Restaurants: Bobby Q's Barbeque & Grill, Westport, CT

In 2004, Bobby Q's Barbeque opened in downtown Westport, in the space that was formerly occupied by Onion Alley. Since that time, owner Bob LaRose and his "pitmasters" have been serving up really excellent barbeque in a fun, casual atmosphere. The story behind the restaurant is something out of the movies. Bobby, who often visited family in Kansas City, became passionate about good barbeque, and decided to quit his job and open a restaurant in Connecticut that would rival any southern barbeque joint. After eating there several times, plus taking a class from him on smoking, I think he has achieved his goal.

The menu at Bobby Q's is large, and incorporates all the traditional barbequed fare. The most popular dishes are Pulled Pork, Smoked Sausage, Baby Back Ribs, and Beef Brisket. Some are served with Bobby's signature House Original BBQ Sauce (also called "Nice Rack"), but diners can add any of the other house sauces tableside. All the sauces, which are playfully named, also include "Sweet Rack" (honey bbq sauce) and "Big Rack" (bold bbq sauce), which are available in bottles both at the restaurant and online.

Over the course of each of my visits, I've enjoyed everything I've eaten, but I must say my hands-down favorite was the baby-back ribs. They were juicy and succulent, and had lots of meat. I also enjoyed the St. Louis Ribs, which are prepared with a dry rub rather than a sauce, but I think the baby back ribs have more universal appeal, particularly in this part of the country. My husband loved the "burnt ends" (which are not always available), but being that I don't care for my meat so well-done, I skipped trying that one. The pulled pork was also excellent, the brisket was delicious, and my kids and I both loved the sliced turkey breast. There is a kids menu available, which features all the usual suspects (chicken nuggets, hamburgers, etc) plus ribs and steak, but I opted for them to split an adult meal instead. They are almost always healthier and seem more substantial than what is offered on most children's menus. Besides, I have made it my mission to not pidgeon hole my kids into only eating the holy trinity of "kid food"--- mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, and hamburgers. Now I'll get off my soapbox and get back to Bobby's!

The entrees are served with your choice of two side dishes, and the list from which you choose is large and diverse. I think I've tried just about every one, and they are really all great. My favorites were the Cheesy Corn and Edamame Succotash, the Mac & Cheese, and the Pit Beans, but I also loved the Sweet Potato Fries and Housemade Applesauce. The sandwiches, wraps, and burgers are served with fries or coleslaw, but any of the sides are available a la carte as well.

For those of you who aren't into barbeque (although why would you go here if you weren't?), there are also salads, various grilled chicken and fish dishes, and even lasagna. They also serve one of my favorite meals...beer can chicken! So, there is really something for everyone.

Bobby Q's is a great place to go with family or friends of all ages. On weekends, they apparently have a lively bar scene on the rooftop deck, although I haven't been out late enough to say how it is one way or another. I can say what I think about the food----and it definitely gets a big thumbs up from my family!

Bobby Q's Barbeque & Grill

42 Main Street (next to Banana Republic)

Westport, Ct

203.454.7800

http://www.bobbyqsrestaurant.com/

BBQ Class for the Teacher

In 1995, I decided to combine my passion for food and cooking with my love of teaching, and began teaching cooking classes. I started by teaching through the local Continuting Educaton Program. After less than a year, I built up a bit of a following and decided to go into business for myself. However, despite my busy schedule running a small business and teaching classes at my house each week, I still make time to teach for the Continuing Education Program that took a chance on a passionate home cook and gave me my start in this field.

Last month, as I was checking my listings in the catalog of classes sent out by Continuing Ed., I noticed a new class being offered through the program. "BBQ Passion: The Basics of Barbeque Cooking" was a new, one-time class and would be taught by the owner of a popular local barbeque restaurant. Bobby Q's of Westport, Connecticut, was featured on the FoodNetwork at one point last year, and has become somewhat of a hotspot for good barbeque in Fairfield County. My husband and I have been talking about installing an outdoor kitchen-barbeque at our home, and I figured it couldn't hurt to go learn from the experts before taking the plunge.


Being on "the other side of the counter" was definitely a fun experience. Bob LaRose, owner of Bobby Q's brought the class to the restaurant's rooftop deck, where a demonstration table was set up. Each participant received a multi-paged "book" with everything one would ever want to know about authentic barbeque, which, we learned, is entirely different from the backyard grilling we normally refer to as "barbeque". Grilling is cooking food on grates and over high heat for a relatively short period of time. Barbeque, on the other hand, is typically done with indirect heat or smoke, and requires several hours of cooking time. The Boston Butt pork Bobby Q's uses to make their most popular menu item, pulled pork, is cooked for almost 20 hours!

We started with dry rubs. We sampled basic rubs, fancy rubs, sweet rubs, and spicy rubs. Dry rubs are the cornerstone of barbeque at the restaurant, and the chef demonstrated how he applies rubs to racks of ribs, briskets, and Boston Butt (which, is not the "butt" at all, but rather a cut of meat from the pig's shoulder). We discussed which cuts of meat marry better with which rubs (the chef prefers brown sugar rubs with pork and granulated, white sugar rubs with beef and chicken).

We then talked about sauces, which at Bobby Q's, are used primarily for dipping tableside. Again, we sampled a wide variety of sauces to determine which flavors were our favorites. We covered home smokers, types of wood for smoking, and how to tell when something is ready to eat. Then, finally, came the eating!


First we tasted the St. Louis Ribs, which are smoked with a simple rub. According to Bobby, "authentic" barbeque is supposed to have a little "pull" to the meat (meaning you need to work a bit to get it off the bone), the ones we tried were as tender as could be, and literally fell off the bone into your mouth. He noted that in the northeast, people tend to like the more tender meat, so he gives the people what they want. He also stated that while in other parts of the country, people prefer the St. Louis style ribs, here in Connecticut, the Baby Backs are by far the better sellers. Different demographic, different tastes.


It was time to move indoors into the kitchen, where we gathered around the smoker large enough to shelter a small family (a mere $25,000, if you're in the market for one). When the door opened, we saw a gigantic Boston Butt coming around on the rotisserie, which operated much like a ferris wheel (the meat sitting on one of the "seats", which is really a large, moving rack). Luckily for us, it was just ready to come out of the smoker, so the chef pulled it out, deboned it (the bone literally slid right out), and began to shred the meat. To say it was tender would be an understatement. Then the brisket came out. I felt this particular cut had been a bit dry and overcooked (and the chef concurred), but it was still decent. It perhaps just needed some of that tableside dipping sauce to moisten it up.


All in all, the class was informative and fun. It didn't surprise me that the participants were mostly men, whereas my classes consist almost exclusively of women. I suppose people consider barbeque more "manly" than other types of cooking. Manly or not, it is certainly one-sloooow-process, for which I'm not sure I have the patience. The results are great, but waiting 8 hours for some ribs to cook is not my kind of weekend activity. I think I'll leave the smoking to Bobby Q's.