Make Your Own Meat Buffet™ in Baton Rouge

TJ's Ribs

6330 Siegen Ln

Baton Rouge, LA 70809
(225) 291-8100


A good tradeoff for traveling in the deep south in the summertime is the excuse to try new BBQ joints.

The smell of hickory smoke, new and exciting sauce flavors, usually a good beer or two... It makes the heat and humidity tolerable when you're on the road.

Having found my way across the country and back a few times, I've been on a mission to find the best BBQ in America for quite awhile now.

So when I was on a plane to Baton Rouge recently, I couldn't wait to ask the locals where to find the best BBQ joint in town.

But let's get one thing straight: No chain restaurants need apply. Ever.

I hear your cries of "but Famous Dave's is sooo good it doesn't matter if it's a chain", and I don't care. When I'm the road, I want real, authentic, local BBQ.

That's how I got to TJ Ribs.

TJ Ribs is a sports-themed restaurant for people that don't really like or care about sports-themed restaurants.

It boasts a pretty respectable collection of LSU sports memorabilia, including Billy Cannon’s 1959 Heisman Trophy, which they claim is larger than any other restaurant and many museums.

But it's classy - not at all tacky and overdone, and there are TV's to catch all the games, but they're not loud and obnoxious.



The waitstaff was young and energetic and seemed to really like their jobs.

The place was bright, clean, spacious, and well organized. It had a pretty comfortable dining room.

Later, when I looked at their website, I realized that's because TJ Moran, the restaurant's owner, is all about passion.

"It’s about the passion of a man who wanted the best. It’s about the passion of a staff and the dedication to the job they do. Most of all, it’s about the passion we take in serving the absolute best barbeque ribs (and more) in the region."

This seemed like the kind of place where despite being known for the ribs, I was going to want to try a little bit of everything.

The menu was pretty big, featuring your usual sports bar appetizers, a surprising number of delicious looking salads, some sandwiches, and the usual: ribs, brisket, chicken, steaks, burgers, seafood - but I was looking to go right for the combo platter.

This was where I got the night's only disappointment.

While they offered a number of different combo platters, they didn't have the comprehensive sampler. Ribs and chicken, brisket and chicken, ribs and fried shrimp, brisket and sausage... but what if you want it all?!?!?

Thankfully, this is where the fine people of TJ Ribs came in to help me out.

The result is a little something I like to call Make Your Own Meat Buffet™.



I ordered up a few of each of the staples, a couple of sides, and settled back with an Andygator from Louisiana's own Abita Brewing Company.

My compatriots were content to order off the menu; one ordering a steak, another some chicken. Not everyone is ready for the Make Your Own Meat Buffet™.

Unless you're with fellow BBQ fanatics, few will want to get a giant sampler and carve up some for everyone. So when one orders the Make Your Own Meat Buffet™ just for yourself, you'd better bring your appetite.

A small plate of TJ's famous smoked back ribs, some brisket, white meat AND dark meat chicken, and a sausage, sided with corn-on-the-cob and some spicy green beans.



Now I'm not claiming to be a trained BBQ professional, but after a few years of dedicated service to the cause, I can say I'm an experienced amateur.

And by far, the ribs were the most tender I've ever had in my BBQ career. They melted right in your mouth. Their combination of dry rub, marinating, roasting and grilling was supreme.

The chicken was equally as moist and tender, and the sausage had a really rich, earthy flavor. It could be a contender for my favorite of the plate. The brisket was dipped in au jus and that had an excellent flavor as well.

The corn was nice and sweet, and the créole seasoning gave it a really great contrast. It was tough to pick a favorite, as I usually go with green beans, and theirs were soaking in a really delicious spicy broth that included crushed red pepper flakes and tiny pieces of bacon.

My table-mates seemed to be enjoying their meals, and I did get a taste of the garlic sauteed mushrooms, which didn't disappoint.

Overall satisfaction rate of this BBQ experience was very high. I've had slightly tastier chicken, although this was tender and no slouch. The brisket wasn't my favorite, but the au jus was a great touch and really added another element.

The ribs were absolutely perfect, but the sausage was my favorite. The sides were winners and the green beans in particular make it to the Suit 1984 Green Bean Hall Of Fame.

The only advice would be a larger and more diverse sampler platter. The Make Your Own Meat Buffet™ really needs to be addressed here.

I propose a sampler platter that includes brisket, ribs, pulled chicken (as I found the chicken portions too large for a sample), sausage, some pulled pork, cajun fried shirmp, and 4 sides.

