A SILENT NIGHT AT BEDLAM BAR-B-Q

I had been working lots of overtime and hadn't had a bite of Q in a couple of weeks and I was really starting to have some serious BBQ withdrawals.

So after I got home from working another Saturday. I really didn't feel like cooking and I definitely didn't have enough time to make my own Q since I had to be back to the office Sunday morning. So we loaded up and headed out to find some Q for dinner.


It had been a couple of years since I had been to Bedlam BBQ and I remembered it being pretty good on that occasion.


When we pulled up the parking lot was pretty full but the dining area was fairly empty and the line where you order at the front counter was short. 

I think there may have been a band playing around back but we chose a seat inside.

My wife chose a sliced brisket sandwich and I went with the Big Red which is the 3 meat dinner at Bedlam. I remembered the ribs being good last time so I went with those.

I didn't really want two pork items. So after inquiring if the chopped brisket was sauced or not. I decided to go with it since it was served nekkid. I also chose bologna.... If you don't know why I chose bologna you need to read some of my previous blogs. I would tell you here but the people that regularly read my blog are probably tired of reasing it. So today I cater to my regulars.

The restaurant is fairly well lit but for some reason the seats we chose were kind of dimly lit. So my pics didn't turn out so great.

As soon as I looked at the ribs I was pretty sure they were overcooked. The first bite confirmed it.

The ribs had a really good smoke flavor. I'd say one of the better flavored ribs I have had around OKC but the first bite the bone released and I was left there with a big hunk of mushy rib meat hanging from my mouth.

Now I know a lot of Okies like their ribs like this. Unfortunately I'm not one of them..... May be because I'm originally from Kansas but I won't argue semantics right now.

The flavor wasn't enough to overcome the texture in this case.

I've always said that places that serve their chopped brisket sauced have something to hide. Unfortunately this brisket needed to be hidden behind some sauce.

The first bite sent me scrambling for some of the red onion slices, that were served with the dinner, to get enough moisture in my mouth to choke the bite down.

I grabbed for the bottle of Bedlam's hot BBQ sauce and proceeded to drown the brisket with it. It helped and the sauce was tasty with just the right amount of heat. Problem is I'm not a sauce eater. I'm a meat eater.

My pic of the smoked bologna came out blurry. Which in itself is a shame because it was the best meat on the plate.

I used this piece of one sided Texas toast.....UGH..... to make a bologna sammich. It hit the spot despite only being toasted on one side. Had it only been toasted on both sides it would have been the perfect bologna sammich.

After trying to eat my chopped brisket. I declined taking a bite of my wife's sliced brisket sandwich. Usually when I say brisket is dry it is fine to her but this time she agreed the brisket was dry but she did think it had good flavor. I have to say that it did look good and had a nice color.

My wife chose mac & cheese for her side. I took a bite of it and it was good. The pasta was well cooked and the cheese flavor was good.

I had chosen macaroni salad and okra for my sides. The macaroni salad appeared to be house made. Not overly creamy and the pasta was cooked correctly.

The okra appeared to be just your ordinary pre-breaded, frozen, variety of okra. It was hot and crispy so I'm fine with that.

I don't know. Bedlam gets good reviews and two other BBQ bloggers have given their Q praise. Maybe we were just there on a bad night but I can't hand out any praise for the ribs or brisket on this visit.

Oh and in case you are wondering about the title of this blog.... While we were waiting for our food Silent Night started playing from the music selection. At first I thought maybe it was Christmas in July music but then I remembered it was still June.

Some Jerry Jeff Walker played right before we left. I'm a big fan of Jerry Jeff So I can say while I didn't  exactly enjoy the meal. I did enjoy the music selection.