Barbecue food is pure comfort to the soul. There is something about eating with your fingers and tearing meat apart that brings on great satisfaction. Furthermore, the side dishes that come with barbecue food also stimulate another level of happiness to one's stomach. Alameda currently has two BBQ joints, Great American BBQ and Everett and Jones.
Great American BBQ was supposed to have moved to Park Street about a year ago, but they are still running their restaurant at the base of the High Street Bridge. The ribs are juicy and tender and full of flavor. You can tell that a lot of love went into the creation of the slow cooking process. I also appreciate that the staff will ask if you want hot, mild or medium sauce on the meat. The brisket is tender when you bite into a sandwich. The BBQ chicken was a miss for me, since it lacked flavor and it was somewhat dry. Their macaroni and cheese is good (much better than KFC), but it had some processed cheese in the mix. The baked beans had a smokey aroma and taste to it without noticing a lot of sugar in the beans. The space is somewhat dark and uninviting to patrons. I suggest ordering food to go and enjoying a pleasurable meal at home.
Everett and Jones lacks ambiance at the foot of the old Navy Station. Luckily for them, they have a name and reputation that equates to good BBQ food. I have eaten at several different locations of Everett and Jones. The food is good and is fairly consistent at the different restaurants. The Alameda location, however, still has some bumps to smooth out. The ribs were a bit tough and dry, the beans were too sweet, the corn bread was too crumbly and the BBQ chicken was decent, but not great. I thought they were having an off night, but that didn't appear to be the case. Another attempt came to the same conclusion as the first visit. Perhaps when they move to Webster Street, everything will calm down and get back to normal. I just don't know when that will happen since the space is already set up for the restaurant, but they have not opened yet. This is a wait and see restaurant. I know Everett and Jones can produce great tasting and quality products, it may just take time when they move into a larger kitchen on Webster Street.
On a side note, Barceluna is offering a pulled pork mini slider on their appetizer menu served with cole slaw. The mini slider was adorable when presented to the table. They looked like two mini hamburgers. The pulled pork was flavorful with a smokey essence to it. The taste was there, but the meat was a bit dry for me. I wish there was more sauce on the meat in the sandwich. The cole slaw was fresh and could taste the crunch in the cabbage. I am not a fan of dry cole slaw, but I also dislike mushy too much mayonnaise cole slaw as well. This cole slaw was more on the dry side. I had a few bites and left it alone.
2 comments:
I stumbled across Everett and Jones while I went to Scobies Bar to watch a football game. Everett and Jones took over the operation of the kitchen and sold their regular BBQ menu. I had the two meat combo with pork and ribs. The two sides I picked were beans and collard greens. The meal came with corn bread and choice of mild, medium and hot sauce on the meats. I ordered medium sauce on the meats and hot sauce on the side. What I ended up with was mild sauce on the meat and medium sauce on the side. I know I should have taken the food back to the kitchen since they got the order wrong, but I didn't. I ended up eating the meal. The pork meat was tender and juicy. The mild sauce was too mild and did not give any kick of flavor. The ribs were alright. The meat didn't fall off the bone, but it was tender. The portion sizes of the beans and greens was disappointing. The bowls were very small, maybe less than one scoop of ice cream. The collard greens were over boiled. I do like my collard greens and it was like mush. The beans were okay, not great, with a slight hint of smokiness to them. The corn bread was not good, it was dry and lacked flavor. For the amount of money I paid for the meal, I see why no one was eating food in the bar.
Everett and Jones still has not opened their BBQ restaurant on Webster Street. They have cute light fixtures of mini BBQ grills hanging from the ceiling. I can't wait to see what they have to offer when they finally open for business.
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