Thursday, February 17, 2011

Oinker Inspiration

We’ve been to a few new places lately, some were even pretty good, but none inspired me to write. Until today. We had lunch at a brand new place in Old Town Scottsdale called Big Earl’s. It’s a BBQ joint run by the people responsible for La Petite Maison.  Nice to be so multi-faceted!
While you can get the usual BBQ suspects (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, etc.) the big treat for us was “Tasty Parts”. This section of the menu included fried sweetbreads ($8.99), oven roasted beef bone marrow with pickled okra ($7.99), and pickled pig’s feet  ($5.99). I know a lot of you are cringing at the thought, but believe me, this is great stuff.
We had crispy pig tails with ranch dressing ($5.99) - two big deep fried items that were the shape of hot dog buns. I was thankful that they weren’t curled. The meat, which you strip from the bone was succulent, especially when eaten with the fried batter, dressing, and a little BBQ sauce. I’ll admit the remains did look kind of gross. Roasted pork belly with caramelized onions ($6.99) was our second dish. It wasn’t quite as good as the tails since it didn’t crunch, but I was licking my fingers anyway.
We had started with an appetizer of  Barbacoa nachos of Texas beef brisket, Memphis Pork Butt and Velveeta Love ($8.99). The chips had been more than generously layered with the tender, smokey meats - so much in fact that I ended up taking home a large cupful of meat, which will make a great sandwich tomorrow. We also shared a blue cheese wedge ($3.99). The lettuce was nice and fresh and the dressing actually tasted like blue cheese. The bacon bits raised the salad to a higher level, so tasty and crunchy. 
Both of us were stuffed, but there was one dessert that we had to try - Pecan and  Date pie ($3.99).  OMG, this was to die for. Somehow the chef managed to control the sweetness, and the creamy, tangy topping was a brilliant touch. 
The restaurant is cute, not overly kitchy. There’s a great soundtrack of old fashioned cowboy songs playing quietly in the background. The servers are very attentive but unobtrusive.I LOVE THIS PLACE. There’s a lot more on the menu we want to sample. I think Big Earl’s will become one of our go-to restaurants.
Big Earl’s BBQ
7213 E. 1st Ave.    Scottsdale
480-947-6800
open daily
www.BigEarlsBBQ.com

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