Linkdown: 7/15/20

James Beard Award-winning author Adrian Miller reflects on photographer Russell Lee’s “Man slicing barbecue at the Gonzales County Fair” photo and the role of Black Americans in barbecue culture

Miller was also impressed by Phoenix’s black barbecue scene

Rodney Scott ‘s BBQhas received $25,000 from Discover as part of its #EatItForward sweepstakes to support Black-owned restaurants

More on the new Leland Smokehouse, where the “brisket is so good, no sauce is needed”

Prime BBQ is navigating opening a restaurant during a pandemic

The Manual has its pick of 7 best rib rubs, all of which are available by mail order

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse is adapting to life during COVID

Tex-Mex barbecue from Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q in Grapevine between Dallas and Fort Worth

In it’s latest issue, Garden & Gun has a beginner’s recipe for chicken bog that can be cooked indoors

Happy belated birthday to David Thompson, the ACC Basketball GOAT

Linkdown: 9/27/17

– The Whole Hog Barbecue Championship is this weekend in Raleigh (along with the Wide Open Bluegrass Festival)

More coverage from HuffPost

– Marie, Let’s Eat! explores south central Kentucky barbecue; one of the two joints is in the town of Tompkinville, which may have more barbecue joints per capita than Lexington, NC (we even get a brief shoutout!)

– Some photos taken immediately after the fire at Franklin Barbecue

– For the next time you have leftovers after smoking

– Midwood Smokehouse’s burger made of chuck and brisket (and topped with a slice of brisket for an extra $2) makes Charlotte Magazine’s list of best burgers in the city

– Even Phoenix is getting in on the barbecue journalism; their new barbecue column “Smoke Rings” just started

– A couple of barbecue joints on this list – Bar-B-Q King and The Improper Pig

Red Rock BBQ – Sedona, AZ

Name: Red Rock BBQ
Date: 5/17/13
Location: 150 Hwy 179, Sedona, AZ
Order: Beef Brisket Platter with Coleslaw and Potato Salad (link to menu)
Bill: $17

Rudy: I heard a saying once that, “You can call a horse a duck all you want, but at the end of the day, it’s still a horse”, which I think applies to Red Rock BBQ. They can call it BBQ and brisket all they want, but what this place served was neither. 

I recently went on vacation to Arizona with my in-laws, and knowing I loved barbecue, they looked online to see what was the best place where we were going.  

Monk: I haven’t put this to the test yet but I would guess that my in-laws would be very accommodating for my barbecue habits. Very nice.

Speedy: …And you better believe it will be a prerequisite should there ever be a Mrs. Speedy.

Rudy: The gesture was extremely nice, but I knew something was amiss as soon as we showed up. Walking up to the entrance, the only smoke smell that was around was the smell of something burning badly, not of wood smoking. Most restaurants decorate their walls to represent the types of foods that they serve or where they are located, but Red Rocks BBQ only had a Guinness Beer poster.  

Monk: I mean I’m Irish and all and can always enjoy a Guinness but no, not with barbecue. That is just odd…

Rudy: Not exactly what you would expect from a barbecue place located in Arizona…should have been my 2nd warning. But I knew I was in serious trouble when I ordered the brisket platter and asked for it to be the ‘moist cut’ and the waiter gave me a confused look. Anywhere that pretends to sell brisket should know the different cuts and know what I was asking for.

When the brisket arrived, it looked like chopped beef and tasted like unseasoned pot roast. There was no smoke ring, no crust, and no flavor. This was not brisket and this was no barbecue. They had several different types of sauce, but even they couldn’t make this “brisket” edible.  

Monk: From the looks of your photo below, it definitely looks like you’ve got some roast beef there, not brisket.

Rudy: For sides, I got coleslaw, which was mayo based (Speedy’s favorite) and potato salad. Both of these tasted like they were generic store bought sides. Nothing to write home about, but still better than the main course.  

Monk: If this place was as egregiously bad as you describe (and I have no reason to believe otherwise) then this would have just put me in a bad mood.

Rudy: Again, my in-laws were trying to be nice and found me barbecue, so the hardest part was saying something nice or not spitting it out when they were asking me what I thought. While I love barbecue and like trying it all over the country as well, this experience may keep me from trying barbecue at too many places outside of the traditional locations. It was far and away the worst barbecue I’ve ever had, if you can even call it that.

Speedy: I will say that I’ve had barbecue in Arizona one time – back in Phoenix in 2007. I don’t recall the name of the place, and while it wasn’t anything to brag about, it wasn’t this bad. Rudy, I think it’s your duty, nay, your calling to continue tasting barbecue wherever life may lead you.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance –  1 Hog
Brisket – 0 Hogs
Sides – 1 Hog
Overall – 0 Hogs (!!)

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Red Rock BBQ on Urbanspoon