You may have heard of my love for burnt ends. Burnt ends are cubes of the point end of the beef brisket that have been heavily seasoned and smoked for hours. The long cooking time will remove most of the fat and leave a caramelized piece of meat candy. When done correctly they can be a culinary exclamation point. Here on the West coast most BBQ restaurants do not serve burnt ends. BBQ Smokehouse Bistro & Catering located in Sebastopol California has burnt ends on the menu and we are on a mission.
It is 90 plus degrees at the Gravestein Apple Festival and we are in need of shade and nourishment. A couple of blocks away, a cool shaded outdoor patio of the BBQ Smokehouse is waiting for us. We walk through the doors and are greeted by, fun bbq kitsch wall decorations, half a dozen small tables and counter to pick up orders. The walls are open to the outdoor, shaded, tree lined, seating area. A bubbling fountain is surrounded by picnic benches. Each table has their own arsenal of bbq sauces. It is very pleasant and cool.
We placed our orders and began to investigate our table sauces. Chipotle mustard, North Carolina, Original and a mystery sauce are waiting to be sampled. These sauces must have seen better days because they had all separated and needed to be shaken. Maybe it was the heat or shelf life but none of these sauces were worthy of a letter home to Mom. Our dishes arrived and we were ready.
The plate of burnt ends was beautiful. The meat had a brown caramel hue that begged for consumption. The ends were topped with some pickled onions. The first bite revealed the 24 hours smoke. Tender but with little chew from the bark had me swooning with burnt end fever. The pickled onions were a perfect accompaniment to this plate of meat candy. The tart sweet vinegar tamed the extreme richness of my ends. Ms. Goofy had a plate of chicken that consisted of two thighs. She enjoyed the thighs but wished for possibly a wing or breast too. Unfortunately our side dishes are not even going to get a mention in this review. They all were just flat.
BBQ Smokehouse Bistro & Catering satisfied my burnt end craving for now. They have a beautiful, soothing, cool outdoor seating area. The meats were a hit but the sides and sauces were a miss. They have a nice selection of micro-beers which we enjoyed. We may someday return but for now we have a new lead on another restaurant with burnt ends.
BBQ Smokehouse Bistro & Catering
5811 Laguna Parkway
Sebastopol, Ca.
707 575-3277
I really need to try burnt ends one of these days. Every time you write about them, my mouth waters.
ReplyDeleteZoomie, Sometimes I make burnt ends and you will have an invitation.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got some good burnt ends, lackluster sides notwithstanding.
ReplyDeleteWhy must sides so often be mired in mediocrity? It is a mystery.
It's nearly time to make an apple run of our own. Hatch chiles are arriving for roasting as well. The eating should be good this week.
Aaron, where are you scoring peppers?
ReplyDeleteYou are more of a trooper than me. I was hiding in the shade. We normally hit Walker's apples later in the season.
ReplyDeleteSeparated sauces :/
ReplyDeleteWell, nice try though guys!
Greg, The Smokehous has some good shade to hide in.
ReplyDeleteChris, Yes, Sad but true.
I can speak for Raleigh, Durham, Columbia, Greensboro, and maybe even Charlotte, but not really for Winston Salem.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.neworleansbarandgrill.com/catering-services-greensboro.html