[My ongoing series for 2016 continues ... with the FORTY-FIRST of FIFTY tastes of FLORIDA (coming to you on sequential Thursdays. All. Year. Long.)!]
Establishment: Blue Willy's BBQ
Location: Oakland Park
Meal: Dinner
Drink: can of Coke
Appetizer: n/a
Main: 2 Two Plate Combos (shared)
pulled pork and chicken on one and brisket and sausage on the other)
Side(s): Greens and Slaw PLUS Pit Smoked Beans and Mac N Cheese AND pickles and onions AND Aunt May's Corn Bread
Dessert: n/a
Server: Keesha (sp?)
Website: not applicable
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Blue-Willys-Bbq-411201845667321/
Who knew BBQ was a Ft. Lauderdale thing? This is the *third* such spot in this series ... but there would be many more if the "rules" weren't that we have to eat at places where we haven't eaten before to be included. Another note -- it's well documented that the only way to eat at a place like this is to take extra people so that you can sample (almost) every type of meat and (almost) every side, which explains the two full meals in the photos. One last note -- this place is known for being in a pastrami war with another bbq place previously reviewed, but it's only offered once a week, and it wasn't on the night we were there. To see how it fared in the overall bbq scheme of things, see below:
AMBIANCE: 10/10 (this particular location is relatively new, and it still shows ... and I've previously stated that I'm a fan of the limitless paper towels right on your picnic bench concept [see photo below] ... the music playing on the loudspeaker was an Eagles-ish kind of band that fit the environment [sadly there was no shazam to know exactly who it was] ... also it was actually a nice touch to be able to see one of the workers in the back room making the sides as we ate, confirming that they are indeed fresh)
FOOD: 8/10 (here's the way it often works for these bbq joints ... they have to work extra hard in order to win across the board with meats, sides AND sauces ... here, the sides were the stars, and the meats were worthy companions [with great portion sizes all around] -- with a special shout out to the chicken skin -- but the sauces were a bit 'meh', so a point lost ... and not to beat a bad sauce down, but there was a white one that just didn't quite make sense [a little watery and a little too vinegary] -- which is a second point lost)
SERVICE: 8/10 (as a counter service place, there's not a lot of interaction, but what there was was direct and to the point ... although there is a point docked because rib tips were the special of the day but they weren't allowed to be chosen as a meat on the combo plate, which made me sad ... and a second point lost because they ran out of the original specialty soda that my meal partner ordered)
BACON: 7/10 (bbq places and bacon don't always go together, although several previous bbq places on this countdown have found ways to score points in this category ... I kind of wished the greens HAD had some bacon in them, but I don't think they did ... all that said, there's a lot of the pig represented on the menu in other ways, so there are some points to be awarded in this oh so important category)
BONUS: 10/10 (+3 for the design of mistmatched chairs all along the picnic tables instead of benches, +3 for a really delicious corn bread that wasn't too sweet and didn't crumble when you ate it [corn bread pet peeves of mine], +3 for how quickly the food was served, and +1 for being a place to which we will return, because we can't stay away from those bbq establishments!)
TroyScore: 43 out of 50 -- aka 86, a solid B
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