Through a review done by me and comments by other readers on that post and also in other posts, our love for Black Diamond Barbecue has been shared on this blog many, many times.

So, when I was watching the news this morning and saw that Fox59 is putting together a deal this week starting this Thursday, January 12th, as part of their weekly “Be Our Guest” promotion (think Groupon-like), I knew I had to make mention of it on the site to drive traffic to Black Diamond.

Quite simply, you can buy a $50 gift certificate for Black Diamond for $25 starting at 7:53 a.m. by visiting this link.  The deal includes two $25 gift certificates.  The certificates expire within six months and there’s only 200 of them available, so you’ve got to buy them and use them quick!

So, if you want to grab a deal the best barbecue that I’ve had in the city of Indianapolis, make sure you visit the Fox59 site starting tomorrow and snatch up one of the deals.

-IndianapolisEater

Big Hoffa’s BBQ
800 E Main St
Westfield, IN 46074
http://www.bighoffas.com/

I love barbecue.  As a red-blooded American, I have a special relationship with smoked meats.  That being said, I’m shocked at how long it has taken me to get to Big Hoffa’s in Westfield.  I live down the street from this little locally-owned gem, so I desperately wanted to like it.

What I Got: Half-rack of Baby Back Ribs ($9.49), Half Pound “Meat on a Plate” (Pulled Pork with Fries and Baked Beans) with two Garlic Butter Rolls ($7.39) and a Mexican Coke ($1.79).

First off, take a look at the picture.  I was more than a little disappointed when I saw the ribs.  The sauce (I chose spicy for all meats and found it to be better than the mild/sweet) appears to have been an afterthought on the ribs.  I guess I expected total sauce coverage with a modicum of carmelization. Unfortunately, this presentation suggests that the ribs were held at temperature in a steam table after smoking, then sauced upon order.  Further inspection revealed a sliver of hope. They were stupid tender.  I poked it with my fork, tugged on a rib, and the bone came out clean.  Even further inspection revealed perfect texture – held together but easily separated, not too fatty – and a smoke ring that make my eyes light up.  These ribs were darn tasty and perfectly smoky.

The pulled pork, however, lacked smoke.  It was tender, not greasy, and paired well with the sauce, but I could’ve stood to see a bit more of that smokiness I found in the ribs.  The sides were delicious.  The fries (obviously not homemade) reminded me of Rally’s battered and seasoned fries.  Do yourself a favor and get a side of ranch for these babies – it is garlicky and made in-house.  Everybody remembers a kid from elementary school that put ranch on everything, including pizza on Fridays… so just put on your sweatpants and join the ranks.  There’s a reason they sell this crap by the pint even though they don’t offer a salad!  The beans were pretty good, but I’m no expert.  There was a little bit of pulled pork in there and they weren’t nearly as sweet as I make at home.  The rolls were clearly store-bought, but the flourish of butter and garlic powder made them tasty and great for constructing mini pulled pork sandwiches.  I was sharing this meal so I had to get creative.

Would I Buy it Again?  More than likely, yes.  The atmosphere was a lot of fun and I loved to see the whole family involved with the business.  Our “server” was an adorable little guy with a wicked case of bedhead and every other employee was cheery and welcoming.  Was it the absolute best barbecue I’ve ever consumed?  No, probably not.  Was it at least good enough that I feel confident recommending that you give it a shot?  Yes, definitely.

-Indy Food Geek

Pappy’s Smokehouse
3106 Olive St.
St. Louis, MO 63103
http://www.pappyssmokehouse.com/index.php

My expectations could not have been much higher here, because Pappy’s was on Man vs. Food (click here to see the YouTube of the appearance, it’s the second segment; go to the 6:40 mark), has been voted the best BBQ in St. Louis three years running — it opened in 2008, so it’s 3-0 so far — and was named one of the top 10 places to “chow down” by the Travel Channel.

