A southern belle in name only: Eatery packs smoky punch
The arrival of Belle Southern Kitchen + Bar and Big Starr late in 2017 continues the culinary trend of barbecue in the Calgary area. In the past year or so we’ve seen southern barbecue explode with Hayden Block, Jane Bond BBQ and Big Sky joining the ranks of Big T’s, Palomino, Holy Smoke, Django Smokehouse (formerly Symon’s Roadhouse) and Booker’s in the pursuit of smoky, meaty goodness. (Paddy’s Barbecue & Brewery has just opened too — more on that later.)
The only question is, “What took so long?” In spite of the longevity of Barbecue on the Bow — now entering its 25th year — and the volume of American expats in our community, barbecue has had slow growth in the restaurant scene. But that’s changing as restaurateurs bring in big smokers and cords of hardwood and re-tool restaurant spaces into barbecue joints.
Such is the case at Belle, 1919 4th St. S.W. (403-455-5775) in the heart of the Mission district. Anejo Group partners Patrick Hill, Jeff Hines, Joe Gregory, Jay MacRaild and Derek Doke operated Mission out of this space for about a year. (It had originally been Candela.) But lacking a distinct focus, Mission failed to gain much traction on the competitive 4th Street restaurant row.
So, working with corporate chef Matt Davidson and executive chef Aaron Scherr, the team landed on the idea of southern barbecue. Renovations were undertaken to convert the 80-seat room into a casual, comfortable barbecue shack. Wallboard was added and adorned with southern paraphernalia, wood beams were laid under the huge, central skylight, a sliding barn door was hung over a private room entrance and the entryway to the restaurant was opened to brighten the room. Picnic tables came in, wood benches were installed and the Dukes of Hazzard was looped onto some television screens. And of course, a big Southern Pride smoker out of Tennessee was installed along with bins of birch, apple and cherry woods.
The chefs worked up rubs and recipes for smoked brisket, pork ribs, turkey legs and pulled pork buckeye (sirloin) and created three sauces to add on — a Coffee-Bourbon (which is pretty much what the name indicates), a Carolina mustard and a Hot Susan that packs a mild bite. The most popular dish on the menu is the Big Britches Platter of chicken, brisket, ribs and two sides ($29).
And Belle doesn’t stop at barbecue. Drawing from other southern cuisines, it serves a fried shrimp Po’ boy sandwich Louisiana style ($18) and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich ($16). The pulled pork is wrapped into a pita with cucumber-dill salad and smoked tomato jam ($15) and there are duck wings, fried green tomatoes, a southern Cobb salad with pulled chicken and desserts of peanut butter pie and peach cobbler.
Beverages lean to the brown spirits traditionally served with barbecue — bourbon and rye — with local beer and southern cocktails ably concocted by James Nguyen and Amy Wilford.
Following the economy, Belle also offers Happy Hour deals daily from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on both food and drinks. So you can grab a beer and sandwich special for $10. Friday Happy Hour and Saturday evening include live music supplementing the blues and bluegrass soundscape.
At 816 16th Ave. S.W. by Mount Royal Village, the space that formerly housed Borgo and Parc has been converted into Big Starr (403-452-5925), another southern barbecue shack. The sleek white bistro decor has been covered in brown faux brick and the arty black-and-white photos have been replaced with western bric-a-brac. A corrugated metal kiosk has been constructed near the front door for future retail and the bistro tables have been swapped out for big wooden picnic tables. In the back, a games area has taken over what had been a group dining area. It’s a transition that works remarkably well.
Much of the design and work was handled by partner Ryan Farwell, who also owns a construction company. This is Farwell’s and partner David Zimmerman’s second venture into restaurants; they also own Lot 102 on Macleod Trail.
Big Starr’s kitchen features a Cookshack smoker that burns cherry, persimmon, hickory and pecan woods for the various meats — brisket, pulled pork, chicken, turkey legs, housemade sausage, pork ribs and chicken wings.
Each meat has its own rub or marinade and comes with a selection of chef Josh Kozak’s sauces. These include a Georgia peach-and-vinegar, a Texasstyle pepper, a Carolina mustard and an Alabama white sauce. The mayonnaise-based white sauce is not something we see much of around these parts, but it’s touted as excellent with the smoked chicken wings.
Expect country music, friendly service, pecan pie and a wide range of local beer and dark liquors at Big Starr as they bring barbecue to 17th Avenue S.W.