This way, everyone at the table could go family style and get a taste of everything. Couple it with a pitcher of Andygator and you could even call it a Game Day Sampler or something.

I left TJ Ribs fat and happy. I'd definitely recommend it as my new favorite BBQ joint in Baton Rouge, and I'm looking forward to Make Your Own Meat Buffet™ Part 2.

FINAL REVIEW: Seriously Thought About Buying the Shirt!

Hickory Park Letdown

Last week I was in Ames, Iowa for the big political event of the season, but the politics was almost upstaged by the barbeque. It was on everyone's mind, and on their plates.

One of the candidates had a "Famous Dave's" tent, and nearly everyone else had some kind of smoked pig, brisket, or bbq chicken on their menu. But when I'm traveling and looking for bbq, I'm usually on the hunt for a local establishment so I can order the "house special".

The other few times I was in Iowa, there wasn't enough time to enjoy the local specialties, so now I was asking around to see what the top joints were. One place kept popping up: Hickory Park.



The first time I tried to eat here, it was dinnertime and the line was out the door. The parking lot smelled pretty good, so I wasn't surprised a bit.

The wait was 20 minutes and since I was on my lunch break, at everyone else's dinner time, I decided that I'd come back tomorrow for a proper lunch.

The next day there wasn't a line and my compatriots and I were able to sit down at a table right away. We were brought menus and iced teas, and our waiter seemed knowledgeable and helpful.

Hickory Park looks kind of like a cross between a German beer hall and a typical BBQ joint. As I walked inside, I happened to eyeball a few customers wearing lederhosen.

"What do Germans know about BBQ?" I thought. Not much, as it turns out.



I immediately asked for the "house special" and our waiter pointed to a highlighted part of the menu, to an item called the Saucy Southerner. Touted as "Hickory Park’s version of a pulled pork sandwich - The perfect combination of chopped hickory, smoked pork, beef and turkey simmered in barbecue sauce"... how could I go wrong? I ordered it with a side of green beans and mashed potatoes.

While we waited for our order, I excused myself from the table and made my way to the wait-station to inform our man that it was my table-mate's birthday, and that despite what he might say at the time, he really did want an ice-cream sundae with a birthday candle.

Soon our food came, and just in time - I was getting hungry. We had a pretty good selection at the table. Between my Saucy Southerner, a bbq chicken dinner, and a plate of smoked beef, pork and turkey, I figured we had all of the bbq food groups covered.



Now before I tell you about the worst bbq experience in my amateur bbq career, let me take a minute to say that Hickory Park has the best bbq green beans I've ever eaten.

Seriously.

The green beans were fresh and flavorful. They were cooked perfectly - not too mushy, but not crunchy and under-cooked. The seasoning was light and complimentary, not heavy and overpowering. Overall the green beans were excellent, and if I lived in Ames I'd get my bbq somewhere else, and make a trip across town just to complete the order with some of Hickory Park's green beans.

The sandwich roll looked fresh, and it was. Fresh, but tasteless. I took a bite of it naked, before putting any sauce on it. That's when I was glad I hadn't eaten all of the green beans right away.

Have you ever seen those 1986 diesel Volvo's, where the back bumper is blackened from diesel soot and burning oil? I'm sure you can imagine the odor of riding behind one of those old Volvo's in a traffic jam.

If you were to lick the rear bumper of that Volvo, you'd know what my Saucy Southerner tasted like.



The mashed potatoes weren't much better. I should say, the mashed potatoes could have been amazing, but since they were covered in a gravy that tasted like the inside of an over-heating vacuum cleaner, I wasn't able to tell.

It was so bad I started laughing, and I had to get my table-mates to try some.



Obviously "this is the worst bbq I've ever eaten... no seriously, you gotta try some of this!" isn't the best selling point.



At this point I reached for the sauce and started to get liberal. No matter how much I put on, I couldn't shake the Volvo bumper flavoring.

Needless to say I wasn't able to even choke down half of it, so as soon as the waiter came around asking about dessert, I was more than ready.



When he came back with the rest of his crew, 2 ice cream sundaes and a song, we had a few laughs and tried to forget about the whole horrible bbq experience.

RATING: I wouldn't insult my grill by using the t-shirt to clean it off

Serendipity Strikes in Des Moines IA

I feel like this review has been a long time coming. I've been a Suit at heart long before I got invited to join the team and was assigned my Suit number. A Stranger in a Strange Land, I've found myself traveling around the world, trying to fit in and make a go of it wherever life took me.

