Review: Home Team BBQ - Greenville, SC

Greenville is trying to get into the BBQ game, and Home Team BBQ is the latest to come to town. Opening up just down the street from Moe's Original BBQ, Stone Ave/Laurens Rd is going to need to be repaved from all of the traffic from me alone.

Home Team started down in Charleston and has quickly expanded throughout the state, so it's a name I am very familiar with ... and that name is linked to good BBQ.

The Greenville location opened up about 2 weeks ago and I've already been twice (once without my wife to her displeasure, but she's paying me back by going without me tonight).

It looks like this is going to be a cool area with Home Team and a local brewery next door. The parking lot is already too small for the amount of people that's going to be here. I don't know if there's plans to expand it, but it gets completely packed with the current crowd just for Home Team, it'll be an even bigger nightmare once the brewery opens up.

We walked in and were told that there was an hour wait, but we were committed. We went up to the bar to grab a drink and a couple stood up, so we swooped in and sat down. Immediately we noticed everybody ordering these frozen slushy looking drinks but had no clue what they were. We ended up asking one of the bartenders and she said it was their "Gamechanger" and brought us two samples. I wasn't a huge fan of the coffee one, not a big surprise since I hate coffee, but D loved it and the orange one was amazing. It would be awesome to have while sitting out by the pool on one of these upcoming hot Southern Summer days.

D ordered the pulled chicken sandwich, and said it was one of the best she's ever had. She even said it was better than my pulled pork. Honestly, it was pretty dang good.

We both got the baked beans, because they were out of mac n cheese, and right now, I can't think of better baked beans in Greenville. They're about 50/50 beans to meat. They should be called "BBQ soup".

Obviously since I just said it, I had the pulled pork, and thought it was a home run. I added the spicy and red sauce. The spicy is a mustard base, I know, I know "but that's what South Carolina BBQ is known for." Yeah, and I still don't like it. It really isn't an over powering mustard, but every now and then you just get that mustard hint and, I'm just not a fan. The red sauce is really good, and don't worry, I cleaned the plate.

I couldn't leave my first visit to just one single thing, so I also ordered one of the jalapeno cheddar sausage links. We were fighting over who got how much of it. This thing is good.

With our first visit a success, I was meeting a coworker a few days later to prospect around town, so I told him to meet me for lunch. He's originally from NY and said he only gets good BBQ when he goes with me.

I got there a little early and ordered the tater tots, because I was absolutely starving. Greenville has an unspoken tot battle going on, and Home Team definitely has a place in that fight. Most BBQ restaurants will put their rub on them, which is delicious, but Home Team has some type of herb mix that they use.

For round 2 I had to try their ribs, and they had mac n cheese this time so that was a must.

I'm just going to rip the bandaid off ... the ribs fell short. The first issue was, they didn't remove the membrane. Some restaurants do, some don't because it takes some time to pull it off. It's just a pain trying to eat around it. Then they were tough. I'm not really sure if they were cooked at a higher temp or what. They were a little more "fall off the bone" in some areas, which usually means over-cooked, but tough in others, which is typical for under-cooked. Maybe the different cuts came from different racks. I'm not sure, but they just weren't a hit. I'll try them again. It could have been a bad rack or bad cook. Sometimes that happens.

Now the mac n cheese. My only complaint is that all I get is that little bitty container of it. I need a Thanksgiving at Grandma's portion where it's 50% of my plate, and then I go back for seconds and it's just another plate of mac n cheese. Yes, it's that good.

The location is awesome, the environment is awesome, the people are awesome, the drinks are awesome, and the food, for the most part, is awesome. We're definitely going to have a debate in the future when we're out and want some BBQ.

Review: Moe's Original BBQ, Greenville, SC

We were on our way to see the house and wanted to try something different for lunch. We were on our way to a new pizza restaurant, but when we pulled up and saw Moe's Original BBQ a few doors down, we changed course.

It looks like Moe's is a bit of a chain at this point, but it looks like they're doing it the right way. Obviously I don't know their business model, but it looks like they've grown organically through Alabama and are now expanding to other states.

We ordered and went out and sat on the patio while they prepared our trays, and on the way out Dawn says, "If it's half as good as it smells then I can't wait."

Well, it was all as good as it smelled.

