When a backyard party is based on BBQ, you need the whole crew to enjoy the who do.
So when I had such a gathering, I featured a full slathering of the grub from Old Southern BBQ on Hudson’s south side. Adhering to that, but also adding some of my own flavorings, for full effect for getting the full compliment of my guests full.
When you go to this BBQ joint, in the truest fashion, you will get several — I want to say seven — kinds of sauce to slather onto all kinds of meat, and even their tacos. You can of course select the combo and use bottles at the tables, that are almost like wooden crates in their design to give an old country feel, to squeeze on whichever one you want, or team up more than one onto beef or pork or chicken, and more. Even try some on the corn cobs, and I recommend going sideways against the grain for best taste. So when you pick out the actual entree all this goes onto, you again have about seven ways to go. And the names on the menu board are funky, especially for the few really heated up versions, invoking eveything from Memphis to mutton — OK the meat doesn’t really go that far afield. But there might be some Motown appeal. And the names either, do not include Red Hot Devil’s Spit Into A Cauldron, although they get fairly close to that.
All that said, this is perfect for mom on her day, whether you dine in, or take out and do what I did. Add to it and let her really dig in.
So to back up, and maybe back this up, be careful what you wish for, or what you agree too.
— You might wish for this. At a new venue, for breakfast and more and thus original in the downtown, called Main Plate, on a recent Saturday late morning — get brunch after a night filled with nearby music? — people were gathered in front of the hostess shelf all the way to the nearby door. Then, on a walk back past this area about 20 minutes later, it was again thus full. How many restaurants these days see that kind of fill factor at work. And later, traffic in this now-construction-season from two blocks away was backed up almost to their door. Theme here? —
Hence the rest of this piece is about that latter approach. I started by lathering up some beef that already had on a sauce that was favorful but bound to be a fan favorite of everyone, and applying some of the trademark dry rub that they strongly advised I make use of. Tangy and a little salty with just the right amount of grit. It was easy to rub on, and a little melted butter and such poured on first brought the taste and the ease.
This was a fave with my guests, with some going back more than once, and some just picking and grinning, with a bit of everything taken.
The rest of the bucket of BBQ’d meat was the takeout version from the restaurant. But here is where Joe comes in with his special touch on things, to round out the offerings to be given to residents of the apartment building I have lived at for just over a year, so this was a first annual affair — even though I know that is substandard journalistic use, like saying entitle when, and not where, the right term is merely title, one that I find even many TV news anchors get wrong. That would not do if reviewing my restaurant take.
The first brainstorm at such was a different take on cheddar cheese and broccoli soup. The ones, plural, that I had packages of offered a base of either rice or small pasta, so I thought why not boil it as a half and half? And also place into the mix some cauliflower, and a bit of carrot and a few green peas? With a little extra cheese, of both cheddar and other sorts, grated and then melted in the pot. This way, much more taste is provided then in the standard version. This would prove like a few of the other dishes, to be for the more adventuresome.
I had more than moral support, also, for my signature dish of “salmon” that’s got edges covered with various “Indian cheeses” and sprinkled with many different veggies. I wrote about this last Mother’s Day, offered in an earlier year to other people, if you want to scroll down that far. (I gave you search suggestions, but watch the plural form.)
So I’ll close with a summary of the other stuff, from the more recent time:
— Green beans with not only almond slivers, but bacon bits, slices of bell pepper (different colors) and onions, and a very small bit of crumbled feta cheese.
— Breakfast potato cubes topped with a variety of quasi-spicy seasonings and rubbed in an oiled pan over medium heat, with pepper jack sprinkled over.
— Pasta shells, medium and small, filled with sour cream and bell peppers, onions, ham and cheese, in a way that the sour cream conforms to the shell and holds the other pieces.
— Horseradish sauce and cranberry, jellied or with berries or both, mandarin orange slices and juice, and apple bits over the top. Great if your ham or turkey was a bit dry, like from this amateur cook.
— Various crackers with all varieties of mustard, globbed two inches apart.
These were comments for the cook, all in all:
“Thank you. Again.”
“I love the meat, the chicken and the pork.”
And then there was the salmon.
To follow this theme, and add to it homage to the just passed Cinco De Mayo, mom’s day does not have to be things (slightly bland) like souffles. For example, Green Mill in their brunch on Sunday includes some spicy pizza and pasta. The latter is a dessert fire kind with noodles, and the pie is the three-meat variety, and we hope for spicy sausage and pepperoni. There also are a choice of Buffalo Wings, and we know what kind of firey sauces you can team with those.
And you might want to buy her some as named Mom Water, which is fruit and vodka infused — maybe one more than the other. It has zero carbs, sugar and sodium, and only 90 calories (not the proof of the alcohol, mind you.) And possibly get your very mother one can of all four of the very fruity flavors, so she can be very unladylike and dance on the brunch table?
Lastly, Mother’s Day appeared to hit early at the Smilin’ Moose, as you could see foursomes of women of a certain age dining and adorning their early evening front tables on Wednesday.