BBQgeek

Yakitori Totto - The Ultimate Chicken Experience

 

Nestled atop an intimidating, artistically lit set of stairs just off 55th street in New York City is a temple to our most humble,versatile, and valuable food source - Gallus Domesticus .  The restaurant is Yakitori Totto , and the object of worship is Chicken, aka Yardbird.    Yakitori is Japanese for "grilled bird" (yaki = grilled & tori = bird), a largely unknown but wonderful facet of the world of barbecue and grilled foods.   Small bits of chicken are placed on skewers and grilled over Japanese charcoal (bincho-tan) and served with only salt for a garnish.  Simplicity governs the world of yakitori and every bit of the the bird is honored.  A traditional yakitori menu will include liver, gizzard, heart, knee, skin or any other tasty morsel that can be stuck on a bamboo skewer.  After muddling through a mediocre barbecue lunch earlier that day in Times Square, I considered myself celestially blessed as I pulled up my chair directly in front of the grill at Yakitori Totto and opened my menu to consider the universe of options laid before me.   Continue reading Yakitori Totto....

NYC BBQ - Virgil's Barbecue Review

 

      Last Tuesday the 16th, I had an opportunity to travel to NYC to do a little business.  I'd been waiting a long time for the opportunity to get into the Big Apple for 24 hours sans familia and do some serious food research.   This trip represented an opportunity to test a theory I've been hashing out for a long time on this blog;  Could BBQ be elevated to a quasi-fine dining experience and not become separated from the quality so often found in non-fine dining restaurants (aka Joints)?   It's not such a crazy idea.  Richard Blais was pretty interested in itwhen I explained it to him.   So, it was with a mixture of anticipation and dread that I prepared for my trip.  After all, NYC is the restaurant capital of the globe.  Granted, it's not the BBQ capital of the world.  But, if anyone could pull of the concept of upscale BBQ, I was willing to bet on my BBQ-challenged Northeast brothers.  They had balls and budget.  A powerful combination in any land.  Continue reading NYC BBQ....

 

A True BBQ geek

In Honor of Harold's BBQ

I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of a true icon of Georgia BBQ, Harold Hembree, founder and owner of Harold's BBQ in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.  Here is the text of the article as it ran online today:

Barbecue was a family business for Harold Hembree, son of the founder of the legendary Harold’s Barbecue. Mr. Hembree served as co-owner and operator of the barbecue restaurant on McDonough Boulevard until about six months ago, when he could no longer work because of cancer, said his stepson, Ken Cannon. Mr. Hembree, 76, of Covington, died Sunday at his home.

Harold’s Barbecue was founded in 1947 by his father, Harold Hembree Sr., and mother, Hugh Hembree. Harold Hembree Sr. died in 1958 and Mrs. Hembree and her four children carried on.Over the years, Harold’s became a popular destination for comedian Jeff Foxworthy, politicians such as Jimmy Carterand Gov. Lester Maddox.

“The barbecue has been in lots of articles, in Southern Living and other places,” said Mr. Hembree’s wife, Frances Hembree of Covington. “Somebody told me the City of Atlanta used to be run out of it, so many politicians were there.”When he wasn’t running the barbecue business, Mr. Hembree loved to go deer hunting, play golf and watch the Atlanta Falcons, his stepson said.The funeral was Sept. 10 at the Chapel of Caldwell & Cowan in Covington.In addition to his wife, survivors are stepchildren Buck Cannon, Ken Cannon, Dale Cannon, Sunday Wiley, Susan Wright and Surina Cannon; brother Lee Hembree of Thomaston; sister Kay Branyon of Eatonton; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

It's Voting Time!!!!!

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has opened their Best of the Big A voting for categories as diverse as best BBQ, Zip Code, Weatherperson, Thrift Store, Pedicure, and Strip Club (I'm kidding about that last one.  Everybody knows the Pink Pony is the only place to go.)  For the BBQ division, the field is as follows:  Sam and Dave's, Fox Brothers, Swallow at the Hollow, Fatt Matt's, and Shane's.  You can go and cast your vote here.  As far as I'm concerned, this competition is a field of two.  I'm going to leave it to you to figure out yourself, but my feelings on certain restaurants are clear (and published!)  Others I haven't even bothered to write about because they are simply drifting along in a sea of past accolades as they vend their wares to a distinctly indiscerning client base (wake up people - you should not every receive pre-sauced BBQ sandwiches!)

So, do your duty and cast a pantload of votes for your favorite restaurant.  Stand up and show Metro Atlanta that "great" BBQ doesn't necessarily reside next to a certain park in downtown ATL.

Apologies!

Well, I've gone and done it again (Ollie!).  I let life get in the way of keeping you, my dear readers, up to date on all things BBQ.  Here's a little insight into food blogging.  It's a true labor of love.  For only the most talented and lucky like Pim, the gig can be a living.  For most, like Carol, it's a profitless act of passion rewarded by the adoration of fans and some cool emails from dudes like Michael and Thomas and the additional rewards found in challenging yourself and expanding your boundaries.  I definitely fall into the labor-of-love camp.

My most humble and sincere apologies go out to Justin Fox and the Fox. Brothers BBQ establishment.  These guys were gracious enough to buy me a meal so I could review them and all I managed to do so far is put up some pictures.  Telling you what a top notch, badass operation they are running down in Little Five Points is top of my to-do list.  But, if you live in ATL and follow BBQ, you probably don't need me to tell you that.  They just won AOL Citysearch's Best ATL BBQ for the second year running.  Also, they just got nominated by the Atlanta Journal Constitution as a top 5 contender for Best ATL BBQ.

If you are jonesing for some good, new content then I suggest you drift over and visit my friend Carol, my wish-he-was-my-friend-or-acquaintance Michael, or go get up to date on some Cue Confessions.  In addition to the Fox Bros. review, I've got recipes for Cornell Chicken, Fincham's Ribs, and Ruhlman's great Bacon experiment on deck and headed your way soon.  Stay tuned......