Sisters Oregon BBQ

Sisters was our latest stop for BBQ at Slick's Que Co. Authentic Pit Bar-B-Que (www.slicksque.com). This is a different dinning experience from the road side and event vendor wagons we've visited so far. Right off the main road through town, Cascade avenue, you can't miss it. There's a BBQ pit cooker right along the road in case you don't notice the western front building housing this new restaurant.

Five of us dropped in for dinner the other night and got to sample several items on the menu. We tried the baby back ribs, beef brisket, turkey, and the pulled pork for our meat selections. Ribs are Friday and Saturday night only, they also offer coleslaw and or potato salad with your order. I have to say the potato salad is unique and tasty for sure. All the meat had a good smokey flavor but not overly strong. For extra sides you can get mac and cheese, baked beans (with some nice sweet fruit bits added), and some garlic mashed potatoes. We tried them all!

If you go to their web site you will find this quote; "We use the "Low and Slow" split-wood method of smoking our meats. We make our own rubs, sauces and sides. We stick to simple and time-proven Texas and Southern "Que" Quality Standards. Come try Authentic Pit BBQ!"

let me know what you think.

BBQ cookin by the book

I just purchased this book on Amazon, I've had an earlier book Steven published that has been a great resource for recipes and ideas. I'm looking forward to trying this one out, if it's anything like the book I have I'll be using it regularly. Let me know if you have a copy and what your favorite recipe is.

Oklahoma BBQ on highway 99 in Eugene

This past week I dropped in to the Oklahoma smokehouse BBQ for lunch. As you can see from the menu that have a pretty good selection of BBQ to choose from. I decided to go for the pulled pork sandwich along with a side of beans. They include some really good gritty corn bread, the kind that has some substance to it! The pork was tasty and the beans have a distinct flavor, kinda sweet with some underlying spice to them.

This is a roadside stand that was custom built for the owners back in Lawrence Indiana. I caught Joe splitting wood and loading up the fire pit when I came by. He was cooking on this large custom built rotisserie pit with hardwood. Oak this day, but they'll use fruit tree wood when they can get it.

Joe tells me his brother Aron and him opened up this stand two years ago. Aron learned to BBQ back in Norman Oklahoma where he went to school to learn meteorology. He did BBQ and sold it on the street to football fans heading to the game and was mentored by a local and got direct feedback from the fans on the quality of what he was doing.

They typically cook a beef brisket for 13 to 20 hours, chicken for 4 or 5, and pulled pork for 10 to 12 hours. Joe tells me the pulled pork sandwich is the specialty. My friend Vern told me he tried the Alabama white sauce and liked it.

You can get their gameday tailgater for $65, including a rack of ribs, 1 lb of beef brisket, 1 lb. of pulled pork, 4 large sides, and 9 pieces of corn bread. Sounds Gooood! Open Monday through Saturday 11:00 to 7:00 at 1055 Hwy 99 N (2 miles south of the beltline). 541-912-9674. Give it a try!

4th of July weekend BBQ's

Look at that Turkey! Golden brown and cooked to perfection. After all, the Turkey was going to be our National bird so it's only fitting that Sam cooked this 20 lb bird in his new Traeger. Along with BBQ beans, salad, a fruit bowl, lemonade (spiked if you like it), bread, and family, what better way to celebrate our independence.

Sam soaked the bird in a brine all night and then fired up the BBQ at 5:00 AM. Although it took a little longer than he planned (dinner at 3:00 PM) he pulled the bird off at 4:00 and served it up. It was moist and flavorful. I know I've mention these BBQ's before but I continue to be impressed with the results coming off these wonderful BBQ's.

For desert Tammy made some red, white, and blue cupcakes. They made a great centerpiece and an even better desert along with some vanilla ice cream. The picture does not do them justice but I can assure you they were good.

Yesterday we had some more home made BBQ at the graduation party for a good friend of ours son in Canby. Bill (his dad) and his friend Steve cooked up a whole hog on Steve's Traeger BBQ. They started in at 4:00 AM and started pulling pork just after 6:00 PM. Bill also smoked a turkey for the party.

Alex graduated from college down in San Diego in June and took a job nearby where he was living so he'll be returning to California. It was a great party and some wonderful BBQ to celebrate his accomplishment.

Not BBQ, Just Good

Sometimes you're in a place where you just can't find BBQ, such was the case over the last weekend when Brent and I took off north to McMinnville for the annual Obsolete Porsche Parts campout. Saturday night we headed in to town to the old Oregon Hotel roof top bar for dinner.

