A few hours after having lunch at Stacy’s Smokehouse BBQ, Ken is still singing the praises of the fried chicken livers he sampled. Unfortunately a sample was all that was available, since the rest had already been sold. On weekends,which I think is the only time that chicken is barbecued, the innards are fried, and quickly disappear. Sadly for me, that’s the only part of the chicken that is fried. When I asked Stacy for some fried chicken, I was informed that his was not a soul food restaurant, as it had been in the past, but a place for barbecue. Poor me, I had to suffer with ribs.
These were delicious - we tried both the pork and beef. When you pull into the parking lot at Stacey’s you can tell how good they’ll be, the smell is intoxicating. The ribs are fall off the bone tender, doused in homemade sauce. I thought the sauce was a good blend of spicy and sweet, but it was a little too sugary for Ken. Next time we’ll ask for it on the side. At Bad To The Bone (see below), the beef ribs are meatier, and they’re served naked, so you can savor the meaty flavor. Stacey’s are more typical of a BBQ joint. They really aren’t comparable. The pork ribs at Stacey’s, however, are way, way ahead of BTTB’s.
Before we ordered we were discussing the merits of various soul food and BBQ restaurants around Phoenix. I said we had been disappointed by the fried chicken (as well as the ambience) at Lo-Lo’s in Scottsdale. Stacy said he liked any fried chicken he didn’t have to cook, and that he actually was partial to KFC. In talking about Restaurant 28, I said that while the chicken was variable in quality, the hushpuppies couldn’t be beat. Stacey took this personally, and delivered to our table a basket of 3 large beauties, right out of the fryer. They’re bigger than 28’s, and therefore have a little less outside fry to inside bread ratio (in my opinion you can never have too much fry), they’re a touch drier on the inside, and a little less sweet. But they were scrumptious. And two important pluses, Stacy serves real butter, and his restaurant is way closer to us.
The ribs are sold by the half and full rack - pork: $9.99/$19.99, beef $7.50/$15. Chicken is $5.50 for half, $9.99 for a whole one. There are pork, beef, chicken and links smoked sandwiches which are $4.50 for a small one and $5.25 for a large. We didn’t get to see the size variation. In the fish department, Stacy serves catfish, tilapia and whiting, at market price. Sides include greens, beans, mac and cheese, slaw, and very good sweet potato fries. The desserts, except for the cheesecake are all homemade. You’ll be very surprised to learn that we didn’t try any of them. Next time.
Stacy’s Smokehouse BBQ
1650 E. Indian School Rd. Phoenix
602-230-6724
stacyssmokehousebbq.com
Monday - Saturday 11-9
CASH ONLY
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