The Washington Post Sports Wood Over Philly Barbecue
Okay, so not really. Really, it was just a one-line mention in a much larger story about the new (?) prevalence of wood-fired BBQ on the East Coast and beyond–about joints, shacks and honest-to-Jesus restaurants that are using wood only (no gas) for smoking their ‘cue in the most authentic way possible.
But what was interesting was that it was a one-line mention for Bubba’s Texas BBQ, which had the misfortune of opening right around the same time as (and just around the corner from) Joe Carrol‘s Philly outpost of his Brooklyn-based barbecue operation, Fette Sau.
Philly went nuts over Fette Sau, and with good reason. But all of this love for Carrol’s ‘cue rather overshadowed the work being done by Robert “Bubba” Kolbasowski and his team at Bubba’s. And by “rather overshadowed” I mean completely and totally fucking overshadowed–which is a shame because Bubba’s does some damn fine Texas-style barbecue in their own right and rarely seems to get noticed for doing so.
In Philly, Bubba’s Texas BBQ, which opened in October, uses a custom-made all-wood smoker to coddle its 21-spice rubbed brisket, spare ribs and pork into submission.
That’s the extent of the mention made by the Washington Post. But really, that just serves as a convenient excuse for us to talk this place up again one more time and remind you that while it may not be the media’s darling, it’s still a great place to get barbecue in a city not really known for having great places to get barbecue. The ribs are well done. That smoker that Bubba waited forever to have built gives all the meats a heavy dose of woodsy flavor. And even the brisket (which, as a die-hard Carolina barbecue fanatic, I have difficulty admitting is actually barbecue since it doesn’t come from an animal with a snout and a little curly tail) is a solid example of the pit man’s art.
Anyway, you should go there right now. That is all.
Bubba’s Texas BBQ [Foobooz]
New Wave Of Urban Barbecue Joints Sticks With Wood [Washington Post]