It was the communications breakdown burger for him and some mac & cheese for me. It's a great view from on top the Hotel looking out at the coast range and over downtown McMinnville.

What are you going to do while you wait for dinner other than to check you I phone?

The next morning we woke up early and headed back into town for our annual breakfast at the Wild Wood Cafe. Now if you like good food this is the place to go for a great home made style breakfast. The speciality of the house is their Wild wood french toast. This is a thick slice of homemade bread, dipped in egg batter and roled in granola (I think) and grilled. Served up with some eggs, bacon, and warm syrup, it's umm umm good!

The Wildwood is located right on old highway 99 on the south end of town, northbound at 3rd street.

I stopped by the BBQ King today at lunch time to check it out. BBQ King is located on 18th street in Eugene between Pearl and Oak, just east of Willamette. They have been there since 2005, I'm not sure exactly where they were before that but the sign says "since 1980". Although technically this isn't on highway 99 I figure it's close enough if you were traveling through Eugene you could stop in.

I went up to the window but nobody was in the shack, after checking around back I found who I think is the owner and another employee taking a break. I asked about lunch and got immediate service.

The menu is somewhat limited and it seemed like they weren't quite ready for the lunch crowd (even though it was noon) because my choices were limited to what he had in the kitchen. I had the pulled pork sandwich. The pork was very flavorful, plenty of smoke and it was more like a chopped meat as opposed to truely "pulled pork". It wasn't quite warmed up either, probably another indication they weren't quite ready to serve lunch. the meat is served on a standard hamburger bun with some heated up BBQ sauce which is very good, and some cole slaw on top the meat.

I didn't get to try any of the sides and I think the ribs are the real specialty of the King's place. I didn't get to interview him, however I know they cook the meat out back on the BBQ and they are there cooking most of the time. I'll go back and try the ribs.

Boss Hawg's (con't)

After writing about Boss Hawg's last week and talking to a few friends and family I was persuaded to return this week to "double check" my findings. Guess what? We found the same thing, great BBQ.

Brent had a pulled pork sandwich and a cup of chili, as did Bob, and Jesse and I had the special of the day, a half of chicken and a side. I had the chicken salad side, also made from the BBQ'd chicken. It was loaded with tasty chicken and just a little "salad". That could of made a mean in itself.

While we were there the health inspector happened to drop in and check the operation. He found the same thing we did, a clean and top notch kitchen. Boss Hawg's has now been health checked and quality checked and is open for business!

Home style BBQ

Here's a photo of my brother-in-law Sam's new BBQ he got for fathers day. If you can't get out to have some BBQ you can always have it at home. Traeger BBQ's are a wood pellet stove that have been around a while now and get great reviews. My oldest brother has been using one for a number of years and I can tell you that everything I've had off his grill has been great. I'm looking forward to the fourth of July, Sam is going to BBQ a turkey. Very appropriate since that was going to be the national bird!

Boss Hawgs BBQ in Junction City

Today we visited Boss Hawgs BBQ in Junction City and I can tell you its worth the trip no matter where you're coming from! My buddy Matt and I dropped in for lunch today and introduced ourselves to Thomas Reeves. You'll notice from the photo this is a drive threw shack but what you don't see in the picture is the inside of the place. I tell you this place is nice. Thomas restored an old coffee drive threw into a mini restaurant and kitchen. Hardwood floors, stainless counters, custom cutting boards, and clean as a whistle. Thomas told us he is a "clean freak" and it shows.

Thomas has a background in retail and marketing and is a great front man along with his partner Tom Slagle, who runs a nearby local restaurant called Bambinos is his advising Chef. We wondered how they managed to put so much food out of such a tiny place, and that explains a lot. They found a 1000 lb. stainless steel smoker some guy parked in his garage after winning a cook off in Portland, bought it, cleaned it up like new, and put it behind Bambinos.

They start their brisket and pork the night before and take it out after 12 to 16 hours of smoking, pull it, prepare it, and get it to the drive threw before they open. And just like the "restaurant" the smoker is clean!

Thomas started us off with some of their chili, this is a hearty tasting delight. Matt described it as "not to beanie, not to meaty, and falls apart in your mouth. With just a touch of tomato". I'd say he summed it up pretty good. The chunks of beef where in just about every bite and the sauce was tasty. This is not a real spicy chili, it's just wholesome.