She ordered the Smoked Turkey sandwich with Cheese Grits and Banana Pudding. Yes, they have Banana Pudding as a side. The Smoked Turkey was some of the best either of us have ever had (minus mine for Thanksgiving). I didn't try the sauce (they're Alabama based so they use white sauce too), but Dawn said it was really good. The cheese grits were great, but be honest, nobody cares about the cheese grits. The banana pudding ended up being dessert, and I can't confirm that it was good, but she licked the inside of the cup.

I did the Pulled Pork sandwich with baked beans and mac and cheese. I mean, if you're going to claim to be a legit BBQ restaurant you have to be able to make those 3 things pretty good.

Their red sauce is a vinegar base, and that for me can get dangerous. It's a hit or miss. Moe's red sauce is a hit. You get just enough to taste the vinegar, but it's not swimming in sauce so much your mouth dries out. Baked beans are the same for me. You can either have terrible beans, yeah ok these are baked beans, or some that make you keep going back. I'm not a huge bean fan, but I actually went back for more once I cleaned the rest of my tray and was borderline stuffed. The mac and cheese I could have eaten an entire meal of. It's one of the top mac and cheeses in the upstate I would say. There's really nothing "special" about it, but dang it's just good.

With it being in the location that it is, and they have outdoor seating so we can take Rhett, this may now be our go-to BBQ restaurant in Greenville.

Review: Monkey Wrench Smokehouse, Travelers Rest, SC

We finally made it out to the local Craft Axe Throwing (insanely fun) place for my birthday, and afterwards decided to head into TR (pronounced "Tee" "Arah") for dinner. I kept hearing mixed reviews from friends and family, but figured it was time to try out Monkey Wrench Smokehouse.

We went with some friends, so we decided to do this community style. The girls split the smoked BBQ potato, and both really liked it. I mean, what's not to like about a smoked potato with all of the fixings and BBQ inside?

The guys got The Smokehouse, which is their super combo plate. It comes with pulled pork, brisket, half rack of ribs, wings, sausage, cornbread, and chose to go with the mac 'n' cheese, hushpuppies, and potato salad for our 3 sides. 

The only way to really review this honking display of food is to go one by one, so starting bottom left and making our way around ... 

Brisket - The rub is really good, and the flavor on the outside with the smoke was good. It was cooked way over though, and even being cut nearly a 1/4 inch thick (maybe wider), it still just fell a part. The inside just tasted like roast beef. Brisket is supposed to be cut in slices, not slabs.

Pulled Pork - Flavor and texture on the pork was really good.

Ribs - These were actually cooked extremely close to accurate temp. They were a hair over. Still held together, but fell off a little more than "nailed it" (we're talking about 15 minutes). My biggest issue with them is they were just absolutely caked in sauce. Usually the sauce, if added, is added towards the end of the cook so it'll hold to the meat, but these were just dripping. 15 years ago, I would have rolled around in these.

Wings - The wings were delicious. They could add more of the seasoning/rub to them, but it's smoked wings and that's always a good thing.

Hot Link Sausage - If I said it was overcooked, it would be an extreme understatement. This thing looked and tasted like it'd been cooked about 5 times. I don't know if this isn't a big seller for them, so maybe it's stuck around for a while, but absolutely obliterated. It reminded me of the turkey from Christmas Vacation.

Cornbread - It wasn't complete opposite of the sausage, but it could have stayed in the oven another couple of minutes. There were pieces just a hair under.

Potato Salad - I don't eat it, so I don't have a clue. I believe the others liked it though.

Hushpuppies - You can see from the picture, they were overdone as well. They weren't loaded down with onions like some places do, so they were still good.

Mac 'n' Cheese - A little on the greasy side, but good. Mac 'n' cheese is one of those, it's hard to make bad, but it's hard to blow your mind (unless you make mine).

So that was our experience. Some good, some bad, a whole lot of inconsistencies with cook times. I think the flavor of the food over all was pretty good, but take brisket off the menu if you're going to cut it that thick (before someone from Texas comes in and laughs at SC), and just tweak everything else.

