So this forever project is finally going to get somewhere.

First thing you will notice is no real rig, it’s just your standard smoker appliance (as my friend Joanne calls them, a hot box.) While you can still get good BBQ out of these things, it always brings a question to my mind of the hardcore BBQ knowledge of the person behind it and being a chain place I wouldn’t expect much anyways. Now when I went in Friday the line wasn’t that long, but it was taking them forever to get through each person. On Monday, while we were the only people in line, it still took forever to get the food prepared. They have some serious work to do with their staff to streamline the process as the person had to do a lot of unnecessary steps to really get your meat on the plate. It’s hard to explain but you will see when you are there.

They have a bunch of different meats to choose from including your standards like brisket, pulled pork and ribs while also bring in some ham and 2 sausages. Actually looking at their menu online now they actually list a different one (hot links) instead of what they actually has (well say they have as they were out when I was their to my disappointment) a cheddar sausage.

Because they were out of the sausage we got brisket, pulled pork, ham and ribs. The brisket was the best of the 4, we got it chopped and overall it was pretty decent. The ribs were okay, had a good smoke ring but were a little overcooked. Also the meat on the rib was kind of on the skimpy side. Flavor was good in some parts and not in others. Pulled pork was bland and mine had no bark, it could have came out of an oven for all I know. With sauce it was okay but it brought nothing to the table. The ham was not good and I wouldn’t get it again. In the future I’m going to go with the brisket and sausage (my wife loved the brisket by the way.)

For sides I got mac and cheese and the jalapeno beans and the wife got a ceaser salad (yeah I know weird, but she liked it) and the waffle fries. The mac and cheese I think was best of them. The beans were okay, watery which I prefer. They have another bean side I’ll probably try next time with the potato casserole they were out of when we there there. The fries were standard store bought and soggy. The 2 meats also come with bread which I didn’t try but the wife liked. She wished though that they had the cinnamon butter from Texas Coral to go with it because she thought they were similar.

The cost wasn’t to bad overall, a little cheaper then some locally but still on the high side when compared to other food places, but really BBQ generally costs more. The one thing I didn’t care about price wise was the drinks. For a fountain drink it was almost $3 because they give you a “souvenir” plastic cup which just adds to the cost but really gives me nothing in the end.

But the one really nice thing that makes up for the extra cost of the drink….FREE ICE CREAM! Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that. It’s pretty good and free if you eat there. Yeah it’s a gimmick but I like it.

So to compare this place to the other latest BBQ place in NWI, Big Daddy’s, it’s really easy to pick a winner. Dickey’s is hands down better then BD’s. I will definitely head over to Portage for my BBQ fix over going 2 blocks to BD’s. To put a number on it I’d give Dickey’s a 7.5 out of 10 which is a solid C but given the local competition it’s currently the best I’ve had around here. I know I need to venture more into Lake County but haven’t had the time. Hopefully soon I can bring you some reviews of those places and give some real competition between these places. Oh, I guess there is a Dickey’s in Schererville and 2 opening soon in Merrillville and Hammond so you can probably get identical BBQ from those places.

If you have tried it please let us know what you think, I love the responses I get in the comments.

*** Update ***
Okay I’ve now been back two more times and got a couple updates. On my second trip I was able to get the Spicy Cheese Sausage and boy they are lucky they didn’t have that the first trip. It’s horrible. Also I tried out the sliced brisket and I have to say it’s better chopped. Same product but the chopping helps to make it a bit juicier overall.

Though some positive differences, both times the pulled pork looked (and tasted) significantly better then the first time. You could actually see some smoke and bark on it. As well, my buddy Wade got the ham and it actually looked good (he said it tasted great to as I didn’t try it.) It was much juicier then the first time. Also, the manager (owner?) walked around talking to customers getting feedback and such and seems to be taking it as he said he has ordered some extra menus for another wall. Overall good steps forward and will definitely be going back again.

To start, most good BBQ comes from people who have been doing it for a long time. There is no sign that this is one of those places. The website has stock photos that don’t look like their end product and gives no real story as to who/why this person has a clue what genuine BBQ even is. I get that some people don’t have time to put their life story on a website but you would think you might have something more then what they have. I mean they did have the time to look for and put up those bad photos (I’ll explain more when I explain the food.)

So on Saturday the restaurant had 3 sauces to offer – regular, smokey, and spicy. All three were nothing special, pretty bland overall but of the three the smokey was the one I liked. I know some will be sad at the lack of a vinegar sauce but around here it’s pretty rare so I’m not surprised. These really need some work overall but I’m guessing they are some simple standard recipe and not something crafted by a pit master who’s been toiling and tweaking till there family wants to strangle them for making them taste every variations for years.

I wanted to taste everything I could so I ordered the St Louis half rack combo which I got with mac and cheese and cowboy beans. I also was able to “add a dab” of pulled pork and brisket for $3 a piece. The dabs were a nice size for $3, but it was opening week so we will see how those are in a few months. Coleslaw also comes with the combo.

