Were going to try something new here today. The following review was written by The Kirbdog, a long-time buddy of mine who recently moved to the Reno area in Nevada. He has been cooking for years on a variety of grills, was the first person I knew who cooked on a pellet pooper, eats out a lot, and from my experience knows good food when he tastes it. Pay no attention to the fact that all my close associates have nicknames with “dog” in them, and sit back and enjoy the review stylings of The Kirbdog.
The wife and I have been looking for good BBQ since moving to the Silver State last summer. Trying a few of the local offerings, Kinder’s, Dickie’s and a few others, to date, suffice it to say we were slightly underwhelmed by the BBQ offerings of Reno, that is until we sampled the BBQ House. Rated only 3 1/2 stars on Yelp we were a little concerned, but several of the comments were promising. Self Proclaimed “Oakland Style BBQ”, what the heck is Oakland style BBQ? Apparently, the owners learned their craft at the famous Flint’s BBQ of Oakland, ahh, now I see the connection. It’s a pity that many Flint locations have succumbed to the ways of the economy, but that’s a story for another day.
The BBQ House, could aptly be named the house of BBQ, as it can be found in a converted house on the corner of Roberts and Wells in an older part of Reno. While certainly not in the high rent district, the city is doing a nice job renovating the Wells street area. The BBQ House is classic, with red painted picnic tables outside (in the shade) to Sharpie signatures and messages from it’s patrons decorating the inside walls. This is a mural of Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland.
On to the BBQ. Wanting to sample what the BBQ House had to offer, we opted for the Pork Ribs and Beef Brisket. Let’s just say that the Pork Ribs lived up to the billing, truly “fall off the bone tender”, the ribs were nothing short of amazing. A true foody, after one bite, my wife was tossing out superlatives like “these are amazing”, “tender”, “flavorful” and “super meaty”. The wife opted for the mild sauce. It had a nice, sweet flavor to it, without being overly sugary and not a hint of spice, which suited her just fine.
I went for the Beef Brisket, flavored with their “Medium Sauce”. I much preferred their medium over the mild, thought it had a more robust BBQ flavor and definitely not as sweet, with only a hint of spiciness. Considering that the Brisket was not “fatty brisket”, I thought the meat was really moist and tender. Full of flavor, the mild BBQ Sauce was a brought out the flavor in the brisket. The BBQ House offered a number of the usual sides, we opted for the baked beans and potato salad. The Potato Salad was tasty, slightly better than store bought but no competition for my wife’s home made Potato Salad. The Baked Beans were nothing special. Not sure if they were store bought, but my most favorable descriptor would be to say they were average.
There you have it, if you’re looking for good BBQ in the Reno area, the BBQ House is the place to visit. Good people, welcoming environment and outstanding “Oakland Style” (what ever that is) BBQ.
The BBQ House
463 Roberts Street
Reno, NV 89502-2029
(775) 323-7427
Peace.
-Kirbdog
So there you have it, the first guest post and review on No Excuses BBQ. Hopefully it won’t be the last, but I’ll let the readers decide that for me…
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The “Silver State”; indeed, home of the Comstock lode!
I love BBQ reviews just in case I am away and need a real food fix.
One of these days I might even get around to doing a local one. Assuming I can find a local place worth reviewing; I’m pretty sure most of the places I’ve been to local wouldn’t appreciate what I would have to say about them…
In Somerville (near Boston) we have a place called RedBones and the beef ribs are just stupid good. My first attempt was not even close, and my second was at least in shouting distance. The pulled pork is ridiculous good as well. Thats about the only place I know of up here.