Ranch House BBQ - Olympia, WA

[Barry CB Martin]

THIS is a most difficult post to make.  I really really REALLY want to like the Ranch House BBQ. The business has a story that qualifies it for a country-western song AND a mini-series.  The location is cool and the founders have won many-a-contest and I want to have a world-class BBQ joint within 20 minutes of my house.

BUT - they serve just OK food and it's expensive. REALLY expensive.

Example:  yesterday we drove out for an early dinner and spent $78 with tip.

1 - PBR $3.00
1 - mixed drink for her $10
Onion Rings were excellent albeit a small plate $6.99
Pork & Chicken Combo (Friday special) w/small sides of beans & slaw $19.99
Sampler Plate of 1 scoop each of shredded pork & brisket, chicken quarter and 3 section rib tip w/small sides of slaw & tater salad $22.00
Total including $4.90 tax = $66.87 plus $11.13 tip (service was excellent) = $78.

Food
Slaw - simple, crunchy and apple cider vinegar-base  = OK but small
Tater Salad - good texture but needed some seasoning = nothing special
Beans - open a can of good beans and serve= nothing special
Corn bread - small muffin 1 per plate - mild flavor, dryish and very dense = nothing special

OK now for the meat.

Brisket - shredded, not sliced - decent light smokiness but really nothing special.
Pork - pulled and a light smokiness but a residual flavor aftertaste that (see chicken)
Ribs - OK - decent smoke and very very light spice rub - OK
Chicken - oh my...the fire got away from the pitmaster cause Miss Laura took one taste and said: "There is an odd and off flavor."  When I tasted mine it was the same and it was on the skin and in the meat...creosote. The fire got away or there was some problem with the pit or...they had the new guy doing it or...or...wait, let me taste the pork again...yep that's what it is. Less pronounced in the pork. Not on/in the brisket and not on/in the ribs. Isolated to the pork and chicken. YUUUUK>

This off-taste woulda been hidden by their tasty tangy sauce they supply to the table (thankfully not on the meat) but since we were able to actually taste the skill of the pitmaster in the chicken and pork...when the bill came the bad taste in my mouth worsened.

http://www.ranchhousebbq.com

[smokeasaurus]

I think the term "Ranch House" should be removed from their name........

"I agree...Festus,Chester go tear the sign down from that place"

[Keymaster]

Have you ever been here http://www.southbaybbq.com/ it was nominated Best in Washington 2012. I have never tried it, don't go out much as I'm pretty much always disappointed with the price/quality

[Pappymn]

IMHO I think a lot of BBQ places are overpriced and small portioned. Classic example is the three meat combo you got. Pretty stiff.

I feel your pain on wanting it to be good. We had a new "family" restaurant open real close. Nothing special. And no real brewed iced tea......this is a requirement for me.

Just seems like the food and menu come second......gotta build a restaurant around great food.

Question Barry or others from a newbie, what went wrong in the process to cause the creosote taste?

[Hub]

Question Barry or others from a newbie, what went wrong in the process to cause the creosote taste?

Nine times out of ten, that flavor is produced by oversmoking -- lots of white smoke for too long.  Occasionally, but far less often it might be residual charcoal lighter fluid but good lighter fluid brands burn off cleanly.

Many folks like a heavy smoked flavor and it is possible to get fairly heavy smokiness without creating "creosote" but one must be careful.  Burning greenish, undried wood and throttling the baffles back to produce a lot of smolder will make a lot of white smoke.  "Blue smoke" -- actually light gray -- produces a better, but far less intense smokiness without ever endangering the meat.

Hub

[smokeasaurus]

The pit master should be dragged out behind the wood-shed............