Upon arrival, I noticed a huge smoker on the street and I was even more excited. Then I walked in and the smell was everything you can imagine and more. Just straight old-fashioned BBQ smell. The line was nearly out the door and I stood in line to order for about a half hour. Don’t let that worry you, though, because once I ordered they plated up the food and took it to my table within two minutes.

The restaurant bills its food as “delicious, juicy Memphis-style BBQ.” They smoke their meats from four to 14 hours over cherry and apple wood. They have three sauces on every table: Original, Sweet Baby Jane and Holly’s hot sauce.

Oh, and I’d recommend going for lunch. Since they don’t want to serve leftovers, they only have a certain amount of food for each day. Once they run out, that’s it. So if you go for dinner, you run the risk of not having a full menu.

What I Got: Rib combo; $23.99. Half slab of ribs, ¼ pound choice of meat and two sides. I went with pulled pork, green beans and deep-fried corn on the cob. I’ll hold off on ribs for a second and talk about everything else first.

The pulled pork was fine. I wasn’t a huge fan, in fact, I’d say it was pretty run of the mill. I tried it with all three sauces and I quite liked all three. None were spectacular but they were all very good with Sweet Baby Jane coming out as my favorite. I didn’t care for the fried corn, but I don’t think they did anything wrong. I think I would have just rather had regular corn on the cob and skipped the deep-fried part — I was just curious to try it once. So I’ve tried it, didn’t care for it and can move on. The green beans weren’t for me, either, and I usually love green beans. They were a bit bland and had a snap to them, meaning I’d rather them be cooked more. I don’t like my green beans crunchy at all, but if you do, these may be to your liking.

You know the saying “they knocked it out of the park?” Pappy’s more than did so with these ribs. They hit a grand slam with the baseball ending up across the street. I was chuckling when they dropped off the food and my plastic silverware. If they’re that sure you don’t need actual silverware, these ribs had to be falling off the bone. They were and then some. I could physically just grab each individual rib and pull it out, leaving myself with a bit of a rib steak, if that makes sense. It was just one body of rib meat with no bones. The flavor was incredible, too. I was so disappointed when I was done, even though I was full, that I was like an animal trying to ravage a trash can for every last bit of food — just holding each bone and desperately trying to gnaw off every last bit of meat. If there wasn’t a half-hour line, I seriously think I might have gotten another half rack. And, again, I was full.

Would I Buy It Again? I would and plan to every single time I’m in St. Louis for the rest of my life. I’ll plan my day around a trip there. There’s no need to offer any further superlatives about the ribs, as you should have gotten the idea by now. I wouldn’t get the pulled pork again. I’d think about trying the brisket, spicy sausage link or chicken, but the ribs are the specialty and just so damn good that maybe I’d just get a full slab of ribs and not mess around. I’ll be trying different sides next time, but why get caught up in that? They’re sides. I don’t yet have a large amount of experience traveling, so there could absolutely be better ribs than this somewhere in the country (one of my friends said Alabama, for example), but these are the best ribs I’ve ever had and it ain’t close. If you’re ever in St. Louis, go get Pappy’s ribs. You will not regret it.

- Show

The Libertine
38 E. Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46204
http://www.libertineindy.com/

I am calling this a short review because my memory got a little dicey after a bender.  I was on double date and they have no clue that I write this blog, so I didn’t want to be snapping a ton of pics.  Plus, it was pretty dark in the joint, so I didn’t want to bring more attention to myself in addition to my baby face and chiseled physique.

The Drinks:

I ran through the three Tequila drinks on the menu.   I apologize for the lack of description, but again…bender, lack of notes, etc.

*Paloma Smash; $10.   Sold by our server as “if you like a Margarita, you will like this.”  Not the case at all.   I love Margaritas (not from a mix type) and I hated this drink.   The worst of all the drinks I had (over six drinks tested).  None else at the table liked it either.

The other two tequila drinks were very good.  The Nouveau Carre ($11) and the Gringo Reform ($11) were both winners.  The one with the egg yolks was my favorite.  The Pimms Cup ($10) was a favorite at the table and I was fond of it as well.   I drank most of my date’s order here.

The Food:  

A little bit of this and that.  Some really good bites in here.

