So, our friend, the Anonymous Meat Expert, better known as the Anonymous Stripper Expert, or the Anonymous Gender Parity Expert, or the Nashville Knucklehead, is opening a restaurant and he loaded me up with pulled pork and ribs and potato salad and cole slaw so that I could try them and review them and, hopefully, prime you to want to eat at his place when he gets it open in the next couple of weeks.
It’s rough reviewing a friend’s cooking, because, if you don’t like it, you risk him running you over when he sees you crossing the street. Luckily, the Knucklehead is a fabulous cook, so I only have nice things to say.
Let’s start with the sides. The potato salad is fine. Not as good as mine, but I have a secret potato salad ingredient, which I will not reveal at this time, because I want to surprise the folks who get down to Ivy’s next weekend.
The cole slaw is very good, nice and crisp and cold with a hint of pepper, which is a nice touch.
But, of course, you want to know about the meat. And what can I say? I was heating it up in the oven and kept burning myself as I sneeked some before it was hot. The ribs are great and the pulled pork is just succulent and eating it makes your hands smell like summer. The sauce is good. Not too thick, not too watery, spicy enough to let you know you’re eating some barbecue, but not too spicy to overwhelm the other flavors of the meal.
The restaurant is going to be called “Mothership Barbecue” and it’s in Berry Hill. The only drawback is that he can’t sell beer, but, if you get yourself one of those beer bellies, you can bring your own.