[Barry CB Martin]

Have you ever been here http://www.southbaybbq.com/ it was nominated Best in Washington 2012. I have never tried it, don't go out much as I'm pretty much always disappointed with the price/quality

Key - I've driven past and usually on the way somewhere else. I will make a point to stop by soon and give you a report.  I gotta say - the best bbq I've had was in Duval at the Armadillo BBQ. Smoke + meat = good eats.  I know John McGhee doesn't care for it and he's a NWBBQA champ who's gone to the Jack, etc.  but I used to go there when I lived nearby.  http://www.armadillobbq.com/

[TwoPockets]

I understand how you feel. We were not in the mood to cook yesterday so I went to a BBQ place a couple of miles from home that has always been consistently good. I got the family pack which is 1lb of pulled pork, 2 pints of sides ( I got baked beans and potato salad), 4 buns and half a pint of BBQ sauce and some pickle slices. Now the price wasn't bad at $22.50, but when we got it home the quality was not up to past standards. The pork was semi-cold but tender with a mild smoke flavor. The baked beans weren't even up to good canned standards and the potato salad was awful. I should have known something was up when I didn't smell that good wood smoke smell when I pulled up.

Luckily I have several more options as close or closer to home, one just won the title of Best BBQ in Alabama in a March Madness BBQ Bracket contest. Their BBQ is good but it has more of a restaurant feel than a BBQ joint feel.

[Barry CB Martin]

Question Barry or others from a newbie, what went wrong in the process to cause the creosote taste?

Hub is spot on - here's a bit more with photos:
http://welcometothecookout.com/smoke-if-youre-lookin-youre-not-cookin/

[bbqchef]

CB... I feel your pain!

Did you speak with the MOD? At least they should have comped something.

[bbqchef]

Hey CB....

I looked at their menu... Dayum they are pricey. It's supposed to be BBQ not white table cloth dining!

$25 for a rib eye? And $14 for a chicken breast? $8 for a plain burger?

IMHO it's way over-priced especially considering what you said about the food.

[Pappymn]

Hey CB....

I looked at their menu... Dayum they are pricey. It's supposed to be BBQ not white table cloth dining!

$25 for a rib eye? And $14 for a chicken breast? $8 for a plain burger?

IMHO it's way over-priced especially considering what you said about the food.

A BBQ joint with those three on the menu? Sounds like menu creep to me. Lot of options.....and nothing done well. Drives me crazy.

[RAD]

Hey CB....

I looked at their menu... Dayum they are pricey. It's supposed to be BBQ not white table cloth dining!

$25 for a rib eye? And $14 for a chicken breast? $8 for a plain burger?

IMHO it's way over-priced especially considering what you said about the food.

A BBQ joint with those three on the menu? Sounds like menu creep to me. Lot of options.....and nothing done well. Drives me crazy.

Agreed. Like getting a grilled chicken sandwich at a Mexican joint.

[muebe]

We as BBQ enthusiasts will always be more critical about our BBQ food when eating out. Most places people think have great BBQ food are usually ho-hum to me. Some people simply don't know what real BBQ tastes like and have no real reference to compare the flavor to. It must be good because the place is popular and everyone likes it is the normal mentality these days.

I find the same about Sushi restaurants. I go with friends that know I am really into eating Sushi. They are like " I have this really fantastic place for you to try. Everyone loves it! ". After giving it a try the results are usually the same. Mushy two day old fish with no snap and fall apart rice. Or they have crazy named rolls with so many flavor profiles it is near impossible to figure out what it should taste like. But "everyone" really likes this place.

Most sushi restaurants I really love don't have the huge dining room, neon lights, and crowds. They are the little hole-in-the-wall place that get their fish fresh daily and do it the traditional Japanese way. A place most people would drive by and not even realize there is a restaurant there.

I find my results are the same with BBQ places that I have tried. Most of the larger places have average food at high prices. It is those hidden gems that provide the quality food because that is what keeps them in business. Not trophies.

Barry I bet most people who ate there that night walked away thinking they had some really good BBQ and it is supposed to taste like creosote. Really sad.

[sliding_billy]

Once I saw "shredded" brisket it was all over.