Barbecue bowls could be coming to a joint near you
Houston barbecue joints continue to improvise and evolve in the face of challenging socioeconomic times. On the one hand, expenses are rising due to inflation driven by the cost of meat, while revenue is depressed due to diners avoiding restaurants because of coronavirus surges.
In response to this situation, some barbecue joints are introducing a new dish to their menus: the “barbecue bowl.”
Contemporary versions are inspired by the bowls found at your favorite burrito joint. Burrito bowls have long been a staple of these restaurants, where the innards of a classic tortilla-wrapped burrito are instead piled into a bowl for easy consumption with fork or spoon.
This usually involves a base of rice or shredded lettuce topped with a choice of meat and various condiments like beans, pico de gallo, guacamole and salsa.
Early forms of barbecue bowls have existed for a while; for instance, some barbecue joints embellished a standard bowl of mac-n-cheese with a meat toppings, such as sausage or burnt ends.
But the current trend is engineered for our inflation-andCOVID driven times: Barbecue bowls check most of the boxes when it comes to maximizing profit and deliciousness while minimizing cost and waste.
First and foremost, they are a classic example of comfort food that we are all craving in unsettling times. As Southeast Texans, we grew up with some version of a bowl of rice topped with chili, gumbo or étouffée.
They are also economical for barbecue joints, as they are often made with ingredients on hand that are just mixed into a different combination of textures and flavors. They are also a way to repurpose meat left over from the day before.
Additionally, they are perfectly suited to getting barbecue as a takeout order that is often placed in advance, online.
The bowl is easily packaged into a covered plastic container that can be warmed up at home. Also, many online ordering systems have a robust ability to “build” an order in which various permutations of meats and condiments can be mixed and matched.
To be clear, though, the barbecue bowl isn’t just a “kitchen sink” phenomena in which a bunch of leftover ingredients are thrown in a bowl and repackaged under a different name.
At Feges BBQ in Spring Branch, owners Patrick and Erin Feges have given barbecue bowls the chef treatment.
Here, you have a choice of the Feges Bowl, which offers more spice and crunch with guacamole, pickled jalapeños and crispy pork rinds, or the Chef Bowl, with brighter flavors including squash, carrots, radishes and green onions.
Both bowls come with a choice of rice or shredded lettuce for the base and an optional choice for a meat topping, including chopped brisket, pulled pork and shredded chicken.
On a recent sunny, chilly afternoon, I sat in the dining room and dug into a Feges Bowl, with a base of rice and chopped brisket as a topping.
The comfort-food factor kicked in immediately, with contemporary craft barbecue flavors melding with memories of Southeast Texas-inspired rice bowls of the past. It was a delicious and economical option to the meat-laden trays of barbecue that are now often a special occasion for many cost-conscious barbecue connoisseurs.