So it's serendipitous that my first write-up would be of The Royal Mile pub in Des Moines IA, a haven I desperately needed when I was indeed a Strange Suit in a Strange Land.

The one good thing about the British Empire (perhaps the only good thing other than bringing curry out of India) is the spread of "The Pub" mentality and lifestyle. "The Pub" is a magical, mythical place where the lights are dim, the music is low, new friends are made, good pints are poured, and more than a few laughs are shared.

A good Irish pub is a second living-room to the locals - a home away from home. For the weary traveler, the pub is a place to take refuge from the harsh realities of the road, the airport, the crowds, the noise, the boss, etc. And for a Suit, it's all of these things wrapped into one.

In the case of The Royal Mile, they have plenty of good pints on tap, and 117 bottles of single malt Scotch whisky on the shelf... so you know the laughs are hearty and there’s plenty of craic.

Sometimes I think it's every Irish kid's dream to own a pub. The Royal Mile is the kind of place that every Irish kid who dreams of owning their own pub aspires to. The bar staff is friendly. The pints are fresh and strong. The banter is cheery. The locals are quick to introduce themselves. And so it goes with The Royal Mile.

On one of my first forays into Des Moines nightlife, I was so disgusted with a shall-not-be-named German beer hall (I refuse to spend any more of my hard-earned money there, so another Suit will have to review that craphole) that I needed a refuge.

"Aren't there any Irish people in this God forsaken town? Where is The Pub?!” I asked to nobody in particular. Thankfully, a kind stranger pointed up the street and told me there was “some kind of Scottish bar” just two blocks up the street.

From the sidewalk, The Royal Mile isn’t much to look at. It’s a meager storefront with a few neons in the window. “Oh look, they have Guinness!” I heard one sorority-looking girl proclaim as she stumbled by. Guinness, Smithwicks, and Bass… If they respect The Holy Trinity, how bad could it be? So I opened the door and hoped for the best.

As soon as I walked in I was greeted by a giant Welsh flag and the sense of familiarity that only a real, true Irish pub can welcome you with. Like a big bear hug to a wayfaring, road-weary stranger, the pub enveloped me in its warm embrace.

The Royal Mile has plenty of character and plenty of characters, from barmen named “Willy” and “Eric The Brave”, to regulars like “Big Ern”. Nobody judged me for wearing a suit. In fact, Big Ern bought me a Jager Bomb as soon as he walked in the bar. This is my kind of place!

The Royal Mile claims to have the largest collection of Single Malt Scotch in Iowa, but as Willy was quick to point out, the distinction of having the largest collection in the midwest (and maybe the country) goes to “some bar in Omaha, Nebraska”. It’s that kind of unpretentious attitude that gives The Royal Mile its charm.

The staff is courteous and patient, which was refreshing both because it’s a “local” pub, and because of their rather large collection of beers on tap and single malts.

The waitresses, Whitney and Amanda, were knowledgeable about the beers, and were quick to refer to the barmen, who were equally knowledgeable about single malts. Willy and Eric The Brave were friendly, interesting, and eager to engage me in meaningful conversation and introduce me to their regulars.

It’s the kind of place where you can easily see yourself going native.

Don’t try to order a Budweiser here; you’ll probably get thrown the hell out. They have a food menu, but I’ve never seen it. With a full beer menu - front and back - and a separate one for Scotch whisky, I wouldn’t have had the brain power to compute it anyway.

I ordered a few real ales from their decent selection of hand-pulls, and my expectations were met: perfect temperature, perfect head (or lack thereof), and it tasted great. You can tell that they sell a lot of pints because if the beer sits in the keg lines for a while, it gets stale.

After knocking back a few pints I was pretty hungry and since the kitchen was closed, I went for a bag of potato chips when I needed a quick snack. At $1 each they’ve got quite a selection. I settled on Mesquite BBQ – one of my favorites - and it hit the spot.

For dessert, I had to try one of the single-malts. I settled on Bunnahabhain 12, “The Octave”, which is bottled especially for The Royal Mile. I won’t bore you with the tasting notes, I’ll just say that it was delicious. If I wasn’t driving, I’d have ordered two.

The prices at The Royal Mile are in line with other places that serve high-end single malt Scotch whiskys, and the pours are right on the money: not stingy, but not sloppily generous, either.

The Royal Mile is my new local pub whenever I’m in Des Moines, and I can only hope that they remember me as a regular when I come back!

Rating: would pay to wear the t-shirt!