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| - The hunt for great Q in Las Vegas is on, and unfortunately I am still looking.
Things I liked about Memphis Championship Barbecue; The concept, design and décor of this establishment is totally top drawer, I loved it and was comfortable just walking in. The service was polite and efficient and that is a big thing in my book. The booths were roomy and easy to deal with; in fact they were so big we had to slide way in to just get to the table condiments. There was plenty of room to stash my cane and hat without dropping them on the floor.
Before we get to talking Q, let's talk a bit about the sides. With my order I chose Cole Slaw and Baked Beans for the sides. As we all know there are two types of slaw out there, the creamy kind and the vinegar based slaw. The reason for the creamy slaw with Q is that it cuts the spicy heat from foods that are too spicy hot. With Q you really want that or you can get spice overload. A vinegar slaw does just the opposite; it opens your palette and intensifies the spicy flavors. This can make an uncomfortable eating experience in my opinions as the flavor lingers and becomes too bold. I know there are people who will say that it can never be too bold, but I ask you, is it worth it if you can't taste the meat and smoke? Isn't Q about the meat and smoke?
Our server saw my predicament over the slaw and asked if I would like to change it out and I took her up on the offer and selected the potato salad (remember I a looking for something creamy to help refresh the palette.) The potato salad was excellent and just what I needed from a side. I would even order that potato salad for take out it was that good, and that is saying a lot.
My other side was wonderful baked beans. There were 3 or 4 different beans, red beans, white beans and a couple others that I could not identify but were good and earthy. I seem to have detected maybe white onion and green bell pepper with some brown sugar that brought it all together. They were not runny and not too thick, excellent.
My wife ordered corn on the cob and collard greens. The corn was boiled (but it would have been nice grilled) so is a no brainer as corn is just coming into season. As for the collard greens she liked them well enough although she thought they were too rich for her palette.
OK, let's talk meat and smoke...
I have to say this, since I took my wife to a true 5 star Q place she has been a brisket fanatic ever since. Naturally she ordered the brisket from here and discovered that not all brisket is made the same. First off I am not certain the brisket was smoked, because if it was there would have been more of a smoke ring and that seemed to be absent. Also, I am pretty sure it was not cook correctly as there were large streaks of fat still in and on the brisket. (To be honest it reminded my of my Yiddisha Momma's brisket.) It was definitely over cooked though as it was gray through and through. There was some moist meat, but it had that rubbery feel I expect from moms brisket. Here's the thing, brisket is truly the easiest Q there is and this was not up to the standard for what I consider great Q.
I have said this before, I am a beef fanatic and if beef ribs are not on the menu I don't even bother to order. Not that I will turn up my nose to the pig, but beef is where it is at for me. I also consider beef ribs harder to Q because they are thicker requiring watchful temperature control. When I saw beef ribs on the menu I thought, "Excellent, it is going to be a good evening"; oh how wrong I was.
There are several cuts of beef ribs, but when I think of beef ribs I think of the prime ribs that are what is left after you butcher the prime rib primal or short loin (back ribs (best) or even short end ribs (ok)). These are BIG AND JUICY ribs because they come from the very best of the steer; all your best cuts come around them. Then there is the middle cut of ribs that is mostly chuck meat and is typically call "Beef Flanken". This is a cheap cut and the meat requires a moist cooking (generally braised) application and is rarely used in Q. The last cut is the "rib tips" and is not worth talking about in a real Q application (although it is making inroads in wet BBQ circles).
The ribs were beef flanken ribs without the rest of the chuck cut. This is a cheap piece of meat and does not take well to BBQ. Yes, the dry rub was tasty, yes there was a smoke ring (bright pink, caused by the nitrogen dioxide when smoking) but here is the fail, the center was gray, a sure sign of over cooking. Honestly this cut of meat was doomed to leather before it got into the smoker and for a Q place to serve this is an INSULT. I was shocked, then amazed, then really insulted. This was a $17.50 plate of ribs that I honestly should not have been charged more that $7.50, what a rip off.
I was truly disappointed with the Q there; I really wanted to like it. As a dining experience it is fine; as a Q place, consider alternatives.
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