*Hamachi Carpaccio; $11.  Held over from L’exploutour, I am glad to see it again.  As good as I remember it.

*Deviled Eggs; $8.  Didn’t love any of these, but I like the idea of them on the menu.

*Porchetta Sandwich; $13.  Get this and…you’re welcome.

*Sloppy Joe; $9.  Sloppy in execution.  Nothing special, but on a pretzel roll.  I liked that part of it.

*BBQ Ribs; $10.  Three bones and an awesome cole slaw with it.  The ribs were tender, but the sauce could’ve used a little heat.   Cole slaw should be added in some additional places on the menu.

*Tomato Terrine; $8.  By far my favorite thing on the menu.  Great presentation and horseradish with tomato, who knew?!   It was really really good.  I mean, really good.

Would I Buy It Again?   Yes.   A pretty much pointless post here, but I have heard from friends that they wait to go to places until I post it.  Go figure?   For the record, go and try it.   I really liked a few items here and there were a few that I didn’t care for at all.  However, the presentation and originality were kept at a high level.

This is the first week and the servers didn’t have a tight grasp on some of the drinks, though they were proficient.  I would like to for the menu to help pair some of the food and drinks together.  Also, the food menu is a bit over the place.  While I appericate the opportunity to put a sloppy joe right next to beef tartar, there is a touch of “jack of all trades, master of none”  going on.

Overall this is a good concept, good location and a very solid start.  I’m looking forward to seeing Libertine hit full stride.

-wibia

Logan’s Roadhouse
http://www.logansroadhouse.com/Default.aspx

Logan’s Roadhouse is a casual type of steak/barbecue type of eatery that is along the same lines as Texas Roadhouse (it’s almost an identical clone) and has several locations scattered around the United States, but focuses primarily on the Midwest and Southeast.  Logan’s has been in the Indianapolis area for quite a few years, but for some reason, I had never been to one until recently.

What I Got:  Steak and BBQ Ribs Combo.  It comes served with two sides (I chose Sweet Potato Fries and the Grilled Mushroom skewer); $18.99.

Before I get into my entree, I will point out that each table is adorned with a steel bucket of unlimited peanuts and if you are a peanut loving freak like me, this can be either the biggest positive in the world or the biggest negative because you’ll eat a ton of them.  Once your done, just toss them on the floor or on the table and you are good to go.  Thankfully, I kept myself under control on this visit so that I could actually leave room for my entree.  [Note:  If you or someone you know has a peanut allergy, Logan's is not the type of environment you want to bring them into, because there are nuts and shells EVERYWHERE.]

By it’s menu description, my entree was “Our 12-ounce Rib-Eye & a half portion of BBQ Ribs” (there was also a 6-ounce option for the Rib-Eye, but I chose the larger version). 

Let’s address these individually and start with the rib-eye.  I ordered mine medium rare and it was served perfectly.  The outside was was seared perfectly and had the beautiful grill marks from the grill imprinted into it.  The steak was moist, tender and flavorful and I can really give this one a big thumbs up.

The Ribs were also outstanding.  They had that sometimes overplayed “fall off the bone” quality and were moist and flavorful.  They were also lathered in a sweetish flavored barbecue sauce that I found very appetizing.

As for my side items, they were kind of what you’d expect.  You can never go wrong with grilled mushrooms and these were no different.  They were decent sized and had that wonderful grill flavor.  The sweet potato fries were crispy and flavorful, although I wish I had more (not a knock on Logan’s, but just a knock on how hungry I was).

Would I Buy It Again?  Definitely.  I don’t know why it took me so long to get to Logan’s, but I’ll definitely be going back in the future.  It’s a great competitor for Texas Roadhouse and since it is closer to my house, it would probably be my first option if I was looking for the casual steakhouse experience.  Plus, if I ever have a craving for a truckload of peanuts, this is my place!

