everything you could want from a barbecue restaurant, including unique creations. They're affordable and offer daily specials and the restaurant itself, conveniently located on Ninth Street, is warm and inviting.
But, if you're looking for a new way to experience barbecue, definitely check out Jamaican Jerk Hut. The flavors of the islands, mixed with the laid-back atmosphere, are sure to satisfy both your grumbling belly and vacation daydreams.
More Sept. 30, 2008 Food Stories
Most recent Food Stories
- What's brewing with Missouri beer? — How the U.S. lost its largest beer producer One of the many magical qualities of beer is that, relatively, it ...
- CoMO does Chinese — Columbia is sort of a culinary anomaly. There is great Thai food, passable sushi and even a couple really good ...
- Hot Box Cookies cures late-night cookie cravings — Hot Box Cookies bakes chocolate-chip cures for Columbia's late-night sweet tooth.
- CoMO does barbecue — MOVE takes a bite out of three of Columbia's BBQ joints.
- Bleu a foodie's paradise — Situated downtown next to The Tiger, Bleu is a foodie's paradise. The menu features a gourmet sampling of American and ...