The ribs were well smoked and tasted pretty good. I think they could have cooked it a tad bit longer as they were a little tougher then the “chew” you would normally expect but I would rather have that then the “fall off the bone before it even makes it to you” type others make. They didn’t trim the ribs at all which I know would get some negative points from others but personally I like mine with all that extra fat and quantity of meat overall was good.

The brisket was good overall (my wife liked it and never had brisket before) but it was definitely not “Genuine BBQ” brisket. They treated it more like a pulled beef and could have been made with chuck roast for what I could tell. It definitely wasn’t what they have pictured on their website and what is expected by most BBQ peeps. Now while it’s not genuine I would get it on a sandwich for sure as it was flavorful.

The pulled pork was bland and just a waste. I’ve had a lot of bad pulled pork in my days and this is par for the course in the garbage that most people serve. It’s also what makes me think this person doesn’t know what “Genuine BBQ” really is.

As for the sides, the coleslaw was okay (which actually is a compliment as most the time it’s been garbage even in the good BBQ places I’ve been to.) The cowboy beans were okay as well, I’d rather see a Brunswick stew for the leftover pork BUT at the same time they could also do that bad as well. Mac and cheese wasn’t my cup of tea as it was basically a lump of noodles, a lump of cheese, and sprinkled with bacon.

So in the end, I’m glad to have a place I can go and get my “smoke fix” on days I don’t have time to make up some of my own BBQ (which sadly is more often then not) but this isn’t going to be one of the great BBQ places out there. I’ve not made it up to Big Daddy’s in Gary yet but will have to try soon just so I can make a comparison but I’m betting it won’t be close. Though I really should have known this was going to be what I should expect when I saw the appliance smoker and not a custom made pit. So in the end I’d give the place a 6 out of 10. I’ll definitely eat here again but it’s definitely not a place I’d recommend as “genuine BBQ.”

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Smoker/

I previously had attempted this myself but the hot plate I picked up didn’t work very well.  It only got up to about 190 so things would take forever.  I then attempted a charcoal version based off something else I had seen but that didn’t work that well and while trying to figure out the right amount of air to allow in I cracked one of the 2 pots.

Though I may be attempting something like this again.  Recently we were cleaning out my wife’s grandparents house and I found a portable electric grill.  The burner on it was significantly bigger then my previous one.  I went ahead and tested it out and I turned it off after the inside got to 250 degrees.  So now having a proper heating element, I now have to pick up an Arduino so I can then monitor the temp and turn the burner on and off as needed to keep the temp I want.

Hopefully this summer will be the time I can jump back on that project.  Will be quite fun and a good warm up for the metal smoker in the future.

You always forget how much you love something till you haven’t had it for a while.

Jan. 1 I got to have a taste of the first smell.  At 12am I left of a mini fireworks show at my in-laws which was great.  I felt like an alcoholic having his first taste of alcohol in months.  Pretty much since the 3rd party I hadn’t really done much or really thought about fireworks.  I was pretty burned out from the work that went into last years show (2008).  Not that I was sick of fireworks altogether but I just didn’t want to think about a show anymore.  I much preferred just grabbing a few shells and hand lighting them over fusing a 45 minute show together.

So for this mini showI shot off around a dozen shells (Critical Acclaims, Lock n Loads, End of days) and 3 cakes.  Pretty much I was just looking through all the stuff I had left over from the 3rd and picked enough to throw out and have some fun.  I left Lightning at home because I’m still waiting to see if I can get more next year.  I have 2 haunted sitting up top as well which I plan to save for when my buddy Wade’s around cause he liked the effect.  It also blew out last year on the side which I didn’t want to risk happening again.  So the 3 cakes I picked out were Digital Experience, Fishbowl Commotion and Quake.  The first 2 are ones I love and saved because of that.  Quake seemed to be the big winner at the 3rd show so I used that as the finale.  Overall when I was done I had my nose in the tubes just soaking up that great smell.

So this is the first year I have shot anything at New Years.  I was going to last year but in the end just didn’t feel like going out in the cold and snow to do it though I kind of regret it now.  But this year it was insane out.  I had never heard fireworks on New Years before but this year it was insane.  There were people shooting in all directions.  I really think this was an effect of the new local ordinance stopping you from shooting anytime.  Now people have to shoot more during these couple days since they can’t spread it out.  At the same time you still had tons of people who didn’t care and shot whenever they could.  I’m going to ask for statistics from this year soon so I can get a gauge of how it was different.  But that’s an argument for another day 

The second smell I had was that of BBQ.  The icy conditions let up enough for me to bust out the grill and at least make up something quick and simple.  I put some steaks and burgers on the grill and the smell was just amazing.  It was a rush to get that again.  Hopefully will have a better smoker built in the near future that will better handle the harsh winters so I can have BBQ all year long but that is still a bit off and will need to do more research.

Had a post I wrote last year in January still sitting as a draft and will probably put it up this January.

Overall getting ready to build the smoker i have been wanting to.  Got a nice 1/4 inch steel tube that will be perfect for the main portion.  Still looking for a for the burner portion but that will come.  As well going to pick up an Arduino to help regulate the temp with fans.  Hopefully that will be finished up this summer for some fun times.  If I get that running well then it will probably be time to take a Competition class so I can learn get prepared for giving that a shot, but we will see.

