BBQ Bonanza
Don’t know why, but we’ve been in a BBQ mode for the last few weeks. We can’t seem to get enough of the stuff! And in an attempt to FINALLY answer the age-old question — WHO HAS THE BEST BBQ?!?!! We’ve eaten in five different BBQ joints in the last 10 days, and while there are a few still left to try, we still have a clear winner.
Of course our opinions are entirely subjective and not everyone will agree with our findings. Here are the places visited thus far:
Fat Boys BBQ - St. Cloud
Sonny’s - various locations
O’Boys - Hwy 50
Blackwater BBQ - Orange Ave.
It’s the Sauce BBQ - Ferncreek
I have to agree with the last place… a lot of it IS the sauce. And in my humble opinion, that sauce should be thick enough to stick to the BBQ meat of choice. I know there are people who would disagree, but to me that’s when you get some good flavors mingled.
And after a bit of post gastro-debate, we still believe that Sonny’s is the clearcut winner. Although O’Boys runs a close second. What we really liked about O’Boys was the flavor and tenderness (moistness) of the meat. We tried the pulled pork and the BBQ beef and the BBQ chicken. Sometimes, especially later in the evening (8pm or so) you’ll get some dried out pieces, but O’Boys’ selections were absolutely delicious and very moist!
I’m going to continue my exploration of BBQ places, and if you’ve got any clear cut favorites from your family, please pass them along and we’ll try to get over and check it out.
Related posts:
Did you wander up to Apopka to try Porkie’s? Or to Mount Dora for that commenter’s suggestion (I haven’t done that, yet)?
Saying Sonny’s has the best BBQ is like saying Olive Garden has the best Italian food. What an unsophisticated palate you must have, Dawn. I’m sure you like them for the all-you-can eat factor, but they use cheap meat and it shows. Their sauces suck out loud also.
Keller’s is good, Bubbalou’s is great, and Porkies and Sugarboos are also excellent BBQ spots. Sonny’s? That doesn’t even make the top ten in the area. Get real, pig.
I am a pretty easy going person. And I’m extremely tolerant of other people’s views and opinions. And it doesn’t mean I have to agree or disagree with anyone for me to get along in this world. I know what I like, I accept that other people may or may not feel the same way and I sleep well at night knowing that it takes all kinds to make the world go around.
What I DO NOT understand, is why if someone like the above commenter, disagrees with me.. why they can’t just agree to disagree … without resorting to insults. To be nasty and to do it from behind a guise, is just pathetic. It’s childish and just plain ignorant.
To the commenter, I hope you are judged with the same measuring stick you felt appropriate to use on me for something like BBQ. Have a nice life, and don’t come back here if you can’t be civil.
Sorry, Dawn. I accidentally placed a comma between “real” and “pig”, so I can see where you misinterpreted it as an insult. It should have read “get real pig”, referring to BBQ…not the fact that you are of a porcine nature.
I’ll stand by my comment about you having an unsophisticated palate, however. It’s unfathomable to me that anyone with taste buds could possibly think that Sonny’s has even PASSABLE barbeque, let alone the best in the area.
I am a certified barbecue judge. In our training classes we are told to consider “average” barbecue to be what you would find at Sonny’s. I have eaten the pulled pork and the ribs at Blackwater Barbecue (which is run by a professional competition team and state championship winners) and those items are consistently better than Sonny’s serves.
As an afficianado of BBQ, a native Floridian and a damn good BBQ cook myself, let me throw my 2 cents in. My latest favorite is It’s A Secret at Curry Ford and Bumby. Unfortunately they are temporarily closed due to fire, but their caribbean/southern style is freaking awesome. The sides are true deep south, including collard greens and mac n cheese. I wasn’t so impressed with Blackwater, and O-Boys meat had too much fat on it. Bubbalou’s is always good, but I really want to try Uncle Jone’s Nothin’ Mo Betta BBQ in Altamonte Springs. With a name like that it has to be good.
In regards to Sonny’s, just because they are successfull and have spread to a great number of stores, Sonny Tillman’s recipes are still of the same quality and taste as they have always been, which is pretty damned good. His BBQ originated from the sunshine state, much of his family resides right here in Orlando (I went to school with his daughter) and their sweet sauce is damned good. So, to you Sonny’s bashers, you are just like those dorks who hate anything popular and think anything obscure must be superb.
My husband and I are always on the look out for good BBQ. We used to like Sonny’s, but we’re wondering if they even smoke the meat on site now since we never see smoke or smell smoke at the restaurants. Do they just heat the stuff up at the restaurant and cook in some soul-less factory facility somewhere??
We like Bubbalou’s, It’s a Secret was okay but I wasn’t that excited about it (maybe I should give it another try), Blackwater was okay, O’Boys (W. Colonial) was pretty good but the service was awful, Smokey Bones is decent (good cuts of meat) but there is that Olive Garden factor about it, Conway’s is okay if you like North Carolina style. We’re going to try Cecil’s next. I’d love to see other opinions on this blog.