Tag Archives: BBQ

Restaurant Review: Heirloom Market BBQ

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We like BBQ. Correction – we like well-smoked meat, complete with an obvious smoke ring and a caramized exterior, that’s also tender and still moist, home made sauces that incorporate a variety of BBQ styles (though we’re partial to Kansas City and TX), and well-prepared side dishes. Basically, we want it all. And we found it at Heirloom Market BBQ. This uanssuming little place shares a building with a (rather interesting looking) liquor store. It’s small inside – we ate at the counter – with seating for about 12-15. But let’s talk about the food. It’s obviously smoked – the restaurant smells faintly of BBQ cooking, and there’s a massive pile of wood outside the door. And a smoker in the kitchen. We wanted to try a sampling, and settled on brisket, pork, and ribs, with Brunswick stew and mac ‘n cheese for the sides.

I don’t quite know where to begin. This is probably the best all-around BBQ we’ve had (and we’ve eaten at restaurants from CO to Kansas City to SC, though we still have to get to TX). All of the BBQ was tender and moist, complete with obvious smoke rings and a crunchy (but not burned) exterior crust. The brisket was sliced thick and was fork-tender. I don’t even like brisket, well, I thought I didn’t, and this was phenominal. The sauces are a bit different – there’s a spicy vinegar, a house sauce that’s like a Kansas City style sauce (this goes well on the brisket and decently well on the ribs), a sweet Asian sauce (kind of like a sweet and sour BBQ sauce, which was great on the pork and good on the ribs), and a hot Texas style sauce. Oh, and the sandwich bun that comes with the meal is toasted and buttered, which is a nice touch. The mac ‘n cheese is a bit zesty – Tony thought it was the best mac ‘n cheese he’s ever had, and Louisa thought it was pretty good too. The Brunswick stew was good, though the meat was a bit chewy. It was well-spiced, though, and good with a drizzle of the Kansas City style sauce. This place also makes a mean Sweet Tea to help wash down a fantastic meal. If you like BBQ, don’t pass this place by!

Reviews:
Heirloom Market BBQ on Urbanspoon

Joint Services Open House and Air Show

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Hanging out in the cockpit.

May 21, 2011

We arrived at Andrews Air Force Base around 9am for the Joint Services Open House and Air Show.  Even after going through security and getting over to the air show site, we still had an hour to walk around and look at the planes. We got to see a few transport craft, including one from Russia that’s been used by the DoD since 2000, helicopters, a UAV, andvarious ground vehicles.  Other highlights, in random order:

1.  Snacking on chargrilled hot dogs and lamb gyros.  Who knew that we would both like tzatziki (and yes, we recognize that “county fair” quality will be sub-standard, but if we like the poor imitation, how much better will the real thing be)?

2.  Watching the Warthog fly.

3.  Sky typers.

4. Several aerial acrobats, including one pilot who’s been performing at the show for for 19 years.

5. Thunderbirds.  These were the final act, and definitely one of the highlights.

6.  F-18, F-16 and F-15 fly, sometimes together and in formation.

7.  Golden Knights.

8. Waiting in line for the shuttles.  Okay, this was a “low light” since the people in charge of the shuttles mostly took people from line 1, ignoring those of us in the other three lines.  However, we all eventually made it back to our cars.

9. Dinner at The Tender Rib. This may be one of our favorite BBQ places, including BBQ we had in Kansas City. Tony tried the ribs, and Louisa had rib tips. The mild sauce was the perfect complement to the meat, which was itself smoked perfectly – tender, savory, with a generous smoke ring. Delicious sides rounded out the meal – mac n cheese, cole slaw, candied yams (Louisa’s least favorite side) and french fries. Next time we’d like to try the corn nuggets, as well as the corn bread with maple pecan butter.

Restaurant Reviews:

The Tender Rib on Urbanspoon

NYC Day 1: Trains and Pizza

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We started the trip with a train ride.

Friday (08 April 2011)

Friday morning we caught the 7am Amtrak out of Fredericksburg and headed towards NYC.  Favorite sights along the way included the Potomac River, where we spotted a few bald eagles and some osprey, Quantico, Union Station, and BWI.  Natural scenery was better in VA/DC than Baltimore; Philly was also interesting as there was a good view of the skyline.  However, the surrounding areas were rundown at best.  Penn station at NYC wasn’t too crazy when we arrived )not that we were complaining) and we quickly made our way topside.

It's like Frogger, but with many more taxis, and tall buildings.

By this time it was past 12:30 and we were ready for some lunch.  The destination was Waldy’s Pizza, just a few blocks from Penn Station and a few blacks from our hotel.  The restaurant was crowded, but we found a small table and enjoyed our (very) thin crust lamb, roasted lemon and basil, and prosciutto, roasted asparagus and Parmesan pizzas.  There is also a little herb garden with potted herbs for customers to put on the pizzas, as well as garlic-infused olive oil for dipping the crusts.  We enjoyed the lamb more than the prosciutto, but both pizzas were great.

Waldy's had great thin-crust pizza.

After lunch we got coffee and crumb cake (both were just okay at best) from Roastown Coffee.  We will definitely keep looking for other treats in the future, and wouldn’t stop here again.

We had a great view from our hotel room.

Check in at the hotel (Eventi) was quick, and we had a great view of the Empire State Building (as well as a corner room) on the 20th floor.Next up was some exploration.  We walked towards the Highline Park (through Chelsea, towards the Meatpacking area and just south of Hell’s Kitchen).  We liked the waterfront area, but weren’t impressed with the rundown feel of the neighborhoods we walked through).

The waterfront walk was more fun than the inland walk.

Dinner was at Hill Country BBQ.  The ribs weren’t too great, but the brisket and chicken were both very good.

Times Square was just as crazy as we expected.

We enjoyed watching the lights (and hearing the sounds) of the city from our hotel room high above the craziness.  We particularly enjoyed seeing the lights on the Empire State Building.  Also, for some odd reason, horns and sirens are beginning to sound rather peaceful.

BBQ Post 401: Good, Quick BBQ

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If you are looking for good BBQ in Fredericksburg, VA, then BBQ Post 401 may just be the place for you.  It is considered an “outpost” of the Dixie Bones in Woodbridge, VA, which appears to mean that it has a smaller menu than the main location.

The menu at BBQ Post 401 itself consists of just three meats, pork, beef, and chicken, in either a plate or sandwich format. The sides? Just fries and coleslaw. While this may seem to be a downside, these items are prepared very well.  On two separate occasions, we had tasty, moist smoked beef and pork that rivaled BBQ that we’ve had anywhere else.  Our sauce of choice, the original tomato BBQ, compliments the meat very well and does not overpower the actual flavor of the meat. My only complaint with the sauce is that it could have a little more spice, but this did not detract from the quality of the meal.  There are two other sauces, a vinegar-based sauce and an Alabama-style white sauce. I don’t prefer these styles personally, so I can’t comment on their quality.  :)  The fries and coleslaw were awesome, and Louisa especially liked the slaw on her pork sandwich.

UPDATE: After reading this post, Louisa informed me that she disagrees with my assessment that the sauce could use more spice.  She liked it as-is. :)

BBQ Post 401 on Urbanspoon