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| - I see a pig. I see the word barbecue. I slam on my breaks, pull over, roll down the window of my car and inhale deeply. Yup, that's smoke I smell and where there's smoke there is usually meat. I don't get this though because I pretty much know every eatery on Dundas between Jane Street and Sherway Gardens. There ain't no bbq to be had along this strip so when the hell did this place suddenly appear? You can't get much by this meat diva. I gotta check this out.
Paul & Sandy's Real Barbecue Co. has been open officially now for 18 days. So on my way home from work yesterday I hauled ass into this newly opened small eatery to see if they really had bbq worth lugging all the way back to Caledon. It's a small place and yes there really is a Paul and Sandy, who are a middle aged married couple whose love for bbq (every 'cue king has his/her story of how they followed their dream of being a real smoker) and this couple have theirs.
All of this aside, for me it comes down to the meat. I'm a 'cue snob, without question. The bar is high when one inhales the smoke up at the Stockyards or over at Phil's or along College St. for some hard core smoked brisket at Caplansky's. I'm thinking to myself these two better be bringing their 'smokin mojo or get the eff outta Dodge City.
So I order the take out to lug home and let my ever loving, meat chuffing, rib sucking, beef gnawing man of a husband have a go at this with me. Just like so many other smokin joints P&S's have run out of a few things. Ok, so it's like the Stockyards. Ya snooze, ya lose. I asked for pulled pork on a bun and am told that the pork is done but they have the "bark" bits if I'd like. I love crispy outter bits of pork so I go for it. I also order the brisket on a bun, a half rack of ribs (lucky me, only a couple racks left), an order of hand cut fries and a small tub of homemade red skinned potato salad. Cost of the order $28 bucks. Wow, so far, a bbq bargain.
Ok, I'll admit. I'm surprised. The beef brisket is juicy, pink and hand cut. The pork "bark" is absolutely delicious and considering they are the outter crispy bits it is still tender meat. I'm really happy to say that they don't use those big frisbee, foam core buns. These sandwiches are a bargain ($4.50-$5.25) packed with a solid 8 ounces of well smoked, sweet to the edge, lip licking meat. The ribs are fall off the bone good, have good smoke flavour, fill my schnoz with the smell of smoke and in my opinion are the biggest bargain on the menu at $14.25 for a full slab (compared to the $25 up at Stockyard's or Phil's).
I'm a tater hater here though which is a stab in my heart because spuds are nothing but manna to me. The fries were soggy and not cooked thoroughly. However the potatoes are fresh cut so there is hope for Paul & Sandy to get their frying skills in order and improve the spuds. If you are going to sell potato salad as red skinned then you might want to make sure you are actually using red skinned potatoes. The potato salad, while actually quite tasty is way to heavy on the mayo concoction. They should try The Swan's potato salad because those guys have it right.
I am always amazed that in a risky business such as restaurants, neophytes, with absolutely no resto or food management background take the quantum leap of faith and try their hand at this. I think Paul and Sandy can smoke up some great eating but they need to invest a bit of time and effort into creating some atmosphere and for gawd sakes lose that loser looking menu. The counter is disorganized. Dad is cooking. Mom is trying to help. Daughter is also trying her best but at least these are personable people and small talk ensues as food is prepped.
BBQ is hip! BBQ is hot! Their look is not. A shame this is because P&S Barbecue Co. sits in a fairly affluent hood and they could really create a niche for themselves since there is no one within eyesight of any smoke signals serving delicious 'cue like this.
Dennis hummed at me and gave me a thumb's up with a mouthful of meat. He aint' a guy you can blow smoke up the ass of easily so if he say's it's good eatin...it's good eatin. Here's hoping Paul & Sandy work out the hiccups.
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