By Jim Duncan
CVFDude@aol.com
The evolution of barbecue
 |
When Pigs Fly
4640 N.W. 86th St.
278-9777
Tues. - Sun.: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. |
Barbecue has been the fastest-growing
restaurant genre in Des Moines
for more than two years. That
trend now appears to have reached
a turning point — it’s either
flowing into the mainstream or
burning out. Four new Q’s opened
this year — in Ankeny alone. The
number of openings, however, does
not mean a new cuisine has been
embraced — remember frozen yogurt?
At least four area barbecues closed
recently, too. A cuisine type
officially “arrives” in Iowa when
it’s redefined by other food cultures.
German cuisine became Iowan after
a pair of world wars erased German
language references from our food
vocabulary, and “wiener schnitzel”
and “kraut” morphed into pork
tenderloin and cole slaw. “Chinese”
went mainstream after Hy-Vee put
its sweetened version in its delis.
“Mexican” mainlined Middle America
with taco pizza and Cheese Whiz
nachos.
Recent events on 86th Street
send conflicting signals about
the future of barbecue in Des
Moines. In Cobblestone Square,
Best BBQ brought the area’s first
Balkan barbecue, with Southern-smoked
meats and Bosnian drinks. Before
we could review the place, it
remodeled and reopened — but without
any barbecue. It’s now The Garage,
a video-intense tavern experience
with loose meat sandwiches and
hot dogs.
Further north, When Pigs Fly
presents what might well be Q’s
entrance into the mainstream.
It’s certainly the most sanitized
version of the smokehouse cult.
In fact, on three trips there,
we never smelled smoke, let alone
worried about it burning our eyes.
A cute pig logo, plus R&B
wall posters, suggested a Deep
South smokehouse experience, but
the menu rode a wider range that
included beef brisket, chicken,
sausage, ribs, boneless ham and
turkey breast products, in addition
to the pulled pork shoulders one
expects from Southern Q.
When Pigs Fly is a good introduction
to barbecue for those who aren’t
really sure if they like the flavor
of smoked meat. Only the slightest
smoke could be detected, and only
on some meats. Smoke rings were
even less evident. Brisket and
ribs had a little smoke flavor,
but chicken tasted more like it
had been baked then barbecued.
Our request for freshly sliced
brisket brought generous portions
that appeared to have been pulled
off of charred ends. In places
where brisket is king, “sliced”
means cut against the grain, like
corned beef brisket usually is,
and it never means burnt ends.
A second, unspecified order, ironically,
brought correctly sliced brisket.
The meat on St. Louis ribs clung
to the bone, even when scraped
with a knife. Pulled pork was
quite moist and well seasoned.
Sausage had the most smoke flavor
— curiously, since it needs the
least time in the smoker. Dark
chicken was juicy, while the breast
was dry — the usual trade-off
when chickens are prepared whole
or halved.
Barbecue here is best defined
by sauces, served on the side,
in sweet and sweet-spicy varieties,
more Mid-American than Southern.
All food orders included a delightful
self-serve pickle buffet. Cole
slaw came from the mayo, not the
vinegar side of the continental
Q divide. So did the potato salad.
Baked beans were sweet as Bush’s,
but much meatier. On three straight
occasions, fried okra was unavailable.
Our peach cobbler had neither
bottom nor top crust, and its
pastry bits had a consistency
more like muffins than biscuits.
That could have been confused
in a microwave. Our cobbler was
served in a bowl in which tongue-burning
heat rendered a virtual pudding.
Sweet potato pie and bread pudding
were far more traditional, at
least when ordered “unheated.”
In the most striking redefinition
of the barbecue genre, wine was
available, as well as beer.
Food Skinny
A new barbecue/soul food café
at Northland General Store has
been delayed by the challenges
of connecting modern grease traps
to the building’s 19th century
infrastructure… The Bandana BBQ
chain (301 E. First,, Ankeny)
is planning three more stores
in Central Iowa. CV
Comment
on this story | Return
to top |
