Barefoot BBQ

On a beautiful afternoon in Seaside, Florida, my wife and I visited the downtown square after a day at the beach.  On the square, there are several Windstream trailers that serve food.  I had not had lunch yet, so I decided to grab some grub while my wife and daughters went to off spend some of my hard earned money.  One of the trailers that looked good was Barefoot BBQ.  The menu looked good and it had been highly rated on a couple of sites, so I decided to give it a try.

I ordered the brisket sandwich with corn on the cob and mac and cheese.  Figuring this might not fill me up, I also ordered a bucket of ribs.  The brisket sandwich came on toasted white bread.  I had never had it served this way, but it intrigued me.  Sadly, the sandwich was absolutely one of the worst I have had.  The meat was tough and didn't have even a hint of smoke to it.  The sides were terrible as well.  I held out hope for the ribs, but they too disappointed me.  The rub was decent, but they were tough, undercooked, and didn't have any smokey flavor.

Brisket Sandwich, Corn, and Mac & Cheese 

Pork Ribs

Lesson learned.  If you want good barbecue, stick to Texas.  I have had barbecue in other places such as the North Carolina, Kansas City, and St. Louis.  Although some of it was good, nothing compares to good barbecue in Texas.  It was certainly a far cry from some that I recently had on a trip to Austin at Franklin Barbecue, John Mueller Meat Co., and Freedmen's Bar.  Barefoot Barbecue may have been the worst barbecue I have ever had.  It was so bad, it even made Dickey's and Spring Creek seem like good barbecue joints.  There are some wonderful restaurants in the Seaside area, but this is not one of them.

Barefoot BBQ
https://www.facebook.com/barefootbbq
Livin the Good Life Rating = 1

Seagrove Village Market Cafe

While vacationing with my wife's family in Florida, my two brother-in-laws visited a place in Seagrove Beach that they said had the best po' boy they have ever had.  The place was called Seagrove Village Market Cafe and they had a grouper sandwich that they said was amazing.  In fact, Garden and Gun Magazine claimed their grouper sandwich was one of the 100 Southern Foods You Must Eat Before You Die.  Although I have never heard of the magazine before, I assumed it had to be credible because it combined two of America's favorite things; food and firearms.  If that isn't a high enough endorsement for you, the cafe has also been featured in Southern Living,  Travel + Leisure, and Coastal Living.  

Entrance to the Cafe 

My wife and her mom

The restaurant has been around since 1949, which makes it one of the oldest restaurants in the area.  The place certainly lived up to they hype of my brother-in-laws and we actually ate here twice.  After sampling the fare, I regret that I did not eat here a third or fourth time during our visit.  During our first visit, I ordered the blackened grouper po'boy and it truly was the best po'boy I have ever had.  It was perfectly blackened and served on a bun with horseradish spiced cole slaw.  It was served with some very good fries, but they played second fiddle to this great sandwich.  This sandwich was slap-ya-momma good.  My wife got the blackened shrimp po' boy.  She let me have a bite and it was very good, but not as good as the grouper.  I also ordered a side of hush puppies, which were some of the best I have ever had.

Blackened Grouper Po' Boy-Best Po' Boy I have ever had

Blackened Shrimp Po' Boy

During a second visit, my wife got the the blackened grouper po' boy and I got the fried grouper basket with fries and slaw.  The fried grouper was some of the best fried fish I have ever had, but it paled in comparison to the grouper po' boy.  The fish was very light, with a flavorful and crispy batter.

Fried Grouper Basket

Some fantastic hushpuppies

This place was very busy during each of our visits, but the food is quickly served and you can be eating your food within 5-10 minutes.  The menu is pretty basic, but the items they have are fantastic.  My wife and I even joked that it would be worth the 12 1/2 hour drive just to eat this sandwich again.  

Seagrove Village Market Cafe
http://seagrovevillagemarket.com/
3004 Highway 395
Seagrove Beach Florida
Livin the Good Life Rating = 5

Bud and Alley's Waterfront Restaurant and Rooftop Bar

Last week, my family and I took our first ever trip to Florida.  The vacation meant fun at the beach for my wife and kids.  For me, it meant chowing down on great seafood.  We stayed in the Seagrove Beach area of the Florida Panhandle, so their was no shortage of seafood restaurants in the vicinity.  Before leaving, we solicited the advice of our friends and the Internet wizard known as Google.  One of the places that came highly recommended was Bud and Alley's Waterfront Restaurant and Rooftop Bar.  Several friends recommended this place and it was highly rated on several Internet sites.

