Burnt Fork BBQ (Decatur, GA)

614 Church Street
Decatur, GA 30030
404-373-7155
www.burntforkbbq.com

Vegans, organics, locals, vegetarians, food snobs, and BBQ lovers...Did we miss anyone? Burnt Fork BBQ aims to please...everyone. I know the whole adage about "when you try to please everyone...blah blah blah." We came as BBQ lovers to burnt fork and that's all we really cared about. I'll admit that it's nice to see "hormone free" and "local" on the menu, but the real test is what you can do with that piece of meat. All of that doesn't mean a thing if the food isn't cooked properly.

We don't visit the Decatur area that much, and I wish I did more. There are a lot of cool places/people and Burnt Fork BBQ fits right in. Only being open for a little over a year, I've already heard a lot of good things from people I trust. They've got the whole "old, renovated convenience store mixed with industrial metals, exposed ceilings" vibe down. The indoor, stainless steel smoker faces away but looked like a pellet smoker...possibly a Cook Shack. I've mentioned some places that happen to do great things with these types of smokers, but please don't think that every thing that comes out of them is always gold. There is still room for error that has a LOT of BBQ joint owners scratching their heads. My dad always used to tell me that "When you're aiming a bow, it's not about the arrows, it's about the Indian." Just because a lot of guys have mastered these smokers, it doesn't mean that it's that easy.

We got to Burnt Fork pretty early at around 11:30. Being the only diners there, we looked over the interesting menu which features items from "Smoked Beef Brisket" to "Tofu Spring Rolls."  I bet you can guess which one we ordered. Along with the brisket, we ordered ribs, brisket nachos, and a pulled pork sandwich. They boast of their Brunswick stew so we tried that along with some mac 'n cheese and homemade sweet potato chips. If you need it, they've got a couple different sauces to accommodate most preferences.

No food distributor tortilla chips here. We had freshly fried pieces of tortilla topped with small bits of brisket and cheese on our nachos. Be warned that the amount of cheese and brisket is minimal (is there ever enough?). Not a lot to say about this dish, although it did tide us over until the rest of our food came.

Community Q BBQ (Decatur, GA)

1361 Clairmont Road
Decatur, GA 30033
404-633-2080
http://www.communityqbbq.com/

Our visit to the last piece of the Sam and Dave's puzzle is now complete. We've visited Sam's BBQ 1, Dave Poe's BBQ, and even BBQ newcomer, Grand Champion. All of these restaurants somehow had their hand in Sam and Dave's BBQ located in Marietta at some time or another. All of these restaurants are successful at what they do. Two things that they all have in common; They love their Southern Pride smokers and they all pretty much use the same mac 'n cheese recipe. There are a couple different stories out there, but the most popular one is that when Dave Roberts left Sam and Dave's to start Community Q, owner Sam Huff accused him of stealing his mac 'n cheese recipe. To any of you who haven't tried this recipe...yes, it's worth confronting someone about. Dave Roberts was flabbergasted that Sam would even accuse him of "stealing" his very own Grandmother's family recipe. So he did what anyone would do. He published the recipe online for the whole world to have. Problem solved. For anyone that's interested in trying, I've posted the recipe below courtesy of AJC blog, Access Atlanta.



We visited Community Q on their second birthday/anniversary. That means we got a free t-shirt and the crowd was a little larger than usual. I made sure to get there pretty early. They're located in a shopping center (another thing all of these Sam and Dave brethren have in common) in the trendy area of Decatur. I ordered the sausage and brisket while Jamie ordered the spare ribs and pulled pork. Our sides included the famous mac 'n cheese, coleslaw, baked beans, and Brunswick stew. One thing to note is that in addition to the regular menu items, they also offer locally grown produce and homemade desserts.

When our food arrived it looked simply amazing. Jamie and I both sampled the spare ribs first. These ribs were perfect. They were smoky, seasoned, tender, and flavorful. They were gone before you knew it. The sausage we had is not homemade, but it's a close second being ordered from nearby Czech sausage company, Patak Meats. It wasn't too greasy and had great flavor. The pulled pork was also cooked perfectly. It didn't have a ton of smoke flavor, but it was juicy and tender.

One thing to note about the pulled pork is the extra step they take of wrapping in plastic wrap as soon as the pulled pork is done. This allows the meat to rest, redistributing all of the flavorful juices, while also keeping it tender. When it's ready to serve, it's like it just got out of the smoker. It's a great trick if you're having trouble with your pork drying out on you before serving. The brisket we had was solid as well. It had a nice beef flavor, but was just a tad overdone.

As for the sides...this mac 'n cheese is phenomenal. It's creamy, cheesy, thick, warm, and eats like a meal. I can certainly see why so many other restaurants use it. I would too. It's the best mac 'n cheese we've had to date. The baked beans were my ONLY complaint here. They were watery, undercooked, and had a weird, greasy flavor. Also, look out for the huge pieces of onion floating around. The coleslaw or Brunswick stew is also a great option here. 

We highly recommend Community Q to any BBQ lover. They've got a good thing going and we hope their success continues. They proudly join Fox Brothers in our Hall of Fame.
Community Q’s Three Cheese Mac and Cheese

Hands on: 15 minutes Total time: 1 hour Serves: 4


Salt
1 (16-ounce) box rigatoni noodles
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
4 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper (if desired), to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat and season with salt. Add pasta and cook until just tender, about 12 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain well in a colander without rinsing.
Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add half the cheddar, Monterey Jack and Parmesan, reserving the rest for the top. Add heavy cream and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.


Transfer the noodle mixture to a medium buttered gratin dish or casserole. Sprinkle remaining cheddar, Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheeses on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool slightly before serving