Best ever 'cue at Bourbon BBQ

Bourbon BBQ
529 Goffle Road
Wyckoff, NJ 07181
(877) 774-7427 (77-4-RIBS)
www.bourbonbbq.com

After a pleasant browsing experience at Then & Now, we went to this very unasuming BBQ joint on Wyckoff Road, practically in the middle of nowhere, entirely on a whim. DJKung was hungry and there were literally no other places that we knew of in this mostly residential area. UFC agrees that this has been our best find in a looong time.

The menu is certainly very intriguing, and they have catering too, which they seem to do a very brisk business in. While waiting for our order, we noticed their delivery truck with the chef and sous chef (DJKung said that he could tell from their jackets, who knew) loading trays and trays of food. DJKung then eavesdrops on the boss' instructions to the two young men behind the counter:

CHEF TALKING TO STAFF IN A MOBSTER/GODFATHER VOICE: "So what you do is take the order, take the money, and give the food. Take the order, take the money, and give the food.... Anyone give you any trouble, just kick 'em out. Anyone give you any trouble, just kick 'em out."

Then the chef and sous chef leave. The place was pretty quiet by then, because it was a very nice Saturday afternoon (4-ish) before the dinner rush.

We entertained ourselves by admiring the two (expensive) smokers and the various rubs, sauces and bbq accoutrements on display for sale. The decor was very pit-stop-meets-a-60's midwestern diner-in-the-middle-of-nowhere look. From the rolls of paper towels propped up on each table, the very smoky spice mix from the shakers, and the thin-and-spicy barbeque sauce on the tables, we were convinced that this was a SERIOUS place. And so it was.

French fries and the ribs appetizer with onion rings. Frankly, DJKung was quite rapturous about how this was THE BEST barbeque he'd ever had. Even his dad stated that it was "good" (which meant it was excellent).

The barbeque here is made Southern-style, but we were not sure of the provenance. Kentucky and I think Tennessee were thrown out by some of the review articles posted on the walls. The ribs are prepared much wetter (and messier) than at RUB, fall-off-the-bone tender, with a nice smoke ring. DJKung stated that it the ribs at Bourbon were on par with the burnt ends at RUB, which if I recall correctly, was one of the more specialty dishes.

The onion rings were just dang good... fried to perfection and with no sogginess at all. The onion taste was all there too.

Blackened salmon wrap.

I was not hungry at all, but to be a good sport, I got the blackened salmon wrap. And finished it all. The salmon was prepared on the dry side, and was hauntingly sweet, smoky and spicy. It came with some greens and a kick-ass remoulade. It was just WOW. The pickles were soggy.

DJKung remarked that it was rally cool that this place only served RC colas, which gave Bourbon extra nostalgia points. Not a lot of places carry RC anymore, and it fit in with the whole "back in the days" feel of Bourbon.

DJKung and I agreed that this place was much more than meets the eye. From the two dishes we've had, there were just too many special little touches that really place the cooking here to gourmet stuff. From rooting around on the internets, we notice that the chef here is/was affiliated with a fancy-pants restaurant in nearby Ridgewood, which explains the little classical cooking details.

With the value and quality 'cue that we had this day, we've added Bourbon BBQ to SUPPERROTATION status. We cannot wait to try more.