Dining Room 

View from our window seat

The restaurant also had a great outdoor dining area

In full disclosure, we actually ate at this restaurant twice.  I am telling you this, because I don't want you to look at all the pictures and start judging my wife and I for being gluttons.  During our two visits, I was able to try one of the best soups I have ever had.  On one visit, the soup of the day was jerk chicken soup.  It reminded me a lot of gumbo, but was much spicier than gumbo due to the jerk seasoning.  Contrary to what my wife says, the soup gets its name from the Caribbean spice used and was not named after me.  We also had the fried crab claws, which were served with cocktail sauce and a very good remoulade.  I could have made a meal of these by themselves and been happy.

Jerk Chicken Soup

Delicious Fried Crab Claws

For main courses, I had the crab cakes one time and the grilled black grouper on another visit.  The crab cakes were good, but not the best I have had.  I ordered a side of blacked eyed peas to go with them and I was very impressed with this side that included large pieces of ham hock.  The grilled black grouper was fantastic. It was served on herbed basmati rice and surrounded by stewed butter peas.  The rice was very good, but the butter peas were very bland.  I also ordered a side of jalapeño cheddar corn bread and it was some of the best cornbread I have ever had.

Crab Cakes

Grilled Black Grouper

Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Bread

My wife ordered the seared diver scallops on the first visit and the lobster tacos on the second visit.  She let me try the scallops and they were perhaps the best scallops I have ever had.  They were served on a bed of grits which were delicious.  As for the lobster tacos, she chose not to share these with me.  I can only assume that they must have been delicious.

Diver Sea Scallops on a bed of grits

Lobster Tacos

Despite being extremely full, we did order the key lime pie during one visit.  It was delicious and quite refreshing.  The tart filling was offset nicely by the graham cracker crust.  During both visits, the service was great, the seafood was fresh, and the views were second-to-none.  It was expensive, but quality seafood.  If you are ever in the Seaside area, I recommend you stop by if you like good seafood with a nice view.

Key Lime Pie

Bud and Alley's Waterfront Restaurant and Rooftop Bar
http://www.budandalleys.com/
2236 East County Road 30-A
Seaside, Florida
Livin the Good Life Rating = 3

Franklin Barbecue

Me reading a book in a lawn chair as I await the opening of Franklin Barbecue

On my final day in Austin, I had one more stop to make.  A colleague and I decided that we were going to brave the lines and go on a pilgrimage to the Mecca of Smoke Meats, also known as Franklin Barbecue.  Texas Monthly recently listed it as the #1 Barbecue Joint in Texas.  Bon Appetit Magazine claims that Franklin Barbecue is the #1 Barbecue Joint in America.   Franklin Barbecue has also been featured on the Travel Channel's No Reservations, The New York Times, and Southern Living.  

We were happy that we were number 5 and 6 in line behind these stylish and classy gentlemen

I had heard rumors of four hour waits for Franklin Barbecue and my colleague suggested we get there as close to 8 a.m. as possible. We arrived at 8:15 and were the 5th and 6th people in line.  We sat our lawn chairs down and prepared to sit and read for the next 2 hours and 45 minutes.  By 10 a.m., the line was over 250 people deep and stretched far beyond the parking lot.  I finished the latest David Baldacci book a few minutes before the 11 a.m. opening and I was ready to eat some barbecue.  Right before we entered the restaurant, we had a Johnny Come Lately offer us $100 to buy him a barbecue sandwich so he didn't have to stand in line.  We declined his offer from an ethical standpoint, but I can't say that we were not tempted by his offer.

By 10 a.m., the line stretched through the entire parking lot

While ordering, they give customers samples of burnt ends.  One bite of the burnt end was all it took for me to realize that this brisket was going to be a real treat.  I ordered the two meat plate with brisket and ribs, but I added a sausage link.  For sides, I  ordered the beans and cole slaw.  Since I waited almost three hours to order, I went ahead and got two pounds of brisket and two pounds of turkey to go.

