BBQ Review: Sweet n' Saucy

It's been a long time but I've tried a new BBQ place.

 

 

Sweet and Saucy  Fairfield IA. *****

When you say a place is a hole in the wall you may just mean Sweet and Saucy. Sweet is located at 117 N Court in Fairfield and you will need that address because the place sits so far back off the street. You can’t even see the front door, but don’t let that stop you. Sweet and Saucy is Limited service dining (order at the counter) We were greeted by a friendly, knowledgeable and confident person behind the counter, she knew the menu. The menu is extremely limited to BBQ. I believe they have a loose beef sandwich and a tenderloin besides the Q.

Sauces:   Six to choose from (Memphis, Sweet, Zippy, Spicy, Spicer, Buffalo) All of the sauces lacked any depth of flavor and were okay but not outstanding. I ended up mixing the sweet and the Spicy and came up with a pretty good sauce.

Ribs:     Ribs were not on the menu the night I was there. Can’t wait to give them a try.  

Pulled Pork:   This is competition quality pulled pork, great smoked flavor and very moist. Restaurant pulled pork has the tendency to become mushy and this did not. I was a little rough on Sweet and Saucy’s sauces but the pulled pork did not need it.    

Brisket:  Many BBQ places are not brave enough to serve brisket, Sweet and Saucy is and it was very good. Brisket is tough to do right and I’m glad to have found a place close to home where I can get a brisket fix once and awhile.

Sides:  A good selection of sides for such a small place. I had the onion rings and coleslaw, the rings were amazing. I also tried the fried pickles, going to have to go back and try some more.  

Overall:  Since becoming a Kansas City Barbeque judge I’d kind of given up on trying new BBQ joints. However I was very excited to find such a good place so close to home. I may not have to by a smoker after all. I would suggest following them on Facebook for their specials as it is such a small place and the menu may vary a bit. I am holding out to try the ribs, some more of the sides and for consistency but Sweet and Saucy does have a chance to make my top two BBQ joints in Iowa.   

It's official: I'm certified!

It has been three long weeks but my badge finally arrived. The wait reminded me of being a kid and waiting for that item you wanted so badly off of a cereal box. So now it’s official I am a Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) certified barbeque judge. Just wanted to share a few of the tidbits from the class I took to become a Certified Barbeque Judge (CBJ) as we like to call it in the business. (just kidding)

These competitions are serious business with a lot of money on the line.

Right now the best competition cooks in the nation are right here in Iowa. Seven out of the top ten finishers at a national event in Arkansas were from Iowa and the guy who fixed the chicken for the class was won the overall grand champion.  

There are many rules for the cooks to abide by just in presentation alone

If a CBJ just takes a one ounce bite from everything they are presented with in a normal competition they will eat up to two pounds of BBQ that day.

Oh yea, ribs are not supposed to fall off the bone

However the biggest disappointment of the day was coming to the realization that much of the stuff you eat you will never be able to buy. Many of the cooks just compete they don’t have restaurants.

I was really concerned going into the class because I had built it up so much in my mind in the months leading up to it. Usually once something like that arrives you are disappointed. However in this case the class was even more than I expected.

Just remember you can still invite me over for a BBQ I won’t judge what you serve me unless I happen to be wearing my badge.  However if you want to get in a discussion over the best BBQ joints to eat I may have to whip out my badge on you if we don’t agree.

Now I am feverishly applying to become a judge at some of the upcoming events in Iowa.

Mike's Iowa Resturant Guide

Time to share my master Restaurant list sorted by town and rating. Bon appetit!

The 5's get their very own picture.

John's Shamrock Barbecue	Ainsworth	2
Hickory Park	Ames	2
Gators	Burlington	3
Martinis	Burlington	2.5
Thirsty Camel	Conseville	2
Wigg N Pen	Coralville	4.5
Wildwood Smokehouse	Coralville	4
Bandana's	Coralville	3
Cosi Cucina	DesMoines	5
Jethro's	DesMoines	5
Skips	DesMoines	5
Simons	DesMoines	4.5
Tumea & Sons	DesMoines	4.5
Bambinos	DesMoines	4
Royal Mile	DesMoines	4
The Flying Mango	DesMoines	4
Miller High life Lounge	DesMoines	3.5
Monterrey	DesMoines	3
Bang Bang	DesMoines	3
Fongs	DesMoines	3
Smokey D's	DesMoines	3
Tasty Tacos	DesMoines	3
Woody's Smoke Shack	DesMoines	3
Zombie Burger & Drink Lab	DesMoines	3
Taqueria Sonora	DesMoines	3
Felix & Oscar's	DesMoines	2
Ginos	DesMoines	2
The Q	DesMoines	1
Torinos	Fairfield	3
Top of the Rock	Fairfield	2.5
Black Stone	Iowa City	5
Jimmy Jacks	Iowa City	5
Shorts Burger and Shine	Iowa City	4.5
Linn Street Café	Iowa City	4
Brown Bottle	Iowa City	3
Hamburg Inn	Iowa City	2.5
Deano's Place	Lockridge	3
Mount Hamil Tap	Mount Hamil	3.5
Little Mexico	Mount Pleasant	4
Costos	Mount Pleasant	3
Keos	Mount Pleasant	3
Papa Georges	Mount Pleasant	3
Press Box	Mount Pleasant	3
Mi Pueblo Real	Mount Pleasant	2.5
Jerry's	Mount Pleasant	2
Butch's River Rock Café	Oakland Mills	2.5
Goldie's	Prairie City	3.5
Throttle  Down	Tiffin	2
Casa Tequila	Tiffin	2.5
Johnnie B's	Wapello	3.5
Café Dodici	Washington	3
Denos	Washington	3
Rubes Steak House	Waukee	3.5
Tinders	Wayland	2
Uncle Ronnie's	West Burlington	3

BBQ joint reviews: Oklahoma Joe's

Oklahoma Joe's Olathe Kansas ***** 

Not much on atmosphere I mean it’s in a gas station and who ever heard of good food coming from a gas station.

Sauces:  Two to choose from, they are good but not the best I’ve had. However they compliment the meat very well.

Ribs: Simply the best I have ever had.  Good rub, good smoke, meaty and cooked to perfection  

Pulled Pork:  Again the best I have ever had, just the right amount of smoke.

Brisket: I almost did not get the brisket but it was advertised as the best in the world and I think they were right. It was so tender I think you could have eaten it through a straw.  I may dream about this brisket

Sides: Good, but not great but who cares

Overall:  When you can sit down at a barbeque place and say three times that is the best I’ve ever had, that is some place. It's not the prettiest I've had but it is the best.

Here is the line to get in. It moved very quickly they know how to get people in and out.

The Carolina Pulled Pork with a spicy slaw.

The 3 rib dinner with that amazing drink through a straw brisket