I feel like I'm being a little more critical and harsh here than I usually am, but my home town has been a small town my whole life and is trying to turn into a "foody" spot with numerous new modern restaurants opening the last few years. Even before this recent development took place, it desperately needed and deserved a good BBQ restaurant. Monkey Wrench is going to be successful because of their location, it's a fun little area, you can enjoy a cold beer and entertainment outside, and the food is good enough. Is it the BBQ joint to bring people to and remember TR for? I don't believe so.

Juicy Lucia Burgers

We've been making the same ol' normal burgers lately, so it was time to get fancy again. Opened up Adam Richman's Straight Up Tasty and found the "Juicy Lucia".

Mix a pound of sausage with a pound of ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic. The recipe calls for liquid smoke (I'm giving a very judgmental stare right now).

Roast a red pepper.

On the side I made the grilled fingerling potatoes from Melissa Cookston's Smokin' Hot in the South. Slice the potatoes and then add salt, pepper, olive oil, tarragon, and garlic and mix up.

I added a little tinfoil pack of pecan wood chips and then threw them on the grill.

Once the patties are made add basil, mozzarella, and the chopped roasted peppers before adding the top layer of meat to seal in the goody.

Looking back, maybe I should have made the patties and filling a little thinner.

I'm not a big pepper fan because I don't feel they add a whole lot to most things. I was picking up pieces of the roasted red pepper that would fall out and stuck them back in/on by burger to eat. They added a little sweetness kick to all of the flavors from the beef and sausage patties. I did cook them a little further than I would have liked. Being as thick as they are, it was really hard to get a good idea on the cook. Even with that, I would say this is a top 5 burger that I've ever cooked. The flavor is amazing.

As for the fingerling potatoes, they were absolutely delicious. I wish I would have stirred them while they were cooking. Some potatoes got more smoke than the others, so it would have been better to even that out.

Second cookbook creation of the year, and second meal that will be created again.

Happy Lasagna

For Christmas the wifey asked for The Happy Cookbook by Steve and Kathy Doocy. We really hadn't been cooking that many new things lately so that's part of the reason I haven't been posting, but with the new cookbook I thought it was time to get back to both. First up is what's called "Engagement Lasagna".

I'm obviously out of practice of taking pictures for posts since I didn't do a full ingredients picture, but we'll just have to explain on the way through.

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a skillet add EVOO, garlic, and diced onion. The recipe calls for an entire onion I believe, but I only went with half. I may have also intentionally not cleaned out all of the bacon fat from breakfast. Cook on medium-high head until the onions are cooked (translucent).

Once the onions are done they go into a stockpot (see below), and the sausage and beef goes into the skillet to cook.

In the stockpot add 4 more cloves of garlic, tomato paste, red wine, basil, can of crushed tomatoes, tablespoon of sugar and Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.

Add the yummy delicious meat, stir, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl combine ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, mozzarella, salt, and a quarter of the meat sauce.

Start with a light base layer of sauce on the bottom before adding a layer of noodles. Then spread meat sauce and top with ricotta mixture before adding another layer of noodle. Repeat and top the final layer of noodles with mozzarella.

Cover with a sheet of tin foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Let it sit for 10 minutes, and then chow down.

We made our Mexican Lasagna for years now, but I believe this is the first time I've ever made real lasagna. Heck, it may be the first time I've ever eaten real lasagna. I do know one thing, it won't be the last. This stuff was good. 

Best Of (mostly) 2017

I didn't do a Best Of 2016, and since NYC fell at the very end of 2016, I thought I'd combine both and see where it takes me.

The past calendar year has been a non-stop whirlwind. I've changed careers from being in I.T. Sales to now being a Mortgage Lender. I've traveled to NYC for only the 2nd time ever (the first was so short I'm not sure it even counts), and first time to Washington D.C., Boston, Phoenix, Kansas City, and St. Louis. I went to "The Four Final Basketball Teams Playing Each Other Portion Of The College Basketball Bracket", saw a game in Madison Square Garden, home opener for the Arizona Diamondbacks where Madison Bumgarner made MLB history by being the first pitcher to hit 2 home runs on opening day, the final game at Turner Field (ok stretching the year a good bit here) and the first game at Suntrust Park, Kauffman Stadium, and my long awaited first trip to Busch Stadium. It's easy to say that this past year, and then some, has seen a lot of really cool things, so now it's time to rank them.