-IndianapolisEater

Black Diamond Barbecue
6404 Rucker Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46220
http://www.blackdiamondbbqcatering.com

I’ve driven by this place on Binford Boulevard (it’s on a side street right off Binford) about a thousand times over the years and have never stopped.  In all honesty, when it first opened, I figured it would last about three months and then go out of business because it’s not in the greatest location.  Three years later, it’s still chugging along and has even expanded to include outdoor seating.  Good for them.

Ordinarily, I do all my barbecue smoking by myself, but I was feeling lazy one Sunday and didn’t want to spend my entire day waiting for meats to smoke.  So, seeing that this place recently expanded, I figured it must be good and finally gave it a shot (one of the owners was working and gave me a little ribbing by saying, “you know we’ve been here for three years right?”).

What I Got:  Hungry Man’s Special (not listed on the online menu), $19.99.  This includes three meats (I got ribs, brisket and chicken wings) and two sides (I got cole slaw and macaroni and cheese).

First things first, the name of this combo does not lie…this is a TON of food.  Any regular reader of this site knows that I can throw down some food from time to time, but even this was too much for me for one meal.  It was actually enough for two meals because they serve you ample portions of all the meats and all the sides.  As such, let’s address these individually:

Ribs:  I’ve got to say, I was really impressed by these.  You often hear the term “fall off the bone” to describe how ribs should be cooked and these ribs fit that description to the letter of the law.  They were tender and had a strong smoky flavor.  A little greasy, but when you smoke meats as opposed to grilling them, that is to be expected.  Honestly, these were the best ribs I’ve had in a while.

Brisket:  These were served in a separate container because there was so much of it (LOL) and much like the ribs, this was also tender and had a strong smoky flavor.  I prefer my brisket to have juice oozing from it when I cook it and unfortunately, this brisket did not have that.  That said, when compared to other barbecue restaurants in the area, the brisket was exceptional.  The only reason I can complain at all is because of my ego when it comes to making it myself.  Ha!

Chicken Wings:  I’ll admit, I don’t know that I’ve ever had smoked chicken wings before and since I am thinking of doing it on my own smoker, I decided to give these a try in order to see what I was in store for.  My first impression of the wings was that they were HUGE (a good thing) and there were A LOT of them (a recurring theme).  What I found interesting about these wings was that while they were meaty, tender and juicy on the inside, they had a crispy outer skin that provided a nice texture contradiction to the softness of the inside.  As with the ribs and brisket, these also had a strong smoky flavor and I liked them quite a bit.  So much so that I’m anxious to try this myself.

Sides:  Along the lines of the recurring theme, the sides didn’t come in little miniature cups…they came in sizeable containers as you can see in the picture above.  The cole slaw was obviously homemade (big positive in my book) and was more vinegar based as opposed to mayonnaise based, which I prefer.  It was crunchy and fresh, although it could have used a little something extra to give it some kick.  I would rate this as a B/B+ effort.

As for the macaroni and cheese, well, I’ve got some strong thoughts on this one.  I will be the first to admit that I’ve never been a huge macaroni and cheese fan because it is so often botched and lazily made (cheeses are too bland, not enough cheese, etc.) in so many different places.  Because of that, about the only time I will eat macaroni and cheese is when it is out of the Kraft box and yes, I know that is pathetic.  So, in what I thought at the time was an act of stupidity, I decided to give Black Diamond’s macaroni and cheese a try and I am so glad that I did because this was incredible.  It was easily the creamiest and richest macaroni and cheese that I have ever had and I loved it.  They certainly didn’t skimp on the cheese and unlike most places that I’ve eaten macroni and cheese, they actually used a cheese that had a little kick to it and I LOVED that.   Honestly, if you skipped all the meat and just got a huge order of macaroni and cheese, you would be delighted with your order.

Would I Buy It Again?  Absolutely and without hesitation. I can see why that despite an odd location, Black Diamond has managed to stay in business and actually expand in the three years that it has been open.  This is damn fine barbecue and it will always be my FIRST choice on the days that I decide to not make it on my own.  There are not a lot of great barbecue options in this city, so I would strongly advise you to give it a try if you are a barbecue lover.

