GUIDE
The Meat of the Matter Find your favorite barbecue at one of these local restaurants.
A
ll over the country, debates rage over what makes the best barbecue.
Cities and entire states are known for their barbecue fare, but the treatment of the meat—how it is smoked, dry-rubbed, or sauced—is what defines barbecue in that region (though what accompanies
After
the meat is important, too).
you’ve had
Kansas City boasts thick, dark and
a plate of
smoky sauces and dry-rubbed meat.
BBQ (left),
The Carolinas offer sauces ranging
you really
from vinegar-based (North Carolina) to
ought
mustard-based sauce (South Carolina), al-
to try
most always on pork. Memphis serves up
Wildwood
dry-rubbed ribs with no sauce, or wet ribs
Smoke-
dressed with tangy sauce before, during
house and
and after they cook. Texas cooks their
Saloon’s
beef low and slow, bringing the flavor of
Breaded
the fat into the meat and serving their
Iowa
sauce on the side.
Tenderloin
Iowa barbecue samples all of these
(below)
styles, offering you the chance to explore various flavor favorites from across the country in a single sitting. Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon 4919 Walleye Dr SE, Iowa City Best barbecue dish: Beef Brisket Recommended appetizer: Fried Pickles Scott Kading, owner of Gabe’s, recently reopened the aluminum behemoth on the outskirts of Iowa City, filling the calendar with musical acts and sustaining its reputation as a barbecue joint. The moist
ZAK NEUMANN
Beef Brisket is Iowa black Angus beef from Tama, boasting right on the menu that it’s
an extended menu compared to its origi-
Recommended side: Cheesy Potatoes
“so good you don’t need sauce.” Crispy
nal southeast Iowa City location, including
All the meats Q Dogs serves are smoked
frickles balance the smoky flavor with their
salads and smoked portobello. Still, this
“low and slow” with cherry wood, giving
brine.
barbecue enthusiast keeps ordering the
them a mild sweetness. While the ribs are
tender, slow-smoked chicken, soaking
a fan favorite because of this technique,
Jimmy Jack’s Rib Shack
each slice in the properly spicy-
the bizarre but charming one-off on the
745 Community Dr Ste F, North Liberty
sweet Chicago Fire sauce.
menu is the BBQ Sundae, featuring a smoked beans base, followed by a layer
1940 Lower Muscatine Rd, Iowa City Best barbecue dish: Smoked Chicken
Q Dogs BBQ Company
of apple cider slaw, topped with pulled
Recommended sauce: Chicago Fire
895 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Marion
pork and garnished with a pickle spear.
Jimmy Jack’s North Liberty location offers
Best barbecue dish: BBQ Sundae
Cornbread is served with it, but the shin-
34
BREAD & BUTTER 2020