Best Food Event

We only went to 2, and it's really not fair to compare, so the best of this past year is easily ...

Bovinoche

Best Sporting Venue

Faurot Field

The stadium was nice, and the foot traffic moved very well through the stadium and outside area. I just can't ever get used to tailgating in parking garages.

Suntrust Park

It may be the newest stadium in the majors, and the Battery is going to be really cool when it gets finished outside, but the stadium itself is missing a lot. There's certain areas that are really cool. The memorial area behind home plate is awesome, but the corridor is extremely tight with weird turns and curves in places that make it extremely hard to get through. That on top of the lack of food options really make this new ballpark miss.

University of Phoenix Stadium

Similar to SunTrust Park, there's ZERO space to move throughout this arena. It could be that it's made for football games, and the addition of the extra seats down to the court added however many thousands of fans ... but doesn't change the fact that it took forever to get around that place.

Madison Square Garden

We were only here for the second half of the game, and didn't get time to tour the arena, but it's Madison Square Garden.

Chase Field

Admittedly, I really didn't get to "enjoy" the stadium and game as much as I would have liked since we were rushed to get to watch the Women's NCAA Championship game. From what I was able to see, I really liked. It was an easy ballpark to move around in and seemed to have concessions and merchandise stands everywhere you looked.

Kauffman Stadium

The game didn't turn out as well for the home team as we could have hoped, but that was the only bad part of the game. Kauffman by far had the best food selections and you had beyond plenty of room to move around the stadium. Then throw in the fountains and it's an absolute beautiful ballpark to catch a game at.

Busch Stadium

I'll admit, I'm probably biased with this pick. The 2nd newest stadium on the list, and like the first, the food options were very subpar. They have their own version of the Battery in the Ballpark Village, but we didn't have time to make it to it. The food we did get was delicious and they had a Jack Daniels bar. That alone gets the #1 spot.

Best Thing To Do/Attraction/Museum

Honorable Mention - Kansas City Zoo

I'll admit, this is only making it here so you'll go back and see that post about my wife being attacked by the yellow giddon if you haven't seen it before. I'm going to get hit for this.

Anheuser-Busch - St. Louis, MO

If you've been to one brewery, you've pretty much been to the all. Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis is more than a brewery, and the Clydesdales and the barn are beyond worth the trip alone.

Samuel Adams - Boston, MA

I know what I just said, but this is one of the few exceptions ... and their beer is great ... and you get a lot of it.

American Museum of Natural History - New York City, NY

Take a day, and some pain killers for your knees.

Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum - Boston, MA

It's arguably the greatest "up yours" the American people have ever done in our history. What's not like about that? This is a small tour and museum, but it's worth an hour.

Ford's Theatre - Washington, DC

This is really one of the coolest/best museums I've been to. Not just the history, but the information we now know about what all took place ... and they have the gun, so that's pretty awesome.

U.S. Capitol Building - The National Mall - Washington, DC

Reach out to your representative and request a tour/tickets. I mean, we paid for the thing, we should get to see it. You can't go to the Capitol Building and not also go see the memorials of the National Mall.

The Freedom Trail - Boston, MA

If you do this, I highly recommend you doing the tour like we did. A stop for the original Boston Creme Pie, and a stop or two at some of the historic bars for a drink. It helps break the walk up which is only 2 miles in total distance, but mix in the brief tours and the legs will thank you.

National World War I Monument and Museum - Kansas City, MO

I have never been to a museum with more to see. Everywhere you look there's a relic.

Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, VA

You just don't understand the magnitude until you see it.

9/11 Museum - New York City, NY

No words can really do this justice. This is a place everyone should experience, and that's what it is, an experience.

Best Trip

Phoenix, Arizona

This could have been a drastically different trip if the Gamecocks could have pulled out a miracle.

Kansas City - Columbia - St. Louis, Missouri

The only thing that would have made this trip any better is more time at each destination.

Washington D.C.

To visit the place that runs our nation, and to do so the following weekend (accidentally) of an inauguration was truly amazing. The history and importance is around every corner.

Boston, Massachusetts

It's been referred to as a "small big city", and that's exactly what it is. If you enjoy the history of Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC, then you have to visit Boston.