Aaron Franklin himself greeting the first customer of the day

The brisket was absolutely the best I had ever had.  It was smoky with an excellent bark and was very moist.  The ribs were good and had a sweet flavor to the rub.  The sausage was not very remarkable in comparison to the brisket, but was still pretty good.  I also snuck into to my to-go order and pulled out some of the turkey to try.  Much like the brisket, it was the best smoked turkey I have ever had.  It was perfectly smoked, moist, and had a nice pepper rub on the outside.  Even the beans and cole slaw were fantastic.  I am not usually a fan of cole slaw, but I would eat this cole slaw any day.  To finish off the meal, I tried the bourbon banana pie.  It had a graham cracker crust with a flavorful banana pudding filling.

Brisket, ribs, and sausage with beans and cole slaw.

Bourbon Banana Pie

After sampling the goods, I can now see how this place earned the reputation that it has.  Aaron Franklin truly is the Meat Whisperer. Would I wait in line for almost three hours again with the knowledge that there is extremely high quality barbecue down the road at John Mueller Meat Co. and Freedmen's Bar?  Probably not.  Would I let you wait in line for me at Franklin Barbecue and buy 10 pounds of meat for me?  Absolutely!

Next time, I will call early enough in advance to take advantage of the pre-order opportunity that Aaron Franklin offers.  If you order five pounds or more, you can skip the lines and go get your food at 10:30.  Unfortunately, they limit their number of pre-orders per day and our calling two weeks ahead of time was not early enough.  Apparently these pre-orders get booked a month in advance or more.  If you get the opportunity and have the time, I recommend trying this place.

Franklin Barbecue
http://franklinbarbecue.com/
900 East 11th St.
Austin, TX
Livin the Good Life Rating = 5

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

At some point during my trip to Austin, I had to take a break from barbecue.  As much as I love barbecue, there are times I crave carbs.  On my last night in Austin, I decided a burger and fries were in order, so I started Googling to see if I could find the top rated burger joint in Austin.  Several publications listed Hopdoddy Burger Bar as the best in Austin, so I took the short mile and a half walk to Hopdoddy from my hotel.  I also knew that they had recently opened a location in Dallas.   Although several friends and acquaintances had recommended this place, but I had not been able to try it yet.

Apparently I was destined for lines in Austin

After the short walk, I arrived at Hopdoddy and saw that there was a line out the door.  I figured this had to be a good sign that this might be an awesome hamburger spot.  There were about forty people in front of me in line, but I finally made it the register and ordered after about a twenty minute wait.  I ordered the classic burger and the truffle fries.

And the line continued inside for another 20 yards

After finding my table assigned to me, the waitress brought my order out very quickly.  The first thing I noticed was that the burger was very small.  I could have easily consumed the entire thing in less than six bites.  The burger itself was pretty good, but not "out of this world" great.  The only remarkable thing about the burger was the "sassy" sauce, which had a nice flavor to it.  The truffle fries were very good, but the serving size was also small.

Classic Burger 

Truffle Fries

Overall, I was not impressed with Hopdoddy Burger Bar.  It was a decent burger, but I can easily think of seven DFW burger places I would prefer over this place.  It was a good hamburger, but far from great.  Since there seems to still be a lot of hype about this place in both Dallas and Austin, perhaps they should just change the name to "Hypedoddy" instead.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

http://www.hopdoddy.com/

1400 S. Congress Ave.

Austin, TX

Livin the Good Life Rating= 2

John Mueller Meat Co.

Barbecue stop number three in Austin was John Mueller Meat Co. After opening up his own place this year after a business split that he had with his sister, John Mueller Meat Co. has been getting a lot of buzz. Texas Monthly included this joint in its list of the 50 Best Barbecue Joints in Texas and his barbecue has been praised in the New York Times. A buddy and I arrived there 20 minutes prior to opening and were some of the first in line. While waiting in line, we visited with a nice couple from Wyoming who were visiting Texas in order to eat at as many good barbecue joints as possible.  That is a vacation worth remembering in my opinion.

Where the magic happens

Since we were some of the first in line, we got to sit in the shade and watch the steady line of customers.

Together we ordered 1/2 pound of brisket, 1/2 pound of beef sausage, 1/2 pound of turkey, and 1 pound of beef ribs. All of the meat was absolutely terrific, perfectly smoked, and heavily peppered. The beef rib was one of the best I have ever had. The brisket and turkey were of very high quality as well. The highlight on this particular visit might have been the beef sausage.  It was very flavorful, smoked well, and had a nice snap to it.  For a side, I got the baked squash which was very cheesy and very tasty. My buddy had the beans and said they were good with a nice kick.

