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| - Middle America takes a lot of crap from the sushi-eating, wheatgrass-farting, vegan, Prius-driving type people on the coasts. But people on the coasts don't know what good barbecue is because, well, they don't have good barbecue on the coasts. To be fair, when it comes to sushi, wheatgrass, hybrids and BBQ, Madison is more similar to the coasts than Memphis, KC, South Carolina, or Austin. That is going to change when Blair Street Brew and BBQ gets fully up and running and people try the incredible stuff this guy is smoking up in this tiny corner joint downtown.
An employee carrying in a pile of hickory sticks held the door open for us. Courteous service and more importantly, an actual smoker on the premises. Good sign.
We sat down at the well-stocked bar with a great selection of top-shelf booze and Wisconsin and Midwest beers, and homemade, flavored lemonades for the kids, teetotallers or the truly thirsty.
Tangy, meaty wings are on the appetizer menu. We received them as part of our combo platter because they hadn't gotten the chicken in yet. They had just opened for business in the preceding day or two.
The "Badger Feast" claims it's enough to feed a lineman. My son and I shared it. The two of us weigh about 220 pounds combined. We took 1/3 of it home. Claim verified. The feast included:
- rib tips, with a 1/4" smoke ring as pink as the cute, pig-shaped VW Bug delivery car parked out front. They tasted like heaven. Perfectly smoky, without one dry spot on the large portion.
- bacon, smoky and peppery. I had one bite. My daughter ate the rest.
- ham, smoky and juicy if on the salty side, but that's ham, right?
- brisket, tender and lean. It's a work in progress on the smoke flavoring. The owner said he's still perfecting it. Based on the rest of the feast, he'll perfect it very soon.
- the pulled pork offers a perfect balance of seasoning, smokiness and tenderness. Easy to eat. No gristle or blubber.
- my wife loved the chicken salad. You can read her review.
This outstanding new entry to Madison's casual dining scene is in an unfortunate location that's been a graveyard for restaurants, but there's a key difference: the previous places, respectively, served mediocre pizza and overpriced sandwiches; this place is amazing. If my wallet and arteries could take it, I'd keep them in business myself. Can't wait to try the BBQ chicken.
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