The “crusty macaroni & cheese” was okay, nothing stellar, but it was nice and crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. With all the other flavors on the table, the mac ‘n’ cheese was just a bit too bland for me.
So there I was sitting under the big moose and asking the server a bunch of questions about the menu. She talked me into the Chicken Breast BBQ special with a choice of one side dish for $6.99—this comes served with the sweet sauce. With that, I ordered a tall, frosty glass of iced tea ($2.49). Please don’t get me wrong, the chicken was great. It was a heaping pile of tender, white breast meat sitting there in lovely communion with the barbeque sauce (you know how I am about sauces)—but it just didn’t satisfy my barbeque-tooth.
Do you ever get a “barbeque tooth?” That’s like a sweet tooth for baby back pork ribs. Or, have you ever been somewhere either walking or driving and you pick up the scent of something being roasted over a wood fire? You know, it’s a primal memory when your mind begins to conjure up images of juicy, tender, sauce-laden, succulent pieces of meat.
Halfway through my meal, I beckoned the server over and ordered a small order of BBQ ribs ($6.99). It was a culinary imperative, ah, you know, for research. The ribs? Perfect in every way—tender, juicy, meaty and satisfying.
After driving by to check out the extensive renovations being done on the restaurant space on the corner of Fifth and Washington in Hillcrest and then driving by and catching whiffs of smoked meat, I finally got a chance to stop in to Brazen BBQ Smokehouse & Bar for lunch yesterday.
In Duluth, many people go to Famous Dave’s in Canal Park for barbecue food. But plans to open a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit franchise in Duluth could mean competition for the restaurant. (Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com)