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| - The reviews for Big Ern's seem to run (literally) hot and cold. I noted this on my handy dandy Yelp app, but also saw that the reviews for their previous pop-up location nearby were much better so I decided to give them a try. I'm glad I did - this was some pretty darn good BBQ.
I went for a three meat combo - I picked brisket, pulled pork, and hot links - which served with 2 sides. I went with Mac-n-Cheese and baked beans for the sides. I saw a lot of complaints about the price, but the $14.99 price tag on this platter is on par with the BBQ places I am familiar with in the DC-area, and the portion size was ample. (See photo)
Here's how I would breakdown the meal:
Outstanding: The brisket and the hot links. The beef brisket is among the best I have ever had. It was very juicy with the right level of smoke flavor. Not too smoky, not too bland. And the hot links were equally yummy ... a nice hint of heat, but not overpowering, and a great texture and flavor to the link.
Good: The sauce, the roll, and the beans. They only have one kind of sauce, and it's a sauce on the sweeter side, but not overly sweet like a KC style sauce. It has a nice balance of sweet and tangy. And the roll was very nice. (Both were much needed for the pulled pork.) The baked beans were good ... they may be canned beans as noted by another review, but they were cooked nicely with a nice blend of green pepper and onion with it. Nothing special, but they were tasty.
Meh: The pulled pork and mac-n-cheese. The pulled pork was surprisingly bland. There just wasn't much flavor with it at all. On a positive note, when placed on the bun with their house BBQ sauce, it went down nicely. But good pulled pork should stand alone, and this didn't. The mac-n-cheese reminded me of what my mom used to make. That's not a good thing, because my brother and I disliked it so much that we begged mom for Kraft instead. It's homemade, but it's basically taking block cheese and melting it with macaroni ... the oil from the cheese separates and makes it a bit of a mess.
And don't worry, you can get your beer on here too. None of the local craft brews that the other places in Container Park offer, but they stick to the hipster theme of their location, offering Fat Tire and PBR. (Yes, PBR has become THE hipster "common" brew) I hadn't had a PBR in a while, and enjoyed it with my BBQ.
With more hits than misses, I'll give Big Ern's a solid 4 stars ... I'd definitely come back again for the brisket and the hot links.
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