Beef Ribs, Beef Sausage, and Baked Squash 

Brisket, Turkey, and Beans

This was easily one of the top five barbecue experiences in my life. The barbecue was so good, we didn't even mind the fact that that we were sitting outside in the June heat and humidity in Austin. I could have easily gone back and taken a nap because I felt a meat coma coming on, but I was able to go back to my conference and finish the afternoon sessions.  John Mueller claims that he is a cook and not a pitmaster or a pit boss. Whatever you want to call him, he serves up some mighty fine barbecue.  This is the third Austin barbecue restaurant I had visited on this trip and it is the third restaurant I would recommend to you guys!

Beef Rib Before

Beef Rib After

John Mueller Meat Co.

http://www.johnmuellermeatco.com/home/index.html

2500 E. 6th St.

Austin, TX

Livin The Good Life Rating =5

Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew

If you haven't already figured it out from reading my blog, I love barbecue. When I received my most recent copy of Texas Monthly, I was excited to try several of the newer places in Austin that made their list of the Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas. Lucky for me, I was attending a conference located in Austin. One of the joints that made the top 50 was Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew, so I dragged some colleagues of mine there one night after our conference.

Unlike most of the acclaimed Austin barbecue joints, this one stays open for dinner. As soon as you walk into the building, the cafeteria style line takes you closer to the smells of smoked meat. I ordered the three meat plate of brisket, turkey, and pork ribs. I also added a link of the Switch original sausage. For my sides I ordered mac and cheese and beans. My colleagues and I sat down in anticipation of barbecue that looked and smelled great.

Switch Original Sausage

Now the only thing left, was the taste test. The brisket was very good with a thin layer of fat at the top. It was well smoked with one of the thickest smoke rings I have seen on a brisket.   The pork ribs were top notch as well. They came of the bone easily and had a flavor that was both sweet and peppery. The Switch original sausage was fantastic and lived up to the designation of it being "hot and spicy." It tasted similar to a hot link, but had the consistency of sausage and looked like sausage. The one disappointing meat was the turkey. It was very moist, but you could barely taste the smoke. The mac and cheese was great, but the beans were average at best.

Brisket, Pork Ribs, Turkey, Beans, and Mac n' Cheese

After this visit, I can see how this place made the Texas Monthly Top 50. Three of the four meats were fantastic and although I didn't use much of the sauce, it was thin and flavorful. I see the popularity of this joint increasing significantly over the next few months. It wasn't packed while we were there, but the crowd was pretty steady. The staff was friendly as well and even gave one of my friends a sample of the meat before she ordered it. Friendly service and good food will have me coming back and I recommend this place to anyone who doesn't like waiting in lines at some of the other Austin establishments.

Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew

http://www.stilesswitchbbq.com/static/

Livin The Good Life Rating= 3

Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill

While in Austin for a conference, I went to lunch with some colleagues at Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill. This restaurant is one that I go to almost every year that I attend the conference.  Besides serving up some great Southern dishes, it is literally right across the street from the convention center. It usually gets packed around lunch, so we usually try to get there early. They have a large outdoor patio, but the five of us elected to eat indoors and enjoy the air conditioning.

Seasoned popcorn to snack on while looking over the menu

The restaurant always gives a bucket of seasoned popcorn for the table to snack on. We also elected to try the shrimp corn dogs for an appetizer. They were tasty and served with a spicy mustard dipping sauce. They were two distinct tastes that seemed like they did not go together, yet they did somehow. 

Shrimp Corndogs

Everyone else in my group elected to split sandwiches, but I was not going to let these slackers ruin my meal. I went ahead and ordered the chicken fried steak with chipotle gravy. It came with steamed carrots, zucchini, and Parmesan squash. I also elected to get a side of red beans and rice. The chicken fried steak was better than average, but not as good as some recent ones I have dined on. The gravy did not have any seasoning to it that even hinted at chipotle, but it was a very good size portion of chicken fried steak. The veggies were the surprise highlight of the meal and I particularly liked the red beans and rice.

Chicken Fried Steak with Chipotle Gravy

To conclude the meal, we ordered the bread pudding and shared it between the five of us. I am not usually a big fan of bread pudding, but this was a really good dessert. Although I was a little disappointed in the chicken fried steak, the rest o the meal was great. Moonshine is one of my favorite restaurants in the area and I will be back again.

Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill 

http://www.moonshinegrill.com/ 

303 Red River St. 

Austin, TX 

Livin the Good Life Rating = 4