UPDATE 2: PAPPY'S HAS RE-OPENED FOR BUSINESS
I'm always a little leary about Q-raunts that toot their own horns.
"Oklahoma's Best"... "Award Winning"... "World Famous"... All big words to live by.
I don't know. Maybe it builds my expectations to levels that no matter how good the food is. It can never live up to the billing. So today when my first Q-raunt choice was closed. I made a snap decision and decided to give Pappy's "World Famous" BBQ a second try.
It had been a couple of years since my first visit to Pappy's "World Famous" BBQ. When you walk in the door you are greeted by a white haired man and make your way to the order window. By the time the nice lady at the window is done taking your order, and your money, the white haired man will have your tray of food already waiting at a table of his choosing for you. He might let you choose another table but I didn't want to see what happened if I did. So I agreed that the one he chose was the best for me.
I went with the 3 meat or what they call the "Big Pig". I chose, ribs because I remembered them being pretty good the last time, chopped brisket, bologna of course, with beans and macaroni salad. You also get your choice of white or wheat bread. Being the health conscious BBQ junkie I am. I went with the wheat. Ok, as an adult I actually prefer wheat to white. I don't have much concern for my health.
I appreciate the presentation of the food. All the food spread out on a simple tray with some wax paper. It only gets more simple than that in Texas and it's the way BBQ should be served. Plates are for steaks. BBQ belongs on paper.
The ribs have a lot of meat on them. A light taste of hickory and a sweetness to them. I think it might be honey or some kind of simple syrup. It's definitely different and I enjoyed it.
The ribs really don't have a definite smoke ring and they look a little hammy. They don't have a hammy taste to them or if they do it is covered up by the sweetness. They pulled away from the bone nicely without falling off the bone while eating them.
The chopped brisket was just chopped up slices from the flat.... Now when I want chopped brisket I would prefer it to come from the point and be nekkid. I must be in the minority because most places chop the flat and too many of them add sauce. Pappy's is served nekkid and the flavor was good but the brisket was stringy and there was no bark or fat in it. It was more like eating a roast. Albeit a roast with good flavor.
The bologna was nothing special. I've said it's hard to screw up smoked bologna before and Pappy's was good but it had an off color around the outside. A few seconds on a hot flat top or grill would have taken this bologna to the next level.
The macaroni salad was pretty tasty. The pasta was cooked a nice al dente and was creamy. I definitely recommend it as a side to choose.
The beans were just beans. If they did anything more than pour them from a can I couldn't detect it. That's not to say they didn't do something to them. Just that my palate wasn't able to pick out anything other than maybe a little brown sugar. I added some of the chopped brisket to them and the two were a perfect match for each other. More Q-raunts need to learn that something as simple as adding a little meat to your beans can take them to the next level.
Blindfold me and give me a spoon full of each sauce and I probably couldn't tell them apart. On the plus side the meats had good enough flavor they really don't need the sauce and you'll probably never hear me rave about the sauce at any Q-raunt. I'm just not a sauce kind of guy.
Is Pappy's "World Famous" BBQ really "World Famous"? Well no. At least not in my opinion.
Is it good BBQ? Yes, I thought it was and while I wouldn't fly across the world to eat at Pappy's. As long as I'm living in Oklahoma. I would eat there again.
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