Uncle John's outside Memphis, Tennessee is just what I love to see...a mom and pop operation in a converted building doing it old school. They offered all the right product and smoked it all outside in a off set smoker, using a mixture of hard woods. Everything was looking good for some righteous barbeque, and I was hungry!
Then I tried it. What I learned was that, even with this going for them, the proprietors of Uncle John's BBQ didn't have a clue as to what good barbeque is, much less great barbeque.
The chopped pork sandwich was mediocre. All I was able to taste was the sauce they had all over the meat. There was nary a porcine flavor to be found and any smoke imbued during the cooking process had been lost long ago.
As for the ribs, well they were redolent with smoke, but that was it! It was, as if, the mere mention of seasonings, rub, or even salt were forever frowned upon. Oh, there was bark, but it had an almost acrid note from being smoked too long. The rib's over smoking had, at least, led to a tender product, if only I could have enjoyed such tender meat. Alas, the abhorrent acrid taste coupled with the utter lack of seasoning made that an impossible proposition.
Rating:
Appearance: 6 out of 10
Taste: 3 out of 10
Tenderness: 8 out of 10
Score: 56% (plus 5% for trying it old school): 61% D-
Known as "the last barbeque in Texas," the Salt Lick's satellite location, located inside Austin's International Airport, is just that, a kiss of barbeque before you have to depart. Certainly better than most airport culinary fare, the Salt Lick serves up both Breakfast and Lunch/Dinner items. They offer sliced or chopped brisket, quartered or pulled chicken, sliced turkey, link sausage, pulled pork, and the traditional selection of sides for accompaniment.
If you find yourself in Texas, don't go for the pork! This is brisket territory and any Pitmaster around these parts should know how to smoke a brisket. That said, this "satellite" is certainly not the original in Driftwood, Texas. Sure, if you are hungry and don't want the average fare found in airports, try them out. The sausage is decent, brisket is fair, the sides are alright.
What is the most interesting thing about the Salt Lick is their sauce. The original sauce has a tamarind base. This ingredient adds not only sweetness, but a unique flavor profile not found elsewhere. If you are not familiar with tamarind as a sauce ingredient, I recommend the Salt Lick's original sauce as a prime example.
So now, down to brass tacks....the rating!
Appearance: 8 out of 10
Taste: 6 out of 10
Tenderness: 6 out of 10
20/30 = 66% (+5% for the unique and flavorful sauce) = 71% : C-
So I'm back. It has been almost four years in the making, but I have hundreds of barbeque restaurant reviews to show for it. While crisscrossing this majestic country of ours in search of truly awesome barbeque, I've become somewhat jaded having encountered a dearth of outstanding barbeque. Now the commercial barbeque landscape is not a desert, while there are some true keeps of the flame out there, the majority of restaurants I came across in my wanderings were fair at best and most were contemptible.
My standards for authentic American regional barbeque are not unfair or unattainable. I have worked as a Pitmaster for national barbeque chains, as well as "mom and pop" single locations; judged numerous KCBS barbeque competitions all over the country; I have been trained by and exposed to some of the world's best Pitmasters. I know what it takes to make awesome barbeque both on the contest circuit and on a consistent basis for commercial operations.
I am not here to pull any punches or wax poetically on a local favorite. I will tell you like it is, straight forward, the good and the bad.
Hopefully, after reading my reviews, you will not do what I have done and throw good money at bad barbeque. Take my advice and sidestep, bypass, or eschew the Wanna Be Pitmasters and Posers. Follow me to the righteous shrines of "Q" and together, we will all be a little more BARBEQUISH.
