I didn’t even know they had a Sterling location… so I have no idea.
My plan is to g to the Sterling location early Saturday, and possibly Big Bad Wolf later. Steve, what’s your window of time for Stafford Saturday afternoon?
I think my son and I wouldn’t be there before 4pm, at the very earliest.
I could consider Sterling for early Saturday. I would want to at least call them to see if they regularly run out of pork or brisket at that location.
Also, note: @Dean upthread specifically says that he prefers the Pit Stop location in Aldie to Sterling, in which case I may wait for the Middleburg Film Festival when I 'll be out there anyway.
Steve,
Sorry for my delay in getting back to. you.
My Saturday schedule got changed so I went to the Sterling location today (Friday). The pit man today, Ron, was the same person who cooks at Aldie. I imagine this son cooks at Sterling when Ron is at Aldie. Both places have the same all-wood smokers, all made by Ron.
I got ribs and brisket. The ribs were meaty, moist and smoky. I can see why they’re popular. They also have a sweet glaze, which I could do without. The brisket had a lot of smoke, but was on the dry side. I neglected to ask for moist end, and I think I’ve been spoiled by prime and wagyu.
I didn’t think much of either slaw or potato salad. The banana pudding is delicious.
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Thanks John! That raises another question: Can anyone point me to ANY barbecue sides ANYWHERE that are worth the calories? So many of them – beans, mac&cheese, slaw, tater salad, etc – are so very meh. So usually pickles is all I get.
Greens! They’re low in calories and very high in nutrition. Beyond that, I’d add a lot of things, like corn sticks, that may have a lot of calories but are the nectar of the gods
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I thought all the sides were excellent at Odd BBQ. I recall you were very enthusiastic.
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And hush puppies, in a NC-style place. Potato salad can be great, but usually isn’t at barbecue places.
I like coleslaw on a sandwich, which drowns out any nuance in the quality of the slaw.
For more Southern vegetable sides see https://www.southernthing.com/why-southerners-love-eating-veggies-2556968345.html
I was! I loved the ginger slaw – I don’t recall getting another side. I liked the cheese biscuits the sandwiches came on.
Another good side – Brunswick stew. You need to add a vinegar pepper sauce in NC, and sometimes elsewhere.
On my way to Fredericksburg, I found myself at Big Bad W. We got a pulled pork sandwich, baby back ribs (they also have spare ribs) and, just for the fun of it, a half smoke. I never met a half smoke I didn’t like.
Sides were mac n cheese, greens, beans, fried cabbage, cole slaw, and jambalya (!).
The pulled pork had nice flavor, with a faint sweetness and was maybe a tad dry. I put it firmly behind Odd BBQ, Rolling Rib, and Rocklands.
The baby back ribs didn’t have much flavor at all, and there was little bark to speak of.
The half smoke was not a great version, and I couldn’t tell how they cooked it.
The sides of cole slaw and greens were excellent, with the slaw nice and crunchy, easy on the cream. The collard greens had really nice texture and were plainly flavored, which is my preference: Greens for people who actually like greens.
Not really worth the trip, so go if it’s convenient for you. Did not try the spare ribs or brisket, so maybe there’s some gold to be discovered.
yep, they were a cut above, but we also shared them all so we got a few bites of each. In that amount, they were very good.
I was likely very hungry too!
To balance this out, maybe we should talk about places that aren’t the best barbecue in DC. I’ll mention a couple of places I ate at this summer.
(1) I finally ate at the original location of Smokin’ Kow in Alexandria (I’d previously eaten at its food truck and at its branch in Arlington). It looks right and there’s wood all over the place, but the barbecue is just fine, nothing exceptional. Just as a test, I stopped by Weenie Beenie the same afternoon and got their non-wood-cooked “barbecue” sandwich and it was excellent as always, far better than the purist wood-cooked barbecue at Smokin’ Kow.
That’s the Weenie Beenie barbecue sandwich, which was so good that I forgot to take a photo until it was mostly gone. No photo of Smokin’ Kow, however.
(2) Earlier in the summer, I’d had an excellent lunch with a friend at Zamarod, an Afghan restaurant in Great Falls. Right across the street is a barbecue place called Mookie’s, which I’d never heard of. Honestly, my response was, “Barbecue in Great Falls, naah, I’ll pass.”
But a couple of weeks later, I was listening to a legal podcast with Kannon Kanmugan, a partner at Paul Weiss, who heads up their Supreme Court practice. Kannon highly recommended Mookie’s, saying he has them cater his annual picnic for Paul Weiss summer associates and everyone loved it, including him. Kannon seemed like he had credibility. He grew up in Kansas City and his choices of his favorite KC places were credible.
So I thought I’d give Mookie’s a try. I was still skeptical enough not to want to inflict Great Falls barbecue on anyone with taste buds, so I invited along my friend Joe, who I (in a blatant ripoff of Calvin Trillin) call “the man with the Naugahyde palate.”
Joe got a turkey club sandwich.
Joe said it was a good turkey club sandwich, though to be fair I should mention that I’ve never known Joe to meet a turkey club sandwich that he did not like.
“Wait,” I can hear you thinking. "A barbecue place has a turkey club sandwich? Oh, right. It’s Great Falls, of course they do. "
I’m pretty sure our server had never eaten barbecue, but she was quite willing to convey my questions to the kitchen, and she reported back that they cook with a gas-wood hybrid cooker. I’m pretty sure that she also told me what kind of wood they use, but I don’t remember now.
I got the pulled pork and the brisket. The pulled pork was decent, not as good as Smokin’ Kow (or, Lord knows, Weenie Beenie), but good. It was the kind of sandwich that is very wet with a tasty sweet sauce, but the meat is smoky and porky enough to still be a part of the overall taste profile.
If you find yourself at a catered Great Falls picnic, I’d recommend Mookie’s pork sandwich over the turkey club.
The collards and coleslaw were very good; the cornbread was standard-issue Yankee cornbread, just slightly less sweet than poundcake.
The brisket was inedible. So dry and overcooked that not even a heavy drenching of sauce could make palatable.
I understand that Steve has also eaten at Mookie’s before and doesn’t plan to return.
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Weenie Beenie has two “sandwiches” i like. The NC Style BBQ sandwich and the half smoke w chili and onions.
Both are really good. Maybe not great but i enjoy them a lot!
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I 1005 agree with all you say except four words, “Maybe not great but.”
I’ve eaten at Weenie Beenie probably over a hundred times and I can only remember one time when I got something other than the pork sandwich with coleslaw and hot sauce and the half smoke with chili and onions
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Weenie Beenie was always a guilty pleasure for me. I would ask friends to go there with me and they reacted like i was asking them to a plague party.
“No, it is really good! Trust me!”
Sadly they seldom did so. LOL!
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So glad to hear that Weenie Beenie still around and cranking out good Eastern NC bbq sandos. It’s really out of my way but when I am even close I need to stop by.
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I occasionally get the Eastern NC BBQ available refrigerated at Harris Teeter. I forget the brand name, but it is actually smoked and it is actually from NC. I like that better than any NC style bbq I’ve had from a restaurant/stand in this area. Admittedly, it’s not my preferred style.
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Ha! Yeah, I’ve been there.
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Steve I think it’s “Brookwood Farms”? Yeah, it’s good in a pinch.
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