Hipsters and bubbas don’t belong in barbecue
Appalachia Smokehouse (out of 4) POOR
Address: 972 The Queensway (at Islington Ave.), 416-252-2333, appalachiabbq.com Chef: Julian Dankowycz
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations: Yes Wheelchair access: Step at entrance Price: Dinner for two with pop, tax and tip: $50 Smoque N’ Bones (out of 4) FAIR
Address: 869 Queen St. W. (at Bellwoods Ave.), 647-341-5730, smoquenbones.com Chef: Alex Rad
Hours: Sunday to Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Reservations: Groups of 6 or more Wheelchair access: No Price: Dinner for two with cocktails, tax and tip: $65 Meat, wood, smoke. Barbecue used to be so simple. Nowadays, as debate swirls over neglecting its non-white origins, barbecue bears re-examining. The new barbecue Barbecue isn’t new to Toronto. We have long enjoyed the brined, basted and injected offerings at The Stockyards, Barque Smokehouse and the now-closed DiPamo’s.
A true master needs only a pit. Uptown’s Stack, with its newfangled grilled calamari and Asian chicken salad, fails to convey this woodpile impression.
Ditto the liquid nitrogen trickery of the high-end Carbon Bar near Moss Park. That’s how I ended up at two restaurants whose limited menus promise Southern purity: Appalachia Smokehouse and Barbeque in Etobicoke and Smoque N’ Bones Barbeque N’ Bourbon Bar on Queen St. W. The expert Bubbas and hipsters have no claims on barbecue, says American culinary historian Michael Twitty.
Twitty recently drew (non-hickory) fire when he published an essay reminding us that for all the reality TV pit master competitions, barbecue is a slave food, brought to America by enslaved Africans, with contributions from indigenous peoples. The resulting international debate about cultural appropriation extended to CBC Radio’s q program, on which Twitty and I were guests. In a followup phone conversation, I ask him what it means for Torontonians to eat barbecue. The answer is sombre.
“When you eat the food and it becomes something you crave, you are becoming part of the civilization that created the oppression — or that survived the oppression,” Twitty says. Appalachia Smokehouse and Barbeque
The three-month-old restaurant falls squarely into the bubba camp of backyard barbecuing. Owner Julian Dankowycz, who read Twitty’s article with skepticism, says barbecue “is average man’s food.”
“I been barbecuing since I was a little kid, pigs on a spit,” says Dankowycz, formerly in construction.
From the oak-fuelled Cookshack smoker out back, Appalachia’s meaty baby back ribs ($13) emerge about as smoky as a tealight candle, with a spice rub dominated by sugar and paprika.
Thick ropes of pulled pork ($9) have minimal bark — the spiced crust that for many is the best part — and come sandwiched by what seems to be a day-old bun, with unexceptional sauce. Brisket ($12) is lukewarm and desiccated, even drowned as it is in horseradish mayo.
Save a decent red cabbage slaw, the sides ($4) are even worse, with limp waffle-cut sweet potato fries and baked beans as subtle as a heart attack. Smoque N’ Bones With 83 bourbons on offer and a deafening Black Keys playlist, this 14-month-old restaurant represents Toronto’s burgeoning hipster barbecue scene (see Electric Mud BBQ, Big Crow, etc.).
Self-taught chef/owner Alex Rad’s Southern Pride smoker dominates the open kitchen. Pastry brushes let diners apply as much of the bold sauce as they wish. Brisket ($8.90) and pulled pork ($7.90) are smoky but on the dry side; a watery bourbon sour ($11) helps wash them down. There’s no telltale smoke ring on glazed side ribs ($11.90) but at least they are moist.
Sides ($3.90) fare better. Creamy coleslaw hits the spot. Collards retain some bite. Corkscrew noodles are coated in cayenne-sparked white cheddar sauce under crunchy bread crumbs.
But lovely cinnamon honey butter can’t disguise the burnt bottoms on cornbread muffins.
“Do I think people go to a barbecue restaurant thinking about slavery and why collards were created? Not at all,” says Rad. “But you gotta have respect for that culture.” The verdict This jives with what historian Twitty says: “It’s not just a piece of meat with sauce on it. It’s about mutual respect and acknowledging origins.”
So points to Smoque N’ Bones for attitude, if not results.
As for Appalachia, it’s hard to see how eating there will expand your mind when it’s so hard to stomach. apataki@thestar.ca, Twitter @amypataki