On the Fireworks front, hoping to pick up some nice things this year and finish up some nice racks with the tubes I got last year.  As well will probably use the Arduino on a project related to the firing side of all that.  We will see though.  My mom saw some fireworks related Christmas decorations that she would like to get/have me make.  Being that the ones I found online were pretty expensive I thought why not give trying to make some a shot.  Again the Arduino will come in handy for this.  :)  Will need to find some cheap lights in these after Christmas sale to play with.  Have some other interesting ideas in relation to this as well but those will have to wait for next year.

So what’s getting me back into writing about this?  Well been doing some more social networking for work stuff and getting inspired by those blogging peeps to actually try to keep up with some sort of schedule, even if it’s bi-weekly.  While writing about what I’m doing is always still going to be the main focus, I plan to try and keep my ear to the ground and at least comment on other things going on with both BBQ and fireworks.

As well I plan to talk about some local breweries that are springing up all over Northwest Indiana.  Brews are definitely something that go hand in hand with BBQ.

I will be writing a few articles up about some other local Social Media peeps that have gotten me back interested.

As well from a conversation I had on twitter with a few peeps, I picked up @bbqtweetup and bbqtweetup.com because I think actually having meetups to share and talk about BBQ would be great. While others wanted to have one this January, I’m not sure if I’m ready for that quite yet but next January I think it will be one.  I’m shooting for first one this summer, hopefully with the new smoker completed.

Well here is to a more productive next year.  :)

The look of the place is perfect, a shack type atmosphere which is exactly what to me is BBQ.  The food I ordered was on the table about 30 seconds after I sat down.  I went through and tried all the sauces and they were each unique compared to each other and tasted great.  They were perfect combinations of spices and seemed to fit the theme.  The Championship sauce was actually the one I liked the least and the Tennessee Original was the sauce I would pick as my favorite.  The pulled pork was cooked perfectly and was delicious.  Not to much rub on it and the had a nice smoke ring on it.  The ribs were the best I have had in a restaurant so far.  They didn’t fall off the bone but were easy to pull apart.  The bark on the outside was well seasoned and very crisp while the meat stayed juicy on the inside.  

The sides I had were also good.  The potato salad was good, but pretty standard.  The jalapeno cornbread was a bit dry for my taste but still good.  

I wish they had a pick 3 option so I could have tried the brisket as well but this just gives me something else to try when I make it back.  The only other issue I had was they had Pepsi and not Coke, but they get credit for just letting you refill your own.

While looking over the tips page on their website I happened to catch this picture to the right.  Any place that Steven Raichlen will go to has to be quality and really shows that it has to be good.  It says that they have a recipe in his book (which I own all of them) so I will have to check that out when I have a chance.

Overall I give Supersmokers an 8 out of 10 and is by far the best BBQ place I’ve been to yet (which really isn’t that many but I’m trying to increase this whenever possible).  Anyone should give them a try whenever they are in the area.

So today for lunch decided to drive around and found a place named Bandana’s.

Atmosphere is your typical chain kind of place, similar to the Wing’s Etc we have up by us. Country music playing which is a negative in my book but I’ve come to expect. Not to many other electronic music peeps into BBQ. Waiter was great, drink never was empty and he was on top of things.

But onto the things that matter, the food. Had the Brunswick stew which was pretty water for my taste. The vegetables needed to be chopped maybe one size smaller and the meat was just barely there and could have almost been missed. Though the one nice thing out of it was you got a nice BBQ taste from the sauce they use in it. I really like the Brunswick stew I use to get at Smokey Bones and the variant off of that I make I feel is much better. Where I would give SB’s stew a 7.5 out of 10, I would probably give Bandana’s a 4. I wouldn’t order it again.

For the main meal I ordered the pick 3 with the Pork, Beef and Sausage.  Sides I got Fried Corn and potato salad.  On the menu it said that the Fried Corn was “famous.” I always forget you can be famous for bad food.  :)  I made it half way down one row of the corn before I had to stop.  It’s candy like in taste cause the outside is a bit caramelized but it’s not a very pleasurable taste.  It also sticks to your teeth which added a bit of annoyment. The potato salad was good, pretty standard but enjoyable.  

As for the main courses, the sausage was standard, nothing out of the ordinary. As for the beef and the pork I was pretty disappointed.  It was chopped instead of pulled (which wasn’t really clear because on one spot on the menu it mentions pork as pulled but others as hand carved, only after going to the website did I see the later) and it seemed to only be cooked to get it to be chopped which I prefer mine cooked a little longer.  The smoke ring looked funny like it was almost like a dye ran into it.  Not quite sure what that was about.  The overall flavor was bland, it tasted more like a roast done in the overn then something smoked.  

The sauces were overall nothing special.  3 were basically the same with just hot sauce thrown in to make it different.  The flavors didn’t really come together in any of the sauces.

Overall I’d give the place a 4 out of 10 and would most likely not go back unless I was with someone who picked it (and I would complain the whole time.)  Overall the food was average or below but the service helped to give them a little extra.  Though that can change pretty easily from visit to visit. 

Hope to see you all soon,

Richard