The Grand Unified Theory of BBQ - LJ's BBQ

One of the things about BBQ is that you can not tell by the location how good or bad it is going to be. One of the best BBQ places I have ever been to was in a scary neighborhood and the shop had both bouncers and scratched shatter proof plexiglass over the windows.

So, when I saw LJ's location in a strip mall, I was more than hopeful. When you have the food, the location does not matter, and the opposite is true. When the food does not work, the location does not matter.



BBQ Joint: LJ's BBQ 727 East Ave, Pawtucket, RI

When you walk in, you see this sign:





Who is Frank J. Faubert? He apparently had created a program called "S.T.O.P Training" It is an interesting sign, and I suppose that random name being there did force me to take to the internets to find out what it meant, so...effective advertising for his program.

Anyway...the food:

Pulled Pork Sliders
Brisket Sandwich
Cole Slaw
Mac & Cheese
Corn Bread*

We (HJ77 from Sugar n Spice Blog was my wingman on this tasting) took the food to go, but that did not mean that we did not deal with the waitstaff who were helpful, enthusiastic and seemed to be having a lot of fun.



Pulled Pork Sliders

So, let's start with the Pulled Pork and the Slaw:

I love pulled pork and on the first two visits for the Grand Unified Theory of BBQ, I have been disappointed. This pork was flavorful, and the sauce of the side was very good (tangy and spicy) but again is was dry. More to the point, it was drier than it needed to be. Maybe I have just been lucky to find places where the pulled pork has consistently been moist and juicy without the need to a lot of sauce. I am not saying that this was "bad" or inedible. It was not. It is more that I had an expectation that I thought was reasonable that I am being forced to reevaluate.

The cole slaw, however, I will complain about. I have a thing for cole slaw and I think that if you are going to do it, you should do it well. It should be made on site and every place should have their own version. This was, I am guessing, not made on site but coming out of a large jar from Restaurant Depot. Just look? Does that look like fresh slaw? If you are going to offer it, I plead with you to offer it done "right".



Brisket and Corn Bread*

*I am going to just say this...I had corn bread because the Mac & Cheese was a premium side and was purchased separately. It was not bad corn bread. It was...corn bread. There is a scene from season one of True Blood where Lafayette and Tara are cleaning up after Sookie's grandmother's funeral, and talking about food. Saying that food has to be made with love and that love comes through the cooking and infuses itself into the food**. Lafayette then mentions the corn bread, prompting Tara to take a bite and state, "It tastes fine to me."

That is all I have to say about corn bread. (My note on the corn bread said "Jiffy. Enough said.")

Now, the brisket...

The brisket is something to write home about. The brisket is something to slap your mother for. The brisket could help you believe that there were WMD in Iraq. The brisket was perfect. It was flavorful, smokey, rich and fatty, and the same sauce that was used with the pulled pork was so well paired to make it make it a symphony of flavors in your mouth. I would not be surprised if this end up being the best brisket I have during this experiment. It is worth the trip from any place in the Northeast.


The "premium" Mac & Cheese

I keep harping on the term "premium" here, but that is mostly snark on my part. Many times, I have expressed that mac & cheese is a foundation side for BBQ. This was good. It was not great. It was a very good homestyle mac & cheese, and it was made with love and care, and that did come through.

As we did take out, we were able to pair the meal with the beer of our choice. Because it was a hot summer day, fruit infused beer did not seem like a bad idea. It wasn't.


Sea Dog Motley Crew

We went with the sampler pack from Maine's Sea Dog Brewing. It was tasty, and the Blue Paw Wheat Ale is the most blueberry-ie beer I have ever had. It matched so well with the deliciousness that was the brisket.


The meal put together...

All in all, even though I was critical, the meal was good, and a perfect summer meal, with one exception. Sweet corn would have been a nice addition, and it is my fault entirely for forgetting this. It was also a lot of food for very little cost.

The Score: Using my ten point scale, I give LJ's a 6.75. It is worth the trip, as I have said, for the brisket alone.

The Cost (without gratuity): $20.95


**I am a firm believer that there is a link between the time and care that you take with the food and the result that you deliver to the table. I know some people who aren't.