Matt and I both order the brisket meat plate. You can choose the sandwich or meat plate, the meat plate comes with a side dish. I ordered the potato salad and Matt ordered the BBQ beans. The meat comes without any sauce on it, you get that on the side, both spicy and regular sauce. The meat was so flavorful, smoke and seasoning that I recommend you try it before adding any sauce. Thomas says they have a rub they use with some organic spices and the smoke makes it tasty and tender. The plate comes with corn bread (butter and honey) with your side dish.

The potato salad is really flavorful and the potato's are slightly undercooked for a firm texture and bite. I tasted the beans as well, they have a nice smoke flavor with just a touch of sweetness to them, much different from the chili.

Every Wednesday they have what they call "wild Wednesday" where they feature a wild game. Now they have only been opened a couple of weeks but the have already had BBQ catfish and this week they had wild boar. Thomas had a couple of ribs left over so he served us up each a rib. They were really more like a pork chop, bone in, and a tenderloin at one end. These were lean and delicious. The chef made a special chutney to go with them that was both sweet and spicy. Thomas tells us they are thinking of doing alligator and rattle snake in the future. Finally Thomas let us sample some of their St. Louis style ribs; nice and dark season and smoke and tender fall off the bone pork. I have to tell you we were both enjoying every bite.

Right now they are open from 11 AM to 8 PM Monday through Saturday, 12 noon to 6 PM on Sunday. The menu is likely to change as well as the hours as they get going. They don't have a full delivery (yet) but you may be able to get some BBQ brought to you if your timing is right and someone is around to do it.

Although it's a drive threw they do have picnic tables with umbrellas right there, which we took full advantage of. So drive in or park and dine, your choice.

YOU gotta try this place, you won't be disappointed, I know Matt and I weren't.

490 Ivy street in Junction City (Right off highway 99)
541-998-5700

Seven's Smoke N BBQ at PIR

Seven's Smoke N BBQ at PIR

Run in the country

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I ran into a pretty good BBQ in Coburg during their annual festival. Philyaw's trailer is set up to tour around to events and features a South Carolina style BBQ, sweet and spicy! I had the pulled pork sandwhich which was great. They also had a BBQ turkey sandwhich for this event.

I spoke briefly with the owner who learned to cook in South Carolina. He cooks a whole hog on his spit and then hand pulls the pork as needed. It's defininately a first class operation on a classy looking trailer. I'm not sure where they were headed next but they can be found on the web and they operate out of Eugene Oregon. I expect to find them at more local events around the area this summer.

The Rose Cup races at PIR

We traveled north to PIR to watch the 50th annual Rose Cup races today and were rewarded with some not only great racing but some great race track food! Race tracks are not normally know for having the best food choices, and usually the food is over priced, but we scored one today.

Seven's BBQ Express at Hayden Meadows happens to set up shop at PIR for all the major events. Seven, the owner was at the grill and serving them up hot. I ordered the pork ribs and my son order the pulled pork sandwich. Mine was spicy his was regular. Let me tell you, Seven puts a good smoke on those ribs and the spice was just right, not so hot that you couldn't taste the smoke and hot enough so that you knew you got some spicy ribs. I got a taste of the pulled pork, it was melt in your mouth. The ribs were laid out on a half of a white bread bun which was great for finishing up the sauce he put on the ribs. Everything on the menu at the races was $8.00 which isn't bad compared to a $6.00 hamburger.

I spoke with Seven and he says he sets up shop at the Rose Garden for the Blazers game and Winter Hawk games as well. He has a catering service and offers up lunch of pulled pork, brisket, ribs, and chix. One item he said is popular, especially at the games is his BBQ nacho. I didn't get to check that out, he did say it's one of his big sellers. At least to start with on my review I'm sticking to the traditional stuff. You can call Seven in Portland at 503-957-5467.

When I told Seven that his place was going to be my first review he said to make sure that I mention he keeps a clean kitchen. I believe it, when I went to shake his hand I noticed he was wearing serving gloves and the place was clean. I say give it a try, I think you'll like the guy and you'll love the BBQ.

Where's the best BBQ on Hiway 99?

This summer I've decided to take to the road and sample BBQ's from Eugene Oregon to Portland along the old highway 99. I'll be looking for spots to try each week and then writing about the experience, sharing what's good, what's not so good, and what's great. Join me and my friends as we take to the highway, share your suggestions and your ideas.