The "barbecue
belt" of which many would say Texas is the buckle tragically
doesn't cross the border into New Mexico, where the enchantment which
permeates our skies, topography and capsaicin blessed cuisine doesn't
extend into barbecue (or for that matter, Italian food and seafood).
Good
barbecue is almost as scarce in our sun drenched state as is water.
With the exception of the long defunct Johnny Ray's, the Albuquerque
area has not had a truly outstanding barbecue restaurant for as long as
I can remember. If barbecue is an art form, Texas is painting
vivid masterpieces while New Mexico struggles to draw stick figures.
We did the Texas
two-step when we found out that a long time Albuquerque resident with
Texas roots had launched a new barbecue restaurant deep in the heart of
Yale Boulevard about halfway between the airport and the university.
The incomparably
alluring aroma of meats being prepared on a smoker hit us like a Texas
tornado even before we set foot in one of the most austere dining
establishments in town, a diminutive brick based facade about a mile
away from the University of New Mexico.
Alas,
Big John's BBQ didn't survive long at its Yale location. That may
have been in part because the edifice's owner was the Islamic Center
which prohibited the sale of pork. A second restaurant location,
on the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Iron Street, proved to be no
charm. The edifice which previously housed the Cafe Broadway has
seen the demise of several restaurants in short order.
In late January, 2007,
Big John's BBQ launched its operation in an area that makes a lot of
sense for proprietor Dennis
Johns and his family. His restaurant is now in close proximity to
the New Mexico State Fairgrounds where he offers smoked "State Fair"
turkey legs and fried chicken wings during the annual Fair extravaganza.
Nothing is quite as
tantalizing as the scent of aromatic smoke, a lesson Dennis Johns
learned from his uncle in Austin. He also learned that nothing
imbues meats with a smoky flavor as well as oak, a resin free hard wood.
Smokiness is indeed what sets apart the brisket at Big John's.
The restaurant's signage invites diners to "follow your nose to Big
John's" and indeed, the olfactory arousing smokiness is nearly
intoxicating. To many men it would make a great aftershave were it
not for the fact that it would leave them perpetually drooling.
Big John's smoker,
situated under a canopy to the restaurant's immediate east, is where
meats are imbued with that wonderful smokiness. Dennis tends
lovingly to the sauce burnished meats as they slowly take in the
aromatic properties of the oak under low heat and high smokiness.
Big John's knows barbecue!
The restaurant's
interior is somewhat austere, but one thing is immediately obvious.
The Johns family is proud of their Texas heritage. A large star
symbolizing the Lone Star state is displayed above the counter at which
diners place their orders. There's not much else on the walls.
Now
that Big John's can serve pork, the menu is no longer bare-bones
(forgive the bad pun). There are now thirteen lucky entrees on the
menu. Six of those entrees can be ordered as either a sandwich or
a plate and all plates are served with potato salad, barbecue beans and
Texas toast.
Non-barbecue items
include hamburgers and catfish. The popular State Fair turkey legs
are also available as is a whole rotisserie chicken.
In the spirit of a true
New Mexican, Big John's combination plate is called the "Lobo Plate" and
it's as much a winner as Don Flannagan's women's basketball team.
The Lobo plate comes with two meats except for beef ribs, turkey legs
and catfish.
Paper plates and
plastic dinnerware constitute your dining accoutrements. There's a
simple ordering protocol--walk up to the counter, peruse the paper menu,
pay the tally and take a seat. This is no four-star restaurant (at
least in conventional circles).
We aren't that
heartbroken over the exclusion of the beef ribs from the Lobo plate.
Although they're Fred Flintstone sized ribs, our experience is that the
futile exercise of gnawing at the ponderous bones returns little for
your effort. We just weren't able to extricate much meat from
them.
The pork ribs,
on the other hand, are succulent and meaty. Order a Lobo plate and
you're rewarded with two of these beauties. The pork is tender,
easy to remove from the bone and to masticate.
Spicy might be the best
description for the all-beef sausage. That's spicy as in
piquant and highly flavorful. These are among the very best
barbecue sausages we've had in New Mexico.
Brisket is king in
Texas and while that normally means beef brisket, at Big John's the
pork brisket might be even better than the beef brisket, but
both are smoke imbued stars, as good as we've had anywhere in
Albuquerque.
The chicken is moist, juicy
and delicious and I generally consider poultry to be unworthy of the
plumes of oak smoke.
Aside from the smoke
sanctification that permeates each meat, the other factor contributing
to the general excellence of Big John's barbecue is the sauce. The
sauce is slathered on generously, a practice upon which I generally
frown, but not at Big John's. That's because the sauce is boss!
It is tangy, piquant and just slightly sweet. You'll be sopping up
whatever is left over with your Texas toast...and you'll probably walk
out of the restaurant with a pint or quart of the wonderful stuff.
The potato salad
has the tart taste of dill pickles, eggs and potatoes playing perfect
three-part harmony, but even better are the barbecue beans.
Big John's offers only one dessert, but it's a good one--peach cobbler.
Follow your nose to Big
John's BBQ and 10,000 taste buds will thank you! Note:
Additional photo of Big Johns
here.
