Indianapolis BBQ
is g.t. south's any good, worth a trip across the city. have been to smokey bones, and it is good, but the problem is that i know how to make pulled pork taste pretty good, and greenwood is a long way to go for me to get something not much better than home. was wondering if g.t. south's rep was stellar or anything which would compel me to try it. for reference, i dont think much of king's ribs. i prefer purnell's on lafayette road, even though it's not real real bbq, when you get it spicy hot it is at least fun to eat, especially when youare watching jackass:the movie. if not g.t. south's, is there a bbq destination in indy beside what ive mentioned?
By nstiart
on Jan 24, 2005 10:13 AM
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I think that Smokey Bones does to barbecue what their corporate sisters Red Lobster and Olive Garden do to seafood and italian food. Can you tell that I'm not a fan?
G.T. South isn't the best bbq that I've ever had, but it's not bad. Not sure if it's any closer to you than Greenwood, but the original G.T. South is at 71st and Binford over on the east side. It's certainly worth a try if you're in the neighborhood.
Other bbq places that are worth a try:
* Squealers - The original is way down south in Mooresville, but they just opened a north side location at 86th and 465 (west side). Perhaps the best bbq meal that I've had in Indy was from the Moorseville locatio. That was followed by just an average meal at the same location a few weeks later. We got there about an hour before close on a Friday night and you could tell that the staff (mostly teenagers) had other things on their mind besides making our dining experience great. I will definitely go back though.
* Uncle Arties - around 47th and College. I like a place where you can see the smokers working away behind the restaurant. Good ribs and rib tips. They serve them wet, next time I go I'm going to get them dry with the sauce on the side. The sauce is good, but I like to evaluate the meat on its own.
* Barbecue Heaven - 25th and Martin Luther King. I haven't made it to this place yet, but I really want to . It's been ther since 1952 so they must be doing something right!
* Dick's Bodacious BBQ - various locations around town. A small chain started up in Nobelsville by a Texan who couldn't find good Texas style bbq in Indy. Their ribs (a thick St. Louis cut) and pulled pork are pretty good, but the gold standard of Texas bbq is the brisket which they do a good job with. I like their spicy sauce, too. It delivers a nice amount of heat.
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One more place that I thought of is Judge's BBQ in the city market downtown. Only open during the day, but definitely worth going if you're downtown at lunch time. I usually get the pulled pork sandwich (served with cole slaw on top) because it's less messy when going back to work, but I've had the ribs, rib tips and chicken and they're all very good. They also do great sides, my favorites being the corn casserole and the baked beans.
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i have had the pulled pork at judge's and when i did i thought it typical of the shortcomings of pulled pork, overshredded and over sauced. thought the sauce was too sweet, i holding firmly in the camp that says that pork, with its inherent unctuous qualities, benefits from a sharp, tart and spicy bbq sauce. that's what makes them inbred north carolinian hillbillies such idiot savants of bbq. i'm still glad judges is there.
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As I'm typing this I'm eating a Judge's large pulled pork sandwich (with corn casserole and baked beans on the side). I'm doing this for a couple of reasons. The first is that I haven't had on for a while and it sounded really good for lunch. The second is that I wanted to make sure that they hadn't started doing things differently in the few weeks since I last had one (I love doing this kind of research!). They haven't.
That said, I'm not quite sure what to make of your post above. First, Judge's does not serve their pulled pork (or any of their other meats for that matter) with sauce already on it. They do serve it with cole slaw on top (unless you don't want it that way). The sauce is available at the end of the counter to use as you see fit.
When you say it's "overshredded" are you maybe comparing it to chopped pork? Because I've smoked and pulled many pork butts at home, and eaten many a purchased pulled pork sandwich, and Judge's looks pretty much like what pulled pork is supposed to look like. There is meat on my sandwich which ranges in size from long sinewy strands, to lagrer chunks with bark and a nice smoke ring.
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huh. are we talking abt judges tip o the rib, on the flip side of the enzo's pizza or whatever it is, in city market? if so, i must have gone on the wrong day and will try it again.
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That's the place.
It's funny that the simplest foods (eg, BBQ, pizza, burgers) are the ones where people's personal preferences really show up.
One development at Judge's that I noticed during today's visit is that they have open a new store in the 2100 block of Michigan St (they had a sign at the counter). The big Weber Ranch Kettles that sat outside the back doors of the market and were used to smoke the meat are now gone. I also didn't see the owner behind the counter. It appears that the smoking is now being done at the new location and the meat is being brought down to market. I'm sure that they'll manage this transition well, but I'm going to keep an eye on the quality for a while to make sure that it doesn't slip.
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thank you for your reply. 86th and 465 is quite close so i will give squealers a try. sounds possibly promising. didnt know that dicks bodacious wasnt a chain, that's good information. so uncle artie's isnt a front for something else, huh? that's also good to know. although i know it's a debilitating obstacle to real hounding, i was a little scared off by the looks of it. speaking of which, have you been to carribean flava, abt due east of there near keystone?, know if it's still open?
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Haven't to Carribean Flava. Sorry.
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Uncle Artie's is owned by a charming couple who are as earnest as the day is long. They took over a defunct KFC and are making a great run of it on this corner. Their sweet potato pie is excellent.
As for the neighborhood, you will be fine. Meridian Kessler is a diverse community. I recommend you come down the college corner and give artie's a try.
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that is encouraging, thanks. i'll be sure to make my way over there and give it a try. can you tell me what the cross street is on college?
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It's on the southeast corner with 49th.
I just went there for the first time yesterday, and the ribs are great. Unfortunately, the sides go from horrible (cole slaw) to good (beans). Since it's close to where I live, I'll take out the ribs and do my own sides.
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I recently ate at the "Smokehouse on Shelby," in Fountain Square. I was looking for the old Fountain Square Diner (I hadn't been there in years), and was so dissapointed to find it had partially been replaced by a barbecue place. (I've never been very impressed with Indianapolis barbecue.)
The atmosphere isn't terrific, and the service was pretty laid back (but not horrible). So I was anticipating the worst, and feeling truly sorry I hadn't gone somewhere else.
I was SHOCKED. I travel all over the South for work and have the 50 Best Barbecue Places in the US programmed into my GPS, and I honestly very rarely have had better barbecue. It's fantastic. The ribs are delicious, the pulled pork is to die for, the brisket is amazing. Even the onion rings and fried biscuits were out of this world.
They have a kids menu, so it's great for families. Prices are good. And you can go duckpin bowling upstairs if you want to make an afternoon/evening of it.
It's some of the best food I've ever had in Indianapolis, hands-down. It was truly a pleasant surprise.
You can find their menu at www.fountainsquareindy.com
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