Mac by the tracks? Palo Alto

[takuhead]

Saw a new bbq place opened when the Plantation used o be on California Ave - across from Mollie Stones - anyone tried it out?

[wolfe]

The fictitious business name statement file no. 529871 says Graffiana /McFadden LLC. Are they chain owners?

[takuhead]

Good question - it doesn't look like a chain...says on the window that they have tri tip, ribs...certainly need a good bbq place around here - not much for competition that's for sure!

[tempest1]

Not a chain , it's a old fashion Mom n Pop BBQ joint.

[bbulkow]

The molly stone's has advertised BBQ on some day of the week -- friday? -- maybe those people have a physical location.

[tempest1]

Mac's is not yet open. Opening early 2010 around later part of Feburary.

[Melanie Wong]

A shy chowhound forwarded the website,
http://www.macsbythetracks.com/home.html

The outgoing message says May 28 for grand opening.

[mdg]

I can't wait to check this out. And I love the idea of them being open until 1:30 am on Friday and Saturday!

Michael

[bbulkow]

Good business sense. They're not that far from antonio's. University Ave has started stretching their later hours too - SliderBar, for example.

[Melanie Wong]

Was wondering about Mac's when I spotted it after dinner at Baume' last night. But its Facebook page says it's not opening today, May 28.

[jillyju]

The website has gone missing, but the Facebook page still looks lively, so I'll assume it's a temporary thing. I hope it's worth a trip from SF once it opens, because it sure sounds good.

[mikeh]

From the looks of his website he sure seems to know what he's talking about. I think this may be the first time in Bay Area history that "mustard greens" has been mentioned by a local restauranteur...haha. Any idea on specific menu details?

EDIT: From a Palo Alto Online article: "Mac's by the Tracks is one of the latest restaurants to go into Palo Alto, but McFadden is certainly not new to soul food. "My grandma was a great cook. I grew up with the pressure cooker and the black cast-iron skillets. That's the kind of equipment I'll use here. It will be a newfangled kitchen with old-fashioned ways," he said. And plenty of comfort food. "It's an itch that needs to be scratched. People want greens with meat in it. They want mac and cheese with real elbow macaroni, not the scalloped kind. And they want real fried chicken," he said. As far as a signature dish for the restaurant, he said: "I'll let the people decide. But personally I'm a catfish man. I love deep-fried catfish, made the old-fashioned way."

YESSIR!

[Melanie Wong]

Ok, the two Michaels are all over this one.

I am curious about the two family restaurants mentioned on the site: "1. G&J located in the Fillmore on Steiner and Haight , from the late 60's to early 80's . 2. Romac in the mission on Mission st. and Spear." Anyone remember these places?

[mikeh]

Some other promising tidbits from his facebook site re menu items:

-candied yams
-hot water cornbread, sweet cornbread
-collards
-seafood gumbo (dungeness crab, louisiana hot links, chicken, tiger shrimp, etc.)

[Melanie Wong]

Can you tell us more about hot water cornbread?

[mikeh]

oh, hot water cornbread is a thing of beauty because it's so crumbly and savory. Instead of mixing milk or cream into the batter (and then pouring the contents into a baking dish or skillet to cook in the oven), the batter is rendered by adding boiling water to a mixture of cornmeal, flour, and baking powder. No dairy products are added whatsoever. You then add that mixture to a hot stove-top skillet that contains oil or bacon fat. The result is a crunchy exterior and a softer, crumbly interior.

This type of cornbread pairs so well with southern veggies like collards, field peas, or yams. There is enough sweetness inherent in the cornmeal itself to provide a counterpoint to the veggies but sufficient savoriness to not cover up their flavors. The textures complement each other so well (crumbly on one, velvety on the other). This is the type of cornbread that is especially good for dipping into collard green pot likker.

[512window]

It's also the best kind to use for a cornbread stuffing.

[Melanie Wong]

Took a peek this evening and caught the owner as he was leaving for a break. He promised to be open by tomorrow, Friday, July 2. He said he'd be working all night to get ready and was shooting to open around 11-noonish for the lunch crowd. The grand opening party is scheduled for 3-6pm and he'll have free appetizers and live music. I saw lots of beer stacked up inside, including Abita. The furniture's in place on the patio on the front corner.

[mdg]

It looks like a stripped-down menu for the weekend but it's good to see them open for the 4th. It's already a pretty chowish weekend for me, but I'll try to get there sometime. There will be Racer 5 as well as Abita in the beer selection.

Michael

[openhelix]

Hmmm, I'm only about 5 min away. I wonder how crowded it'll be today for lunch?

[takuhead]

so I went by at lunch today - all closed up - no hours posted....nevermind saw their review on yelp and they are closed on Mondays...reviews don't look too compelling...

[mdg]

It's not open yet - the 4th of July thing was just a teaser. I skipped it after reading the early weekend reports. Hopefully they learned about the need for better management before they open for real.

Michael

[mikeh]

As a teaser it was an absolute disaster. It's easy to list a bunch of yummy-sounding southern dishes on a website and talk yourself up to others. Doesn't mean he knows how to cook worth a penny. The photos I've seen of the items he served during the teaser were borderline atrocious. If the restaurant experience is going to be far different, why expose yourself to that criticism?

Then again, you know what they say about silence v. removing all doubt...

[Melanie Wong]

I tried it last week on the 4th of July. A $10 sampler plate was the sole offering, including two meats (chicken, ribs or hot links), one side and a soda (and tax included).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...

Grills were set up outside to cook the ribs. This seemed odd to me since the bbq is going to be made in the smoker inside, so this sampler's not representative of what will be served in the future. The slabs of ribs were seasoned simply with a paprika-salt rub, it looked like to me from the raw ones tossed on the grill while I was there.

I asked for my sauce on the side, instead of being served from the cut ribs dunked in a tray of sauce. Untrimmed, big and meaty, but a typical backyard-type of grilled rib that's not tender enough. Cooked through but tough with not enough fat rendered. The hot link is Home brand, a good commercial producer, and I liked them as i usually do.

Good marks for the sauce, if used judiciously. Just a touch of sweetness, a lot of spice and balanced with nice tanginess. And I liked the collard greens, which had a crazy amount of ham hocks mixed in.

[Gene786]

Heard from my daughter that the problem is lack of kitchen permit. They are scheduled to cater with her organization. If they pull it off, will get report back from her on the food.

[Foodie.wannabe]

I just walked by this place on Saturday around 8:30pm and it was closed. The posted closing time was 10:30 or 11:30 and there was no other signage. I wonder what's up? It doesn't look abandoned

[mdg]

Well, what was apparent for a couple months is now official - they won't be opening.

Michael

[vincentlo]

What's the reason? Does anyone know?

[Melanie Wong]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palo-Al...

According to business's FB page, it was evicted.

[mdg]

Sounds like money problems involving both contractors and the landlord from what I've read. Having never run a restaurant before, renovating a non-restaurant space was probably not the easiest path to take.

Michael

[mikeh]

I can definitely see that. I'd love to open up a Southern country cooking restaurant in the area (family-style, pass bowls around the table sort of thing) but opening up a place out here is exorbitant. Even running a food truck is more expensive than starting up a restaurant most other places. That's probably why this area has very few home-run family places that aren't backed by investors (and run through the "concept grinder").