Stopped by last night, completely unaware of any specials. Happily learned that there was an all-you-can-eat special on pork (baby back) ($15) and beef+pork ($17) ribs. We ordered the fried pickles, a 1/2 chicken and 2 specials (one pork, one beef+pork).
My most recent comparison of fried pickles is against Lillie's Q, and these are significantly different. Smaller, denser, more compact - like comparing landjaeger to fresh kielbasa. Intensely salty and with a crust that seemed more crumb-y than batter-like, the basket was polished off in short order with a Purple Haze. I ended up preferring these to Lillie's due to the pickle texture and batter.
Switching gears, the waitress brought out some Shiner Bock. The ribs came along at a more leisurely pace. Recalling the old Lessons, I was a bit surprised to see a glaze on the rack which added sweetness in the same beneficial way that a racing wing adds HP to a Civic
. Regardless, they were quickly rendered meatless. Hickory dominated the smoke flavors, but there was an underlying mellowness that I guessed as apple or peach. GWiv was in the house on this particular evening and graciously stopped by for a chat, confirming that the wood was indeed a mix with the hickory in majority. After hearing my reaction to the glaze, he offered up the next rack
sans glaze and with some fresh rub sprinkled on top. What a difference! The same rub that had been tamed in the first rack stood up with much more assertiveness. Both my dining companion and I agreed that this prep was the winner.
I recently had the chance to visit Pappy's Smokehouse in St. Louis, and was happy to compare their baby back ribs against Barn & Co.
Pappy's (from a quick chat with one of the owners while standing in line):
- slightly larger loin muscle and bones. seems bigger/meatier.
- dry rub doesn't contain sugar; brown sugar is layered on top of rub
- sweeter without sauce
- comes away from the bone more cleanly, but still far from fall-off-the-bone soft
Barn & Co:
- slightly smaller bones. seems smaller/leaner.
- couldn't taste sugar in dry rub. Sweetness comes from sauce/glaze put on after smoking
- spicier (yay!) without sauce.
- more chew. more work.
Having cut my teeth on the Lessons a few years ago, the 2nd rack of Barn & Co. ribs put a big, pork-fatty smile on my face. Both Pappy's and B&Co. were excellent in their own way, but it sure is nice to have this place closer to home. At this time we realized that the 1/2 chicken had been sitting on the tray, looking forlorn and neglected. I ripped a drumstick off and tucked in. Again, the sauce seemed to work against me - it was hard to identify the smoke or seasoning flavors, but the bird was well cooked and juicy nonetheless. Next time, I'm going to ask for sauce on the side.
A few Bocks and bones later, we packed up and wobbled out into the cool, breezy night. I'll definitely be back to sample the links and pulled pork.
-s.