Chris' Bloggin' Topics

04 November, 2009

The video

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Famous Daves BBQ, Peoria, AZ

Finally!! Some decent BBQ in Phoenix. After disappointing jaunts to Lovejoy's, Honeybears, the Pits Again; we finally got to a place that has good food.

We've seen and heard about these guys for quite some time but just were never able to get there. So we finally did and we were all very pleased. I had a little of everything (like I always do). And I must admit, I was VERY happy to go to a place that took as much care on their side dishes as they did their meats. I know it is a chain and that makes a difference. The single location places that pride themselves on BBQ seem to basically say "hey...you're here for the meat and not the other stuff." With F.D. being a chain, I think they need to basically have it all.

But their mac-n-cheese was really tasty with their added jalapenos. Their cornbread muffins were the sweet sort of cornbread that I really liked. Even their fries were really good believe it or not.

Ok, enough of that. Let's get to the meats! I started out with their wings because I pretty much have to try anyone's wings if I've never had them before. They were pretty danged good. No complaints on them at all. Smokey and crispy and tasty.

As far as the actual dinner goes; on my plate were ribs, brisket and sausage. Cass had the pulled pork sandwich and lil' Kyle had the chicken. All of it was pretty good. The brisket was SUPER DUPER tender. While it was really tender, there wasn't much "smokey goodness" throughout. I won't say it was cooked in an oven...but it didn't have that slow smoked feel with hints of oak or hickory or anything. It was still good though. I've had enough dry brisket in my day to at least appreciate tender, moist brisket, regardless of how it was cooked.

The ribs were also really tender and definitely had some woody notes in the taste. As did the chicken that I ganked from my son (hey...he's 2 and won't finish a whole big chicken breast!! :-). It reminded me of Rudy's chicken. Rubbed really well but not overpowering and then very moist and tender. The sausage was good but not quite as good as Rudy's. It had a bit of a grainy texture that I have had in several sausages. I'm no sausage maker so I don't know what causes that. But it still tasted decent although it could have been a little hotter (stove hot, not spicy hot).

On to Cass' pulled pork sandwich. In her words, it was good...but yours is better ("yours" being what I do at home - and speaking of...check the video to see my latest batch of pulled pork). Now you'd think she just has to say that because she's my wife...but she doesn't. And I'll also go out on a limb and say that I do feel like I have the best pulled pork in town.

And like a lot of places, Famous Dave's had an array of different sauces. From spicy to sweet. They were all pretty good. None were too hot by any stretch but they had a decent bite.

So...the overall verdict was definitely a thumbs up. However, the only downside I'll say is that for a BBQ spot; it was a little pricey. I'll admit, we probably ordered a little more food than we needed just so we could try different things; but our bill for 2 adults and 3 kids was almost $60. So maybe a coupon or two would help but even so, I think we'll go back. The food was very good.

The last downside is watch out for birthdays. On their cakes they do some sort of huge roman candle sort of thing. Don't expect to breathe for about 7 minutes if the table next to you has a birthday to celebrate. It's especially bad for us because we have twins with respiratory problems. So maybe the next time we're there...we'll all sit outside!!