6 Steps to Make a 3 Hour Wait for BBQ Worth It

What "order everything looks like"

"You waited in line for 3.5 hours to get barbecue?!" Yes. "Was it worth it?" is obviously the most common follow up question to my tales of a recent trip to Austin, Texas. Yes it was, I reply, if you follow these six steps:

1. Get on a plane and go to Austin, Texas.
2. Stock up on non-food tailgating necessities (beer, water, sunblock, friends, etc.)
3. Arrive at Franklin Barbecue no later than 8:00 a.m.
4. Make new friends with other people in line.
5. Order everything on the menu once you get in.
6. Eat as much as you possibly can.

There you have it. Six simple steps to maximize your excursion to Franklin Barbecue. In truth, is anything really worth that wait? I don't know, but when you combine the best barbecue I've ever had, a friendly atmosphere and fun people in line, the result is a truly memorable food experience. It's like a Penn State tailgate for barbecue.

Pennsylvania Dutch Sandwiches in Reading Terminal Market

The Grill at Smucker’s and Dienner’s Bar-B-Q Chicken, are two Pennsylvania Dutch stands serving sandwiches in Reading Terminal Market.

You can’t miss Smucker’s, as it is right up the alley from DiNic’s Roast Pork and the main seating area. I was drawn to Smucker's after seeing the sign at left claiming it to be the "home of the tender pot roast beef sandwich." Did it live up to it’s own hype?

Blue Belly BBQ in Queen Village

Well folks, the great Philadelphia barbecue race has some new additions. Michael Klein of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details on the two newest spots, Fette Sau and Bubba's Texas BBQ. Even my suburban work town, Ardmore, has jumped on the wagon with Barbacoa.

If any of the above places can match or surpass Blue Belly BBQ in Queen Village it's going to be a delicious race to eat up.

Blue Belly, an entrant from the Giuffi brothers of Cochon fame, opened late this summer. According to its website, Blue Belly brings a Northern approach to barbecue that includes multi-regional styles.

Sounds good to us since we are not barbecue aficionados who argue over preferences and intricacies of the four main types of barbecue. We love all types of barbecue. And Kristy did win a Zokos pot luck contest for her BBQ chicken sliders so we've got some cred.

Inside Blue Belly BBQ

The Atmosphere

Blue Belly is a tiny corner spot at 6th & Catherine with a cool atmosphere. You can choose to sit at the counter, one of a few picnic tables or get takeout (a popular choice according to the host).

We love counter seating so we jumped on the open spots one Sunday afternoon. The chance to chat with the chef and watch our food being made always enhances the entire food experience.

Korean Fried Chicken at Sammy Chon's K-Town BBQ

Whenever a restaurant adds or removes Korean fried chicken to its menu, the food community seems to go bananas. As an alternative to trying to keep track of who has it and when, just go to Sammy Chon's K-Town BBQ. It's a mini, regional chain with locations in Cherry Hill, Cinnaminson and Philadelphia's Chinatown, as well asfranchise opportunities in case you're ready for a new career. 

Not flashy inside, just gets the job done.

We hit up the diner-ish style Chinatown location on a recent bike trip.

As is tradition in Korean restaurants, first you get a complimentary assortment of banchan, or small plates of kimchi, pickled vegetables and other side dishes. You can pick on it throughout the meal but are apparently not supposed to physically combine it with anything else you eat.

We went straight for the 10-piece selection of fried chicken wings ($10.99). You can split the order between flavors - we got five each of soy garlic and honey sesame. They definitely had some of the crispiest, most flavorful skin we've had on wings and plenty of meat inside too. I liked the honey sesame the best, as did Bridges, Burgers & Beer in his review. We are not Korean food connoisseurs so we can't compare Sammy Chon's to other places, but from our perspective it's worth visiting to try these wings. 

Disappointment on Percy Street

Readers of 22nd & Philly know one of our favorite places is Zahav.  Therefore, excitement filled the air when we heard the owner Michael Solomonov opened a BBQ joint called Percy Street in November of 2009. It took us way too long to go and the anticipation was high since several friends raved about it. Unfortunately, that was the peak of our Percy Street experience.

We heard good things about the cocktails so even though I was in the mood for beer I got the FM 423 (tito's vodka, peach juice and sweet tea). For 9 bucks is was not worth the price. I would like to try the Hillbilly gatorade for kicks (high life, pickle juice and BBQ sauce). Wonder what it tastes like?

For apps, we had the mac & cheese and the jalapeño corn bread. The mac & cheese was delicious. Crusty, hot and just the right amount of cheese. One of the few things on the menu worth the price.  While, I liked the kick of the corn bread it should be provided complimentary not for $5. Online I saw smoked chicken wings on the menu, but they were not on the actual menu. Too bad since I was looking forward to trying (the dry rub wings at Devil's Alley are awesome FYI).

Up to this point, Percy Street was doing ok. Unfortunately, the main course of BBQ was up next and the disappoint commenced.  

Between the two of us, we were able to try the brisket, pulled pork and pork spare ribs. I ordered 1/4 lb of brisket and pulled pork (+ two sides for $18), while Kristy only ordered the spare ribs ($13). I felt the prices were high for the serving sizes. The biggest disappointment was the actually meat. It was dry and not enough flavor. The brisket was actually good, while the pulled pork was normal and certainly nothing to brag about. The spare ribs were simply not good for any BBQ place. Dry and not enough meat. Not good. 

Percy Street has three BBQ sauces (hot, sweet, normal) and comes on the side not on the meat.  I like hot sauce, but it was a bit much for me especially for BBQ. The heat overwhelmed the flavor and took away from the flavor of the meat. Sweet and normal were ok sauces and not of the quality of place aiming to be a top-notch BBQ place.  

The sides we had were pinto beans, carrots, and sweet potatoes with marshmallows. I enjoyed the pinto beans, but the carrots were underwhelming. The sweet potatoes with marshmallows were interesting to see on display, but not as good to eat.

We skipped dessert so no verdict.  The layout of Percy Street is  a bit too airy for me. We were got by the door and it felt lonely. When I think of BBQ I think of atmosphere and it was lacking at Percy Street.

For a much hyped BBQ place Percy Street does not live up to the billing. Prices are high for both the quality and the serving size. Maybe we just visited on bad night. We hope so.  

The good news. Maybe the owners know they have a gem in Zahav and are still spending all their time keeping it a gem. It's a trade-off that works for me.