By the way, Black Diamond caters (one of the owners made sure to let me know that) and also has coupons on my new favorite website, Coupons4Indy.com.

-IndianapolisEater

Jacks Bar-B-Que
416 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
Website

I lived in Nashville in 2004 and when the opportunity to travel for biz came up, I jumped on it.  I loved the city; few people seem to be from Nashville, so it was a great melting pot of people.  Plus, I am a huge music fan/musician and enjoy being amongst (arguably) the best musicians in the country.   However, I am a yankee at heart and decided to move back to Indiana after a year.

Five years ago, I never thought of Nashville as a foodie city, though my palate continues to be more refined. Neighboring Lebanon is the home of Cracker Barrell after all.   So in Nashville, make it simple…Go to “Meat and 3’s” eat biscuits, bbq and all the home-style stuff you can jam in yo’ mouth.

Long segue…rare for me.   Long story short, one of my favorite places was Jack’s Bar-B-Que.   A Nashville legend since 1976 and a prime location downtown next to my favorite bar (Robert’s Western World).

Standard BBQ menu.  Shoulder/brisket/turkey/sausage/ribs/chicken.   Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about the preparation, but when you walk in, it smells convincing.

What I Got:  For lunch, I ordered the 3 meat combo $13.00 (comes with 2 sides and cornbread).
For my three meats, I had pork shoulder, Texas sausage and beef brisket.  My sides were Mac and Cheese and Cole Slaw.

The shoulder was good, but a little dry for my taste.  The meat was more chopped than pulled, which I like longer strands.  I know…picky.  The brisket was a little dry as well and was my least favorite of the three.   The sausage was a nice surprise, but came in a small portion, about four pieces.  Not too spicy/fatty…just really tasty.   Great smoky flavor and you will never go back to eating Ekrich ropes after this!

Slaw is vinegar based (I prefer this to mayo based) and mac and cheese is pretty standard.  Nothing to write home about, but both were tasty compliments.

What I really like about Jack’s is the sauces.  They all seem to be the right level of heat.   I tried the 911 (not that hot) Carolina Mustard Style, Tennessee Original, and Texas Sweet Hot.  The website has a guide on which to use for each meat…no such guide was at the restaurant, but it was fun experimenting.    You can order the sauces online…I say go for it…they are worth the money.

Would I Buy It Again?   Yes based on many visits in the past, but No based on this visit. Jack’s is a Nashville legend, however my trip today reminded me of how inconsistent it can be.  Kind of like Will Farrell movies, top notch when it is good, but a well below average when they are off.  Two years worth of craving and unfortunately, I left disappointed today.

-WIBIA

As we teased about a week ago, we have a new feature at WIBIA called “Tailgate Tour.”  In this feature, I’ll be taking you to my (along with EatHSE and/or WIBIA) tailgates that we have a planned six times during the fall at Indiana University football games.  This feature will include things such as pictures, recipes and videos of the food and activities that we are participating in.  For better or worse, I will be your guide into the exciting world of tailgating.

In this week’s episode, EatHSE and I started out the football season on a Thursday night as the mighty (I use that word VERY loosely) Hoosiers took on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.  It was a crappy game where IU emerged with a 19-13 victory, but despite the crappy game, we had a great tailgate.

In this tailgate, we had a menu consisting of smoked pork ribs, a smoked whole chicken, “baked” macaroni and cheese and also calico beans.  Our main focus at this tailgate was coming up with creative ways of improvising a makeshift smoker grill and oven so that we could make the kind of classics that you would enjoy at home if you had the kind of equipment required to make those foods.

For pictures and also recipes of the food that we were eating at our tailgate, our makeshift kitchen equipment and some other random items seen out at the tailgate, check out the linked photo album of our adventures.

If you want to see an “exciting” live action feature of how we cooked everything and my impeccable skills as a television host, check out the embedded video below.  Depending on the success of our video entries (and my sobriety…no good tailgate is complete without a few ice cold beers), this may become a staple of this feature, so let us know what you think!

-IndianapolisEater