New York City, New York

In the moment, we were exhausted. We averaged walking 10 miles a day over a 7 day stretch. It was non-stop site seeing, shopping, eating, and shows. Looking back, the things we saw and experiences we were able to make in the week make this boy from the South miss "The Big Apple" (but only in short doses).

Best Dessert

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes - The Big Biscuit, Kansas City, MO

This may have been for breakfast, but this belongs nowhere other than a dessert list.

Pecan Sticky Bun - Flour Bakery, Boston, MA

Another one that's probably not really a "dessert", but I make the rules, so here it is.

Westport Ice Cream Bakery - Westport, MO

This could have been so much higher on the list if only they made their own waffle cones.

S'more Concoction - Max Brenner, New York City, NY

Boston Creme Pie - Omni Parker Hotel, Boston, MA

If you're going, you have to get the original.

The Nutella Cookie S'mores - Dylan's Candy Bar, New York City, NY

One of the best desserts I've ever had.

Pupcake - Sprinkles Cupcakes, Multiple Locations

Everything is better when we get to share it with Rhett.

Best Bar

Bar Bacon - New York City, NY

It's a bar, and they serve bacon. Do I really need to go any further?

Wink & Nod - Boston, MA

Jack Rose Dining Saloon - Washington, DC

Although this is a great restaurant too, they have over 2,000 bottles of whiskey on the wall so it's going here.

Fraunces Tavern - New York City, NY

I've had an adult beverage in a bar that George Washington drank in, and that's pretty awesome.

Green Dragon Tavern - Boston, MA

Similar to Fraunces Tavern, the Green Dragon was a regular watering hole of our founding fathers.

Samuel Adams Brewery - Boston, MA

There's nothing better than a Sam Adams Summer Ale ... at Sam Adams.

Best Food (Non BBQ)

Macaroni and Cheese - Root & Bone, New York City, NY

The rest of the food was a little disappointing, but this mac and cheese was off the chain.

Bacon Mac And Cheese Burger - Big Daddy's, New York City, NY

I love mac and cheese, I love bacon, I love cheeseburgers, and I love tots.

Kauffman Stadium - Kansas City, MO

The best baseball game hotdog I've ever had.

Burger and Barrel - New York City, NY

McCoy's Public House - Kansas City, MO

Ninja Restaurant - New York City, NY

The atmosphere is the best part, but the food and drinks do not disappoint. 

Bogie's Place - Boston, MA

It's an adults only restaurant with amazing drinks and food. What more could you ask for?

Porterhouse for 2 - Keen's Steakhouse, New York City, NY

One of the longest running steakhouses in America, and there's a reason for that.

Babbo - New York City, NY

Amazing drinks, amazing appetizers, amazing entrees, and amazing dessert.

Mastro's Steakhouse - Washington, DC

This is just a poor excuse of a picture, and I'm ashamed of it every time I look at it.

Best BBQ

Not getting mentioned anywhere remotely close to this list is a place in New York that we wasted a meal and a whole lot of money at.

Hill Country BBQ - Washington, DC

Seriously some of the best all around BBQ out there. There wasn't anything on this butcher paper that wasn't amazing.

Burnt Ends on a Bun - Gates BBQ, Kansas City, MO

Sausage - Arthur Bryants, Kansas City, MO

You can't say you've lived until you've had this sausage.

Flat Rock Wood Room - Hendersonville, NC

I'm questioning why we haven't been back yet. I have no answer to that question, and I'm a little upset at myself for it.

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q - Atlanta, GA

I guess this is claiming Fox Bros as the best (new) BBQ I had this year. I don't disagree with that ... which if I did, I guess I could change it since I'm typing it.

Best Experience

It may have been a crazy year bouncing all over the place, but I wouldn't have traded a single second for the memories I made (ok, maybe walking in windy 6 degree weather in NY I could have done without).

Thanks to one of the greatest runs in NCAA Basketball history, my dad (that I have reffed Basketball for 18 years with) and I took a spur of the moment trip to Phoenix to see an event that I don't think either of us ever thought we'd visit, and definitely not with our Gamecocks playing in it. 

The rest of the bouncing around was with my favorite person in the whole world. The one that has reaped the benefits of my crazy vacation planning that allows us to show up, see everything we possibly could see, have reservations all set, tickets to any events already in hand, and stops along the way for shopping, snacks, and drinks.